(no subject)
20 - V
for 20inspirations
I went a little overboard with the explaining because I thought that's what we were supposed to do? Well, yeah. I go into it. Not that much, though. I love the concept of this community and wanted to participate. Cutting it close on the deadline but that's because a) I only have a certain number of episodes of V capped (which is why there is barely any variety) and b) I had to actually be inspired to make them, which hasn't happened a lot lately. But when I was, I sat my ass down and worked on these. I think next time I'll save the PSD's to go along because they're so much better to look at than me rambling.
Any and all feedback and comments are welcomed. Especially if they're to talk about V. I LOVE THIS SHOW AND CANNOT WAIT FOR S2.
1-3 [Prompt: Photos]
The photos prompts were very bright and saturated. I love color like that but I think I'm pretty tame with my own coloring. I try, sometimes, to make icons bright but end up with regular colors. And it works for me. The photos dared me to use bold reds and yellows mixed with greens and blues. I'm not sure if I succeeded in the last one. I went through many variations in it. I still think it needs to have more contrast. When I tried to give it more contrast the icon just turned into blocks of red and white, and that's not what I wanted. I do like the end result even though it's extreme in a way I don't really like. The goal with these particular icons, inspired by the photos, was to have more than two colors be prominent in a dramatic way.
4.[Word: Block]
Screencaps are definitely my favorite tool and when I read the word I was inspired to use textures. Actual block textures that obscured the actual screencap. But I know those aren't my strong suits and I tried but I don't have the skills to make it look good. So I ended up doing what I do. CROPPING. Profile screencaps are wonderful because then it becomes about how much of one subject to expose and how much of another to block. And that's what I focused on. Who to block off, who to keep. I ended up blocking a significant part of both. I have this rule of thumb with screencaps: keep the nose. Any part of the nose. Joshua's face is blocked, as is Erica's, but just like you can raed sdorw sdrawkcab without much trouble, the rest of their faces still exists and that's enough. I made this icon right after I made the ones above, so I was still being bold with the coloring. I don't think I would've gone with such a dramatic color if it hadn't been for the photo-inspired icons above.
5. [Word: Duality]
This prompt was a nice one because immediately I thought about story context, not actual iconing. And that's just as important to me. I'm such a huge fan of V and enjoy the dichotomy of Anna and Erica. They are the show and it's through their differences the two factions are made. I knew right away I wanted them in an icon for this word and I knew I would use screencaps from the scene where this icon is from. It was fun to make because the blending was trickier than I initially thought. The real work was in the coloring and that other thing. After I started on this icon, knowing exactly what I had in mind, and the blending came along in a way I really liked, I knew that I had seen this icon before. It's this glorious, wonderful one , by adina_mpj. AND I WANT TO SHOOT MYSELF because mine is a cheap shot version of that wonderful, wonderful icon. My intention was not to copy, I promise. I hope they're dissimilar enough.
6. [Video: Deftones: Sextape]
This video/song just reminded me that I don't listen to the Deftones often enough. The song is airy and really soft. The video itself has a lot of couples about to kiss or post kiss. Bodies together and swimming and although everything is dark, it's also serene. It reminded me of Anna's Bliss and how happy Tyler and Lisa are. The song and scene made me want to go as bright as possible without contrast and to capture that happy serene feeling.
7. [Word: Lighting]
Obviously I went with actual light. Through windows. Small subject and huge, long icon windows. ILY SMUDGE TOOL.
8. [Word: Aqua]
HEY. AQUA IS BLUE. SO I MADE A BLUE ICON. I actually really don't like making all blue icons but I dig how this one turned out. The crop especially but this time I'm not focusing on the crop. I tried so many variations of blue and knew I didn't want just one. So there's light cyan and dark blue in the bottom. IDK if it's aqua but w/e. I like that their skin isn't consumed by it but it's the defining characteristic of the icon.
9. [Word: Sexy]
So the process of this icon has EVERYTHING to do with context and nothing to do with technique. You can skip the bracket and go straight to the how.
[I genuinely love their dynamic. He's a good guy and because he's a priest it's engraved in him that he won't hurt her or anyone. It's interesting to the narrative because if he wasn't there would be more of an aggressive romantic undertone. There still is but because of what he is I'm forced to look at their friendship FIRST. Their interaction as people not as man and woman, even though that definitely comes into play when they're alone. ESPECIALLY IN THIS SCENE. This is the most V has gone out of their way to make Jack and Erica a man and woman sharing a moment. A moment that is true to Erica more than it is Jack. Erica has always been physical, I am not surprised she takes the challenge. Seeing Jack boxing takes me out of the "oh yeah, he's a priest" mode. And that makes this scene SO SEXY. Because the second I do realize that, holy fuck do I feel like I need to go to church and apologize. EXCEPT NO. I never want to apologize because it gave us that smirk. The over-current is flirty, the undercurrent is that it's never going to happen while he still a priest. Does that make this scene sexier? IDK. I do know what makes it sexier. Hobbes coming in and reminding me that everyone in the room is a bad catholic.]
The word prompt made me want to icon that smirk and just that smirk because to me that is sexy. And I was went with the flow of the cap, which was minimal. Just focused on them as the subjects and nothing else. I colored in the negative space and added a bit of yellow/red and I really like how it turned out.
10-13. [COLOURMAYFADE TEXTURE SET]
This was heavily inspired by how I made the first icons for this batch. All of a sudden I wasn't skeptical about my use of bold colors. I felt that after I made the ones above, they were all very soft and I wanted to try something new with the Deh's set. First of all, I LOVE THIS SET. I use it all the time. Actually I use this texture ALL THE TIME. The first icon is actually one icon, shrunk and repeated four times, with the texture slapped over it to create minor differences. But I started with the Erica cap and the texture and just that texture duplicated and set everything from soft light to hard light to color burn. I didn't find the icon worked on it's own but I didn't want to scrape it, so I resized and made the four square, and added the texture again. AND I REALLY LIKE IT. The Hobbes icon was a different story because I didn't like how the texture meshed with it in a light or dark capacity. It wasn't until I set it to 'color burn" that that bright blue turqouise thing came out. These both have that similar, light on the left, dark on the right, and that's because of the way I worked with the texture. It creates differen't results every time and that gives me new ideas with each icon.
The third icon was made days later (today), and I actually colored the cap first before I did anything else. I use the same techniques (duplicating base, glausian blur, hard light or soft light or screen) and I came with something I liked. Not so much when I shrunk it to icon size. I used the same texture I used above and duplicated it various times until I got a contrast I liked.
14-17 [Word: Close Up]
CROPPING IS MY CRACK. I love close ups and obscuring the whole image to accent everything else. They're my safe zone and I guess that's a bad thing. Because I know I can crop and be done with an icon. Except it's not entirely that. Because not all caps look good completely gone and not every face is fit to be on an icon. I've worked with forunate looking shows like Lost and now V. V IS BEAUTIFUL. And full of beautiful people with amazing structure and neck muscles and smooth skin. I love cutting out the eyes. IDK WHY THIS HAPPENS but I follow my rule: keep the nose.
18. [Word: Clean]
I would imagine clean and soft are the same kinds of icons and #8 of this set is more likely to be considered "clean." When I saw the word I imagined something clear but not soft and not completely exposed. Kind of like a close up crop or the way I did #4's "block" but less dramatic. Just clear and less dramatic but not soft or complete? Does that make sense? I was searching for a cap that would allow me to do that and I went through loads. Tons of trial and error to get that type of clean, my clean, and I think I got it with this icon.
19. [Word: Glow]
OKAY. SO THIS ICON WAS THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO ME. I have 50 variations in all sizes, all colors, ALL OF ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING and I am so glad I went through all that because I got this and it may not look like much but FUCK. I wanted my "glow" and I got it. I don't even remember what I did, I had so many layers.
20. [Word: Red]
If I am anything, it is subtle ;)
for 20inspirations
I went a little overboard with the explaining because I thought that's what we were supposed to do? Well, yeah. I go into it. Not that much, though. I love the concept of this community and wanted to participate. Cutting it close on the deadline but that's because a) I only have a certain number of episodes of V capped (which is why there is barely any variety) and b) I had to actually be inspired to make them, which hasn't happened a lot lately. But when I was, I sat my ass down and worked on these. I think next time I'll save the PSD's to go along because they're so much better to look at than me rambling.
Any and all feedback and comments are welcomed. Especially if they're to talk about V. I LOVE THIS SHOW AND CANNOT WAIT FOR S2.
1-3 [Prompt: Photos]
The photos prompts were very bright and saturated. I love color like that but I think I'm pretty tame with my own coloring. I try, sometimes, to make icons bright but end up with regular colors. And it works for me. The photos dared me to use bold reds and yellows mixed with greens and blues. I'm not sure if I succeeded in the last one. I went through many variations in it. I still think it needs to have more contrast. When I tried to give it more contrast the icon just turned into blocks of red and white, and that's not what I wanted. I do like the end result even though it's extreme in a way I don't really like. The goal with these particular icons, inspired by the photos, was to have more than two colors be prominent in a dramatic way.
4.[Word: Block]
Screencaps are definitely my favorite tool and when I read the word I was inspired to use textures. Actual block textures that obscured the actual screencap. But I know those aren't my strong suits and I tried but I don't have the skills to make it look good. So I ended up doing what I do. CROPPING. Profile screencaps are wonderful because then it becomes about how much of one subject to expose and how much of another to block. And that's what I focused on. Who to block off, who to keep. I ended up blocking a significant part of both. I have this rule of thumb with screencaps: keep the nose. Any part of the nose. Joshua's face is blocked, as is Erica's, but just like you can raed sdorw sdrawkcab without much trouble, the rest of their faces still exists and that's enough. I made this icon right after I made the ones above, so I was still being bold with the coloring. I don't think I would've gone with such a dramatic color if it hadn't been for the photo-inspired icons above.
5. [Word: Duality]
This prompt was a nice one because immediately I thought about story context, not actual iconing. And that's just as important to me. I'm such a huge fan of V and enjoy the dichotomy of Anna and Erica. They are the show and it's through their differences the two factions are made. I knew right away I wanted them in an icon for this word and I knew I would use screencaps from the scene where this icon is from. It was fun to make because the blending was trickier than I initially thought. The real work was in the coloring and that other thing. After I started on this icon, knowing exactly what I had in mind, and the blending came along in a way I really liked, I knew that I had seen this icon before. It's this glorious, wonderful one , by adina_mpj. AND I WANT TO SHOOT MYSELF because mine is a cheap shot version of that wonderful, wonderful icon. My intention was not to copy, I promise. I hope they're dissimilar enough.
6. [Video: Deftones: Sextape]
This video/song just reminded me that I don't listen to the Deftones often enough. The song is airy and really soft. The video itself has a lot of couples about to kiss or post kiss. Bodies together and swimming and although everything is dark, it's also serene. It reminded me of Anna's Bliss and how happy Tyler and Lisa are. The song and scene made me want to go as bright as possible without contrast and to capture that happy serene feeling.
7. [Word: Lighting]
Obviously I went with actual light. Through windows. Small subject and huge, long icon windows. ILY SMUDGE TOOL.
8. [Word: Aqua]
HEY. AQUA IS BLUE. SO I MADE A BLUE ICON. I actually really don't like making all blue icons but I dig how this one turned out. The crop especially but this time I'm not focusing on the crop. I tried so many variations of blue and knew I didn't want just one. So there's light cyan and dark blue in the bottom. IDK if it's aqua but w/e. I like that their skin isn't consumed by it but it's the defining characteristic of the icon.
9. [Word: Sexy]
So the process of this icon has EVERYTHING to do with context and nothing to do with technique. You can skip the bracket and go straight to the how.
[I genuinely love their dynamic. He's a good guy and because he's a priest it's engraved in him that he won't hurt her or anyone. It's interesting to the narrative because if he wasn't there would be more of an aggressive romantic undertone. There still is but because of what he is I'm forced to look at their friendship FIRST. Their interaction as people not as man and woman, even though that definitely comes into play when they're alone. ESPECIALLY IN THIS SCENE. This is the most V has gone out of their way to make Jack and Erica a man and woman sharing a moment. A moment that is true to Erica more than it is Jack. Erica has always been physical, I am not surprised she takes the challenge. Seeing Jack boxing takes me out of the "oh yeah, he's a priest" mode. And that makes this scene SO SEXY. Because the second I do realize that, holy fuck do I feel like I need to go to church and apologize. EXCEPT NO. I never want to apologize because it gave us that smirk. The over-current is flirty, the undercurrent is that it's never going to happen while he still a priest. Does that make this scene sexier? IDK. I do know what makes it sexier. Hobbes coming in and reminding me that everyone in the room is a bad catholic.]
The word prompt made me want to icon that smirk and just that smirk because to me that is sexy. And I was went with the flow of the cap, which was minimal. Just focused on them as the subjects and nothing else. I colored in the negative space and added a bit of yellow/red and I really like how it turned out.
10-13. [COLOURMAYFADE TEXTURE SET]
This was heavily inspired by how I made the first icons for this batch. All of a sudden I wasn't skeptical about my use of bold colors. I felt that after I made the ones above, they were all very soft and I wanted to try something new with the Deh's set. First of all, I LOVE THIS SET. I use it all the time. Actually I use this texture ALL THE TIME. The first icon is actually one icon, shrunk and repeated four times, with the texture slapped over it to create minor differences. But I started with the Erica cap and the texture and just that texture duplicated and set everything from soft light to hard light to color burn. I didn't find the icon worked on it's own but I didn't want to scrape it, so I resized and made the four square, and added the texture again. AND I REALLY LIKE IT. The Hobbes icon was a different story because I didn't like how the texture meshed with it in a light or dark capacity. It wasn't until I set it to 'color burn" that that bright blue turqouise thing came out. These both have that similar, light on the left, dark on the right, and that's because of the way I worked with the texture. It creates differen't results every time and that gives me new ideas with each icon.
The third icon was made days later (today), and I actually colored the cap first before I did anything else. I use the same techniques (duplicating base, glausian blur, hard light or soft light or screen) and I came with something I liked. Not so much when I shrunk it to icon size. I used the same texture I used above and duplicated it various times until I got a contrast I liked.
14-17 [Word: Close Up]
CROPPING IS MY CRACK. I love close ups and obscuring the whole image to accent everything else. They're my safe zone and I guess that's a bad thing. Because I know I can crop and be done with an icon. Except it's not entirely that. Because not all caps look good completely gone and not every face is fit to be on an icon. I've worked with forunate looking shows like Lost and now V. V IS BEAUTIFUL. And full of beautiful people with amazing structure and neck muscles and smooth skin. I love cutting out the eyes. IDK WHY THIS HAPPENS but I follow my rule: keep the nose.
18. [Word: Clean]
I would imagine clean and soft are the same kinds of icons and #8 of this set is more likely to be considered "clean." When I saw the word I imagined something clear but not soft and not completely exposed. Kind of like a close up crop or the way I did #4's "block" but less dramatic. Just clear and less dramatic but not soft or complete? Does that make sense? I was searching for a cap that would allow me to do that and I went through loads. Tons of trial and error to get that type of clean, my clean, and I think I got it with this icon.
19. [Word: Glow]
OKAY. SO THIS ICON WAS THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO ME. I have 50 variations in all sizes, all colors, ALL OF ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING and I am so glad I went through all that because I got this and it may not look like much but FUCK. I wanted my "glow" and I got it. I don't even remember what I did, I had so many layers.
20. [Word: Red]
If I am anything, it is subtle ;)