100: fallin' back on that ass / with a hellified gangsta lean

[library_of_sex]

I'm not even sure how to feel about my first 10in30 batch. I can usually tell the difference between muted and vibrant coloring, but after working for hours on lots of this stuff, I honestly could no longer distinguish if anything I made counts as vibrant. Pretty problematic considering it's the focal point of this month's challenge. I guess I'll just be

Comments

[wandererjulia]

Oh my oh my. I'm in the app so this comment is not gonna be very coherent (pretty much my comments all the times but ehi what u gonna do about it?) 
So, I'll start by saying how much I missed your stuff around here and blah blah BUT NUMBER 2 OWNS ME SO BAD RIGHT NOW! idek who the guy is (looks like what's his name? dammit Clive something? /whatever) I love the depth of that icon. Coloring wise this is all so yummy can't wait to be on my laptop so I can save an whole bunch of these.

[library_of_sex]

Considering that you said you worry about writing comments, I'm seriously so touched that you took the time to write one for me. That seriously means the world to me and has put a huge smile on my face so THANK YOU, my dear.

And yup, it's Clive Owen! I don't know much about him, but I just felt inspired to work with the pix that crucified linked to. It was an honor to get to make those for her, and it's a true honor to get such incredible feedback on 2, one of my fave pieces here! I have never achieved muted coloring like that before, so it's something I'd like to try and explore more in the future. I hope this stuff looks good on your computer cuz my icons sometimes look way better to me on my tiny phone than they do on my bigger laptop monitor. So annoying. :/ But anyway, thank you again for the feedback. It's just what I needed to start this week off in a happy mood! <3

[wandererjulia]

aww you're the loveliest <3
I was just browsing my feed and your batch came up and seriously my comment wasn't even that great lol

but now that I'm on a laptop I'm actually spotting my next profile picture (number 25 really. it's just so soft it looks like a gummy bear or something!) and can I just say how much I love the way you use celeb pics to make these beauties? because really, I rarely ever use celeb pics cause I find them really hard to color and stuff but you put on textures like it's the easiest thing in the world.

now that I can see them up close (AND THEY'RE LOOKING GOOD ON MY LAPTOP AS WELL!) I'm actually really liking the concept behind number 5 as well, which it would have been an amazing tumblr piece tbh.
but really everything about this post is pretty amazing.
i'm gonna save possibly half of these lol

[library_of_sex]

Considering how few people are even around to look at icons, I can honestly say that every single comment or word of kindness that someone cares enough to leave is definitely "that great," IMO. <3

OMG. I'm so thrilled that you found something worth uploading as a userpic! What an honor! It's so funny to me that people who can color caps so gorgeously tend to have difficulty working with celeb pix, which usually have great lighting and colors already. I feel like photo shoot images should be so much easier to work with, but I guess it just depends on what you're used to. I find caps harder cuz I don't practice with them that much. Trying to change that though!

Yeah, that was made with a large texture that I assume was probably meant for tumblr rather than tiny LJ icons. I never did learn to make large graphics though since I struggle enough with 100x100 boxes! :P

Again, I can't thank you enough for your flattering and insanely generous words. It means the world to me and has brightened up an already fantastic week!!! :D

[wandererjulia]

IKR? it's so sad ç_ç since tumblr was a big success, i don't even know how long ago it was, lj started to feel more and more like a graveyard, so it's very good to see communities that are still active and amazing makers that still give us icons to look at (otherwise my icon folder would be completely empty let me tell you that!)

still most of them crop their icons from tumblr works, which it still looks good don't get me wrong. but I think a lot of people have lost their touch somehow, too busy with making 500x600 graphics, going back to 100x100 can be really hard to do. (i mostly make gifs on tumblr cause, same as you, I'm no good with larger graphics. I am attempting facebook covers but still on the process of learning how to blend stuff XD)

oh please that Rachel icon is so faaaaaaab! I love it so much, and I definetely need to use more celeb images and try to make icons with them!

anytime dear, just gimme a call and i'll flatter the hell out of you :P

[library_of_sex]

Yeah, tumblr got so popular, and then LJ got bought out, and lots of dumb changes that people didn't like got made, and so LJ's become a cemetery. I seriously miss the old days SO BADLY when I couldn't even keep up with all the posts everywhere cuz there were just too many makers making too many gorgeous things. Still, there are many awesomely talented people still around, so that's comforting! :D

Oh, I had no idea lots of people were still cropping their big graphics down to icons. I remember that going on years ago, but for some reason, had forgotten about it. There's so much space to fill in large graphics that I would think going back to icons would feel so restricted and narrow. Ughhh, blending! Good luck with learning all about that!

Awww, thank you. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see you work more with celeb photos. I bet you would excel at it very quickly! :D

Oh, please don't. I have enough of an ego. I don't need anyone making it worse!

[wandererjulia]

yeah, sometimes people come back to their roots and that's awesome! pretty much all my favorites icon makers are back, so I shouldn't complain that much lol

I used to make wallpapers back when I wasn't on lj, and I was around italian forums and such, but really never learnt how to blend properly. also textures are a pain in the ass for me too. there's so much I still need to learn in this icon making thing. too bad, not so many people make tutorials anymore, those were so helpful!

the thing with celeb icons, is picking the right image I believe. which I suck at even when it's caps choosing so that's gonna be fun :P

PLS, you always need someone to remind you how awesome you are!

[library_of_sex]

So many of my faves have been gone for years and yet I still hold out a little hope that they'll maybe return someday. A girl can dream, right? :P

YOU LIAR. I SAW YOUR EXCELLENT BLENDING SKILLS IN YOUR LATEST POST. STOP LYING TO ME AND TO YOURSELF! I always love reading tuts and getting an understanding of how people make their icons even if the tips don't always necessarily translate to images I wanna use.

If you wanna practice with celeb photos, I say go first for the ones where there's already an empty backdrop so you don't have to concentrate on masking stuff out or cutting the subject out. Also, it's weird to say, but I sometimes use heavy Gaussian blur on my old icons or even other people's old icons and use them as lighting textures. That can really liven an image up, and it totally works on caps just as well as celeb photos! I'm hoping to start a celeb icon battle in the summer if I have free time, so maybe in a month or two you'll get lots of practice if you join in! :DDD

You are far too kind to exist. <3

[wandererjulia]

yeah yeah, I feel you on this! I am still hoping for so many makers to come back. we can still have hope!!

IT WAS AN HALF LIE OKAY? lol I can't blend on bigger canvas lol
I love tutorials too, it's so great to see people sharing their way of making icons, cause everybody has its own. I read a tutorial the other day on close croppings (which, it's my favorite lol) and she used a totally different technique than mine so it was really amazing to see how she ended up with an icon!

ooh, that's actually a great tip: thank you! :D I use gaussian blur for pretty much everything, especailly when the image is a bit pixelated or something, and i always merge all the layers and set the top layer on soft light + gaussian: that's how I roll these days lol
YES A CELEB BATTLE: count me in ;P
I love battles so much, I'm actually starting one with an italian girl here on lj and I can't wait.

[library_of_sex]

Blending on a big canvas is tough cuz it's easier to see the cutouts and any flaws. If you just keep trying though, I'm sure you'll be STELLAR at it soon enough! Also, what new cropping technique did you learn? I remember how awed I was when I found out people make a 200x200 canvas and move their image around on it til they get a cool crop. That's such a neat trick and one I always forget to use!

Fuuuun! What battle are you guys doing? So excited to see the results soon!

[wandererjulia]

it was super weird. i either use 100x100 canvas or 200x200 depending on what type of icons i want to achieve. in this case the canvas was like 350x350 and she resized the cap, which I don't do that I just copy paste the cap on my canva and then resize it as I want to, but in this way apparently you're able to achieve various types of crops (ESPECIALLY CLOSE ONES, mostly those really really close crops) i don't even know how she did that tbh. If I can find the tutorial again I'll link it to you :D
well I have this facebook page, where I make covers for other pages (that's sounded really weird but that's what it's about lol) I have this weird obsession with facebook pages these days, but they helped me to explore more the bigger canvas size. I need to go back on wallpapers though. I remember back in the day lj was not only filled with icons but with amazing desktop stuff.

we're doing a heroes/heroines battle, there'll most likely be a tons of Daredevil icons lol we decided to go random with the shows.

[library_of_sex]

Oh, wow! So she works on a bigger canvas AND resizes the cap? Interesting approach! I oughta try that next time I want a good, tight crop.

OMG. I remember the phenomenal wallpapers people used to post. I miss the larger graphics others used to share even if I didn't always snag them. I'd love to see some of those FB covers you make!

Oooh, now I'm super excited!!! I haven't even seen most of those Marvel movies that have been out in the past few years, but people just make the most GORGEOUS icons from them, and now that Daredevil show is a major focus, and so there are way too many pretty superhero icons to even keep up with!

[wandererjulia]

yeah really it's such a weird way but apparently it works and i don't even know how lol

i haven't had a real wallpaper on my desktop for so long. these days I only use hq stills of stuff that I like, I don't even resize them or anything I just slap them on it lol
They're not that great ahahahah but I can give you the link if you like :D

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SEEN MOST OF THE MARVEL MOVIES?
what are you waiting for? they're glorious! /go watch all the ones with CAP in it (can you tell he's my fave? lol)