iconfolio (as reviewed by saeva)
[01] First Impression: At first glance I thought this was a personal journal which also hosted icons but then I got a look at the URL and realized it wasn't just for icons but an icon community.
As far as the layout goes, on the plus sides the colours are really complementary and soft and she's right that those pocket dragons are absolutely adorable. On the minus side, it really isn't immediately evident this is an icon journal -- it has the feeling of a personal one, especially given the top entry. Also, the navigation is a real pain.
[02] Prominent Subjects: The iconist has a real mixed bag with everything from video games to movies and television shows to music to (the adorable) pocket dragons to just misc. subjects. It's sort of rare you see this much variety in an icon journal, which is neat. She definitely leans towards fantasy and SF though.
[03] Style: Brushes, brushes, and more brushes. This journal is full of brushtastic icons and a lot of textures. You don't seem to do a lot with the colours of the images themselves, relying instead on textures almost exclusively, which is rare and sort of interesting.
You might want to explore with colouring a little more before applying texture -- there's a lot you can do to a base that doesn't involve texturing (though texturing is lots of fun) and branching out to experiment would improve the overall quality of your work tons.
[04] Text: Big text, like the big use of textures, is the name of the game here. A lot of it's blocky and seems to stick to the same few fonts. Maybe branch out a little.
[05] Misc.: Has some banners (scrolls?) and mood themes, which is neat. Mood themes are always challenging.
[06] Overall Impression: Overall I see a lot of grunge work and feeling out how a program works still. It's a very nice start for someone who's perhaps not the most adventurous with their program (or just really, really fond of a particular style) but I think that there's a lot more potential than skill here currently. The icons show a nice eye for cropping and a good variety of subject matter s/he's able to work with, I just wish there was a little more working with the original images and a little less covering them up with brushes.
I do like how you blend brushes though, especially in the examples of favorites I give below. The brush against the woman's skin in the first example is especially nice work.
[07] Constructive Criticism: I know I seem to rag on the overuse of brushes here but that's not really it -- I love texturing and I wish more iconists would utilize the effect. It's just in this case I think you're struggling with one trick a little too much and ignoring the magnitude of other things you could be playing around with. Right now the style is really muted which makes it hard for the eye to focus, something a little more contrast in your completed project would help.
A simple trick I'd suggest trying out is when you've applied the textures and brushes to your content duplicate the very first base layer, bring it to the top, and set it to soft light at the opacity that works best with the effect you're going for. It'll give more definition to your icons and I think that'd help a lot.
[08]Personal Favourites:
As far as the layout goes, on the plus sides the colours are really complementary and soft and she's right that those pocket dragons are absolutely adorable. On the minus side, it really isn't immediately evident this is an icon journal -- it has the feeling of a personal one, especially given the top entry. Also, the navigation is a real pain.
[02] Prominent Subjects: The iconist has a real mixed bag with everything from video games to movies and television shows to music to (the adorable) pocket dragons to just misc. subjects. It's sort of rare you see this much variety in an icon journal, which is neat. She definitely leans towards fantasy and SF though.
[03] Style: Brushes, brushes, and more brushes. This journal is full of brushtastic icons and a lot of textures. You don't seem to do a lot with the colours of the images themselves, relying instead on textures almost exclusively, which is rare and sort of interesting.
You might want to explore with colouring a little more before applying texture -- there's a lot you can do to a base that doesn't involve texturing (though texturing is lots of fun) and branching out to experiment would improve the overall quality of your work tons.
[04] Text: Big text, like the big use of textures, is the name of the game here. A lot of it's blocky and seems to stick to the same few fonts. Maybe branch out a little.
[05] Misc.: Has some banners (scrolls?) and mood themes, which is neat. Mood themes are always challenging.
[06] Overall Impression: Overall I see a lot of grunge work and feeling out how a program works still. It's a very nice start for someone who's perhaps not the most adventurous with their program (or just really, really fond of a particular style) but I think that there's a lot more potential than skill here currently. The icons show a nice eye for cropping and a good variety of subject matter s/he's able to work with, I just wish there was a little more working with the original images and a little less covering them up with brushes.
I do like how you blend brushes though, especially in the examples of favorites I give below. The brush against the woman's skin in the first example is especially nice work.
[07] Constructive Criticism: I know I seem to rag on the overuse of brushes here but that's not really it -- I love texturing and I wish more iconists would utilize the effect. It's just in this case I think you're struggling with one trick a little too much and ignoring the magnitude of other things you could be playing around with. Right now the style is really muted which makes it hard for the eye to focus, something a little more contrast in your completed project would help.
A simple trick I'd suggest trying out is when you've applied the textures and brushes to your content duplicate the very first base layer, bring it to the top, and set it to soft light at the opacity that works best with the effect you're going for. It'll give more definition to your icons and I think that'd help a lot.
[08]Personal Favourites: