Aw, you didn't have to move your comment! It was totally fine where it was. I figured some people would get to the post before I managed to get online today. But thank you anyway! Aaaand at some point today, I'll be in to reply properly to your comment. :)
eta:
*cracks knuckles* Okay, I haven't done this in awhile so I'm probably rusty, but let's see what I can come up with, shall we?
I'm not sure what program you're using, but I'm a Photoshop user so most of my advice will be slanted toward the tools and specifications of that program. If you're using something else, please let me know, and I'll see what I can dig up on the old Google to help translate any PS-only stuff I suggest below.
I'm going to start with #5 since you've been most specific about your frustrations regarding that icon.
My first suggestion would be layer masks (good tutorials on how to use those if you need them: here, here, and here). This can be really helpful because it'll allow you to erase from certain sections like the shoulder while maintaining the
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(part three) 1. Go for the background extraction and negative space route, but instead of just going for lighting, find a fun texture and use it as the new background! or 2. Keep the original background and just go for a wider crop.
Aaaand before I forget, I should probably link some background/subject extraction tutorials so here we go: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
In these links, you'll find a myriad of different ways to do extraction, and you can go with whatever works best for you if you decide it's something you want to explore further!!
And to wrap up this long spiel on one single icon, I also want to link some fun textures just in case! I've created an album for you here. All the textures were made by scoobyatemysnax at burnedbreads in case you like them and want some more. ;)
I'm really trying to focus on iconing this year and actively working to improve my skills so here goes. I hope it's okay that I linked quite a number of icons in here, I'll take some out if need, but I welcome all the concrit I can get! This is all stuff I did last year, I may come back with some of my more recent stuff for concrit but I don't want to overload the comment.
Hello! Thanks for participating! Unless the meme instructions say otherwise, feel free to put up as many icons as you like. You might not get feedback on every icon individually, but a nice selection will make general comments easier anyway. So it's no problem
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The second thing that really jumps out at me is that you don't seem to be choosing any one particular direction with any of your coloring? I mean, I know you say you usually play with bright coloring and that a couple of these examples are you trying out muted coloring, but mostly I'm just getting an in between vibe from your coloring right now
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I'm going to talk a little bit about #1, since you mention that it was a low-quality cap but you wanted to work with it anyway. I know how you feel! Sometimes I find a particular picture I want to use and don't want to take the time to hunt down a HQ screencap of it (especially if I have no idea what episode it's from).
Thanks for the concrit! I've read those tutorials now and OMG, they're great! Thanks for linking me to them! And in hindsight, I'm seeing the pitfalls of using LQ caps.
I haven't been able to figure out how to get the Topaz plug-ins for PS so I have a bit of a weird workaround for getting the same effect on LQ caps than some of the tutorials teaotter linked you, but I've had a fair amount of luck with it so I figure I'd share it with you.
The first thing I do is I take the cap and then go: Filters > Stylize > Diffuse > make sure diffuse is set to Anisotropic. (You can zoom out within the preview to see what the icon will look at a smaller size.) Then Smart Sharpen (500%, 0.4px you can fiddle with that a bit but I was suggested those settings by a friend and they've mostly worked well so far.)
Which gives you these, which aren't the loveliest I agree.
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Comments 30
Alright ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS MEME SHOULD BE POSTED AS A REPLY TO THIS THREAD. THANK YOU.
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eta:
*cracks knuckles* Okay, I haven't done this in awhile so I'm probably rusty, but let's see what I can come up with, shall we?
I'm not sure what program you're using, but I'm a Photoshop user so most of my advice will be slanted toward the tools and specifications of that program. If you're using something else, please let me know, and I'll see what I can dig up on the old Google to help translate any PS-only stuff I suggest below.
I'm going to start with #5 since you've been most specific about your frustrations regarding that icon.
My first suggestion would be layer masks (good tutorials on how to use those if you need them: here, here, and here). This can be really helpful because it'll allow you to erase from certain sections like the shoulder while maintaining the ( ... )
Reply
Reply
1. Go for the background extraction and negative space route, but instead of just going for lighting, find a fun texture and use it as the new background!
or 2. Keep the original background and just go for a wider crop.
Aaaand before I forget, I should probably link some background/subject extraction tutorials so here we go:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
In these links, you'll find a myriad of different ways to do extraction, and you can go with whatever works best for you if you decide it's something you want to explore further!!
And to wrap up this long spiel on one single icon, I also want to link some fun textures just in case! I've created an album for you here. All the textures were made by scoobyatemysnax at burnedbreads in case you like them and want some more. ;)
eta: (again) I also just remembered that this guide which talks about light textures and stuff might be useful regarding the shine on her shoulder! It talks about how to build up your light textures (or brushes or whatever you're using) so make them blend in with the subject a ( ... )
Reply
I hope it's okay that I linked quite a number of icons in here, I'll take some out if need, but I welcome all the concrit I can get!
This is all stuff I did last year, I may come back with some of my more recent stuff for concrit but I don't want to overload the comment.
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Reply
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There are some good tutorials out there -- wickdshy's Guide to Working with Less Than Ideal Caps, naginis's Sharpening Guide, and tinebrella's Sharpening Workshop come to mind ( ... )
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The first thing I do is I take the cap and then go:
Filters > Stylize > Diffuse > make sure diffuse is set to Anisotropic. (You can zoom out within the preview to see what the icon will look at a smaller size.)
Then Smart Sharpen (500%, 0.4px you can fiddle with that a bit but I was suggested those settings by a friend and they've mostly worked well so far.)
Which gives you these, which aren't the loveliest I agree.
( ... )
Reply
Reply
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