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Welcome to the icon session thread! I am ignited, sadly known as Stef, icon maker and resident angsty fic reader and writer. On LJ though, I'm mostly into the icon field (though, wanting to write fic more). I was most pleased that circe_tigana and anniesj, equally lovely ladies, asked me to participate with a icons related post, although slightly terrified at the same time. Considering I'm really of the laid-back mind. I don't get neurotic or obsessive when it comes to doing them, but I do have my quirks. At the risk of boring the masses, I'll shut up now and try to provide information and am also available to questions. Now, onto the rest!
Also to note, some of the information comes from my old icon tutorials on account of explaining it better originally -- and not wanting to mess up and ramble this time. Not to worry -- this whole thing is certainly not a rehash of old material. Much new info.
Disclaimer: the following opinions are my own and should be taken as personal opinions. Don't worry -- I won't bash things outright. I like certain techniques and dislike others. s'all. These are suggestions and so on. No facts, just suggestions. Feel free to ignore me! :)
Outline
The Basics: Programs
Etiquette
Text
Do's & Don'ts
Techniques
Links & Resources
Icon Q & A
The Basics: Programs
Programs
Two of the following programs are mainstays in the icon making community (art? Something that doesn't sound so cult-ish?): Adobe Photoshop (with Adobe Image Ready for animations) and Jasc Paint Shop Pro (with Jasc Animation Shop for animations). I won't get into which program is better: they both work equally well for me. The current versions -- Adobe Photoshop CS & Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 -- each run for about $650 and $90, respectively. So you ask, how do I get my hands on them without breaking my wallet? You can either download the trial versions that miss some features, or you can do what many others have: download them off a file-sharing network. Whaaat? Like you haven't! ;)
Nicknames on the 'net
PS = Photoshop
PSP = Paint Shop Pro
Microsoft Paint = Bad
DO NOT MAKE ICONS IN MICROSOFT PAINT. EVER. It tends to save things funny, and not to mention, text doesn't have anti-alias. That's something I'll get to later. Rest assured, it is not wise to use Microsoft Paint to make icons, so don't!
Etiquette
Crediting
If it's asked, please credit the icon maker in your keywords. Want to learn how? After you upload an icon, see the text box there? You can put a description in there so that you know what icon you're using in the drop-down list when posting or giving a comment. So, there's enough space to stick in the icon maker's name. After your description, you can put the icon maker's name and then click 'Save Settings'.
Copying = Bad
There are many icon tutorials out there, a fair share describing a process of how to do one particular icon. The purpose of this is to show techniques to use, not to copy the icon outright. Try out some things. Like the text? Or the lighting? Try it out. Don't make carbon copies. Of course, no one can copy a style, but it looks quite obvious when you're doing icons and they resemble (insert person here)'s too much.
LJ-cut numerous icons
I say this on behalf of those of us stuck on dial-up. Post a preview of your icons if you wish, but 20 icons without an LJ-cut makes me growl.
Small text
If you're curious as to what the text says on an icon, please, feel free to ask the person who made it. But getting angry about it is not always the wisest choice. Naturally, one might be angry if they want to know what it says, or that they can't read it, but irrationally yelling at the icon maker doesn't always go well. Or at least, doesn't for me. But that's bias really. ;) Nine times out of ten, ask and you shall get your answer. :)
Text
Anti-alias -- Know when to use it
Anti-alias is your friend. I cannot say this often enough, as I've seen it used strangely the most. Check out this on the toolbar:
Photoshop
&
Paint Shop Pro
Small fonts
When you are using a pixel font like Silkscreen or 04b (usually sized around 6pt or 8pt), make sure the anti-alias is set to 'None'. Pixel fonts are meant to be seen sharp and clear, not blurry. Blurry is not good. It looks bad. Here's a comparison:
Bad
Good
Big fonts
When you're using a normal sized font (not a pixel font), turn anti-alias on. Otherwise the font looks too rough around the edges.
Bad
Good
Spacing and look of text
By default, text in Photoshop & PSP is usually spaced largely between. The space between the text vertically is called leading. If a word has another word beneath it, it can look very far away. Plus, with all the statement icons being made, little one line zingers, take note: You can make a funny icon even more funny if the icon looks good.
Bad
Good
Small text: the great debate*
The purpose of small text. Hmm. That is the question. Some loathe it, others love it. I myself love it. Why, you ask, do icon makers put small text that cannot be read on icons? Because the text is not meant to be read. It's stuck on there to add a bit of decoration. Y'know how sometimes on collages there's small little things there -- not necessarily text but random eccentricities. It just gives it that look. Or for example, a professional poster or photo layout. Heck, even a movie poster. Yes, it's meant to be read on a movie poster, but... y'know, it make it look nice.
...All right, I can't explain it. You can stick more text in there. The words don't take up all of the icon space. You can secretly give reference to things people don't know about. But, in short, most of the time -- or at least, speaking on my part: Small text is more often than not, not meant to be read. :) It'd make sense to just use a brush of lines or something... but every icon differs, so they might want random text and a different shape to the text than just a brush. I have no idea.
* Please don't kill me. It's just how I view the matter. I'm weird and random, and by no means advocating a particular way. Big text, small text, whatever floats your boat. ;) It's all good and it's all up to you!
Do's & Don'ts
Aspect Ratio
Bad
Good
What's the problem with the first icon? For one thing, it's been squished horizontally. Cordy looks very gaunt, tall and narrow. It looks weird. The right icon is correct, as that's exactly how the image, and she, are supposed to look like. If you download screencaps or images that make the subjects look too squat or too skinny, for the love of puppets, either fix them in the Image Size box (aspect ratio, just uncheck the proportions box and tweak the Height and Width values as you desire) or DELETE them.
For a good tutorial on proper aspect ratio, check out dtissagirl's tutorial here.
Distinguishing Text from the Icon
Sure, there are pitfalls when it comes to this. But this goes hand in hand with not using Microsoft Paint. For Microsoft Paint's text comes out evil looking, and it doesn't have a 'shadow' feature. Or at least another feature to help distinguish text. What I mean is that you should not merely place your text on an icon and call it a good day. What if it blends in? It doesn't look right, and it makes it hard to read. The point of placing text is for people to read it, and connect with the subject of the text, and the image.
Bad
There is nothing that makes the text distinguishable, so it merely looks as if it is done by an amateur and...well, just plain old boring.
But, don't distinguish it too weirdly
However, you really don't want to go overboard. A common remedy to make text stand out is to add shadowing. While that's all nice and dandy, remember to fix your shadow values. Don't overload on the shadow:
Bad
And don't make the shadow too far away. Right there, the distance of shadow is set on 5. I usually put it on 3 or 0. The more far away the shadow is, the more it looks separate from the image, and too 3D-ish. Evil!
Over sharpening
You can sharpen the image if your original picture is too blurry. Tip: if it comes out too sharp? Go to Edit, then Fade Sharpen after you first sharpened it. Or create a new layer (a copy of the image you want to sharpen), sharpen that one, then change the opacity of the sharpened layer. You can change the value to, let's say 50%, so it's only half as sharp. Very handy.
Bad
Brushes: Good, but don't make them too there
Brushes are great. They're handy and ingenious. However, adding them and letting them sit there distracts a person from the image. You don't simply put a few brushes and be done with it. You erase, change the opacity, blend them in, soften them, lots of things. For the most part, artists use their paint to mix with others, to blend and work to create a brilliant collaboration. They don't usually stick the paint on and leave it. :)
Bad
Good
Don't overuse brushes or fonts
You like your grid brush? Spiffy. You like the Porcelain font? Also spiffy. But, damn it, don't use it for every. single. icon! Please! I know I sound evil, but trust me on this. I myself am guilty of using fonts over and over, of which I'm trying to stop. Don't fall into the same trap.
Icon Quality
No, I don't mean how good it is. I mean how much it's optimized. The lower the optimization, the higher chances of the icon coming out blurry, sharpened, pixel-y and plain old bleh looking. I usually save my icons at the 12 optimization level in Photoshop, but I'll use 10 if I'm pressed for space. These days I tend to save my icons in PNG format as it keeps the size good and the icons stay crystal clear. Plus, PSP makes JPGs look wacky, at least, for me.
Bad
Good
Don't substitute the funny for the coolness
This can be pure bias on my part, so I apologize in advance. Making an icon that pokes fun at a character, plot, whatever? Cool. But just because you're doing a joke, at least try to make the icon look good. Don't just slap some text and animation. Unless that's the point. But otherwise, yep, you might get laughs, but I bet you'll get even more laughs if the icon itself looks pretty. Yeah, the 'pretty' shouldn't be as important as the joke, but it sure does work well.
Mini-movies: use for a point, not just random movement
A mini-movie of someone walking. A mini-movie of someone smiling. Err. I can't really comment on these sorts of things as I haven't done much. Yet, it's nice to see a mini-movie in an icon of something cool, and not just a person nodding or picking their nose. It also helps if the animation transitions from the end to the beginning well. Another cool thing is when the animation blends into the icon background and isn't just stuck in a box. Otherwise it simply looks like picture in picture TV.
Expand your horizons!
Try to do obscure episodes -- think about your cropping and cutting. Perhaps you'd want to do a picture of a character touching someone's shoulder instead of simply them kissing. Or just an episode that you liked, but no one else did. In any case, don't give into the conventional mold.
Brief no-no & how to fix it
(This is an excerpt from first icon tutorial: although it is for Photoshop 7, the basic gist can be applied to Paint Shop Pro as well)
What's wrong with this icon? A number of things: no border, text spaced too largely, nothing to distinguish the text, font too big and overpowering the image.
To create a border, there are two things that I do: start a new rectangle shape and rasterize it, then select a box to the edges OR start a new layer and select a box. Both of them end up looking like this:
With that box selected, press Delete and it'll get rid of the box in the center. Now you have a border.
To fix the leading between the text check out this box on the Text palette:
Lower the number to make the text closer, raise the number to space it out more.
To add a outline to the text, go to Layers > Layer Style > Stroke:
Make sure the Stroke is set to 1, otherwise it'll be too large and look aura-y.
Now, let's take those quibbles and fix it:
I added a border, changed the font (to make it smaller and not overpowering), lowered the font leading, distinguished the font from the picture (by adding an outline)
Techniques
Experimenting with layers
One of the cool things about using these programs is the various layers as well as settings for those layers that you could use to achieve art. Here's an example. A base of John Lennon from Help!
Now to fuck around with it. ;) Let's put a new layer on top of that, and fill in the layer with a dark blue color (#110A6A) to be specific. Then, set that layer on Exclusion.
This is the handy Exclusion trick. You can put a myriad of colors on top and set them on different layer settings -- just try them out. Coupling layers together with different colors and settings can achieve some pretty effects. For example, put a new layer on top of that Exclusion one and fill in the layer with a gradient.
Now, set that gradient layer on Hue.
Ain't that pretty? Here's another example. Using the same base image...
Now, put a new layer on top of that and fill it with a tan color (#E2D5C0)
Set that layer on Multiply. Duplicate that layer 3 times. And you get...
This. More of a darkened quality. Try out more color combinations on your own! :)
Experimenting with stock images
And I say this for stock images? They rock. You can add them to icons for texture, for visuals, anything. Y'know that burned paper effect on edges you see on icons, for example? Those come from stock images. Not just burned paper, but tons of other things.
Taking our base picture again:
Now I shall add a stock image as a new layer. This time it's a stock image of clouds hanging low over a city.
I duplicate that layer, then set the top most layer on Color (and change the opacity to 50%). The bottom cloud picture layer is then set to Multiply. Here's the result:
Isn't that cool? :) As for stock images to use, I suggest those that have different colors -- I myself tend to stick to pictures of skies and weather, along with old items like burned paper and old photos. If you have a stock image that's too busy (like a rock with many crags) it might not look as good than something that's not too detailed.
Also, change the layer settings, erase bits of the stock photo, whatever, but don't just leave the stock photo as it is. Do something to it! Otherwise, it's just there. Which isn't very good. ;)
Don't be afraid to experiment with layer settings and stock images
The more varied, the merrier! Here's a few examples of various icons I did utilizing that stock photo:
Here are other examples, using different types of stock photos:
Stock
photo
of flames
Stock
photo
of an old paper
Stock
background
Stock
photo
of a window
against rain
For some good stock photo sites, please look further down in the Links & Resources in this post. :)
Tutorials
Want to learn some general knowledge for icons? Then be sure to check these links.
My own
ignited: Stef's Very Vague and Basic Icon Tutorial: Part I
ignited: Stef's Very Vague and Basic Icon Tutorial: Part II -- Effects
ignited: Stef's Very Vague and Basic Icon Tutorial: Part III -- No-no's
ignited: Stef's Very Vague and Basic Icon Tutorial: Part IV -- More no-no's
General
_jems_: Basic Photoshop tutorial
crumblingwalls: How to make a mini-movie icon
crumblingwalls: What NOT to do on icons
dtissagirl: Aspect ratio for dummies
dtissagirl: Icon musings -- do's and don'ts
inexorablyhere: Exclusion layer tutorial
icon_tutorial: Muted colors
icon_tutorial: PSP 8 workspace guide
quebelly: Icon cropping tutorial
saava: Icon advice -- do's and don'ts
saava: Icon Tutorial Part 1
saava: Icon Tutorial Part 2
saava: Text tutorial
stronglikemusic: Gradient tutorial
teh_indy: Coloring tutorial
tlace: Icon tricks & tips #1: smooth skin
Links & Resources
This is by no means a complete list of resources to use. I am well aware that there are others. However, this is a list of many resources that I myself have used time and time again. I stuck mostly with just general icon things instead of sticking to fandoms, as I'm sure there are many more various fandoms than those I stick to. This is just a list to get you started. :) Be sure to check these links out!
Movies - Promotional
- Counting Down
- Internet Movie Database
- Out Now
- Rotten Tomatoes
Screencaps
- cap_it
- At the Stars
- Secret Obsession
Scans
- All Star Online
- celebrity-scans.com
- Daydreaming
- FanBolt
- Fever of Fate
- High Quality Pictures
- Restless
- Scantastic
- Sparkling Diamonds
- Starnickel
Stock Images
- Abnormis
- Deviant Art: Labyrinth
- FreeFoto
- Getty Images
- queerstock.com
- stock.xchng
- Webshots
Brushes (Photoshop & PSP)
- 1greeneye.net
- The Anti.Brush
- DALI
- Digital Bristle
- Evenstar Brushes
- The Fifth Muse
- Insomniac Brushes
- Misguided Buddha
- Misshapen
- Touchstone's Art
- VBrush
Brushes (Icon-sized)
- 100x100_brushes
- calixa [1]
- crumblingwalls [all]
- dorkyduck [1] [2]
- dtissagirl [1] [2]
- oxoniensis [1]
- saava [1]
- teh_indy [1] [2] [3] [4]
Gradients
- crumblingwalls [all]
Backgrounds & Textures
- Daydreaming
- Infinitfan
- Rest In Pieces
- Tre-xtures
Fonts
- A1 Fonts
- Acid Fonts
- Aenigma Fonts
- DaFont
- Font Addicts
- Font Magic
- Fontfreak
- Free Handwriting Fonts
- Larabie Fonts
- Who Fonted?
Resources Links
- _jems_: here
- dtissagirl: here
- ignited: here
- teh_indy: here
- Blue Vertigo
Icon Q & A
This is the big, spiffy part. This is the part where you give the questions and I'll try my best to give answers. Like a particular thing? Wondering about something? How to do a certain technique? Ask away! I'm very easygoing when it comes to it: I'm not psychotic about icons. Make or break, I don't care, if I get bored I just move on to reading porn as per the usual routine. Whaaat? ;) Anyhoo, go ahead and ask me an icon related question! Please try to be as concise as possible, like asking a specific thing. The more concise you are, and perhaps able to show me an example, the better I can answer your question. :) I shall be showing examples to things for this part, so if you want to see how something's done, ask awaaaay!
For reference, if you'd like to ask about something regarding an icon I've done, you can check out my icon posts or my icon site, Vitality.
Example:
Q: How do you do that burned paper effect?
A: I get a stock photo of burned paper (try searching for 'old paper' or 'burned paper' on (Getty Images) and then put it as a new layer on the icon. I move the burned edges of the paper layer to the edges of the icons, then proceed to erase the bits I don't want, leaving the burned edges on, like this icon:
Go ahead, comment and ask! Don't make me bring out the sheep, yo.
In conclusion, I hope this thread has been of some use. Once again, I'd like to thank anniesj and circe_tigana for letting me participate in Tigannie*Con. All donations of gay werewolf wizards and deceased skinny & spiritual guitarists may be left at the door. ;)