Last Icon Maker Standing IX

[Klio]

Wow, that's a nice phoenix picture... but I agree with you on the text.... that's tricky.

[wimblemimble]

Thanks. One of the big things, aside from it being blurry (I don't see it as much as everyone else does, but I'll take their word) is that it's so plain compared to the other ones.

I always sharpen every image I get when I open it up-- or at the very least see if it will look better when sharpened. And in all honestly, half the time the image looks perfectly fine and blur-free, but I sharpen it a bit and I realize just how blurry it was!

This was my entry --->

I knew the text was hard to read when I sent it in, but I had gotten tired of playing with fonts and really hoped the coloring alone could carry it through without being voted off. *wipes sweat from brow*

I'm still playing with the fonts on this image, because I really adore the coloring on it and I want to keep it. As it is right now, the slanted font is As I Lay Dying. I want the slanted look without it being too scripty, which I've had a hard time in finding. Especially one that will be readable at such a small size-- but I also knew I didn't want to use tiny text under 'Joy' and that 'Joy' alone looked rather... naked.

[xnataliex]

Originally Posted by Klio

A what?
And turning this drawing into the icon took you all of ten minutes? What on earth did you do to it in such a short time? It looks rather more effort than that....

It's literally a case for me ive banging out a few light textures i think will work, duplicating a couple of layers then messing with the overall colour, I've been doing graphic stuff since i was 8 (albeit not always good stuff lol) and it's kinda become a tad routine if u get me? I worked for a company doing graphic design too, so I like this kinda competition as it spices things up...

edit: I will admit the actual searching for an image/coming up with an idea does indeed take far longer than 10 minutes lol x

[griffiegrrl]

Originally Posted by Klio

A what?
In this case, I drew part on paper and took a photograph becaue I don't have a scanner here. The rest was drawn straight in photoshop, just with my touchpad (I don't like using a mouse). it takes some practice, but with some concentration it works, if you don't have to draw too much.





I LOVED this. And sorry for the spelling nit-pick, but when it comes to ancient Greek things.... those pesky Greeks - I know that a Y always looks so much more ancient, but there were still some words they spelled with normal i's....

Anyway - the icon is just magical.




And turning this drawing into the icon took you all of ten minutes? What on earth did you do to it in such a short time? It looks rather more effort than that....

Wow -- that's amazing. I draw much better with a mouse than a touchpad, and I can't even do it that well!

What I was referring to -- a WACOM tablet -- you can see some examples here:
http://www.wacom.com/index2.cfm

They're like touchpads with stylus's that allow you to draw and things on the computer much easier.

And don't worry about the spelling thing -- I totally knew it was supposed to be Sphinx, but for some reason that day it was stuck in my head as Sphynx.

[Kitunen]

Woah, Klio you did that by hand?! That is really really awesome.

griffie I do that a lot too, where a word just gets stuck a certain way in my head...like I always spell "gray" with an "e", even though I'm American...

[Klio]

Kit... I did PART by hand, and some of that on paper, and I used a digital picture of that..... I always try to do as little by hand as possible, but it's often faster to adjust a few things..... with the dragon, it wasn't clear where the tail had to go until the initial was in place, so the upper third of the dragon is drawn by hand, and some of the drawinsg for the animation were done my hand, too.

I try to economise, but i can't pretend that my entries are a quick job. I wish I knoew how to do that - I am really envious of people who don't fiddle with their icons for hours!

I guess this week's entry might just be a little faster. But at the moment I am suspicious of what I have come up with so far - somehow an icon that takes less than half an hour doesn't feel right.

I hope I can get used to that eventually.

[CathyWeasley]

Originally Posted by Rell

Sometimes I think that some contradictory comments are due to differences in computers. I know that the computes at school make graphics appear different than my computer at home. And when I use the macs at school, there is an even bigger difference than from the PCs

That's useful to know - thanks Rell!
I like to read all the comments on all the icons and I was getting a little perplexed!

[griffiegrrl]

Nadia -- Does "blank" mean a white background? Like is it ok if we have a colored/lightly textured background?

[Nadia]

Originally Posted by griffiegrrl

Nadia -- Does "blank" mean a white background? Like is it ok if we have a colored/lightly textured background?

No, it doesn't have to be a white background. You can use textures and gradients. What I'm looking for is "simple" icons, so as long as you keep it that way, then it's okay

[Kimagine]

I think I should not have sent mine in so soon...

[Nadia]

You can send a new icon

[Hysteria]

Ooooh thank goodness! Mine was the dodgy looking Hedwig one lol. I know the glow all around didn't look quite right but I did it in around 5 minutes and was rapidly running out of time. Will hopefully have something better for round 2!

[leah49]

I like the "dodgy" Hedwig one. Heck, I wouldn't even call it dodgy. It looked nice. I like things a little plainer than most.

[Kimagine]

I won't have time to submit another icon, and I won't be around for voting this weekend. I cannot wait to see what you all come up with!!

My entry will be the truly icky one that gets all the votes off, and deservedly so.

[Klio]

Well, we'll see, Kim... I won't believe it unless I see it that you get voted off that early!


Hysteria, I like the owl icon, too. The lack of time may account for a few details that could have done with some improvement (that would have been very time-consuming, fiddly photo-manipulation work for rather small details), but the overall effect was lovely. I liked the icon, and I hope that came across in my feedback.

[Lisa_Turpin]

How much "blank space" of simple are we talking about? Like 50% or more of the icon cannot be the student's body? Or are you just looking for "simple" in general?

EDIT: Just to get an idea, would something like this count?:

[sugar_quill]

This was mine:

I had lot of trouble with the text. Nothing I tried seemed to work...

Thanks for all the comments.

Originally Posted by Rell

11) How lovely. I love the glowy "pure" feeling to it. The background is great, and I wonder if you made it yourself from brushes, or free drawing, or from some sort of texture. The text is a bit too pixelly.

Thanks. I used some of the default Photoshop brushes to make the background.

[xnataliex]

I'm such a geek Im looking forward to coming home from work tomorrow so i can see the table lol

[Klio]

LOL... same here.

And with this topic, for once, I expect that for the very first time there won't be any reason whatsoever to call my entry an 'odd one out'. No high concept, no weird experiments... nothing. Just a normal icon.

I am curious how the 'Klio doing a normal icon' experiment will turn out. *shudder*

[wimblemimble]

I've still not finshed mine. >.> I'm having difficulties with this one, too. I'm pretty sure I'll get voted out this week. I keep thinking it would look better with text and then I remember I'm not allowed to use it. Bah!