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→ I've been high, I've been low. I've been yes and I've been oh hell no.

I started making this post about a week ago. I was editing some entries at

mellow_lights and cringed when I saw some of the icons I've made. So I thought, lets reflect and make a list of your best (or rather favorite) and worst icons of your favorite fandoms. Which are Kradam & SPN. This list is mostly for personal use so I can look back and remind myself to never revisit some 'techniques' or to get inspiration when I get stuck. But feel free to click on the cut and see what I've got to say about my own icons.

favorite and worst icons
supernatural
favs

[01-04]

[05-08]

[09-12]

SUPERNATURAL - FAVS

#3 – First time cutting out the boys and slapping them on a different background. I spent literally hours on making this icon and I was very proud of the result. Still really like it.
#6 – Struggled with finding the right coloring of this one, but I like how it turned out.
#11 – I like the bright colors on an otherwise dark icon.
#12 – Something different (for me at least) and it fits the scene, I think.

worst

[01-04]

[05-08]

[09-12]

SUPERNATURAL - WORST

Most of the icons above are from the first few SPN batches I’ve made. Oversharpened, washed out, pixelated, awful and awkward use of textures. Overall just very bad quality. And the text use in #4? Eww.
Coloring screencaps is not my strongest point. In fact, I’m still struggling with every icon I make. I’d like to think I’ve gotten better, tho. Anyway, I promised myself to stay away from too dark screencaps (even if I LOVE the cap) – it will just make an ugly icon and whatever I do, I can’t make it pretty enough.

adam lambert
favs

[01-04]

[05-08]

[09-12]

ADAM LAMBERT - FAVS

#1 – I like the text placement and the original picture was great to work with.
#4 – First time using negative space. A technique I’ve come to love. <3
#6 – In my text experimenting phase. I was getting better at it.
#12 – After I posted the batch I noticed that the hat was not cut out that well D: But I still think it’s an okay icon. Just trying to be creative with textures.

worst

[01-04]

[05-08]

[09-12]

ADAM LAMBERT - WORST

LOL. The first three are from my very first icon batch ever. OMG, what the hell was I thinking? First icons or not, it’s just not acceptable. Bad cutting and horrendous flowers in the first one, ugly coloring and pixels in the second and green!Adam in the third. And then there’s the stupid black border. So glad I came to my senses after a couple of icon posts.
I didn’t know how to sharpen pics back then and lots of my earlier icons look washed out and weird. Thank god I’ve gotten better at using text.

kris allen
favs

[01-04]

[05-08]

[09-12]

KRIS ALLEN - FAVS

#1 – I like the coloring of this icon. And it’s one of my favorite Kris pics.
#4 – Using negative space again.
#8 – Experimenting with different crops to try to keep things interesting.
#12 – Most of the time I’m struggling with finding (and using) the right texture for an icon. Sometimes an icon does not need a texture, but I felt like this one did. After a long search I found a nice texture for this icon and think it turned out pretty well.

worst

[01-04]

[05-08]

[09-12]

KRIS ALLEN - WORST

I have far more ugly Adam icons than I have of Kris. I started iconing Kris later in the season, so I had a little more experience when I started making icons of him. Still found lots of weird looking icons, tho. White splotches from hell in icon #2 & #3. And why is he so yellow in #4 & #12? What happened to his eyes in #5? Human beings don’t have green in their faces (#6). #10 could have been a nice icon if I had paid more attention to the background, which is now all pixelated and not really pretty.

kradam
favs

[01-04]

[05-08]

KRADAM - FAVS

#2 – I’m proud of this coloring – bright and shiny.
#5 – Negative space, yay! :P Also in my text & texture experimenting phase.
#6 – Spent a long time to fit in the text nicely and I just really like this icon. =)

worst

[01-04]

[05-08]

KRADAM - WORST

Again, weird white splotches everywhere! Why of why did I think that looked good? I apparently really liked yellow and thought it looked good on people’s faces. #4 proves my point that coloring screencaps is not one my strongest skills.

CONCLUSION

I've learned a lot in the past year, but there’s still a lot for me to explore and learn.

What I’d love to learn is making animated icons. I’ve tried to before, but it’s too complicated for my lazy brain. But I’m going to try again. Sometime.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

wow , you've improved so fast , i really like your favs icons .. so brilliant and talented
i'm gonna meming this so i get inspiration whenever i see them , thanks alot for doing this :D
it's actullay a great idea like you said "remind myself to never revisit some 'techniques' or to get inspiration when I get stuck"

Ah, glad you think so, bb! :D And you're welcome - it was absolutely fun to make this post - just makes you think about what you're doing and what you could've done differently.

Personally, I think your progress has been ridiculously fast and fantastic. We all start somewhere, honey and I look back at my first posts and wonder "what was I thinking?" Your first cut out (with Sam and Dean) was a success...my first cut out was borderline scary, lol! You even had light and shade in your early icons. I had no idea what I was doing, hehe. ;)

Its lovely to keep learning and I firmly believe in that motto. Animated icons are not difficult. Its all about getting into the swing of it. Some animations are trial and error. I still have days when I start over on an animation...but those are rare. You'll get it. From what I can see you achieve whatever you set your mind to. Just go for it, bb. :D

And I have to tell you, your matte finish icons for Adam are prob my faves. And your work with text is marvelous. :D I need to shop for icons and I need to head to

mellow_lights tomorrow to pick up a new stock of Adam icons. ;)

Aaaww, thank you for all the kind words, Pash! ♥ The great thing about PS and making icons is that there's always new things to learn or experience - it never stops. And I love that!

Oh, I know! I've saved some tutorials for animated icons. And I have an idea on how they're made, but finding the time and energy to really try it is hard these days. Also having trouble on finding good software to make the caps. Could you rec me one? :P

:DD So happy to see you say that you like my text work! It's one of the things that I've worked really hard on, so yep, this makes my day, haha :D

<3

Your worsts look a lot better than my worsts!

Ahaha. Well, thank you, hon! :D

You're welcome!

PRETTTTY

:DDDDD THANK YOU!

First of all, your improvement and progress is fast. Faster than mine. It took me three years to actually find the right colouring for the anime screencaps. So, yes, you're amazing. You improved colouring, used typography and textures better than I do. Negative space <3. I love it.

This is a great post. Makes me want to do one myself. :)

Thank you - I'm glad you think so, Lavinia! :D

I've heard that coloring anime caps is very hard to do - it's completely different than coloring 'real' people, isn't that right? Or is this complete BS? :P I've never tried it, so maybe I'm just misunderstanding. :P

I'm just in love with the negative space technique - makes the icons so interesting! <3

I had fun making this post! Really made me think and yeah, I've gotten better at it pretty fast, but the great thing about this is that there's always more to learn :D

lol. It's a bit hard but not so much because you have to get it just right or the colours will turned out either too blindingly bright or the icon looks like you did nothing at all. It also depends on the colours in the screencaps.

I always thought that real people colouring were harder because you could make their skin tone too washed out or too yellow. Negative space is really great. It gives a sort of mood to the icon or a feeling. Too bad most people filled those up with oodles of textures instead.

Your icons are so amazing and you've grown so fast (what in the space of an American Idol season lol) your favs are beautiful, and everytime you post icons I whimper because I know I am going to delete some old ones to make room for some more of yours.

Your AI ones are my absolutely favorite in the fandom, you have such a smooth way of iconing, and the colors are light and beautiful, and damn you now I am wanting to make space for a Kris and Kradam icon up there <3<3<3

Thank you! :D Ahaha. I've always been interested in photoshop, but never really had the desire to really do something with it. Until Adam & Kris came along. I guess you can blame them that I'm making icons now, lol.

Seriously, your comment makes me blush. It really means a lot to me that you think of my icons that way. So thank you again, bb! <3

LOL Don't you love going through your very first icons & such and going "wooow wtf what I thinking?"

Your icons are gorgeous though & you improved everything rather quickly :)

I'd also love to make animated icons & have a couple of tuts saves.. just never got around to them hahah so much work!

LOL, yep! I was really cringing and WTF'ing all over the place, haha. And to think that I was once very proud of these icons, lol.

Thank you! I'm glad you think so :D

Oh, me too! I also have lots of tuts saved, but man - it's SO much work. I still want to try my hand on the animated icons though.

I love all your faves and some of your 'worsts' too. xD Just a matter of tastes I guess [which is pretty much why I haven't posted my icons yet; I think they're okay but i'm pretty sure everyone else would think they suck. i made the one I'm using now. :p]

I loooove the coloring you use on the SPN icons now; it's so fresh and gorgeous. It's not too outlandlishly colored and it just looks natural - plleeaaseee stick with that. ;] And i also like you don't put text on everything and the unnecesary icon with Sam or Dean written on it in text [duh we're fans, we know their names] or useless textures. That's partly why you're one of my fave icon makers. ;]

Btw what method do you use for cut out icons? [like the number 3 SPN] I've tried it several times and they all turn out as shit. :|

Edited 2010-03-30 02:20 (UTC)

Oh yep, definitely a matter of tast. I should maybe clarify 'worst', lol. With worst I sort of meant icons that are either ugly (IMO) and/or could use some more editing/contrast/different coloring, etc. :P

I happen to think that the icon you're using in the comment above is absolutely beautiful! Smooth, natural coloring and great crop! :D

YAY! I'm so glad to hear you say that! You have no idea how I've been agonizing over my SPN coloring, lol - it's just SO hard to do. After my first three batches I was about to give up, cause it was not worth all the time and frustration, lol. But I kept practising and experimenting and now I finally feel that I've got the hang of it.

I also like the natural look on the icons so don't worry, I'll definitely stick with that ;)

AHAHA, I'm guilty of doing that in the Adam/Kris fandom, tho - I still occasionally write 'Adam' on the icon, haha. When I first began making icons, I thought every icon needed a texture, cause everyone was doing it. I still use textures on almost every icon, but those are more subtle and just to give the icons a more warm and glowing feel. And when the original picture lends itself for it, I sometimes go crazy with textures, but only if it fits the icon. :P

Oh dear. I got to admit that my method is VERY complicated, lol. Or maybe not complicated, rather not very common. I never make it easy for myself - haha. I tried everything, but how I usually do it works best for me. I will get back at you with a mini-tutorial later this week, it's not something I can explain in a few minutes and I need to use screencaps for this! :P

Oh wow thank you! That means so much coming from you! :D <333

I totally get what you mean; I spent hours trying to find a decent coloring for SPN caps one day and finally got something - and it doesn't even work with most caps. The show is just so damn dark and some are just way too dark to even attempt anything with them.

xDD Sometimes it's okay but I hate it when artists have the person's name on the icon on almost every single one; it just bugs me. :p
I think that's how all beginners are! I still definitely consider myself a newbie cause I'm not...fully, I dunno, I just don't think I'm that good yet but even I look back at my earliest icons and want to gag. I deleted most of them. Couldn't bear to look at them. xD

Oh well I'll look forward to that then! Thank you for taking the time to do it! Mainly I just ask cause the way I do it is just plop the texture or whatever on top then use layer masks and erase it around the person but usually that looks kinda...err...wonky? IDK. Can't wait to see your mini-tut! :D

Yep, show is way too dark sometimes! D:

Oh, I know what you mean! :D I used to do that too and sometimes it works, but other times not so much.

Well, herrre is the mini-tut!

I'm using this picture: ADAM.

Step 1
Before I begin I add a second layer which I'll label 'background'. Make sure it's transparent. After that, blow up the picture to 200%.

Step 2
Select the Polygonal Lasso Tool on the toolbar and set the feather to 1px.

Step 3
This is where I'm different than other graphics makers, I guess. The most usual method is cutting out the person, but I cut out the background. I do that because I always make mistakes and it's hard to go back when you're cutting out the person. So I just do it step by step.

Select a part of the background with the lasso tool.

Press delete and you'll get this:

The hair is always the most difficult part. I just ignore the tiny hairs and focus on the more visible parts.

When you've deleted everything but Adam, you'll get this:

Step 4
Resize to 100x100px, add a colored layer or texture on the background layer, color the icon and tada, you're done :D

I hope this is useful for you. If you've got any questions, feel free to ask :D

Oh WOWZA! That is EXTREMELY helpful, thanks so much for taking the time to do this! I'm definitely going to be trying this out and if I ever post icons with this I will be for sure saying it was you who had the ~fabulous idea. xD

Thanks again! <33

\o/ YAY! I'm happy you think it's helpful, bb! :D Hope to see something from you very soon :P

You're welcome!

I love your skills bb!!!!!!!

I'm glad of all you have learned!

Thank you so much, Lizzy *huggles*

JSYK, I haven't forgotten about you! :D I finally have some time to start on your headers tonight. And I have the afternoon off tomorrow so I'm hoping I can finish 'em then. YAY! :D

This is amazing. I am so tempted to do this oh gosh. I have so many icons i look at and go EW omg wtf was i thinking. heh.

You are still possibly my favourite icon-maker of all time.

:D It's really fun to do and it really makes you think about why you're doing certain things. I'd love to see you doing something like this, too. :D

*beams* Thank you so much, Alyssa - it means A LOT to me that you think so <333

omg every single one of your favorites is so incredibly gorgeous, and it's awesome to see how much you've improved. that being said, i really like some of the ones you have in the worst kris section! haha!

gosh i'm so jealous of your skills!

:DD Thank you so much, bb!

LOL! I got to admit that it was harder to find not-so-good Kris icons, haha. I picked those because I thought they could use some more editing or different coloring or something. IDEK. :P

<3

this is a great idea and i enjoyed all your comments. some icons you dont like tho i do like.

thanks for the minitut. i am gonna try it one day.

:D I absolutely loved making this list - it made me think and also be proud of my progress and icons.

You're welcome! I hope you'll find it useful once you've tried it. :D

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