It was the best of icons, it was the worst of icons
I was called out by casett for failing to choose my least and most fave icons that I made during 2010 after I sort of badgered her to choose her faves...and she's right. So here are my picks:
Most Faves
1. Everything. This is my very fave of everything I made this year. The image is crisp, the coloring is exactly what I intended as I made it. Normally I fight the icons, fuzting with layers endlessly to try to get what I'm picturing in my head onto the screen. This was a charmed icon where it did exactly what I wanted as I made it. Also? Hot, naked Sam in bed with hot, naked Madison. That episode ripped my heart out; this moment is the calm before the storm.
2. Concept. I'm a representational maker rather than a conceptual one; I'm literal in my images. I've been trying to develop a conceptual eye and sensibility but mostly, I haven't. I sat down with this cap, thinking I was making a completely different icon that focused on the symmetry and geometry of his pod. I'm still not certain how I got to this icon but I love the suggestion of his "throne", reduced to its simplest elements. It's not entirely conceptual but it IS outside the norm for me.
3. Colors. I stink - absolutely stink! - at outdoors shot icons. I just never know what to do with them. This cap, however, called to me. I like the crop, with its hint of the Impala, and the fall coloring (totally not what the original shot had), the water feature suggested by the reflected tree in the background...there's a lot going on in what I perceive as a quiet, "good morning" icon. Also? I like the depth of the icon. It has foreground (Impala) elements, midground elements (Dean, tree), and background elements (other tree, water, gray sky). Depth of field makes the most interesting scenery icons but I rarely achieve it.
4. Light & Character. The play of shadows on Crowley's face and his glower speak of evil. I think it captures the danger he represents, no matter how he might have helped divert the Apocalypse in S5. Looking at this, I'm not surprised he turned out to be a Big Bad in S6.
5. Crop. Such a simple icon but I like the sense that the zombies are pushing to get out. The crop makes the icon for me.
Other MFs: Obviously, I like faces.
Least Faves
1. I've been working on my skills in creating negative space that isn't there in the original cap. In this case, the foreground is made by me. In my excitement over the way the new image emphasized how alone Dean is in this moment, I kind of lost Dean. I needed to adjust coloring & lighting to bring the focus back to him. As is, it looks like a muddy, low contrast mess. The eye travels over it with nothing to make it stop and see.
2. I was creating a background as an alternative to relying on textures made by someone else. (Sometimes I feel like my icons are made half by me and half by a talented texture maker.) I wanted the icon, a LIMS entry, to be *mine.* I spent a lot of time choosing the exact colors I wanted, how they'd be arranged to imply Leia is emerging from one side of a barrier to the other, and futzing with the text -- and never once noticed how out of focus Leia is. Doh!
3. See my above comment for how I stink at coloring outdoor icons. I really wanted to capture the horror of the legless zombie from the pilot of The Walking Dead. I couldn't decide if the grass should be bright as a contrast to the horror of the zombie or dead-looking like the zombie. Looks to me like I did both: it's a lifeless green that's too kelly green to be dead. I don't like the coloring and I think the amazing effect of her flailing femurs is completely lost. It doesn't have any kind of mood. Then the text I tacked on is trite AND poorly executed. The trite is especially wrong as this was a very creative zombie. That text needs to be on one of the shuffling, upright zombies as it's more cliched. There's nothing about the icon that I like.
4. The coloring on this drove me batty. I could choose to make the dead girl's coloring appropriately pale OR I could make her sister's hand properly colored. I tried masking the parts but was never satisfied with the look. In the end I released it but the colors are wretched. The crop is awkward. Blergh.
5. I wanted so badly to make a stock yoga icon that conveyed the sense of peace I get from yoga and highlighted the beauty of yoga. I love the cap I used but I never found a crop I liked. The composition feels awkward, which is the exact opposite of what I set out to do.
Other LFs
Most Faves
1. Everything. This is my very fave of everything I made this year. The image is crisp, the coloring is exactly what I intended as I made it. Normally I fight the icons, fuzting with layers endlessly to try to get what I'm picturing in my head onto the screen. This was a charmed icon where it did exactly what I wanted as I made it. Also? Hot, naked Sam in bed with hot, naked Madison. That episode ripped my heart out; this moment is the calm before the storm.
2. Concept. I'm a representational maker rather than a conceptual one; I'm literal in my images. I've been trying to develop a conceptual eye and sensibility but mostly, I haven't. I sat down with this cap, thinking I was making a completely different icon that focused on the symmetry and geometry of his pod. I'm still not certain how I got to this icon but I love the suggestion of his "throne", reduced to its simplest elements. It's not entirely conceptual but it IS outside the norm for me.
3. Colors. I stink - absolutely stink! - at outdoors shot icons. I just never know what to do with them. This cap, however, called to me. I like the crop, with its hint of the Impala, and the fall coloring (totally not what the original shot had), the water feature suggested by the reflected tree in the background...there's a lot going on in what I perceive as a quiet, "good morning" icon. Also? I like the depth of the icon. It has foreground (Impala) elements, midground elements (Dean, tree), and background elements (other tree, water, gray sky). Depth of field makes the most interesting scenery icons but I rarely achieve it.
4. Light & Character. The play of shadows on Crowley's face and his glower speak of evil. I think it captures the danger he represents, no matter how he might have helped divert the Apocalypse in S5. Looking at this, I'm not surprised he turned out to be a Big Bad in S6.
5. Crop. Such a simple icon but I like the sense that the zombies are pushing to get out. The crop makes the icon for me.
Other MFs: Obviously, I like faces.
Least Faves
1. I've been working on my skills in creating negative space that isn't there in the original cap. In this case, the foreground is made by me. In my excitement over the way the new image emphasized how alone Dean is in this moment, I kind of lost Dean. I needed to adjust coloring & lighting to bring the focus back to him. As is, it looks like a muddy, low contrast mess. The eye travels over it with nothing to make it stop and see.
2. I was creating a background as an alternative to relying on textures made by someone else. (Sometimes I feel like my icons are made half by me and half by a talented texture maker.) I wanted the icon, a LIMS entry, to be *mine.* I spent a lot of time choosing the exact colors I wanted, how they'd be arranged to imply Leia is emerging from one side of a barrier to the other, and futzing with the text -- and never once noticed how out of focus Leia is. Doh!
3. See my above comment for how I stink at coloring outdoor icons. I really wanted to capture the horror of the legless zombie from the pilot of The Walking Dead. I couldn't decide if the grass should be bright as a contrast to the horror of the zombie or dead-looking like the zombie. Looks to me like I did both: it's a lifeless green that's too kelly green to be dead. I don't like the coloring and I think the amazing effect of her flailing femurs is completely lost. It doesn't have any kind of mood. Then the text I tacked on is trite AND poorly executed. The trite is especially wrong as this was a very creative zombie. That text needs to be on one of the shuffling, upright zombies as it's more cliched. There's nothing about the icon that I like.
4. The coloring on this drove me batty. I could choose to make the dead girl's coloring appropriately pale OR I could make her sister's hand properly colored. I tried masking the parts but was never satisfied with the look. In the end I released it but the colors are wretched. The crop is awkward. Blergh.
5. I wanted so badly to make a stock yoga icon that conveyed the sense of peace I get from yoga and highlighted the beauty of yoga. I love the cap I used but I never found a crop I liked. The composition feels awkward, which is the exact opposite of what I set out to do.
Other LFs