(no subject)
Okay, wow, big time lapse. Anyway, first of all, thanks to all of you who nommed/voted for me at magicawards and besticonmaker!!! It means a lot!
Second of all, icons.
GLEE
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
DR WHO
09.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
MISC TV
legend of the seeker, lost, v, supernatural, skins
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
RANDOM STUFF
the godfather, inglorious basterds, marion cotillard
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Finally, after all this time, I'm actually getting to the Q+A. Thanks for your questions, 461 members! :D
General Questions
What do you look for in pictures to icon?
There are two parts to me choosing an image to icon (it's a pretty extensive process :P)
1. Finding a cap/image/idea that I'm excited about. When I say idea, I mean an idea for a composition or whatever. Most of the time I spend a fair amount of time on an icon. Usually it's upwards of about forty-five minutes, sometimes it takes a couple of days... it depends. But because I usually spend a lot of time on it, if it's an image that I don't care about, then I'll probably scrap it five minutes in.
2. Technical stuff. There are certain types of caps/images that I prefer over others:
A. LIGHTING. I more or less don't give a second thought to caps that aren't lit well. That doesn't mean caps that have crazy/amazing/whatever lighting, but just ones that are workable. I won't go into a whole thing about lighting (seeing as that's what I do at uni most of the time), but here's a few examples:
good good good good good good / bad bad bad bad
Remember, this, to me, is good/bad lighting. Some people might look at those and go WHAT! THAT'S TERRIBLE even if I put it in the good pile. If you want to know why i put each cap where, ask and I'll give you the l-d.
B. MID-SHOTS. I don't know what it is with me and the mid shot, but I can't get enough of them. Close-ups are too limiting, wide shots are too limiting, but a good mid-shot can turn into anything. Don't get me wrong, I still icon the other stuff, but I prefer mid-shots.
C. BLAND COLOURS. This is where you're probably going ~what? I know, I make bright icons, but I prefer to start from really neutral bases. In fact, lately I've been doing more and more colouring of black and white pics (my favorite icon of all time started as a black/white picture). I figure that as long as the lighting is good, I can add the colours in later. Going back to A, if the lighting is bad, the icon will most likely be bad.
Favourite method of colouring?
Short answer: don't have one. Long answer: I have no set method for making icons, and so every time I make one I always do different things. Essentially one particular colouring will only work on one image, and so every time I open photoshop I start from scratch.
Whose textures do you use?
I use brushes much more than I use textures, but when I do use textures I use a lot of my own. I might share them someday, for now I'm too lazy. The only other places that I get textures from is blueymcphluey, ex-posed.com and as of late lostandtaken.com.
What is the most important thing to you when making an icon?
That it looks good. lol. That might not always be the case (in fact, more often than not, it isn't), but you know... On a more technical level, I usually like to make sure that there's interesting textures (not the actual textures that you put on an icon, but the overall feel of it.. if that makes sense), interesting colours and colour variation, etc. I guess I don't worry so much about the feel/emotion in a scene anymore.. because often times the emotion of a scene and what I want to do don't match up, so you know, I mess with that.
What do you believe makes your icons unique?
I really don't know. That's never really something that I think about when I icon, not any more at least. I used to sit down and think 'Now, how am I going to go crazy today' - I did that for like, two months and it didn't help me so much. Now I just sit down and make whatever it is that comes to mind. I don't really try to do crazy colours or anything, I guess that's just how my brain functions. :P
How do you feel your iconmaking has bettered you as a film-maker?
Two ways. Firstly it's made me very aware of what a good frame is, and so when I'm watching on the moniter or on playback, I can tell a well composed frame - and a frame that is useable - from one that isn't. It might seem like the minutest of details, but it makes all the difference, and I think it sort of lifts a film from 'student' level to something else..
Second of all, messing around with photoshop has helped me to understand colours in relation to each other, which helps SO SO SO SO MUCH when it comes to colour grading.
When did you first get started in iconning?
About.. 2 and a half years ago I think? But that was batch editing. Pretty boring stuff.
Do you think you'll be iconning in 10 years or is it just a phase?
Probably not. It's not that I think it's just a phase, but I've just finished a film, and I've had next to no time to eat, let alone make icons. Assuming that I keep on going in the industry, then time-wise I'm going to be limited. Besides, I guess you kind of have to prioritize. I'd prefer to have a career than make icons. And you know, when I wasn't able to do it because I was on set, I didn't really miss it either... so yeah.
Post a few examples of the style you intend to achieve in your icons (either icons made by you or other people)
Only a few?
What's your favorite color(s), and does it influence your icons? / Are you drawn to pictures heavy on that color or do you try to bring it out that color in the images you use anyway - does your favorite color show up more often in your icons than it would otherwise do?
My favorite colours change every week. Yellow, aqua, pink, purple, green... that's basically the whole colour spectrum! :P Does it influence my icons? Yeah. Because I like those particular colours, I like using them, and I like looking at them, so I guess they turn up a fair bit.
In terms of colouring caps, I think I mentioned this before, but I prefer to use bland caps and then bring in my own colour, as opposed to using the colours that these poor people have worked so hard to give me. :P Legend of the seeker is maybe the exception to that, because I feel like a bad person if I mess with those caps too much.
Do you prefer iconning indoors or outdoors scenes?
This is going to sound really contradictory because Lost is one of my favorite shows to icon, but indoor scenes. Why? Because usually they're lit much better because it's a much more controllable environment. I love the colours of the outdoors, but if you haven't gathered so far, lighting is a deal breaker for me. There are exclusions to this rule (legend of the seeker is more or less all outdoors and every shot is amazing),
Do you post all or most of the icons you make, or only your favorites?
Only my favorites. With any batch, usually I'll have 100-400 rejects. Some of them are just variations, others are just icons that I didn't like. In an ideal world then I would wait 6 months between posts and then only post the amazing ones. I'm not a fan of posting just good/so-so/bad icons. Have done it in the past, don't want to do it anymore... but if you see above, I kind of have... so whatever.
Is there any show/movie you think are more fun to icon, for some reason?
Anything with Marion Cotillard. Typical, right? :P But the reason that I enjoy iconning her so much is that she has such a versatile face -- the type of face that you can really do amazing things with, even if it means that you have to photoshop it to death. So those icons are always fun for me. My idea of fun might be a bit different to most.
In terms of shows/movies... Ab Fab is pretty fun to icon, because I know every scene backwards and I always get a kick out of every funny bit in there. I actually make a fair few Ab Fab icons, but I never end up posting them.
What do you think is easiest to achieve: good negative space or a good close crop? And what do you think looks best (close crop or negative space)?
That's a hard one. For me personally, I think it's easier to achieve good negative space as opposed to a close crop. Like I said before, I struggle to work with really close caps, and so I don't really do the close crop thing... ever. In terms of other people's icons, I love close crops - mainly because I can't do them too well. :P I think when done well, they look amazing, but I guess I kind of feel lazy just cropping an image close, colouring it, then posting it.
PART II, with the actual tutorials and stuff, is COMING SOON!
LAST THING! SPAM ME WITH CAPS (especially from the following):
glee (especially quinn/dianna agron and/or puck/mark salling), lost (jack, JULIET, etc), skins, misfits, supernatural (dean!), LEGEND OF THE SEEKER, doctor who (eleven.. because he's cool) and other cool things. I need some good caps to work with, now that I have some free time on my hands!
Second of all, icons.
GLEE
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
DR WHO
09.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
MISC TV
legend of the seeker, lost, v, supernatural, skins
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
RANDOM STUFF
the godfather, inglorious basterds, marion cotillard
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Finally, after all this time, I'm actually getting to the Q+A. Thanks for your questions, 461 members! :D
General Questions
What do you look for in pictures to icon?
There are two parts to me choosing an image to icon (it's a pretty extensive process :P)
1. Finding a cap/image/idea that I'm excited about. When I say idea, I mean an idea for a composition or whatever. Most of the time I spend a fair amount of time on an icon. Usually it's upwards of about forty-five minutes, sometimes it takes a couple of days... it depends. But because I usually spend a lot of time on it, if it's an image that I don't care about, then I'll probably scrap it five minutes in.
2. Technical stuff. There are certain types of caps/images that I prefer over others:
A. LIGHTING. I more or less don't give a second thought to caps that aren't lit well. That doesn't mean caps that have crazy/amazing/whatever lighting, but just ones that are workable. I won't go into a whole thing about lighting (seeing as that's what I do at uni most of the time), but here's a few examples:
good good good good good good / bad bad bad bad
Remember, this, to me, is good/bad lighting. Some people might look at those and go WHAT! THAT'S TERRIBLE even if I put it in the good pile. If you want to know why i put each cap where, ask and I'll give you the l-d.
B. MID-SHOTS. I don't know what it is with me and the mid shot, but I can't get enough of them. Close-ups are too limiting, wide shots are too limiting, but a good mid-shot can turn into anything. Don't get me wrong, I still icon the other stuff, but I prefer mid-shots.
C. BLAND COLOURS. This is where you're probably going ~what? I know, I make bright icons, but I prefer to start from really neutral bases. In fact, lately I've been doing more and more colouring of black and white pics (my favorite icon of all time started as a black/white picture). I figure that as long as the lighting is good, I can add the colours in later. Going back to A, if the lighting is bad, the icon will most likely be bad.
Favourite method of colouring?
Short answer: don't have one. Long answer: I have no set method for making icons, and so every time I make one I always do different things. Essentially one particular colouring will only work on one image, and so every time I open photoshop I start from scratch.
Whose textures do you use?
I use brushes much more than I use textures, but when I do use textures I use a lot of my own. I might share them someday, for now I'm too lazy. The only other places that I get textures from is blueymcphluey, ex-posed.com and as of late lostandtaken.com.
What is the most important thing to you when making an icon?
That it looks good. lol. That might not always be the case (in fact, more often than not, it isn't), but you know... On a more technical level, I usually like to make sure that there's interesting textures (not the actual textures that you put on an icon, but the overall feel of it.. if that makes sense), interesting colours and colour variation, etc. I guess I don't worry so much about the feel/emotion in a scene anymore.. because often times the emotion of a scene and what I want to do don't match up, so you know, I mess with that.
What do you believe makes your icons unique?
I really don't know. That's never really something that I think about when I icon, not any more at least. I used to sit down and think 'Now, how am I going to go crazy today' - I did that for like, two months and it didn't help me so much. Now I just sit down and make whatever it is that comes to mind. I don't really try to do crazy colours or anything, I guess that's just how my brain functions. :P
How do you feel your iconmaking has bettered you as a film-maker?
Two ways. Firstly it's made me very aware of what a good frame is, and so when I'm watching on the moniter or on playback, I can tell a well composed frame - and a frame that is useable - from one that isn't. It might seem like the minutest of details, but it makes all the difference, and I think it sort of lifts a film from 'student' level to something else..
Second of all, messing around with photoshop has helped me to understand colours in relation to each other, which helps SO SO SO SO MUCH when it comes to colour grading.
When did you first get started in iconning?
About.. 2 and a half years ago I think? But that was batch editing. Pretty boring stuff.
Do you think you'll be iconning in 10 years or is it just a phase?
Probably not. It's not that I think it's just a phase, but I've just finished a film, and I've had next to no time to eat, let alone make icons. Assuming that I keep on going in the industry, then time-wise I'm going to be limited. Besides, I guess you kind of have to prioritize. I'd prefer to have a career than make icons. And you know, when I wasn't able to do it because I was on set, I didn't really miss it either... so yeah.
Post a few examples of the style you intend to achieve in your icons (either icons made by you or other people)
Only a few?
What's your favorite color(s), and does it influence your icons? / Are you drawn to pictures heavy on that color or do you try to bring it out that color in the images you use anyway - does your favorite color show up more often in your icons than it would otherwise do?
My favorite colours change every week. Yellow, aqua, pink, purple, green... that's basically the whole colour spectrum! :P Does it influence my icons? Yeah. Because I like those particular colours, I like using them, and I like looking at them, so I guess they turn up a fair bit.
In terms of colouring caps, I think I mentioned this before, but I prefer to use bland caps and then bring in my own colour, as opposed to using the colours that these poor people have worked so hard to give me. :P Legend of the seeker is maybe the exception to that, because I feel like a bad person if I mess with those caps too much.
Do you prefer iconning indoors or outdoors scenes?
This is going to sound really contradictory because Lost is one of my favorite shows to icon, but indoor scenes. Why? Because usually they're lit much better because it's a much more controllable environment. I love the colours of the outdoors, but if you haven't gathered so far, lighting is a deal breaker for me. There are exclusions to this rule (legend of the seeker is more or less all outdoors and every shot is amazing),
Do you post all or most of the icons you make, or only your favorites?
Only my favorites. With any batch, usually I'll have 100-400 rejects. Some of them are just variations, others are just icons that I didn't like. In an ideal world then I would wait 6 months between posts and then only post the amazing ones. I'm not a fan of posting just good/so-so/bad icons. Have done it in the past, don't want to do it anymore... but if you see above, I kind of have... so whatever.
Is there any show/movie you think are more fun to icon, for some reason?
Anything with Marion Cotillard. Typical, right? :P But the reason that I enjoy iconning her so much is that she has such a versatile face -- the type of face that you can really do amazing things with, even if it means that you have to photoshop it to death. So those icons are always fun for me. My idea of fun might be a bit different to most.
In terms of shows/movies... Ab Fab is pretty fun to icon, because I know every scene backwards and I always get a kick out of every funny bit in there. I actually make a fair few Ab Fab icons, but I never end up posting them.
What do you think is easiest to achieve: good negative space or a good close crop? And what do you think looks best (close crop or negative space)?
That's a hard one. For me personally, I think it's easier to achieve good negative space as opposed to a close crop. Like I said before, I struggle to work with really close caps, and so I don't really do the close crop thing... ever. In terms of other people's icons, I love close crops - mainly because I can't do them too well. :P I think when done well, they look amazing, but I guess I kind of feel lazy just cropping an image close, colouring it, then posting it.
PART II, with the actual tutorials and stuff, is COMING SOON!
LAST THING! SPAM ME WITH CAPS (especially from the following):
glee (especially quinn/dianna agron and/or puck/mark salling), lost (jack, JULIET, etc), skins, misfits, supernatural (dean!), LEGEND OF THE SEEKER, doctor who (eleven.. because he's cool) and other cool things. I need some good caps to work with, now that I have some free time on my hands!