2018 icon progression
I'm not sure if I'm doing this right or not but here we go. Another chance for me to ramble about my icons! To actually select a few of my own favorites... Yikes. (As we might be about to find out, imposter syndrome runs deep within me.) Most icons look plain weird/bad in my new computer so I might sound more insecure than usual.
I'm posting this here vs. holyinterruptus because that would be the 2019 space, I'm guessing. I think it's easier to watch a comm than to friend someone because that's how I am too.
I'll slowly add some commentary to the icons (hover for that) and whatever links might be missing. Some thoughts/month context under the spoiler tag. It was hard to choose just a handful of historamedy icons to put in here but oh well. Here we go...
month and title labels might change later. gosh they look terrible.
Related posts: Jan Challenge Entries, capicontest tag
In a few words: resolutions, different tutorials/techniques.
[Spoiler (click to open)]What is January if not the one month where you try to keep up with your resolutions? One of mine was getting out there and participating, even if I stumbled. Top line are icons I entered for capicontest; bottom line are 3 for tv_movie_icons and 1 for birthday_celebs.
I actually like these! I could've probably chosen a couple more (lbr I should've chosen less). All of these were somewhat difficult: I haven't really worked with pastel that much though it always looks nice -- I just don't think I can pull it off. Resolutions were about originality or working on not using the same color; trying to follow different tutorials or doing what feels right. Gosh, it's been almost a year and I still remember playing around to get that XF icon. I don't think my coloring is always successful but I like it.
There was a starting to the glowy/gaussian blur in there and some background work but nothing too drastic.
Shoutout to that Runaways icon with the cool hair effect. The proudest I've felt trying that technique out.
Related posts: Summer icon dump Sept 4
I think I forgot to post a couple of these, oops.
In a sentence... Self imposed hiatus from PS. Rusty. Basic texture work, simple backgrounds.
[Feb-March]Why am I putting these two together? Because I was surprised to find out I even made something these months! I feel like 80% of them are from March, though, since that's when spring break was.
It makes sense I don't have much for these two months (and nothing for April): around early February, I decided not to enter icon challenges or scroll down LJ that much. I was still watching TV but was solely focused on my Master's thesis (long story short: things had started to go very wrong in January/February and had to get it done in just a few weeks).
I did binge a thirtysomething old show named thirtysomething -- and I would ocassionally screencap frames I liked from the awful online streaming sites I was originally watching them in (the DVDs were a vast improvement but still not great quality... it was the 80s). Most of the icons I made around this time, if not all, were from season 1. I waited to get to the other screencaps much later. I remade a lot of these later in the year, using different textures, except for top middle. I have a soft spot for the colored light textures and the simplicity of it -- the autumn look it has.
I also made a few spare icons from things I thought of but I barely opened PS if it wasn't to edit a few thesis pics. (I also watched Studio 60 in February, I should add. The episode I iconed made me shortcircuit in all the best ways. Top right isn't my favorite icon I've made with that cap but still.)
Related Posts: character20n20: C.J. Cregg May 18, Summer icon dump Sept 4, Historamedy 50
In a sentence... Getting back on the saddle; trying to experiment with backgrounds.
[May]A very TWW heavy month!
Much like I did when I finished my finals back in Dec'17, I decided to work on a big challenge set (then, monthlyinspo; this time, character20n20). I was very rusty but I wanted to get back on the saddle. What better way than to make icons that fit different themes? I added my own challenges (trying not to use the same caps I used for the August entry, try to have even rep across all seven seasons, try to make the Cat/AC icons somewhat cohesive, etc.) but I actually like a bunch of the results, even if I'd remake many of them now. I continued experimenting with backgrounds and how they worked with color. Some experimentation with hair that doesn't look too great.
This was also the month I started my historamedy365 set and got to work on a few more thirtysomething caps. For this progression, I'm using my LJ+imgur gallery and realizing a few I never posted a couple icons I randomly made for challenges I never entered. And there a couple of tv_movie_icons challenges and a few icons probably meant for challenges I never entered.
relevant posts: spaced out July 1, icon dump ( stock and fandom) Aug 21 and 22, Historamedy 50
** Many June-July icons might be from the other month. Ooops. **
In a sentence... Lighting and textures experimentation! Trying to trust my instincts.
[June]This is where it gets hard. I have no idea what I made when! I didn't make much in June, I'd say, and what I did continued developing my own style and technique -- I tend to gravitate to intense/vibrant, but mostly true-to-life colorings, and simple textures.
I mostly worked on icons for stock communities like basic_icontest and my first foray into elitesimplicity (+ the usual historamedy365). I'm not used to working with stock pictures so it was a challenge (my problem is mostly choosing pics) but I got a few awards for the sets. It might've been posted on July 1st but I promise the private preview post on my journal is dated a few days earlier. So let's put it in a gray area :) I kind of don't like how most of my stock icons come out but some actually look really nice.
Related: Summer Icon Dump ( stock and fandom) Aug 21 and 22, Historamedy 50
In a sentence... Closer crops and intense, vibrant coloring that was very summery. Or so I thought.
[July]Again, some gray area due to deadlines but the Beth icon is on Imgur before Lorelai's so I'm going to allow it. itsabattlefield came into my life in July and inspired to make me more icons with different themes. I can't always enter but I love playing around with the themes. In this case, as with much of the year, I tried to make vibrant icons with the occasional mild experimentation (everything I did in the TIU icon was random even if it looks rather simple). I kinda like that Charlie's icon's weird painted effect -- it's not a perfect icon by any means (it was for a 'no face' historamedy theme) but it's experimentation. I definitely see a lot of the trends from June in these icons.
related: Historamedy 50, makiiing10in30 post, August icon post
In a sentence... Productive and kinda creative - lots of variety. Attempts at improving my technique.
[August]I'm adding more icons to this month because I was so productive! I was home alone for 2 weeks and that's what happens, lol. (It wasn't supposed to be like that and it was hard but I love my me time, ha.) I actually like a lot of what I made and how it came out even if it's more of the same. I feel like my background work got better/cleaner, and I was a bit more imaginative this time around. I thought my first set for makiiing10in30 was pretty nice and that my big sets for itsabattlefield were kind of nice as well. There were lots of trying out different contrast and lighting in my icons, some textures, definitely textwork, etc. I see it as a productive, and somewhat creative month (for me), as I worked on icons to forget what wasn't going so great.
Related: Set-Nov Icon Dump, capchallenge tag, Historamedy 50
In a sentence... Colorful! Lots of fake background work. Apparent simplicity.
[September]Completing this is when I realized I had never posted the five actual Short Battle 6 icons in that big itsabattlefield post! Yikes, hashtag human distaster.
I wasn't too productive this month but I was happy with some of the entries I churned out, particularly the Humans ones (a show I've never watched), and the aforementioned colored ones. Apparently, I enjoyed creating around colors this year even if palettes are still intimidating to me. This month I was bolder with colors and tried different crops instead of just going for center. (Hard to believe that I liked the weird crops when I made icons forever ago.)
Honorary mention: this close crop from Humans
Related: Set-Nov Icon Dump; your-favourites tag for whms icons, Historamedy 50
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In a line... Personal difficulty and laptop at the shop meant no muse.
[October]There is surprisingly little in October -- partly due to the fact I had laptop problems so I was laptop-less for a couple of weeks, starting at the end of September. Then, as a result, I had to reinstall PS and I dragged my feet because I had lots of other things going on. I also had some rough days as I faced my rl harsh realities and had to reconsider my future plans. It's amazing I made as much as I did in November considering the first couple of weeks of that month weren't just better. I tried to get back to finishing historamedy this month, too. So let's consider October as 'busy' and 'getting back to my roots.' And apparently, textured backgrounds!
related: Set-Nov Icon Dump, elitesimplicity and your-favourites tag
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In a line... One of my favorite months, output-wise. Tried to icon different fandoms and color them. Color through textures. Uh, the usual, then.
[November]I was a bit more active and I somehow got invited into the7days (I sat agape for a long time when I got that message!). Inspiration wasn't there for their Nuts challenge but I felt the inspiration coming back... As things were starting to right themselves, I was a bit more inspired. The main two posts I worked on were the Small Battle 8 for itsabattlefield and elitesimplicity s non-English challenge, both once things in rl had calmed down. Both would probably be some of my favorite entries into anything this year. I focused on color and getting it from textures.
Fun fact: the Profesor/Raquel icon on the bottom right was one I hadn't been too sure about at first (their faces look too yellow!) but it's one that's gotten some praise, so thank you!
related: December Icon Update (some late Nov in there too), the7days tag
In a line... I think I ended on a high? Tried to make more cohesive batches, more original icons... and I liked most of the remakes I made.
[December]So productive I almost ended up adding another row! I was a bit more free and in a better place now that I had a job and started in mid-Jan (even if it wasn't where I wanted). I participated in the7days's 360 challenge, swearing words for your_favourites and remade a few icons for bestof_icons (all of those remakes but Wonder Woman's were made in 2018). I was a bit more absent because my brother came back from university for a few weeks and I wanted to enjoy that time with him, which meant I couldn't even work on a new 7days set for the small fandoms (which is me). Overall, I felt a bit more confident on what I was doing, especially with selecting the subjects and cropping the rest. I started to do fake backgrounds with different opacities (as I had done at times) that could highlight the textures or the other work around. The Nancy/Elliot in bottom middle is a fake/recolored icon. (I'm amazed it looks natural. WHY.)
And I also see darker icons are emerging, perhaps more in accordance with the time of the year.
So, in summary:I don't know if I see an absolute progression or a zomg! she's extraordinary. I'm okay and I'm having fun, and that's all that counts.
Compared to 2017's icons? Sure! Compared to those icons I was making ten years ago (cough, sunny_raining, cough)? Absolutely, and I haven't dared myself look at them. I guess that, much like with personal progress, it is difficult to see it when you're just coming off of it. 2018 wasn't the best year personally but I had time to work on making icons. I'm a big believer in doing what feels fun and trying out because, the more you do something, the more naturally (or easily) things come to you. I don't think the Elena from last January could work with backgrounds like I do now (not that I am that great!).
I still remember how I randomly decided to work on icons again in July 2017 because I felt like it. Those icons were not great but I was productive. I feel like I now have a personal style that I can comfortably fall back to even if I want to improve! I want to make great compositions! I want to do blocking! I want to create text that doesn't make me wanna hide under a rock! I don't know if starting a new job in a couple of weeks will allow me to focus on that but I'm going to try.
I like my glowy/Gaussian blur enhancements and color plays, I like my vibrant colors and my textures. I am still somewhat scared of participating within the community because I feel like an outsider but let's see what 2019 brings!
I'm posting this here vs. holyinterruptus because that would be the 2019 space, I'm guessing. I think it's easier to watch a comm than to friend someone because that's how I am too.
I'll slowly add some commentary to the icons (hover for that) and whatever links might be missing. Some thoughts/month context under the spoiler tag. It was hard to choose just a handful of historamedy icons to put in here but oh well. Here we go...
month and title labels might change later. gosh they look terrible.
Related posts: Jan Challenge Entries, capicontest tag
In a few words: resolutions, different tutorials/techniques.
[Spoiler (click to open)]What is January if not the one month where you try to keep up with your resolutions? One of mine was getting out there and participating, even if I stumbled. Top line are icons I entered for capicontest; bottom line are 3 for tv_movie_icons and 1 for birthday_celebs.
I actually like these! I could've probably chosen a couple more (lbr I should've chosen less). All of these were somewhat difficult: I haven't really worked with pastel that much though it always looks nice -- I just don't think I can pull it off. Resolutions were about originality or working on not using the same color; trying to follow different tutorials or doing what feels right. Gosh, it's been almost a year and I still remember playing around to get that XF icon. I don't think my coloring is always successful but I like it.
There was a starting to the glowy/gaussian blur in there and some background work but nothing too drastic.
Shoutout to that Runaways icon with the cool hair effect. The proudest I've felt trying that technique out.
Related posts: Summer icon dump Sept 4
I think I forgot to post a couple of these, oops.
In a sentence... Self imposed hiatus from PS. Rusty. Basic texture work, simple backgrounds.
[Feb-March]Why am I putting these two together? Because I was surprised to find out I even made something these months! I feel like 80% of them are from March, though, since that's when spring break was.
It makes sense I don't have much for these two months (and nothing for April): around early February, I decided not to enter icon challenges or scroll down LJ that much. I was still watching TV but was solely focused on my Master's thesis (long story short: things had started to go very wrong in January/February and had to get it done in just a few weeks).
I did binge a thirtysomething old show named thirtysomething -- and I would ocassionally screencap frames I liked from the awful online streaming sites I was originally watching them in (the DVDs were a vast improvement but still not great quality... it was the 80s). Most of the icons I made around this time, if not all, were from season 1. I waited to get to the other screencaps much later. I remade a lot of these later in the year, using different textures, except for top middle. I have a soft spot for the colored light textures and the simplicity of it -- the autumn look it has.
I also made a few spare icons from things I thought of but I barely opened PS if it wasn't to edit a few thesis pics. (I also watched Studio 60 in February, I should add. The episode I iconed made me shortcircuit in all the best ways. Top right isn't my favorite icon I've made with that cap but still.)
Related Posts: character20n20: C.J. Cregg May 18, Summer icon dump Sept 4, Historamedy 50
In a sentence... Getting back on the saddle; trying to experiment with backgrounds.
[May]A very TWW heavy month!
Much like I did when I finished my finals back in Dec'17, I decided to work on a big challenge set (then, monthlyinspo; this time, character20n20). I was very rusty but I wanted to get back on the saddle. What better way than to make icons that fit different themes? I added my own challenges (trying not to use the same caps I used for the August entry, try to have even rep across all seven seasons, try to make the Cat/AC icons somewhat cohesive, etc.) but I actually like a bunch of the results, even if I'd remake many of them now. I continued experimenting with backgrounds and how they worked with color. Some experimentation with hair that doesn't look too great.
This was also the month I started my historamedy365 set and got to work on a few more thirtysomething caps. For this progression, I'm using my LJ+imgur gallery and realizing a few I never posted a couple icons I randomly made for challenges I never entered. And there a couple of tv_movie_icons challenges and a few icons probably meant for challenges I never entered.
relevant posts: spaced out July 1, icon dump ( stock and fandom) Aug 21 and 22, Historamedy 50
** Many June-July icons might be from the other month. Ooops. **
In a sentence... Lighting and textures experimentation! Trying to trust my instincts.
[June]This is where it gets hard. I have no idea what I made when! I didn't make much in June, I'd say, and what I did continued developing my own style and technique -- I tend to gravitate to intense/vibrant, but mostly true-to-life colorings, and simple textures.
I mostly worked on icons for stock communities like basic_icontest and my first foray into elitesimplicity (+ the usual historamedy365). I'm not used to working with stock pictures so it was a challenge (my problem is mostly choosing pics) but I got a few awards for the sets. It might've been posted on July 1st but I promise the private preview post on my journal is dated a few days earlier. So let's put it in a gray area :) I kind of don't like how most of my stock icons come out but some actually look really nice.
Related: Summer Icon Dump ( stock and fandom) Aug 21 and 22, Historamedy 50
In a sentence... Closer crops and intense, vibrant coloring that was very summery. Or so I thought.
[July]Again, some gray area due to deadlines but the Beth icon is on Imgur before Lorelai's so I'm going to allow it. itsabattlefield came into my life in July and inspired to make me more icons with different themes. I can't always enter but I love playing around with the themes. In this case, as with much of the year, I tried to make vibrant icons with the occasional mild experimentation (everything I did in the TIU icon was random even if it looks rather simple). I kinda like that Charlie's icon's weird painted effect -- it's not a perfect icon by any means (it was for a 'no face' historamedy theme) but it's experimentation. I definitely see a lot of the trends from June in these icons.
related: Historamedy 50, makiiing10in30 post, August icon post
In a sentence... Productive and kinda creative - lots of variety. Attempts at improving my technique.
[August]I'm adding more icons to this month because I was so productive! I was home alone for 2 weeks and that's what happens, lol. (It wasn't supposed to be like that and it was hard but I love my me time, ha.) I actually like a lot of what I made and how it came out even if it's more of the same. I feel like my background work got better/cleaner, and I was a bit more imaginative this time around. I thought my first set for makiiing10in30 was pretty nice and that my big sets for itsabattlefield were kind of nice as well. There were lots of trying out different contrast and lighting in my icons, some textures, definitely textwork, etc. I see it as a productive, and somewhat creative month (for me), as I worked on icons to forget what wasn't going so great.
Related: Set-Nov Icon Dump, capchallenge tag, Historamedy 50
In a sentence... Colorful! Lots of fake background work. Apparent simplicity.
[September]Completing this is when I realized I had never posted the five actual Short Battle 6 icons in that big itsabattlefield post! Yikes, hashtag human distaster.
I wasn't too productive this month but I was happy with some of the entries I churned out, particularly the Humans ones (a show I've never watched), and the aforementioned colored ones. Apparently, I enjoyed creating around colors this year even if palettes are still intimidating to me. This month I was bolder with colors and tried different crops instead of just going for center. (Hard to believe that I liked the weird crops when I made icons forever ago.)
Honorary mention: this close crop from Humans
Related: Set-Nov Icon Dump; your-favourites tag for whms icons, Historamedy 50
In a line... Personal difficulty and laptop at the shop meant no muse.
[October]There is surprisingly little in October -- partly due to the fact I had laptop problems so I was laptop-less for a couple of weeks, starting at the end of September. Then, as a result, I had to reinstall PS and I dragged my feet because I had lots of other things going on. I also had some rough days as I faced my rl harsh realities and had to reconsider my future plans. It's amazing I made as much as I did in November considering the first couple of weeks of that month weren't just better. I tried to get back to finishing historamedy this month, too. So let's consider October as 'busy' and 'getting back to my roots.' And apparently, textured backgrounds!
related: Set-Nov Icon Dump, elitesimplicity and your-favourites tag
In a line... One of my favorite months, output-wise. Tried to icon different fandoms and color them. Color through textures. Uh, the usual, then.
[November]I was a bit more active and I somehow got invited into the7days (I sat agape for a long time when I got that message!). Inspiration wasn't there for their Nuts challenge but I felt the inspiration coming back... As things were starting to right themselves, I was a bit more inspired. The main two posts I worked on were the Small Battle 8 for itsabattlefield and elitesimplicity s non-English challenge, both once things in rl had calmed down. Both would probably be some of my favorite entries into anything this year. I focused on color and getting it from textures.
Fun fact: the Profesor/Raquel icon on the bottom right was one I hadn't been too sure about at first (their faces look too yellow!) but it's one that's gotten some praise, so thank you!
related: December Icon Update (some late Nov in there too), the7days tag
In a line... I think I ended on a high? Tried to make more cohesive batches, more original icons... and I liked most of the remakes I made.
[December]So productive I almost ended up adding another row! I was a bit more free and in a better place now that I had a job and started in mid-Jan (even if it wasn't where I wanted). I participated in the7days's 360 challenge, swearing words for your_favourites and remade a few icons for bestof_icons (all of those remakes but Wonder Woman's were made in 2018). I was a bit more absent because my brother came back from university for a few weeks and I wanted to enjoy that time with him, which meant I couldn't even work on a new 7days set for the small fandoms (which is me). Overall, I felt a bit more confident on what I was doing, especially with selecting the subjects and cropping the rest. I started to do fake backgrounds with different opacities (as I had done at times) that could highlight the textures or the other work around. The Nancy/Elliot in bottom middle is a fake/recolored icon. (I'm amazed it looks natural. WHY.)
And I also see darker icons are emerging, perhaps more in accordance with the time of the year.
So, in summary:I don't know if I see an absolute progression or a zomg! she's extraordinary. I'm okay and I'm having fun, and that's all that counts.
Compared to 2017's icons? Sure! Compared to those icons I was making ten years ago (cough, sunny_raining, cough)? Absolutely, and I haven't dared myself look at them. I guess that, much like with personal progress, it is difficult to see it when you're just coming off of it. 2018 wasn't the best year personally but I had time to work on making icons. I'm a big believer in doing what feels fun and trying out because, the more you do something, the more naturally (or easily) things come to you. I don't think the Elena from last January could work with backgrounds like I do now (not that I am that great!).
I still remember how I randomly decided to work on icons again in July 2017 because I felt like it. Those icons were not great but I was productive. I feel like I now have a personal style that I can comfortably fall back to even if I want to improve! I want to make great compositions! I want to do blocking! I want to create text that doesn't make me wanna hide under a rock! I don't know if starting a new job in a couple of weeks will allow me to focus on that but I'm going to try.
I like my glowy/Gaussian blur enhancements and color plays, I like my vibrant colors and my textures. I am still somewhat scared of participating within the community because I feel like an outsider but let's see what 2019 brings!