Tutorial #19: Q&A (version 2.0)
All the makers at magicmachine made a Q&A. You can see all the answers here. You should read it, it is really awesome!!
Here are my answers. All questions by fouroux
If you got more questions, feel free to ask!
Note: It was written weeks ago so the "last icons you made" part is not true anymore but still a bit accurate as it is a style I think I'm still doing.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO ICON-MAKING?
I was a member of a furm at this time and a friend I had there introduced me to Photoshop.
HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT CREATING AN ICON, WHAT COMES FIRST (COLOURING/CROPPING/SOMETHING ELSE?) AND WHY DO YOU FOLLOW THIS PROCESS?
I always begin by the cropping because the coloring can change according to what you are working on on the cap.
WHAT ABOUT A CAP APPEALS TO YOUR ICON-MAKING SENSES?
The cap has to express an emotion or have a particular meaning for the character or the show/movie it coming from. Or (sometimes and) it has to be pretty. For example a gorgeous crop or a high contrast (I love shadows/lights), or simply a great cinematography.
HOW DO YOU CROP A CAP?
I resize it around 150px if I want a close crop or around 70px if I want negative space and play around with it in a 100*100 base. If it doesn't work, I resized again and play with it again on my base.
WHICH ARE YOUR TOP 3 TOOLS TO USE IN YOUR GRAPHICS PROGRAMME AND WHAT TIPS/TRICKS COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT THEM?
I use Photoshop CS5
- Brightness/contrast: I use this tool instead of the screen option or auto-color to brighten a cap. In my opinion, auto-color brighten a way too much and ruin pics. And for the screen layer, it makes the caps too grainy. You have more control with brightness/contrast. I love contrasted icons so it is probably why I prefer this one. You should be careful in not making it too bright or too contrasted. You should find the right balance. The best way is to increase brightness a bit then the contrasts and then see if it isn't too bright when higher contrast and so on. Play with both settings together.
- Vibrance: This one is awesome to make the colors "vibrant". It is the second tool I use on my icons. You have to be careful though. It is bad on bad quality caps (but perfect for blu-ray). While playing with it, be careful with the saturation. The result can be ugly very fast. I'd advise to play a lot with the vibrance but leave the saturation to +2 or 3 max. (Of course, it depends on the cap).
- Color balance: The easiest way to color an icon. Begin by using the midtones and then the shadows.
WHICH 3 TEXTURES DO YOU USE THE MOST THESE DAYS AND WHY?
I use my own textures which are a new layer with light blops I do myself. I have no idea if you can call this a texture but it is the closest thing to a texture I use. I also use a lot the cap itself as a texture. I resize it in a different (usually bigger) size than the one I use in my icon base and set it to soft light, lighten or screen. You can have some fantastic results doing this.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR TO WORK WITH WHILE ICONING?
I love to work with yellows/blues and recently I added magentas. It really depends on the cap though. I always work according to the cap and not according to what I want.
DO YOU PREFER MAKING COLOURED ICONS OR BLACK/WHITE ICONS? EXPLAIN WHY.
It is a tough one!!! I love both and can't answer that. I love to do black and white icons but I love to do coloured ones too. I'd say it depends on the cap (yes again). When I snag a cap, I know if I want a black and white or a coloured icon out of it so I really can't tell. Both are complexed to do and I enjoy doing both.
I can't live without both though. Does that answer ?
HOW DO YOU WORK WITH TEXT ON YOUR GRAPHICS?
I don't use text. Or only if I really have to as in a challenge for example.
WHICH ARE YOUR CURRENT TOP 3 FONTS?
See above.
DISCUSS YOUR FAVOURITE ICONING TRENDS, AND HOW THEY POTENTIONALLY PRESENT THEMSELVES IN YOUR ICONS.
I have the feeling to be back to university LOL.
I'm not the best at analyzing trends as I never pay attention and it all depends on which coms you are watching. I've always found there are different streams more than trends. I guess nowadays the main stream is colorful icons? If yes then I think I'm not original at all and follow the trend. I love to try to make the colors pimp.
There's a stream of soft coloured and contrasted icons (daynawashere, calikalie, vermili, wildpages for example) which is something I'm absolutely not good at but I adore this style. I do contrasted icons though.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART ABOUT MAKING ICONS/GRAPHICS?
The hardest is to find good caps. It is always the longest, hardest and most boring part.
PICK 3 ICONS YOU'RE REALLY PROUD OF AND EXPLAIN WHY.
Aong the last icons I did:
-> I'm proud of this one because I struggled during months on that freaking cap. It is one of my favorite of the movie and I was working on it over and over again and a few days ago, it finally worked and I had a result I love. The black and white is well balanced and contrasted and the light exactly like I imagined it should be.
-> It is the kind of icons I would olvoe to do all the time. The contrast (imo) is perfect. I love when there is darkness on a side and a lot of colors on the others. It increases the emotion of the icon.
-> I'm proud of this one because it wa smade for a challenge where we had to use given textures and as I rarely work with textures, it was a challenge for me. I love the outcome. The contrast is well balanced with the light and the colors stand out well. Even if I used the texture, I le the icon quite simple like I like them.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST ICON YOU'VE MADE THAT YOU REMEMBER BEING REALLY PROUD OF?
I don't remember. I will sound like a shrew but I'm rarely proud of my icons. I only use a few as userpics. I rarely like what I do.
WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST SAVED ICON?
The first one was made in 2008 (when I begun to do icons) and the "new" version in may this year.
->
IF SOMEONE WANTED TO START OFF MAKING ICONS, WHAT ADVICE COULD YOU GIVE THEM?
Don't read tutorials at first. I know it sounds weird but I think the best way to learn is to open a picture under the graphic program you're using and playing around yourself with the settings.
PICK 3 TUTORIALS/GUIDES THAT ARE A MUST-READ FOR ICON MAKERS.
I don't read tutorials but I love guides and Q&As. I advise everything posted at good_tutorial and this masterpost at icon_talk. For a particular top 3:
- Q&A by eamesie HERE
- Q&A by exp0se HERE
- Q&A by shoqolad HERE
WHICH ARE YOUR TOP 3 (CHALLENGE) COMMUNITIES IN WHICH YOU FIND INSPIRATION?
I don't find inspiration in communities. It comes from cinematography, caps and music. Though, 20inspirations have gorgeous inspiration posts.
WHO ARE YOUR CURRENT TOP 3 ICON MAKERS (MAGICMAKERS EXCLUDED) AND WHY?
calikalie, wildpages & absolutelybatty
And because 3 isn't enough: gigglemonster, colourmayfade, talipuu & born_butterfly.
I admire all of them. They are different in style but they all have an outstanding way to play with colors, lights and composition.
WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED?
I don't know. I love making graphics. I've always been creative and icons are a bit of a therapy too. I just keep doing.