Hahaha! I think I've actually talked about every one of those things in replying to other people's questions, so here are the links to text work, texture use, and coloring. Since I can't blend to save my life, go read this Q&A by sarisafari that'll teach you how to do it efficiently! If you have any more questions (general or specific) or need more explanation, just let me know, Fridde! :)
HELL TO THE YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad you are making another q&a, the one you did last time was just so helpful and i learned so much :D
WOW. There's one hell of an enthusiastic reaction to this post! You don't have to wait for Q&As to ask me stuff though, so just let me know whenever you're curious about something, Vel!
I hate Chuck Bass. Let's just get that straight, so anyone else who reads this will know where I stand! :P
Anyway, I tried to recreate the icon because my PSD was such an abominable mess. The end result wasn't quite exact though, so please bear with me. First, I cropped the cap down and made two copies of the base, setting both to Screen at 100% opacity and fill. Then, I added a purple Color Fill layer (#dfa2ff) set on Soft Light at 100% opacity and 50% fill. After that, I set this texture by superjesster on Soft Light at 50% opacity and 80% fill and followed it up with a B/W gradient layer (white at the top and black on the bottom) on Soft Light at 100% opacity and fill. I added yet another superjesstertexture on Soft Light at 100% opacity and fill, and then copied the base and dragged it to the top before setting it on Soft Light at 50% opacity and 100% fill. I found an
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Sort of just jumped in my seat and immediately blanked on what to ask. LOL!
I guess my overall question would be how to achieve that sort of smokey glow that some of your icons have. Two that popped into my mind were these:
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Well, I'm glad it made you jump outta your seat! It's fun revealing my not-so-mysterious ways to anyone who cares to find out! :)
In that first icon, I didn't actually do anything special. I copied the base image twice and set both copies to Screen, which caused the background to get smokey. It wasn't a conscious choice but instead pure luck! For the Parker icon, I did two Screen layers of the base image again, used Curves to boost the contrast in her face, and then topped it off with a cropped portion of this slayground texture set on Screen at 100% opacity. Pretty easy! Really, it's just about finding B/W smokey or lighting textures, like the ones by bitterbird I linked to here and then setting them on Screen, Soft Light, or Hard Light. Nothing too exciting, unfortunately
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I just wrote two lengthy responses to other curious cats about my approaches to text work and texture use, but if you have any more questions or need further clarification about anything, just let me know, Robyn! <3
YAY, i'm so glad you're giving us a chanc to ask some questions :) Others have already covered much of what I would have asked, but one thing I'd like to know is this: do you usually have a plan of what you're going to do when making an icon, or do you just experiment around and see what comes out of it? Also do you start with a concept and then hunt for good images that fit it, or start with a cap and try and find textures and composition that fit?
You're always free to ask me whatever you want anytime you think of something you're curious about, Tommi! There's no need to wait for a Q&A post. :)
I pretty much NEVER have any idea what I'll do with an image when I first open it. Depending on the cap or photo, I might have some general notion of what sort of crop I want to try, but other than that, it's all about experimenting and just going where my muse takes me! Regarding your other question, I often start with a theme in mind because I pretty much only make icons for 20in20s nowadays. I don't really ever have a concrete vision or concept, but the themes or challenge prompts give me a guide of sorts so I can focus on what certain caps/photos to work with. I hope that all makes sense, but if not, just let me know so I can try to explain it some other way!
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I hate Chuck Bass. Let's just get that straight, so anyone else who reads this will know where I stand! :P
Anyway, I tried to recreate the icon because my PSD was such an abominable mess. The end result wasn't quite exact though, so please bear with me. First, I cropped the cap down and made two copies of the base, setting both to Screen at 100% opacity and fill. Then, I added a purple Color Fill layer (#dfa2ff) set on Soft Light at 100% opacity and 50% fill. After that, I set this texture by superjesster on Soft Light at 50% opacity and 80% fill and followed it up with a B/W gradient layer (white at the top and black on the bottom) on Soft Light at 100% opacity and fill. I added yet another superjesster texture on Soft Light at 100% opacity and fill, and then copied the base and dragged it to the top before setting it on Soft Light at 50% opacity and 100% fill. I found an ( ... )
Reply
I guess my overall question would be how to achieve that sort of smokey glow that some of your icons have. Two that popped into my mind were these:
( ... )
Reply
In that first icon, I didn't actually do anything special. I copied the base image twice and set both copies to Screen, which caused the background to get smokey. It wasn't a conscious choice but instead pure luck! For the Parker icon, I did two Screen layers of the base image again, used Curves to boost the contrast in her face, and then topped it off with a cropped portion of this slayground texture set on Screen at 100% opacity. Pretty easy! Really, it's just about finding B/W smokey or lighting textures, like the ones by bitterbird I linked to here and then setting them on Screen, Soft Light, or Hard Light. Nothing too exciting, unfortunately ( ... )
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Others have already covered much of what I would have asked, but one thing I'd like to know is this: do you usually have a plan of what you're going to do when making an icon, or do you just experiment around and see what comes out of it? Also do you start with a concept and then hunt for good images that fit it, or start with a cap and try and find textures and composition that fit?
Reply
I pretty much NEVER have any idea what I'll do with an image when I first open it. Depending on the cap or photo, I might have some general notion of what sort of crop I want to try, but other than that, it's all about experimenting and just going where my muse takes me! Regarding your other question, I often start with a theme in mind because I pretty much only make icons for 20in20s nowadays. I don't really ever have a concrete vision or concept, but the themes or challenge prompts give me a guide of sorts so I can focus on what certain caps/photos to work with. I hope that all makes sense, but if not, just let me know so I can try to explain it some other way!
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