Making Icons

[Danjamino]

:banghead:someone give me an icon to make or at least give me an idea

 

[Jedimindtrixxx]

idea: a man, maybe a magician, with his arms out but bent, palms up and on top of each palm floating in the air in one is like a ball of fire, and in the other a ball of ice xD
btw i dont need it but since u rly wanted insparation that could look like a cool icon

 

[Danjamino]

i took a go at it teeAichSee here it is

 

[MurderMode]

Thanks for the nice comments

getting better danjamino, it just takes practice.

Where did you learn how to make icon this good this fast?

I've just been getting better over time. I've been teaching myself all kinds of art (especially on the pc) over the last year. I got sick of my job and decided I want to work on an idea I have for a children's picture book, yet I had never studied any art and my work was real average. I've found modding computer games has been a real good method for learning photoshop programs, as there is endless tutorials and awesome examples to gain inspiration from.

When I freehand I just start by scribbling out the basic outline of what I want to draw, then fill in the base colours for each areas. I then give them shadows so it starts to get shape, and then draw in the features. Finally I just add in the highlights and any finishing touches.

A problem with my icon I found was that as good as it looks, ingame it loses alot of the small detail... which is kind of irritating. I made another version with a bit more contrast, and added a background to give it more of an 'ability' feel. It still blurs up a little ingame, but for anyone who hadn't seen the original versions I'm sure it would look ok

 

[Danjamino]

dude that icon could be in the next warcraft its amazing

> u should right a tutorial

> A CHILDRENS BOOK!?

>can u tell me how to draw the faces i suck at faces?

>can u try to do the wizard one i wanna see what it'll look like?

 

[MurderMode]

Yeah I'm interested in doing a childrens picture book lol... strange I know, but it's personal.

Anyways, I don't really think I'd be good at writing a tutorial... I don't actually study art so I wouldn't know the correct terms for anything or the best way to teach it, I'm sure there are better artists out there that have already done some tutorials on this kind of thing.

I had a go at the mage like you requested, it's a bit rushed (so it'd probably look sh*#house ingame) but I thought you might be able to pick up a couple of tricks from it. To make it a bit more interesting I first thought about the pose, then when near finished I added a bit of lighting (the glow from the orbs). Like I said its not great and prolly wouldn't work ingame, but there it is -

 

[Holla.]

Whoa, your one skilled artist. NICE. Although it sorta has a kind of a... cartoony feel to it? xD

 

[Danjamino]

ur still way better than me and i might even buy your childrens book

 

[Danjamino]

bump

 

[Romek]

Come to think about it, this thread is sort of in the wrong place.

People request (Or should do, anyway) icons in the Graphics Zone. There is a 'Request' subforum.

Go there and see what people want

 

[Danjamino]

bump

 

[Danjamino]

double bumb.

so bored

 

[Bloodcount]

well... you can always make a few rune icons for me

 

[Danjamino]

like what?

a stone with carving on it?