Icon Progression 2017 - sallymn

[sallymn]

A bit late and self-indulgent, but still...

Though I've been iconing for years, I did go through a long dry patch, so the start of the year is sadly iconless...
Then I decided that I had to get going again (I find it soothing, and sometimes soothing is needed :) So round about April....

April

            

I started up with just a few reading ones based on the same joke (I do tend to do a lot of jokes). You will note that my animation is not, and in fact is never, very fancy...

May

                

I did some this month for me to use on both LJ and DW and yes, they say a lot about my interests :)

July

                

Missed June... then did a heap of 'thinking' ones, mostly for my little group of fandoms (I know I use thinky icons quite a bit) and decided to put a burr up the bustle by joining some icon comms. I also tend to forget on a regular basis how to do rain, and have to rediscover it...

August

                

Doing challenges has expanded what I icon about, for sure. I think I am going for more simple designs these days - less obvious brushes and textures, maybe a few more textless ones - though my style does seem to be different from many of the ones I see put up by people. Oh well...

September

                

Again, the comms pushed me to do at least some more simple-looking ones (though trust me, 2 wasn't nearly as simple as it looks). I'm not good at the popular ones that have very small figures and lots of blank space, have to try harder there perhaps but several of these are closer to that than I did years ago.

October

                

....Aaaand I don't care how untrendy text icons are, I love 'em and did a small heap of Snoopy ones just for fun:) But I'm getting more practice with doing things I didn't do much of (like the third one here, which I got wrong about ten times and believe me, the gradient colouring was at least partly to tie it together a bit more)

November

                

Having said I use less textures - I got to do some with the sort of textures I don't usually do so much of - quite obvious ones, like the last two and the stars on the first - and rather enjoyed it. I also had to stretch my thinking on how to turn playing rectangular cards into square icons.

December

                

The Merlin one I'm quite proud of because I'm really not good at blending but getting better at (I hope, though starting from what I was - crap - helps). And as you can see, I haven't given up my beloved brushes...

All in all, what with the ones I posted and the ones I made for me, I think I did about 230 in 2017. Let's see how next year goes...

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

though my style does seem to be different from many of the ones I see put up by people.

Your style is just that - your style - and it's lovely. Your icons are always some of my favourites. I don't have many spaces these days, but my memory stick full of icons has far more by you on it than anyone else who's not me.

I'm glad you had fun with the challenges this year - I've enjoyed seeing the results.

[sallymn]

I will keep doing the challenges, they're good for me :)

[alexia_drake]

You have an interesting sleeping disorder! lol

It looks like we do animated rain the same way, but I've been too lazy to make some for years.

I often makes icons I would not normally do when I participates in icons challenges, such as the far ones with fake backgrounds, because I prefer to see the expression/pretty face of the character(s) that I icon. Just like you, I make icons that are not popular among the majority, but I don't care, as long as I love them, I don't feel like I'm wasting my time, and a few people do like some of them anyway :)

I love how you do your text, you always seem to pick the best font, a color that match, and the placement looks great :)

[sallymn]

Thank you! I do fuss over text, especially when I want to put quite a lot and it has to be readable for the joke... I have n embarrassing number of fonts on my computer but go back to the same ones a lot :)

[breyzyyin]

The joke you used in your April icons really made me laugh! I believe I have that sleeping disorder as well. XD

~I really love your style though! It is very unique and artistic. I tend to not play around with text much, so I find your usage of it really impressive! You know exactly where it should go and how it matches the image and space and color of the icon. That's a really awesome gift! ♥

I'm not good at the popular ones that have very small figures and lots of blank space
~I find those difficult as well! I tend to always go closer up on any figures, so the smaller figures are challenging to me. I honestly love how close up the figures are in your icons because it really gives a clear view of their expressions.

(Also, that Merlin icon you made in December is amazing! If you hadn't said that you weren't good at blending, I never would have known! It looks like you're a natural to me!)

[sallymn]

Thank you for all the kind words!!

Yes, the Merlin one is special because it's one of the few times I thought I'd got it right - usually my blended ones seem to try to fit too much in and look messy (it doesn't hurt that he has such a gorgeous profile...)

[sheliak]

I like your style! It's very distinctive. And you're very good with text.

[sallymn]

Thankee! I di like text... :)

[tinny]

I am so sorry I am commenting late!

I guess progression posts are always a bit indulgent and navel-gazey, but they're a handy tool for seeing patterns, and that's what I love about them.

I love yours! I find icon-making soothing as well. *g*

I don't think your animation is unfancy. They're clean, they're great.

though my style does seem to be different from many of the ones I see put up by people. Oh well...

That is not a bad thing! I see a lot of different styles in your icons, and that's a good way to find your own. I know the community is always an influence (and I dont mean this comm, just the iconmaker community in general), so it's probably unavoidable to want to try to fit in, or try styles you see everyone use, etc. Those aren't fixed points, either, though. The style of the community itself changes over time. There have been trends and fads and techniques everyone used a few years ago, and now nobody does anymore.

I know my own style changed when I became more engaged in the community, but it served to make me realize what I like and what I don't, and brought me closer to my style. So I guess it's normal to be inspired, but don't worry: staying true to yourself is just as important.

I don't care how untrendy text icons are, I love 'em

Me, too! It took me years to get better at text and you're already so good!


I thank you for this post, it's really very interesting! Looking forward to this year of iconmaking with you, too! <3

[sallymn]

Thank you so much! I am so sorry it took so long to get back to you, you can see my excuse in my own latest post...