Current active challenges

[tinny]

I updated the current challenges post, and added two new challenge communities:

Current active challenges

iconthat R58 (Blue) - May 20th - up to 3 icons every two weeks
icontalking Activity 01 (Got Fandom?) - May 20th - 5 icons in three weeks

NEW challenges without regular deadlines

You can claim prompts/a bingo card and then make fanworks for each prompt/square:

tic_tac_woe - apocalyptic challenge comm open for icons info post here | claim a bingo card here
who_allsorts - claim 3/6/9/12/15/20 prompts and make Doctor Who fanworks (incl. icons)

Comments

Re: LIYM

[tinny]

Oooh, more Librarians icons! :D

(I liked the first one you posted a lot, too!)

I very much like the coloring in this one! The green contrasts beautifully against the yellow and the dark purple of his suit. Great choice!

One tiny thing: the lines around his face are a little sharp. I'd maybe blur them slightly, just a little bit:

I haven't found a better way than to stamp the whole icon into a new layer, then blur the stamped layer, then give it a completely black mask, and only unmask the few places where you see pixel artifacts. (On the right side of his face, and the top of his shoulder.)

Or you could try removing the sharpness in an earlier step, by smoothing the selection (if you have masked him at all in this icon). It took me years to find the "Refine Edge" feature, but it's pretty useful!

Re: LIYM

[seraphina_snape]

:D I've been making a lot of Librarian icons because it's my historamedy365 claim. Soon there will be Donna Noble icons because she's my claim for this month' character20n20. *g*

(Thanks!)

You're right about the sharpness - I always have trouble with it. Too sharp, too soft - sometimes I have trouble seeing the difference. It looks different in my graphics program, on imgur and on the DW page, so I'm never quite sure if I've got it right!

Well, there's the soften brush in PSP which I sometimes use to even out the lines of people's arms/backs/faces - but you have to be careful with that because it can end up being too much.

"Refine edge"? Is that something like "smooth resize" in PaintShopPro? I have several options when resizing the pic, and I usually go for smooth resize because it reduces pixelation when you resize a really large cap to a 100x100 icon.

Re: LIYM

[tinny]

Ah, I didn't know you were using PSP.

I have no idea if there is an equivalent in PSP, but what Refine Edge does is it allows you to modify the selection (or the mask). You can blur it or sharpen it, grow or contract it, and smooth it (which is similar to blur, but not as obvious, I don't know how to explain it).

So I think it's closest to blurring the masked layer (or feathering the selection). I assume you keep your layers and masks in PSP, too? So what you could do is after you mask and before you resize down, you can slightly blur the mask - this way the cutout doesn't turn out quite as sharp.

But it's really just a tiny bit - if you blur it too much, it will look weird, too. It takes some experimenting (and depends on how much bigger the original is than the finished icon).

My usual process is doing that stamp layer thing and blur at the very end. I hate stamping, but I haven't found a better way for removing the pesky artifacts yet.

I always have trouble with it. Too sharp, too soft - sometimes I have trouble seeing the difference. It looks different in my graphics program, on imgur and on the DW page, so I'm never quite sure if I've got it right!

Phew, IKR? I've been getting "too sharp" concrit for the longest time until it turned into "too blurry". /o\

Even though I'm still never sure what is too sharp and what is too blurry, I think I learned something trying to get it right, at least. :) Now I just do it so it looks right on my screen in PS while I make the icon. If it looks bad on another monitor, well. Tough luck. :)

Re: LIYM

[seraphina_snape]

Yup! I've never used anything else. I did try GIMP but couldn't really get it too work. Too set in my ways after using PSP for over a decade, I think.

Most functions are available in both, so I think I'll poke around a little and see if I can find it. I do know how I can extend or contract a selection and how to feather/unfeather it, so I'm sure there's more to find.

*sigh* Why does it have to be so difficult to get it just right?

ow I just do it so it looks right on my screen in PS while I make the icon. If it looks bad on another monitor, well. Tough luck. :)

That's a good attitude! Ultimately it's always a matter of taste, so you can't please everybody anyway. And if it's a technical issue that's causing the difference - well, nothing you can do about it.