tinny: Something Else holding up its colorful drawing - "be different" (Default)
tinny ([personal profile] tinny) wrote in [community profile] icontalking2024-06-23 12:30 pm
Entry tags:

Activity #84 - Ask The Maker

Ask The Maker 2024
this banner features an icon by bold_seer


Several people have already asked me if there's going to be an Ask The Maker activity again this year, and here it is!

Ask The Maker is where you can ask your favorite makers about how they do that thing. You can ask for tutorials, guides/"How to", or ask any other questions related to their work. Check out the Maker thread (below) for makers who have signed up and are ready to answer your questions.

You can also ask questions to the community at large, and hope that someone is able to answer them. Do this in the Questions thread (below).

I am looking forward to interesting questions and discussions!

Please promote this activity!

You can use this code here:


The more participants the merrier! I will promote it at an official promo comm.

Here are the rules:

1) Maker-Driven


Rules for makers who want to sign up

Sign up by commenting to the Maker thread.

Please don't sign up if you know that you can't or do not plan to fulfill the requests you get until the end of July.

If you are an icon maker and you're willing to write tutorials, guides or answer questions (Q&A's), please sign up here with your name and where you post your work. Please state what you're willing to do/answer and if people can hotlink your work or not. Use this posting template:



There is no fixed time limit in which the signed up makers have to write these tutorials or answer questions, but it would be nice if everyone managed to post their answers within the next month. I will make the activity result post in early August. Even if you take longer than that, please try and answer your questions. Please let people know if you find out you cannot fulfill the requests. Try not to leave people hanging.

All tutorials/Q&A etc. need to be posted in your community/journal and be posted publicly. In-depth explanations on tutorials is not a must, but highly encouraged.

When you finish your requests, post a link to them as a reply to the original request comment here. That way, I and the person requesting will be able to see them and I can add them to the activity result post at the end of the month.



2) Question-Driven - I have a question and anyone can answer



If you have a question about techniques, a specific look, etc, but you can't ask any maker directly (e.g. because they didn't sign up or are not on DW or because your question is more of the general kind), you may ask your question in the Questions thread.

Be aware that there is no guarantee that you'll get your question answered. You will increase your chances by asking specific questions about specific techniques and by giving icon examples, from different makers if possible. Please don't ask about single specific icons, nobody should feel pressured into participating.

Please don't hotlink icons from other makers without asking them. Reupload the icons (e.g. to imgur.com or postimages.com or your dw account) instead.



What's What


Question categories and examples

Guides - a guide is a general explanation post. The maker will make a post explaining how to achieve a particular effect, use a technique, use a tool, etc.

#1 - Text and typography in gimp by [livejournal.com profile] cool_spectrum
#2 - A guide to picking textures (from our 2019 round) by [personal profile] seraphina_snape
#3 - Guide to composition (from our 2023 round) by [personal profile] aurora_amethyst

Tutorial - a tutorial is a step-by-step description of how to make a particular icon. Only the maker of an icon can make a tutorial of how they made that icon. If you ask for a tutorial, you must provide said icon with your question. This kind of question only makes sense in the Maker thread.

Trippy Tutorial by [livejournal.com profile] tinebrella
Tutorial (from 2020) by [personal profile] abyss_valkyrie
Tutorial by [personal profile] tinyumbrella

Tutorials are the most-often requested thing here, feel free to check our tag from previous rounds:
https://icontalking.dreamwidth.org/tag/ask+the+maker,activity+result?mode=and

Q&A - everything that doesn't quite fit the first two categories. Ask away, hope for the best. :)


Maker thread

Questions thread


This activity will run approximately until the end of July, maybe mid-August.
rosy_nic: (Default)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] rosy_nic 2024-06-23 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Username + where you post your work: rosy_nic @ roses_dream
What can we request from you (tutorials, Q&A, guides etc.) anything, ask away
--->(If you know of anything that you're not able to answer/do, please mention it)<---
Can we hotlink your icons?: No
sheliak: (sun ceremony)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] sheliak 2024-06-24 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
Username + where you post your work: Sheliak, https://sheliak.dreamwidth.org/tag/icons
What can we request from you (tutorials, Q&A, guides etc.) I'll do my best with any of these!
=Can we hotlink your icons?: Sure, go ahead.
aurora_amethyst: Kim Yu-na with gold stars in her hair. (kim yuna)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] aurora_amethyst 2024-06-24 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
Username + where you post your work: [personal profile] aurora_amethyst @ [community profile] 1wonderment
What can we request from you (tutorials, Q&A, guides etc.) Pretty much anything. I have most of my icons saved.
Can we hotlink your icons?: Yes.
impala_chick: (Catherine The Great)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] impala_chick 2024-07-19 05:31 am (UTC)(link)
I would love to know more about how to make a close/far icon like this: https://i.imgur.com/Y6jLNZA.png
aurora_amethyst: Lucy Pevensie when she first enters Narnia and notices the snow. (animated)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] aurora_amethyst 2024-07-30 04:04 am (UTC)(link)
Here you go! ^^
aurora_amethyst: Song Seung Hun giving flowers to Kim Tae Hee in the drama <i>My Princess</i>. (happy couple)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] aurora_amethyst 2024-08-09 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much! I don't mind at all! ^^
wickedgame: (Vegas | KinnPorsche)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] wickedgame 2024-06-24 09:49 am (UTC)(link)
Username + where you post your work: wickedgame @ [community profile] mundodefieras
What can we request from you (tutorials, Q&A, guides etc.) I can do Q&As/guides. I don't keep PSDs, so I can't write step by step tutorials for specific icons.
Can we hotlink your icons?: yes
wickedgame: (Wolfgang | Sense8)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] wickedgame 2024-07-05 01:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! ♥

Here's the coloring tutorial https://mundodefieras.dreamwidth.org/45668.html

I'll write the fonts/text guide at a later date :)
abyss_valkyrie: made by <user name=narnialover7> (Default)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] abyss_valkyrie 2024-07-20 01:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Seconding this about the text.I simply love the textwork and the combos you use!
wickedgame: (Vegas | KinnPorsche)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] wickedgame 2024-07-27 05:54 pm (UTC)(link)
And finally, here's the text guide https://mundodefieras.dreamwidth.org/46578.html
themeparks: (Default)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] themeparks 2024-07-03 06:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Can you do a tutorial or guide for how you get your vibrant colorings, like in this post? These are amazing! https://mundodefieras.dreamwidth.org/45380.html#cutid1

Also maybe a guide of your favorite textures and fonts?
Edited 2024-07-03 18:58 (UTC)
wickedgame: (Haru | Free!)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] wickedgame 2024-07-05 01:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Here's the coloring tutorial https://mundodefieras.dreamwidth.org/45668.html

I'll write the fonts/textures guide at a later date :)
wickedgame: (Jason | Dark Matter)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] wickedgame 2024-07-27 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
And finally, here's the text guide https://mundodefieras.dreamwidth.org/46578.html
impala_chick: (Default)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] impala_chick 2024-07-19 05:19 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, +1 for a font guide please :)
goodbyebird: Xena: Close-crop of Xena, making the blue in her eyes stand out. (Xena warrior princess)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] goodbyebird 2024-06-26 09:12 am (UTC)(link)


Username + where you post your work: [personal profile] goodbyebird at [community profile] spankulert
What can we request from you (tutorials, Q&A, guides etc.) Anything goes, though I may not be able to do a direct tutorial on a specific icon, it depends if I have the PSD tucked away somewhere. My earlier tutorials are here.
Can we hotlink your icons?: Hotlink away!
Edited 2024-06-26 14:37 (UTC)
impala_chick: (CK || Johnny Introspective)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] impala_chick 2024-07-19 05:33 am (UTC)(link)
I'm really curious about blending two subjects together, like in this icon: https://goodbyebird.dreamwidth.org/file/774210.png
littlemissnovella: (Default)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] littlemissnovella 2024-06-28 04:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Username + where you post your work: littlemissnovella @ [community profile] lullabycharmed
What can we request from you (tutorials, Q&A, guides etc.) Maybe, I can do a Q&As/guide, but I can be a bit wordy too. I don't keep PSDs either, but I can try to recreate the icons if even I remember what steps I did, so I'm not sure if I can I really write step by step tutorials for specific icons.
Can we hotlink your icons?: yes
Edited 2024-06-28 16:41 (UTC)
impala_chick: (911 || Hen and Chim)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] impala_chick 2024-07-19 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
Hello! I'd like to learn how to make an icon like this: https://i.imgur.com/6FFabIQ.png You don't have to recreate the exact icon, but how do you cut out small, complicated subjects like that to put onto a different background?
littlemissnovella: (Default)

Re: Maker Thread

[personal profile] littlemissnovella 2024-07-22 12:18 am (UTC)(link)
Tutorial can be found here:

lullabycharmed.dreamwidth.org/44593.html


Let me know if you have any more questions, I hope this helps you!
Edited 2024-07-22 00:44 (UTC)
kissed: commission ༉‧₊˚. (personal ᡣ𐭩 iri6)

Re: Questions Thread

[personal profile] kissed 2024-06-25 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Hello! So with certain icons I've seen or even just in general, they do this effect that makes the icon's focal point pop and I was wondering as to what exactly this technique is and if at all possible, a guide on how to do it. Usually it's used with solid backgrounds or you can tell it's used icons in general like the examples below with varying degrees (for these examples they're all concentrated in the middle):



It could be something simple (hopefully) but I'm pretty new to PS techniques, so any help would be appreciated~ Thank you!
kissed: commission ༉‧₊˚. (bg ᡣ𐭩 bloodlust)

Re: Questions Thread

[personal profile] kissed 2024-06-26 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for the help and the steps! It definitely sounds like what I'm looking for, so I'll try it out next time and report back! 💀
goodbyebird: The Good Wife: Close-up of Kalinda, face turned to the side. (TGW Kalinda)

Re: Questions Thread

[personal profile] goodbyebird 2024-06-26 09:16 am (UTC)(link)
That's a blob of a light color/white, set to soft light. Usually nestled within the other layers of the icon, so it adds light but doesn't wash out the colors. It's a great way to create some movement in an icon, or highlight things you want to bring attention to.

This old tutorial by [livejournal.com profile] letsey_x covers the use of light blobs.
kissed: commission ༉‧₊˚. (free! ᡣ𐭩 ໂ‧͡‧̫ໃ)

Re: Questions Thread

[personal profile] kissed 2024-06-26 02:29 pm (UTC)(link)
THANK YOU! It's nice to finally have a name for this technique. And thank you for linking a guide as well! 🤍
goodbyebird: Baldur's Gate 3: Lae'zel looks like she's about ready to burn your whole village down. (☆ wash our weapons in Absolute blood)

Re: Questions Thread

[personal profile] goodbyebird 2024-06-26 02:44 pm (UTC)(link)
yw! It's a fairly beloved trick of the community :)
abyss_valkyrie: made by <user name=narnialover7> (Default)

Re: comics tutorials

[personal profile] abyss_valkyrie 2024-07-20 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you!Comic colouring is hard,haha!
littlemissnovella: (Default)

Re: comics tutorials

[personal profile] littlemissnovella 2024-12-18 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
This is so helpful! I find comics/anime are harder to edit, imo!
scifirenegade: (Default)

Re: Questions Thread

[personal profile] scifirenegade 2024-07-01 01:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Wanted to know, is anyone familiar with making icons using black and white source materials (like older films)? How do you handle cropping and resizing screencaps? Any neat techniques you're willing to share?

I understand this is a bit too general, but it's hard to find someone who does guides and tutorials that focus on b&w source material icons :')
scifirenegade: Steven is beardy and happy! (smiling | steven)

Re: Questions Thread

[personal profile] scifirenegade 2024-07-04 05:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you very much. In that icon-tutorial comm there was a very nice one with James Dean, thought it very nice. So this has been certainly helpful ^^
abyss_valkyrie: made by <user name=narnialover7> (Default)

Re: Questions Thread

[personal profile] abyss_valkyrie 2024-07-20 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Choosing blu ray scans are the best trick I'd say. Old films have a grainy quality & when resized gets blurry. If not available,I can try to deal with it this way.
Resize.
Use sharpening or sharpen edges option.
Then magnify the picture & use the blur brush to blur the grainy skin texture. I'll try to make a graphic post about how to do this right away since it's pretty straightforward. :D
Edited 2024-07-20 13:36 (UTC)
scifirenegade: The seventh Doctor and Ace standing under an umbrella and having a grand ol' time. (yay | seven & ace)

Re: Questions Thread

[personal profile] scifirenegade 2024-07-23 12:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much for the trick!
abyss_valkyrie: made by <user name=narnialover7> (Default)

[personal profile] abyss_valkyrie 2024-07-20 01:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Username + where you post your work:abyss_valkyrie @ [personal profile] abyss_valkyrie under the icons tag or anything like fandom10in30, monthlyinspo etc.
What can we request from you (tutorials, Q&A, guides etc.) Tutorials.
What I can't do:Complex animations and maybe other things but I can't think about any at the moment.
Can we hotlink your icons?:Yes