[Showcase] Be Brave, Be Beautiful, Be You - Palamon's Icon Gallery

[Palamon]

404 Title Not Found.​

Right, so I'm an graphic manipulator. I use images I find on the internet, and do things to them, such as adding background filters, and basic stuff, like sharpening, vibrance, hues, contrast, etc, and many more that I'm literally too lazy to list. I used to use Paint, and then go onto Imgur to edit the image, but after playing with Photoshop CS5 in school, I learned the art of graphic manipulation. After graduation, I had to drop down to GIMP, then caved and downloaded Photoshop CS2. I've been making (bad) icons since 2009, but I really got myself on my feet in 2014. I have more than 400 of them, you've been warned.

I... personally think all my icons are really bad, and have no confidence in my work. Anyway, here goes, I suppose.

---> 2009, 2011, 2012, the rookie batch. (Mostly Pokemon icons from backgrounds and renders).​

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--> Images made into avatars. (2013 - 2014).​

Early experiences.

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[/IMG]

---> Later vector + background stuff​

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---> GIF Avatars​

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---> Signatures​

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All of these are from 2014.

Total: 221.

Now, onto this year...

---> 2015 manipulation icons​

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[/IMG]

]

---> From vectors​

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---> Signatures​

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Total: 481.

Overall total: 702.

...I like this a lot, apparently.

Sources: Zerochan, Minitokyo, DeviantArt (for the vectors), Bulbapedia (sprites and sugimori art), Tumblr (original gifs), Pinterest, WeHeartIt, I.ntere.st, E-shushuu, and many others I forget.

If you actually go through this mess, I applaud you because I'm bad at this.

 

[myystogan]

Alright, Pala. I know I told you just a few days ago that I wouldn't be posting around here, lol, but you opened up your gallery, so... I'm kinda obligated to leave you some input, haha.

First off, you should really stop doing this:

I've been making (bad) icons since 2009, but I really got myself on my feet in 2014. I have more than 400 of them, you've been warned.

I... personally think all my icons are really bad, and have no confidence in my work.

I've been telling you time and time again that your editing isn't bad, and I'm not lying through my teeth here. I've probably seen you progress from the very beginning, and I - as well as anyone else - can see the development you've made in terms of cropping, sharpening, coloring, and etc. Downgrading your work isn't the way to go, because every artist needs to have a good idea about their skillset. Why? So they don't think they're the **** when they're really not, or sell themselves short (like you, for example).

That aside, I'm not going to comment on anything from 2010-2012, because you've fixed the mistakes you've made in those icons. Tbh I'm surprised you even showcased them here, because I know I can never showcase any of my stuff from 2011, lmao. Way too painful. But it's a good thing you did, since it really stresses the improvement you've gone through over the years, as I mentioned earlier.

Everything just gets so much smoother as we move down, which I love. I've said before that you capture action well, AND WHILE I RAT ON YOUR SHEER MULTITUDE OF CENTER CROPS ALL THE TIME, you really have gotten better with it. Just remember to hold Shift down while resizing (Ctrl+T) to keep the proportions of the image intact, so the final resized product doesn't look wacky.

SO. SINCE YOU HAVE EVERYTHING TOGETHER HERE. I might as well end this section with my list of favorite icons from you... of all time. Here we go.

Spoiler:

Okay, I lied. I can't post links yet because this is my only post at the moment, lmao, which means no images right now. But I'll be back with the top 10, damnit.

(Also, one last note before I go - there are some unused tags lying around in your thread. Might want to clean those up in the future. But then again, I know how it is; once you get all your goddamn images together, you don't even want to fix anything else... in the same month, at least :-P )

Oh, and P.S.: LESS CENTER CROPS, MORE OTHER CROPS. My posts on any version of your gallery wouldn't be complete without this, honestly. I will literally always say that because once you improve that, everything else will go along with it in due time. Still can't wait for when you start dabbling in more complex iconing; I'd be all over that ;-]

 

[Fairy]

I've been telling you time and time again that your editing isn't bad, and I'm not lying through my teeth here. I've probably seen you progress from the very beginning, and I - as well as anyone else - can see the development you've made in terms of cropping, sharpening, coloring, and etc. Downgrading your work isn't the way to go, because every artist needs to have a good idea about their skillset. Why? So they don't think they're the **** when they're really not, or sell themselves short (like you, for example).

This x27843892

Pala, your work is amazing, and I don't want to hear anything to the contrary! Seriously, there are some really, really strong pieces in here. I particularly love these two. The positioning, the colors, everything about them really jive with me.

Your earlier work is good, but you've clearly improved quite a bit as well. I have a feeling that some of your weaker icons from the 2013-14 era is a result of poor original images, not necessarily poor editing. Pieces like this one just aren't as strong because the image isn't all that great, and no amount of masterful editing will save it, you know? It's meaningful, yes, but still comes across as pretty two dimensional in the end sadly. Many of the errors in your early works that I could point out have not only been fixed/removed, but re-implemented in later pieces masterfully.

As for your more recent works, I finding some juxtaposition here. These two icons, for example. Right next to one another, both similar in composition. However, the one on the left is the weaker of the two. It seems over sharpened, over contrasted, and overworked. Whereas the right one is much softer, easier on the eyes, and displays real mindfulness for the subject. I'm wondering why you made some of the stylistic choices you did with the left one when, in comparison, the similar icon on the right was executed so well. Just experimenting?

Likewise, one of your signatures look like it was extracted oddly. Like this one. It's not bad at all, but it looks like it could use a bit of blending. Don't forget to make sure your subject looks organic to the background and that they mesh nicely. The lighting/shading on the character doesn't match the background, since there's so little going on back there. I'd recommend adding a light source and pushing that one a little further graphically. All the pieces of a great signature are there, it just needs a little TLC!

I sincerely hope you continue to post your work here, it's a shame to keep it all to yourself! It's obvious you've got a damn good eye for positioning, color, and evoking an emotion, and it really shows. There's some awesome stuff in here, so keep it up! You're doing great. :)

 

[Palamon]

Alright, Pala. I know I told you just a few days ago that I wouldn't be posting around here, lol, but you opened up your gallery, so... I'm kinda obligated to leave you some input, haha.

Charmed to have been the reason you made your first post.


Okay. Sorry for not quoting the whole posts, I like to clip things. <_<

This x27843892
two icons, for example. Right next to one another, both similar in composition. However, the one on the left is the weaker of the two. It seems over sharpened, over contrasted, and overworked. Whereas the right one is much softer, easier on the eyes, and displays real mindfulness for the subject. I'm wondering why you made some of the stylistic choices you did with the left one when, in comparison, the similar icon on the right was executed so well. Just experimenting?

Yes, these were experiments back when I was playing on GIMP. I didn't know how to sharpen on there at first, so those two were kind of... eh. I remember trying to remake them, but kind of failed, aha. GIMP didn't really give me much sharpening when I had to downsize, and I wouldn't be caught dead using those icons, tbh.

Well, here's for my first ion dump of the month!

---> November Update: Lots of Yu Gi Oh?​

This month, you'll probably see a hell of a lot of Yu Gi Oh icons, but not a lot... of icons, perse. This will probably be a short update since I haven't made as many this month. I've run out of characters now. You'd think that's impossible, but there are only so many icons I can do. It kind of sucks I've been stuck lately. Going to try and make two a day again when I can get back into my groove. This month, I've kind of taken a break, I guess? But I've been playing around with effects like glow a lot, so you'll see this in some of them. White backgrounds are kind of boring, so I spruce them up. I tried to do less center crops since Anton keeps saying "LESS CENTER CROPS!11!!!" So, I gave it a go, but I didn't get far... yeah, this is going to be a very tiny update. Sorry! D: Mostly the same characters, too. I'll add up my total when I'm done to see how many I have now. I only did manipulations and screenshots this month, so nothing really fun with vectors... man, I need new anime to icon. u_u I AM INCLUDING MY SLIPUPS. I HAVE A FEW, AND I'LL PROBABLY EXPLAIN THE ONE SLIPUP ICON I HAVE IN HERE.

---> Manipulations.​

Spoiler:

Okay, the slipup: This one, I don't know what happened, color erased, and the crop was overall kind of... bad. But, I like the red I tried to add to it.

Anyway.

Total: 45.

Well, adding to this, we have: 747 icons.

I'm having a little too much fun with effects... yikes. But, I'm getting a little better at it, I guess? As you can see, the icon I'm currently using is my definite favorite of this set of 45. I'm willing to give any of these away except the Yu Gi Oh ones. If you use them, ask me first. If you need any sources, I used the same ones, and if I had time to go look for all 45, I'd go do it now, but same sources as I listed in the OP. The Owari no Seraph one was a screenshot I compiled, so that one is on me. I feel like I've been coloring too much this month, though, for my next update I'm going to try to desaturate, maybe? Also, the one of Lucy, I used a filter called "glowing edges." I like it, and plan to use it again.

Anyway, point out your favorites, and point out the ones I could have done better on.

I've... been feeling kind of bad lately, so I don't know how many icons I'll be willing to make during this month. We'll see.

Okay, off I go to hunt for the Millennium Puzzle.

 

[myystogan]

Anyway, point out your favorites, and point out the ones I could have done better on.

Ask and you shall receive! Here's my input.
(Though I am running pretty low on time so I'm only pointing out what you could do to improve; I'm sure you can guess which one is my favorite anyway IT'S OBVIOUSLY KIRIGIRI BECAUSE I'M BIASED AND PREDICTABLE)

Rough lines can easily look oversaturated and/or overly sharp, so I'd advise you to pay close attention to that. The outlines around Lucy and Ene look pretty awkward in particular. Was the original image like that? If so, I'd recommend completely scrapping images with low quality bits. Being a stubborn mule can pay off sometimes, but there are a lot of other images you can choose from and make a better icon out of. Also, nobody can run out of images!! It's not possible!! And if you ever feel like you do, hit me up with a VM/tweet and I'll give you suggestions. Lmao.

Glaringly LQ. The majority of the image is visibly pixelated. If you can't remedy that with a gaussian blur layer/manual blur or something, it's better to scrap the image.

Finally, you know exactly what I have to say about crops. I doubt I need to express it again, but y'know.... just leaving this out there :-P
Hmm, but before I go - question. What exactly do you want to achieve with your icons? Is it good coloring? Just curious, as practically every icon-maker has a different attribute they want to work on.

EDIT: BAM

Spoiler:

MY FAVORITE ICONS FROM YOU OF ALL TIME
(in no particular order)
(I know we decided on 10 but it's 7AM, I'm sleepy, and I can't narrow these down orz)

 

[Palamon]

Oops. I'm alive. Hi.

--->December Update: Boys.​

I've been kinda eh when it comes to icons this month, and haven't really done much notable? Less than two pages on my Photobucket, so I've been too lazy to actually update my thread, but I might as well get it over with so I can make some more again? Yeah, I guess so. Quite frankly, my icon muse died a bit since the death of the other forum I used to go on called Slateport City, but whatever! Without further ado... plenty of male people in this update.

Manipulations​

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Total: 36.

Now, current total: 763.

Nothing interesting this month at all, really. Just effects I've used before. I almost didn't wanna update.

I haven't really made any icons at all yet during this month, but I'm trying... just... no motivation.

 

[myystogan]

Without further ado... plenty of male people in this update.

I almost choked on my orange juice, because when the **** does this happen?

But yeah, that aside, I really dig these:

And especially this one:

I just SO BADLY want you to be able to churn out stuff of that level every month. That is an incredible icon right there.
Though I have to say, (yeah, it's coming, you know it is) imagine how many possibilities you had with the crop. In fact, I was sure this image held so much cropping potential that I searched for it and this is what I got out of it:

Those are six different crops out of a million, yet you settle with center. I do urge you to experiment more :-[
I know you probably wanted to include the rest of her sweater, but honestly, not everything needs to be captured. You are the one who decides what needs to be there and what doesn't. So don't fall into the traps of including as much you can, because that idea is bullcrap. I honestly need a word with the person who claimed that.

Also, I have a small tip for you. In your icons, sometimes there are little details that could be covered up to make the final outcome cleaner. There's [one instance] of this in your current batch.
The little triangle on the left looks a bit awkward, so erasing/brushing white over it wouldn't have hurt ;-]

Oh yeah, and I'm kind of baffled at how inconsistent your sharpening can be. Or is it the picture?? I've put two examples below:

Perfectly Sharpened vs The Complete Opposite of Perfectly Sharpened
That first icon of Ayano is so perfect but the second one is extremely rough.
Do you sharpen all of your icons, actually? Because I kinda think the image started out like that, due to the shakiness of the lines. So I did a slight investigation on it and I realized the lines of the images themselves (for ex, [x] and [x]) are rough, and you end up making them even more scratchy through coloring. Just hmu and I'll give you methods to control this, you are definitely not expected to just truck on through this predicament.

And before I go, one last thing (which is a bit related to that quality problem you have) - I remember you tweeted about doing the lines again or something like that in [this icon].
Unfortunately I think the purple just made it super grainy (or grainier). Trying to make this work would be a good time to hmu about it, haha.
Good luck with getting back into your groove, finding inspiration, and becoming better altogether. Looking forward to what you can come up with next month.

 

[The Invisible Man]

These are sick! Nice job Pala~

 

[Palamon]

---> January Update: The Smallest Yet.​

​

I haven't really had much muse for icons this month, so there won't be many rows. I haven't found many anime I like, so I reduced my icon making to a very small amount. I intend to try and make more this month if I want to, but my muse is very small, so no promises. Without further ado, this month's update. I'm warning you again, that it's less than twenty.

Manipulations​

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Total: 12.

Now, current total: 775.

Quality > quantity.

I'll still try to make at least 20 this month.

 

[myystogan]

Small as this update may be, I get the impression you went for quality over quantity. There are a few offenders, of course, though I'm sure you realize it already, and I'm not going to be a ****ty person and crucify you for experimenting or anything like that. Lmao. I know that feel, when experimenting goes wrong.... anyway, I'll always encourage it ;-]

BUT YEAH THIS IS A PRETTY SOLID UPDATE AND HERE'S WHAT I THINK THE MOST NOTABLE ICONS ARE:

The sharpness does wonders for the Kuroha icon. I love the feel of it.
Also, I've always been a sucker for bold colors, which is why that Matryoshka icon instantly caught my eye.
And finally, the crop on that Anna icon is great! I do love it when you mix things up from the usual center crop, after all :-P

Excited for the next update, Pala! ;-]

 

[Palamon]

---> February Update: Sometimes, I do things.​

This month, another short update. I mostly did experiments with icons, and didn't make too many. I almost filled up a full page of icons this time around, so that's about half more than what I made last time. Mostly did a bunch of texture and cropping icons to see how it'd go. You'll probably notice the effects I used quite early on as you go through what I manipulated. So, without further ado... so I can stop babbling...

Manipulations.​

Spoiler:

Total: 22.

Now, current total: 797.

Oh, hey! More than twenty this time... by a mere two.

Some of these look kinda awkward... maybe there's some good ones in this batch. I messed up on a ton of them. ^^;

 

[myystogan]

You're still experimenting, which is always good! Idk if I should say anything else, since I feel like I covered everything I wanted to say already last time, haha. In ways, this batch is a bit similar to your last one.

ANYWAY, FAVORITES.

I like the crops of the first two, and I LOVE the coloring of the last two! Really vibrant. I honestly think the fourth icon is one of your best ever in terms of adjustments.