Complete Icon Tutorial - All About Icons

[PitzerMike]

Don't worry. It's all good.

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Mmm, well i am almost done with tests and exams ...
I don't know how to use a command line very well yet (never did that before), but if you teach me, i can give your program a try ... as long as he works with 2^16 color bits, it may prove useful... Still don't know... I will probably remake this tutorial when blackdoom finishes his new W3IR program.

 

[Kimbo]

Doesnt cover about making an icon image, just teaching people to cnp from anywhere whish isnt good and would encourage rule breaking icons if submitted at hive. Maybe explain some tips of icon image creation or such.. just a quick over view instead of encouraging brute cnp (which is qualified as stealing).

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Next time READ the entire tutorial before making such a non-sense comment.

I explain to people that issue, and therefore i also took measures:
1- I tell people the difference between editing and stealing
2- I tell people that steal is wrong and will be punished
3- I tell people i won't tell them how to make the figure: that depends on your skills and it would be wrong to teach people MY method, when people should use theirs.
4- To complete point 3, i tell people websites that teach methods about making icon figures, and i recommend those websites to any icon maker.
5- i also give people the icon RULES from THW website, so they can know what they should do.

There are only five points here ( i made them in about 1 minute), but if you search my tutorial carefully, you will see many other points that point to that issue, as well as a resolution for those points.

My tutorial took three months to do and was in evaluated during more then 3 weeks by the BEST icon makers in w3.
It is flawless. Everything is pointed out and every fail on my tutorial has a solution, as long as you search for it within the tutorial.

You may be an excellent moderator, model maker, resource maker, or whatever, but that does not give you the right to make false comments about my work.
It took me a lot of patience and effort to create and POST it in THW, so please at least respect that.

 

[Kimbo]

I dont think you realize then, your "points" you said then are obviously pointed out in the wrong section of your tutorial, I shouldn't have to look in other sections of the tutorial and im "sorry" for making a "mis-read" because of your fault on message/point placement.
I suggest you respect me for trying to point out an issue i "thought" I saw and giving advice rather than accusing me that im bashing your "work" and making so called false comments like you are doing towards me.
Your tutorial is not perfect, no tutorial will ever be so do NOT gloat about it or claim as such, thats one thing i dislike about your tutorial, that it claims to overrule other tutorials.

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

I made my tutorial and i know what my points mean,thx, and they are exactly where they need to be. It's not my fault if you don't read the tutorial with a minimal set of attention.

I know my tutorial is NOT perfect, and I don't claim IT IS perfect, it's just the best, biggest and most complete icon tutorial I've ever seen, and therefore i have the right to tell people the truth about my work.
Still I also use and recommend smaller tutorials for people to read, as some of them are very specific about some sections. My tutorial it's like a huge book with all sections and recommendations, so it would not be wise to ignore other tutorials made by people, as they can also help improve my great book.

Also, "the way" you typed your message, made me thought you were making stupid comments to bash my work. I know the way people talk is different from the way they write, still i thought your comments were no good, and therefore i answered the way i did.

You may realise that I will certainly find comments like

Doesnt cover about making an icon image

very offending .. please next time you write something watch out the manner you do it, I took my time to write about the topic you pointed.

I apologise if I offended you because you were just trying to help me, that was NOT my intention. ALL comments are WELCOME, I believe it is good to know the opinion of various people but please keep an eye on the way you write them, as I am very sensitive to comments, especially on the tutorial.

Also, i am considering improving my tutorial. This tutorial will be improved when the new version of W3IR is released by BlackDoom. Still I am considering the chance of adding a new icon creation program called "W3Borderizer". As you can see I know the week points of my work and so I try to correct them.

I may also change to the Warcraft 3 icon's version in a further version.

 

[AzadHuffy]

!

Very Nice, Perfect and Useful !
Thank you very much !
but :
<<< The Autocast icons don't need DISBTNHuffy_autocast ! >>>
I mean, if you look in the original warcraft maps (MELEE),
the disabled autocast icon are disabled of their normal (ACTIVE) icons.


( I don't know well about English ! because i'm Iranian ! and 13 years old !
i'm making a map [ AoS - Elf vs Orc ] but not finished yet.
if you have any suggestions please E-Mail me at <<< [email protected] >>> )

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Thx for your comment. It is rare to have nice feedback nowadays. However:

<<< The Autocast icons don't need DISBTNHuffy_autocast ! >>>
I mean, if you look in the original warcraft maps (MELEE),
the disabled autocast icon are disabled of their normal (ACTIVE) icons.

I am aware of this fact. Blackdoom (the creator of the program i use) told me that.
The reason why I do that, it's because of quality. Warcraft has a fault in that matter, they forgot to create a DISBTN_AUTOCAST icon for the spells. This is very bad because this way it is impossible to know if the ability (or the function the icon will be associated with) is autocastable or not. You can't know if inner fire, or polyform are auto-castable because there is no String saying that and because the icon borders don't suggest such idea.

I decided to cover that issue in my work, and so I adapted my own style in icon making and teaching.
I teach what I think it is best, you can always choose either to accept it or not.

I am actually waiting for the next version of W3IR to come out, so I can update this tutorial. When that happens, I will focus that issue and the tutorial itself will suffer some huge transformations.

Btw, you can always rep+ some =P.

 

[Sai_RooTAnbu]

Thx Flame_Phoenix this tutorial was a super help to me!!If you need any thing I'm infront of you to help :]]

 

[bigDino]

Flame_Phoenix, when i was trying to do this, at the part when i press border images, a message that says something like "please remove the illegal characters in the suffix thingy" and there's nothing even there, and so i need help with this. what do i do?

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Well, when naming icons and files you should only use custom ASCII characters from the custom library every single computer shares. What does this mean ??
It means your files cannot not be named with special characters like ^~ªº`´*+ and so on, this includes the German "u" and the Nordic "i" per example.
Also your files MUST have a name, in order to be identified. You can use numbers to name objects, and simple letters only. Remember this fact.

Hope this helps you with your problem - Happy icconing - Flame_Phoenix

Remember to give +rep to those who help you and feed back, as they are both very important =P

 

[plaid_man]

I need help with my icons

i read the tutorial and i did what it said. i have tried to make icons befor they worked(TGA file) but it had so DISBTN so i read this i did every thing right..so i tested in game both BTN and DISBTN are green and i did NOTHING RONG!?

WHAT DO I DO?

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Check the icon problems section of my tutorial. Your problem suggests that the path of the icon is wrong. You should read the import section as well. If this doesn't help re-read the tutorial, you did something wrong.

If still you have the problem, then PM me, and send me some screenshots, to see if i can help.

 

[Arvedui]

Wow this is a very nicely detailed tutorial. My very first try I got it all right
it flows nicely and the directions are excellent.

+rep!

 

[HFR]

Very thanks Flame_Phoenix.Thanks to your Tutorial I made some icons and,in my opinion make icons is much more easier than modeling.I made two icons:a Charizard(the Pokémon) and a Worm(from the Worms games series).

 

[LaXx64]

for some reason it says " No files of the dimensions category where found " Idk whats going on

 

[BlackDoom]

Ah, God...

People, don't freak out.

I've done my best trying to explain in that pesky tutorial (a.k.a. the ReadMe file) what thing does what and what error message you might get.

I still need some time to deal with some exams and job-related issues...

Please, let me get back on track and I will deliver a better, easier to use W3IR v2.0 ...

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Black DOom !!! HEy !
Good to see you are back. Just take your time mate =)

for some reason it says " No files of the dimensions category where found " Idk whats going on

Are you sure your files are 64x64 or 48x48 and are JPEG, BMP, etc ?? all according to what i explain ?

 

[MistAssass]

if i use a better picture than 24 bit will it work ?
because i made a lot of them and i need to be on my pc to check this out so for now can you tell me pls ?
TY !

 

[BlackDoom]

The W3IR version currently published was tested on 24bit and 32bit images.
People, I can't help acting more as a specialist than as an amateur. I know, the renaming system is a pain - well, think of this, I've tried to make it work as simple as possible !!!

@LaXx64: W3IR first looks in the input folder for file of the type you've selected. If any is found, it checks if it has the dimensions you selected (64x64 / 48x48). If no file matches the size restriction, W3IR will inform you that there are no files according to the settings YOU have selected.

@MistAssass: As specified in the ReadMe file - 24bpp & 32bpp images are supported at input.

Folks, I admit I have not checked the email address registered for quite a while now. but 5 minutes ago I did and guess what - NO email. So, if you intend to do something with W3IR, first read some technical details on images and such, then read the ReadMe carefully. Most of that document relies on common-knowledge... Excuse me if the high-school and college I took were oriented toward Computer Science. Although, W3IR is not the product of the training I have received within these educational institutions. Google is your friend. So I've learned.

Uff... I so don't want to hurt the feelings of anyone reading this post, but, let's face it: you're reading this using a PC. You should know more than just how to start Windows, click My Documents or get to Solitaire.

And learn to speak English, for crying out loud! It's not my native language, but seems to me I'm one of the few using nearly no abbreviations around here.

Bottom line is: I've specified a way to get in contact with me on W3IR related issues - bugs, code requests, suggestions. Nobody bothered to type a word for me and send it at that email address. And you're expecting everyone else to help you? For free?

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Folks, I admit I have not checked the email address registered for quite a while now. but 5 minutes ago I did and guess what - NO email. So, if you intend to do something with W3IR, first read some technical details on images and such, then read the ReadMe carefully. Most of that document relies on common-knowledge... Excuse me if the high-school and college I took were oriented toward Computer Science. Although, W3IR is not the product of the training I have received within these educational institutions. Google is your friend. So I've learned.

I have that document as an attachment, so people can read it =)

Uff... I so don't want to hurt the feelings of anyone reading this post, but, let's face it: you're reading this using a PC. You should know more than just how to start Windows, click My Documents or get to Solitaire.

Lol.. my friend you are forgeting a global truth: Most of windows users understand nothing about computers (No offense, I am also a Windows user), so you should expect the most dummy questions =)

Bottom line is: I've specified a way to get in contact with me on W3IR related issues - bugs, code requests, suggestions. Nobody bothered to type a word for me and send it at that email address. And you're expecting everyone else to help you? For free?

LOL, well I like helping people .. and happens o do that for free =P
Every time they have a problem and if they post it I always help if I can. Besides being the right thing to do, I also believe knowledge is to important for me (or some one else) to die alone with it.

Btw, when will the new version be released ?

 

[Arvedui]

if someone is experiencing problems it's only because of their own mistakes. As I have said I did this all in one try.. there is nothing wrong with any of the tools. I suggest mods close this thread and clean it of useless posts.

 

[BlackDoom]

I honestly have no idea when will I be having the time to work on it.
I'm torn between college (currently) and work (full-time, beginning the next week).

So, we'll see. It's doable, the only thing that pressures me is time. The lack of it.
And, yes, I do help everyone I can - ask my friends around here - but with this tool it seems I've only managed to put fuel on my @$$ and set it alight...

I tried to make the error messages actually useful toward future debugging, but, no, sir... Not enough...

Well, keep in touch.

 

[Softy]

first of all amazing tutorial, helped me alot and it went really fast to learn, especially that ur using alot of pictures thats awesome, anyway i never really understood what to do with the DISBTN file after importing it? where do i put it?

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Well, technically, you have to do nothing. As long as it has a matching name with the BTN icon, the game will take care of everything. The DISBTN icon is used when you press F10, per example.

You must be careful with the BTN icon, that is the most important. As long as you have the correct paths of your icons, you'll have to do nothing with the DISBTN icon but import it only =)

Thx for the comment =)

 

[RoughneckLeader]

This tutorial helped me ALOT! I learned how to make icons in less than an hour!

I posted my first ones in the Icon section (one is in my avatar). +rep

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

=) It is good to know I can help =)
Just waiting for new version now before updating tut =)

 

[Parrothead]

Thanks for the tutorial, worked first try .

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Np, Glad I could help =)

 

[KKRP]

One word: Awesomerific!!!

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

Thx for the comment =)
Thx for the +rep =D

 

[Shanghai]

i guess ur pro at making icons aswell...
can u do a tutorial how to make the icons i mean paint graffic etc

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

i guess ur pro at making icons aswell...
can u do a tutorial how to make the icons i mean paint graffic etc

Lol, I am not good at creating and drawing icons from start. That is why I added links to help people do it. This way the tutorial does cover all about icons =)

However, if you like to get help this people may be able to give you a hand:
- WereWulf
- CrazyRussian
- Elenai
- Pyritie

They are all very good at drawing stuff, maybe they can give you a hand =)

 

[JanSze]

Thx for the tut! +rep and love for ever xD

 

[JDT710]

A bit ago I got stuck on changing bmp's to blp's and I felt
like a complete noob...
This has really helped me nice job

 

[Pratiko]

thx man, now I finally removed green icons thx to you =D

<<< yeah im a n00b, who cares

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

thx man, now I finally removed green icons thx to you =D

<<< yeah im a n00b, who cares

Thx for reading the creator's note and for +rep =)

 

[DarkePacific]

How do you shade an icon and make it look good? Like icons like CR Makes...

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

How do you shade an icon and make it look good? Like icons like CR Makes...

Read the tutorials I recommend, one of them explain how if I am not mistaken.

 

[gimly32]

wow thanks this tutorial really helped me alot + rep

 

[Akolyt0r]

i would add paint.net and buttonmanager v.1.7 to the tools list at the bottom of the tutorial ..since they are really great tools ..

paint.net is free btw ..and there is a really nice .blp plugin available for it.

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

paint.net is free btw ..and there is a really nice .blp plugin available for it.

Never heard of them. Besides I would also have to make a tutorial for each tool and I don't think such is necessary, this says most things any icon maker needs to know.

Thx for the comment though =D

 

[ClaptonBlues]

What do you mea by "you people"?

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

What do you mea by "you people"?

Please elaborate.

 

[The Mechanic]

I'm sorry Flame_Phoenix, but I take it that a Hero or Unit icon is an Active Button. Its just that you fail to mention that in your intro...

Excellent tutorial though.

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

I'm sorry Flame_Phoenix, but I take it that a Hero or Unit icon is an Active Button. Its just that you fail to mention that in your intro...

Sometimes it is, but sometimes it is NOT. Icons for units or buildings can be ANYTHING... I don't fail to mention anything ...

Excellent tutorial though.

Thx =P

 

[ikillforeyou]

the bit about you two talking about the naga race is wrong, its just used as a campaign race, thats all. its only used in the allience campaign. Would it make sense to have an aquatic race in wc3 even though not all maps contain water?

 

[Flame_Phoenix]

the bit about you two talking about the naga race is wrong, its just used as a campaign race, thats all. its only used in the allience campaign. Would it make sense to have an aquatic race in wc3 even though not all maps contain water?

Why not? Not all maps have undead blights, you could just spawn water ...
Also, I don't remember writing stuff about Naga in this tutorial xD

 

[Sabelion]

Thanks alot m8 turtorial is a life saver. Best icon tutorial out there .

Just created some icons for my spells, wich I will probably upload on the website in about 1 week or smthing. But I think my icons might be to damn undefined to be uploaded (i am to lazy to make good icons for a spell atm, this think took me like 2 hours for 6 icons.)

Thanks!

 

[Storyyeller]

I've heard that icons formatted in certain ways will not show up in low texture detail mode. Do you know anything about this?