First Icon: I'm on my way...

[I3lackDeath]

Hello everyone!
I am currently experimenting with creating icons, learning-by-doing.
Pretty interesting to create your own stuff.
I have to get used to colours getting blended when resizing to 64x64.

First attempt was an orb, lacks realism and colour choice is a bit off, but as I said, these are just experiments, wide open for improvement. I felt like there was something missing "inside", had no real idea what it should be. Turned out to be a... wave?

EDIT: 2nd one. I'm much more satisfied with this one.

EDIT 2: 2nd one without glow.

 

[The_Silent]

Looks okay, as you say, colour is a bit off. But, well, could be an oil orb anyway, as oil often in sunlight takes different colours.

Oil

 

[I3lackDeath]

I kinda struggle with finding the adequate sharpening % so they don't stand out too much.
I use GIMP with 40-50% sharpening. Any advice?

 

[The_Silent]

The second one without glow look very good.

 

[I3lackDeath]

Allright, I'll try that out as soon as I get to it (mainly added glow because all WC3-ones feature a glowing background). I'll edit the first post then.

EDIT: Added to my first post. Orb size can be varied.

 

[kola]

You didn't need to update it, he was saying that the Second icon was very good. But he specified that the best of the 2 version of the second icon was the one with no Glow.

 

[I3lackDeath]

You didn't need to update it, he was saying that the Second icon was very good. But he specified that the best of the 2 version of the second icon was the one with no Glow.

Yeah, but I wanted to make sure that this is what he meant. I could have also deleted the background (the purple fog) and I wasn't too sure which one looks best to me, as that changed from day to day.

 

[I3lackDeath]

This was not meant to acutally end as a serious project, but it did so anyway... xP
Just doodled around and experimented with colours, the result was some sort of special orb for Nightelfs, holding a Moonstone (you can see some gemstones on it in the original image, unfortunately they can't be seen in the icon).

Original image

Feedback is very much appreciated.

Sorry for double-post, but actually this is an update.

 

[Saif]

its good, the background gives some kind of feeling and the shadings on the moon is good but I feel like it is lacking something, anyway it is a unique orb and I have not seen any of those yet

Edit : I see that you uploaded this to the icon section already, good job!

 

[I3lackDeath]

Update: This one was made with a reference ring I own. Haven't worn it in ages though. The flame out of its eye was an idea I came up with while working on it. It needed some special effect, otherwise it would have looked... boring? Criticism on how to improve it is very welcome.

Reference picture

Original image

 

[Foronisus]

In what program you make theese icons?

 

[I3lackDeath]

In what program you make theese icons?

GIMP all the way.

 

[Foronisus]

i forgot to say GOOD JOB!

 

[I3lackDeath]

I am currently working on a new icon.

I need some ideas on what death's hand should be touching (it should be living, so that the part he touches can actually die).

 

[chr2]

A flower or a newborn baby both symbolize life, so I guess one of those could work.

 

[kola]

Yes, a flower would be nice.

 

[I3lackDeath]

A flower or a newborn baby both symbolize life, so I guess one of those could work.

Yes, a flower would be nice.

Allright then, it will be a rose, a symbol for both life and love. I originally wanted it to be a leaf where the touched part dies, but this one is much better (and more colourful!). Thanks!

WIP

#1

#2

Any ideas on how to imrove this one are, as always, very welcome!

 

[D a w n]

that little ghost is hardly visible in the 64x64 version. I think you might want to change its color to get a contrast to the hand and making it bigger could be a good idea aswell.

 

[kola]

Make it easier to see the petals of the flower. Keep the strong outlines between them, but make the edge of each petal more red.

 

[I3lackDeath]

I found it quite hard to make the petals actually stand out (this is the first time I draw a rose, I didn't bother before because of its difficulty).
I pay too much attention to details in the original (rather big) image, which are not visible at all once resized.

Also, I now made that "ghost" bigger (it's some sort of death energy, comparable to a Lich's death animation) and change its colour along with some more contrast.
I originally just wanted it to be smoke (thus gray), now it's some sort of frosty blue (death's cold, right? xP ).

WIP 2

 

[D a w n]

better. now you only should make the middle of the rose begin to freeze

 

[I3lackDeath]

better. now you only should make the middle of the rose begin to freeze

Uh, DAMNIT! That's so true and I didn't get it while I was working on it! >_<
Woah, let's see if I can actually manage to make it look like it's freezing tomorrow, that's also a good theme for a background (looks kinda naked without one).

Thanks!

 

[kola]

Actually, I really like that version. If the freeze doesn't finish out well, this one is very good.

I would +rep, but i need to spread some before

 

[I3lackDeath]

Actually, I really like that version. If the freeze doesn't finish out well, this one is very good.

I would +rep, but i need to spread some before

Thank you, same problem here.
I'm a perfectionist, so that freeze HAS to work out, because it's a fantastic theme! :O

EDIT:

WIP 3

 

[D a w n]

looks good. But you should really also upload the other version, because the non frozen version is nice aswell

 

[I3lackDeath]

looks good. But you should really also upload the other version, because the non frozen version is nice aswell

Hm, don't you think that there should be more differences between them? Though I don't know what I should add/change about the non-frozen one.

EDIT: Maybe this will work. Simply recoloured death's energy to a brownish colour, representing decay rather than freezing cold.

Un-frozen

 

[M0rbid]

The hand looks very artificial. Seeing that you already used a bit of brown in the icon, I guess, some brown touches to the hand would really polish this up and get rid of the aritificial feel that it currently has. Also make sure that the different parts are clearly visible on the 64x64 version, that has to be a very fine but visible work. The middle connection is not all that clear in the scaled down version.
Hope that helped.

 

[I3lackDeath]

Oh, you mean so that it gets reflected on the hand to make it stand out less? Will try that. Polishing up follows once the overall concept is complete.
Thanks!

 

[M0rbid]

Actually, i mean: bones are not completely white, but have a brown touch: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/images/ency/fullsize/8915.jpg

 

[I3lackDeath]

Allright, that makes sense. Tried to apply the right shade of brown.

WIP 4

 

[chr2]

First of all, I really like that icon. However, I think it is now too brown. You might want to make it a littler lighter and yellower. The bone color of this skin by 67chrome is a perfect example of how it should look.

 

[kola]

Here's what i would do : Keep the white bone for the frozen icon (the colors are fitting better when it's white) and make the non-frozen brown.

 

[I3lackDeath]

First of all, I really like that icon. However, I think it is now too brown. You might want to make it a littler lighter and yellower. The bone color of this skin by 67chrome is a perfect example of how it should look.

Well, that's actually creme/beige. Since bone colour got an extra layer, it can be changed in no time.
Also, its colour isn't that visible on the icon anyway, so too much tweaking here won't show up propperly. I'll see what I can do though.

EDIT:

WIP 5