Killian (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
setsuntamew) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
killiansicons2025-01-26 11:37 pm
setsuntamew) wrote in killiansicons2025-01-26 11:37 pm
Entry tags:
Icon Progression 2024
Yoooooo~~~ I've never done one of these before, but I saw it on icontalking and figured- no time like the present to do something new, right? This was a ton of fun~
icontalking and figured- no time like the present to do something new, right? This was a ton of fun~| January |
   |
| I started the year strong with a variety of styles~ I'd been working on refining a grunge-y look for manga icons in 2023, and it really started coming together at the beginning of 2024. Also, with the announcement of Love Live's end of service, I was possessed with a desire to make icons of my best girls...which obviously needed to be sparkly! I'm particularly proud of the crop of on the middle icon - Legato is looking up and away nicely + the animation fits well - as well as the finicky bit of animation on the last one. Between the watery border and the moving glow on the text, getting the timing to line up took some time. Worth it, though!!! |
| February |
   |
| Once again, various styles, with me falling deep into Ensemble Stars! and immediately making icons from it. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with more anime type art, since what I was doing for manga icons didn't work the same way for them. But I had a lot of fun playing around with new techniques~ I also did a lot with interesting crops/ways of laying out multiple images in a single icon, which was a a fun exercise in stretching my creativity. ALSO!!!! I first opened killiansicons in February 2004 - back on GreatestJournal - making this its 20th anniversary :D |
| March |
   |
| I found the cute animated chibis that come with some enstars cards and went to town making icons with them XD I did run into problems with getting them to fit in the 60kb limit, but thus is icon making life. I still have a few I couldn't quite get to work right that I'd like to revisit eventually. |
| April |
   |
| I jumped back into icon contests and challenges this month, largely ic_animated and retro_icontest, as well as continuing to challenge myself. The first two icons are made from the same image but look very different...and then the third one features one of my favorite animation effects from good ol' Jasc Animation Shop 3. |
| May |
   |
| This month was a bit of a blur, since I was finishing up my last semester of college + traveling to celebrate it, but I still managed to make a few icons and change the layout of my personal journal. I love adding animation to icons, so for a lot of what I made this month, I tried incorporating more subtle effects into specific parts of the icon instead of the same couple effects I always use. I also gave my profile an overhaul for the first time in over a decade, and I'm still quite happy with it. |
| June |
   |
| Sooooo June is about where I fell off from icon making - and dreamwidth in general - for a few months of 2024. Between post-graduation mood crash and ramping up for con season, I was mostly glued to my sewing machine for a bunch of the summer...or being depressed on my couch, but the cosplay accomplishments are the really exciting parts ;D |
| July |
 |
| I spent the month powering through two fairly complicated cosplays for myself and my wife to debut at Otakon, so all my time in Photoshop was spent on designing things for the Cricut...I dealt with so much heat transfer vinyl... |
| August |
| |
| Con recovery + being deep, deep in enstars hell meant I was glued to my phone and not my computer :T |
| September |
| |
| ...this was also sorta enstars' fault, because I went too hard grinding an event and hurt my wrist D: I've been on and off struggling with crippling pain in one of my wrists since late summer 2024, and it eventually got in the way of using Photoshop ;w; But I did give my a tumblr a brand new layout, including matching banners for specific pages. I hadn't done that since...2016??? So that was about all the editing I had in me~ |
| October |
   |
| I had the idea for the first one as I was falling asleep one night, and since I didn't wanna pester my wife to get my phone, I had to just hope and pray that I remembered it in the morning....and I did. Still one of my favorite ones I've made this year- I love using little bits of animation in things. Also, October was a month of participating in contests/challenges, sharing old resources, and writing tutorials! I love giving back and sharing my knowledge, and it's been really gratifying to get back into the groove of explaining things ;D |
| November |
| |
| Okay, so I didn't make any icons in November, but I did release my first new icon resources since 2006!!! I got a nice comment on the post I made of all my old ones, and it inspired me to try my hand at doing it again :D I also did a lot of traveling due to the holidays, so that's my excuse. |
| December |
   |
| I finished up the year by finally completing an icon I started months ago, recreating an icon I lost the .PSD for back in 2011, and making something new! The "something new" was somewhat inspired by a couple of icons batmanda made for me back in the day on GJ. I figured that since all the enstars units have symbols, I could incorporate them into sparkly name icons...and of course I had to use a ~classic glitter~ for animation. I didn't make much in December, but I'm quite pleased with that I accomplished. |
| Goodbye, 2024 |
| While I didn't consistently make icons every single month, I did make a lot of icons in 2024 and I put a concerted effort into improving instead of stagnating. I've been making 100x100 icons since early 2004, which means I'm confident in my skills but I don't wanna just rely on the same shit I've always done. I wanna continue to expand my horizons in 2025, with a focus on incorporating text into more of my icons. I also want to get back into doing contests and challenges, and honestly, just be more of a part of the graphics making community in general :D also maybe post actual icons more consistently shhhhhh life is hard XD thank you to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small} rocketgirl2 for the awesome icon progression post template! |
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject