Inexorably Here

WELCOME

Tue, 07 Sep 2004 14:27:01 GMT

Before proceeding, please read my few simple rules.

All past icons can be found in the memories. All past brush sets and tutorials can be found in the userinfo. If you're taking any icons, please remember to comment and credit!

DRACO MALFOY

Sat, 24 Jul 2004 23:04:41 GMT

I've decided that Draco Malfoy is the sexiest thing in Potterdom, with that smug attitude and cocky outpouring that makes you want smack him, and be smacked back. What I wouldn't give to see Draco and Hermione hook up!

But instead of his tough exterior, this set shows the dark and despondent soul I suspect lives deep down inside of him, pleading for help even as he smothers that voice down.

Oh, how I love a fucked-up man. Too bad my boyfriend's completely normal.

COMMENT & CREDIT!

Song credit: Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park.

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PRISONER OF AZKABAN

Fri, 23 Jul 2004 15:27:39 GMT

I know, chapter titles are so overdone. But too bad. Here's some more. All 22 chapters from the Prisoner of Azkaban book.

Edit; Forgot to credit the goddess of the icon world, teh_indy, for the screencaps (although I'm sure everyone knows where to find them by now).

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NIKOLAS & EMILY

Tue, 20 Jul 2004 16:41:15 GMT

Yes, I watch General Hospital. And yes, I am completely obsessed with Nikolas and Emily. They're such a gorgeous couple with such a passionate love. So naturally, I had to make icons!

Song credits:
1-2. Insatiable - Darren Hayes
3-4. When You Touch Me - Brandy
5-6. Roads - Portishead
7-8. Somewhere I Belong - Linkin Park
9-10. Nothing Compares to You - Sinead O'Connor
11-12. Will You Remember Me - Sarah McLachlan
13-14. Feels Like Home - Chantal Kreviazuk
15-16. Bring Me to Life - Evanescence

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DAWSON'S CREEK

Sun, 18 Jul 2004 06:07:24 GMT

A Dawson's Creek portrait series, in honor of the third season DVD box set being released early. I wanted to make the minor characters (Andie, Audrey, Abby, Gretchen, Grams, and so on) but good promo images or screencaps of them are very hard to come by. I'll search harder tomorrow.

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KEIRA KNIGHTLEY

Fri, 16 Jul 2004 16:20:25 GMT

Couldn't resist making icons from the incredibly sexy Arena photoshoot. I was messing around with the colors a lot and decided to save a few different versions of each icon, so there's a nice variety here.

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BOXY BRUSHES

Tue, 13 Jul 2004 23:08:34 GMT

I've been using this boxy effect a lot lately, inspired by teh_indy. I haven't seen brushes for them yet, so I thought why not?

Download .zip file for PS7.
Image pack later, no time now.

DRACO/HERMIONE

Tue, 13 Jul 2004 15:14:35 GMT

All right, all right. I concede. D/Hr is a pretty awesome ship. And here are icons.

Lyric credits:
2. Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare
3. Fallen - Sarah McLachlan
4. Building a Mystery - Sarah McLachlan
5. Sweet Surrender - Sarah McLachlan
6. Possession - Sarah McLachlan

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CREDIT

Fri, 09 Jul 2004 03:00:37 GMT

It really irritates when I see people using my icons or brushes and not giving me any credit. After all the time and effort I put into making them, some people won't even take ten seconds to give credit where credit is due. Giving credit not only lets the maker know their work is being appreciated and they are being respected, but it also leads other people to the goods and completes the cycle of sharing! So don't be a theiving bastard - GIVE CREDIT WHEN USING ANOTHER PERSON'S ICONS OR BRUSHES!

EDIT; Yes, credit in userinfo is fine - in fact, the best way to credit, I believe. The reason for this post is I noticed someone using an icon with a brush I know I made, and there was no credit for me anywhere in their userinfo, icon keywords, etc. Thank you to all those who do credit!

SIRIUS/REMUS

Wed, 07 Jul 2004 04:53:39 GMT

Very small set of Remus and Sirius (and one of Ron's hand). Too tired and cold to continue.

Song credits:

1. Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm (because it's much better than Jacko's)
2. Make me Bad - Korn
3. Down with the Sickness - Disturbed
4. Faint - Linkin Park
5. Frozen - Madonna

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HARRY/HERMIONE

Tue, 06 Jul 2004 03:31:53 GMT

Since R/Hr are so overdone, and I'm such a rebel. Two small sets in two different styles.

Song credits:

1. There You'll Be - Faith Hill
2. Nothing Compares to You - Sinead O'Connor
3. Broken - Seether
4. I Love You - Sarah McLachlan
5. I'll Be - Edwin McCain
6. Anchor - Lifehouse
7. Never Let Go - Hanson
8. Angel - Sarah McLachlan

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5 6 7 8

MEMORIES

Mon, 05 Jul 2004 15:49:03 GMT

Added a ton of brushes and tutorials to the memories. There are more on Causality!

BORDERS 05

Sun, 04 Jul 2004 19:15:16 GMT

I've been using very simple borders lately, which I'd been making by hand on each icon, so I thought why not just make a set to make life easier? Here it is.

Download .zip file for PS7
Download image pack

HARRY POTTER

Sun, 04 Jul 2004 18:46:06 GMT

I didn't want to make Harry Potter icons since there are gazillions of them out there, but the pressure was just too much, and I caved. Just a few for now as I'm not feeling all that creative. Inspired by calixa's amazing set, and using screencaps from teh_indy.

There's also a tutorial included with this set.

Song credits, all by Lifehouse:

1. Sky is Falling
2. Take me Away
3. Anchor
4. Spin
5. Take me Away
6. Empty Space

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4 5 6

And here's a quick tutorial! I never save .psd files but I'll try to remake one to show you step-by-step how I achieved this effect.

Start off with a base.

I wanted a soft, light look, so I duplicated the background and set it to screen. I also sharpened this layer.

Created a new layer and used a texture brush by calixa on white, and left the layer style on normal.

I flattened the image, and decided it was time for some color. Using Variations, I went more blue a bunch of times, and more cyan once or twice I believe, lighter a few times, and less saturation once.

I created a new layer and made a rectangle selection at the top left corner, to surround their faces. I selected the inverse (CTRL + I) and painted it black. I set that layer to soft light.

Created another new layer and selected a border around the inner rectangle, if that makes any sense. I filled it with white, and set it to soft light.

Another new layer. In #EAA341, I used another brush by calixa, and set the layer to lighten.

Added some black text on overlay. Font is Georgia, in bold and italics, at 8pt.

Added a simple white border.

Now, this looks too dark, so I went back into Variations to lighten it up a bit. And, one last sharpen filter for the road.

The coloring is somewhat different from the original, meaning I probably didn't get the exact Variations path as I did the first time around, and I may have used a different brush for the orange texture. But you get the idea!

SILVERCHAIR: ANA'S SONG

Sun, 04 Jul 2004 04:21:00 GMT

Thanks to the wonderful onyourown and her caps of Ana's Song, here's a small set of icons, 100x80 just to mix things up.

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WEBSITE

Sat, 03 Jul 2004 15:35:51 GMT

Huge thanks once again to enriana who gave me space on her domain not only to host my icons but to open a small website! Check out Causality for an archive of my icons, tutorials, and brushes, as well as a long list of resources from other LJ users. I'm still planning to put up links for regular brush websites and free fonts, so stay tuned.

TUTORIAL: FULL ICON

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 23:39:44 GMT

As requested by karabearblu for the icon style I used in the latest set of Secret Window icons.

Since I don't save .psd files for my icons, I can't show you exactly how I made any one of the Secret Window icons, but I'll make a brand new one showing you all the steps!

This effect works best if you have a dark image to begin with, since a lighter one will look washed out with the layer styles.

So, we have our base:

To make it a bit darker and more intense, I duplicated the background, desaturated it, and set it to soft light.

Next, I used a reflected gradient with #8DA538 on black, and set it to linear light.

I did use a lot of texture brushes on the Secret Window set, but I tried out a few with this icon and none seemed to fit since there wasn't much light area in which a dark texture would show up, and since it's a dark icon I didn't want to use a light texture. I find textures work best when there is some empty space you need to fill - which is not the case here.

So, let's move onto the border. To create a nice burnt aura, I like to use a grungy border (here I used one by teh_indy) and gaussian blur it slightly, and set the layer to overlay. I also always use a 1px black border.

Now for the text. I'll use a simple line from the movie, "I didn't steal that story." I used Georgia for the font. The top line is at 4pt with a letter spacing value of 400, and the layer style is normal at 50%. The bottom line is at 6pt with a letter spacing value of 0, and the layer style is normal at 100%. Both layers are underneath the gradient layer, and both have a 1px black drop shadow.

Lately I've been into adding very small, unreadable text for some spice. Here I typed "I didn't steal that story" several times at 2pt, with a letter spacing value of 400. The layer style is normal at 40%.

There you have it!

To go an extra step, I'll show you a few examples of how I use Variations, which I usually do on each icon.

Darker x2, less saturation x2:

More red, more yellow, darker x2:

Less saturation x2, more red x4, more yellow x2, darker x3:

TUTORIAL: MAKING A BASE

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 22:50:22 GMT

This is a tutorial for beginners. A good icon cannot be made without a good base, so let me show you the quick and simple steps for making one!

You should always seek a good-quality image, preferably clear and sharp. You're not always lucky enough to find such images, especially if you're as picky as I am about your subject and you don't a lot to choose from. A certain level of grain and blur is all right, since grain will soften when you resize the image and you can use a sharpen filter to fix the blur. As long as you avoid absolutely horrid quality images, you should be fine. For this tutorial I chose a rather adequate quality screen capture from Pirates of the Caribbean.

The first step is to create an angle. Straight lines are boring, so I always rotate my image (Edit > Transform > Rotate) until I get something more interesting.

Next comes cropping, which is most likely the most important part of icon making. The golden rule to cropping is to not center your point of focus. Always have it off to one side or in a corner. Not only will that look more interesting, but it'll leave you ample space for text. Feel free to crop as much or as little off of your image. Here are examples of different ways to crop.

I like the second one best, so let's proceed with that. The next step, which you can see I've already taken, is to resize your image to 100x100 or smaller, depending on your personal preference.

Time to lighten up! Instead of adjusting the brightness of the base, I find that using layer styles gives you a much nicer result. A basic rule of thumb is to create two duplicates of your base image, set the middle to screen and the top to soft light, and desaturate either one or both of them. But, depending on the brightness and contrast of your image, you may choose to take a different route. Always experiment with different layers and styles until you find a look you like.

Since the image I'm using is quite dark, I decided a layer on soft light wasn't necessary, and only used one duplicate, desaturated and on screen. It was still a bit dark, so I duplicated the background again, and keeping the original color, I set it to screen.

I actually like the darker one better, so I decided to keep that. Though this is a good quality picture, it still needs a bit of sharpening, so I added the sharpen filter. It was a bit extreme, so I faded the filter (Edit > Fade) to 50%.

It looks nice as it is, but I thought I could accentuate the gloominess a bit more by tweaking the color. Using variations (Image > Adjustments > Variations), with the slider one bar to the left of the center, I went more green, darker, and less saturation.

And there's my finished base! When you have a great looking base, it's very simple to turn it into a great looking icon. By just adding a border, a gradient, and a few lines of text, I have a very melancholy icon of Captain Jack Sparrow!

TUTORIAL: COLORING METHODS

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 22:48:24 GMT

There are many different methods to coloring an image, so let me take you through them!

Keep in mind that the original color scheme as well as the brightness and contrast of an image will determine the effect any of these methods have. Some colors may not work well on a certain image. As always, experimentation is the only way to find what will and will not work.

Here's the base we'll be working with:

Hue/Saturation

By pressing CTRL + U or by going to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, you can change the color in two ways.

First, make sure the Colorize box is unchecked. By sliding the Hue scale back and forth, you can tweak the color of the entire image. This is a fine way to make slight changes, such as making an image less red. But you'll find that if you stray too far from the original color, your image will look strange and grainy. If you're looking for a surreal look, though, this will be useful to you.

A good example, at Hue +20:

A bad example, at Hue +150:

The other upside to Hue/Saturation is, obviously, being able to alter the saturation. This makes the color of an image more or less intense. If you have an extremely intense image, this will come in handy to tone down the overwhelming color.

More intense, at Saturation +50:

Less intense, at Saturation -50:

Now, click the colorize box, and you're able to change your image to a monotone color scheme. You can get a muted effect with low saturation, or a brightly colored effect with high saturation.

Hue 30, Saturation 25:

Hue 200, Saturation 40:

Color Balance

By clicking CTRL + B or going to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance, you can change the - surprise - color balance! This is a very helpful tool if an image has way too much of one color and you need to tone it down. Here, I've first amped up the red in my base using Hue/Saturation, so I can show you how to tone it down with Color Balance.

Midtones: -60, +25, +20

You can also use Color Balance to simply change the overall color scheme of your image. The possibilities are endless with so many different values of color in the midtones, shadows, and highlights. Here are a few examples of what you can get.

Midtones: -75, -25, 0
Highlights: 0, 0, -60

Midtones: +85, +50, -45
Shadows: 0, +40, 0

Midtones: +40, 0, +50
Shadows: +45, 0, 0
Highlights: 0, 0, -80

Variations

I use Variations on almost all of my icons, because it's so simple and can do so much for an image. Go to Image > Adjustments > Variations to adjust the color, brightness, and saturation step-by-step. You can add a small tinge of yellow, or flood it with blue, or mix red and green for a neutral look. Whatever your heart desires!

Again, the possibilities are endless, but here are a few examples, all with the slider one notch to the left of the center and on Midtones.

More green x2, more yellow, more red, darker:

More yellow x4, more red x2, lighter x2:

More cyan x2, more blue, lighter, less saturation x2:

Using Layers

Layers are another great way to give color to an image, and you can get effects with layers that you can't with the other methods.

One way, which is basically the same idea as using Colorize with Hue/Saturation, is to fill a layer and set the style to color. This will make the image completely monotone.

Using #C87D82:

By setting the layer style to hue, you'll get an entirely different effect, depending on the color and intensity of your image. With a less saturated image, you'll get a softer color; but with a brighter, more intense image, you'll see a brighter, more intense color.
Using the same color as above, here are two examples. The first is with the original base, and the second is with the yellow and green cranked up with Variations.

Using #C87D82:

Using other layer styles, you can get many different effects, most of which will maintain a trace of the image's original color scheme. You should use a light color with the styles that will darken an image, such as multiply, hard light, and vivid light. Consequently, use a dark color with the styles that will lighten an image, such as lighten, screen, and color dodge.

Using #FFD300 on multiply:

Using #742D5F on screen:

Using #6E941F on vivid light:

Using #384257 on color dodge:

For a duotone look, a gradient comes in mighty handy! Here is one example, but for more information on gradients, check out the gradient tutorial.

Using #A44B4B and #7A7F22 on hard light:

The exclusion layer will give you a very interesting muted duotone effect, if you use the right color. Here is one example, but for more information on the exclusion layer, check out the exclusion tutorial.

Using #002A5F on exclusion:

That's about all I can tell you about color! Remember - experiment, experiment, experiment!

TUTORIAL: EXCLUSION LAYER

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 22:42:13 GMT

Setting a colored layer to exclusion can do great things to an image. It's mostly used for altering the color of an image, and depending on the color that you use on the exclusion layer and the colors in the image itself, you'll end up with very different effects. Here are some examples of how to use an exclusion layer.

Here's our base image:

Usually, a dark and intense color works best. It gives subtle change to the image but enough for a nice effect.

Using #001756:

Using #00433A:

Using #4A2D00:

Using #5C0000:

Using #590054:

If you use a medium color in between the dark and light range, your picture will look very dull. I hardly use this effect myself, but it might be helpful if you're going for a muted look.

Using #005A88:

You'll find that if you use a color that's too light, you'll end up with an ugly inverted color scheme, like so:

Using #FFE0B0:

However! Create a new layer between your base image and the exclusion layer. Fill it with a different pastel color, and set it to difference. This gives you a beautiful duotone effect. There are so many different color combinations you can make here - the possibilities are endless!

Using #FFE0B0 on exclusion, #F7CBFF on difference:

Using #CBFFF8 on exclusion, #FFFCCB on difference:

Using #FFE0E6 on exclusion, #FFF4DB on difference:

Remember, depending on the colors and darkness of your base image, the exclusion layer will give you different effects. It won't always look good on all images. This effect is heavily dependent on experimentation, so go wild with the colors and see what you can come up with!

TUTORIAL: GRADIENT

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 22:39:39 GMT

I recently discovered the magic of the gradient, and have been using it on most of my icons ever since. There are so many different uses for the gradient, and this tutorial will cover them all (or at least the ones I know of).

Here's our base image:

Highlighting

Gradients are perfect for drawing focus to certain parts of an image, and consequently downplaying others. I prefer using a reflected gradient, but depending on what effect you're looking for you can also try linear or radial. A medium color against black, set to hard light or linear light, works best.

Using #A18966 on hard light:

Using #859767 on linear light:

Using #8D91B9 on linear light:

Coloring

A gradient is wonderful for giving a blend of color to any image. Instead of setting the style to color, I like using other styles to keep a hint of the image's original color.

Using #7D7D0B and #9D5024 on linear light:

Using #8391B7 and #CD9956 on hard light:

Using #AB622C and #7A2587 on overlay:

Beam of Light

By using a reflected gradient with a medium to dark color on black, and setting the style to screen, you can create a soft beam of light on your image.

Using #9F7F31:

Using #004E90:

Using #9F7F31:

Fade to Black (or White)

A fading linear gradient has many uses. First, it can add interest to an otherwise dull and flat part of an image. Secondly, it can be used to draw focus to one corner of the icon. And, it can be used to soften a busy image so the text on top is more readable. Use a light color on a dark image, and a dark color on a light image - the color being eyedropped from the image itself.

Using #45605B on multiply:

Using #97ABA9 on screen:

Using #E0B5A5 on linear burn:

As you can see, the gradient is an incredibly flexible and helpful tool, and can very easily spice up any icon!

TEXTURE BRUSHES

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 22:20:00 GMT

I a massive set of texture brushes today using images from gettyimages.com - so massive, in fact, I decided to split it into two sets!

Please credit either in an icon post where you've used the brushes or in your user info, so that others can find the brushes. I'll try to make image packs later this week - no time now, I've got to go vote!

Download .zip file for PS7

Download .zip file for PS7

SECRET WINDOW

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 02:44:39 GMT

Gosh, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I've been hard at work on the site, but had to take a break today to make new Secret Window icons. Since the DVD has finally been released, there are tons of screencaps, which makes me a very happy Tara. This is a very dark and morose set, and it contains spoilers - beware.

Song credits:
1. All of This Past - Sarah Bettens
2. Don't Stay - Linkin Park
4. Make Me Bad - Korn
5. Trash - Korn
9. Nobody's Listening - Linkin Park
11. All Eyes on Me - Goo Goo Dolls
17. Somewhere I Belong - Linkin Park
24. Make Me Bad - Korn
26. Somehwere I Belong - Linkin Park
27. Down With the Sickness - Disturbed
28. Figure - Linkin Park
32. The Reason - Hoobastank
36. One Step Closer - Linkin Park

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UPDATE

Wed, 23 Jun 2004 04:01:23 GMT

It looks like my bandwidth on Photobucket has reset and all the icons are showing up again. Nonetheless, I'll be opening a design website (with icons, tutorials, brushes, and a list of resources) soon. I'm working on it as we speak and it should be up within a week. Then, it's back to making icons! Stay tuned!

ACK.

Wed, 16 Jun 2004 04:39:41 GMT

OH MY FACKING GAWD. The inevitable has happened: I've exceeded by bandwidth on Photobucket! I'm not sure how the system works (I'm not one to read through the fine print) so maybe it logs bandwidth activity by the day and it will revert to normal soon? I hope? Oh my GAWD? All right, if anyone is willing to host my icons, I would love you forever.

EDIT; The wonderful enriana is going to host my icons, brushes, and tutorials! Hurrah! Won't be ready until next week, though. Until then, if you desperately want my icons, you can wade through my terribly unorganized photobucket for them.