candiicon.

Candiicon is now closed.

appleindecay — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:53:49 GMT

For new icons by appleindecay please watch prismatics

WATCH | INFO

Thank you for your support throughout the last years. Candiicon will always have a special place in my heart but it was time for me to create a new home for my icons.

Announcement & 29 icons.

appleindecay — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:42:15 GMT

I have an important announcement to make: this will be my last icon post here in this community. This has been the home of my icons for such a long time and I feel that it has been too long. Over the last couple of months I hit a major inspiration block and one thing that brought me back was the thought of creating a new home for my icons, one that is one hundred percent me. So I'm very excited to present to you my new community prismatics.

Not to worry though, I won't delete any icons here. Candiicon will from now on serve as an archive.

I'm so grateful for your support and I really hope to see you over at prismatics. There's not much to see there yet, but I will post the first entry in the next couple of days. Here's a little sneak peak of what I have in store for you.

prismatics prismatics prismatics

tv shows~ Game of Thrones. The Hollow Crown.

As for this post, these are icons I made before my (involuntary) hiatus for various challenges so maybe you'll recognize some of them, but somehow I didn't realize that I haven't posted these here before. Either way, I feel that this is the appropriate way to close this chapter.

tv shows~ Downton Abbey. Game of Thrones. Luther. The Hollow Crown.
movies~ MCU. Sucker Punch. The Hunger Games. The Fifth Element. Lord of the Rings. Harry Potter.

preview.

tv show~ for elite_downton and the7days
Downton Abbey. Game of Thrones. Luther. The Hollow Crown.

[01-04]
[05-08]
[09-10]

[11-14]

[15-16]

movies~ for the7days & cusped
MCU. Sucker Punch (requested by kateheightmeyer). The Hunger Games. The Fifth Element. Lord of the Rings. Harry Potter.

[17-20]
[21-24]
[25-28]
[29]

~~hotlink~~. ~~steal~~. ~~alter~~.
please credit. ENJOY.
comments/concrit are ♥

45 icons.

appleindecay — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 13:22:11 GMT

tv shows~ Game of Thrones. The Hollow Crown.

preview.

The Crab~ for a_mused
Game of Thrones.

[01-04]
[05-08]
[09-12]

Silver, Pearls & the Sea: The colouring of your graphics must be WHITE or SILVER, or the graphics must use THE SEA as a visual element.

Most of my icons are vibrant and colorful, so this was definetly a challenge for me, probably the most challenging of this round. ~~If I had known that the Hollow Crown would be perfect for this before... See below.~~ Anyway, I hope you like them. :)

Variations~
[13-14]

tv shows~ Game of Thrones.

[15-18]
[19-22]
[23-23]

tv shows~ The Hollow Crown.

[24-27]
[28-31]
[32-35]
[36-39]
[40-43]

Variations~
[44-45]

I'm so grateful for your appreciation, I don't even know what to say. Thank you so much! ♥

~~hotlink~~. ~~steal~~. ~~alter~~.
please credit. ENJOY.
comments/concrit are ♥

149. 33 icons for 20inspirations.

appleindecay — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 21:55:33 GMT

tv shows~ Game of Thrones. Misfits. Supernatural. Downton Abbey. Luther.
movies~ Sucker Punch. Black Swan. Snow White and the Huntsman. Prometheus. Harry Potter. Avengers. Alice in Wonderland.

preview.

20inspirations~ About me.

I am~ a Dreamer.
[01-05]
I am~ bold.
[06-10]
I am~ complex.
[11-15]
I am~ Fashion.
[16-20]

Dreamer | I am a daydreamer and I have built many empires and worlds in my head over the times.
I tried to create a dream-like quality for these through unusual and strong colors and soft lightning.
01-02 | Sucker Punch, Baby Doll. Escapes into imaginary worlds.
03 | Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen. Illusion-sequence.
04 | Game of Thrones, Bran Stark. Is associated with dreams. Dreamed of the Fall of Winterfell through the Iron Born.
05 | Black Swan. Nina Sayers. Dream sequence. This is also about me in another way as well - I danced the Black Swan in my ballet school's version of Swan Lake once upon a time.

Bold | I just can't shut my trap, especially when something bothers me. It's a miracle that this hasn't gotten me into too serious trouble yet.
To represent boldness in these icons, I chose "in your face" center and close crops, as well as vivid colors. I also used, inspired by cusped, prominent text. And I guess all these characters can be described as bold too.
06-10 |Snow White and the Huntsman. Game of Thrones. Misfits. Supernatural. Downton Abbey.

Complex | I know, I know, aren't we all? Yes, we are. So this was the perfect opportunity for me to practise complex icons some more.
11-15 | Snow White and the Huntsman. Game of Thrones. Prometheus.

Fashion | Clothes make the man. I think that through fashion we can show who we are and I just love everything about fashion. I'm going to out myself now - I'm a hipster (although I hate that name, I mean really what).
So with these icons I tried to incorporate some of my current favorites styles.
16 | Downton Abbey. Vintage.
17 | Luther. Geometrical shapes and neon.
18 | Harry Potter. Nudes, neon and mint combo. Geometrical shapes.
19 -20 | Avengers. Geometrical shapes. Mint.

Last but not least - the inspiration for this post. There's no other song that describes me better, despite the fact that this is a mushy ballad (but damnit so beautiful).

Alternatives & Rejects~
[21-24]
[25-28]
[29-32]
[33]

~~hotlink~~. ~~steal~~. ~~alter~~.
please credit. ENJOY.
comments/concrit are ♥

148. 40 icons & 3 Wallpaper.

appleindecay — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 09:58:49 GMT

tv shows~ Game of Thrones. Luther. The Borgias.
movies~ Avengers-verse. The Dark Knight. Snow White and the Huntsman.

preview.

The Twins~ for a_mused
Crossover Challenge: Loki/Game of Thrones.

[01-04]
[05-08]
[09-12]
[13-14]

Click for proper size. If you need those in a different size let me know.

This one was not made for a_mused, but I realized that I never shared this wallpaper, so there you go.

I abused some of Tom Hiddleston's other roles for these, but in my head these are still all Loki. And yup, before you ask, I ship Loki/Dany with the heat of dragon fire. It all started with a dreamcast challenge months ago, where I just put them together because they look pretty together, but then my brain went into overdrive and I don't know, it all makes sense now. Fire and Ice and their craving for power and all that. And it's funny because I see more and more people jumping this ship, which is just amazing - but so far nobody ever wrote fanfiction which really needs to be done. /end ship!propaganda

movies~ Avengers-verse. The Dark Knight. Snow White and the Huntsman.

[15-18]
[19-22]
[23-26]

tv shows~ Game of Thrones. Luther. The Borgias.

[27-30]
[31-34]
[35-38]
[39-40]

~~hotlink~~. ~~steal~~. ~~alter~~.
please credit. ENJOY.
comments/concrit are ♥

I would like to thank everybody who nominated me at magicawards! I'm quite overwhelmed with the number of nominations and +1's and it's just amazing. Thank you so much, guys! ♥

Icon battle - longerthanwedo vs. appleindecay.

appleindecay — Tue, 29 May 2012 09:31:00 GMT

60 icons of Game of Thrones Episode 2.01 'The North Remembers' by longerthanwedo & appleindecay.

Before season 2 of Game of Thrones started, discreets came up with the idea to have a battle with caps from the first episode. Unfortunately she had to drop out, leaving me and longerthanwedo to battle. Thank you, Saskia, for bringing me and Shawna together for this. Without you this wouldn't have happened!

And now... ENJOY!

\|\| longerthanwedo \|\|	\|\| appleindecay \|\|	\|\| longerthanwedo \|\|	\|\| appleindecay \|\|
				[01-04]
				[05-08]
				[09-12]
				[13-16]
				[17-20]

\|\| longerthanwedo \|\|	\|\| appleindecay \|\|	\|\| longerthanwedo \|\|	\|\| appleindecay \|\|
				[21-24]
				[25-28]
				[29-32]
				[33-36]
				[37-40]

\|\| longerthanwedo \|\|	\|\| appleindecay \|\|	\|\| longerthanwedo \|\|	\|\| appleindecay \|\|
				[41-44]
				[45-48]
				[49-52]
				[53-56]
				[57-60]

~~hotlink~~. ~~steal~~. ~~alter~~.
please credit the respective maker. ENJOY.
comments are ♥

146. 27 icons 20inspirations.

appleindecay — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:19:53 GMT

movies~ The Avengers
(contains spoilers, but I think if you don't know the movie - what are still doing here? Go watch that movie! - it's nothing too bad. But you have been warned.)

preview.

Art~ for 20inspirations
The Avengers.

[01-04]
[05-08]
[09-12]
[13-16]
[17-20]

First off, I apologize for the lack of some actual Avengers (Hawkeye *cough*) in this post. But as you know Loki is a full-tilt diva, who claims most of my attention, so this got a bit Loki-centric. I should've seen that coming.
That being said, wohooo for my first batch for 20inspirations!
My inspiration for this batch was all over the place to be honest. In most of these I used textures provided in the inspiration post, #19 was inspired by pamkips's incredible paint icons and #14 by this icons by 24_amends. The majority of is inspired by various modern art styles (which I can't even define properly because I fail), but not exclusively. I basically just tried to give this batch an art-sy feeling (more than usual because icons are art IMO).

Alternatives & Rejects~

[21-24]
[25-27]

~~hotlink~~. ~~steal~~. ~~alter~~.
please credit. ENJOY.
comments are ♥

145. 26 multifandom icons.

appleindecay — Fri, 11 May 2012 22:28:37 GMT

tv shows~ Game of Thrones. Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Misfits. The Borgias.
movies~ Tree of Life, Thor.

preview.

The Bull~ for a_mused
Tree of Life.

[01-04]
[05-08]
[09-12]
[13-14]

I attempted the Herculan Labour Challenge: each of your graphics must focus on Spring & Fertility and Negative Space.
I chose to make "Tree of Life"-icons because I can't think of a movie or tv show that is more fitting for the theme Spring & Fertility, as it deals with the essence of Spring and fertility - life itself. I hope the Spring theme is clear even if you don't know the movie. I was mostly inspired by Jessica Chastain's angelic performance of the Mother, who, in my opinion, represents everything positive that spring and fertility stand for.
Either way, you should watch this movie, because it's one of the most creative, breathtakingly beautiful, thought-provoking and utterly poetic movie I've ever seen.

Color Me Emotion~ for smashingart
Thor. Game of Thrones. Misfits. Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Natalie Portman. The Borgias.


\|\| rage \|\|	\|\| passion \|\|	\|\| loyalty \|\|	\|\| dynamic \|\|

\|\| playfulness \|\|	\|\| jealousy \|\|	\|\| daydream \|\|	\|\| grief \|\|

\|\| mystery \|\|	\|\| sweetness \|\|	\|\| innocence \|\|	\|\| fear \|\|

Since the icons for the a_mused challenge were all negative space I used a lot of close crops here. I love how these two completely unrelated challenges complement each other. :)
Anyway, this was more difficult than I thought it would be, because a) I really struggled defining emotions in actual screencaps, so a lot of these are more representative of the defining emotion of a character, rather than the specific emotion in a screencap. And b) because, oh god, I really have like 2 happy screencaps saved. I wanted to have some positive emotions in there too and it was almost impossible to find in the masses of sad screencaps. ~Feels. I have them. The sadder the better. xD

~~hotlink~~. ~~steal~~. ~~alter~~.
please credit. ENJOY.
comments are ♥

candiicon has a new layout. Let me know what you think. :D

144. 67 icons & 1 wallpaper.

appleindecay — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:55:42 GMT

tv shows~ Game of Thrones. Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Downton Abbey.
movies~ The Hobbit. Lord of the Rings. Thor/Avengers. The Hunger Games. Fright Night. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The Debt. Snow White and the Huntsman.
celebrities~ Tom Hiddleston. Michelle Dockery. Jessica Alba. Rooney Mara. Harry Lloyd.
wallpaper~ Tom Hiddleston.

preview.

I'm really sorry it took me so long to post this batch. I made some of these (especially the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit icons) already in December. I hope you enjoy these nonetheless! And I can already say that I have some things lined up, so you won't have to wait months for new icons again.
Also to those of you who have requested Tutorials in the Ask the Maker-Meme: I'm really really sorry it takes so long. But I have not forgotten you and will write them, hopefully very soon!

movies~The Hobbit [01-12]. Lord of the Rings [13-25].

[01-05]
[06-10]
[11-15]
[16-20]
[21-25]

movies~ Thor/Avengers [26-33]. The Hunger Games [34-38]. Fright Night [39-41]. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo [42-43]. The Debt [44]. Snow White and the Huntsman [45].
[26-30]
[31-35]
[36-40]
[41-45]

celebrities~ Michelle Dockery [46-48]. Tom Hiddleston [46-52]. Jessica Alba [53-55]. Rooney Mara [56]. Harry Lloyd [57].
[46-50]
[51-55]
[56-57]

tv shows~ Game of Thrones [58-65]. Secret Diary of a Call Girl [66]. Downton Abbey [67].
[58-62]
[63-67]

alternatives~
[68-71]

wallpaper~ Tom Hiddleston.

If you need different sizes let me know!

Rules:
1. Most important: ENJOY!
2. Please do not hotlink.
3. Please don't edit, as I'm happy to do that for you.
4. Please don't repost on other sides without a link back to this page.
5. Credit is greatly appreciated. (please credit appleindecay or appleindecay@candiicon)
6. Comments make me very happy! :)

Like what you see?

Join // Watch candiicon

Resources.

Comments and nominations are more than welcome. I also take requests.

Happy New Year!

appleindecay — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:46:36 GMT

We wish you a very happy new year! May 2012 be good to you. ♥♥♥

And what's a better way to start the new graphics year than to join this fun activity? :)

Ask The Maker || My Thread

Happy Holidays!

appleindecay — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:48:58 GMT

We wish you happy holidays (wether you celebrate christmas or not), filled with love and joy!

Love,

pumpkinfriend & appleindecay

143. 70 icons & 3 wallpaper.

appleindecay — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:45:43 GMT

tv shows~ Game of Thrones [30]. Luther [05]. Once Upon a Time [02]. SGU [2]. The Walking Dead [03]. The Fades [02]. The Borgias [01]. Misfits [01].
movies~ Thor/Avengers [10], Harry Potter [05]. Sucker Punch [03]. Snow White and the Huntsman [02].
celebrities~ Emily Browning [01]. Emma Watson [01]. Scarlett Johansson [01].
wallpaper~ Thor/Avengers [02]. Snow White and the Huntsman [01].

preview.

Consider this my St. Nick's gift to you. Enjoy! :)

tv shows~Game of Thrones.

[01-05]

[06-10]

[11-15]

[16-20]

[21-25]

[26-30**]

** #29 & #30 were inspired by the "Legends and Myths" challenge at throneland, in which I cast Daenerys as Sigyn and Loki as well Loki. :)

movies~Thor/Avengers [Loki & Tom Hiddleston]. Harry Potter. Sucker Punch. Snow White and the Huntsman.

[31-35]

[36-40]

[41-45]

[46-50]

tv shows~ Luther. Once Upon A Time. SGU. The Walking Dead. The Fades. The Borgias. Misfits.

[51-55]

[56-60]

[61-65]

[66-67]

celebrities~ Emily Browning. Emma Watson. Scarlett Johansson.

[68-70]

alternatives~

[71-75]

[76-77]

wallpaper~ Thor/Avengers. Snow White and the Huntsman.

If you need different sizes let me know!

JOIN THE FUN
My thread

Rules:
1. Most important: ENJOY!
2. Please do not hotlink.
3. Please don't edit, as I'm happy to do that for you.
4. Please don't repost on other sides without a link back to this page.
5. Credit is greatly appreciated. (please credit appleindecay or appleindecay@candiicon)
6. Comments make me very happy! :)

Like what you see?

Join // Watch candiicon

Resources.

Comments and nominations are more than welcome. I also take requests.

Last Minute Promo

appleindecay — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:51:35 GMT

Icon Appreciation Month Awards

I would also like to thank the person that nominated one of my icons. I'm so happy about this! ♥♥♥

So now please go and vote for all those amazing icon makers and icons out there! :D

142. 3dayforthecure - 10 icons for jacklemmon.

appleindecay — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:52:51 GMT

preview.

jacklemmon was the highest bidder at the 3dayforthecure Fundraiser and requested these. Thank you so much for your kind and generous offer! I hope you like what I came up with - and remember if there's anything you want changed I will do that asap. Enjoy! :)

icons~
[01-05]

[06-10]

[alternative]

Rules:
1. Most important: ENJOY!
2. Do not hotlink.
3. Please don't edit, as I'm happy to do that for you.
4. Credit is appreciated. (please credit appleindecay or appleindecay@candiicon)
5. Comments make me very happy! :)

Like what you see?

Join // Watch candiicon

Resources.

Comments and nominations are more than welcome. I also take requests.

141. Throneland - 20in20.

appleindecay — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:34:46 GMT

Throneland~ Game of Thrones [20 + 5 variations].

preview.

themes
throneland 20in20

Hair	Architecture	Ice	Blood	To The Side

Fire	AU	Brothers	Bright	Surprise

Heartbreak	Rainbow	Back	Close	Touch

Artist's Choice #1	Artist's Choice #2	Artist's Choice #3	Artist's Choice #4	Artist's Choice #5

Alternative #1	Alternative #2	Alternative #3	Alternative #3	Alternative #4

Rules:
1. Most important: ENJOY!
2. Do not hotlink.
3. Please don't edit, as I'm happy to do that for you.
4. Credit is appreciated. (please credit appleindecay or appleindecay@candiicon)
5. Comments make me very happy! :)

Like what you see?

Join // Watch candiicon

Resources.

Comments and nominations are more than welcome. I also take requests.

140. 64 icons & 4 wallpaper.

appleindecay — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:53:06 GMT

tv shows~ Game of Thrones [25], Luther [10].
movies~ Thor/Avengers [09], Wallander [01].
pottermore~ House mottos (Slytherin) [05].
celebrities~ Leighton Meester [01], Rose Byrne [01], Jessica Alba [01], Naomi Watts [01]. Karen Gillan [02], Emma Watson [02].
wallpaper~ Game of Thrones [03]. Thor [01].

preview.

tv shows~Game of Thrones [01-24]. Cast [25].
[01-05]

[06-10]

[11-15]

[16-20]

[21-25]

tv shows~ Luther [26-35].
[26-30]

[31-35]

movies~ Thor/Avengers [36-44]. Wallander [45].

[36-40]

[41-45]

Pottermore~ House Mottos [46-50].

[46-50]

celebrities~ Leighton Meester [51]. Rose Byrne [52]. Jessica Alba [53]. Naomi Watts [54]. Karen Gillan [55-56]. Emma Watson [57-58].

[51-55]

[56-58]

alternatives~ [59-64].

[59-63]

[64-64].

Wallpaper~ Game of Thrones [01-03]. Thor [04].

If you need different sizes let me know!

Rules:
1. Most important: ENJOY!
2. Please do not hotlink.
3. Please don't edit, as I'm happy to do that for you.
4. Please don't repost on other sides without a link back to this page.
5. Credit is greatly appreciated. (please credit appleindecay or appleindecay@candiicon)
6. Comments make me very happy! :)

Like what you see?

Join // Watch candiicon

Resources.

Comments and nominations are more than welcome. I also take requests.

Fundraiser: 3-Day for the Cure.

appleindecay — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:31:37 GMT

library_of_sex has brought this to my attention:

In support of no_mysteryleft(Kacie) who is participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Race for the Cure 3dayforthecure is holding a fandom auction from Oct. 12 through Nov. 15, where you can offer or bid for graphics, fanfictions and physical goods.

The Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure net proceeds fund innovative global breast cancer research and local community programs supporting education, screening and treatment. Virtually every major advance in the fight against breast cancer in the last 29 years has been impacted by a Susan G. Komen for the Cure® grant.

3-Day Walk for the Cure: Thousands of women and men come together, each raising money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. Then they take their commitment to end breast cancer one step further and walk 60 miles over the course of three days.

This is an amazing thing that Kacie and many others do. I'm sure every one of you knows someone who has been touched by cancer - either themselves, or their family members or friends.

Please help in making this a success!

For more information please check out this post.

I'm offering a set of 10 icons OR 1 large graphic here. If you are offering something, please put the link to your auction in a comment, so that other members can take a look.

Hiatus

appleindecay — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 19:00:19 GMT

I'll be on

Hiatus until September.

pumpkinfriend will return soon and I'll hope she starts posting again, so this place will not be entirely dead. In the meantime I wish you all a good time and hope to see you all in two months!

Sara/appleindecay

140. Tutorial #7: Will Scarlett (BBC's Robin Hood)

appleindecay — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:57:50 GMT

Subject: BBC's Robin Hood
Program: Photoshop CS4
Translateable: If you know you're program, yes
Difficulty: Easy

hopeitallaway requested this tutorial at Ask the Maker. So sorry it took me so long!

Step #1.

I used this cap, from www.harry-lloyd.net, which is unfortunately down since a couple of weeks.

The first thing I did was to crop the image. I went for a close up to capture that gourgeous shadow on Will's gourgeous face. If you are unsure of how to crop your image I suggest to paste the picture onto a new 100x100px canvas and play around until you find a result you like.

Step #2.

Something I always do in the beginning is brighten the picture. I usually use a Curves Layer to do that and that's exactly what I did here. Play around with the brightness.

(Output: 155, Input: 83)

Step #3.

Next I created a new layer and used a big soft round brush to paint some light streaks over his face. Set the layer to Soft Light, Opacity 100%.

I know, I know it looks awful like this, but later you'll see that this is adds a tad of lightning to his face, which is just a detail, but I think that these light dots make the overall icon look softer.

When I make an icon I don't make it exactly in the order as explained here. I jump back and forth between the layers and add something, but unfortunately that is something I can recreate so I'm pretty sure that this is a step I actually made later in the process. Just as a sidenote... :D

Step #4.

Now, we begin with the actual coloring. I added a texture from darlaslilgirl (from her "colourific"-set). Set the layer to Soft Light, Opacity 30%.

See how it brings out the magenta in his lip and the green in his eye? That's exactly what I wanted. When you choose a texture think what colors you want and where you want them. Or instead of using a premade texture paint over the parts you want colored with a soft brush.

Step #5.

Let's add another texture! I used a texture from colormetwice (18 Gradient/Soft Layers, Gaussian Blur is the set). I set it to Soft Light, Opacity 26%.

It adds color and warmth to the icon.

Step #6.

The next step is another case where I didn't work chronological. I copied and merged only the first two layers of my layers palette and merged them together. On this merged layer I applies a Gaussian Blur Filter (about a 5-6px Radius).

My layer palette:

Set this blurred layer to Soft Light, Opacity 100%. The Soft Light Layer adds the contrast we lost with brightening the icon, also it gives more depth and vibrance to the colors. The Gaussian Blur gives the whole icon a soft glow and makes it softer all around.

Step #7.

Now I wanted to get back a little of the blue-ish/purple tones, so I used a Color Balance Layer (set to Midtones) and increased the blues a bit.

This is what I got:

Step #8.

We have a pretty basis for our coloring now. What I wanted now is COLOR. So I added a Vibrance Layer

Result:

BAAM! Color!

Step #9.

I wasn't satisfied with the vibrance of the darker parts of the icon, so I made another Vibrance layer, (Vibrance +41) and deleted all the parts that were already vibrant enough with the vector mask.

[If you are unfamiliar with vector masks I wrote a guide here, which I hope will help you]

Step #10.

Now the icon is just a tad to yellow so I used a Color Balance Layer and increased the yellows a bit.
Also I wanted the reds to be a bit more blue-ish so I increased the Cyans a bit as well.

Step #11.

I duplicated and merged the whole thing and pasted it on top of my layer palette. Then I used the Sharpen Filter and lowered the Opacity to 50%, because I didn't want it to be oversharpened.

Step #12.

What I did next are really just a little details. I created a new layer and used a very small soft brush to paint a tiny dot of green (#f0fc9e) onto his right eye. Then I set the layer to Overlay, Opacity 54%. You actually can barely see it, but it brightens and therefor emphasizes Will's eye a bit more.

I created another new layer and used a white soft round brush to paint over the dark side of his face. I set the layer to Soft Light, Opacity 6%.

Then I created yet another new layer and painted a black dot over his right eye, because the whole area was just a bit too bright. I set this layer to Soft Light, Opacity 13%.

And voilá - we're done! :)

As always, if you have any questions or concern, don't hesitate to comment and I will help you as best as I can. (Although you may have to wait a while for your answer because I'll leave for a hiatus in a few days - but as soon as I get back I'm happy to reply!)

I hope this was useful!

139. Tutorial #6: Jon/Daenerys (Game of Thrones)

appleindecay — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:05:47 GMT

Subject: Game of Thrones
Program: Photoshop CS4
Translateable: If you know your way around your program very well I think it's possible, but I use a lot of Selective Color and Vibrance Layers.
Difficulty: Difficult. However I added some additional notes for Beginners (marked as [B:].

dudette_in_town requested this tutorial at Ask the Maker. I'm sorry it took me so long, but as you will see, this is quite a long tutorial. So be warned, it's very image- and text- heavy.

We'll be starting with this cap (from pineapple_sky). I used a lot of layers on this one, especially Selective Color Layers. You can probably achieve the same results with a lot less layers, but I like to keep things as separate as possible. During the working process I usually take small steps and change bits and pieces until I'm satisfied with the result. You will have to do the same for your caps anyway, so in this tutorial I will only show you how I did the major steps and will the details out - of course if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Also please note that I have no idea how this coloring will work on other pictures, so you will definetly have to play around with the settings. I tried as best as I can to explain why I did the things I did, so I hope that this will help you.

Step 1.

First thing I usually do is to brighten the image and to give it more contrast. In this case I used a Curves Layer with two points, the first one to brighten the image (Output: 169, Input: 136) and the second point to add contrast (Output: 59, Input: 71).

Result:

As you can see now the image is too dark, but we will fix soon.

Step 2.

Now I used a Color Balance Layer to add more yellow to the picture, since it is quite grey/blueish. I usually only work with the Midtones, because they affect the whole image.

[B: The principle of using Color Balance Layers is really easy... if an image is too blue, add yellows and reds, if the image is too yellow add blues, etc.]

After that I added another Curves Layer to brighten the image again.

Step 3.

Next thing I did was to add a black and white Gradient Fill (white on the top half of the image, black on the bottom half) and set this layer to Soft Light, Opacity 54%. I really love Gradient Fills, the graphics a little more shiny. Also in this particular cased it solved the problem of the overly contrasted look.

As I said I love Gradient Fills, so why not add another? This time not in black/white though, but a nice warm green and orange, to increase the yellows in our image (I don't know why but I think this is a somewhat softer way of adding color to a picture).

Set this layer to Soft Light, Opacity 20%.

Voilá!

Step 4.

The picture is still too dark, so I added a Brightness/Contrast Layer and increased the Brightness and decreased the Contrast. Usually I use Curves to brighten a picture, but in this case I needed to decrease the contrast again (of course I could have just decreased the contrast in Step 1, but that's the thing about making such a coloring you play around and adjust as you go, so you end up with lots of layers that aren't particularly necessary because you could simply adjust what you've done before).

Result:

Step 5.

It's time for another Gradient Fill! :D I wanted to increase the warmth of the picture, so I used orange as top color and a warm brown as bottom color.

Set it to Soft Light, Opacity 21%.

I used a Curves Layer to brighten the image a bit further and then added another black/white Gradient Fill (Soft Light, Opacity 79%).

Step 6.

So up until now most of the steps were preparation for the real coloring I wanted to achieve. We brightened the image a good deal, we enhanced added a lot of warmth to it and we gave it a structure if you will, with the gradient maps. It depends on your image if you'll need all that or not. I assume that if your initial image is quite yellowish/reddish for example you can skip these first steps.

And now comes the fun part. :D

I created a new Selective Color Layer and increased the yellows (Yellows > Yellow -100%, Neutrals > Yellows + 40%). I wanted the reds to be less red and more magenta so I decreased the Yellows (Reds > Yellow -100%).

[B: As with the Color Balance Layers, the principle behind using Selective Color Layers is basic color theory: If you want your more yellow, increase the yellow, decrease the blues, etc. The big difference is that Color Balance Layers affect all the colors in an image, while Selective Colors only affect specific colors, therefore you have to choose first which color you want to change and then how to change it.]

Step 7.

I wanted the lower part to be more blue and less green, so I made a new Selective Color Layer and decreased the yellows (Green > Cyan +100%, Magenta +100%, Yellow -100%, Black +20%).

Step 8.

So now we're slowly getting there, you'll see.

Open a new Selective Color Layer (Reds > Yellow +100%; Cyans & Blues > Cyan +100%, Magenta -100%, Yellow -100%; Neutrals > Magenta +35%, Yellow -20%). So what we did now is increase the reds, magentas and blues, but thanks to our endeaver to add yellow to the picture in the steps before, we have this pretty yellow shine underneath.

Add a new Vibrance Layer and increase the vibrance and saturation to your liking.

Step 9.

In the following step we're just tweaking the coloring a little more.

I wanted the Magentas to stand out a bit more so I created another Selective Color Layer (Magenta > Cyan +15%, Yellow -35%).

I also added a Color Balance Layers and increased the Blues a little.

Then I added another Curves Layer to brighten the image again.

Voilá! We are done with this cap now. But don't get too excited, we still have some steps ahead of us!

Step 10.

I used this beautiful beautiful promo picture of Daenerys (credit goes to HBO, I guess). I started coloring the cap of Jon without the intention of adding Dany's pic to it. Otherwise the coloring probably would've been completely different. Because now we have the situation that we have one picture that has a pretty complicated coloring and we have another picture with a completely different base.

So what I had to do was to bend that picture to my will so too speak.

What I first did was repeating the steps 1-9 (or rather copy all of the adjustment layers from Jon's cap).

I ended up with this:

What we can see is that we already have the yellows and magentas we need for this coloring. But no blues in sight...

Step 11.

To get some blues into this picture I simply created a new layer and painted blue over the parts where I wanted them with a big soft round brush. Set this layer to Color, Opacity 62%.

Create another layer and paint a cyan blue wherever you want it to be. Set this layer to Color, Opacity 72%.

Step 12.

I used an orange color on the top half of the picture and set this new layer to Screen, Opacity 16%. This brightens top part.

I created another layer and painted with a light yellow and set it to Soft Light, Opacity 72%. Again it brightens the image and also together with the other painted layers it creates some sort of light effect.

Step 13.

Copy, merge and paste all the layers together. Apply a Gaussian Blur Filter and set this layer to Soft Light. On the one hand this adds vibrance and color to the picture on the other hand it gives it a soft glow.

Step 14.

Now the details... I needed the reds to be more magenta, so I used a Selective Color Layer and fixed that (Red > Magenta +100%, Yellow -40%). I copied that Layer and set it to Opacity, 25%.

And we're done with this picture as well. You see that as single picture it doesn't look very well. You can see the colors were added and it looks too artificial. But I didn't worry too much about that, since I wanted to blend it anyway. I just needed all the colors to be represented somewhere so that it will look natural together with Jon's cap.

Step 15.

Create a new document (just big enough for your two images). Copy, merge and paste your two colored images onto that canvas and position them however you like. I put Dany's pic on top of Jon's and set it to Lighten. Between the two layers I created a new one and painted it black where I didn't want Jon to shine through. Blend them together.

[B: If you are unfamiliar with Blending, I wrote a Guide here, which will hopefully explain all you need for this simple blend.]

Copy, merge and paste again once you're satisfied with your blend. Add a vector mask to this Layer.

Step 16.

To create the circle I used the Ellipse Tool and created a new shape, of course the shape of the circle I wanted.

Rasterize the Shape (right-click on the shape-mask > rasterize). Then use the Magic Wand Tool to select the outside of the circle and select the vector mask of our blend and fill the selection with black. This will delete everything outside of the circle. There are a lot methods on how you can do that (Elliptical Marquee Tool, etc), and probably a lot of them are much quicker, but I often end up doing it this way. Delete the shape and you have your blended circle.

[B: If you don't know how to use vector masks, see my Blending Guide. /*shameless selfpimping]

Step 17.

The final step is putting it all together. And that's really a fun part, because it's just playing around. Since this tutorial is long enough as it is and is mostly about the coloring technique I will stop here. I set most of the textures either to Screen or to Soft Light and played around with the opacity, that's as far as the technique goes. If you have any questions regarding the textures I used feel free to ask though!

And now we are done! :D

If you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask and I hope I'll be able to help! (You may have to wait a bit for a reply as I'll be leaving for a hiatus on Sunday, but I will definetly answer anything as soon as I can.)

As I said in the beginning, I'm not sure if this coloring works on anything else, but I hope you get the idea behind it and that it helps you to come up with your own colorings.

139. 82 icons & 8 wallpaper.

appleindecay — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:16:42 GMT

tv shows~ Game of Thrones [45], Robin Hood BBC [04], The Borgias [06], Secret Diary of a Call Girl [02], Misfits [01].
celebs~ Harry Lloyd [03], Ben Barnes [02}, Emma Watson [02].
wallpaper~ NCIS [02], Ben Barnes [02], Harry Lloyd [02], Game of Thrones [02].

preview.

tv shows~Game of Thrones [01-45].

[01-05]

[06-10]

[11-15]

[16-20]

[21-25]

[26-30]

[31-35]

[36-40]

[41-45]

tv shows~ Robin Hood BBC [46-49]. The Borgias [50-55]. Secret Diary of a Call Girl [56-57]. Misfits [58].

[46-50]

[51-55]

[56-58]

celebrities~ Harry Lloyd [59-61]. Ben Barnes [62-63]. Emma Watson [64-65].

[59-63]
[64-65]

alternatives~

[66-70]

[71-75]

[76-80]

[81-82]

Wallpaper~ NCIS [02] (made for calliatra for help_japan - thanks again for your bid!), Ben Barnes [02], Harry Lloyd [02], Game of Thrones [02].

If you need different sizes let me know!

Nominate and vote for your favorite icon makers and spread the love!

Rules:
1. Most important: ENJOY!
2. Please do not hotlink.
3. Please don't edit, as I'm happy to do that for you.
4. Please don't repost on other sides without a link back to this page.
5. Credit is greatly appreciated. (please credit appleindecay or appleindecay@candiicon)
6. Comments make me very happy! :)

Like what you see?

Join // Watch candiicon

Resources.

Comments and nominations are more than welcome. I also take requests.

May the 4th be with you!

appleindecay — Wed, 04 May 2011 13:37:23 GMT

Happy Intergalactical Star Wars Day!

Tumblr

137. Blending Guide

appleindecay — Wed, 04 May 2011 09:28:48 GMT

ofraindrops asked me to do a general guide for blending, so here we go. (Although I know she makes fantastic graphics herself) I will explain this for beginners, so I will do a lot of explaining (hence the "& other wisdoms" ;D). You've been warned.

Content:

1. The Tools
2. Overview

3. The Basics
3.1 Cutting out with Vector Masks
3.2 Cutting out with the Pen Tool

4. The Techniques
4.1 Blending with cutouts
4.2 Blending by using different Blend Modes

5. Putting it all together
6. Large graphics vs. Icons
7. Some last words...

1. The Tools

I use PS CS4, but this should be translatable to most other programs. Also as I expierenced a couple of weeks ago you need a responsive mouse to get precise results. It should be an obvious thing, but really, it isn't. xD

2. Overview

There are two different techniques I use for making blends:

- Cutting out (Vector Masks or Pen Tool)
- Using different Blend Modes.

So first, I will show you how I cut out images with two different techniques, then I will show you how you my two techniques for blending. If you are familiar with methods to cut out images, then you can skip that section and go straight to the blending techniques.

3. The Basics

3.1 Cutting out with Vector Masks

This is the most important technique for me, I use it 99,9% of my graphics. So I can never stress enough how amazing Vector Masks (often also referred as Layer Masks) are.

Choose the picture that you want to cut out. Preferable is something that has a clear background, or at least a clear distinction between object and background. I'll take a picture as an example that isn't too easy to cut out (the hair is tricky) but also not too bad (also I have already done that I'm too lazy to make something new. ;D).

I used in this wallpaper:

Copy the base and set the original base to invisible or create a new layer underneath the copy and fill it with a contrast color, this will make it easier to see how accurate you are cutting.

Now let's back to the duplicated image. Apply a vector mask.

Select a black rounded brush - I usually start with a big hard round brush, and then vary in size for the details. Make sure you have the vector mask selected (there will be a small box around it) and paint over all the parts of the image you want to cut. Don't worry if you delete to much - change your brush to white and paint over the part you want to make visible again and voilá it appears! That is the wonderful thing about vector masks, there is nothing that can't be undone.

I usually zoom in to do that - but it's helpful to make a stop from time to time and look at it in normal size, because sometimes it happens that something is cut out perfectly to the last pixel when in close-up, but it looks weird when you look at it in normal size. So while it is always good to be exact, there are often times when you have to cut away something that actually belongs to the object to make the cutout look good. For example I cut a lot away from the hair, because otherwise it would look even more artificial than it looks now - but I will come back to hair in a minute.

This is what it should look like right now. Don't fret if it takes a while, it's a tedious work (and I hate doing it) but the results are worth it. It is a much cleaner way to cut out images than with the Magic Wand Tool for example, which is done with a couple of clicks, but usually you have ugly fringes.

Coming back to hair. The cut looked much too harsh, so as a final step in the wallpaper, I again used the vector mask method and used a soft brush with a low opacity to soften the edges. So always vary with the brushes. But these kind of things I'd do in the end, if possible, because then you can see best what works for the graphic and what doesn't. I used a lot of lights and gave the whole wallpaper a soft look, so the soft hairline worked much better. But if I had a solid background with a harsh look the soft hairline would have been out of place.

First cut vs. Wallpaper:

So, yeah, I can't stress enough how amazing and important that technique is too me. :D

3.2. Cutting out with the Pen Tool

I only use this technique when I can't get something right with the brushes. I personally think it works best on straight lines, where it can be tedious to keep a steady hand with the brushes. But you can also use it for the whole picture.

Again apply a vector mask. Select the Pen Tool.

Set new Anchor Points along the edge of your object. Now, this is a little tricky, but with a bit of trial and error you'll get a handle of it. You can adjust the points and the lines created between the points with certain keyboard combinations (I know that they changed from PS 7.0 to CS4 - so these might not be the same with every program. Don't fret, there are lots of tutorials for every version.) but I usually use one: Strg + click on an anchor point let's you move that point and adjust the line. By just clicking on the anchor point you can delete it. This is quite useful because I tend to make more points than necessary.

Do this until you have a smooth line along your object.
A little sidenote, depending on which option you have selected for the Pen Tool (you might encounter that you create a shape layer with the foreground color, which can overlap the line you are working on - just lower the opacity. It can be quite useful to increase the opacity again to look how accurate you are working though.

Back to our anchor point line. You will have to close that line, so connect the the first with the last anchor point (a little circle will appear next to cursor when you hover over these points). Now, right-click and select "Make Selection" (You don't have to change any of the options). Now you have nice selected and can use the Paint Bucket tool on the vector mask and cut out the background. The result should be more or less the same as with the first technique.

It's really a matter of taste when it comes to question of using the Vector Layers with the Brush or the Pen Tool. I usually use the former, but especially on straight lines, such as arms or objects like a table it is easier and faster to use the Pen Tool. Then I use a combination of these two. Also with the brushes you have the possibility to vary in the harshness of the cut, with the Pen Tool you can't.

4. The Techniques

4.1 Blending with cutouts

Okay, I know this is supposed to be a Guide on Blending, so now we'll finally start with it.

Technique 1 is using cutouts. So you have learned how to cut out objects before, now just use two or more cutouts and paste them over each other, as I did here:

After a lot of coloring and some textures it looked like this:

Now, it is easier to cut out your pictures if you already have a composition in mind. In this case I knew what I wanted to do, so I took the three base images and pasted them on my canvas as they were. Then I started resizing and arranging them. If you cut out then your job is much easier, because you leave the parts that are covered by others be and focus on the rest. Also it gives you already a better idea if you need softer edges as in this case, etc.

If you need/want to play around it is definetly easier to cut out first and try arranging them later.

But either way, usually cutting out for blends is a process and you will probably want to make changes all along the way until the graphic is finished. But that's the great thing about vector masks - you can always change them.

4.2 Blending by using different blend modes

Now, cutting out is one method of creating a blend. Another (and much faster and much easier way - yay!) is to play around with blend modes and layer settings.

This blend is a good example:

Now what did I do? I simply slapped all the pictures from Jessica Alba's fabulous photoshoot on my canvas. I set all layers, except for the bottom layer, to lighten and played around with the sizes and arrangement.

Lighten usually is the best mode for blends, except for bright pictures, then you might want to try set them to Darken. But all blend modes can achieve interesting results, so play around and go crazy and you will get a fabulous result in the end, promised!

Now we have the basic concept of our blend, but most likely there will be parts covering other parts that you don't want covered, so we go back to our beloved vector layers and use a soft brush to get rid of all those parts.

In this case I kept a lot of the lightning and it makes the whole thing more organic than if I'd just cut out image beside image, so to speak. That is what you are trying to reach with this kind of blend, you want it to feel organic, it shouldn't look like there are just a bunch pictures slapped on and playing with the parts of the other picture is always a good way to achieve that.

This technique usually works best with images that have a similar coloring, because using a specific blend mode restricts you in your possibilities of coloring. For example I often use Soft Light Layers in my colorings, but now try and apply a Soft Light Layer over a Lighten Layer. The results will probably not the ones you wished for. Also with changing the brightness of an image you change the area that is visible in Lighten Mode. And that is true for all other modes as well.
It is easier when you can color the blend as a whole and don't have to adjust single images (as I had to for example with that Draco/Hermione blend).

Which brings me to the next point...

5. Putting it all together

Arranging your pictures is the essence of a blend, but the feeling of this being one picture, one graphic, comes with the coloring. Blended pictures should in the end look like they belong together in the first place, to create a unity. I can't give you a tutorial on how to do that, because every picture is different.

If you blend similar pictures (like the Jessica-ones) then it's not a big deal, put it all together and then color it as one picture.
But if they are different, in my opinion it works best if you choose the reference-picture and adjust the others separately until they are similar to your reference picture. This will give you a base that you can then color all of them together to your liking as a next phase so to speak.

If I have pictures that I simply can't put together coloring wise, I go for the black and white option. :D

Examples:

Textures are also really helpful to polish a blend, because they can cover up sloppy cuts or what I like to call the seam, the lines were the pictures blend together. Sometimes it simply won't look that perfect. Put a texture over it and it will look half as bad.

I described the various techniques in separate steps, but in the process of making a blend I mix and merge the techniques as I go. There is basically no blend that I made without using at least 2 of these methods.

6. Large Graphics vs. Icons

ofraindrops also wanted to know if there's a difference between big grapics and icons when it comes to blending. For me, not really.

Icons are usually easier to blend because you simply don't have to be as accurate, because you simply don't see a lot of things on this small scale that you do see on a big graphic. Also you don't have to worry that much about framing your blend, like you have to when making a wallpaper.
A good example for this is my Josh Brolin blend, I made the blend and it was all good. But I wanted to have it as a wallpaper and I had to think of a way to frame it, because it simply wouldn't work as a wallpaper otherwise.

Of course icons have the disadvantage that sometimes you can't fit all in that you want to include, without making it too small.
But these are more questions of overall composition and all types of graphics have advantages and disadvantages. But the techniques I use for blending are always basically the same.

7. Some last words...

Don't be afraid to experiment. Play around. Look for inspiration and try to create something similar (of course this doesn't mean copy and steal, but making graphics is all about inspiration and re-creating - correct me if I'm wrong but we all "rip off" ideas from another, that's how trends come into being).

And what I think is also important: share your work with others although you don't find it perfect. I assure you, you will get positive feedback (I get more positive feedback on the graphics I don't like as much as the ones that get less feedback) and this will inspire you to keep working. There's nothing like a nice comment to get the muses working in your favour.

If you made actually made it through this rambling disguised as a guide: Congratulations! And I think I am safe to assume that are as passionate about making graphics than I am. I salute you, likeminded spirit!

I hope this was helpful, despite all the "just play around with it"'s. If you have any questions/suggestions please don't hesitate to share.

And now I will shut up. Promised. :D

Help the South.

appleindecay — Tue, 03 May 2011 07:27:01 GMT

Once again Lj comes together to help raising funds for people in need. This time the people of the South of the USA, who have been struck by devastating tornados need our support.

Please offer/bid at helpthesouth.

If everyone of us does a little, we can achieve a lot.

My Offer: 10 icons or 2 large graphics or a combination of the two

Feel free to promote your offers here.

Please don't forget help_japan's Lightning Round.

My offer.

help_japan Lightning Round.

appleindecay — Sun, 01 May 2011 20:45:28 GMT

Although the catastrophe that hit Japan is almost forgotten by the media, the people in Japan still need our support. help_japan is holding a Lightning Round in order to raise funds.

Please find all the necessary information here.

There are again a lot of categories for offering your arts for the good cause: Words, Art & Artistry, Graphics, Audio, Food, Interesting Stuff, Requests.

And of course you are encouraged not only to share your art, but also to bid on the art of others.

My Offer (10 icons or 2 large graphics)

Feel free to promote your threads here.

Let's help my a difference!

help_japanhelp_japanhelp_japanhelp_japan


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