urfff, graphics block

[aesc]

Mmmmph grrrr, I have been trying to icon this particular image:




... for the past hour and it is not working :/ I've been having horrible, horrible luck with icons since some time last year (um, October, omg)--larger projects have been going okay, but they're starting to seem kind of rote to me, like I'm doing the same thing over and over again. For inspiration I've been looking through tutorials and icons done by people much more talented than I am, but nothing seems to be working. It's incredibly frustrating to open up Photoshop and think, "oh, I finally have an idea for something" and then be utterly unable to do something as simple as color-correcting and think "Fucking hell, I'm regressing." Soon I'll be over-sharpening and abusing the Soft Light function. Fellow graphics people, what do you do in a situation like this? Give up and do something else? CRIES.

On the bright side, my new icon by tardis80 cheers me up :">

Also on the bright side, check out pollanesque. It is a cool place. It's about good food and lots of other things.

Comments

[siria]

If I'm stuck, I, um, go and look at your stuff for inspiration, usually :D But since I'm crap, and can no longer get any browser to show me the same image that Photoshop does, I think you're better off listening to someone else.

[aesc.livejournal.com]

*hugs you up!* :"> :">

[kimberweeme.livejournal.com]

I am no help at all because I usually force my Super Icon-ing Friend to make graphics for me. And she will, even though she's only seen two episodes of SGA. (I know!) She rocks like that.

Personally, I adore your graphics. They are gorgeous and layered with meaning and emotion and all that is lovely. Don't be discouraged!

*hands you a bit of pretty Texas sunshine for inspiration*

[aesc.livejournal.com]

she's only seen two episodes of SGA. (I know!)

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that such people exist :D

*basks in sunshine* omg I need it!

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

I tend to take breaks from graphic making and then come back to it when inspiration strikes. That's partially that I don't have the time, but I do find that distance helps sometimes! You'll get your mojo back, no worries :)

And randomly, I am just now watching Kindred I and I have it paused at nearly that exact moment! Huh. It's a gorgeous shot!

[aesc.livejournal.com]

Heh, there is always the nagging feeling, though, that maybe this time it won't come back and will be gone for good. I think that's what has me whiny :D

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

god, I feel you.

I have, um, mostly let the bad times run their courses - sometimes it means I do no graphic work at all for a year. like now. but. when it comes back and my icons suddenly work again, it's good.

/unhelpful.

[aesc.livejournal.com]

Meeep *flail* I have sort of resigned myself to a year of icon sterility. Maybe if I do resign myself and be stoic about it, things will start to work again.

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

meeep, I agree! I hope it works out for you... you are more talented and creative than me, so there is much hope. :-)

(this icon is particularly CUTE OMG is that Tardis artwork also?)

[aesc.livejournal.com]

Yes yes!! She just posted some new icons from Chansons and toft_froggy's girl!verse here (http://tardis80.livejournal.com/71414.html). They are the most adorable things evar.

*scratches John's belly*

[twincy.livejournal.com]

Coincidentally, I'm iconning right now and it's INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING because NOTHING IS WORKING. A tell-tale sign that my icon mojo has fled to sunnier climes: the only icons I end up saving instead of chucking are in black and white, because I can't get the colouring to work.

In conclusion: I am no help, but I sympathise, and the icon you're posting with is both adorable and very pretty.

[aesc.livejournal.com]

It's very strange... I know intellectually that everyone else has these moments, but still :D

the only icons I end up saving instead of chucking are in black and white, because I can't get the colouring to work.

Hm. Maybe I should try working in black and white for a while... The coloring has been so obnoxiously difficult for me lately--seriously, if the color isn't good to start with, I'm hopeless :/ And it really sucks, because I've always thought of coloring as one of the few things I'm good at.

the icon you're posting with is both adorable and very pretty.

Hee, yes, the warmed cockles of my heart, let me show you them.

[dogeared.livejournal.com]

All I can tell you is that my beet icon is making me SO HAPPY. :D

[aesc.livejournal.com]

Yayyy beets *snorfles you*

[amberlynne.livejournal.com]

Heh. I made, like, three icons of that and I hate all of them. *sigh* WHY IS IT IS SO HARD?

I usually just give up and go watch some TV. That's not really good advice.

[aesc.livejournal.com]

*scratches head* I don't know! Sometimes I feel like, "But I like you, you should be easy to work with!!"

Watching TV is not a bad idea... I downloaded Kindred I but have yet to watch it. *considers*

[tardis80.livejournal.com]

oooh that screencap is so pretty! *drools* Is something bothering you in particular? Like, the most trouble I have with icons is usually cropping it right. Sometimes it's hard to crop it so that the image I want fits in 100x100 pixels and still has some clarity.

And then there are the days when nothing I do turns out well. After a good day at coloring I'll feel, heh, I'm getting better at this! NOW we're getting somewhere, and the next day everything comes out looking like crap. *sigh* On days like that I think it's best to just close down Photoshop, eat some chocolate, read a good story, and try again the next day.

*pets you*

[aesc.livejournal.com]

Is something bothering you in particular?

I think it's the coloring, for one--even coloring large things like screencaps... nothing seems to come out right, and hasn't been coming out right for a while. And another thing I guess is feeling like my stuff is becoming repetitive, like I'm using the same techniques over and over again and not really branching out or doing anything different. I've been trying to figure out what new things I could be doing, but that requires creativity :D

[tardis80.livejournal.com]

And another thing I guess is feeling like my stuff is becoming repetitive, like I'm using the same techniques over and over again and not really branching out or doing anything different. I've been trying to figure out what new things I could be doing, but that requires creativity.
Ahhh. Though to me, the things you're doing now are beautiful and unique, and I really really like them... *commiserates with you*

Some websites?
-Computer Arts (http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials/2d__and__photoshop) has some interesting tutorials.
-Design Encyclopedia (http://www.thedesignencyclopedia.org/) for some inspiration.

[aesc.livejournal.com]

*huggles you and John in his stripy boxers* :"> :">

Thank you so much for the links!!! I'm looking around them now, and will post them on my resource page if they can help me get over my lameness :D

[nakedwesley.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I hate it when photoshop refuses to cooperate! Of course, I go so long between icon attempts that I forget what I did last time and therefore very rarely do the same thing twice. I photoshop by trial and error, hitting buttons until it comes out as something I like...if I'm lucky.

*worries that I am guilty of unknowingly abusing the soft light function*

[aesc.livejournal.com]

I photoshop by trial and error, hitting buttons until it comes out as something I like...if I'm lucky.

So do I. There are some things I do kind of regularly, but most of the time I fling stuff together to see what works. Maybe it's the proverbial unlucky streak :/

[beeej.livejournal.com]

Iconing is just so weird. I feel like I suck most of the time. I'm so inconsistent, it's ridiculous. If I sit down and make 10 icons, I might feel that inspiration struck me on the head once, but the other 9 are crap. And wow, do styles ever vary from fandom to fandom. I just got booted in the first round of a new lims, in the same week that I'm in the finals of another. Granted, I had to make a set of 5 icons for a show I'd never even heard of before, but damn. It makes me think that I don't even know what's good and what's bad anymore.

[aesc.livejournal.com]

I photoshop by trial and error, hitting buttons until it comes out as something I like...if I'm lucky.

OMG yes!! That is so true for me too. Or sometimes I'll make a handful of icons and think they're okay, but then come back the next day and realize they are of the suck.

And wow, do styles ever vary from fandom to fandom.

That is very strange... I've kind of noticed idly how different, like, j-rock icons are from SGA. Even SPN feels a bit different from SGA whenever I can, you know, actually icon things *eyeroll*

[aretria.livejournal.com]

I don't know what you're aiming for, did you try Colour Balance? Add a little red colour, reduce blue (add yellow) and it starts to look more natural (not so blueish). Hope that helps.

[aesc.livejournal.com]

Have not tried color balance! I messed around a lot with levels, selective coloring, and brightness/contrast... I'll give that a try next, once I can face Photoshop again. Thanks! :) :)

[ainsley.livejournal.com]

You make the some of the best icons out there, with your own distinctive style. It'll come back to you; sometimes we all just need a vacation, and muses are no different.

[aesc.livejournal.com]

*hugs you!* I was hoping the muse would be a bit tired of sitting on the bench for the past several months, but apparently she likes it there! I'm hoping she wants to come back to to play soon :)