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whiskyinmind
whiskyinmind
18 January 2006 @ 08:57 am
Graphics peeve...  
I know I've mentioned this before but it bears repeating. The sharpen tool sucks when over-used (which seems to be in most cases) but apparently it's what the 'people' like. *sigh* Sorry, just a little peeved when graphics which people have worked on for a *really* long time fail to get recognition because they don't have eyes and lips that don't just 'pop' but leap out of the frame and chase you down the street beating you over the head with a mallet whilst screaming "NOTICE ME!!!!"

An icon contest I watch (not [livejournal.com profile] zeppo_stillness or [livejournal.com profile] dawn_stillness I hasten to add!) frequently has entries which are so sharp you'd cut your eyeballs looking at them - and they invariably win - while there are really lovely icons there which are clear without being glaring. That's what I like about a graphic - something that's visibly clear but not too jarring. Yes, I use the sharpen filter, and I use the sharpen edges filter. I even use the little sharpen tool on eyes and lips (and hair) but I try my hardest not to overdo it. One of these days I'm going to make an overly sharpened icon and enter it into a contest just to see what the result would be.

(And the contest I was talking about is not one I tend to enter, I just watch it, so it's not me getting all petulant about losing out. *g*)

I am so far behind on my ficathon stories by the way! I will have something to post tomorrow - I swear it, I have my laptop in with me today, I'm leaving work early, I have the core stories in my head and scribbled on various pieces of paper, I just haven't got the main body of them done. The house is, however, remarkably tidy for me (as a result of the gas man having been yesterday) so I should be able to spend most of tonight just writing. And I will. The lures of Spider Solitaire and FreeCell be damned! *g*

ETA

This is the same base picture - each stage is built on the previous.

- base image, no effects added.
- Filter > Sharpen
- Edit > Fade Sharpen > 50%
- Filter > Sharpen Edges
- Edit > Fade Sharpen Edges > 50% (this is where I usually stop with any sharpening on image this clear in the first place.)
- Blur tool (@40%) on skin (I couldn't bring myself to really go for the 'porcelein skin effect')
- Sharpen tool (also at 40%, if I use it at all I never have it stronger than 20%...). And I kid you not - I have seen icons this over-sharp win awards.

Oh - and since I had the picture open anyway... coupla icons...


(couldn't resist the tiny text in there!)
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Current Mood: irritated
 
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[identity profile] velvetwhip.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 01:08 am (UTC)
I know how you feel. I personally loathe icons with text you can't read, but they seem to be highly regarded...




Gabrielle
[identity profile] whiskyinmind.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 01:12 am (UTC)
I read a post by someone who calls herself a 'graphic artist' saying that 'tiny text' was an artist flourish and that people had no right to be annoyed by it. If it's an artistic flourish then when not just use a broken line? That's what it looks like most of the time anyway!

*g*
[identity profile] velvetwhip.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 01:22 am (UTC)
People have a right to be annoyed by whatever offends their personal aesthetic! She's an arrogant lunatic for presuming to tell people what they should and should not find appealing!

And you're right...a broken line would accomplish the same purpose. Well, it wouldn't give the artist the same feeling of smug superiority that being the only person in the universe who knows what is printed on the icon does, but artistically it would be all of a piece.


Gabrielle
[identity profile] whiskyinmind.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 01:29 am (UTC)
Heh! Yeah, that girl was a little... preachy! She is very good at what she does but I personally wouldn't hire her to create graphics for any business of mine - far too fussy for me.

In the past I have used tiny text myself, because sometimes it's just easier to use it that to break up a line, but when I do use it it's either a repetition of the legible text in the icon or it's something like "Tiny text sucks!" *g*
[identity profile] velvetwhip.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 01:34 am (UTC)
She seems to believe that everyone should view art the same way. And that's simply the most ludicrous concept ever. There's nothing wrong with divergent tastes and perceptions among people. Many folks love Picasso. I don't. Does that mean there's something wrong with me? No. It just means I don't like Picasso.

"Tiny text sucks!"

Tee Hee!


Gabrielle
[identity profile] whiskyinmind.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 01:57 am (UTC)
Exactly!

And I'm kinda evil aren't I? *g*
[identity profile] velvetwhip.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 10:19 am (UTC)
You're only a tiny bit evil.


Gabrielle
[identity profile] shannon730.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 05:32 am (UTC)
I know what you mean. The icons I've won with at comms are usually the ones I liked the least. They're always the really bright or overly sharpened ones.

It's also why I hate all those "elite" comms. Not a single person running them seems to have any real knowledge of graphic arts. Yet claim to judge just on what's "technically sound." I did study graphic arts (granted, way before things like photoshop were available) and a lot of what they're saying is just wrong. Borders are not always bad and distracting, if that were true we wouldn't frame pictures. You're attenion should not always be drawn to a person's lips. Not unless you're advertising lipstick anyway. And sometimes an image does look good slightly blurry. Seriously, I had one tell me I needed to sharpen an icon because it "looked blurry" it was made from a watercolor. It was blurry, that's the way it was supposed to look.

Sorry, done ranting now. :)
[identity profile] whiskyinmind.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 06:48 am (UTC)
Heh! I know the feeling - the problem I had with someone using this base as their icon was partly because they'd over-sharpened it and it almost made me delete this one from my own userpics.

Too many people think that because they know all the shortcuts and tricks on PS/PSP that it qualifies them as an artist. A lot of them are damn good at what they do, but does that qualify them to say they're right and everyone else is wrong? I don't think so somehow...
[identity profile] shannon730.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 07:33 am (UTC)
Exactly. If you're going to tell me what I did was wrong, not that you don't like it, but actually wrong, I want to know you are qualified to make that judgement. One of the people I see do this is on my flist. She's an Economics major, one photography class does not qualify her to tell me, or anyone else that they're icons are wrong. Mostly it's a matter of opinion, as is true with any form of "art."

But yes, the sharpening tool is abused, a lot. Although most of the concrit I've recieved on icons I've made have been along the lines of under-sharpening. And usually I feel like I over did it.
[identity profile] jgracio.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 07:25 am (UTC)
So, at which step exactly does Shona begin pulling hair?
[identity profile] whiskyinmind.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 07:29 am (UTC)
Ha! You notice how, despite my to do list, I found time to open Photoshop? *g*

And now I really am writing - honest! 'Cept I seem to be having a similar problem to the one [livejournal.com profile] liz_marcs had, quite a way through the first of the two fics and there's no sign on Xander yet. Although at least with Liz's (or from the part I got a sneak peek at thanks to my passport saying I'm British... *g*) he at least colours the story. Mine? Anika has never even heard of a Slayer before, let alone specific people connected to Slayer-ness...

*headdesk*
[identity profile] jgracio.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2006 07:32 am (UTC)
Evil lass, using your Britishness when it suits you... :)

But I don't think introducing an OC is a problem, as long as Xander makes it into the story, it'll just make the story longer I think.