Icon Submissions - Video Games Forum

Alias · #1 (**permalink**) 11-12-2003, 03:27 PM

This is the icon submission thread. With all thanks with the efforts mrbigggshot has shown in the past, I have the rules right here, since they rock so much and I can never write them any better than he did.

Thanks.

Quote:

With so many new members, there are tons of new icons being submitted. Now I have stopped uploading some because they look like ass. Allow me to elaborate on what makes an icon ass.

It's a JPEG:
The icons should be GIFs. JPEGS lower quality and are very often much larger in size. Plus, JPEGS don't support transparency. PLEASE make all icons GIFs; they're just a better file type to use.

It's a square:
Square icons look like crap, plain and simple. I like to view everything here as a professional site, and square icons really look like ass. DON'T MAKE SQUARE ICONS. Certain logos make look great as a square, but more often than not it looks terrible. Cut off unnecessary parts and make it transparent, or else I'm not touching it. Don't bother arguing with me on this; it looks like ASS.

It's got jaggies:
Sometimes when you enlarge or shrink a picture, it breaks out in jaggies. This is your problem - not mine. Jaggies really make icons look terrible and they should be removed. If you have problems with jaggies, find a better picture. Sometimes removing an object releases jaggies too; find another picture. If you can't figure how to remove the jaggies, start over with a new pic.

It's HUGE in file size:
Stand still icons are 5k and below. Animated icons are 15k and below; no exceptions. It make look really great, but keep in mind there are still people with 56k. Having to load 25 icons per page can be rough, and having them even bigger really strains their connection. Keep it low, you'll be fine.

It's grainy:
This is a real problem with icons based of TV and movies. Taking a picture from a show or movie with a low quality camera really shows. Try looking for another pic, more than likely you will be able to find one. Also, if saved as a JPEG, sometimes color quality is lost and it ends up looking like as; save it as a GIF. Go with the GIF.

It's not transparent:
Remove the unneeded parts. If you're using Photoshop 7.0, use the Magic Wand to delete the background. If the Magic Wand fails, use the Background Eraser, it's much more precise. Be sure to use the matte B1B3BC; it'll look much nicer. Icons with white matte look like ass.

It's a freaking nightmare:
If you started off with an ugly pic, you're not going to produce an incredible icon. Don't wander into the "Make Me an Icon" thread with an assy pic since it'll become an assy icon that won't be uploaded. I know, some of you love low-quality, dark and gothic pics. But it looks like ASS. You may be proud that you finally made your icon, but take a second look at it before you submit it. If you have doubts, don't submit, because I'll say "It looks like ass" and you'll end up hating me. :0)

Now if you read through this, you probably hate me by now. But I was selected as icon guy for a reason: I will only bring in good looking icons. And the better the icons look, the more professional the forums look. So please, keep these rules in mind when making/submitting an icon.

The Icon Nazi,
Mr. Bigggshot

So with those posted, please reply here, and only here with icons to be uploaded. No PMs please.