Icon redux

I'm glad the little basic icon tutorial I posted last week was useful to people. I'm hoping to tart it up a bit this week and post it to icon_tutorial.

There were good tips and suggestions in the comments as well, especially this technique to adjust the levels using the Curves dialogue, shared by justacat. I'd mark it as intermediate, not beginner -- definitely worth checking out.

If you're wanting more resources and tutorials, have a look at the aforementioned icon_tutorial. Lots of good stuff in the memories.

If you want to practice your icon making and get inspiration from other poeple, join multi_pass! Each week, a photo is posted of some character or other (last week, Leeloo, this week, Riddick) for us to make an icon of. Post the result and there's a very low-key competition at the end of the week. I don't really care about the contest, though. The best part is seeing what other people come up with. Often, they'll post a short "how-to" explaining what they did.

Do you have any cool tips or favourite techniques for icon making? I would love it if you would share them, either here, or in your LJ. (But please post a link here so I can find them all. *g*)

Here's one from me:

( a better greyscale image )

Invisible

I don't just have invisible readers, I also have invisible fangirls who loooooooooove my fics and wear their hair like mine and think that I can do no wrong.

I have invisible minions who tenderly upload all my fic to my many invisible archives and draw me invisible fanart and send me invisible mix CDs.

I have invisible enemies who post invisble trash talk and flames about me, but my invisible fangirls back me up every time.

I have invisible evil cohorts who plot with me to take over fandom and bend everyone to our will and force them to bow down and worship us. (Oh, I guess that's actually kestrelsan and laurashapiro. Did I spill the plan too soon, guys?)

I have an invisible bodyguard who keeps the invisible masses away from me at cons and beats on my invisible enemies.

I have an invisible girlfriend who looks just like Drew Barrymore and who has steamy invisible chat sex with me.

Also a cat.