Hee~! That's beautiful! Floppy annoyed Sheppard waiting for his friends to come rescue him is just so cute! (If you want more iconing tips, I might be able to help, depending on what software you're using...)
Thanks so much! I'm definitely interested in tips. I downloaded a program to do this but found it really awkward and kinda hate it a bit. What do you use? I added the words in paint - I'm so behind the times.
Sorry it took me two days to reply, I didn't get a notification from LJ! Bad LJ.
Oh, and thanks for friending me! I've been lurking at your journal for a few weeks now, so: Hi.
I noticed that you're watching Farscape at the moment - that, and Eureka and SGA are all sitting quietly on my hard drive at the moment, providing me with most of my viewing pleasure. So, hey, looks like we have more shows in common than just SGA!
Hee~! I'm not really used to having lurkers, but I'm used to being one. So - hi! ♥
Farscape is a wonderful, crazy show - I've seen the first couple of seasons twice, and the third season once, but always had things get in the way of finishing the series. Not so this time! This time I will get to the fabled mini-series...! And Eureka is just so cute and quirky - it's my little fluffy happy show. Really looking forward to the third season of it.
I always think I'm just around the corner from graduating from Lurker to Regular Poster, but it's been a good long while and: no. Since joining LJ about a year ago, I have at least started commenting though, which may be the first step...
I actually started with the Farscape miniseries because it seems rather more manageable. I loved it, so I went back to beginning. It's slow going because I only watch it when fanfic isn't providing me with the required level of crack. So, not often.
If there was a more established Eureka fandom, I'd probably be checking it out. But I don't want to get all engrossed and then find there isn't a regular source of good fic - that makes me sad. I am getting some slashy undertones from Carter and Stark though, so it could still happen.
I use The Gimp, which is a fantastic free program. I was a bit confused by the layout the first couple of times I tried it, but as I've gotten used to it I've discovered it's as useful to me as Photoshop was. (I switched from Windows to Ubuntu six months ago, and had to find programs to replace the Windows-only ones I'd been using.)
One of the things I really like about Gimp and Photoshop both is that they have a "sharpen" function. Sharpen, and also "unsharp mask" - both are extremely useful in making the pictures look just a little... well, a little sharper. (See my Teyla icon above - the center is sharp, while the edges are a bit more blurred - something I did by using layers, but I don't know if you're familiar with those, so... Eh, in conclusion, sharpening is good!)
I also use the "levels" - playing with the balance of light and dark in a picture can bring out a lot of detail in a screencap.
Uh. I'm just going to be horribly rude and steal your pretty Sheppard icon for a quick demonstration: the only thing I've done to it is add a little bit of sharpness, and I've fiddled slightly with the layers. The text might look a bit off, but obviously that won't happen if you add it later:
Obviously, I don't know if you want it to be lighter or sharper or whatever, but it's good to know that there's a program that can do this for you.
Sorry it took me two days to reply, I didn't get a notification from LJ! Bad LJ.
Yeah, seems like it's doing that now... I've been fine so far, but I keep seeing people on my f'list complaining that they're not getting their comments. (Maybe Gmail is just clever enough not to throw LJ notifications in the trash?)
I was using something called Fast Stone, by virtue of it coming up first on download.com. It sucked.
Feel totally free to instruct me with my own icons - using anyone else's would be like turning in an essay and getting it back with someone else's comments. Only thing is, I can't see the picture you made, it's just blank space. I really appreciate you taking an interest - is there any chance you could take a look and try uploading it again?
I've downloaded this 'Gimp' of which you speak and have been playing around for the last half hour or so. I took another cap of a shot in 'Travelers' and had a fiddle:
You can't see it? Stupid Tinypic! (I can see it just fine!) You've obviously got it figured out already, as evidenced by your example below, but in case you're still curious, I hope you can see this:
(And I hope that's the one I fiddled with, and not the original! Kind of hard to tell. I didn't really do much with it.)
The next cap - whoo! That looks really good! ^_^ I can't come up with any way of making it look better - it's already nice and sharp. Sharpening it further would just risk making it piexellated. You can use the little drop-shaped tool to sharpen/blur particular areas of the picture, but... I'd say it looks spiffy! (The bells and whistles come later, if you want them. With a nice, clean base, you can make anything.)
Unsharp mask... See, I use these programs, but I don't actually understand them. XD So. Uh. It's got an interesting way of changing the grain and lines and such, and if you fiddle around with it it can make your picture look both horrible, and also really cool? Um. Yeah, I'm the worst person to ask this ever. (Google provides some answers, at least, though a lot of these photo editing sites can get really technical.)
The best thing about slightly more complicated image editing software, like the Gimp, is the layers. I don't know if the Fast Stone had it, or if you're using it, but - do! Even if it's just for comparison's sake - when you're working with such a tiny pic, it's hardly any effort at all for the program to keep a million layers open. I tend to duplicate my layer before every change, and sometimes try different things with identical duplicates. (The layers are off to the right in my Gimp, and the "duplicate" button is the one with two images over each other. If you click the eye symbol to the side, it can render the layers invisible...)
Layers are fun for many, many things, including being able to add textures, or fiddling with parts of the image but not others, or just getting really neat effects - try opening a new image, duplicating the background layer, and then switching the top layer from "Normal" (way at the top) to "Mask", for a really useful kind of effect! (You can change the opacity of the top image to make it less drastic, and save the result as one layer by right-clicking and choosing to "merge down".)
Okay - now I'm just babbling. I really have no idea what you're interested in trying, but - yeah. Layers = good, and fiddling around is the best way to learn. ♥ Oh! And I should mention that my Gimp is in Swedish - annoying, but that's what happened when I downloaded it. So I'm really just guessing at what the commands and such are called in your Gimp, and if you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's much more likely that I'm just way off on my guess than that you're looking in the wrong place or anything.
Oooh, much better! Pretty. I like that you can see his face better - the icon's so small that it's made a big difference.
I'm going to settle down and cap some of the Tabula Rasa and play with layers one evening this week, it's fun to be creative for a change. It really looks like it's worth taking the time to get to know that program, I've already pimped it to my housemate.
To be continued after I've had some sleep - I have a range of icons to create!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
no subject
Sorry it took me two days to reply, I didn't get a notification from LJ! Bad LJ.
no subject
I noticed that you're watching Farscape at the moment - that, and Eureka and SGA are all sitting quietly on my hard drive at the moment, providing me with most of my viewing pleasure. So, hey, looks like we have more shows in common than just SGA!
no subject
Farscape is a wonderful, crazy show - I've seen the first couple of seasons twice, and the third season once, but always had things get in the way of finishing the series. Not so this time! This time I will get to the fabled mini-series...! And Eureka is just so cute and quirky - it's my little fluffy happy show. Really looking forward to the third season of it.
no subject
I actually started with the Farscape miniseries because it seems rather more manageable. I loved it, so I went back to beginning. It's slow going because I only watch it when fanfic isn't providing me with the required level of crack. So, not often.
If there was a more established Eureka fandom, I'd probably be checking it out. But I don't want to get all engrossed and then find there isn't a regular source of good fic - that makes me sad. I am getting some slashy undertones from Carter and Stark though, so it could still happen.
Hope you're feeling better!
no subject
I use The Gimp, which is a fantastic free program. I was a bit confused by the layout the first couple of times I tried it, but as I've gotten used to it I've discovered it's as useful to me as Photoshop was. (I switched from Windows to Ubuntu six months ago, and had to find programs to replace the Windows-only ones I'd been using.)
One of the things I really like about Gimp and Photoshop both is that they have a "sharpen" function. Sharpen, and also "unsharp mask" - both are extremely useful in making the pictures look just a little... well, a little sharper. (See my Teyla icon above - the center is sharp, while the edges are a bit more blurred - something I did by using layers, but I don't know if you're familiar with those, so... Eh, in conclusion, sharpening is good!)
I also use the "levels" - playing with the balance of light and dark in a picture can bring out a lot of detail in a screencap.
Uh. I'm just going to be horribly rude and steal your pretty Sheppard icon for a quick demonstration: the only thing I've done to it is add a little bit of sharpness, and I've fiddled slightly with the layers. The text might look a bit off, but obviously that won't happen if you add it later:
Obviously, I don't know if you want it to be lighter or sharper or whatever, but it's good to know that there's a program that can do this for you.
Sorry it took me two days to reply, I didn't get a notification from LJ! Bad LJ.
Yeah, seems like it's doing that now... I've been fine so far, but I keep seeing people on my f'list complaining that they're not getting their comments. (Maybe Gmail is just clever enough not to throw LJ notifications in the trash?)
no subject
Feel totally free to instruct me with my own icons - using anyone else's would be like turning in an essay and getting it back with someone else's comments. Only thing is, I can't see the picture you made, it's just blank space. I really appreciate you taking an interest - is there any chance you could take a look and try uploading it again?
I've downloaded this 'Gimp' of which you speak and have been playing around for the last half hour or so. I took another cap of a shot in 'Travelers' and had a fiddle:
Before
After
Suggestions? Comments? And what the heck is 'unsharp mask'? There are about a million functions on it that I don't get, but let's just take that one!
no subject
(And I hope that's the one I fiddled with, and not the original! Kind of hard to tell. I didn't really do much with it.)
The next cap - whoo! That looks really good! ^_^ I can't come up with any way of making it look better - it's already nice and sharp. Sharpening it further would just risk making it piexellated. You can use the little drop-shaped tool to sharpen/blur particular areas of the picture, but... I'd say it looks spiffy! (The bells and whistles come later, if you want them. With a nice, clean base, you can make anything.)
Unsharp mask... See, I use these programs, but I don't actually understand them. XD So. Uh. It's got an interesting way of changing the grain and lines and such, and if you fiddle around with it it can make your picture look both horrible, and also really cool? Um. Yeah, I'm the worst person to ask this ever. (Google provides some answers, at least, though a lot of these photo editing sites can get really technical.)
The best thing about slightly more complicated image editing software, like the Gimp, is the layers. I don't know if the Fast Stone had it, or if you're using it, but - do! Even if it's just for comparison's sake - when you're working with such a tiny pic, it's hardly any effort at all for the program to keep a million layers open. I tend to duplicate my layer before every change, and sometimes try different things with identical duplicates. (The layers are off to the right in my Gimp, and the "duplicate" button is the one with two images over each other. If you click the eye symbol to the side, it can render the layers invisible...)
Layers are fun for many, many things, including being able to add textures, or fiddling with parts of the image but not others, or just getting really neat effects - try opening a new image, duplicating the background layer, and then switching the top layer from "Normal" (way at the top) to "Mask", for a really useful kind of effect! (You can change the opacity of the top image to make it less drastic, and save the result as one layer by right-clicking and choosing to "merge down".)
Okay - now I'm just babbling. I really have no idea what you're interested in trying, but - yeah. Layers = good, and fiddling around is the best way to learn. ♥ Oh! And I should mention that my Gimp is in Swedish - annoying, but that's what happened when I downloaded it. So I'm really just guessing at what the commands and such are called in your Gimp, and if you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's much more likely that I'm just way off on my guess than that you're looking in the wrong place or anything.
no subject
I'm going to settle down and cap some of the Tabula Rasa and play with layers one evening this week, it's fun to be creative for a change. It really looks like it's worth taking the time to get to know that program, I've already pimped it to my housemate.
To be continued after I've had some sleep - I have a range of icons to create!