Icon 05 (My Music Folder)
I was planning on doing the Internet icon today, but am still hoping to come up with something other than a globe. So I decided to do something else, something simple, but that plan failed as well so I did the "My Music" folder.
Because this is the first of the "Special" folders it will become important in the overall look of the pack. Over the process of making this folder I have ended up with a few conventions. All the "Special" folders will probably have these things in common.
1) They will all be the same size as the Open Folder icon.
2) They will all have something in them, like a file or a picture.
3) Most will have something sitting in front of them reflecting in the "Floor"
These things can - and probably will - change, but at the rate we are doing these icons I will not have a lot of time to redesign icons, so hopefully these standards will look good with all the folders.
Also, there are a lot of little techniques that I use making this that could use more explaining. Please let me know in the comments the one you would like to see details on, and I will do some tutorial videos showing how they are done.
Ok, off we go....
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Step 1
I was staring at the Open folder icons, wondering what to do with the My Music folder, and the first thing that popped into my mind was the folder overflowing with musical notes. I messed with this and it seemed a bit like overkill, but I kept the basic idea.
Using the Rectangle and Circle tools, I quickly draw up some "music" symbols; a few notes, and a CD. These will mostly be replaced as we go but I will use them as guides to the look of the folder.
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Step 2
Now I take a copy of the Open folder icon and, using the Perspective tool, move my symbols around until I think it looks good.
Note: to make these folders go faster, I Group the front of the folder, and the back of the folder separately, that way I can quickly put things inside the folder. Like the CD's
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Step 3
One of the easiest things to do on this Icon is the CD's. Use the Conical Fill tool to fill it with that Rainbow look. I am making these kind of bright because I don't want the pack to become too monotone.
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Step 4
Now I am going to go in and start making the notes. I will just draw over my quick ones, so I will stay with the one that will be hanging off the folder. All the notes will be done more or less the same way.
Using to circles, and the blend tool I make the main bulb.
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Step 5
Using the Rectangle and the Mesh tools I go in to the stem and the flag of the note. I also give the bulb, and the flag some of the obligatory glare. Also I send the flag behind the front of the folder so it looks like its hanging.
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Step 6
Now I make the rest of the notes. Note that I am changing the blends a bit on each one, but more or less they are all just copies of the first bulb. If the blend is still "Live" then you can change the colors of the 2 circles on the fly.
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Step 7
Similar to the last few icons I do a lot of copying of the notes and making bitmaps that I can fade out to make our reflections.
Also I draw in some basic shapes that I need to do my non-standard Shadows with.
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Step 8
Once I have my shadow done, I fade them out where needed to get that more realistic look.
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Finished Icon Image.
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Download Finished Icon Here
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Well 5 down 55 to go, I'm not quite sure what we will be doing tomorrow; will decide when I wake up. Still hoping for inspiration on the Internet icon.
I want to do some mini tutorials on some of these techniques, and think I will try and do one each weekend. Let me know which ones you would like to see and I will put them on the top of my list.
Read the other Icon-A-Day Articles. Icon # 1, Icon # 2, Icon #3. Icon # 4.
And don't forget to check for all the Icon-A-Day icons as they get made, in the Miscellaneous Icons Gallery at Wincustomize.com |
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