The Great Experiment
Aug. 5th, 2007 02:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rusty_armourA couple of weeks ago, I did something truly radical: I got rid of the dead plants on my balcony and planted new ones -- impatiens, to be exact. I thought it would be a nice surprise if my mom found living plants when she comes to stay with me this month, especially as she loves spending time on the balcony.
Initially, I was afraid that I wouldn't be up for the challenge. I mean, I managed to kill my first set of plants despite the fact that my mom carefully grew and nurtured them and gave me explicit instructions on how to care for them. To be perfectly honest, I'd be thrilled if my latest batch of plants stays alive until after Mom's visit. In fact, I've begged and pleaded with them to do just that, telling them that they're free to die in messy horrible ways afterwards. However, so far I've been amazed and impressed by the stubbornness and sheer tenacity of these impatiens. They've survived and even flourished. Why, just a couple of days ago, a flower (an actual flower) bloomed on my Double White Impatiens. It's, like, this tiny perfect white rose, though obviously it's not a rose because it's an impatiens. Oh! And there are other itty bitty buds appearing on the Double White Impatiens and the other plants as well! It's a miracle! I haven't killed them yet! At this rate, I think they might actually live until September! Woo hoo! :-)
On a sadder note, despite my surprising success with impatiens (so far), I still have my share of problems. You see, I've developed an unhealthy and debilitating obsession…I can't stop making ANIMATED icons! It's gotten so bad that I was up till almost 4:00 in the morning designing this particular icon:
And I'm not even sure if I like it! I think it's the sombrero. I just can't seem to find one that suits (or even fits) McKay -- not even Barcelona McKay. What's truly pathetic is that I was struggling with this icon last year when I still had PSP 8 on a free trial basis. Back then, I found all the different layers didn't look good together, so this time I tried converting everything to sepia tones. Unfortunately, while the background and sombrero have some interesting coloured tints, McKay refused to be anything but black and white, no matter what I tried. Oh, well.
To date, I've made the following icons:
(I ended up giving this one to
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bakerybard because she actually likes it. I'm happy it went to a good home.) 
(I kept these for myself. I'm absurdly pleased with them -- probably because they're four-frame animations. Unfortunately, I think I'm the only one who thinks they're even remotely funny, so it's probably better that I did keep them for myself. *g*)
(This was basically just an experiment, and I told
dubghall she didn't have to use it, though it looks like she's planning to keep it. :-) ) 
(I forced these ones on poor
mytristan. I think she's beginning to wish she had never joined LJ! *g*) Aaaarrrrgggghhh! This has got to stop! Just yesterday, I found myself trying to talk my brother into joining LJ just so I would have yet another excuse to design ANIMATED icons! This-this is a foul and perverse disease, and I must crush and destroy it! Well, at least until tomorrow. I promised myself that I couldn't make any more icons until then. *Looks longingly at the clock* Is it tomorrow yet?
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Date: 2007-08-10 06:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-11 07:30 am (UTC)What peeves me is that I'll make a really nice icon and then have absolutely no idea how to replicate it.
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Date: 2007-08-11 10:12 pm (UTC)LOL! I only used the "You're an idiot" icon because it was the one I had originally used for this post -- in which I was calling myself an idiot. *g* BTW the icon is meant to be a kind of Canadian in-joke. Because Canada is bilingual, everything is written in English and French, so you'll get things like cereal boxes with English on one side and French on the other.
What peeves me is that I'll make a really nice icon and then have absolutely no idea how to replicate it.
I ran into that exact problem last night, though in my case I was trying to re-do my Barcelona McKay icon (which I'm now subjecting you to) because there were (and still are) some areas I'd like to fix. However, no matter what I tried, I only seemed to make it worse. In the end, I decided to leave it faults and all. And I know this probably doesn't sound like the same problem, but there were many parts of the first version that I did want to keep but couldn't replicate.
*Sigh* I think I'm going to have to start taking notes when I work on icons, even if it's just to record things like the kind of font I'm using for the text!
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Date: 2007-08-12 05:13 am (UTC)That's alright, I like it. ... because there were (and still are) some areas I'd like to fix. However, no matter what I tried, I only seemed to make it worse. In the end, I decided to leave it faults and all. And I know this probably doesn't sound like the same problem, but there were many parts of the first version that I did want to keep but couldn't replicate.
Pretty similar.
I think I'm going to have to start taking notes when I work on icons, even if it's just to record things like the kind of font I'm using for the text!
Same! I'm always doing weird stuff like adjusting hue/saturation, playing with layers, then I'll save it as a .png or whatever and then do more to it at that stage.
Good luck with the note taking :)
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Date: 2007-08-12 03:49 pm (UTC)Same! I'm always doing weird stuff like adjusting hue/saturation, playing with layers, then I'll save it as a .png or whatever and then do more to it at that stage.
Yeah, I'm notorious for adjusting hue/saturation and colour levels. My favourite adjustment layer to play with is probably brightness/contrast. I find it particularly useful if I've got a screencap I like, but it's really dark and it's hard to make out details. Usually, I try to save things as .psp files until I'm pretty sure I'm finished with them. Still, it's hard to leave icons alone even then. Like you, I've gone back to fix things, though I usually just locate the .psp file and work from that.
Good luck with the note taking :)
Thank you muchly! :-) It will be interesting to see if I actually remember to do it. I'll let you if the note taking is successful.
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Date: 2007-08-12 10:45 pm (UTC)I've also got a lantern from the Kamarimonon Gate, some from Vegas, and a couple of the shuttles.
Like you, I've gone back to fix things, though I usually just locate the .psp file and work from that. Sometimes I come back to that, but usually I keep playing around with actual pic. I do always save them in a similar format to .psp. I just have a super old program. I really should buy one with my tax money.
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Date: 2007-08-13 05:00 pm (UTC)I've also got a lantern from the Kamarimonon Gate, some from Vegas, and a couple of the shuttles.
I was actually complimenting you on your Tokyo lantern icon, though the Temple of Poseidon icon is beautiful too! I was in Greece last year, though I didn't make it to the Temple of Poseidon. Anyway, I didn't even notice the blurred people until you pointed them out. Very clever! :-)
Oh, and the icon you're using in your "re: icon" comment (the Hawaiian beach) is AWESOME! The water looks gorgeous! I just want to find a way to climb into the icon and dive in!
Sometimes I come back to that, but usually I keep playing around with actual pic. I do always save them in a similar format to .psp. I just have a super old program. I really should buy one with my tax money.
You may be using a super old program, but it's obviously doing the trick! :-) I was actually lucky enough to get my copy of PSP 7 for free...And I probably shouldn't say anything else in case I incriminate myself! *g*
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Date: 2007-08-12 10:46 pm (UTC)