Seeing my icon style change

[abyss_valkyrie]

Aaaah!!I had the sudden urge to go through some of my old icons to see the difference in my style then and now and ooohhh,that's a lot of change.I first started making icons back in 2014 and most of them were for Merlin,some for various tv shows on livejournal until I started joining more icon communities and expanding my tastes. :)

Some from 2014
01-05

06-10
  11-15

I was very much a beginner but I was also very experimental because of that,so I always tried out new things with lighting,text,rotation and vibrant colours.Levels/split type of icons were one of my favourite things to make so I often made those.:)

2015:
    16-20
    21-25
I think I'd finally learned how to cut out subjects from the BG and use fake BG so I moved away from my split/levels type of style and gone more for single characters with somewhat centered cropping.

2016:
26-30
31-35
I used a lot of texture over the characters and played with lighting. 33 and 34 are styles I realise now that I still use them but differently. The 35th icon is one of my best ever and it was such an accident,that to this day I don't know what techniques I'd used to create it!T_T

2017:
36-40
41-45
What was I thinking with the 42nd icon?!UGLYYY!! I started trying to do some pastel/softer colouring too.My anime icons were more vibrant though.

2018:
46-50
    51-55
   56-60
I started posting on DW so there were loooads of challenges for me to really try out things.Learned to do smoother animation and can you see the pale/muted colouring start to be a part of my style?

2019:
61-65
66-70
71-75
Okay,I didn't mean to put so many of the icons buuuut, can I just say that Blocking is such a hit and miss,at least it was at this point. See 61 and 68! 61 is UGLYYYY!>_< I definitely enjoy using text now and there's a lot of it going on in 2019 already!:D

2020 so far:
76-80
   81-85
     86-90
Soooo,we've reached the end of this post now!XD If you've kept up this far, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
A brief progress below:

I do use a lot of text now and if I don't,then I use textures,multiple of them at times Animation ftw!XD
While making this post I kept thinking that I used to be way more creative and unafraid to try various things.Some of it is true but overall,I'm definitely happy to see the way I've gotten better at composition,especially composition. My colouring style has changed a lot and now even when I try to do my very vibrant style from  the 2014s,it's really hard to do so. But hey,I made a split icon in 86 and should try out more of those again.

That's it for now,sorry for the long post and icon spam,lol!
 

Comments

[breyzyyin]

Seeing your icon progression is amazing: your work with graphics is really incredible and very impressive! ♥

[abyss_valkyrie]

Thanks a lot!! Seriously,your encouraging words for my icons leave me so happy every time. :)

[rheasilvia]

This is really fascinating - thank you for explaining your artistic evolution! I have to say that as someone who loves icons merely as an amateur viewer, I think they are all lovely in different ways, the early ones too. :-)

I am also fascinated by the story behind icon 87! What is going on with the baby Lans? ;-)

[abyss_valkyrie]

Awww!!Thanks a lot!Yes,I too enjoy icons in any style and it was definitely fun to see what's worked better and such. :)
Hahaha!!That 87th one is from when Jin Ling starts crying after Wen Ning comes to talk to Sizhui while on the way to Lotus Pier,maybe episode 45?(I've been rewatching The Untamed so much I'm starting to remember things by episode number now!XD)

[rheasilvia]

Oh, yes! I thought it might be that scene, but I didn't remember the Lan babies' reaction. Poor Jin Ling - personally, I think hugs would help! But I don't think the Lan sect teaches the hug technique, unfortunately... ;-)

[tinny]

This is awesome! Don't apologize! Icon progression posts are so much fun! To write and muse about and to read, too!

I chuckled at the premade poxel border textures! Everyone was using them back then. :D

Other people's processes are always fascinating. <3

[abyss_valkyrie]

Haha!!I knooow,I love seeing other progression posts too!

[wunderkind-lucy.livejournal.com]

This is such a great idea! ^^ It's so cool to see you transition as an icon maker. I can see that you had some good icons early on, unlike me lol! I really liked your batch from 2018, so many gorgeous icons! From 2018, I feel like you really challenged yourself, and I think you really grew from then until now!

I look forward to seeing your future posts! ^^

I might have to try this, lol!

[abyss-valkyrie.livejournal.com]

Haha!Yeah,some icons were good,some that made me go like 'what was I thinking?'. XD Yeah,when I was collecting the icons for this post I realised that about 2018-I think until then it was a lot of experimentation to see what I liked and it's when I started trying to get styles that I could do without the trial and error method.So nice of you for your encouraging words.
OMG!Please,I'd love to see a similar post from you too.:D