My icon adventures

My decision to start trying to learn how to mimic wc3-style icons coincidentally fell on the day that wc3c went down, so I had no choice but to register on THW and post them there for a critique. Needless to say it was a waste of time.

I want real critiques here. I can tell that these don't look like wc3 icons, but I need to know what I can do to change or improve them in order to make them look more wc3-esque. Thanks.

You need to consider atmosphere above all things. For starters, there's no glow in the scroll. Ignoring the style you have versus WC3's style -- Take a gander at standard scroll icons in-game and you'll notice they've all got a glow about them. That makes the icon look more intriguing and gives it more of an atmosphere and color scheme. This is particularly necessary in the scroll.

The meteor looks a lot like a flaming turd, no offense. You should make note that a molten rock is generally hot and won't be brown all over. Additionally, you've got lighting conflicts in the meteor, since you've got this glow all over. Too many dark spots next to too many bright things, it doesn't fit right. Also, it could use some more comparably-sized meteors near it to give it some depth. Notice that right now, you've got one foreground meteor and a dozen in the background. What about all that space in-between?

The pumpkin is awkward because of the extending glow beneath it. It would look better if the stem were more pronounced (and you could see more green). Also, I think it would look better if the glow under it were instead radiating off of it like billowing smoke.

On the whole, though, they're quite good. You should focus on composition and concept in the future and I'm sure you'll only improve from it.

Thanks for the great suggestions guys. The biggest thing I tried to work on with these was lighting (though I knew the meteor didn't have good lighting in the end) and I think I've got the hang of it. I've been looking through blizz's icons and most of them have backlighting on the far edge of the object to make it stand out from the black background, so I'll try and make that more prominent too. I'll try to churn out a few more tomorrow. Look forward to Chicken-Hex, Stone Mask, and Scroll v2

Pirate Map thing. All critiques are welcome.

Finally, somebody attempting to make generic Blizzard-esque icons. No offense meant to others (*cough* CrazyRussian *cough*), but their supreme-art has little place with other Blizzard icons.

Your second try is looking much better.

I like CRAZYRUSSIANS icons, some of them remind me of wc2. I allways loved wc2 icons, maybe I should practise some icon painting too.

Anyways, I really like those 3 of your first post, but dont ypu think they might just need somekind of background? That black background is just a little bit too black.

That Meteor icon is my favorite. Its not glowing or anything, and for some reason I really like that. Its not blurry and has nice colors too.

^Oh sure, I like them too; wasn't saying I didn't. I just don't feel like I can use them for my "Blizzard-compatible" projects.

This one turned out a lot better, Szy, you've just got to be careful. Look at the edges of the scroll and the green glowy around it. Those blur together real badly in this icon, so you're going to want to focus on some differentiation and distinct lineart. Check out the town portal icon for a reference as to what I'm referring.

Hows this?

Shatter

Lookin' good, but the fragments seem a bit round for a 'shatter' effect. More
jagged shards flying everywhere (as well as some much smaller dust and
debris) would do the trick. The trails are a nice touch, but it still needs a bit
more motion, energy and overall oomph.

I had the idea in my mind of a round frozen orb being shattered, so that's why theres no jagged edges. I added a little dust in the middle, but I agree a few more smaller shards couldn't hurt. Aside from that, I don't know what I can do to enhance the oomph-ness

More movement lines?

Splendid.

Interesting pumpkin, a meteorite not like yourself)