first icons, first attempt Options

[polkadotted_acco...]

Feedback would be lovely. Constructive critisism and what not.

It's kind of a big array of er "themes" I guess you could say.

[*Duchess of Dork*]

I like that you show diversity in the different subjects you chose for the icons. I especially like that you didn't just do the gorgeous cropped model icon thing (sorry guys, it's getting a bit trite at this point). I think you are definitely off to a great start.

Here's some of my comments:

As has been mentioned, the first one is by far your best. Nice use of black and white with just the figures in colors.

I think it's great that you are experimenting with hues in the #2. I would completely remove the text for a couple of reasons. One, you cannot read it. Two, it's black and everything else in the icon is reddish. It's more than likely a personal preference of mine, but I think that the color of the text should at least somewhat match in hue to the rest of the icon.

Bowie love is always hot. Labyrinth love, even hotter. However, it's just way too blurry. He almost looks fuzzy even. I'm not sure if you used an image that was blurry as your base, or if you were experimenting with filter or blend modes. Either way, here's a couple of things to remember: Use a sharp, clean base. The dreamy effect is good, completely sedated effect isn't. :)

#4 is pretty cute. Again, I like the black and white with a little color. It's blurry though, which isn't good. The text color works this time (and you can read it ;) ), but I would stop by our Common Fonts thread for some more font options.

Also, these tutorials were immensely helpful for me:
(Assuming that you're using Photoshop)
Tutorials by Sherlock.
Vintage Picture, by Madame C

Paintshop pro tutorials (if you're not. I know I just linked all of the PSP tutorials here, but since I do not use PSP, I cannot determine which would be helpful)