ways_back_room | DE: A pictures tells how many words?

They're less important to me than they were? I used to spend a ton of time looking for the omg best one, but there's a lot of instances where there just isn't one of those in the current grab bag, or won't be (Glor, I'm looking at you, why couldn't you have made it into the movies properly and given me icons?).

So mostly I try to get in the right ballpark and leave it at that.

Though finding the exact right icon is still pretty fun. :D

I tend to aim for an icon that adds something to the comment but don't always succeed. I used to want all the icons(!), but now I would likely be happy with 30. Dreamwidth is not helpful with this as they only have the free option for 15 icons and then paid for 100. I miss LJ's free plus that gave you different levels of icon space.

I think I am shifting more towards icons that sum up the character or fit the OOM/plot, rather than icons that span moods.

As to favorite icons...I'll give links: Ahsoka (fanart of a future I wish to steer her towards), Asajj, Hank(bonus)/Beast, Izana, Luidaeg (bonus or second bonus), Quinlan, Rollo, Sam, Selina (or this one), Tybalt.

Edited 2015-05-20 15:23 (UTC)

That's my favorite Rollo icon, too. That scene never fails to make me laugh.

Funny thing is I can't really use it in RPG since it's so specific. = )

True! But maybe it could be used to express a sort of "wtf are you doing" kind of thing. Either that or "stop touching meeee."

Flawless! (And now I am also imaginign Ragnar and Rollo in the back of a wagon on a long trip playing the "I'm not touching you" game.

I love my keyword for it also, "bippity boppity baptised"

I don't usually fuss over mine too much- Gordon got the most icon fuss of any of my pups, since he did the least speaking for a very long time. With Ellen I have a lot of icons that I use for NPCs and NPC situations; I did, however, add a second PB for her because I was having a hard time finding pictures of the original actress smiling broadly or looking beat-up. (This makes sense- the original actress, Yoon Eun Hye, doesn't do a lot of physical roles. The second actress, Jeeja Yanin, is a Thai martial artist. I am not sure how someone Thai winds up looking so much like someone Korean, but I am not going to argue with a gift from the beat-people-up gods.) I am, however, pleased that Yoon Eun Hye had certain very specific facial expressions I was able to get screencaps of, namely the ones with keywords 'what's with the sky fire' and 'extraordinarily stupid thing'. They've worked out rather well. Among the Jeeja Yanin set I'm most pleased with 'plain smiling', 'smiling out the side of her mouth', and 'thousand yard stare'.

With Shephard I ran into two problems because I'd picked John Cusack for his PB. One, when Cusack was Shephard's actual age, Cusack was playing roles like Lloyd Dobler- which, not a good source for Shephard; I've had to use older images for Shep (Cusack in his thirties or forties for a guy who's about 23, since that was when I could get Cusack in a uniform or at least with a gun). The other is that John Cusack has a Mainer's smile- it's all but impossible to find pictures of him smiling beyond 'I have pressed my lips together and turned up the corners of my mouth'. So I haven't been very precise with his keywords or icons in general. However, a few of his icons have two sets of keywords, and I do try to use the right ones just in case someone hovers a mouse over him; 'unmasked' vs. 'oh you did NOT' and 'carbine' vs. 'not impressed'. Sometimes I just want pictures of him in military gear without the gas mask, and sometimes I want him in military gear without the gas mask and with the specific implication that he's either pissed off or, as it says, unimpressed.

I love icons though at the moment most of my pups are down to their minimum due to money. I adore how icons can enhance a tag and when I have the right face for a character, that's when I feel that I can play them.

Of mine Charles has the most because James McAvoy acts with a lot of subtle facial movements and not so subtle and I want all the options. That's how Will ended up with so many.

I also like having icons for specific situations, places and things and other people. That's very helpful to me.

Edited 2015-05-20 17:16 (UTC)

I use lots of icons, and do use them to enhance or counterpoint my playing, hence my suggestion of the DE.

On most accounts, I have icons with expressions; some of the icons have double meanings as a) the expression on the icon and b) the keyword; that is especially true with Hannibal. I have the most icons for him because he is a subtle and nuanced bastard. He needs a dozen specific icons for cooking alone, and several with wine glasses. As I don't do much narration with Hannibal (as he's always the Other in his book canon, I decided early on that he doesn't get comments, statements of intention, thoughts, anything except words and actions), I use icons to highlight not just what he is looking like but also his duplicitousness and the fact he's an unmitigated fucker. Looking at the icon keywords tends to pay off when threading with Hannibal! I sometimes worry that people don't catch on sufficiently how awful he is -- hence a nice smile with the keyword "Your stupidity is hilarious", for example. Or a polite, neutral picture that's mostly blue, with the keyword "Don't mind the painting over the mantle" (which is, actually, a near-pornographic rococo painting with the graphic and detailed depiction of female sex organs). Hannibal is horrible that way, and I try to use his icons to remind people just HOW horrible he is.

Ragnar here has a range of expression, several shades of grinning, and more than one icon with Athelstan on it.

Teja has a number of icons made from canon illustrations from 1925; even his default icon that he's had for ages is from that series of linotypes.

Most of my charries have an icon keyworded 'Deep Look'; that is their 'resting bitchface' or the kind of interested look they give to people while in an earnest conversation about srs bsnz. More than one has an icon keyworded 'Drawn' -- that is mostly some sort of caricature that I use for OOC comments, like this one.

I love icons and I love making them. Making icons is the first sign that I'm invested in a character. And I, too, miss LJ's icon spaces, which is why I had to buy a Paid account for Emcee because I need all the icons, as he is my most active pup. I do rely on them for adding meaning to tags most of the time, only because I have very specific expressions in my head for him. Like the way he looks at you, or the curve of his lips, or his posture, or the way his hair falls over his eyes.

I think my favorite icon of his is the Default one. It just sums him up right there. I also like this one (keyword "rent boy") because that looks like genuine vulnerability to me, which is not something he shows very often. And also this one ("hiding") and this one ("passion"), which might be Eric's favorite, haha. Ngl, I saw the original photo and thought, omg must icon for vampire sexytimes.

Oh yes.
Eric approves.

I try not to rely on my icons too much, as I have such a limited set of expressions for this girl. All of the PB's other roles don't even come close to this specific character. (And for the love of bob, please don't google Dejah Thoris and expect to find more usable art. Just... No.)

For the most part, I get as close as I can with an icon, and sometimes that means a vague impression of what the tag is trying to imply. But I don't rely on icons do to all the heavy lifting, not by a long shot.

They're pretty important to me - and I use them to punch my tags up, mainly.

DE: A pictures tells how many words?

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