Time to throw away the old crutches (to PS devs)

[Nikodemus]

At Karyuu. \o/
Sometimes when people really see lack of something, they want to make it and as they have motivation, they can really make it and nice looking too.

[Cha0s]

What is the current icon for Windows? The Mac icon is a crystal-thingy similar to the last image in that set that Karyuu posted...

[Karyuu]

The Windows icon looks like this:

[Cha0s]

Ewww... I think I understand why an update is in order. For those curious, the Mac icon:

[Xanacru]

EDIT:

Ok, here's the update. I tried using Karyuu's gem with yellowish "PS" letters as she suggested but I hated the result. I did recreate the correct "Chisel Hard/Soft" bevel and colors just like in examples and slight variations as well but it just wasn't working. The gem is either too light or the letters are too dark. Adjusting the brightness means the gem is no longer remotely "Azure" or the whole thing looks very similar to the original PS icon with higher color. Don't ask me to post those versions.

If you still insist on PS" letters, feel free to make your own version and post it (or use it) but you may be disappointed with the result. I've decided to keep it simple and used Karyuu's gem itself with somewhat changed richer color. The original gem had a heavy and wide shadow, which was taking up too much space. That means it would look too small, especially at 16x16 (for "favicon") where maximizing used space is essential. There was a problem getting rid of the shadow smoothly at first, since the source provided was with the shadow already applied but I managed to get rid of it smoothly.

Here's what the icon looks like at its native size (there was no higher res source provided):



Here is the .ZIP file with Windows, Mac, Linux and "favicon" versions:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/90e9b7/

Even though the regular .ico files will work for "favicon" on the website, as it does now, there is no need to use a larger filesize version that is used for the operating systems because it increases the web page download size. I instead made a .PNG "favicon", 1KB in size, already sharpened and resized for 16x16 resolution, as favicons usually are.

For "favicon", simply change this line of code:

Code: [Select]

http://www.planeshift.it/psicon.ico
to this:

Code: [Select]

http://www.planeshift.it/ps_favicon.png
Question is whether this is a better choice over the higher color old icon or "ps-gem.ico" used for Mac or not. Who knows. But I certainly don't have the time to perfect it now. I wish I did but I don't. Perhaps someone else can post their versions, if they have some ideas.

Anyway, that's all.

EDIT2:

Hmm, maybe a possible version that looks decent to me... Maybe a tad bit too bright for the letters but it goes well with the gem.



Not perfect but it looks fairly clean as a "favicon".

Alternative versions:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/e41cfc/

That's it. Don't ask for more.

[Cha0s]

Here's something I put together with the other gem... Not the greatest, but I just thought I'd see how it looked...

[bilbous]

If that crystal is supposed to represent the azure sun, I have to say it is not at all the shape I expected. I expected something more elongated such as this: only inverted.

[Dahoma]

There we go! Now that I can see it! Heh....lol woops thanks for helping me with the not being smart enough to skim the page lol. Umm... I like it. But I really like the one with the azure gem and the PS letters which are silver, they're so much better. But choose which one you like, personally the silver one really catches the eye. Hopefully you use that instead.

Edit: Bilbous I think the crystal could be more of a birds eye view? It's not really anything but a backround, plus it looks good too. Anyways, Karyuu did you say that one of Xanacru's will be used for 0.019, and if so, which?

[Karyuu]

Mmm... I kind of like it with the gold lettering, myself:



With larger letters:



Bilbous, I think the crystal is more of an abstraction.

[Feline Prince]

Karyuu's Gold big letters has my vote. The silver one from Xanacru in close second.

[Xanacru]

You're going to have to ask the developers about the why but I think a gem is just a symbolic representation of a crystal. A gem is a polished crystal after all.

Most people associate PlaneShift with the "Azure Sun" or the Crystal when it comes to a symbolic representation but there is also this (nevermind the outline, didn't mean to leave it):



And a tiny 16x16 version -->

Don't use this one. This is just an example. It's a minute job from the graphic on the main site, which is already compressed and has quite a few artifacts.

Looks funny actually.

Karyuu,

Well, if you guys like that version, by all means, of course. However, keep in mind also, that while it looks detailed at that res, look at how it scales:

This is what it looks like in 32x32 (sharpened when resized), in other words what it will look like on Windows XP desktop:



Fairly ok so far, I guess.

And this is at 16x16 (in QuickLaunch bar, Start>All Programs, and as a "favicon" on the website) -- >

Now this looks way too tiny and golden starts to really clash with blue. And this is with sharpening applied. Without it, it's even more of a blur.

This is why I made the letters go outside the crystal (so, it's still detailed at 16x16) but I still didn't like the clashing between the two colors. To get rid of clashing, you can darken the crystal or lighten the letters or both. But it seems you wanted to preserve the light azure for the crystal, did you not?

Try with larger "PS" letters maybe.

Another solution might be to simply use the gem icon without the letters for 16x16 and "favicon". However, it will still use version with the letters under Linux, since its icons are just .PNG files, so it'll read from the main large version.

It's up to you, of course. With larger golden letters, it might be ok, once you get used to it.

EDIT:

It seems you edited your post with a larger version. Here are the results:

Windows XP Desktop -->

16x16 -->

I don't know. A little better, I guess but gold still clashes with blue at lower res - something that I didn't like in my tests.

The white/silver "favicon" -->

Once again, it's up to you guys. If you like it, by all means. I don't mean to discourage anyone.

EDIT2:

Karyuu,

Can you make an even larger version with letters as large as possible without being clipped? Also, leave only 2 pixels max on each of the widest sides of the gem to maximize the used space, so it looks larger at 16x16. Also, minimal 2 px shadow or just an online (for those 2px on each side) only, if you can manage it.

[Karyuu]

Yum yum, I like how that one looks. The silver lettering has a really nice appearance, but it doesn't work for PS - our logo needs to keep a certain style

How's this one?



48x48:

32x32:

16x16:

I think the 16-pixel one's text shows up more as yellow rather than white, myself. But it's also not an icon that is going to be the most prominent. The 32-pixel looks sweet IMO. Could someone take it to icon format?

[Nikodemus]

Why all these has purple light refleccting from its sides?

[Dahoma]

Ok, because you need to keep a certain styling I will agree with you Karyuu, it's really good looking now too. Your last ones that you put look perfect to me, size it up with 16x16 and with 32x32, so we can see how it looks. But I like the style, it's fresh....that's right I went there. 

[Karyuu]

Why all these has purple light refleccting from its sides?

Why's the crystal blue?