095: all of us under its spell / we know that it's probably magic (original) (raw)

I can't adequately express just how much fun I had making this batch for the Pass-It-On round at 20inspirations! Basically, every icon has to connect somehow to the one preceding it and then also involve an additional element to be incorporated into the next piece. For example, my first icon is pink, so my second icon is pink and involves the theme of claustrophobia. Then the third icon focuses on claustrophobia as well as another visual or interpretive theme or effect. I thought it sounded daunting, but I actually didn't run into any real difficulties tying anything together. Plus, my subject is bizarre as hell, so it was easy to let my imagination run wild with her daring and dramatic photos. Just a few months ago, I could barely stand Lady Gaga, but ever since I saw her live in concert (cuz my mom didn't wanna go alone), I've come to adore her music and the spirit of defiance and freedom and unabashed confidence that she exudes. Proud monster right here, baby. What up!

I'm dedicating this super weird collection of icons to the one and only messdestruction, whose work I've admired for years and whom I've known longer than just about any other maker. Amaya, you've always shown such amazing creativity and thoughtfulness in your work, and when it comes to manipulating textures, I think you're pretty much the gold standard today. I bow to you and your bold, striking texture usage. Remember that Maroon 5 icontest you used to mod? Man, those were the days! You were kind and pleasant to chat with then, and nothing's really changed in that area cuz you're still as warm and supportive as ever, my dear! <3

Any feedback, concrit, or Lady Gaga squee will be gratefully received and acknowledged! I'm trying to be more mindful of preserving image quality when I add gradients and Curves layers to my work, so if anything here looks like it's got quality issues, please let me know and feel free to throw out any suggestions you have on how I might fix the problem(s) you've spotted! BTW, does anybody know why coloring in an icon might look really different in Photoshop than it does when I post on LJ? The "orange + text" entry doesn't look orange at all here, but it definitely had orange tones in PS. Do I have to change a certain PS setting or something? Any help is appreciated! :D

NOTE: When you snag something, please credit me and the comm, so people won't friend my personal journal when they're merely searching for my graphics. Many thanks!

Lady Gaga

[1-29] Lady Gaga (plus 20inspirations batch)

pink	pink + claustrophobia	claustrophobia + sunglasses	sunglasses + inversion	inversion + grunge

grunge + close-up	close-up + matte	matte + negative space	negative space + akimbo	akimbo + triangles

triangles + obscurity	obscurity + stripes	stripes + border	border + multiple	multiple + orange

orange + text	text + angles	angles + frame	frame + touch	touch