There is a first time for everything
Creating first icon set could be really challenging. There are usually lots of questions popping in your head, like “What should my icon set be about?”, “How many icons is enough?” or a classic “How do I know if it is good?”. Sounds familiar? Concerns like these prevent you from even starting an icon set. This has to stop.
We all know too well that the hardest thing to do is to start. To make it easier – start small. Don’t make your first icon set for a client. Don’t make it for sale. Don’t even make it a freebie. Do it for fun! You will always have a chance to work for some scumbag who will try to kill your passion for the icon design. Starting your journey has to be nothing but fun and excitement, from the first sketch to the polished vector icons, ready to knock everyone off their feet.
Here are a couple of things that will smooth your way into the icon design.
1. Choose the right theme for you first set
Your first icon set should reflect something you’re passionate about. Otherwise, how are you going to enjoy the whole process of creating it?
Forget about the boring basic topics like household items (unless they are your passion, of course)! Think outside the box and go for something that brings your joy in real life. Do you like skateboarding? Or is it painting that makes your heart skip a beat? Maybe reading? Riding a bicycle? Is singing your thing? Choosing the theme that excites you is the first step towards success. First, you will have fun making it. Second, you won’t get stuck with the lack of ideas to cover the topic.
2. The less the better
Remember what we’ve talked about in the beginning? Start small!
Don’t try to create a hundred icons. You will most likely burn out before you even get through the half of it. Even when it’s your favourite topic, eventually, you run out of ideas.
So what is the ideal number? I think six icons would make a great start.
It’s just enough to cover the key points of basically any topic. It may sound like a small number, but believe me, it won’t feel like one when you will try to make a set of six cohesive icons that will go with one another.
Check out: 6 useful tips on how to create cohesive icon set.
3. Use a little help from your friends
When you’re making an icon set on one of your passions, it should be easy for you to know what represents it the most. However, even if you already have the ideal vision in your head, I still suggest you play a little game first.
Next time you are hanging out with your friends, give them the topic of your upcoming set and ask to brainstorm everything that comes to their minds related to that topic. You’ll be amazed how far a human’s mind can go and how fascinating this game becomes, when everybody starts shouting out their associations interrupting one another!
The greatest thing is that you’ll get a ton of ideas for your set you never considered even for a second. But don’t just write them down – sketch them! Take a second or two to sketch every word, draw the first symbol that comes to you mind. I promise you’ll get plenty of amazing concepts out of this game!
4. Always sketch first!
Now when you have the ideas and rough sketches, it’s high time to select the icons that suit your set the best, and start working on them. Don’t go straight to Illustrator. Pen and paper are your best friends! Do at least a few drafts of each icon. Don’t overthink or overdo them – sketch quickly and roughly. What you want here is to find the best representation of the selected object in a small icon.
Quick tip: Carry your sketchbook everywhere you go, if you don’t do it already. The first style explorations happen in it. Why sketching is important?
5. Finish first, master later
Hey, you’ve already done a massive work! Now you can go to Illustrator for the final part – vectorizing the sketches. This is when all your ideas come to reality.
Tweak the style if you feel like it. Make sure all icons are cohesive and “speak” together as one set. If you get stuck on a certain icon, just leave it. You’ll get back to it later. Move on to the next one – your mission is to finish the whole first set. Don’t worry, you’ll have a chance to master it.
6. Publish it!
Ok, this is important. For a beginner, it can be extremely hard to go for it and start publishing your works. You feel very insecure and are full of doubts and fears: are people going to like what you’ve made?
Negative comments, the lack of likes and other thing the internet brings along can be very scary indeed. We’ve all been there, but once you overcome your doubts and fears, you’ll see that it’s not that frightening.
And it will give you so much more when you start posting on a regular basis. In the end, constructive criticism has never killed anybody. Be open for any feedback, improve your skills and you’ll see how good you’ll become.
That’s it, folks! Now it’s your time to shine – go and make some great icons!
Stay awesome, space cadets!
