I'm in need of a clever and fast way to create (fantasy)rpg-item icons. I'm quite unsure about what is the best practice to create large amount of icons. Most items (>95%) will not be present as 3d model, so just rendering already existing objects will not be an option. Well, without any experiences in creating icons sofar I ask about some tips from more experienced artists. Thinking about it the following processes comes to mind: 1. Paint all icons from hand. 2. Create all items as 3d models and render them. 3. Hybrid: Create a base set of 3d models and paint over the rendered images to create a diverse amount of icons. The second approach seems to be the best when it comes down to quality, but on the other hand it seems to be the most expensive too. I need an approach with a good cost-quality ratio, anyone has a tip or wants to present his/her workflow ? -- Ashaman

I would suggest a vector graphics package such as Inkscape, or Adobe Illustrator if you've got the cash. You create the icons as vector graphics and then export them to a raster format (probably tweaking the output - esspecially for low-res output like 16x16 or 24x24). That way, you can easily create icons of any size (well, with only minor tweaking) but you can still get pretty decent quality.

Of course, whatever option you choose will require some artistic talent. If you can draw with pencil/paper, you can draw your icons, scan them in, and trace over the drawing in Inkscape.

One of the various freelance art jobs I've done is create an array of icons for a game. I use Inkscape. It takes me about 2 hours to go from blank page to finished full-color icon (including several color variations of each if desired, excluding googling for reference images if I don't know what an item looks like). I'm pretty sure you could not produce 3D models at anywhere near that rate, unless you were using models that already existed in the game.

There are some examples of icons created in Inkscape on my freelance art page if you want to see what they look like (the ones marked SOLD). I charge $4-$6 per icon if you were curious.

This really depends on your skillset -- is 3d fastest and easiest for you? If so, it'd be the best choice. It's almost certainly overkill in terms of effort unless you're going to use the models elsewhere or if you want the look of rendered models to maintain a consistent style with some other part of your game. Depends on the size of your icons, too -- at 16x16 pixels, it probably easier to do raster 2d, if you're any good at it, but getting larger the look starts to change.

For me, I crank out small-scale 2d pixeled/painted icons all the time, so that'd be my obvious choice (and definitely not vector art!), but then my skills are aligned toward that answer.

And said, you could pay someone else to do them for you if you have more money than time. (As a freelance artist, cough, I could be added to that pileup! ;)

Thanks for the responses.

I already used inkscape to make icons, the result didn't look like what I would like to see, I'm looking for a more painted or rendered look. Still if we choose to make more cartoon like icons I would give inkscape an other try.

Thanks for the service offerings too, I will consider this by my decision.

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Ashaman