Small Batch Icons: 5 icons on a theme

Last day reminder!

2022-05-15T13:42:51Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

Last day to get you icon requests and questions in :)

comments

q&a

2022-05-02T13:24:57Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

Questions & Answers

We had a fair amount of response in the poll, so here is the rumored Q&A post! Any questions you have about graphics, ask away and hopefully someone can help you out. Makers can also make a comment and people can ask them questions specifically - I'll set mine up, feel free to follow that example - and I'll link individual makers as well as question threads in the post when I'm around to edit.

The Request Fest is still open until the 15th, so get those requests and fills in.

goodbyebird's question thread

***

How do you do text wrapping in circle around a character?

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gauging interest...

2022-04-28T09:50:58Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

We did a communal a q&a post a loooong time ago. Maybe it's time for a comeback?

View Poll: #26930

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Smallbatchicons Request Fest 4.0

2022-04-25T22:17:57Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

closed.

(font is a bit small, open in light mode if you have any issues.)

3weeks4dreamwidth has just kicked off, and what's a journalling platform celebration without some shiny new icons!

This is a multi-fandom/stock request fest, and anyone can join in :)

requests.
* Every person can make up to five requests, with up to five images per request (one request per comment to keep things tidy). You can also request quote icons, in which case you'd supply quotes instead of images, but keep in mind that the maker only has 100x100 pixels to work with.
* Preferably high-quality or medium-quality images. Cap/stock resources here.
* No hotlinking, upload images to your own server/DW Gallery. Imgur is also a good option. Link to the images instead of embedding them, to cut down on loading time.
* You can make requests without filling prompts.
* Every request must be themed(actor, show, color, character, trope, season, emotion, go wild!).
* Keep in mind that icons don't go behind a cut, so avoid spoilers and overly sexual/violent images.
* Requests should have a clear subject line, f.exa. Our Flag Means Death, Leather Daddies | Stock, joy | Actress, Tessa Thompson | Quotes, Dr. Seuss.
* All icons will be sharable.

fills.
* Each request fill goes in a new post to the community, with the theme in the subject line(Yellowjackets, Missy). The fill should not be placed as a comment reply, but a new post to the community.
* Comment to the request thread with the subject line request filled. Include a link to your post. That way the requester knows where to find his or her icons.
* Several makers may fill the same request.
* Tag the posts with !request fest and threeweeks, as well as regular tagging.
* Prompt fills can have a maximum of five icons.
* Tracking the post is a handy way to spot new requests (paid account only).
* It would be appreciated if you could follow the posting template.
* Partial fills are more than welcome. We're all about the small batches ;)

Remember, comments are always appreciated, and credit the maker if you snag one of their icons.

This will be even more fun if you bring your friends, so banner codes for pimping below.

The request fest starts today, and ends on May 15th. After that requests can still be filled, but not made.
Cap/stock resources here. The sites are well indexed, finding what you want isn't all that hard. Promo pics or screengrabbing streaming video is also a most valid option :)

If there's anything I've missed or made unclear, let me know in the COMMENTS/QUESTIONS thread below. Iconning is a fun fannish activity and we hope more of you will join us. Here's a recent Iconning 101 post at oh_crime (links free graphics programs), a small intro on comic book iconning at comicbook_icons, and the past Tips & Tuts posts here at the community.

♥ This event is specifically for #ThreeWeeksForDreamwidth, so keeping your creation exclusive to Dreamwidth for the three weeks is highly appreciated ♥

closed.

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Monthly Theme Post: February Femmes

2022-02-03T08:43:53Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

Which brings us to this month's theme...

February Femmes
Who's your favorite real or fictional lady? Your favorite femslash pairings, or absolute galpals for life? Show us all the amazing ladies, and tell us why they're the absolute best ♥

As always, you can submit more than one batch if you'd prefer. ~~like I'd be able to stop myself~~ And when I say ladies, transwomen 100% count.

Also, some other fun ladycentric happenings:
halfamoon is doing 14 days of celebrating women. Daily prompts are available, but they welcome any entries outside of that as well, be they fic, vid, icons, picspams, meta, recs, etc.
elasticella is hosting the annual Femslash Find It.
ic_animated is doing a Valentine Icon Bingo. Go fill some squares with ladies!
story_works is running a February Flash challenge with the theme of friendship.
fanifesto is attempting a resurgence. Is one of your fave characters/ships/lady-centric canons in need of a fandom manifesto?

If you'd like to suggest future monthly themes, please do so below =)

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✨ Oh look, it's 2022! ✨

2022-01-11T10:25:32Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

I'm not going to ask how 2021 went because. Well.

Instead I'm going to suggest a monthly theme, split in two. Iconners' choice.

A Faves of 2021
Musical artists? Comics? Flavors of ice cream? Fluffy cat ears and fluffy dog tails? The book that got you through it all? A character that inspired and bolstered you?
B Things I Am Hopeful For
Going to the cinema? A parade? The beach? Live show with your favorite artist, or maybe a play? Upcoming movie, game, or book? Hiking, or maybe a convention? The James Webb Space Telescope? ~~The fall of capitalism?~~

So that's the theme, and of course feel free to make more than one post to cover All The Things. I know we're pretty minimalist here with our batches of five icons, but feel free to add a line or two about why this brought/brings you joy. Looking forwards to seeing your small batches of comfort and cheer ❤️

Also, some other fun icon shenanigans currently happening on dw:
Set the Scene at iconthat.
Winter at ic_animated.
The Wheel of Time at fandom_itest.
Happy New Beginning at iconcolors.
a look back & a look forward at fandom10in30.

CLOSED

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A bit of housekeeping.

2017-08-19T21:36:03Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

Been tidying up a bit today, removing old posts where photobucket borked them over completely, plus done a bit of tag wrangling.

Considering the influx of new dw people, also put up a new post at dw_community_promo. If there's anybody new here - *waves* - welcome!

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More Joy Day

2015-01-14T20:51:14Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

In 2008 sdwolfpup started More Joy Day to cheer up herself and her friends after a rough year.

Remember, even a small act is all that's needed. A call to a friend you haven't talked to in awhile, flowers for a neighbor, letting someone in front of you in line, leaving a happy comment on someone's fic or vid or podcast or graphic, sharing a pic!spam of joyful moments on your journal, giving someone a compliment, planting a tree, or taking a moment to smile at someone else as you walk by them. It doesn't have to be expensive or complex, but whatever it is, I love to hear about it, so I'll do my annual post here for you to tell us what act you performed, and then we can expand the impact of your joy by vicariously living through your telling! It's a win-win! :)

If you feel in an iconning mood, why not whip up a batch of icons from the fandoms that are bringing you the most joy recently. Are you head over heels for Agent Carter? Biting at the nails over one or more series teasers that have come out recently? Reading a wonderful comic or found a new actor you'll watch in just about anything? Make a batch and spread that enthusiasm around!

I hope you'll all join in. See you tomorrow, smallbatchers ♥

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Q&A

2014-06-06T18:04:38Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

Questions & Answers

We had a fair amount of response in the poll, so here is the rumored Q&A post! Any questions you have about graphics, ask away and hopefully someone can help you out. Makers can also make a comment and people can ask them questions specifically - I'll set mine up, feel free to follow that example - and I'll link individual makers as well as question threads in the post when I'm around to edit.

The Request Fest is still open until Sunday evening, so get those requests and fills in.

goodbyebird's question thread
timetobegin's question thread
geckoholic's question thread
hsapiens's question thread
~~~
Who's your most inspirational icon makers?
How do you organize your icon folders?
What are your favorite textures to use?
compressing your icons? (file size too big, smart objects)

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Request Fest Reminder

2014-06-05T09:30:06Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

So the Request Fest has been running for a week now, and we've had many great fills, but there's still time and it'd be great if even more people would join in, both with requests and filling them :D

The Resource Post is still around to help you find cap sources or tell you how to make your own caps(easy peasy!), and this time we've even run a few Tips & Tuts posts on icon making. If you have some tips of your own, don't be shy about posting them! (could be general tips, favorite textures/texture makers/a focus on one particular technique like blending or coloring - whatever you feel like)

The thought had also been a general Q&A post, where people can ask whatever questions they have regarding iconning, and makers could choose to create a personal thread within so you could ask them questions like how they achieve specific icons/looks, etc. This sound like a thing you'd be interested in?

View Poll: Q&A thread?

So far in the Request Post, we still have several unfilled requests:
Archer, s5
Agents of SHIELD, s1
Scott & Bailey: Janet and Rachel
Orphan Black, various
Femslash: Orphan Black & Xena style
Almighty Johnsons: Anders
Almighty Johnsons: Dawn/Ty
City, Copehnagen
The Americans, Elizabeth
Teen Wolf, Stiles Stilinski

Though also several partially filled requests, plus people are always welcome to make second or third fills. The more the merrier :) We have until Sunday before the fest closes, so if you feel like telling people about it, here's a handy dandy banner to do just that. Hope to see you all around!

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Calling any and all graphics enthusiasts

2014-05-30T09:31:35Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

The Request Fest is up and running, now's your chance to have some icons of that one scene you just love, or smaller fandoms/minor characters. Or just your favorite character, celebrity, comic, quotes, stock, what have you!

We all truly love icon making, and would love for as many people as possible to join us, not only in making requests but also icons. It's a super fun fannish activity, and one I wouldn't want to be without. I've always loved it for being a low-stress way to engage with my favorite characters, so I get to zone out while simultaneously enjoying good faces, epic hairporn, and become aware of certain patterns and details I otherwise might have missed. How cool is that?

So to hopefully inspire new people to hop in on icon making here on dw, we're going to have a few Top Tips & Tricks posts, plus a Q&A when you can ask specific makers questions, or just general ones that anyone can reply to. I'll already be reaching out to some makers for their participation, but if you think this sounds interesting, please sound off in the comments. We'd love to have you all onboard ♥

In the meantime, we did host the PSD/tut Exchange a little while back.

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Smallbatchicons Request Fest 3.0

2014-05-28T10:50:40Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

(font is a bit small, open in light mode if you have any issues.)

This is a multi-fandom/stock request fest, and anyone can join in :)

requests.
* Every person can make up to five requests, with up to five images per request(one request per comment to keep things tidy). You can also request quote icons, in which case you'd supply quotes instead of images, but keep in mind that the maker only has 100x100 pixels to work with.
* Preferably high-quality or medium-quality images. Cap/stock resources here.
* No hotlinking, upload images to your own server. Imgur is a good option. Link to the images instead of embedding them, to cut down on loading time.
* You can make requests without filling prompts.
* Every request must be themed(actor, show, color, character, trope, season, emotion, go wild!).
* Keep in mind that icons don't go behind a cut, so avoid spoilers and overly sexual/violent images.
* Requests should have a clear subject line, f.exa. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Willow | Stock, joy | Actress, Julianna Margulies | Quotes, Dr. Seuss.
* All icons will be sharable.

fills.
* Each request fill goes in a new post to the community, with the theme in the subject line(Breaking Bad, Hank). The fill should not be placed as a comment reply, but a new post to the community.
* Comment to the request thread with the subject line request filled. Include a link to your post. That way the requester knows where to find his or her icons.
* Several makers may fill the same request.
* Tag the posts with !request fest, as well as regular tagging.
* Prompt fills can have a maximum of five icons.
_ Tracking the post is a handy way to spot new requests.
* It would be appreciated if you could follow the posting template.
* Partial fills are more than welcome. We're all about the small batches ;)

Remember, comments are always appreciated, and credit the maker if you snag one of their icons.

This will be even more fun if you bring your friends, so banner codes for pimping below.

The request fest starts today, and ends on Sunday June 8. After that requests can still be filled, but not made.
Cap/stock resources here. The sites are well indexed, finding what you want isn't all that hard :)

If there's anything I've missed or made unclear, let me know in the COMMENTS/QUESTIONS thread below. During the fest we will also be running some Tips & Tricks posts, as well as a Q&A post for people who have any questions about icon making. It's a fun fannish activity and we hope more of you will join us.

closed.

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ICON PRAISE

2013-10-01T21:51:23Z

Posted by: laisserais

OK! We are gonna do one day of icon praise on October 8, 2013. What will happen on that day?

1. Make a post praising an icon you have always seen around and loved --or
2. Make a post praising five icons you love by other makers --or
3. Make a post praising an iconmaker that you think is just the bee's knees --or
4. Make a post praising FIVE iconmakers --or
5. All of the above!

Post early and often! If this goes well, we are looking to make it a regular thing, like with themes and whatnot.

PIMP:

Questions? ask a mod!

ETA: The praise isn't limited to just iconmakers @ DW. If you love an icon or a maker who lives on LJ, go for it! (And then tell them how much fun they're missing by not being on DW)

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Ah!

2013-09-13T22:43:28Z

Posted by: laisserais

I was having a conversation about the psd exchange, and realized there was something I've never said. I'm going to quote myself:

Seriously, the reason I called this a 'fest' or 'exchange' is to take the pressure off. 'Tut' implies mastery or knowledge, and while none of us--or most of us can't--claim that, we all have SOME tricks up our sleeves. :D Even if it doesn't feel like it.

Don't be afraid of showing your psds! We all have techniques that are valuable.

/mod pep talk

*\o/*

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Show us your psds! - psd Exchange is GO

2013-09-13T15:04:47Z

Posted by: laisserais

Hey y'all! I'm excited that this fest is live. I'm PST-8, so won't be able to post anything til late, but will be keeping my eyes open for YOUR posts. Hope you play along! /mod

Here's how it works:

*If you make icons, you can play!
*Make a post that shows or describes the steps in your process for one icon.
*It can be from Photoshop,GIMP, Corel, etc.
*It can be a link to your journal, or posted here at the comm
*We are giving cut tag amnesty for this challenge, cuz the discussion can get LARGE.
*Show us your favorite tricks! What are your go-to textures? What's the newest technical thing you've learned?

*It's a free-for-all, starting on Friday, the 13th (whenever that day starts for you) and ending the 15th. Post as often as you'd like!

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Five Icon Tutorials [prep for Show Us Your Psds]

2013-09-06T20:59:45Z

Posted by: laisserais

Hey y'all!

Next weekend is our psd exchange fest! In preparation for that, I thought I'd share some icon tutorials that were particularly cool and helpful.

I came across all of these by way of icon_talk at LJ.

*A Guide to Text by absolutelybatty

*A Guide to Using Textures by bittergraced

*How to Use Sharpening by naginis

*Use of Negative Space by novindalf

*Tips for Using Less Than Ideal Caps by wickdshy

And a heads up: After this fest is over, the next one will be an icon praise post, so start thinking about icons you really admire. We're gonna be spreading the love at the end of September!

We're hosting a PSD exchange over at smallbatchicons.
Come play with us!.

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Show us your psds!

2013-08-31T00:02:13Z

Posted by: laisserais

Here's how it works:

*If you make icons, you can play!
*Make a post that shows or describes the steps in your process for one icon.
*It can be from Photoshop,GIMP, Corel, etc.
*It can be a link to your journal, or posted here at the comm
*We are giving cut tag amnesty for this challenge, cuz the discussion can get LARGE.
*Show us your favorite tricks! What are your go-to textures? What's the newest technical thing you've learned?

*It's a free-for-all, starting on Friday, the 13th (whenever that day starts for you) and ending the 15th. Post as often as you'd like!

Boosting the signal would be Awesome:

Here's an example to get you in the mood:

[I used PS 4 and 5 to make this banner.]

Step 1: The most important part of any icon: Crop choice! In this case, I knew I wanted to get the mirror in the background, a good amount of leg, and their expressions.

Step 2: Do a curves layer, boost saturation of all colors, and do a selective color layer to bring out the yellow.

Step 3: That left some weird artifacts in the blacks, so now I copy all layers and merge as a new layer (ctrl + alt+ shift + E). Then I do a gaussian blur filter of 1.5 pixels on this layer, and set it to soft light, with 64% opacity. This smooths out the rough edges while saturating the blacks.

Step 4: But now it's blurry kind of. I do another copy all-merge layer, and this one I do an unsharp mask on, 110%, normal layer at 100% opacity.

Step 5: There's still not enough depth to the contrasts, and I want to capture the lighting in the mirror behind them, so I do a copy-all merge layer (I don't usually do so many of these, I don't know why they show up so much in this) and do a High Pass filter. I set it to Hard Light, opacity 14%. This gives it just a little more clarity.

Step 6: Color fill a rectangle in a new layer. I did a dark navy blue, then set it to exclusion 100%. I knew I wanted to have a different background for the text, so it would pop. I spent quite a bit of time deciding how wide this rectangle would be, and where it would be placed. I settled on lining it up with the bench they are sitting on.

Step 7: exclusion is a neat effect, but the box doesn't stand out. So I made a clipping mask--meaning that the next adjustment only affects the rectangle--and added a gradient map. I made the gradient a rainbow and set it to exclusion 75%. As you can see, it made the rectangle more vivid.

Step 8: start adding text. I knew I wanted this goofy font because it reminds me of entertainers, like the circus and such. Which I felt went with the image nicely. But all by itself, it didn't stand out enough against the background. I tried a bunch of different colors, and decided to pick up the dark brown in their outfits.

Then I added effects to the layer: I added an inner shadow, outer glow (and changed the glow to turquoise), an inner glow (stayed yellow to brighten it up) and a 1 pixel stroke outline, to sort of tidy it up.

Step 9: more text. I fiddled a lot, as you can see, with the comm name. I'm a sucker for rainbows, but ultimately decided it made the banner too busy. I ended up changing it in the final version. Also, I was using two different versions of PS, so I started out with Helvetica, but then had to change it to Myriad Pro because the other PS doesn't have Helvetica for some reason. :(

I went through and kerned the letters, centering them over the eyes and faces of the ladies so no weird parts popped out. Then I rasterized all the text and merged all visible layers.

Final product: I took that image and stuck in on a larger square and slapped on the challenge details below. Ta da!

If you have any questions about this exchange, please feel free to comment or PM either myself or goodbyebird.

Start saving those psds!

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Challenges and Things

2013-08-28T21:44:11Z

Posted by: laisserais

Hello Everyone! I have been bugging goodbyebird to let me run some challenges and things in this comm and she is being gracious and letting me.

Since I am too cheap to have a paid account, there is no poll, BUT! I am looking for feedback from y'all. What kind of icon battles/challenges would be interesting to you? Some ideas I've had so far:

*Show us your psds
--This one is totally going to happen, and I'm announcing the details probably tomorrow. It will be a free-for-all where you can post as many psds as you'd like, either a link to your own journal/other journal or in the comm. And everyone can read and comment and ask questions about your techniques.

*Technical Challenge
--You sign up and get tagged to make one icon using a particular technique. Sort of like a round robin, you watch the comm to see when you've been tagged, and then have 24 hours to do your icon.

*Team Battle
--You sign up and work with another artist, with each one taking a turn at making a layer, and then you post your completed icon (or icon set) on your assigned day.

*Ask the Maker Spotlight
--I'd like to do something where we have guest icon makers come and discuss their process.

--> Question: Most of us use some version of Photoshop, I think. Who uses something else? GIMP? Other? A program that cannot produce a layered object?

Please let me know in comments if you are interested in these sorts of challenges, and/or if there are other ideas you'd like to see. This is YOUR community! We are one of the most-frequented icon communities on dreamwidth, and I want to hear from you! Everyone gets a vote, even if you're just watching this comm; even if you don't make icons.

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Icon Request Fest now closed.

2012-05-12T09:07:21Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

When I say "closed" I mean no more requests can be made. They can however be filled at any time(including the ones who already have a fill), and remember: partial fills are more than welcome here at smallbatchicons. Requests are still here.

A big thanks to everyone who played along this round ♥

unfilled prompts.
Being Human, s5
Feminist quotes
New Girl, general
Green Party 10 key values, part2
Ecology Quotes
Cougar Town, ladiesss
Angel & Faith, general
TSCC, Born To Run
Mass Effect, Femshep
Scott & Bailey, general

comments

By which I mean icon babies

2012-05-02T13:24:04Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

By which I mean the Request Fest is live, come play with ussss! If you're in need of caps, we've linked tons of caps galleries here. And while you're at it, bring your friends!

comments

Smallbatchicons Request Fest 2.0

2012-04-30T07:18:13Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

This is a multi-fandom/stock request fest, and anyone can join in :)

requests.
* Every person can make up to five requests, with up to five images per request(one request per comment to keep things tidy). You can also request quote icons, in which case you'd supply quotes instead of images, but keep in mind that the maker only has 100x100 pixels to work with.
* Preferably high-quality or medium-quality images. Cap/stock resources here.
* No hotlinking, upload images to your own server. Tinypic seems a bit shaky for some users, but imgur is a good option. Link to the images instead of embedding them, to cut down on loading time.
* You can make requests without filling prompts.
* Every request must be themed(actor, show, color, character, season, emotion, go wild!).
* Keep in mind that icons don't go behind a cut, so avoid spoilers and overly sexual/violent images.
* Requests should have a clear subject line, f.exa. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Willow | Stock, joy | Actress, Julianna Margulies | Quotes, Dr. Seuss.
* All icons will be sharable.

fills.
* Each request fill goes in a new post to the community, with the theme in the subject line(Breaking Bad, Hank). The fill should not be placed as a comment reply, but a new post to the community.
* Comment to the request thread with the subject line request filled. Include a link to your post. That way the requester knows where to find the post.
* Several makers may fill the same request.
* Tag the posts with !request fest, as well as regular tagging.
* Prompt fills can have a maximum of five icons.
* Partial fills are more than welcome. We're all about the small batches ;)

Remember, comments make the community go round, and credit the maker if you snag one of their icons.

This will be even more fun if you bring your friends, so banner codes for pimping below.

The request fest starts today, and ends on Friday May 11. After that requests can still be filled, but not made.
Cap/stock resources here.

If there's anything I've missed or made unclear, let me know in the COMMENTS/QUESTIONS thread below.

CLOSED
Requests can still be filled, but not made.

comments

Were that this hoodie was a timehoodie.

2012-04-27T05:43:53Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

Oooops! Seems Three Weeks For Dreamwidth has arrived(April 25 - May 16, I believe), and I completely forgot about it! Just wondering if you'd all be up for a new round of the Request Fest to celebrate the occasion. (TWfD means you make content that is Dreamwidth exclusive for three weeks after it's been posted)

View Poll: Request Fest

Of course, as always, your regular small icon batches are more than welcome during the three weeks ♥

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Three Weeks for Dreamwidth

2011-04-15T15:18:40Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

It's that time of year once again: the Three Weeks for Dreamwidth(three_weeks_for_dw) Festival - an awesome site-wide block party of DW-specific content - is starting up in ten days(25th), and if you don't have much time on your hands, one relatively quick way of contributing would be whipping up a small batch of icons on any theme you like(show/character/ship/stock/text/etc). Remember, the batch doesn't have to consist of five icons, it can be less :)

If you do want to participate here on the comm, please remember that they'll have to be made for this festival, dw-exclusive(for three weeks after the posting date), and use the 'threeweeks' tag.

Of course, regular batches are still more than welcome during the three weeks!

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Icon Request Fest is now closed.

2010-10-23T11:39:36Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

We've gotten some great batches out of it, so thanks to everyone who participated ♥

Oh, when I say "closed" I mean no more requests can be made. They can however be filled at any time, and remember: partial fills are more than welcome here at smallbatchicons. It's in the spirit of the community after all ;)

unfilled prompts.
matthew perry; various roles & appearances
Lyrics
Sanctuary, conversation in Kali p 3
Sanctuary, Kate/Will
Fringe, season 3
Quotes
Quotes
~~Star Trek Reboot~~

I'm traveling at the moment, so the list won't be updated frequently, but the request post is still right here.

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Reminder.

2010-10-21T12:50:41Z

Posted by: goodbyebird

You guys have two more days to make requests for the Icon Request Fest. If you're uncertain of where to find caps, the Resources Post is right here.

(Requests can still be filled after the closing date.)

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