#if you fc the short version it still shows up as 'perfect hits' in the song selection page

[rubyrhythmposts-archive]

fuck you game oh my god

[corvidry]

All About RP Icons For Beginners by Birdy

Hi OP, I’m not sure how experienced you are with all the nonsense surrounding the making and using of RP icons, so I’m gonna come at it as though you don’t have any experience with it at all and I’m sorry if that’s too simplified for you, but also if I’m gonna write many paragraphs about one topic I may as well make it accessible for as many people as possible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This post goes into what tools are out there for the popular methods of finding/making RP icons in the first half and my personal methodology for choosing and using them in my RP for the second half. This is a very surface level answer to the question and is not meant to be an in depth tutorial for the more labor intensive aspects of the process, but if you guys want more information and can’t find it elsewhere, please ask and I'll know what I should be talking about next. 

Also I’m also contractually obligated to mention to the masses that I do take commissions both for the drawing of RP icons and the service of capping, cutting, recoloring, and framing canon icons. Sometimes I even post batches of canon character icons for free on this blog so like,,,,, hit me up if you want. But!! You don’t need me, you can absolutely do all of it yourself!!  I go into the broad strokes below.

Question 1: “How do you get icons?” 

This is kind of a broad question and the answer depends on what your needs are. The right answer for you is gonna live in one of two camps 

Find some that already exist that are free to use

Make them yourself / commission somebody else to make them for you. 

What you'll choose is gonna depend a lot on your character first and foremost.  The big determining factor in most cases is whether or not the face you want has been in anything you can take pictures of. 

If you have a canon character who exists in visible media--

--you're in luck! The chances of you finding some resources that exist already is higher when you have a canon character who is in at least a few pieces of media. OP asked about Pearl from Steven Universe, and she's a great example of a character with a lot of resources. Searching for rp icons of a popular character will often yield packs of icons on Tumblr, Dreamwidth, Livejournal, etc. Most of these will be completely free to use or have very reasonable conditions for use (like credit the person who made them for example.)  It's often a good first step to see what preexisting resources are available to you even if you still plan on making your own icons. 

If you have an OC or a character that's not all that popular--

--you're gonna fall into the second camp. If you want icons, you have to have them made. So what are your options?

Help! My character appears in no media! What are my options?

If your character appears in no media you're in a tough spot. Different people approach this problem in different ways. 

Face Claims

One option you have is to choose a face claim to represent your character. In roleplay a face claim or ‘FC’ is a person or character whose appearance you use for the physical description of your character. I personally am not big on doing this, I prefer drawn icons and I tend to RP as animated characters, but some people really like using celebrities and stuff to represent their characters.  When I was playing Angus McDonald he hadn't appeared in any visual media yet, so I sometimes used Bryce Clyde Jenkins as the face claim for certain types of threads.  

If you're somebody who likes to use face claims there are loads of resources out there for finding the perfect one, including here on tumblr. Try searching up RP Faceclaim Directory and playing around with some of the ones that pop up.

DIY RP Icons

The other option you have is to create those icons from scratch. Draw them yourself based on icons you like or commission an artist to draw some for you.   If you can't draw yourself, I've seen some people get really creative with this. Some people create their character in the sims, dollmakers, or their favorite RPG and then take screenshots of that to use for icons.  There's also no law that says every icon you use has to be your character's face. When I was writing a trashy mermaid AU I got a lot of mileage out of icons that depicted harbor and oceanic scenes with no actual faces. Get creative, go nuts, have fun.

Icons Aren’t That Important

The other thing to remember that icons are not a must in many RP circles. It's perfectly possible to have a great time and write cool stuff without any pictures at all. Depending on your platform of choice there are probably also other interesting ways you can make your posts unique to you by formatting the text or using symbols or emojis or otherwise denoting your personal style in text.

Help! My character appears in lots of media! How do I make icons?

Again, there are a million and one answers to this question and it really depends on what tools are available to you and what your preferences are. This section is not a tutorial but it will outline some of the options you can look into.

The icon making process is typically in 2 stages-- stage 1: get all your images of your character, and stage 2: edit all of those images into icons.  

If you have access to the source material, any version of Photoshop, and software that automates the collection screencaps from video (KM Player, VLC, etc) you're pretty much gucci. You're gonna have no problem getting loads of nice icons in a reasonably short amount of time and there are a million different tutorials on how to use those things whichever way you prefer. 

If you don't have access to those things you still have options. 

You can still screencap things manually, and you can screencap in batches by holding down the windows key and pressing PrtSc any time you want to save an image. They should be saving to >pictures>screenshots unless you’ve set things up differently. It’s a good way to take a lot of screenshots without stopping in between.

( EDIT / UPDATE: to say that if you use automation for taking screencaps remember to turn that shit off when you’re not using because it oh mylanta it WILL continue to take images without you realizing. Figured out where all my disk space has been going with this rookie mistake, thanks OP)

Additionally, PhotoScape X is a really great little tool for windows and mac that I've never seen anybody talk about, but I use it sometimes and it's totally free with the exception of a few paid features I’ve never once needed or wanted. This program is not as efficient as using Photoshop but it has presets for cropping images easily as well as batch editing options for some basic borders and color retouching.  While it’s not as powerful as Photoshop, you can get a lot done with it reasonably quickly compared to other choices. You can also take and edit snips of anything on your screen with it, which is really really useful if you don’t have access to the video or image files you would need on your hard drive for other version of this process.  The program looks like this:

Also, not to be like a minimalist about it, but you can also just fucken use Microsoft Paint or whatever you have. Like, whatever, there’s no law. You graphics dont have to be comlpex or deep fried. Half of my icons have been made or edited in paint at some point. It wont be as fast as some of these other methods but a lot of us aren't out here making icons in batches of 100 at a time. 

Anything that you can use to make smallish images of your characters face will work to make icons.

If you want more information about any of these methods of icon creation let me know and I’ll talk about them.

Question 2: “How do you make your icons ‘work’ in posts?”

I'm a little confused on what you mean by "make them work" so I'm gonna cover my bases here. I'm assuming what you're getting at is a sort of sense of cohesion in the icons I use, or having the "right" expression for the scene I'm writing. Either that or them not stretching and looking weird thanks to tumblr. I’ll get to both of those.

And before I go into my own rationale for icon choices I feel I should point out that a lot of people who aren't me do successfully manufacture cohesion out of their images by doing fun stylistic things like recoloring their images all the same way or putting cute borders and stuff around them or making them fun shapes, and that's totally something you can learn how to do if it interests you.  I do this for icons commissioned by other people and I’m not against talking about how to do those things, but I don’t really bother with them for my own icons all that much. That stuff is all fun and it’s a neat thing you could get into that can make your icons all look really nice together.

BUT ANYWAY --

Since the character you asked about is Pearl, I’m going to focus on her. Nearly all of my Pearl icons are completely unedited and a lot of the credit I would have to give regarding icon quality goes to Pearl herself and the consistently good lighting that the show uses. I don’t have a huge need for editing or color retouching beyond making memes or whatever other goofy things I might be getting up to. Pearl is extremely expressive compared to other characters I have written and since she's in nearly every episode, I've managed to collect…

...oh god, that’s too many icons.

Pearl is a main character and I've been RPing as her for over 6 years now so I have a fuckload of images to choose from and I'm not gonna pretend that doesn't help when I wanna “make things work”. She gives me a lot of options.

That said, you absolutely don't need 3000 images to make a good post. The way I've collected and organized these images may be of use to you even if you dont have as many icons. I've done a lot with my setup to make finding the right icon very easy. 

For starters, a minor subset of my Pearl icons are grouped by a particular defining feature. I have one large Pearly folder full of icons and then a few smaller folders inside for icons I thought worth grouping separately. For example, all icons of SUF Pearl in her new jacket are in the same folder. All icons of Pearl in short term alternate outfits are in the same folder. Anything I sourced from Attack the Light is in its own folder. I do this with anything that has a very specific use, such as writing AU content or flashbacks to specific time periods. If I can picture an icon in my head, I usually know where in my ridiculous hell collection to go to find it. 

This folder was originally just for her pre-canon outfit but now all of her outfits that only appeared temporarily are in there.

Perhaps more important for the sake of cohesion is that nearly all of my icons that aren’t squirreled away in some smaller folder are loosely arranged by episode. What that means is that most of the time I have icons from the same scene right next to one another. It makes it incredibly easy to make my RP replies appear as though it's all one cohesive scene even if I use more than one icon. When you do it this way it becomes very easy to choose icons that have the same lighting or that appear to lead from one expression seamlessly into another. Exhibit A:

While the vast majority of my icons are numbered, I do take the time to name ones I find myself using a lot or that have particularly unique expressions. Usually I'll choose names that I'll find descriptive or easy to remember based on the context of the icon. You can have a lot of fun with that and never lose your favorites.

Also don't be afraid to lean on icons you got from weird places if you like them.  The icons of Pearl from the official comics run don’t look like most of what I have. I think them being different would turn a lot of RPers off, but I use them a lot because I like the style and I almost never see other Pearl RPers using them.  It either makes me stand out or it makes me tacky, one of the two, haven’t figured out which, but also I’m not stopping.

And just to reiterate, you can use icons that aren’t your character if they’re thematically relevant or vague enough to look like them. When I’m capping I’ve started saving a folder of miscellaneous environments of interests, hands, and other everyday types of scenery that appear in the thing I’m taking screencaps of.

You can use any size you want for RP icons but the most common is 100x100 or 150x150 pixels.  Any smaller than that and the image gets to be difficult to read and work with in my opinion. That doesn’t stop people, of course, but I’m elderly and need glasses now, so no tiny icons for me.  On that note, I rarely see RP icons larger than 300x300. Any larger than that it tends to get bulky and be in the way of other people’s comfortable internet browsing experience, especially on mobile.  Of course, these are just my suggestions. What you choose will ultimately be up to you, but somewhere in that 100 to 300 px range is pretty safe.

A very tumblr specific thing to know is that any image that is wider than 300 pixels will be stretched to hell, so you probably want to keep it smaller than that.

Thanks, Tumblr, I hate it!

Also, don’t be afraid to make trash images for fun if you’re so inclined. People love that, or at least I do. Not having the right icon can be fun and lead to a very silly solution. Lean into being a shitposter if that’s what you’re called to do. 

So yeah, that’s basically what my suggestions are. Collect your images in a way that helps cohesion and ease of use. Keep them a good size. Don’t be afraid to get unconventional with your choices or make memes or whatever. It’s all for a fun time.

Anyway, that’s all I can think of right now, but more info on any of this can be obtained at the price of one ask, I know it was a lot of different moving parts.

[auburnfamilynews]

Believe it or not, Auburn’s offense did get better Saturday but concerns still remain.

Before I go any further, yes I am well aware that all of this was against a middle of the pack FCS team. I am also fully aware that Auburn only held a seven point lead midway through the 4th quarter against that team. Only scoring 24 points against an FCS opponent is not something that gives anybody the warm and fuzzies.

However, like most things in this world, it’s not a black and white issue. In the gray in between, you see a quarterback that is starting to find his footing, a more balanced offensive attack and the potential for bigger things down the road. You also see a rushing attack that continues to struggle to assert it’s dominance, questionable personnel decisions and too many dadgum turnovers. Auburn’s offense made strides Saturday but there is still improvement needed across the board before this offense can put up points against some of the best defenses in the country.

Jarrett Stidham’s Performance

Saturday was the best Jarrett Stidham has looked in an Auburn uniform this season. He wasn’t perfect but as the game went on, I thought he really started to get comfortable in this offense.

It didn’t start that way though. Once again, Stidham opened the game holding the ball too long and watching the pass rush.

Facing 3rd down late in the first quarter, Auburn goes with 10 personnel (1 RB, 4 WR) with trips to the top of the field. Stidham does a good job of working through his progression and finding Eli Stove open on the sideline for the first down. But it takes him WAY too long to find Stove. He has to do a better job of getting off that first read quicker and finding the open man. Great job by the offensive line on this play.

For most of the first quarter, Stidham struggled getting the ball out quickly. He would eventually make a beautiful pass for a nice pickup but he won’t have this kind of time in the near future. However, during the second quarter I thought things started to click for Stidham.

Stidham is looking deep but there appears to be no one open. From another view, you can see he’s trying to hit the dig over the middle to Will Hastings but there are too many bodies in the way. For a split second, it looks like Stidham is going to bail out of the pocket again but instead, he avoids a rusher, resets his feet and checks it down to Kamryn Pettway. I am pretty sure this is the first time he had hit his checkdown man all season instead of trying to scramble or throwing it away, that’s an important step for a quarterback.

He also started showing more poise against the blitz.

Mercer runs a zone blitz here out their 3-3-5 nickel package. The Bears are in Cover 3 Sky, which means that the two outside cornerbacks and the strong safety are covering the deep thirds of the field. The free safety (#5) comes on the blitz along with the weakside linebacker (#2) while the strongside backer (#52) drops into coverage. Stidham sees the blitz, throws it to the vacated area and Nate Craig-Myers makes a nice catch for the first down. Stidham throws this in rhythym and quickly gets the ball out before the pass rush gets home.

Seriously though, this was a ridiculous catch.

By the end of the game, he was looking incredibly comfortable and was shredding the Bears defense.

Auburn is actually in 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) on this play but Jalen Harris is lined up in the slot to the boundary side. Stidham drops back, waits for the long routes to open up, steps up into the pocket and delivers a bullet to Kyle Davis for the big play.

I still need to see Stidham perform at a high level against a better defense before feeling confident that he’s found his footing. His slow starts are also a bit concerning but I thought overall he was outstanding Saturday. I mean when you have the second best completion percentage in SEC history, that’s a solid day.

He needs more help from his wide receivers though who frankly just seem soft. Nate Craig-Myers was out muscled for an interception. Kyle Davis, Ryan Davis and Eli Stove literally had the ball ripped out of their hands by smaller Mercer defenders. Those guys have to start playing with a bit more fire and toughness. If this Auburn offense is really going to takeoff, the Tigers are going to need these guys to start winning more 1 on 1 battles and show they can make explosive plays. It’s looking like they have the quarterback to give them those chances, time for them to step up and make those plays.

Running Game Woes

While the passing offense showed improvement, Auburn’s rushing attack continues to underwhelm. The Tigers rushed for only 146 yds against the Bears on 43 attempts. That’s 3.4 yards a carry. Not what you want to see from an SEC offense against an FCS defense.

So what’s going on? Is it missed assignments by the offensive line, bad playcalling or overloaded boxes? Honestly, it’s all three.

Auburn is in 11 personnel again against Mercer’s base 3-4 defense. Pre snap, I would really like to see this checked to a quick pass to the outside. Auburn has 2 guys being covered by one but instead they choose to run it. It’s outside zone and frankly Auburn has the numbers for this play to succeed. However, Casey Dunn doesn’t get off his double team quick enough to reach the playside inside linebacker. The result is the backer runs through a wide open hole and forces Pettway to cut this play inside sooner than he planned. The result is a minimal gain.

This isn’t a bad playcall though like I mentioned above, it might have made more sense to get the ball outside where Auburn has numbers. Still, this is setting up to be a big play with Golson taking care of the end, Cox coming around to fit on the SAM but one missed assignment blows it up.

Other times it’s just math that causes problems.

This time the Tigers are trying to run in 10 personnel. They have trips to the near side and it looks like Mercer is in their 3-3-5 nickel package. Auburn has five blockers against six defenders yet try and run it up the gut anyway. It’s inside zone and Auburn’s OL does a great job. The problem is there is a 6th unaccounted for defender with a 7th quickly arriving. Pettway is met by those defenders and the Tigers are stopped short of the first down.

It looks like it’s supposed to be an RPO. I am not sure if Stidham just makes the wrong decision or if he’s coached to give it on a short yardage play, either way this play is setup to fail due to the number of defenders in the box. Instead, if Stidham pulls this and hits Eli Stove on the quick screen, this play could go for a touchdown.

Gus Malzhan’s biggest buggaboo since Nick Marshall has left is accounting for that extra defender in the box. With Cam Newton or Marshall, the threat of the QB run evened those numbers out. Although Stidham is capable of running the ball, that’s not where he excels and with only 2 QBs now on the roster it’s probably something Auburn shouldn’t do a lot. So how do you handle these overloaded boxes? Well true RPOs help and that showed Saturday.

Back in 11 personnel against Mercer’s 3-3-5 look, Auburn is running a true RPO here. Stidham is reading the nickel CB (#16). If he crashes (he does) then dump it out to Stove on the bubble otherwise give it to Pettway on the inside zone. Stidham makes the correct read and gets it out to Stove for the nice gain. At this point, most every play should be an RPO that allows Stidham to get the ball to the edge if teams continue to stack the box. If that means Auburn throws the ball 50+ times, that’s fine by me as long as we are taking what the defense gives us. Right now teams are crashing inside, determined to not let Kamryn Pettway beat them. Where Nick Marshall’s feet neutralized that extra defender and opened running lanes the Tigers need to rely on Stidham arm to do the same in the short passing game.

Auburn could also do a better job of attacking the perimeter with outside zone runs and buck sweeps. Maybe, gasp, put in a quicker back and attack the edge. That’s how Auburn scored their first touchdown of the season.

Why Auburn has refused to run outside in the past two games, I have no idea. The Tigers have a speedster in Kam Martin who could easily help the Tigers attack defenses to the outside and soften up some run lanes in the interior. Auburn has a hammer in Pettway who they seem to think can even those numbers in the box by breaking tackles like he did last season but you can’t rely on that philosophy for consistent success or against better defenses. Hopefully, with Kerryon Johson’s return this Saturday and Gus Malzahn’s assurance that Martin will have a bigger role moving forward, the Tigers show a little more variety in their rushing attack and unload that box a little for Bubba.

Touchdown Auburn

Last week, we sadly did not have any touchdowns to breakdown. This week we have far fewer than expected but after a 117 yd, 0 TD performance, I will take what I can get.

Auburn runs Iso Zone from 11 personnel inside the 5 yard line. Great job by Braden Smith fitting on the playside inside linebacker who is trying to plug the A gap. I am not completely sure why Golson releases the nose tackle to take the blitzing backside inside linebacker but it almost results in Pettway getting tripped up short of the endzone. Great effort by Bubba to get in for the touchdown.

If you thought the Wildcat was dead and buried after Kerryon Johnson’s injury then I have some bad news for you. Chip Lindsey has always been a big believer in the Wildcat and broke out a new version of it Saturday featuring Kamryn Pettway. Under Malzahn, the Wildcat package has typically featured an extra offensive lineman but Lindsey’s instead utilizes 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TE, 1 WR). He stacks the TEs to one side and can run all sorts of looks but usually runs either power or counter. Auburn only ran power Saturday. On this play, Pettway just follows his blockers to the outside then beats the safety to the endzone who gets sucked down too far into the box.

Auburn actually has terrible blocking on this play to go along with too many defenders to block. Tommy Brown whiffs on his block and the safety comes flying into fill the alley. However, Bubba was tired of this game hanging in the balance and bounces off the two defenders and trots into the endzone. This play is all Pettway.

Looking Ahead

Things get real this Saturday. Auburn kicks off their SEC slate with a road trip to the struggling Missouri Tigers. This should be a great opportunity for Auburn to really find their rhythm on offense before heading home for what now appears to be a big time matchup with Mississippi State. All of Auburn’s goals are still in front of them from winning the SEC West, to an SEC Championship and even a playoff berth. But the time for figuring it out on offense has ended. While this Auburn defense is championship calibre it won’t matter if the Tigers can’t score points. I saw progress Saturday but we won’t really know if this team can compete until the coming weeks. Hopefully Saturday is the day this offense finally puts it all together and starts cranking out points, otherwise we could be in for a long year.

War Eagle!

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