App Icon Improvement

     It's a work in progress but I'm working on making a prettier app icon. I searched for software and found something good that didn't actually work out for me. I already invested $5 into it though, so there's no going back now. Like always, I worked optimistically and managed to make some good out of a bad turn of events.


     I found it here. I figured 5 bucks would be worth saving the time and hassle of making an app icon look just right. Out of all the ones I saw this was easily the most affordable. Most applications like this either did quality I could manage on my own, or cost over $100 for a commercial use license.

     My troubles came when I found out that although Gimp can open .psd files, it has a lot of issues. Particularly with group folders and layer textures. I was supposed to be able to edit things easily and quickly, but when I opened up Gimp much disappointment was had. The folders and fancy app materials you see in the picture above do not exist in the picture below.

     Unfortunately my Photoshop Elements software wasn't up to par either. It appears to be useless crippleware, like I assumed it was. As I discovered here, the ability to edit grouped layers was removed which left me unable to use the package I just purchased as intended. But, being me I count my loses and make the best of it. 

    With what pieces I had to play with, I managed to spruce up my Yotes Icon border a bit. My future games will have a nicer finish now. I plan to use other things like lighting effects,textures and patterns to help my next icons really 'pop'.

  

     Using the pieces still managed to be better than my wild guessing at how to make my icon borders look. With just a bit more tweaking I'm sure it'll be looking fancy enough to stand next to the current apps in the top 100. Mostly because I won't stop until it does.

    

I took the pieces from the design kit and made a nice template for myself. 

     I'm going to keep working on it until I have something pretty and eye-catching for DragCore. After all, my goal is to make a polished, professional, and profitable game before Christmas. It may not make it on the market before the big holiday rush, but It will be out there before 2014 rolls around.

     Also, on a non-related note I stumbled across some free Sci-Fi music for anyone interested. I might even use some of it for DragCore.