Ok, first of all this will be a very simple how to. I do things simply myself and I wouldn't want to confuse you with any other form of Icon making. That aside, here is Kahn Iceay's "How to make JC Icons with GNU Image Manipulation Program"


Step One: First and foremost you're going to need a picture. The image you pick out needs to be at least twice as large if not larger then the end product (in my experience) though the larger you are, the more pixilated it gets as you shrink it down. For our purposes today we will be making a Revan icon from this image Pictured here on the left.

Step Two: I shouldn't have to mention this but it is a how to post so, open GIMP (If you don't have GIMP scroll to the bottom of this article for instructions on where to find it). If you have the source image on your hard drive open it from there if you're loading it form an internet source (such as myself) use "Open Location". Keep in mind that if the image you're using is very large either in pixels or in megabytes you may find yourself lagging when you open it. Such is especially the case with older computers.

Step Three: Once you have GIMP Open you should give yourself plenty of operating room. If my knowledge serves me right GIMP on windows is all one window, if so maximize it. With cases such as myself arrange your windows how you are most comfortably working, for sake of reference however we'll use the picture to the right.

Step Four: Now this is when we truly begin the Icon making process, and its a simple start, you pick the kind of Icon you're going to make. For the JC there are three basic styles of icons, 50x50, 90x30, and 30x90. All operate under the same
principals of editing but for simplicity I'm going to show you the easiest one for me to make, the 50x50 icon. Once you understand what icon you're going to make you need to select the section of the image you're going to craft into the icon. While doing this you need to keep in mind proportions. Its easiest to go in increments of ten over your final product, 60, 70, 80, and so on. In this case I'm making a 420x420 selection of Revan's head, by doing so I can make the scaling to 50x50 later much easier. Once we have the selection we're going to crop the image to that selection which should look like the image on the right. To do this simply open your image menu and select the option "Crop to Selection".

Step Five: Now step five is where the editing happens. Some Icons don't require editing, some icons do. Sometimes an icon needs colouration changes, which can be done by going to colours and then clicking Hue-Saturation like this. Other edits you can do might be including a lightsaber blade which I will make in a later How To. For this edit however we're going to give Revan a little border. Borders are simple additions to icons that can add just enough of a visual effect to make the icon more visually appealing. This is not to say that you should always include one. Borders should be light, and not detract form the icon, in this case, due to the size 420x420 aspect of the image we'll be utilizing a 5px border that will scale down with the icon later. The simplest and most easy method of evenly bordering your icon is to select all of the icon that you will not be marking over and then going to Select and selecting invert. The end result should look like this.

Step Six: Now we'll be scaling the image down which is done by going to Image then Scale Image like so this will open the image scaling window (pictured to the left). Here you'll scale your icon down to your desired size, in this case from 420x420 to 50x50. When you do this you are essentially looking at your icon as it will appear when you post it. Take this time to examine it for errors or any changes you may want to make. I am fond of the icon as it is so I will make no changes and will save the image as Revan_How_To_Icon.png If you are making a series of icons of the same image, both a standard, wide, and tall image,  suggest you re open your source image AFTER SAVING! Then return to step four and continue the process as listed changing the size of your selection only and adjusting the numbers there for.

Step Seven: Now that you've made your icon most of the work is done. The next step is simply uploading it to your source of choice. Image Shack and Photobucket provide free image storage, or you may, like me have a Blog you upload images too. When you've finished uploading it either submit it, and others you've made in blog format, or directly too the Icon thread in Communications at the JC. Once you've done that you've completely entered the world of Icon making! I hope my How To guide has been helpful to you and I hope you enjoy making Icons as much as I have.

Crimson Dark is one of the most engaging and entertaining webcomics I've had the honor of reading. It's self labeled as a Sci-Fi Graphic Novel, but if you want my opinion its more of a "Science Fiction Cyberpunk Drama". More often then not Sci-Fi's about the action, not the story, but this comic does a superb job of maintaining that delicate mix of Action, Drama, and heaping loads of character development. As the story progresses the characters become deeper personal storylines creep out along the main one and you grow more and more fond of them.

The Author, David C. Simon, has created a universe full of political intrigue, rich and exciting characters and action scenes that sometimes make you feel like you're looking at a still photo of a movie. The universe has a rich history full of war and strife and even hope. Governmental bodies like the Republic of Daranir and the Cirin Alliance vie for supremacy in, as one of the central characters, Kari Tyrell put it, a Dirty War.

Taking place in the later half of the 27^th Century the story revolves around the crew of the Niobe a Heavily modified ship under the command of Vaegyr Ward and his wife Larissa. They, along with Kari Tyrell, former R.A.S.F. Pilot, Daniel Qian, ships doctor, Whisper, Augment and cybernetics expert, and Hal Grisdale, ships engineer try to make a living and survive in an era disrupted by war.

Despite the seemingly simple premise the story is anything but simple. Secrets big and small, personal and governmental are revealed and explored. Deceit and danger lurk within every star system. Nothing appears to be what it seems and the stakes are high for the characters. David C. Simon has taken a potentially run of the mill story and created a deep and absorbing universe that I come back to every week.

And it isn't just the story, there's more. A full blown database containing small bits about main and secondary characters, ship statistics, organizational information, timeline and glossary terms is available. Less a comic and more a Universe in a web page Crimson Dark is easily one of the most entertaining and addictive web comics out there. Its only short coming? Its not updated nearly enough, but you can't really fault the man in that regard. All in all, Crimson Dark is a comic you certainly should look into, you won't regret it.

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1. RPF Avenue, for the Role Playing Forum
2. Qui-Gon Lane, for Qui-Gon_Reborn
3. Echani Drive, for myself, being such a fan of Echani
4. Mando Lane, Warrior culture equality
5. Killik Circle, gift for Sinrebirth
6. Hooper's Club, for Hooper McFinney's RPF Bar and Grille, an RPF Staple
7. BMC Club, for the EUC's Blue Moon Cantina
8. RPF City Limits
9. Skywalker Ranch
10. Tosche Station
11. Hyper Space
12. Imperial Center

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As some of you may or man not know, Adam Baldwin known for playing Jayne Cobb in the series Firefly and the movie Serenity also played the role of Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Corporal Taylor "Dutch" Miles, this little HALOween icon set commemorates that fact. As a bit of funny info, Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck - The former-leader of the squad is voiced by Nathan Fillion while Private First Class Michael "Mickey" Crespo the demolitions expert for the squad (and a trained pilot) is voiced by Alan Tudyk, who in Firefly played Mal and Wash respectively.

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4. Do you know DarthRamza? GM of Saga of Nameless Lands and Co-GM of Dimensions Collide? This isn't him. This is Ramza Beoulve the main protagonist from Final Fantasy Tactics. This too is a Halloween Icon.

5. Kojo "Romeo" Agu, an ODST or Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC (United Nations Space Command). One of the characters of the new Halo: ODST game. This is a Halloween Icon.

6. Halo: ODST (or Halo 3: ODST) has recently come out and is burning up the thumbs of gamers worldwide. This Icon is of its logo, intended for Halloween usage.

7. "Usually, the good Lord works in mysterious ways. But not today! This here is 66 tons of straight-up, H.E-spewing dee-vine intervention! If God is love, then you can call me 'Cupid'!" Sgt. Avery J. Johnson, winner of the Biggest Badass of Eternity award, and perfect 50x50 Icon for Halloween. Gift/Request for Sarge221

8. The Queen from Disney's Snow White. Another Halloween Icon, and perhaps a Veiled advertisement for Imperial_Hammer's Disney game. Request for Jedi Allegra.

9. Sally from the ever popular Nightmare Before Christmas. For, clearly, Halloween, and maybe Christmas. Also a Request for Jedi Allegra.

10. Jayne Cob and The Amazing Technicolor Dream Hat is the age old tale of a man and his... Oh wait, no its not. Its just Jayne and the Hat his mom made for him. He's a simple man, he's not payed enough to talk pretty, has a love of grenades, but an aversion to blowing up. He also makes a great Icon.

11. Another Halo: ODST Icon for Halloween and since it just came out.

12. "They must love the smell of a real man." So, Sgt. Johnson, This time in tall format.
     
13. The Rookie, protagonist from Halo: ODST, for Halloween

14. Halloween Icon. Halo: ODST Campaign Completion Normal Achievement.

15. Halloween Icon. Halo: ODST Campaign Completion Heroic Achievement.

16. Halloween Icon. Halo: ODST Campaign Completion Legendary Achievement.

17. Halloween Icon. Halo 3 Campaign Completion Legendary Achievement.

18. Halloween Icon. Boom, Headshot Achievement from Halo: ODST.

19. Halloween Icon. Dante, protagonist of the Devil May Cry series, unleashing the Devil within.

20. Halloween Icon. Dante again, this time showing the determined eyes of a hero.

21. Halloween Icon. Dante, this time being awesome in a widescreen format.

22. Halloween Icon. Dante being awesome, this time in standard 50x50.

23. Halloween Icon. Dante pouring on the Awesomesauce in Tall format.