Is there an icon-maker in the house?

[PyTom]

Okay, I was looking into redesigning how the launcher will operate, and I've decided that I'd like it to use more icons to give a friendlier appearance. I'm wondering if we have anybody here who's skilled at icon design, and willing to contribute some art to the new launcher.

At the minimum, we'll need the following icons:

Projects
View documentation

New project...
Open project...

Launch
Open game directory
Open base directory (these could share an icon)
Run Lint
Build Distribution
Change Theme

And other icons for various uses, including a check/x pair.

I'm wondering if we have anyone willing to tackle this project. My current plan is not to mess with the launcher until after nanoreno, so this could wait until after nanoreno is over.

[Asceai]

What kind of size? 256x256/512x512 (to be scaled to common icon sizes), or is something like SVG preferable?

[valeatory]

Sounds neat! I think the launcher is pretty friendly already, though. Nice and simple, with Ren'py's very cute logo on it. Not to mention text is easier to read than icons.

Open, new and such are pretty standard, and can be come up with and drawn pretty easily, but, sorry for the ignorance, what kind of icon is 'Run Lint'? What does it do?

[Asceai]

I'd assume it runs some variant of the static source analysis tool 'lint'. For laughs you could make the icon for it a picture of some pocket lint or something =p

[Jake]

I'm wondering if we have anyone willing to tackle this project. My current plan is not to mess with the launcher until after nanoreno, so this could wait until after nanoreno is over.

I don't know about specifically 'skilled at icon design', but it's something I've done a fair bit of before. Certainly if no-one else has done anything by the time NaNo ends I'd be willing to put some time in for this.

For laughs you could make the icon for it a picture of some pocket lint or something =p

(As it goes, that really isn't good icon design. An icon should ideally tell a user exactly what the function it represents does; Lint is a checking tool, so a ticked checkbox or a clipboard with a spec-sheet would be a better icon, indicating to the user that it performs some kind of certification-type or quality-asurance role.)

[PyTom]

Lint is the tool that checks a script for bugs. So the icon could be a can of bugspray, or a bug in a "busters sign" or something like that.

One of the things I'd like to do with the new launcher is to have room to explain stuff like this. So the plan is to have an icon, and then to have a large caption ("Run Lint"), and then a smaller caption underneath. ("Check the script for bugs.")

I'd like the launcher to have a friendly and consistent icon theme, so I'd like for someone to volunteer to come up with a standard for icon look. I'm not sure how big the icons should be made in, so long as they scale well to 32x32 and 48x48.

[Nebi]

It would be neat if you could include the Ren'Py mascot in the icons somehow. :)

[PyTom]

Hm... Well, I plan to use the Ren'Py logo in the interface, so Eileen will be making an appearance. It would probably be too cluttered if she appeared everywhere.

I will also insist that the launch icon involve an old-school rocket ship, with big fins.

[Twar3Draconis]

I can do pixel work, but I can't obtain an appearance close to the Mac OSX/Vista/Tango icons.

[valeatory]

How would these do for New and Open? Good? Bad?

edit: I was originally thinking open project, but it may be more suited to open directory.

[chronoluminaire]

Hee, those are cool!
The "New" one does look fractionally as if Eileen were being attacked by tentacles, though. Which may be bad for an app that the majority of Ren'Py developers will use.

[Jake]

The crisp graphics are good, but I'd recommend losing the snake, to be honest - less-cluttered icons are clearer, and clearer icons are better.

I do like the document-with-Eileen-in, though! Maybe you could differentiate "open project" from "open directory" by having an Eileen-document coming out of the folder in the open-project one?

[valeatory]

Attacked by tentacles? Hehe... I can't see it, but that's funny.

Do them without my precious little snakey? Nooooo!

..Ah, well.... Do you mean kind of like these?

[PyTom]

I'm not quite sure Eileen is the right metaphor for a Ren'Py game. At the very least, it should be chibi-Eileen (with the pith-helmet and snake), rather than the more realistic version.

EDIT: Also, I personally like bluish folders (as on OS X) to the manila ones.

[valeatory]

What would you put as metaphor?

Blue? Cool.... Okay, done! How are these?