Author Topic: My quest to create complete set of toolbar command button icons  (Read 3217 times)

T010

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I took upon me the tedious task to find or create a fitting icon for every toolbar command available. I'd like to share with you my progress so far. I know about graphic design but not so much about music technicalities; if you see an icon you think is better represented by another symbol, feel free to critique my work.
Some icons will have alternate versions for the same command.

Last Edit: October 04, 2022, 08:54:43 AM by T010

psychoadept

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This is really cool, I can't wait for you to make them available!

Regarding send to > custom tools, would you consider taking requests for common external tools? Like Picard, mp3tag, Album Art Downloader, etc?
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T010

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would you consider taking requests for common external tools? Like Picard, mp3tag, Album Art Downloader, etc?

I could do that (if it's not too many) if there is such demand; please list all relevant tools. And if you'd like the icon to be just the tool's logo or if you'd like the small "send to" arrow included with it.


psychoadept

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I could do that (if it's not too many) if there is such demand; please list all relevant tools. And if you'd like the icon to be just the tool's logo or if you'd like the small "send to" arrow included with it.

My top choices are Picard, Album Art Downloader, and Faking the Funk. I'm pretty sure the first two are common. The last is a bitrate detection tool for finding falsely inflated bitrates (some people use Spek for this). If you're doing something specific to each program, probably don't need the arrow. If it's more of a generic "external tagging" and so on, the arrow would probably be helpful to indicate it's external. I could imagine something similar to the auto-tagging icon, for instance.
Last Edit: October 18, 2022, 09:37:16 PM by psychoadept
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phred

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@T010- is there any way you can share a larger image. I really can't read the text not see the icon. And/or change it from light gray text on a gray background.

Perhaps upload the original to a sharing service like MediaFire.

Thanks.
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phred

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I updated first post with newer and 200% scaled version.
Thank you. While it's larger in the OP, it's difficult to see with my tired old eyes. But you've made it downloadable and that did the trick as I can adjust the zoom.

That being said, this is really nicely done.
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

hiccup

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Very nice work indeed!

There is one possible issue I am noticing though:
It looks like you designed the icons at 32x32 px.
But MusicBee's toolbar icons are 16x16.

While many of these icons will look o.k. when resized to 16x16, not all will.
Wouldn't it be better to design them at 16x16, so you can control optimal end-results?


T010

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It looks like you designed the icons at 32x32 px.
But MusicBee's toolbar icons are 16x16.

While many of these icons will look o.k. when resized to 16x16, not all will.
Wouldn't it be better to design them at 16x16, so you can control optimal end-results?

I understand the concern, however the image you see above is scaled 200%.
I do indeed design at 16x16. Then again, the plan is to export as 32x32 only, and let MusicBee do the downscaling. MB does a nice job in testing it so far on my 125% scaled Windows. Should there be any blurry icons regardless, I can always export additional assets at 16x16, 20x20, 24x24 in one simple click.

hiccup

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I can always export additional assets at 16x16, 20x20, 24x24 in one simple click.
Well, yes and no.
Going from 32 to 16 will usually go well (especially if you use a 16x16 grid overlay to check how it turns out at 16), but going from 32 to 20 may cause some unintended blurriness.

A little trick I taught myself, is that if I e.g. aim to create icon sizes 16, 20 and 24, I start with a 240x240 canvas.
That can be divided by all three icon sizes. (just use appropriate guide layouts in PS to check how things will turn out for each icon size)
But considering the amount of icons you are preparing, that would be a ridiculous amount of extra work and tweaking.

B.t.w., looking at the quality of your work, I am not assuming I can teach you anything, I just thought to share my thoughts.
Last Edit: October 04, 2022, 06:20:35 PM by hiccup

T010

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I work in vector so I can scale up or down infinitely. I did find I made a mistake during design however, so I now have to redo every icon  :-\ End result will be nicer though.

Here's a little comparison of how MB handles the downscaling of icons. You're looking at a MB toolbar at 125% Windows scale. Left hand is using a 20x20 icon (so not up- or downscaled by MB) Right hand is using a 32x32 icon (so downscaled to 20x20 by MB). Can you tell the difference? I notice a every so slightly sharper icon on the Right hand side.

(hmm, image gets compressed, differences unnoticeable due to bad quality) Sorry I can't find a way to upload the original quality image. Take it from me, using a 200% 32x32 icon and letting MB downscale it (at least, tested on 125%), gives sharper result than using a native 20x20 icon (for 125% Windows scale; untested at other Windows scales)
Last Edit: October 05, 2022, 10:48:04 AM by T010

T010

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Progress! Share your thoughts, feel free to nitpick. If you have ideas or suggestions, this is your chance before I release the set to public

(click link and zoom in for 200% view)
Last Edit: October 23, 2022, 08:32:03 AM by T010