Creating Icons: A Guide for Game Designers

Follow along with our workflow for creating UI Elements and Icon Designs

Part 1: Training a Model

Curate a Dataset based on the style of icons you would like to train a model on. On the left navigation panel click on the blue '+' next to Models, or select the Models page and then click the blue '+ New Model' button in the upper right of the screen. Select 'Start Training'.

Upload your dataset and modify the Captions by following the guides here:

Tips for Curating and Captioning a Dataset

Guide to Manually Captioning Your Dataset for LoRA Training on SDXL

Use one of the following settings for your training parameters:

Name your Model and click on 'Start Training'

Part 2: Prompt your Model

Be sure to include any trigger words you used in your captioning when you prompt such as icon, button, square, glowing, etc. For more information on prompting, check out our article here:

Writing a Good Prompt for SDXL and LoRA Models

Import a reference image or use the sketch tool for basic shapes to guide the output; Set the reference image mode to ControlNet Structure or Illusion and experiment with the influence between 50 and 100.

Combine References Images for even more control. Here we are using Image to Image for the style and coloration while allowing the shape and ControlNet Depth to further guide the output.

Part 3: Compose with Your Model

You can easily create a Composition with one of our Icon specific LoRAs to add more fiedlity. I recommend Icon Stylizer, Gritty UI Icons, and Striking Illustrated Icons but there are many more on the Scenario web-app. You can adjust the strength of the blend so your desired style shines through while our platform LoRA models provide an added boost to structure and fidelity.

You Can also Blend a Character Model with your Icon Model to create Character Icons!

For more on LoRA Compositions check out this article:

Exploring LoRA Compositions

Part 4: Add Elements Using the Canvas

You can easily enhance your icons with the Canvas

In Canvas, click on the elements tab. You'll find almost any type of symbol that you can think of in several different styles. You can also choose the color and transparency as well! If you want to use a custom image, use the Import Tab instead.

You aren’t restricted to the Model you originally used. Feel free to change the Model at any time to get the specific results you want. Mask the area around the Element you added and some of the bordering details. Set the Image to Image influence to between 12%-46%. The higher the influence the more the model with stick to the style and shape of the element chosen.

Choose your favorites out of the 4 options given. If you didn’t find something you like go back and tweak your settings, or even add some details of your own with the Sketch function! Don't be afraid to experiment and create!