Bad apple design

We’ve already shown you some weird icon requests. Now it’s time to show some challenging ones.

English idioms.

Yes, a user asked us to draw six English idiom icons and provided reference images. A picture is worth 1000 words (please don’t ask us to draw this one!):

Cutting corners, over the moon, and a bad apple were pretty easy to draw. We just got rid of unnecessary details and slightly modified the metaphors. Here they are:

For the kill time idiom, we draw an arrow-pierced alarm clock. And then spent some time deciding on the shape and color of the arrow tail to make it clear and visible:

Couch potato. For some reason, “the simplest solution is almost always the best” didn’t work, and we decided to avoid potatoes first.

But with that TV set, remote control, and the pillow, the icon was overloaded with details, yet it failed to convey the idiom.

So, we literally drew a potato on the couch. Perfect!

The most challenging icon was the best of both worlds. We tried two planets, then mixed a few other things (below are just some of them). But none of the concepts seemed clear enough. However, the mix of a camera with the old-school phone gets an award as the oddest smartphone metaphor.

So we decided to go abstract and played around with different geometrical shapes:

And finally stopped with the following variant:

So, when you make challenging icons, the devil is in the details, idiomatically speaking.

DIY bonus

Combining icons allows you to visualize idioms in their literal meaning. Guessing idioms from such drawings is a great way to spend an evening with your family or friends. Want to try some? Let’s go!

An easy yet hardly effective way to solve problems is to…

[smartslider3 slider=”33″]

Opposite to the guy with his head in the sand

[smartslider3 slider=”34″]

Never

[smartslider3 slider=”35″]

If you loved the idea, you can easily make similar puzzles using Mega Creator or Lunacy, free graphic editors with built-in graphics.

Five simple steps:

1. Drop them onto the canvas.
2. Arrange them into a scene.
3. Export the result.
4. Pick some icons, photos, or illustrations from the gallery.
5. Have fun!

Share your idiomatiс art with us on social media (Twitter, Instagram). We’ll publish the best stuff later on our blog or social media.

See also:

• Sexy boy, physical abuse and murder: a story of a serial icons requester
• How to Use Icons for Infographics
• How to Customize Icon in Icons8 App: Video Tutorial
• Five Designers Draw: One Icon