Both here and on the Hunting Revolver icon, I found a new style for the revolving chamber that is less overdetailed and still resembles a gun chamber (maybe even moreso?).

The original revolver icon uses half-transparency on the weapon's body, e.g. the circle at the top of the grip, which is something I wanted to avoid outside of the muzzle flash. These icons are meant to resemble the pictographs on road signs and hazard warnings, which tend to only be one color.

As a consistency rule, for projectile-based weapons like rocket launchers, we wanted the combat feed icon to contain the weapon itself, and not just the projectile. (This is important for when a character has multiple weapon options that both shoot rockets, for example.)

A problem I identified with older combat feed icons is that some longer weapons would appear very large, in a way that seemed at odds with how weak they were. (Since sprite icons were all 32px in height, horizontally longer icons would appear large.) Angling the weapon, like I did here with the Bonesaw, helped give it a shorter, less salient profile, and look more dynamic.

Where older icons had a flat square profile, I added rounded elements to these redesigns, particularly on gun barrels.

Vector icons allow for additional detail not possible in 32px sprites, like the inner chamber of this grenade launcher. The original icon also appeared far too "bulky" for such a dynamic weapon associated with knock-back and mobility, even if it was technically more accurate to the grenade launcher's in-game model.

This redesign of the Hunting Revolver icon simplified the shape, deepening the lines around key elements of the gun's profile (like the revolving chamber and foregrip) and getting rid of smaller details. This sort of "hierarchy" of detail is important in making these icons feel like the weapons they represent.

Even if a weapon looks unimpressive, I wanted combat feed icons to reflect how imposing a weapon feels to be eliminated by.

Domination is a mode unique to Classified where teams must attempt to occupy all control points for as long as possible.

VIP is a mode unique to Classified where teams must escort the Civilian character, pictured in the icon, to an escape zone.

Territorial Domination is a mode unique to Classified that did not appear in the original Team Fortress 2. Rounds of TD start with each team controlling 1 of the 3 control points, and the first fight of the round is to capture the third open one; the icon represents this.

Source Filmmaker render with Photoshop editing. Typography, background, and some paintover elements are from Eminoma artist "Rami".

Source Filmmaker render with Photoshop editing. Typography and border are from Eminoma artist "Rami".

Source Filmmaker render with other collaged elements, including painted-on rim lighting.

Source Filmmaker render with other collaged elements, including painted-on rim lighting.

This render is used on the "Day 2" page of the Double Down Update's multimedia update page. Multiple Source Filmmaker renders and Photoshop elements were collaged together, and I also wrote and created the magazine's contents.

This render is used on the "Day 1" page of the Double Down Update's multimedia update page. Multiple Source Filmmaker renders and Photoshop elements were collaged together, and I also wrote and created the magazine's contents.