I made icons today.  This is a new thing for me...and proof of the lengths I will go to in doing anything but revision.
I read a few tutorials, but any advice from people who actually know how to make pretty icons would be very welcome.  I'm particularly wondering: do people usually upload the images straight onto livejournal or save them on photobucket or somewhere first?  And which is better for preserving the image quality?

Not that I see myself spending more time on icons than fic anytime in the future.  Speaking of which, I'm working on a very crossed-over crossover and a Lavender Brown story at the moment, as well as Weasley Fest and some Slytherin-love stories.  You know, alongside that revision.

Icon Samples: