Hello,
Any recommendations for a simple program to make icons for apps for the AppStore?
I have a jpg file that I want to do a simple drop and create all those files (or can I do it myself any code available)?
Thanks
Lennox
don’t know about icons but if the process is similar to cursors, check out Seashore (see recent thread)
AppWrapper does a great job. Simply create an image 1024x1024 and let AppWrapper create the icon for you.
You can also use Icon Composer which comes with your Developer Folder on OSX.
I just came across this upgrade to EazyDraw which I use regularly for graphics creation. It’s a pretty good and reasonably priced vector graphics app, getting close to what Canvas used to be, less the bitmap editing fns:
Iconset Export (for App developers).
Added support for Apple Development for High Resolution (Retina) graphics. Apps for the iPhone, iPad and now Mac OS all require new icon source graphics with multiple images. The multiple images are packaged in an iconSet folder. The folder must contain two full sets of icon images, one set at 72 Dots Per Inch (DPI) and the other at 144 DPI. This can be a tedious job to properly assemble this full set of PNG images. EazyDraw now provides a one-click export mechanism to export the full set of images, all properly named and composed with the proper image size and resolution. Check details below, ReadMe or documentation for more information.
Do you mean iOS or OS X?
If you mean OS X then
App Wrapper or App Wrapper Mini are your best bet, not just touting my own horn here, but they do make the most compatible ICNS files (Iconsets are fine, except you either need to use Xcode or a command line app to turn them into a ICNS file for a Xojo app).
AW & AWM create Hybrid ICNS files, these work on 10.6, 10.7, 10.8 & 10.9 and contain retina elements. If you use Apple’s tools, they generate version specific ICNS files, for instance using Apple’s tools to make a ICNS on 10.8, will not display on 10.6 and making an icon with Apple’s tools on 10.6, will not contain retina elements or draw correctly on 10.8.
App Wrapper has a 15-Day trial, so you can try it yourself.
elseif you mean iOS then
http://appersian.net/osx.html Their Icon Kit will create iOS icon files.
End if
I tried a few and found that Axialis IconWorkshop fits all my needs. I use it under windows, it also supports Android and iOS icons. I really like that it lets you open a photoshop file and with one click can create size and color palette variations. I would try the demo first to make sure it fits your needs:
Thanks for all of the relies.
Lennox
I am also using Axialis Iconworkshop since 2009 with very much satisfaction. As a license holder for Iconworkshop, you can buy their excellent icons for half the normal price.
You can create icons for all platforms including ios.
From time to time I also use icoFX which also do a very good job, however I find IconWorkshop easier to use.
You need Windows or a Macintosh running Windows to use IconWorkshop and icoFX, however without any problem you can create icons for Mac, Linux, Windows and IOS. With IconWorkshop you can also extract icons out of .exe or application files.
If you want to pay for a professional icon, Jordan does a good job for less than most of the big players. http://jordanlangille.com
I use Art Text 2. It came with a $49 bundle but it creates lovely 3D images with shading. I open a template, set the size to 1024x1024 make my changes, save it as a PNG then drop it into both Xojo and AppWrapper.
This isn’t smart for the small icons at size 32x32 and below, though. You should be designing individual icons for these sizes, or they look just bad when sized down automatically, when viewing such icons in Finder at these small sizes.
Perhaps I will take a closer look next time I submit an update to my app on the Mac App Store. In all honesty, I don’t even recall the last time I have anything set to that small in Finder. All I know is that icons made with AppWrapper worked well for me and the Mac App Store and their reviewers approved my app… Just this past week, in fact.
Thanks for the heads up though. I will check future submissions as I do design all my icons and graphics using Pixelmator and/or Sketch. I use Sketch 90% of the time and Pixelmator only when doing complex stuff.
This is one of the reasons I love Opacity for designing icons. It has amazing features like variables so you can set certain elements (e.g. a detail layer or shadow) to disappear at certain resolutions/sizes. It will then generate all the sizes you specify with just one click, making it ridiculously easy to update multiple versions of icons whenever you make a change to the art. Expensive program, but worth it.
[quote=30690:@Nona Suomy]Perhaps I will take a closer look next time I submit an update to my app on the Mac App Store. In all honesty, I don’t even recall the last time I have anything set to that small in Finder. All I know is that icons made with AppWrapper worked well for me and the Mac App Store and their reviewers approved my app… Just this past week, in fact.
Thanks for the heads up though. I will check future submissions as I do design all my icons and graphics using Pixelmator and/or Sketch. I use Sketch 90% of the time and Pixelmator only when doing complex stuff.[/quote]
Please note, the OP asked about an app to make icons for the Mac App Store, which I assumed apps to “package” graphics into icons. In terms of graphics application, Sketch is my preferred app. I used to be an Adobe fan, but their apps are either being discontinued or are just too overpowering for simple graphics like buttons, icons, and similar.
With App Wrapper 2.2 and App Wrapper Mini, they both feature the new icon editor, which lets you specify specific images for specific sizes. I used this for the App Wrapper Mini icon, recreating the elements for smaller sizes.
I have to confess that I use Photoshop for designing icons, I’d love to drop it, but I’ve never found another app that allows me to do what I want do. I own Pixelmator, in the hopes that one day they’d provide the functions that I use all the time (Layer effects).
You really should check out Opacity. It’s made for doing icons, so it’s got tons of great effects and shortcuts (the layers and layer styles of Photoshop, for instance), plus tons more.
With Adobe’s new direction to subscription software (after years of going downhill qualitywise), I’m definitely trying to get away from them as much as possible (I also use Sketch, which Nona mentioned), as well as Acorn (which has a more Photoshop-like interface than Pixelmator).
You, I and every other Photoshop user that I know (except 1) is trying to find an alternative. It’s the pricing that really gets me, especially the way how they treat Taiwanese people. (this is before CC). There is a Taiwan tax applied to Adobe products, so Photoshop alone costs as much as the entire creative suite. Plus my wife and I could no longer share a license, which meant that we’d have to shell out for two copies.
The copy that I own is reaching breaking point, it frequently crashes on OS X 10.8 (God only knows what it’ll be like on 10.9) and that’s the only reason why I need to upgrade is because the version we own is now unstable 
I also use Photoshop for in-app graphics and website work, which is why I bought into Pixelmator (a long time ago), I looked at Acorn but didn’t get on with it.
Which leaves one possibility for me… Write my own app (it doesn’t need to do everything photoshop does), ironically the one thing that we don’t use PS for is editing photos! Which seems to be Adobe’s target market, not content creators.
I’m very sad about Adobe Photoshop, as I’ve been a user since version 2, but frankly Adobe’s attitude and pricing is what’s making me look at other products. And before anyone mentions Photoshop Elements, I’ve paid for that in the past too and found it to be terrible for content creation.
Ha! I’m considering doing that very thing to replace InDesign (which I use 10x more than Photoshop). 
Just go for it, the 2 of you! So far I haven’t found a replacement for Fireworks. There is no better app for creating icons. Recently I bought an app called Logoist, which looks very nice: Synium Software Logoist .