Iconfu can handle the task for you fairly well.
It has a good array of tools for effectively editing icons and it also has a huge library of 12,000+ icons that you can use as a starting template. It also has the ability to create animated GIF icons, which you can then use in Windows or online with services like Twitter, etc.
When the page first loads up, most of it is taken up by the main icon editing window.
Along the left hand side are all the tools for editing you icons. At the very top is a preview of your icon in real-time as you make changes. They have several tools for editing icons:
* Normal Pen – Draws one pixel at a time
* Alpha Pen – Changes transparency of a pixel, but not color
* Replace – Choose a pixel and then each pixel that has the same as the selected pixel will be changed to the current color
* Color Sampler – Quickly find out the color of any pixel
* Selection – Choose a specific area of the icon to make active
* Shading – Draw gradients or sharing across the image
* Fill – Fills the selected area with the current color
They also have a large array of actions that you can perform on your image:
* Publish – Saves your icon to the public library accessible by others
* Clear – Clears all pixels or just the area you select
* Resize – Change the size of the icon. The free version allows you to go up to 24×24, but if you want something bigger, you’ll have to upgrade to pro.
* Make a copy – Ability to create multiple versions of your icon
* Flip Horizontal/Vertical – Flip the icon horizontally or vertically
* Rotate – Rotate the icon clockwise
* Blur/Speckle – Blurs the image/adds roughness by randomizing the pixels on the icon
* Shadows/Round Corners – Create a shadow for you icon or give it rounded corners.
The other cool thing that I like about Iconfu is that it maintains a history of each action you perform in the left hand sidebar. At any time, it will keep a record of the last 10 actions performed on the icon. You can go back by clicking a previous version of the icon. It’s a great undo feature.
It’s also got some other advanced drawing options that you can use to really make just about any icon possible. It does take a bit of time learning how to use all the features though.
Overall, it’s a pretty useful tool for web developers or anyone who likes to create their own icons! Enjoy!
