• Built-in librarian for collection management.
• Can also create cursors and animated cursors.
• Can preview the icon with different background colors without changing zoom using the built in Navigator.
• Different opened history lists for Cursors, Executeable Resources, Icons, Images and Libraries.
• Has twelve gradient styles.
• Has multiple languages for people in other countries.
• Several tutorials that will get you started.

• Can not be maximized to provide a bigger workspace environment.
• Can not load Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro Swatches/Palettes.
• Does not have a command line option that automates the replacement of icons in program files and libraries.
• Has a single document interface allowing only one file to be opened at a time.
• No support for Macintosh icons.
• No support for Windows Vista icons with PNG compression?.

It's not clear if Windows Vista icons are supported. There is no way to make certain fixed intervals on the grid look darker than the other grid lines, which can help in figuring out the position of an icon.

Heaventools AWicons Pro has 12 types of gradients for use in their icon editor. I could not find a save gradient feature in AWicons Pro. There are lots of gradient types, but the gradient feature is still limited as if you wanted to save a gradient effect so you could load it again easily I found no way of doing that. Which is a small feature, but could turnout to be a huge timesaver if implemented.

Overall Heaventools AWicons Pro is a tool that is written well for the most part. The interface provided seemed like it could be efficient after you get used to not being able to work with it full screen as you cannot maximize it. Has plenty of tools you can use to create and edit icons with. Only one file can be edited at a time without opening the program again.

• Batch conversion from and to macintosh icons and windows icons.
• Batch creation of icons from images using built-in explorer.
• Built-in librarian for collection management.
• Built-in file Explorer with preview.
• Can be maximized to provide a bigger workspace environment.
• Can create icon snapshots (for showing all icons with one graphic on a website).
• Can preview the icon at Scale 1:1 with different background colors without changing zoom.
• Create icon libraries that require an activation code with the corporate version.
• Has multiple languages for people in other countries.
• Load Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro Swatches/Palettes.
• Has a multiple document interface allowing more files to be opened at once.
• Has Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator plug-in.
• Quickly create icons using "Object Packs".
• Quickly open files using the "Recently Used Bar" and/or "Favorites".
• Several tutorials that will get you started.
• Support for Macintosh icons up to Tiger (256x256 with JP2 compression).
• Support for Windows Vista icons with PNG compression up to 256x256.

• Does not have a color history.
• Does not have a command line option that automates the replacement of icons in program files and libraries.
• Does not have multiple file history lists.
• Does not have user input values for custom brush sizes only predefined.
• Does not have the ability to create cursors and animated cursors.

Axialis IconWorkshop has a interface called "Axialis Software User Interface" and it allows you to select one color for the "User Interface Type" to base the rest of the interface on and if you simply do not like how it does you can turn it back to the Standard Windows User Interface in the preferences. Along with the user interface you can change the backgrounds of the full screen mode when of when you open a media file using the full screen, the document windows background, and also the Scale 1:1 Preview background.

The grid in Axialis IconWorkshop can also have stronger lines at certain fixed intervals with the value being in pixels in which you control by changing a number or even disabling it if you do not like it at all in the preferences. The default for the stronger grid lines is eight. The stronger lines being enabled helps when drawing icons as it can be used as a good reference to count the number of pixels that a certain place in the icon is in a specific direction.

Axialis IconWorkshop has five gradient types you can choose from. I saw where you could save color swatch gradients, but this does not appear to be the same as saving gradient colors for easy using. The gradients will do a good job however for most stuff but if you want to do some advanced gradient effects then it would take a few more steps to achieve it. You can save 32-bit dlls from icon library files directly from the program starting with version 6.03.

Overall Axialis IconWorkshop was written well also. It was easy to jump right into it and start creating and editing icons. I have had good success working with it while writing this review. The object packs are a good addition that novice users will find that will come in handy while they are learning icon design. They are also good to get the creativity flowing when you don't have any ideas on what you want an icon to look like. Most of the interface seemed to provide efficient work flow. Allows more than one icon file to be opened at a time.

The Corporate Edition (the one I reviewed) has all the features and permits to create commercial/shareware applications, not the Personal Edition. For the difference between Personal and Corporate it is recommended you check out the difference in each edition for more info.

• Can also create cursors and animated cursors.
• Can be maximized to provide a bigger workspace environment.
• Has a color finder that allows you to find all of a certain color in an icon.
• Has a command line option that automates the replacement of icons in program files and libraries.
• Has a explorer tool that can list the number of objects in certain files.
• Has a librarian tool for collection management.
• Has eleven gradient files you can select.
• Has multiple languages for people in other countries.
• Support for Windows Vista icons with PNG compression up to 256x256.

• Can not load Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro Swatches/Palettes.
• Does not have a color history.
• Does not have many shortcuts to go to different brushes and etc.
• Does not have user input values for custom brush sizes only predefined.
• Has a single document interface allowing only one file to be opened at a time.
• No support for Macintosh icons.
• No customizable zoom.

Eclipsit uses several different created exe's in their Microangelo Toolset to provide some of what is built into the other two commercial icon editors I looked at. The interface uses the default windows look and doesnt have their own look added to it. There is no way to make certain intervals of the grid to look darker than the other lines. The color finder also seems like a nice tool which allows the user to find all of a certain color in an icon. You can rename a created .icl from this program to .dll in a file explorer and it will be a 32-bit dll.

Eclipsit Microangelo Toolset has 2 types and has some preset color values you can load. You can just as easily create and save gradient files which would allow for faster icon designing as you could save your favorite gradient you made to a file then re-open it whenever you need it. It also has a cool way of applying the gradient.

Overall Eclipsit Microangelo Toolset is a set of well written programs. Some of the stuff could be confusing to new icon artists for a little while until they get used to it. You can only edit one icon file with multiple formats in a window at a time without launching the program twice. A thing that confused me a first was the undo, not with the feature itself but if you undo with the keyboard shortcut and let off with the CTRL key before the Z key you will toggle the Zero Opacity and then must hit Z again before you can paint again. Other than that the interface provided seemed to allow you to work efficient in most cases.

• Can also create cursors and animated cursors.
• Can be maximized to provide a bigger workspace environment.
• Can create icon snapshots (for showing all icons with one graphic on a website).
• Has a multiple document interface allowing more files to be opened at once.
• Has Adobe Photoshop plug-in.
• Has several image filters and effects.
• Quickly open files using the "Recently Used Bar".
• Several FAQ's that will get you started.
• Support for Windows Vista icons with PNG compression up to 256x256.

• Does not have a command line option that automates the replacement of icons in program files and libraries.
• Does not have many preferences from what I can tell from the trial version.
• Does not have many shortcuts to go to different brushes and etc.
• Does not have multiple file history lists.
• Does not have user input values for custom brush sizes only predefined.
• No support for Macintosh icons.
• If you want to choose a color from the color picker on the interface, then you must scroll to get to the non showing colors.

IconCool Studio has their own interface type that you cannot change, so if you do not like it then you are out of luck. The grid in IconCool Studio can also have stronger lines at a fixed interval of eight. The stronger lines being enabled helps when drawing icons as it can be used as a good reference to count the number of pixels that a certain place in the icon is in a specific direction. You can change the color of the selection and grid in the options.

IconCool Studio has 6 gradient types you can choose from. One of them is a image gradient which allows you to select an image and use it as the gradient. The gradients will do a good job however for most stuff but if you want to do some advanced gradient effects then it would take a few more steps to achieve it.

Overall the trial of IconCool Studio is written well, but it still has a long ways to go in my opinion. There are some stuff that makes creating and editing icons a little more in efficient, for instance the color picker in the main window you have to scroll up and down to get to other colors. It appeared to us that their is no scale 1:1 on the main screen as what is on it appears to shrink it down in width and height. If you try it out you may have to do like I had to do on my computer as the icons did not show up on the toolbar after installing it which turned out to be that the shortcuts had no start in folder entered in them, so it was looking for a data folder at the location of the shortcut. Allows more than one icon file to be opened at a time, which it puts into the list of opened icons at the right of the screen.

• Built-in librarian for collection management.
• Can be maximized to provide a bigger workspace environment.
• Can preview the icon at Scale 1:1 with different background colors without changing zoom.
• Has multiple languages for people in other countries.
• Has twenty-eight default gradient styles that you can modify.
• Has a multiple document interface allowing more files to be opened at once which is placed as tabs.
• Several how to tutorials that will get you started.
• Support for Windows Vista icons with compression.

• Does not have a color history.
• Does not have a command line option that automates the replacement of icons in program files and libraries.
• Does not have multiple file history lists.
• Does not have user input values for custom brush sizes only predefined.
• No support for Macintosh icons.

The interface uses the default windows look and doesnt have their own look added to it. There is no way to make certain intervals of the grid to look darker than the other lines. It does have a perspective grid in which you turn on if needed and it would help with icon creation that needs a perspective. You can change the Scale 1:1 Preview background color. Easy one click access to switch between open documents is a nice feature also. You can rename a created .icl from this program to .dll in a file explorer, but it will only be a 16-bit dll.

Aha-Soft IconLover has 28 types of gradients for use in their icon editor. I could not find a save gradient feature in IconLover. The gradient types is plenty, but the gradient feature is still limited as if you wanted to save a gradient effect that you modified, so you could load it again easily I found no way of doing that. Which is a small feature, but could turnout to be a huge timesaver if implemented.

Overall the interface was written well and should be pretty efficient for you. The gradients are plenty and should aid when you need an icon with a gradient. Allows more than one icon file to be opened at a time, which it puts into tabs. The program is right up there, but please see our very important note later on in the review about the company.

Also, please note Aha-Soft, Icon Empire, and sibcode all appear to be the same company just under a different name, therefore only Aha-Soft was reviewed. Here is a list of programs that all appear to be from the same company mentioned above some if not most of them are icon programs others close to being icon programs. Kinda crazy..

• Aha Soft ArtIcons and ArtIcons Pro, Aha Soft ArtCursors, Aha Soft IconXP, Aha Soft IconLover, Aha Soft IconUtils
• Icon Empire Icon Craft, Icon Empire IconoMaker, Icon Empire Perfect Icon, Icon Empire Icon Processor, Icon Empire Pixel Editor, Icon Empire ICL-Icon Extractor, Icon Empire CustomIcons
• Sib Icon Studio, Sib Icon Editor, Sib Icon Converter, Sib Icon Extractor, Sib Cursor Editor, Sib Icon Replacer

I first noticed Aha-Soft so I decided to review IconLover, which appeared like the best icon editor they made out of the comparison table.

• Great batch image conversion.
• Can be maximized to provide a bigger workspace environment.
• Can easily create icons from 3D rendered images with transparency.
• Can preview the icon using different background colors.
• Has multiple languages for people in other countries.
• Several tutorials that will get you started.
• Support for Windows Vista icons with PNG compression up to 256x256.

• Does not have a command line option that automates the replacement of icons in program files and libraries.
• Does not have the ability to create cursors and animated cursors.
• No support for Macintosh icons.
• You can not save an icon library.

RealWorld Icon Editor has the ability to do 3D graphics and not just icons, which could be important to some users. For this review I will focus on the normal icon capabilities. The icon editor is a simple one, but it will get the job done. One thing that is cool about the icon editor is the projected shadow tool which helps in creating a shadow the way you want it based off the current icon. If you want to use drag and drop functionality like with Axialis IconWorkshop you must open an explorer window to drag the files from to New Raster Image File then once finished go up to the menu Icon and then select one of the "Create Icon" menu items. If you do not need that functionaility then you can do from the main screen "New Icon". This has all the basic stuff you would see in any icon utility like pencil, line, shape, selection, and erase tools. There is no way to make certain intervals of the grid to look darker than the other lines.

From the main menu you can choose to make an icon from an application or an image. You can also select Image to Icons then you can drag and drop image(s) from an explorer window to that part of the editor screen to automatically convert them to icons which is placed in the temp folder. The effect settings is different for each generated image. Once they are all created you can then drag them back out to where you want their location to be. Lastly, it is also possible to create icons with transparency from 3d rendered objects which is unique to the programs I reviewed.

Overall while it can edit 3D images, then convert them to icons it seems like it might be difficult for novice users without any 3D experience at first. The icon editor portion has the basic tools you need to create one from scratch or to edit one. The 3D aspect of creating icons sure creates a different look on how you create them if you can get use to it.

More screenshots: here.

• Can also create cursors and animated cursors.
• Can be maximized to provide a bigger workspace environment.
• Can create distribution files and/or email files from within the program.
• Can create and edit icon libraries with an installer.
• Can create black and white icons for either Palm or WAP-type (e.g., cellular) devices.
• Can create Windows CE Icons.
• Can preview the icon at Scale 1:1 in another window.
• Has plenty of brushes, gradients, image filters, effects and can even use standard plugins (e.g. Adobe Photoshop Plugins).
• You can create black and white (2-color icons) for either Palm or WAP-type (e.g., cellular) devices.

• Does not have a command line option that automates the replacement of icons in program files and libraries.
• Does not have many shortcuts to go to different brushes and etc.
• Does not have multiple file history lists.
• No support for Macintosh icons.
• No support for Windows Vista icons with PNG compression.

IconForge can not export a .icl and then rename it to a .dll file in a file explorer to get a 32-bit icon dll in the version I reviewed only 16-bit. You would have to find a seperate program for converting an icon library to a 32-bit dll currently.

Overall the interface was written pretty good and should be pretty efficient for you. The gradients are plenty and should aid when you need an icon with a gradient. Allows more than one icon file to be opened at a time, which it puts into tabs. There is no way to make certain intervals of the grid to look darker than the other lines. One thing unique about CursorArts IconForge is the ability to create Windows CE icons, Palm, and WAP-type devices.

• Includes a gradient maker.

• Can only create a multi-icon resource after you make each icon and save it.
• Can only create/edit one icon at a time.
• Does not include many filters that you can use on the icon.

LiquidIcon has some basic icon editing tools such as oval, circle, square, and rectangle. Other tools include flood fill, eye dropper, selection, gradient, flip, rotate. The effects menu has add text, buttonize, and capture. You can also save as a windows cursor or bitmap. In the end it is a basic icon editor, but can get the job done for simple stuff.

• Can also create cursors and animated cursors.
• Can use different palettes that is included in the program along with saving your own.
• Has multiple languages for people in other countries.
• Has a tabbed interface for quickly switching back and forth between documents.
• Has the ability to do icons up to 32bit.

• Can preview the icon at Scale 1:1 with only opaque or transparent.
• Does not close icon when you click the icon window close button.
• Does not include a gradient maker.
• Does not include a completed/up-to-date help file in the initial download.
• Does not include many filters that you can use on the icon.
• Does not uncheck the menu items in the "Windows" menu when you close a window (e.g. the palette).

Overall this product is written well and can create cursors and animated cursors. You can also use different palettes that is included or even save your own. It also has a multiple document inferface with tabs to switch back and forth between open documents. Can preview the icon at a scale of 1:1. Can create multi-icon resources without having to save each one first and load into a seperate form.