When submitting our entries via the dashboard a store icon is required.

Now some of us have graphics artists on hand, box art, branding guidelines and the like. For everyone else, there is an easy and free way to create a decent looking icon. Being that this is a subjective portion of the ATOM entry process I encourage you to deviate from this simple example.

1.) Start up Paint.NET (My favorite free image editor) and create a new image at 200 x 200 pixels
* Image will be automatically re-sized by the Dashboard when uploading
** Download Here: http://www.getpaint.net/download.html

2.) Now set your foreground and background colors and select the gradient tool.
* Choose complimentary colors that are ideally a close match to some aspect of your applications user interface

3.) Create a new layer and select an interesting font. Next size the font and choose a foreground color. You may try to fit your applications name into the drawing area, or alternatively just the first letter or acronym. This is where it gets more subjective, as long as it is visually appealing, go with it.

4.) Optionally apply any filters or effects at this point. You may also add new layers and import images from other sources. A good source is also your applications .ico file at times.

5.) Save your original in Paint.NET format, this will preserve your layers and allow for easy editing.

6.) Save a copy as a PNG for use with the Dashboard

7.) Upload your new logo and enjoy your handiwork