I was mainly just playing with effects like a kid in a candy shop on a sugar high.

I know the feeling! I have the same reaction whenever I find new resources, I get carried away and time flies. :D

The BY icon was a present from larabeckinsale and she kindly personalized it for me, a real pity she's moved on and is no longer active in fandom, a great artist and friend.

eyesthatslay is another fabulous iconmaker and if you check her posts from 2006 will see how she inserted "icons by eyesthatslay" in her work imperceptibly.

The difference between signature and personalization is another issue. I'm using a few icons with my username which were made by other artists and personalized on request (a feature common in comms such as nekid_spike). I always credit them and would never want people to think I made those. See, it's complicated for icons, a lot more than for larger artwork.

ETA: a lot of 20in20s and other more recent comms let their entries public so that everybody knows the maker, but the voting posts are usually anonymous. Again, weird.

*huggles*