My Designs

[Carl the Llama]

this is the very first sig I made...

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/7278/depsigbykaiserdragonty1.jpg

Please honesty would greatly be appreciated here, includeing any tips on how to improve.

[Polaris]

Hm as first advice, I'd tell you to never paste two images like that! :)
Use a soft circle brush to eliminate the rough line :)

[Carl the Llama]

was trying to go for 2 different shades fadeing from one to ther other but im a ps nubie lol, Thanks for the advice =)

[Fonzie]

The text is a little hard to read, try to put it in a place with as little noise as possible.

If you're new, I'd say try out as many tutorials as you can find, then after you've made a few, you can begin to create your own style.

[Krelian]

Yes, read lots of tutorials. It's a great way to learn how to do stuff. But I found it easier to do them after I played around with PS by myself. So maybe you could keep going for a while and after you familiarized yourself with most of the tools you can go and check for tutorials.

Also, this may be a personal preference, but I'd choose a different aspect ratio for a sig. Like 2/3 or half the height you chose.

But as the very first sig you made, it's not bad :)

[Carl the Llama]

Thanks for all the tips, I have made a few costumes for PSOBB and decided to try my hand at Sig makeing, could any of you give me some linkage to a good tutorial site?

My Costume Designs:

http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/4948/flameinghuneycr0.jpg http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/7226/blueswirlhz3.jpghttp://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1166/bloodyfoneyth1.jpg

[Carl the Llama]

ok after reading a few tutorials I made this:

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1740/dpsigkaiserdragonqa3.jpg

[Polaris]

The font is better! Keep trying :)

[Lawr]

That's not bad for your first one! I know you have another one posted, but I'll just comment on both of them.

The first had font colors that were kind of hard to read, and I agree with Polaris on not having two images so solidly put together, but it's not bad if you know how to blend it well.

And for your second one, you got better at putting two images next to each other, and the font is easier to read. You're getting better with your placement! :D

You're making a lot of improvement and as far as tutorials go, you can try and look for some so you can develop your own style. Me personally, I like Filter effects and transparency.

Well, that's just my :twocents:. Keep up the good work!

[Carl the Llama]

Third attempt, takes from many Shakugan no Shana picture... this is my best work I feel.

[TR][TD]http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/152/shanasigkaiserdragonvc0.jpg


Massive thanks on all the advise guys and gals, really appreciate it.

[Polaris]

Way better! :)
BUt don't put two borders so thick together ;)
Put one red border with 1px and then another one in black with also 1px and then another one of 1px in black :) Works better and the result is suttle.

Text is kinda lq!

Keep practising:D

[Carl the Llama]

Thats the pfficial text in there... or did you mean the colours of it? and I changed the borders at your suggestion, they are just borders from this site and not on the actual sig them selfs

[Polaris]

hm yes but it's a bad idea to paste text already made! ;) But the sig was pretty big, try to make banners 400*150 max :)

[Carl the Llama]

changed the text:

[TR][TD]http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9053/shanasig2kaiserdragongh2.jpg

didnt like how low the text is :/

[Polaris]

But it fits better :D

[Carl the Llama]

hows this?

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/2568/aerithsig2kaiserdragonbz1.jpg

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1756/darkaerithkaiserdragoncs7.jpg

[Lawr]

I'm not a real fan of Inverted Colors unless it's on a Grayscale. I pasted it and made it look normal and I like it with the original colors. It's pretty good but you should add a border to it.

To add a border in PS use Blending Options and go to 'Stroke.' You're improving though! :)

[Polaris]

Yes never ever use Inverted colours unless it's like an anime scene!:) and with just one person :) I know that was a request but maybe try to make sigs with just one image :) Like that you can practise the focal and effects! instead of just paste images :)

[Carl the Llama]

Just made my first wallpaper... not to sure about it... all I know Lulu's hair took FOREVER! to get right lol.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2541/wp1ud0.jpg

[Polaris]

A little better! :) You do great in starting with large works! Now all yu have to work is in compo! :)
Also because they're Final Fantasy images you don't need to grab one in google and erase the white background :jokey:

Let me introduce you to renders! ^^ Images that are already cut! :eek:
You can search for Planet Renders or PremiumRenders! Great sites that have lots of images already cut! :)

[Carl the Llama]

Wow... this reders thing is awesome... cant tell you how much of a time saver this will be lol, they even have a perfect lulu there (my lulu ha some beads missing from her hair lol).

[Carl the Llama]

Just made this sig... think it looks awesome if I say so myself lol


[TR][TD]http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/6669/darkknightkaiserdragonfb9.jpg

[Carl the Llama]

New Wallpaper hope you like (its a birthday presant for a friend
http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/9696/neobdaypresantkaiserdrabw7.jpg

[Polaris]

Say "no" to invert colours :(

[Aerith's Knight]

Yey! Aerith sigs ^__^

*thumbs up*

[Krelian]

I'd have to agree. I don't like inverted colors, either. Your making progress, though.

[Lawr]

I think you're making good progress. Once you get more oriented with render placement you can mess around with more tools in Photoshop, like Blending Options and Brushes.

[sir helix]

off topic:i have a waiting sig request if some one wouldn't mind.

me, i suck at making sigs, but yours are realy good, and i love the ff wallpaper

[Carl the Llama]

after a long absence (due to one Zack Fair lol) I have come up with this:

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3153/skyknightkaiserdragonqg3.jpg
http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/2036/darkwitchkaiserdragontp2.jpg

I know your not a fan of inverted colours but I love the way the background looks in the second pic xD

[Polaris]

First one is perfect :)

[Carl the Llama]

Thanks for the comments Ani ^^

my latest WP

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/6688/ageldragonkaiserdragonue2.jpg

and yes... I do like doing wallpapers more then sigs lol

[Polaris]

It's ok I also prefer large pieces
The dragon is kinda bad cut though! I know you took it from PR!

[Lawr]

I really like the background, but maybe you can do more with it, instead of adding like a shadow to the renders and placing them on something.

[Carl the Llama]

been away from my pic makeing but just made this http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4124/angelkaiserdragonap8.jpg

[Carl the Llama]

Really didnt like that last pic, so I endevoured to better myself, and I think I have with:

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/4127/amkaiserdragonpl0.jpg

this is the very first pic iv ever made without a background made by someone/taken by camera, please any critque would be appreciated.

[Polaris]

You still need some work in depth now that I have Photoshop (even thought I'm still kinda nooblish at it) I can give you some advices with filters and color techniques for the background! :)
Your problem with the last one was that the compo was messy. It is ok to make bgs with other stocks it is better than using fractals on the background :) It is a common mistake

[Lawr]

Did somebody say FILTERS!? :eek: Sorry, I have a Filter fetish. So now, it's nice to see you've come to The Dark Side, Kaiser. :D

Some tips and tricks with filters: As you already know, you can Render your Clouds, but you can also Render Difference Clouds right after that for a darker background, and it'll almost look like lightning. Then you can utilize the other Filters, like Artistic, and Brush Strokes. Feel free to mess around with them and for touching up with a brush, try to find an Abstract or Fractal brush, as it goes well with that.

What you did there with the red and all that is kind of Fractal, and that may even be a brush, you just need to work a little more on your blending and depth. ( Transparency IMO :mog: ) Keep it up and you'll find your specialty and then you can spit out Images like nothing. ;)

Also, you can actually color your clouds too! Just go to Image > Adjustments and look for Color Balance, then choose a color of your liking and THEN you can use even more Filters on it. :bigsmile:

[Carl the Llama]

Many thanks for the comments guys.
here are a couple of sigs I threw together:

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/9730/vincentkaiserdragontf3.jpg
http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/1885/sfsigkaiserdragonsv0.jpg

Additionally, could you write up a tut on the blouds please Sagen?

[Carl the Llama]

made a few more since then:

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/6403/dw5kaiserdragonbo9.jpg
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/6649/dw2kaiserdragonyf0.jpg
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/3072/dw1kaiserdragonbi1.jpg

[Polaris]

use different fonts, because these are very hard to read and work on blending, the renders are really small and they look low quality.

[Aerith's Knight]

Try Vivaldi or Vladimir script. I always love those. xD

Great sigs, thumbs up.

[Lawr]

Hey, I'll see if I can write up that thing you want sometime.

And as for the new Sigs, I think you should add a stroke to your text ( 1 px ) to make it easier to read.

[Fate Fatale]

The blend tool can be your best friend. :D

[Carl the Llama]

Been quite some time since I flexed my artistic muscles so iv started doing so artistic press up's lol:

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/4721/angel01kaiserdragonyg9.jpg

I have made this in several different resolutions so if you want a different size send mail and ill mail it back.