Really cool! :)
What program do u use?
Printable View
Really cool! :)
What program do u use?
Well it's nice...to me it's ok not too plain...but why not resize it to become smaller so it wont look to plain?
I like this siggy, very much unlike your old work. I like the render and the g colour. Dude, your work is cool, and for first time no text. :p
Also, I like the border. I have nothing against this one, not at all. :)
Ice Angel - For that signature(as well as the one I will post in this reply) I used Photoshop CS2 for. However, I switch between the GIMP and Photoshop quite often.
XandrewX - Didn't think of it at the time. Plus I think it is more than empty space that gives me the 'plain' feeling.
Owen - The border came out surprising well in my opinion. The blending effect I utilized came up with a result I had not predicted.
Another quicky(can't seem to sit too long in front of the computer lately, though it doesn't help that I have yet to fully adjust to my glasses). Personally I like this one more than the last, though it still feels lacking. Probably because I really skimped out on the effects with this one. I tried multiple different lightings but none of them really 'worked' imo. I do like the text in this one more than I usually do(I stink at text ).
Lets just say this was experiment Galore. I don't dislike it.... but I don't exactly love it. I think having the render on the left side kinda ruined it. Should have cut the width a bit and had just floral patterns on that side, I think. Maybe not.
Decided to try and reaquaint myself with GIMP. I really did forget how to pull off many of the fancier effects. Unfortuneatly for some reason the text looks like it is on top of the lighting.... and it is actually below it(layer wise, I don't know how I managed to get it to look like it was on top).
Yes, the pink one isn't my fav. The green-blue one is so cool, it has great deepth in it, the blending is very good too, but the render would have looked better if it was bigger. =)
The christmas one is my fav obviously, so happy and cheery. Not a fan of the text.
Decided to make a sig using that sketch I did. Probably not the best idea since it isn't a great render but meh, I wanted to try it for a change(part of the reason I have been working on my sketching skills is so I can make my own sketch sigs rather than having to use other peoples sketches).
I think maybe the border offsets it too much, but that may just be me.
And long time no sigs.
Long time no sig. Completely dropped out of this for a good while that I did. However, I have come up with a new one that I think is semi-decent. So I figure I should share it just to be nice :D.
Text is hard to read but then again I have never been good with text. Unfortunately it is too large to use as a sig here until I get around to playing with settings to see if I can squeeze it in without losing anything. So I get to stick with the one I threw together in no time at all as my current sig.
I have not checked this thread in so long. xD forgive me, Shun.
I LOVE the sword one, it's so cool. I also like your current except that it's a bit too empty. I like the newest one, the colors are nice. =D
Quote:
Originally Posted by Owen Macwere
No problem. It isn't as if I helped matters by being lackluster when it came to producing sigs either(afterall when a thread doesn't update for a month or two it would make your wonder if the thread is even still alive :p).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Owen Macwere
The music one was made for a signature Competition at another forum. Looks to be losing so far. Though that is slightly because the bracket I was in has one of the better signature makers on that forum in it, and quite frankly his throttles mine good.[only slighty due to the fact that even if I was in the easier bracket I still would have had solid competition and in the finals I would have had to face the good one anyways :D]
My latest endeavors are to get a flower one for this forum's competition(just about done with it, just a bit of minor tweaking left). And finally a quickie I threw together while getting tired of trying to locate the defects in my possible entry.
A bit simple, but then again it was a quickie. So one can't expect too much.
lol, your posts are still as long as ever, Shun :p
I like the colors on this one and the BG, cool effects. ;]
Of course they are long as always :D. The day I make a lot of short posts is the day someone should rush me to the hospital :p.Quote:
Originally Posted by Owen Macwere
For a quickie she didn't come out too bad. Though looking at it now I wish I would have spent more time on it. As it is it is just a bunch of C4D's and stock images I threw together... no brushing :/.Quote:
Originally Posted by Owen Macwere
Anyhow..... the fact that I am posting means what?
Oh yes, I got another one that I made whilst bored.
I wish I had spent more time on this one too[particually the text... but I was never good at it anyways so meh]...
Of course it is still waaaay over EoFF's file size so I can't substitute it in.... darn.
I love the text is really good!:D
Likely my weakest one as of late, but here is a B&W I did for an event which occurs in the manga Mahou Sensei Negima.
*Short Post.... I must be losing it* Though I may be adding more later if I get another signature done.
Edit-
Got another one done... Whoop.
Background is no where near as fancy as I normally do, but I was going for a particular feel in this one.
Darn... my post is still short..... ah well.
Well looks like it is a double post since I got new material.
I had serious issues with the text. I just couldn't find anything that worked well. And in the end I still ended up with something that didn't work well.
Anyways the render is something I cut from a manga and then colored myself(so if the render looks blechy that is why). *Sigh* this is definately my least favorite of the ones I have done lately. Which is sad cause Nodoka is my favorite character from the manga :/
The fabled and forbidden dark art of the most evil of evil, the Triple Post.
Heh, yeah got two new ones to show off.
Anyways, basically if you don't see me produce anything for a week or more don't be surprised. Just lacking my inspirational focus that I need to actually please myself with these.
http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/8...croppedbf9.jpg
First up I have another Nodoka signature. It lacks strength and quite frankly is one of my first signs that I need to take a break to get back in the groove[basically I am backpeddling, and am repeating]. Also it reminded me why I generally make my signatures as long as I do..... Putting quotes[this one quotes Misora from chapter 165 of the manga in reference to Nodoka] or long sayings in little signatures doesn't work well for me.
Then we have one I produced for a gaming theme SOTW on another forum.
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/6403/fargoej0.png
I don't dislike it but, I really feel as if I am lacking here now.
I like the last one great text but the guy kinda reminded me Estaline :exdee: They're all good... good unique style ;)
Ok, I got inspired. Here is my latest. I have a few things I want to fix on it, but I think it came out fairly well.
And Ice Angel, that last post of yours was majorly fast.... only one minute after I posted mine.... However did you manage such a feat? :p
Hmmmm interesting design! :) At least is something different :)
Oh no I just go to my CP and when I see new replies from the banner threads I try to reply ^^
Long time no posting by me. Got another one that came out a bit meh. I tried to use the same techniques(but better implemented) as I did in the first Nodoka signature.
Hmmm, The render can be blended better than this, and the Bg could do with some more effects as well as the text. It's a cool siggy, Shun. =)
Indeed, I must have forgotten to blend it :oops:. As for the BG, I had tried to add some depth into it but I kept getting some REALLY weird results so I left it without the depth(that and I have been time constrained and pushed due to college lately, that was stress relieve operation(sort of like some people go on walks, I go on photoshops).Quote:
Originally Posted by Owen Macwere
The Way of the Warrior
May 8, 2007
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...ures/kufei.png
I don't have much to say... I was just playing around when this ended up as the result(heck I think I was mostly asleep when I did it).
The left image is a bit blury you could sharp it and text is not visible... Appart from that is awsome :D
Well the text was easy for me to read(and still is); maybe my eyes are a bit quirky when it comes to those shades. And I tried sharping out the left side but it always ended up as too sharp or too blurry for my tastes, so I left it as it was saved in the file on my comp.Quote:
Originally Posted by Polaris
Anyways the fact that I am posting means I do indeed have another. However, it is a bit half-***edly done. I just have been totally out of it lately... it has been way too hot and humid lately....
Wow this is different from your others! ;)
I like this one even though you could have worked a little hard on the bg! BUT it doesn't ruin the sig! ;) 9/10! :D
Yeah as I said very little work done on it overall. I was too hot to sleep and just was throwing stuff together. That and I was too lazy to try and render those pictures since it had tough hair in them so I just used face cuts to get the extra characters in it!Quote:
Originally Posted by Polaris
Anyways I got another one that I didn't really put too much effort into. Just mostly goofing off and trying out things a bit different from my usual.
The border is a bit fugly and it didn't come out with the effects I was trying to implement(I accidently fused somelayers I had wanted to play with more early one and was unable to restore them, so I had to go with a simplier idea).
Actually put some effort into this one so it came out a bit more successful in my opinion than some of the other recent ones.
Still a bit simplistic, but I am finding it hard to get the inspirational strength that I generally run off of to produce my better ones.
I love the bg (it looks like a fingertip) and the text, I'm not sure about the image you used, it doesn't match, however the bg 10/10 and text 10/10
I actually was intending it to be a friendship based signature at first. But about halfway through the BG it sort of took on a life of its own. And I was far too lazy to cut out another stock for it[besides, while it wasn't an optimal image I still think it doesn't fit too badly, though that might just be cause I like those characters].
I don't like this as much as the last one. Probably should have found a colored image of Amy to use rather than the black and white sketch I found laying on my computer(wished I remembered where it came from.. the artist is quite good).
Haha love the boxing one, that is so cute. The background on that one looks great, and the render is positioned well.
Latest one is good, nothing really spectacular.
And the one your using good, but I'd use the boxing one if I were you. That one takes the cake.
Well now I know why I have been avoiding photoshop for a while.... I must have drained my creativity pool nearly completely somewhere along the line.That and I lost most of my brushes and C4D's when my computer died on me :/.
This is mostly a concept that I'll, hopefully, beef up once I get some brushes and C4D's online.... I lost most of mine when I reinstalled[why did I have to go and forget to copy my brushes folder before doing that?!].
Hopefully I'll get back in the saddle now that AQS has released some more Negima Chapters. That should be enough to at least get me attempting to get out of this slump.
P.S. You know it has been a long time when your signature thread drops to page 2 :p. Also Hopefully I'll get around to doing some comments of my own now.
Wah!!! this one was something I was just experimenting with... but now I got books to read and between books and sigs books win out. Thus, I likely won't ever fully finish this experiment so I'll just add it to the dump.
bg looks kinda blur... the up one is better :jokey:
Problem with the BG in that one was that I just couldn't find a good balance that still let me do with it what I wanted[hence it was a failed experiment... though I did learn a bit about playing with some features I have up to then ignored... I just did 'too' much to it].
And of course if I am posting that means I got a new one. And this one I actually find satisfactory!
I got another one that I made because I got critique that I bury the render under too many layers[making it blend too much with the BG]. Thus, I attempted fewer more detailed layers rather than my usual limitless layers that each have one thing on it/going on. This was the result.
Didn't come out quite as well as I hoped but it ain't bad.
The first one and the last one looked too..complicated..Maybe it's just me because there's too many picture in one sig but..the 2nd one is perfect.Nice and clean and simple.:)
Actually I did find out what the problem is with many of them. They lack a true center of focus. For example the Yuri render is on the wrong side for the "focus" to be the way I wanted.Quote:
Originally Posted by XandrewX
And actually believe it or not the Yuri one has just as many renders in it as the Vista one does[three in the vista, three in the Yuri and four in Saturn] :D. I just blended them differently.
Decided to do a quicky just to see if I could get my 'line of focus' up and working rather than drawing the eye way from the sig :/. Background is a bit meh.. .but I didn't spend much time on it, nor many layers.
I fear I didn't blend the render enough. In addition since it was a quicky where I was just trying to put in various suggestions for practice that also means it is quite simple... not that simple is bad itself, but this feels too simple to me. Also it looks like I messed the lighting up somewhere... I really need practice with the lighting in Photoshop.
And finally I have made a Halloween sig.
Isn't the puppy SOOO cute?!
hehehe... adorable?? :laughing:
Maybe you should create new bgs style, more soft... you don't need to use many colours! ^^ Choose a palette of colours and use just those like 3 colours and make a softer background... try new brushes style from PS! ^^
Not really a signature but I do believe it belonds in graphic art. This is a program I made to make 'annoying' posts. Simply put it will multi-color your text for the season.
Just select the colors you want to have your text set to and the program will pump out your message in BBCode so that it will have the alternating colors with almost no effort on your part. For example my whole post is done with my program!
Well it is done. However, since I am lazy I utilized Visual Studio's built in installer creater.... and boy is it ever slow. However, it does successfully install for the patient. Here you go, use it how you like!
Download here
It should install just fine if you just run the setup file. It is a real simple program, though I ended up naming it wrong. The program executable is called ColorText, because I was doing something else and just made my Christmasify program off that play program. I will probably expand it to do various seasonal auto-text color.
Also to note is that it uses BBCode to try and maximize the number of places it can be used. However, it will not work on all forums[namely if BBCode or Color is disabled].
Some problems to note is that I forgot to set a catch for if your message is too long. Thus, it may blow up without telling you exactly why. However, you must really be a big writer to go over the text limit.
My future version will likely let you select from more colors and let you choose your own color with hex input.
Well Enjoy it if you wish!
Isn't it just so annoying!
The Yuri sig = awsome! ^^ I also liked the Sakura one.
:save: Selena
Quote:
Originally Posted by Selena_Akariko
I just wish I hadn't made such a noobish mistake on it[I have the flow going out of the signature rather than to the text ... gah].
Anyways I did a quicky that came out quite ucky in my opinion. Though that is probably because it ended up not looking like I wanted it to.
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/8164/nagatomx3.jpg
Edit- Wanted to try my hand at a vertical signature.
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3...rtical2bv7.jpg
Dang it has been a long time since I posted in this.
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5699/glade2ju0.jpg
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/9677/youthir9.jpg
Fairly simple but at least it is better than a lot of what I have been turning out since that long break recently.
I am just floored right now. I upload my signatures to DA just for the heck of it. I never really expect them to get much attention. Normally in 2 days I might break 60 views if I am lucky. Etc.
My most recent one however, had 10 favs in under 5 minutes. Not to mention it had 40 some views. Just nuts, I have never had that kind of response no matter WHAT I posted up. Though it of course has tapered off, but still in just 4 minutes it had completely beat out the individual cumulative stats on any other piece of work in my gallery(except the views on my Hotaru banner).
Well anyways, is it just that DA browsers have odd taste or is this really one of my better ones?
This was a request from one of the people that regularly viewed my DA postings. He wanted a Magenta and Black signature focused on Yuri with no text. My Magenta is now dark orchid(or close to it) due to my blending to get everything to work together, but I liked the signature too much to just toss aside and try again.
It lacks lighting(unfortunately the lighting messed with the balance whenever I tried to add it) and the depth isn't all that great. Really I don't know why this is garnering so much attention.
They look good my only complain is with the fact you keep making grungy sigs :) On the last one it'd be perfect without the purple! But the last one there is a huge space with just grunge! :) Maybe try different things after 9 pages with grungy sigs ^^
Yes it would probably have looked better with more natural colors.
Hmm... 9 pages? My thread is only about 5 pages though isn't it? That and I didn't really think I used all that much grunge(considering I always get bad rankings on grunge type competitions). I wonder if the grungy feel is coming from the fact that I overlay my main renders..... hm.
Anyways I do try different things from time to time. However, it requires me to have some inspiration.
This next one is photo manipulation and photo slicing. Total of photos used 4. Total of anime renders used 1. Total number of manips... . I can't remember.
Text is awful.. but then again I rarely do good with text so that is nothing new.
Looks nice this one is not grungy and text is much better blended :) I would like to see a bigger version! :D With photomanipulations I rather see two versions: one big and one in banner size ;)
Problem is the photo I used(for the background at least) was itty bitty as well.
http://www.pictures-of-castles.co.uk...tle%20Wall.jpg
Most of the time I don't have access to large high quality photos so I make do with hackjobs that get posted in newspapers or some such.
go to deviantart or for free acess to photos: stock.xchng - the leading free stock photography site ;)
Just a quick little thing I threw together. Mostly I did it to make use of scans that I was practicing my rendering skills on(Sempai is teaching me to use the pen tool to do it rather than the lasso tool like I am used to. Must say it is interesting).
As you can see, other than making use of rendered images I was also doing this to practice with those fancy borders I am so fond of. So focus more on the border and the quality of the hair on the renders than the background(which I just through together in 10 or so minutes at most).
Pen tool is the most powerful tool in PS! It's not so good in GIMP so I don't use it a lot!:)
I love your borders they're different :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by Polaris
Shun is a curious monkey, so I ask what is different from GIMP's pen tool. I may use GIMP from time to time, but since Sempai uses PS I figured if I was going to have him help me that I best use PS as well(normally I cut my images with GIMP, I just find it more comfortable than PS).
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/5028/ako2rp5.jpg
Anyways I got WIP. The idea felt good at first, however, I seem to be running into some snags in the finishing touches category. I think I needed to thicken the border. In addition I need to work on it to give it a more wood like finish. I need to fill the room with a lamp and some furniture. Maybe a rug and some cat toys as well. I forgot to give a shadow on the paper clip, but perchance that isn't quite as needed as I think. In addition I want to have it look like it is behind glass/plastic like many picture frames possess.
And yes I realize that squishing a paper clip into a picture frame could be a trick and a half.
If I missed anything(such as messing up on my editing of this picture to make a concert news clipping) point it out. I figure since I am putting some thought into this one that I may as well see how far I can go with it.
*Casts Revive on self*
Well I have another WIP to post up. I call it a WIP because I still feel there are things I could do to fix it up. It fills kinda plain to me. I need some lighting or something. Maybe a fancy border. Plus, I should probably add some of the 'features' they offer onto the banner for them.
However, I don't know when I will get around to it... I am kinda worn out as of late all things taken into consideration.
http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/549/rmbannervs6.png
Love this piccie... what do you use to give it that... I dont know the right word for it but gritty perhaps? not quite gritty but you know what I mean lolQuote:
Originally Posted by ShunNakamura
Back from the grave once again.
First old business.
Kaiser all I do to get the texture is to use Photoshop's Texture overlay on the appropriate layer(sometimes it takes a bit of guesswork to get the exact feel that I want). That or if I can't get the right texture with the inbuilt tool I will make a new layer. Create the texture I want on it with various brushes/images and then use one of the blending options on top of the layers I want affected.
I believe in that one I did both to get that particular effect. Also using a light grunge brush(a spongy one if I recall right) overtop the render helped give it the splatter type feel(not sure if what that technically is called but it reminds me of back when I used watercolors).
New business isn't really all that new. Simply I finished, somewhat, an old WIP.
Maybe the frame is a bit much. I've attached the orginally frame since Pol likes to see the originals. However, I rushed the edits on it a bit much(I decided to use the WIP for a SoTW that I was made aware of a mere hour or so before entries closed). Therefore it isn't too fancy.
P.S. what is up with "And the mome rath ShunNakamura outgrabe" on the quotes?
Another quick update
May as well make another entry before I get bumped off the page.
My Halloween signature!
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4...enwholezo9.jpg
I might just start making these things semi-frequently again. That will probably depend on the degree of C&C I get.
Question: The Border, is it too stand-offish? I am not sure, but the border gets mixed feelings from me :/.
Edit- Extra info. Currently am medicated so if you think it looks crazy/funky that might be why.
COORO!!!!!!!! OHEMGEES!
Wow.... someone actually recognized him! I didn't think anyone here read +Anima. He is such a fun character(actually he might be the reason the background is funky!) to read about :D.
And once again I got another one done. Not sure what I want to do with it. I got this far with it... and I can't seem to go any further without making it look worse.... yet something feels undone about it.
It probably needs some lighting. I think light streams(as if passing through clouds) would be best.... maybe. But I haven't been able to implement them in a way I like yet.
Well at times like this it is sometimes best to take a break. I'll go read some manga, maybe work a bit on a render that is on my to-do list and see what else I can do.
I lUBBB this manga but was addened that I had to buy it around chapter 52 because of stupid liscensor company!Quote:
Originally Posted by ShunNakamura
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/2...ngshapetb4.png
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4...gshape2sd3.jpg
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4...gshape3uy4.jpg
A Pokemon WIP for a SOTW elsewhere.
3 versions... man do I hate black and white.
Well since I can not get a font easily readable on all Backgrounds and since I don't really care about which posts are mine here(easy enough to find since they have so many images) I will just let the default font go.
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1...agonwipfz4.jpg
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/8...dragon2em3.jpg
http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/3...dragon3ff3.jpg
http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/6...ragon32bn7.jpg
Anyways as you can see I have another signature. This one is currently a WIP. I am trying something different with this one. Anyways, as usual critique you your hearts content. In this case you might actually make a difference(since it isn't done yet and all).
Once again another WIP, Though I really am tempted to just call this one done. I really only intended to make a simple tag like image with this one.
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/6961/hug3gb6.jpg
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2...sagriashu9.png
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1...tandoffez4.png
Another WIP. I found this image to be fairly entertaining. Go Agrias! Kick some Saber butt!
Well I haven't been busy lately, and neither has the forum. But just for the sake of completeness I'll include this puppy here(get it?! puppy?)
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6048/pupsshoesa0.jpg
And my avatar full size version
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/9595/ava2zi3.jpg
Awwww puppies! ^^ they look so cute :)
I assume it was the 'cute' bit that garnered me a vote or two in a SotW I entered it in. Surprised me because it did better than I usually do(and I didn't really put much work into it :/).Quote:
Originally Posted by Polaris
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6852/sotwhaunt.pnghttp://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1821/sotwhaunt2.png
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/4470/sotwhauntedit.png
I announced it done. I got a few different versions though
Background made from image.
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9...townhai.th.jpg
The banner currently in my signature(which didn't get a single vote in an SotW) background was made from this and this. Mostly, I had a few other sakura petal images.
Edit-
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5126/reality.png
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6852/sotwhaunt.png
this one looks perhaps too grunge and the effects on the person make it look messy!
Second one is better :)
Hmm.. actually there shouldn't be any effects over the person... and I avoided putting effects under it too. Even if I remove all the effects the render is the same.The thing is the render is 'see through'. She is supposed to be a ghost. Anyways it was something I wasn't entirely happy with, but that was mostly because I couldn't get the text the way I wanted it.
And of course if I am posting it probably means I have another entry.
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/7061/kurumu.jpg
The stock was VERY quickly and rudely cut, so if you see jagged edges that is why. They were from a manga(b&w, which usually isn't my strong suit I believe). Oddly for a quick job with little thought, it is one of the few 'recent' ones I have made that I am pretty much happy with(the other being the Sakurahana one currently in my signature).
wow this one rocks :) Really really enjoyed it :)
Funnily it seems that sometimes the quick ones are the best! Of course the quick ones have also sowed some of the most embarrassing stuff ever created!Quote:
Originally Posted by Polaris
I rendered this-
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/7807/render1d.png
to make this
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/5828/concept3.png
And yes the left most image was so badly 'rendered' by me that I probably should be shot for it. Anyways another quicky meant purely to generate a laugh or two. Poor Rin:love:, I love it when she is tormented!
Now all I need to do is find someway to use the below in a signature.
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/868...bea0f0189o.jpg
:love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love:
You are quite talented there Ms.?
I can't make a sig in Gimp for the life of me! The colors seem to really pop out.
Go get Photoshop.
The pop-out sig could be bigger! it's nice to have bigger to see the details :)
I said that one rocked because it was different it didn't have all that grungy stuff! It's cleaner ^^
I don't want to risk another virus.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fonz
Well I saw an animated 'tag' as an entry in Sakurahana's signature competition. I was lazy this time around for the lucky star theme. So I went and did this :p.
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4808/...annelsmall.png
My comment is as follows: He is awfully calm for a dead man :D.
AWWWWW LUCKY CHANNEL! >.< so awesome!
Ergh, Torrent anyone?Quote:
Originally Posted by Depression MoonI don't want to risk another virus.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fonz
Yay! Another update!
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5566/angeldemon.png
There is NO brushing or even C4D's involved in this. I wanted to see what I could do with layering, layer effects, and selective cropping alone. May not be done. If I can figure some brushing that would improve it I will do so.
Things I think I should try to do is selectively sharpen the building(s) somewhat. They blend a bit too much for my tastes currently. But I obviously don't want to overpower the scenery with it(the buildings are merely an addition to the scenery). The goal here was to create a landscape/scenery type deal. I think I succeeded well enough, though I don't see a focal point or true flow in the image(but I have trouble seeing focal points in the first place).
I like it, I do think colors might need others like the red on the girl with bat wings. :) Color work will help you choosing a focal point :)
You mean getting rid of the red, like this? Or were you talking about something else?
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2643/demonangel.png
The problem with focal points is even if I try to apply some of the focal point rules that I know; I don't know if it is working or not. The easiest example is "The Last Supper" painting. To my eyes there is no focal point in that painting. Once it is explained I can follow it easily enough. But I can't see it until it is spelled out for me.
The example here is that I placed the angel demon pair exactly on the division point of light and dark figuring that the contrast(and that the demon is in the dark and the angel on the light, more or less) would help act as a focal. Add that to the fact that the bg is fairly mild and the render decently strong. Shrug. In theory it should work. But I don't see a focal. And I have been told I often lack a focal in my work.
Well the focal point is easier when you have someone in the middle! For an example here:
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...una_tidus2.jpg
Even though there are two people: Tidus and Yuna, they are both in the middle and they also have a scenario behind it. Even though there are several colors, making the focal point in the middle and background not crowd is the best example how to be sucessful in creating a focal point. :)
Work more in colors, gradient maps, photoshop actions, color balance they are all very good :)
Hate to say this but my focus isn't focused on that image. Though that one is easy to know why. Shun = Text oriented. No matter what the image is if his initial scan spots anything resembling readable text he goes there first. So my eyes are bouncing all over that image. Though I am beginning to think I have been reading too much manga as of late. I am starting to naturally begin from right to left(it used to be the other way around).
Ah well, personally I want to focus on my backgrounds for the next few works(this also means less text which means I may be able to work a bit more on recognizing focals). I feel I have been cutting corners with backgrounds for ages now. Just brush, C4D, or the ilk and go. Boring. I would much rather work on the type of BG that this one has. It is just that when I started I used to put a lot of thought, if not skill/effort, into my backgrounds. But I don't feel as if I have done that in a while(well I did but a fair bit of effort into the Sakurahana one, but I was mostly just playing with what I could do with layering effects, so the result was non-intended).
Edit- Odd I just realized I never posted up the prior signature I made using the World War II image(the one I used to make the buildings in this most recent one. It is also what inspired the 'design' for another of the recent ones I did here... though oddly it seems imageshack bugged out on me again. Imageshack is really beginning to disappoint me :( ). Well here it is. I suppose it never got uploaded because I considered it a WIP. I didn't like it without the overlay effects. But the overlay is too much. I just could not find my happy place.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/4...gughhv3qh5.jpg
Oddly I personally have a focus on this one. Which is highly unusual. I almost never focus properly on an image.
Like I said when you have images on the middle is easier to have a good focal point! you can never go wrong with images on the middle! With images on the left is slighly harder. I don't know I used to put a lot of text on my sigs and a lot of people still say that my text is really big. I don't give a :bou::bou::bou::bou: because those who say that are obviously ignorant and didn't get my message but when you want to put too much text use it in a nicer way. The sig needs a better blending, like I don't know if those are c4ds, but if they are they looked like you pasted them. They also looked like wings, which is cool, but the yellow clashes a little.
Perhaps you should focus on simple sigs like stocks instead of renders or things like that and practise from that part. :) Colors are very important on a sig, so take a little more time using it. You never get them right at the first time so use gradients maps and then delete them if they suck :)
Some people asked me i I had Teamview so i could show them how I make my sigs, but I told them it was complete chaos and they woulnd't get a damn thing, My tuts would be better because I explained a lot more and they had the correct process! :)
So making sigs is all about chaos!:D Just keep making them :)
First let me post up the new work. I made a quick/cut avatar to go with the last one.
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/7888/avatardemon.jpg
The wings in the Pumpkin Scissors were produced from this.
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/171/wingsdnd.th.jpg
What I did with them was personally cut and then fused them with the render(I did play a bit with the color, but probably not as much as I should have). Anyhow, even with images centered I still don't always focus right. For example with out the overlay being as badly blended as it is I fail to focus(the fact that it is clear only over the render focuses me there). In addition if I remove the web I also fail to focus strongly(though if the badly blended overlay is there I at least focus in the general area, though not right on it). Basically the web + the lack of clarity off the render + the renders stronger colors(the green really does stand off the yellow pretty well) + etc...
Well basically looking at the PSD shows me that most of the layers seem to be dedicated to trying to bring the focus to the render. This leaves me to believe that I was doing this as an experiment to see what it took to focus my eyes somewhere. Makes sense in a way since its date was around the time I first began getting frustrated about not seeing focal points even in other people's signatures(even when other people said great focal work or the like to the person). In addition that would explain why I didn't touch the render. Normally I do a lot of color balancing/curving/contrasting on my renders. This was just a normal layer with a very light sharpening layer over it... that is it.
Anyways I still have the PSD(woot, I thought it went by by when I had to reformat recently. Looks like I actually back up a significant number of my old psd files. Speaking of backed up PSD's I think I even have the merging psd(the one where I fused the wings to the render).
Well I did a couple of very quick edits to it. I dropped the overlayering yellow screen thing. Sharpened the background and went and did my usual custom work on the render.
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3400/pssigreview.png
The Yellow overlay really brightened the image up. This is what looks like AFTER I re-brightened it. It very dark/colourless and lacked contrast before I played with it.
Also as an attempt to compensate for dumping the bad blending layer creating focal, I selectively dulled the wings. Sadly it did not work. In this version I do not see a focal :/. Also I just noticed I need to strengthen the bottom border bit. I can't really see it anymore.
I really like your work, Shun. ( Overlay ftw amirite? ) I know you cut out pics a while ago, but I discovered that turning on anti-alias with the Polygon Lasso really helps the look of the edges of the picture, but good work anyways. Focal points are hard for me as well!
I can't believe I don't have this thread subscribed. :confused:
I don't use the lasso tool these days to cut. The Pen tool works better as far as I am concerned. True, none of my pen cuts have matched my best lasso cuts yet. But the pen saves me time and is more forgiving of my shaky hands.
Yup if I am posting that means I have a new one. Not much overlay effects this time. Though I did run a couple of filters over the top layer. Overall though this is a REAL quick one. Took me about an hour and a half, cutting renders included.
Version 1, this is what it looked like as I was done adding stuff to it. I figured anymore would make it too busy. However, something still wasn't right. Namely I think I went overboard with the colors.
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2489/hiyori2.png
This prompted me to make version 2. I saturated the colors a bit and came up with this.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/644...2saturated.png
I am fairly certain I prefer V2. Though I suspect I should play around a bit more and see if I can keep some of the red in it while still toning it down. I think I went too far both ways.
This made me make V3. I mainly did some curve/color balance adjustments.
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3114/hiyori3.png
I think v3 is my favorite. So unless someone has some ideas of what I should do to improve it here it is. Sadly focal/flow is non-existent. It was a quicky and I completely forgot to plan that bit out.
Double POST! Over a month. Looks like I took a hiatus!
Also an avatar
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2910/avatargpt.png
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/8348/haruhil.jpg
Well here is a tentative version of something I am playing with.
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/248...msteamedit.png
I basically lifted much of the background work of the old PSWIP of mine and then edited it a bit for my new signature. It is still in the tentative phase.
The one you have now the bg is cool, but the image is badly cut :(
Yeah I haven't been taking the time to fully render the images these days, as long as they do what I want them to(I have been focusing on the BG's).Quote:
Originally Posted by Polaris
However if you are talking about Haruhi's shoulder that was intentional. That dumb shoulder kept messing with the way I wanted it to look and kept subtracting from the background *mutters*.
I have a new concept I am working on(I cobbled it together fairly quick, I just wanted a rough form of what I was thinking while it was still fresh). And this one is using a fully cut render.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/860...ingkonoset.png
Being in the concept stage I haven't bothered with trimming the border properly yet(I have a feeling that will be a bit tedious to get exactly right, plus I just finished cutting the render :/). There is also no text, but I kinda planned this as being a no-text render. The most I would add is a "Konosetsu, pactio complete" type of thing. I suppose I could 'engrave' it into the border frame.
Things to do are:
-I will play with the render(so far it is untouched, just re-sized and copy pasted into the frame).
-I will try to 3d'ify the border a bit more(though if I don't like the effect I'll leave it as is).
-Play with the background contrast. The grayscale bit is a bit weak I think.
-Fix the frame edges
-Perhaps engrave text.
-Anything else anyone can find wrong.
For those interested in the render, here it is -
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/6946/konosetsu.png
Not the best cut thing, but it works.
Very nice cut, and I've always liked your creative borders! I'm kind of interested in your whole "3D-ify" thing you might do too. :eyebrow:
Thanks :d. The creative borders tend to take longer to make, but when they come out right they feel all worth it :D.
Well I got V?? of the concept :D. Found out I was more bored than I thought lol.
Edit- I decided to use a cheap trick to get rid of much of the edge issue. It also, imo, made it look better overall.
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/396...ngkonoseti.gif
Edit 2- I tried 'warming' up the render to blend it better.
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/341...eringcolor.gif
Ahoy me hearties! This day I be bearing a pirate styled gift for ye!
Bad attempt at piracy aside, here is my latest work.
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/2668/yarrnxt.png
The below was the stock I based it around.
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/5324/1145930956.jpg
Changes. I am thinking of changing the font and making the border thicker(on some backgrounds it doesn't stand out much) and possibly more detailed. Also I supposed I should fix the render on the left. I very sloppily cut it... and haven't really done much with it. As for the dumb bird. It just doesn't want to blend well. So I have to play with it more.
I really like your last one! :) Def. a style to keep :)
Well it isn't quite done yet, in my opinion, but from this, I have gotten this-
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/4348/sargasso.png
It was a request. But apparently they didn't like it when it was darker(had I known I probably would have picked a different stock to work from, however, it doesn't look bad lit up, just was a bit of work to go from the original to this).
*I should note. It is going to be a backdrop, they will superimpose their own text. Or so the plan is.
Things to do. I need to blend the rock on the right a bit better(it looks out of place, yes? Some of the areas have too strong of contrast and others lack depth(though it is a lot better than before).
I think the problem lays in contrast, it's all so brigh that the images look faded :) but the atmosphere is nice:)
I concur with your opinion :D. The real issue is keeping as bright as the requester wants while maintaining contrast. What this means is a lot of small touch ups/redrawing. As you can see I COMPLETELY redrew the water.
I redid the sky to try and add some depth. Plus I redid some of the creatures to make them less standoffish(or however you want to put it). And tried blending the outcrop of land on the right a bit more.
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4348/sargasso.png
Look any better? What would you think of adding a small fantasy boat with childlike figures to observe the dolphin? I was also thinking of adding some small birds. All to add some extra life to it(obviously I would be working all this on a micro scale in the far back).
Well someone else finished the request before I did so I'll just put it on the backburner for now and work on my next project.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9557/touhoushrunk.png
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/6...houshrunk3.png
Decided to take a break with playing with landscapes.
Edit did a different take of it utilizing the same base background I made.
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1911/nurse.png
The pics are great but watch out the faces and contrast :)
As for that previous one. This is what I got after doing some cleaning. Forgot to clean up the girl's arms though.
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/2595/outt.png
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8307/22401496.png
So far so... meh. I redrew parts of the render so feel free to point out any issues there.
Hm I think that those effects instead of being in the borders it should be focus on the middle. Also text looks kinda choppy, look for a better font, those calligraphy ones! They give a real effect to it :)
The text was hand drawn and it was clear but it drew my attention into the focus better when it was choppier(plus it now looks more like writing in my dreams looks... writing is never clear in my dreams :/). Anyways I can manually touch it up if need be. My desired focal was the text, did it work?
As for the effect. The Effect IS the border. It is one of those 'dreamy' picture frame borders. I enclosed the signature on it(I can change it so it penetrates deeper in). I was going to try drawing them manually.. .but man do I suck at drawing wispy things in photoshop. I can undress Saber, but can I make a wispy cloud thing? Of course not.
Got my second animation that I have ever done(ok, I think I copied the snow effect once.. but that was literally copied from one to the other) ... this one is signficantly more complex than the first one. Anyways I posted up a very base concept elswhere and was told that the plain blue sky background was a bit plain(plus the only reason I went with it is because the images I was animating had that as part of the bg) and that the animation was a bit quick and jerky.
After touching it up I got this.
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/1189/rinsig2ani.gif
Massive indeed. But I slowed down the animation a bit and added some extra frames to try and make it smoother. Plus, I reordered it to try and smooth it out. However, I think I failed my cuts in some areas :/. Maybe I should just scrap the small resolution images I am using and take some screencaps from the game :/. But I don't know if I could find a wide enough variety of facial expressions in time, however, i would love to add this smile.
Anyways I think I may need to redo the composition. The 'opening' in the buildings should probably be behind Rin to make her the focal.. or does the animation suffice in that regards alone? Plus I ain't sure I am happy with the left most building.
Edit- Elsewhere I was told I needed more frames inbetween the steps and needed to set the between steps as no delay instead of what I had it at :/.
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5936/rinlargesize.gif
As I feared the size increased greatly
I like the animation, not sure about the subtext "the tsundere queen" kinda hard to read :)
Good point on the text. I hadn't caught that and nobody had to yet point it out to me. Anyways I changed the sub-text and I altered the username text to something that I think looks a bit better. I really need a good place to put the username(will enter it into a SoTW and I need the username on it, but I can't seem to find something I 'really' like :/).
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8423/rinnewtext.gif
Edit- And her it is super optimized to about 1/4 of the size.
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9...wtextopti2.gif
Cleaned up the white bits and worked a lot on optimization. Choosing your own color table from scratch can really do wonders.
here it is at 1/4 size with decent quality! It is even smaller than the low quality one in the previous post!
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/734...drinmerged.gif
And here I go with another new one. It is still in the concept stage. No border. The text will almost for sure change in at least some fashion, etc.
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3...ceptborder.png
Tell me if the focal is Dawn/Piplup, because they are NOT supposed to be the focal. In fact I can't enter it into a SotW if that is the case.
And this was the original image I used for the scenery.
I do not know if any of you recall this one I made quite a while ago or not. However, I recently decided to redo it.
The result was this
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/192/finished.png
Since I wanted to submit it to a SotW I ended up rushing it(sadly the day I was planning to do the border/text turned out to be not so free at all, was actually rather busy). Thus, the border text are a bit iffy in my opinion. Any suggestions, particularly on text would be welcome.
Anyways, even with it rushed it is CLEARLY better than the original attempt.
omg that kitty looks sooo cute <3
Indeed, evil cats are cute :D.
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/5302/gettingthere.png
Being in the concept stage I haven't really played with lighting or blending of most objects yet, nor have I done much border wise(other than the curtains which are part of the concept). I was mostly getting everything placed and sized how I wanted it.
Oh and these were the original stocks used for the BG/FG
Curtians
Background
Edit- And the main render was
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/3892/mainrender.png
Edit in Edit - Fixed another mistake in the render
From this image
Edit2- A somewhat poor attempt at lighting
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/5558/merged.png
I think this one is your best so far. Really clean and with great depth :)
Well I decided to add some sparkles(since you can bet that such a scene in anime/manga would probably have sparkles, flowers, or hearts flying about:p. I figured flowers and hearts would be messy though, while sparkles might be doable). Probably overkill though. But figured I would ask. Execution is probably bad though. I don't really know how to do that sparkle effect(other than brushing over the image).
Also I attempted to fix some issues with the back renders faces/heads. Mr. Exia Piliot in particular looked odd to me.
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5558/merged.png
Not a signature, but I figured I may as well share this. I took this and came out with the following.
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3708/donemaybe.png
Clearly I was out of my league when I started this. I must have been clinically insane at the time. Regardless though It is 'usable' at least.
wow that's really awesome! I suck at rendering but that's perfect
Actually after posting it up I noticed many issues with the render :/. A 'fixed' version. Still some white fuzz and a few spots bug me... but I think I have spent enough time on it :p.
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3708/donemaybe.png
Well I haven't been doing much lately. Long story short my computer died not long after that last render I made and I have been on a 350mhz for ages. However, I suffered from withdrawal and have decided I would see if I could run GIMP on this thing. And it works! Though I can't do anything to complex or render anything too large. 512mb of ram may not be 'bad' per say, but a 350 doesn't pull it very far!
Anyways onto the meat of the post here it is!
http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/5009/entry.png
Have to keep it simple since I can't do anything to complicated. The Background was predominately formed from this image. The main render is from here.
I was clowning around on another forum so I made this quick job to commemorate the occasion.