Constructive Criticism. [Archive]

Repliica

11-29-2009, 10:06 AM

So you made a new signature but you want to know what it might be missing or just what others think of it? Well here is the place to post those great pieces of art so others can place in their verdict.

Rules:

Offer constructive criticism. That means no "Oh I like the render you used." and that's it. As artists we like to know things in depth. Just why do you like the certain piece of work that's on display?
No putting down artwork. All artists have a variety of knowledge and experience. Newbies should feel comfortable with posting something in here and getting positive feedback. Nothing negative please.
Do not post in other peoples artwork. I've seen it happen before.
At least post more than two paragraphs. Anything less is probably not constructive feedback, but if you feel it is and everything is said within less than that then go ahead and post.
I'll be keeping a close on eye on what people have to say, if people aren't going to follow the rules I'll delete your post. I don't want this thread getting clogged up with unnecessary posts.

If anymore arise, I'll post them up. Go ahead and get posting guys!

To start us off I'll post in a new signature that I done ~
Hatsune Miku.

http://i50.tinypic.com/25kkig3.jpg

Haruhiist

11-29-2009, 01:51 PM

If anything there is that I really don't like, it's the text. It looks like it was pasted on last minute and little to no effort was put into it.

I think the sig could also be a bit smaller for both axises. Also, you can see the render's outline is slightly pixelized, which looks weird.

This is my own personal little nitpicking though.

Errquake

11-29-2009, 02:19 PM

I like the dominance of the render here. It really fits the size of the sig. Blending is superb too. Its not too much and its not too standing-out. Your background is really creative too. I love your lighting effects especially the one behind her hair in the middle of the sig.

The downside though is your text. I agree with Haru that you didn't put much effort into text, and you didn't give it any punch (for a lack of a better word :P). I'd test a clipping mask first for the text to get a significant blending if you're too lazy (like me XD), or otherwise blend with brushes or just throw it away. :P The pixelated outlines don't bother me though, except if you're looking hard, then a slight 10% brushing on the outline is good enough to cure the jagged edges. :)

And I hate borders. Oh so much. But that's my taste XD

Nice work Rep nonetheless. :3

NeroMD

11-29-2009, 06:01 PM

Pandabutt, You may wanna sticky this.

Aevitas

11-30-2009, 11:43 AM

I agree with the feedback so far, the render sits very well on the sig. The flow of Miku's hair also really complements the background's. I did also notice the jaggies on the render, and I think even smudging them a little bit would improve the look of it. :) I for one like the border there, it seems to go well with this one at least.

I also agree about the text needing to be highlighted a little bit more. If blending the colors doesn't give any satisfying results, you can try moving the text to somewhere else in the sig. Sometimes its juxtaposition with the surrounding colors changes the feel you want to give to the text.

Now if I may, I'd like feedback on a sig I just finished:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g289/Aevitas7/My%20Art/cecilkain_sig2.png

If you know anything about typography as well, it would be a great help to me, as I'm trying it out to practice both the design and typographical aspects.

Errquake

11-30-2009, 01:04 PM

I'm not too familiar with typography, but generally the text looks blended, both design and theme, and I like that. :3

Anyways, I love your color palette a lot on this sig. It fits the render somehow XD Render and text placement is good for a typography sig as well. Lighting is strong but not eye-soring, so that's a plus, and the background seems very heavy on the eyes but it has a light feeling too, just the way I like it. :P

Only thing I'd take out from the sig is the flower thing at the bottom middle of the tag at the lighting source. That one really is irritating in the eyes for me. :s

Overall, I can't see anything too bad, so good work and keep it up.

Stupid Aquarius

11-30-2009, 03:33 PM

My personal beef with your sig Aevitas is that your text placement isn't logically aligned consistently and hence, looks a little random at a certain point. This wouldn't be a problem if your goal was to get the text splattered in a completely illogical manner but you can tell that you were trying to work something out, so it currently looks more...well, not as great as it should be, for lack of a better term D: Were you going for a sort of diagonal placement? It looks great up until the "dreamtide oath", we're clearly reading diagonally up until we're suddenly shifted right back to the left again, because of the placement of "dreamtide oath". Maybe if you had the "dream" part right under "cast aloft are" this would look and read better. It's also an interesting alignment considering the angle of the spear.

Another more simple idea is to have the text aligned one after the other so it'll look like a vertical block. Have it near your render which is, in turn, also vertical for the most part, so that way the placement of your elements look more aligned. Anyway just play around with it a bit.

I'm also not too sure about the line spacing, particularly between cast aloft etc etc and and darkness. Maybe you can increase it a bit?

But otherwise, the sig's absolutely gorgeous. I really like the effects you put on the text and the font is pretty. Render and background are also both stunning, although I'm a little unsure of the sudden blogey white spot thing right next to Kain. That's Kain right?

Aevitas

11-30-2009, 07:11 PM

Yep, that is Kain. :3 Thanks for the detailed feedback, I was playing around with the type until 4 am so after having woken up I can look at it again with fresh eyes and rework it somehow. :)

And yea, I was trying not to make the text so obviously diagonal, I was going for an interesting cluster more than anything so it might not be read as clearly as a regular text block. I haven't practiced typography in a long time though so it's taking time to get it to look right. ~_~

テツヤ Kuroko

11-30-2009, 07:30 PM

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c214/DevilMayCryDante/PM-TagXel4-4.png

*Prepares to get chopped up* :3

Teddy2116

12-01-2009, 01:58 AM

Awesome sig m friend, is beautiful and soft on the eyes :D

Also yay for another Kuja player, maybe you can give me a few pointers sometimes :)

smilie

12-02-2009, 12:09 PM

This was my first creation ever. :)
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x168/ralphsmilie/Megaman4.png

Comments, Suggestions and Violent Reaction are welcome. :)

Errquake

12-02-2009, 03:35 PM

This was my first creation ever. :)
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x168/ralphsmilie/Megaman4.png

Comments, Suggestions and Violent Reaction are welcome. :)

For your first creation, this is pretty sweet (so much better than my first :P). I like your concept, and the renders go decent with the background. I like text placement on the right.

Alright, my advices on this sig:

The jagged edges of the renders are bit irritating. If you notice the jagged edges, then take out your smudge brush and smudge the edges, but only very slightly (I'd say 10% strength or around that). This will not only smoothen the edges, but make it more blended into the background. :)

I'm not really fond of the text on the left. It seems like it popped out of nowhere, and on the other hand the text on the right at least felt connected in some way to the sig. I'm not a typography expert, but IMO the three Xs should match the colors of the guy-in-blue render, though not generally (for a lack of a better word -.-). What I'd do is use the eyedropper tool and take the colors of the render closest to it; in this case dark blue and use it for the X text color. You'll see that the text feels more connected to the guy-in-blue render, instead of a random blue that is picked out from the color shade XD

Nonetheless, that's pretty nice for a first. You managed to create lighting and flow, and that's great :D Next time, I'd like to see moar effects :> Keep it up and good luck. :3

---

Anyways, I made a new tag today. On Cloud, whoo :D

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/9546/venture.png

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9906/venturetext.png

The background is made up of 8 layers of the same C4D in different sizes and different positions. I didn't want to put a generic brush-lighting on this tag so I made use of the lighting effects on the C4D (the glowing lines across the tag). Wanted to get back to my texture roots again so I put in some texture in there :> Don't tell me its too dark; I wanted it dark to fit Cloud's shadowy facade XD

litesage14

12-03-2009, 05:27 PM

Tryed out some new things tell me what you think.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7282/dantee.jpg (http://img215.imageshack.us/i/dantee.jpg/)

テツヤ Kuroko

12-03-2009, 05:42 PM

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c214/DevilMayCryDante/PM-TagXel4-4.png

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c214/DevilMayCryDante/Yoko-MixTag2-1.png

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c214/DevilMayCryDante/Aerith-RepXel-4.png

Teddy2116

12-03-2009, 05:49 PM

@lite: I like the quote but Dante wasn't the one who said it... other than that I think the sig is prefect for him

@Xeltos: Dude teach me how to do that stuff around your renders, I have a render I wanna try out using that technique

litesage14

12-03-2009, 06:04 PM

@lite: I like the quote but Dante wasn't the one who said it... other than that I think the sig is prefect for him

Hmm I looked it up and it was him... Oh well I guess I'll change it later.So do the c4d's look good in the sig?

Teddy2116

12-03-2009, 06:14 PM

Eh, I like it, but the Dante's face is a little too dark for me taste (plus I have that render and I love the smile he has on face) other than that the c4d looks awesome to me. I'm still learning how to do it so I'm not exactly good at point out faults in c4d. Now color blending, I'm a pro at :P

Amphoric

12-05-2009, 03:14 PM

Micchi

12-05-2009, 11:55 PM

*Takes a deep breath* Okay, I made a Noctis sig, but i'm not sure what to think about it. That's why i'm asking what you guys think.>_<

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/5472/noctissog.jpg
Be gentle with me,okay?

pinKtaco

12-05-2009, 11:57 PM

Hey that's pretty son't worry
but there is only one thing: this white backgorund. I mean erease this and then it's prettier ^^'

テツヤ Kuroko

12-06-2009, 12:54 AM

The text throws the flow off, and as for the border you could make it transparent instead of white.

But i like the effects, Good Job :D

Errquake

12-08-2009, 10:52 AM

@ litesage - I like the effects and stuff, but for me, there's a bit too much effects here, there and everywhere. >.< I feel that this weakens the focal point and that my eyes are looking around at all the stuff happening. Lessen down on effect usage.n

Text seems very irritating too. The white text is at least blended to the focal point, but you didn't really put much effort into making the text more good-looking, and you just slapped it in there for the sake of having text. I would say a clipping mask of an Apply Image image onto the text would make it more blended into the background, and making it smaller would make it nicer.

The yellow text on the other hand looks good and I like that you did it in parallel (for a lack of a better word x_x) with the gunshot, but the yellow just seemed to come out of the blue. Try using a color from the tag's color palette, and it will look blended, for example, purple, white or black.

You've got a good concept though, and I like the depth and I love the colors, so nice work and keep trying :)

@ Xeltos - Your second work there is probably one of your best. I just love the effects right at the right side of her (the colorful thingies XD), and I'm feeling the flow on her left. Colors feel warm and looks great with the revealing-looking girl :D

Only thing about this sig that I don't like is the displacement effects on her right. It seems really unnecessary and it doesn't help at all with the flow or anything. IMO, throw that whole displacement effect away on her right and instead do what you did on the top left of the sig to her right. It would look less chaotic. I would also like to see some more areas darkened, but meh XD

Your third work looks good too. I feel the flow here, the effects are magnificent (effect on her eye is just awesome :D), and text is just sexy. Nothing much to say here, except that I'd like to see areas darkened here too, as there's too much highlights and little to no shadows.

Again, great works here Xeltos. ;)

@ Terra - I loooove your style XD

Anyways, I <3 the colors here, and the smudging is great. Nice lighting effect on the left. Noctis is in high-quality which is always a plus :D

I would say that I'm not too fond of the text. Youre making a dark, cold sig and then suddenly there's these text with warm colors slapped in the middle of the sig D: Take colors from the sig (teal, black, blue) and use it for the text's colors and it'll look much better. :) Good work nonetheless :D

---

I still need some comments and criticism on my Cloud tags D:

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/9546/venture.png

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9906/venturetext.png

Repliica

12-09-2009, 10:19 PM

Hmm.. I like both but I'll go with the one with text.

The background is really nice because it seems like he has a wing coming out of his left shoulder which reminds me a lot of his Kingdom Hearts design. The placing is rather nice but there's a lot of space on the right hand side of your signature. Maybe you could move the text around there.. or just put in a little something more. I'm not sure what though.

In regards to Cloud he's quite dark. Again, this seems to be a small problem with signatures but the he's slightly lost in the background. There are various things you can do to address it though like giving him a soft outer glow or just lighting the background up with the dodge tool lightly to make him a bit more focal as opposed to him being slightly lost.

The colour scheme works well because it compliments the colour of the render so there's no real problem with that. Also you could maybe play with the size of the render? Make him a little bigger? It would fill up a little more space that way.. but that's just a small suggestion.
^^

Noct Caelum

12-10-2009, 06:09 AM

Haha ok so these are the first sigs I've ever made, ever. I made these today after I downloaded Gimp and I dont fully understand the program yet so bear with me. Lemme know what you guys think.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/XxItachi1SanxX/Untitled.jpghttp://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/XxItachi1SanxX/Unitled.jpghttp://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/XxItachi1SanxX/seph.jpg

The Vincent one is by far my favorite and I'm still new at this so if anyone has any tips or constructive critism or how-to's then please provide :D

Suppi

12-10-2009, 06:16 AM

Pretty good for first try =P
the smudge isn't that visually appealing though... it's to far out without having any change.

pheano

12-10-2009, 06:31 AM

-pats reps sig-
cute
x3
is anyone useing that miku sig?
i want it
>;3

Errquake

12-10-2009, 09:45 AM

Rep, thanks for the advice. I might have made Cloud a bit too blended into the background. D:

---

@ Noct Caelum - Those are great for first works. ;) I can't critique since you just started out and all, so I'd recommend reading the tutorials posted on this board and get some ideas and some techniques. For now, you're doing great. :)

---

Made a new tag today. On Squirtle, the Pokemon. D:

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/5497/squirtleq.png

I was so bored today, and tried to make a chaotic tag. Feel free to slam me with critiques XD

Haruhiist

12-10-2009, 09:56 AM

Two things I noticed immediately.

Squirtle seems very out of place in the sig, maybe cause of that small little techno-ish thing under him, and that the C4Ds are a different shade of blue from him. It might also be the weird green background which I personally found very off in this sig, which would be the second thing I noticed.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/Hinamorinata/BrotherhoodPNG.png

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/Hinamorinata/BrotherhoodPNGBorderless.png
After Errquake made me notice the borders are slightly fugly after I did my blurring.

My SotW 10 sig. It doesn't look that different from the stock, but if you put them side by side you'll see a ton of differences. Probably.

The stock used. (http://www.thebattlefieldstory.com/images/TIdus.jpg)

Errquake

12-10-2009, 11:48 AM

Thanks, Haru. :3

---

Man, I love the focal point here. The lighting and the effects around the sword helps strengthen the focal, and I especially love the strong blue shades. Text looks good too, and looks blended as a theme. Depth is top-notch. I would've liked to see a bit more effects, but right now it looks great. ;)

But IMO, lose the border XD

And about the sig collab thing, sorry for the delays. I'll get right on it before sending the .PSD to you. XD

Haruhiist

12-10-2009, 12:11 PM

Depth probably came from the original stock, but thanks. And yeah, now that you mention it the border looks kinda ugly.

Don't worry about the sig collab thing, even when you send it to me I'll still probably take forever to start on it.

Noct Caelum

12-11-2009, 12:26 AM

Ok so I made this at the request of my brother, this is my 5th design (never posted my 4th). To point out I plan on fixing the grainy-like stuff in the letters on the logo and I dont know anything about KoF, my brother requested the chars and logo (took me a half hour to remove the 2003 that was attached to it :() so if this has anything to do with it then I'm sorry I got it wrong...? And sorry if it's too big, it wasnt made to be a sig though i resized it down, lemme know what you think ;)
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/XxItachi1SanxX/KingofFighters.jpg

Ignore the made by part, I figured if I was gonna post it on the net (especially photobucket) that I might as well :cool:

Haruhiist

12-11-2009, 03:38 AM

The firey background thing should be changed a little bit here and there, maybe lower opacity towards the top part but that's just me being particular, it looks fine.

The guy render is a lot more blended than the girl render (who has a black outline!) so it looks a bit weird.

If one part of the logo is like, heated by flames or something (that shiny bit in the middle), then the rest of the logo should have a gradient from that part gradually growing darker as it moves away from that shiny bit.

And lastly, the made by text should be something nice and small on Overlay or something. Shouldn't be extremely noticeable. : )

XxGrezxX

12-11-2009, 03:53 AM

Here comes my triple kill XD, really need some criticism for these
Its goes from 2nd to 4th sig I made in order

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff79/XxXGrezarXxX/Sora.png
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff79/XxXGrezarXxX/haseo-1.png
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff79/XxXGrezarXxX/Milanor.png

Haruhiist

12-11-2009, 04:08 AM

2nd Sig: Nice effect you have with Sora and splitting him in half with one half on each side. Made me smile for some reason. Doesn't look like you did much with the sig though.

3rd Sig: Replica effect again, nice positioning of the one behind, eyes look intense. The random C4D-esque lines are abit too chaotic in my opinion though.

4th Sig: ..Yggdrasil Union? Lots of sparkles, I think the render can be played around with more, or blended in more.

Overall: I think you need to limit yourself on the C4D use, their pretty and all but when you put too many the sig looks cluttered and messy. Your text also needs work but it's still okay, try playing with font sizes and have more than one font layer. Play around with blending, like you can duplicate your render layer and smudge the edges, erase off any parts that's actually on the render so you only have little smudged parts around the render and put it on overlay, or screen, or whatever blending mode you want.

Adjustment layers are fun to use too, try gradient maps and photo filters, they can give a certain feel to your sig that you might be trying to accomplish. Taking a render and distorting it can also do a lot, and finally, remember that erasing a part of a layer can make a really nice effect. For example, using the ocean ripple distortion filter on that last render and then erasing everything but the blade, so that you have this glowy power-pulse around the sword and the rest of the render doesn't have it.

pinKtaco

12-11-2009, 10:15 AM

well i have to say it's really good.^^
But the font is always a problem for every gfx'er :/ (don't worry we can learn this for time to time.)

Ok guys and i have done something too. And i have to say it's NOT a Signature or an icon, it's a wallpaper with the size from 1680px × 945px.

The Picture is behind this URL! (http://npshare.de/files/335f995a/fullmoon_wallpaper.png)

So why do i post it? Cause i wanna join a competition. And i thought if i can win a Tanemura Set with artbooks etc. so i should do a walli from a tanemura artwork. (The artwork is from fullmoon)
And my point for this is...nahh it's not soo much my style, cause i always put more on my graphics and i just thought you guys can say, if i should join this with his wallpaper or not.
But you guys can say it^^

Haruhiist

12-11-2009, 10:24 AM

o.o
Well it's really up to you whether you want to enter the competition or not..

There's nothing wrong with it, though the repetition thing kind of gives off the impression that you had nothing else to put there, and you just had to fill up the space. Also the one on the right looks like it was re-sized wrongly, the horizontal looks a bit squeezed. And you might want to erase the parts of the right-side render that is underneath the left-side render.

Kayarine

12-11-2009, 10:53 AM

I've never posted here before... I'm so bad at giving coherent constructive criticism. xD

I'd love to check out your wallpaper Mizu, but I'm on my PSP and can't view it. D:

Anyway, here's my SotW #10 entry. I might use the things I used on the background more often if it looks good.

http://i47.tinypic.com/iwr72f.jpg

Haruhiist

12-11-2009, 11:18 AM

Well, since I commented on the original in the SotW thread there isn't a lot left to say, but I think the pinkish squares in the background are a bit out of place because of the color, you could try blending it with a color-related blending mode and see what happens. Also the lighting, more or less because of the original stock, the back side of Yuna's head which is facing the light is darker than the side of Yuna's head which is facing away, which is wrong, but I don't think you can really fix that..

HYNE

12-11-2009, 11:28 AM

The Picture is behind this URL! (http://npshare.de/files/335f995a/fullmoon_wallpaper.png)

And my point for this is...nahh it's not soo much my style, cause i always put more on my graphics and i just thought you guys can say, if i should join this with his wallpaper or not.
But you guys can say it^^
Yes, you should enter the competition with it. Awesome picture, good job. ^^

smilie

12-12-2009, 04:36 AM

I need some criticism for this so I can improve: :)
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x168/ralphsmilie/KHsig2.png

Haruhiist

12-12-2009, 07:48 AM

Hm..

In my opinion the sig would look nicer if it was bigger, or rather, wider.

Also, pretty much one thing that I've pointed out in nearly every sig I've criticized is the font. In this sig, it's placing and font size and font colour and the font itself. Well, actually the placing is really up to you but I think that like, since you have the whole contrast thing going on, you could've put one line at the top side of the sig and the other line at the bottom side. So 'A scattered dream that's like a far off memory' at the top left and 'A far-off memory that's like a scattered dream' at the bottom right. Also, font size is pretty small, I guess it'd be fixed if the sig was bigger. As for font colour, the right side is okay since it's easily visible but the left side is actually hard to see. Instead of doing a font colour change, you could put on a outer glow or drop shadow to make it more visible, or you can use different blending modes. If you stack a few font layers on Overlay, maybe 2-3, you get this bright shiny slightly transparent font that has the colours of the background. And last thing about the font, I think a different more stylish font would've worked better. Maybe Trajan Pro (Is that what it's called?) or something like that.

The background change is nice with the contrast, but it's visibly very abrupt. You could blend them together with the smudge tool so that it looks kind of gradual, or you can let them overlap and erase the overlapping section with a 50% opacity soft eraser so that it becomes gradual, though I've never actually tried that before. Just an idea that popped out when I was thinking about this.

And finally, the logo could be more noticeable, though it might look a bit off. Try playing with blending modes.

..damn I'm anal about fonts.

Micchi

12-13-2009, 12:57 AM

Oh what the heck....I guess i'll go ahead and post this:

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/5717/sdsig.jpg

Some CnC please?

!Certified!

12-13-2009, 03:01 AM

Oh what the heck....I guess i'll go ahead and post this:

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/5717/sdsig.jpg

Some CnC please?

Oh wow.. I like that a lot. Although I can't read the words written as they are illegible, I don't think it even matters. If you wouldn't mind me asking, but who exactly is that..?

Oh and I have a signature that is in desperate need of criticism as I am not sure of how it turned out.

http://i45.tinypic.com/xcuhr4.png

If it's not obvious, the render is that of Vincent Valentine. That's probably that thing that I find most irritating of about this signage. If I didn't know who it was already, I don't think I would've realized that it was Vincent.

I think the effects are decent, but I'm not sure.

CnC..?

Haruhiist

12-13-2009, 03:09 AM

@Terra:
Well to be honest, your sig style is pretty unique so I don't really know how to criticise it. I guess it's only that the white thing at the right looks somewhat out of place when looking at the sig overall, but removing it might also make the sig look bland... I'm not really sure.

@!Certified!:
Way too chaotic and crowded, especially for a sig of that size. Yeah, I wasn't able to tell who it was until I read the rest of your post. Lighting is really weird with it seeming really bright behind the render, but the render still being incredibly dark. The shiny red C4D things should also be toned down, and if anything they make the sig look really messy.

!Certified!

12-13-2009, 03:16 AM

@!Certified!:
Way too chaotic and crowded, especially for a sig of that size. Yeah, I wasn't able to tell who it was until I read the rest of your post. Lighting is really weird with it seeming really bright behind the render, but the render still being incredibly dark. The shiny red C4D things should also be toned down, and if anything they make the sig look really messy.
I don't know if chaotic is necessarily a bad thing with Vincent, but I'll keep in mind the other things mentioned for sure.

Micchi

12-13-2009, 03:17 AM

@!Certified!: The girl in my sig is Noa from a comic series called Sky Doll.

!Certified!

12-13-2009, 03:19 AM

@!Certified!: The girl in my sig is Noa from a comic series called Sky Doll.

OKay, thanks for telling me. I probably would've have been driven with the curiosity to know.

Errquake

12-15-2009, 11:15 AM

A collaboration tag between me and Haruhiist. :3

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/Hinamorinata/FirewreckErrHaruPNG.png

Tried something new, and we did great with the tag, especially Haru XD Constructive criticism appreciated. :3

XxGrezxX

12-15-2009, 11:18 AM

Err...render does not blend in that well??(its obvious isn't it??)
I like the afterimage!! Looks like a human doing transam(those who do not know whats transam, watch Gundam 00)
I think thats all, since I'm just started out XD

Haruhiist

12-20-2009, 03:15 PM

Finally my turn to personally post something here. Hope I get criticism'd.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/Hinamorinata/CanaanPNG.png

Worked on this for about 40 minutes. It only has 13 layers, but I like to keep my layer box neat and tidy. I didn't do much to the background, which is a stock. I didn't do a lot to the render either, a few smudge layers and blurs. Then I added the lights, took almost 10 minutes deciding where to put the text and how to put it, and finally finished. I put the cinematic borders 'cause I figured it looked kind of like a scene from a movie.

Girl in it is Canaan from Canaan.

I love simple sigs. : )

Repliica

12-23-2009, 09:14 AM

Errquake - Lovely tag! I love the collab tag that you both done. Normally when something like this is done it doesn't work out all that well but this one did. My only real concern would be the render size. Was it intentional for your render to not be the focal point? I mean.. it does capture your attention but I still think the render could've been slightly bigger. Otherwise I really think it's a great signature ^^

Haruhiist - I know you like simple sigs xD And the great thing about them is they work really well. Just like you I love simplicity! ^^ Anyway great job on the signature I actually wish I could say more but I think it's really good. I love the background and how well it contrasts with your render and the text fits in well with the flow of the image. I would suggest maybe working with the lightning behind her a little more? The spots of white seem a little random but still work well!

I would give more detailed explanations.. but I think my bed is calling for me xD

Kesshoukei

12-25-2009, 09:42 PM

Okay, I tend to go way over the top, so can I get some critique on my current sig?
(That's this one, just in case I change it, yanno:
http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy246/Kesshoukei/cloudo.jpg )

Kayarine

12-25-2009, 10:36 PM

Kesshoukei - Hmm... First of all, that sig is way too wide. Max size allowed is 500x200.
Other than that... It looks nice, but I think that blue beam is taking the focus away from Cloud. Maybe try putting it closer to him.

Haruhiist - That's a pretty sig. I like the colors, and how the text blends in.

I wish I could write a more elaborate criticism, but I'm not really good at that. ><

Haruhiist

01-03-2010, 04:10 PM

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/Hinamorinata/DRAFT1.png

One of the first sigs I've done in awhile where I don't choose the render I use, this is a request from a friend who wants to use it on a RPB. His only request specifics were the render and text, the render itself looked like a really soft CG model in terms of color and edges so I had some problems dealing with those. Otherwise, personally I'm fine with it. I wish I could've done something nicer with the text, but that has to be one of the best no-effect texts I've ever done in my opinion.

>.>

I guess, overall I don't even like the sig that much myself. Way too... soft..
Also to rez the CC thread.

Stupid Aquarius

01-03-2010, 08:52 PM

I actually don't find that sig soft at all - the few, but hard colors give it a lot of punch, not to mention the render constrasts a lot from the dark background. And I like how everything seems to draws from the center. Every element seems to work fine here.

Don't really have anything constructive to say, just that I think the sig is greater than you give credit.

ShineThatLight

01-14-2010, 05:18 AM

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/7986/dissidiafinalfantasy000p.jpg

Okay this is my first attempt at actually photoshopping something, not just cool brush tools, or a lame editing job XD
Now, just looking at it, the text looks a little dark and hard to read.
I'd love some criticism, even if this was just a for fun kinda deal.
It is really basic ect. but that is because idk what i am doing XD

Edit: After a little bit of help and such i changed it a little

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/8430/golbezsig2.jpg

Haruhiist

01-14-2010, 06:09 AM

Overall, for a first time it's pretty good, there's even a pretty gradient on the text and it's not overwhelmingly screaming of newb, in fact for a first it has really nice style to it, maybe because I like simplicity even if because I'm a lazy arse.

First of all, if you cut the render yourself, good job you're awesome.

Anyway, one thing I think can be done is to make the render bigger. The sig overall has a lot of empty space to the left, and your Golbez render is small and while it DOES take center stage in the sig, there's just too much empty space lying around. Not to mention him being so small makes the render look somewhat blurry and unfocused and ugly. Try using random blending modes to make your render more outstanding, he could be more saturated in color or simply shinier, with tools like a brightness/constrast layer or duplicating the render layer and putting the one on top on overlay blending.

The background is incredibly simple, yet the blue aura thing from Golbez goes away gradually and quite nicely. One thing to note is the strange blue mist cloud over his crotch, is that intentional? It looks out of place. Maybe it could have taken a deeper colour, maybe a dark shade of purple that has that somewhat sparkly effect.

Sig size: Could be smaller in height, which would fit nicely with the render size thing. That way, it's even moreso obviously the focus of the sig.

Text is nice, I love Century Gothic, nice gradient and fits in with the background. Problem is it's TOO DARK. I actually had to lean forward and stare at my screen for a second to see it, though I don't have my screen on full brightness ever. You can bring it up 2-3 shades, or find some way to make it more outstanding. A subtle, soft outer glow or a few overlay blend layers might do something about it. Overall nicely done, though if you do make the sig size smaller in the future, your name text could go under the quote.

I say this a lot, but you should try mixing lots of adjustment layers into your sig, they can really affect the sig overall, and it never hurts to experiment with that stuff since a Ctrl+Z will save it if it goes wrong.

icyie04

01-14-2010, 09:27 AM

A couple of my old images i'd like criticism on:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t206/icyie04/Abstract2.png?t=1263464659

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t206/icyie04/Slide2.jpg?t=1263464818

ShineThatLight

01-14-2010, 10:29 PM

Haru, thank you very much :]
You helped a lot on IRC (along with Aevitas and others)
But would you mind telling me what an "adjustment layer" is?

Stupid Aquarius

01-14-2010, 11:34 PM

^
Adjustment layers can be used for making many types of adjustments to your work, without actually doing anything to the original layer. It is akin to laying a sheet of clear colored plastic overlay over your work. Your picture will look colored, but then when you take off the plastic overlay, your picture is unchanged.

The neat thing about them is that you can adjust the settings as many times as you see fit, without actually effecting the image.

You can find them under Layer > New Adjustment Layer

@Ice: Those are pretty cool Icyie, especially the first one. The lightning is particularly awesome, I like how you can just make out the form of the render and the text, very nice handled. I'm less seduced by the second one however, but it does have its own artistic merit. My only real suggestion is to maybe level the text with the render? The gradients at the side also seem rather random.

ShineThatLight

01-15-2010, 12:31 AM

WhiteHowl

01-15-2010, 06:22 AM

Thank you very much Aquarius :]

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8894/golbezasig.jpg

New Sig, love some things to see where i could improve
Its not finished yet (atleast i don't think)
Once again, anything is appreciated
umm... it looks like all you did was grab a dark value background and scribbled a brush with azure and just Inserted Golbez... it's pretty minimalist i guess... o_oa

If you want me to comment on that...
It's a rule of thumb that if you want something to stand out u can contrast the values of the image at least. I mean what can be said about this. You didn't do anything huge...

ShineThatLight

01-15-2010, 06:52 AM

umm... it looks like all you did was grab a dark value background and scribbled a brush with azure and just Inserted Golbez... it's pretty minimalist i guess... o_oa

If you want me to comment on that...
It's a rule of thumb that if you want something to stand out u can contrast the values of the image at least. I mean what can be said about this. You didn't do anything huge...

I guess it is more to show off how my renders are going
The first one was a lot choppier than this one, and i feel i did a good job of smoothing it out
The background is a gradient with some basic brush, put through a filter (yes it is pretty minimalist)
Thank you for the advice you did offer though, maybe i will try a lighter render for Golbez, or a lighter background :]

And the blue is actually sampled from his belt gem :] it was more of a... blending in sorta thing but some contrast would be nice, you are right.

icyie04

01-15-2010, 07:14 AM

I personally think you should use smaller canvas sizes. Something like 400 x 150.

Repliica

01-15-2010, 06:19 PM

ICYIE - You used Baiken in one of your signatures! Okay first of all I'd like to say that, even though the render is small it still works quite well but that's only because I know Baiken's story. Her past being chaotic and hectic portrays well in that signature that you done. However, not everybody knows the story of Baiken so they'll not see it the same as me. I will give you a few points and advice though on that signature.

Firstly, like I've been telling many, know where your focal point is. I think that you worked it quite well though because you have a one coloured back ground so your eye is immediately drawn to that which is different, that being Baiken. However I still feel like the render is too small, like I said I feel it works fine because I know her story but others won't.

I really really like the background though, the semi circle that goes around Baiken adds very nice eye flow to it and draws your eye back towards where it should be going. The light yellow and the deeper colour behind Baiken adds much more depth to the signature so it doesn't just feel 'flat'.

I can't really say much else because I actually, really like that signature but I guess just keep your render size in mind. Usually a render takes up a lot of the signature space because it's what you want people to see clearly.

Otherwise good job! And that's all I can criticize atm because I have training.. xD

ShineThatLight

01-15-2010, 10:24 PM

I personally think you should use smaller canvas sizes. Something like 400 x 150.

Ill shrink the final product, but what you see there is how big a screenshot from a Dissidia replay is, which is where i get all my pics

icyie04

01-15-2010, 11:17 PM

13ulbasaur

03-21-2010, 09:56 PM

Ooh, constructive criticism is what I want. I'm reaally new to sig making and I'd love some constructive criticism on this. >w<

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk53/13ulbasaur/randomblag.png

Yeh... I tend to make mine rather simple. o3o

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-05-2010, 05:02 AM

Well, what do you guys think of my sig? I made it a few months ago when I decided to start maining Gabranth...

Thanks guys!

Repliica

04-05-2010, 05:38 AM

Oh would you look at that. Two signatures without criticism D: Let me help out ~

@13ulbasaur - Simplicity can be turned into a strength about your signatures so don't view it as a bad thing at all. I like simple things, they're able to convey a message and look rather sleek and not too busy. However, I will also say don't be afraid to spice things up from time to time, you don't have to always but sometimes its worth a shot ^^

Now onto the signature! The size of the render is lovely. It fills the frame very nicely however, I believe your background might've been better as a dark blue - or something that fits the color scheme of the render. The black to me, seems slightly out of place amongst the rest of it. The signature seems quite dark as well, have you played around with the lighting of the render? I don't know.. maybe I just don't really like darkness too much D:

Also, the overlay of the cloud/smoke render on Firion. I'm thinking that maybe you could've taken an eraser with low opacity and ran it over his face so that the overlay doesn't interfere too much with the render. Remember, you always want the render to be the main point unless of course you're aiming for something else to stand out. You should always know what your focal point is going to be and work around it. : D

Also, the text. I have mixed feelings on this one. Though I do feel like its out of place sitting where it is, I also do feel like it's okay there because its not stealing the show from the render.

A thing to remember about text is to make sure you pick the right one. Whatever the message or emotion you're trying to convey in your signature - make sure your text suits the feel of it. Many graphickers make the mistake of chucking in any font that looks cool but a cool font doesn't necessarily mean it'll go down well with your signature. When picking a font, pick of one that speaks to you, that conveys what the feel of your signature/render is about. Text is just as important as picking the render so take your time and go with what you feel is right. A simple and sleak font that's readable is usually your safest bet but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't use fancy fonts. They can be pulled off if done well. : D

And that's about it! Overall its a nice signature, it just might need a little tweaking in some places. Keep up the good work and continue to post your signatures here! I'll critique them when I can : D

@The3p1cN3cr0p4th - You definitely took a different approach to Bulbasaur. Where as his focal point is the render - yours is text. Once again I'll point out what I said to him ~ Don't rely too heavily on fancy fonts. If your focal point is going to be text then make sure that its readable and easy on the eye. The human eye associates words with form, we normally don't read a word letter by letter but instead identify the shape that it makes and remember it. Capital letters normally messes with this, so try to stay away from a font that is all caps. If you have one word then its fine but if you're going to have a sentence in your signature I think you should use appropriate lettering. Like I said, humans recognise words by form so giving it the proper upper and lower cases makes it easier to read. : D

Secondly, I feel like the background clashes a little with the colour of the font. I'm not sure what colour to go with considering you have a light and dark background and though I would normally suggest a light stroke on the outside of your letters, I don't believe it would work well with the font D:

All in all, I think you should keep at it as well : D Good graphics aren't born in a day and practice makes perfect. Like I said, don't be afraid to use simple fonts because in the end they look rather lovely. If you're going for a dark kind of feel then also play around with the words a little. There are multiple ways of conveying your idea without having to use fancy fonts at all! ^__^

If you do happen to make a new signature, you should definitely post it up. Like I said above, I'll be willing to critique it when I can. : D

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-05-2010, 10:39 AM

@The3p1cN3cr0p4th - You definitely took a different approach to Bulbasaur. Where as his focal point is the render - yours is text. Once again I'll point out what I said to him ~ Don't rely too heavily on fancy fonts. If your focal point is going to be text then make sure that its readable and easy on the eye. The human eye associates words with form, we normally don't read a word letter by letter but instead identify the shape that it makes and remember it. Capital letters normally messes with this, so try to stay away from a font that is all caps. If you have one word then its fine but if you're going to have a sentence in your signature I think you should use appropriate lettering. Like I said, humans recognise words by form so giving it the proper upper and lower cases makes it easier to read. : D

Secondly, I feel like the background clashes a little with the colour of the font. I'm not sure what colour to go with considering you have a light and dark background and though I would normally suggest a light stroke on the outside of your letters, I don't believe it would work well with the font D:

All in all, I think you should keep at it as well : D Good graphics aren't born in a day and practice makes perfect. Like I said, don't be afraid to use simple fonts because in the end they look rather lovely. If you're going for a dark kind of feel then also play around with the words a little. There are multiple ways of conveying your idea without having to use fancy fonts at all! ^__^

If you do happen to make a new signature, you should definitely post it up. Like I said above, I'll be willing to critique it when I can. : D

Hey, thanks Rep. I'll work on it over the week and see what I can do about it, looking at it right now you're right about the font; it's difficult to read in places. I did have another version of this that was a bit simpler but I seem to have gone and lost it >_<. In any case, thanks again.

Repliica

04-05-2010, 10:43 AM

That's okay!

Also, if you'd like any recommendations or anything like that don't be afraid to ask! Good luck with your new signature! ^__^

Scott

04-07-2010, 01:44 PM

New signature and avatar set. As usual, it's only a cut-out of some art which was already extremely awesome.

Haruhiist

04-07-2010, 02:32 PM

Well.. the art is nice and all, but.. getting constructive criticism for cropping? o_o

Scott

04-07-2010, 02:49 PM

I just wanted to show it off and see what people think of the images themselves, rather than what I "did".

icyie04

04-07-2010, 03:17 PM

Then how do you give CONSTRUCTIVE criticism on cropping? Cut it by about 3 pixels more?

Haruhiist

04-07-2010, 03:27 PM

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-07-2010, 04:10 PM

Well, I'm back needing some advice. Over the week I tried making a new Gabranth Sig, but I failed pretty epically so I decided to look back at a few of my old projects to see if I could improve on some of them and crop them to the right size. The only one I felt was good enough to work on was the one below, but after I upgraded it with a few details such as the clouds, and the blur on Altair I realized I had no idea how to crop it... Any advice guys?

I'm thinking right at Ezio's head/shoulder level?

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/image6.jpg?t=1270656477

Proximately

04-07-2010, 04:22 PM

You should also make sure Ezio melds a little better with the background, even if he's supposed to stand out and make for a contrast it looks a little bit weird. Maybe it's the colordifference, I'm not sure, but something feels wrong.

Repliica

04-07-2010, 07:27 PM

Prox is actually on to a good idea. You could try and merge Ezio in with the background a little more, especially where the clouds are. That way you can give off the illusion that he's emerging from the background. Of course, this could be interpreted in the way that he's emerging from his memories etc. Just a thought. Also, the way that this can be accomplished is by either using multiple layers and smudging him in or feathering his outline a little.. even erasing it with a low opacity brush till it looks right. ^^

As for cropping it. It's entirely up to you. If you're completely lost then here's what you can do. Either, get a piece of paper and fold it in half. Cut half a square in the middle so that when you open it you have a hole that's the shape of a square. With that you can slide it around the picture and see what looks good. You can alter the angle of the square as well to see how it might look if you crop it and tilt it from side to side. The other way to do it is to just open up a new canvas and slide the picture around till you find something that appeals to you. You don't always have to have the full picture of the face in there, you can make it more interesting by cropping and including interesting parts of Ezio. It's entirely up to you though, work with what you think is best. ^_^

Scott

04-08-2010, 01:48 AM

If you're looking for thoughts on the art instead of what you did, this isn't the thread to do it in. This is for people who made their sigs to learn how to improve, and what went wrong.

Making a thread somewhere else in the graphic forums would be more suitable.

Rarrgh. I only posted it in here so I wouldn't have to find an Avatar/Signature rating thread, if there was already one. How nazi.

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-09-2010, 11:46 AM

Well, I'm back again >_>

I went and had the idea of reworking all of the elements into a canvas that's the size of a sig so I tried that, long story short it looked horrible. So I decided to just grab Ezio and use him in a sig and here's what I came up with. I know Kaya already told someone else that their sig was way too big and mine's about the same size, but I couldn't figure out a way to get it smaller without making the text too small and illegible. If there's a way to make the text more legible then I'm game for reworking it. No wait, I have an idea *dashes back to photoshop for an hour*.

>_> Here are both version of the sig, I'll stop talking now.

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/AssassinsCreedSig.jpg?t=1270813405

And the second one...

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/AssassinsCreedSig2.jpg?t=1270813425

Haruhiist

04-09-2010, 11:54 AM

You can try blending the render into the background more, since the background looks nice for blending. The whiteness of the cloak might even work for some lightning-esque effects with the dark, cloudy background if you smudge it nicely. You can compact this sig a lot, it has a lot of useless space, and if you work on your typography a little you can make the text look a lot nicer than just 3 diagonal lines.

For example, you can do things like making the letters at the side bigger or smaller than the rest just by making one more font layer. As for cropping, you can cut off a bit more of his shoulders, I think, but it's entirely up to you.

As for your scan lines (the diagonal/vertical lines crossing over your entire sig), you should set them to overlay (if their white, or bright coloured) and tone down the opacity. At full, it just covers up too much of the sig.

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-10-2010, 05:47 PM

Jeez... I feel like I'm posting too much here... >_>

Maybe I should take a break...?

Anyway, new sig. I tried to work on what Haru said with killing all of the useless space. Though I did leave some bits empty, I would probably have filled them with something had I come up with an idea... I've also found the most epic graffiti style font ever :P

Repliica

04-10-2010, 08:03 PM

Don't worry, there's a reason why this thread is here so post your little heart away. if it helps you to become a better designer then that's a good thing. Keep posting as well, I think I'm at a point where I'd rather help now instead of create 8D

On to your signature! Okay first and foremost I'll praise you for the size of your render. There's no empty space left in it. However, don't let this phase you. Empty space can also work to your advantage! If you check out BEYNd's latest signature you can see that he has nothing but the render and white background. But hey, it works well. So don't stick to rules very closely because creativity knows no boundaries. Explore and don't be afraid to try new things - breaking the norm if possible. ^^

Okay back to it.. XD The scanlines are still pretty strong throughout the signature which isn't a bad thing.. however I feel it looks a little strange upon the helmet. Have you played with the contrast settings to bring that lighting up? I recommend maybe turning the opacity down just a tad. (On the scanline layers that is) ^^ I also see that you have a rendered cloud background behind everything which is actually really nice.

I personally think that you could do without the green arrows. What I think would be nice is if you take everything out. Keep the background + rendered clouds. Keep the position of the render and its size and also the scanlines. BUT try and blend your render in to the background by smudging it. If you'd like to learn about smudging I have a tutorial. You can click right here and it'll take you to them! (http://dissidiaforums.com/showpost.php?p=62977&postcount=1)

Seeing as you might be experimenting with just smudging, skip the steps that you don't need and just go down to where the smudging starts. It might make a lovely change to your signature. ^^

the_dyne

04-13-2010, 06:35 PM

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/2523/signaturecopyr.jpg

I was going for the effect that Sephiroth is embossed in stone. I couldn't decide on what I wanted to do for my name, so yeah. Any constructive criticism appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Proximately

04-13-2010, 07:30 PM

First of all, cut down on the size. :P
Other than that I think you could work on the structure of how he's embossed body fits with the curves of the wall. The blue color feels a little too bright and screams out a bit too much. I'd go with a darker, colder blue or intense red.

I truly like the concept though, the picture looks good by all means but in my opinion would be a whole lot more aweinspiring if you worked on what I mentioned. I'm no specialist though so wait for some input from the others. ;)

By the way. I'm currently creating a PSP theme. I'm a complete beginner when it comes to photoshop (except for the few lessons we had in school where I barely paid attention) so any tips would be helpful. Don't kill me either. xD

It's a Code Geass inspired PSP-wallpaper.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii86/prox1mately/CodeGeassThemeVersion2.jpg

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-14-2010, 05:15 AM

Alright! To make up for the fact that I've only been asking for advice I'll help out...

First off, is the size right? I recall that the PSP screen resolution is 480x272 but the image doesn't look right to me... In any case, are you using layers for the image? If not then unfortunately you need to completely redo the image from scratch with each part on a separate layer. Then I would blur the red cloud you have near the King by about 10-13 pixels, and Lelouch by .8-1.8 pixels. Next, try to make him stand out as well since he's the focus of your background. Maybe duplicating the layer, applying a gaussian blur and changing the blending mode would be adequate. If you decide to do that, then I'd go follow Repliica's smudge tutorial on her topic.

Anything anyone else care to add?

Proximately

04-14-2010, 06:28 AM

True, putting the focus on Lelouch would help it a long way. Thanks for the input, I'll be following your advice. :)

Firion

04-15-2010, 10:46 AM

http://i44.tinypic.com/oard49.jpg

You think it looks good? :D
I don't know how to use Photoshop, yeah, I suck. xD
But my bro will teach me soon enough. :)
So all I did was add text. And a little piece of something on the lower left. xD

Haruhiist

04-15-2010, 10:59 AM

Render is badly resized. Hold down shift while resizing to keep the ratios correct. Needs a lot of work, come back after you learn how to do more than put text? And for that matter, your text needs positioning, proper colors and spacing to work well. Text is, in fact, a very important part of the signature and if not worked on properly, can destroy your sig.

Firion

04-15-2010, 11:02 AM

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-15-2010, 11:38 AM

I see. Ah well, might as well train myself with this thing.. it's really complicated for me. >_>

I'm pretty sure Repliica's going to create a basic photoshop tutorial sometime... But really, before you try to create another signature just spend a few hours messing with various tools and seeing what they all do. It'll make you more familiar with the tools which will help out in the long run, and if you find a cool effect you can try and work it into a new signature.

Kirby1112

04-17-2010, 03:28 PM

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-19-2010, 01:13 PM

http://api.photoshop.com/home_cd3c32a8b1fb4042be32deb08c992ed8/adobe-px-thumbnails/ef3addcfa63b4d3d92b4da9fb6405452/fullsize.jpg
(Also my sig)
I'm very new to image fixing/recropping/etc.
And the text is hard to see, but after I placed it there, I couldn't fix it (Stupid Paint.NET :()

Ehhh... First off dude, the text needs to stand out more if you want people to be able to read it. I actually found it impossible to read, but some people might not think so... In any case, on to the next bit. I like your choice of render, but the colors that you changed don't work very well and I find it irritating to look at for long periods of time.

Here's what I'd do.

1. Go get Gimp
2. Reload the same render, and try to select OK and make him a new layer
3. Follow Repliica's tutorial for smudging, but also blend a fractal into the back ground.
4. Play with various color settings to find something you like.
5. Add your text in a legible font, and if it doesn't stand out very much add a low opacity black stroke.

Of course, you can do whatever you want but if you want to come up with a sort of 'testsig' to see what it would look like then go ahead and follow those steps. Even after that you should go and mess with various photoshop/gimp tutorials online to see if you can find anything that would be applicable.

Cheers, and good luck,
Necro

Kirby1112

04-19-2010, 02:01 PM

I had a feeling. I'll just make a placeholder, for now.

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-19-2010, 02:52 PM

I had a feeling. I'll just make a placeholder, for now.

To be honest, you placeholder is actually much better than your old sig. The text is easy to read and I can clearly see OK, but again; more color ftw.

Kirby1112

04-19-2010, 03:13 PM

I'm actually a fan of muted colors, but it's kind of boring to look at. And it came out really dark, even though I turned up the brightness to 10. (>.>)

Amphoric

04-19-2010, 04:35 PM

I'm actually a fan of muted colors, but it's kind of boring to look at. And it came out really dark, even though I turned up the brightness to 10. (>.>)

gonna give some people some tips.

quotes and stating who you main in your sig totally destroys it.

Put ur quotes/mains under the sig and just use your name in your sig for a nicer/cleaner look

If your a fan of muted color, no one should be telling you to use colors, I very much enjoy colors thus would not be able to criticise on muted colored sigs. But as stated above do think about getting GIMP (btw not supposed to talk about pirating anything the site might wanna edit that out or sumthing or you might get an infraction @ Necro)

But besides that try reading up on some tutorial, I think your using a stock image which is abit harder to manipulate. Try adding C4d Effects to make Onion Knight stand out more and add some depth.

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

04-22-2010, 04:16 PM

Well, here we go again :P

Here's the third iteration (second one you guys have seen though), of my metroid Sig... Lots of just fine tuning on this one, changed the angle of the arrows and the lines, removed some color, added a subtle gradient, smudging then just screwing around with blending modes when I got bored reading Rep's tutorial (not that it was a bad tutorial mind you, I just have a habit of splitting off about 1/3 of the way through them), and adding some noise to the piece... In any case, go ahead guys and have a look.

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/Samus3.jpg?t=1271952738

Proximately

04-22-2010, 05:55 PM

Definitely an improvement, glad to see some more colors. I especially like the new coloring of the visor. The colorchanges for the pattern in the background also went well, I also like the added effect behind her left arm.

However, the cannon feels a bit too bright. Try to tone down the armetched piece. The beampart is well done. You may want to look at the bright parts overall though. Make sure you can still see the edges of the armor and such.

By the way, just finished some editing on my PSP Go theme picture. Nothing major, but I did some coloredits to see if I could bring forth Lelouch a bit more. This is what I ended up with. I'm gonna' try other methods later.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii86/prox1mately/CodeGeassThemeVersion3.jpg

the_dyne

05-04-2010, 08:27 PM

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

05-05-2010, 12:13 AM

Here is my second attempt at my signature. Tell me what you think! ;)
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/3319/signaturecopyv.jpg

I think it's still a little big, so a size reduction will probably be in order.

Much better, just as an additional thing, I'd recommend copying the render clouds you used to create the texture of the wall to a new document and making a texture map out of it so you can reapply it to your final image and make it look a bit more realistic.

Kirby1112

05-11-2010, 01:20 AM

Okay, so uh...
I'm trying my hand at Sig making again. Most of them don't really qualify as sigs, because they're not very detailed and very simple, so I have just labeled them as 'over sized stamps.'
Here are two of my latest ones:

http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab268/Kirby1112/RemilliaSig.png

and

http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab268/Kirby1112/TaoSig-1.png

As you can tell I'm not too good at it yet, but it's all just for fun, more or less.

Amphoric

05-11-2010, 02:10 AM

http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab268/Kirby1112/TaoSig-1.png

I'm liking this one, since you used a color that is used on your render for a background, which makes the blending effect much more appealing, keep going ur doing great.

Kirby1112

05-11-2010, 02:13 AM

Tao makes everything look cool.

Proximately

05-18-2010, 04:18 PM

@the_dyne
Don't know if you're around to read this but that version looks better to me. Next time I'd love it if you published the two versions next to eachother. I checked out the original again and I must say that the Sephiroth part is much better, liked the darker look of the first one a bit more, and the font you used for your name back then looked better as well.
I think you'd be better off cutting away about 1/4th of the lower part in order to let Sephiroth's sword take more place while still being able to fit your name in there.

Anyway, I recently had a request from Dayspring and I tried doing something like what he asked for.

Here's what he wrote: "Well I haven't got anything particular in mind... but I'd like it to have my name,
and the quote "Never lose your sense of adventure" somewhere on it.

I also like orangey-peach colours, but whatever colours work best for you is fine."

Here's the first version I have of his signature:
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii86/prox1mately/BartzTheme2.png

Constructive criticism will be appreciated of course. ;)

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

05-18-2010, 04:30 PM

Hmm... A few basic problems with this. I saw that you have his username right behind Bartz, and to be honest it's quite difficult to see. Try a low opacity stroke around it, or an idea I've been playing with for a while; add really light scanlines on the background while leaving the text above the lines. Next, the particle effect you have on Bartz would look great if you could actually see his colors. Instead of outright making him black, you could have a regular layer of him, use the effect you made on this one on a new one, and set it to color/linear burn. In fact, that's a great way to do particle effects in general. Play around with a few blending modes like that and I'm sure you'll come up with something great.

Good luck,
n3cr0

Haruhiist

05-18-2010, 04:32 PM

EDIT: @Necro's post: Color or linear burn on black particles or anything black in general, especially solid black, results in nothing that looks good, try white particles with overlay or just use 2px or 3px soft circle brushes on scatter with opacity jitter and try playing with outer glow effects if you are insistent on having glowing particles.

I like the effect of the text DAYSPRING you have there, but that's kind of about it.

Alright, first of all the colors are really too solid for everything. Your render has a black solid color, your quote text has a black solid colour and your background base is more or less a orange solid colour, except with some scatter brushing there. The name Dayspring has that 'Sunrise' feeling, so you might want to build on that. For example, using a stock image of a Sunrise or just having a brushed 'Sun' in your sig together with the radiant light thing where it shines near the 'Sun' but slowly fade away. I'm kind of curious as to why your render is blackened, that's pretty much not what people want to do with their sigs, especially their render focus. It works sometimes, in some special sigs (usually working with the shadow of characters) but in this one it just doesn't fit, especially with the strong orange background.

Basically, the sig is flat mostly due to entirely solid colours, you want to introduce colour gradients or variation and you might want to bring the color back to your render.

I'm kind of out of time, but you also want to work on the text. The effect you have with Dayspring is nice now, although it may change as you change your signature. The quote is definitely something to change, it's too random and distracts the viewer from whatever your focus is meant to be.

Good luck. : )

Proximately

05-18-2010, 04:51 PM

Alright, got it. Thanks guys. <.< It's a harsh world though, gotta' tell my grandkids that someday. Just gotta' wait for his response to see if he wants any particular changes now that he has an idea of what I'm working with.

New Render:
I'd like for everyone to take a look at this. It's my first render, I missed some critical spots... I know, but I'm too lazy to go back and fix it right now. Back to playing FFXIII. I also need some good tips on how to create better renders, not satisfied with this one as the edges look way too jagged.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii86/prox1mately/FangRender.png?t=1274390079

Here are two new renditions of the signature I'm working on for Dayspring:
Version 1
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii86/prox1mately/bartzsignatureversion3.png

Version 2
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii86/prox1mately/bartzsignatureversion4.png

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

05-24-2010, 07:12 AM

Let me know what you guys think about this; my first sig in quite a while...

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/SignaturePractice.jpg?t=1274684373

Well, I need to get back into the swing of shooping so I whipped this up in the past few hours between various classes. I started with the largest that the forum allows, but it had far too much empty space so I cut it down to what it is now. I didn't use any of the new CS5 effects because I couldn't actually find the damn things but I originally wanted to try the repousee tool on Tidus with the Brotherhood and make it (the sword, nothing else) look sort of 3D... It'd have been really damn cool...

Another idea for another day I suppose :P

EDIT: Just as practice I tried the same effect on Sephiroth and here's what I ended up with:
http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/SephySig.jpg?t=1274771340

Again, just let me know what you guys think. I know it's far too large for a sig, but ignore that for now >_________>

Kirby1112

05-29-2010, 10:17 PM

http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab268/Kirby1112/Suika.jpg
Be as brutal as you can.

But first: I was going for an abstract kind of thing. Something a little weird, and something people usually don't do... and I can see why. :\

Proximately

06-01-2010, 06:34 PM

The3p1cN3cr0p4th
Signature 1:
Amazing coloring, I love the pattern on Clouds sword as well. The transition from gold to green is also very well done. The only thing I have to criticise is the way you name your pictures, the font isn't very inspiring and brings an otherwise great signature down. The pattern in the background could also be a bit more varied.

Score: 8/10

Signature 2:
Here I find myself falling in love with the part around Sephiroth's right arm but nowhere else. It looks fancy and all, but the coloring in this one is much more streamlined than in the Cloud signature. I do like how the shadows of the circular brush hits his cape though. I'm also starting to see a pattern in your signatures. *loooks at the published signatures and then at your current one over and over again*

Score: 6/10 (mostly due to the coloring)

Kirby1112
Signature 1:

The pattern doesn't make any sense. The coloring is soothing but the clearing used here just adds to confusing the signature even more. The focus is still on the girl though which makes it easy for the eyes. It feels a little random. But it's not unpleasant to look at.

Score: 4/10

And here is my own work.
I've been assigned to the graphic department of "The Lufenian Order" and was dealt the task of designing a teamsignature. This is how it ended up looking. I'll be making personalised versions later.

http://www.dissidiaforums.com/picture.php?albumid=198&pictureid=2263

____________________________________________

This is a render I created from a screenshot I took in Hellsing Ultimate:
http://www.dissidiaforums.com/picture.php?albumid=205&pictureid=2300

Haruhiist

06-06-2010, 04:10 AM

@Prox: Needs to be less cluttered imo.

Comments/Criticism please. Was thinking about shrinking it a little, but I am stuck at what else I can change or add in.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/Hinamorinata/Day2Progress.png

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/Hinamorinata/Day1Progress.png

And I can't tell which is nicer, the slightly darker one or the lighter one. Can you even tell the difference?

Proximately

06-06-2010, 10:46 AM

Criticism:
I think the upper one is the darker one. But it's such a slim difference that it doesn't matter. Most people (including me) would have thought it was a mistake on your part to paste two of the same picture unless you pointed it out.

I also think the picture lacks something, it looks a little plain. This one looks too empty in my opinion which stands on the opposite from my own then, which is too "detailed"/cluttered.

Response to your criticism:
Here are the personalised versions: The Lufenian Order Signatures (http://www.dissidiaforums.com/group.php?do=discuss&discussionid=203&pp=10)

Check them out, one of them is sure to be what you're thinking of. Let me know which one you think looks the best.

06-06-2010, 10:57 AM

Let me know what you guys think about this; my first sig in quite a while...

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/SignaturePractice.jpg?t=1274684373

That is friggin' cool as. AWESOME :D

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

06-06-2010, 11:01 AM

@ Proxim: Yeah... They're far too cluttered as Haru said.

@ Haru: I can barely tell the difference, and that's with my screen on full brightness. It's too subtle a change to notice, but as for what you could add, I'd put in a very low opacity (20-35ish) vivid light of the final image to bring out a bit more color.

Also, I've come up with an epic new style which I really like... Made this sig for Rep since she beat me (jaskdbgfa;ogb!!!!), I'll probably do the same for anyone else I encounter in CDT... Here it is:

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/Repliica.jpg?t=1275822075
=== Double post was automatically merged. ===

That is friggin' cool as. AWESOME :D

If you want to use it feel free, just give me credit pl0x...

Proximately

06-06-2010, 11:36 AM

Hmmm... So should I just take some of the brushes away and go for a cleaner look? I'm guessing that's what you guys mean at least.

@The3p1cN3cr0p4th
That signature looks amazing! Great work! The coloring is very well done and I like how her face can be seen to the right as well. Gives it a little something that makes the viewer feel proud of noticing the small details.
I don't like the border very much though, too thick and too much of an 3D effect when you look at it. Feels like it stands out from... not the screen but you know, like it just is higher up. Another thing is the dark section which covers part of her left shoulder and the upper half of the other Samus face. I think an increased spread or range could solve it.

Haruhiist

06-06-2010, 11:45 AM

@Prox: The Gabranth one looks the nicest, but the color of the text at the middle looks a little weird. I think its the best though, maybe because of the color scheme.

@Necro: You might want to refrain from sharpening until you can see pixels. Your text fonting and colouring needs work, but its a cool sig. Try not to get a 'gradient fade' on your text from your borders, put the text layer over the border layer if you want to have an inward shadow thing from the borders. And, that said, thinner borders and no inward dark glow thing would be nicer.

I tried adding details and text.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/Hinamorinata/DLightsText.png

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh9/Hinamorinata/DLightsTextcopy.png

Proximately

06-06-2010, 12:00 PM

That looks a lot better, I'd say the first one looks the best. The white text fits better with the lightning of the rest. I also like the lightning bulbs you added to the picture (not sure if you brushed it and blended or if you used an effect... which one? <.<) but you may want to cut down (but not erase all) on the ones that are in the area between her swaying hair. I also think the light bulbs behind her should be taken away from the first picture.
I also like the lightning you fixed to bring out the colors more (I'm guessing that's the effect of 20-35 opacity of vivid lightning) since the picture now looks more alive.
That's what I can think of. Hopefully you'll get criticism from others than me and The3p1cN3cr0p4th. ;)

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

06-06-2010, 08:03 PM

Well, if anyone's here what do you guys think of this?

A practice sig before I start working on my entry for CDT... The color was a real bitch to get right especially with the number of layers that this uses. I think the flow is pretty good, the arrows don't hurt either.

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/Trial.jpg?t=1275853931

You guys have anything to add?

pinKtaco

06-06-2010, 08:09 PM

EDIT for Necro: Now I can see you siggy.... okay one tip: go light up links face with some curves and lighten/brightness. ;)

EDIT2: I need help for siggys again...I tried out a new style (which I prefer to dont do that again): Vectorizing.

It's a hard work and I became those two pictures...

http://pics.livejournal.com/nekomizu/pic/0002g907

http://pics.livejournal.com/nekomizu/pic/0002s5k5

what do you think about it?

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

06-08-2010, 09:55 PM

GRAGJHfbg;dufga!!!

Well, I made the two of these for a friend of mine in the states and I can't exactly decide which one's better 0_o

He said I could use any render I wanted as long as it was of either good Sir Henry mofo, or Link

That said, he wants them rather quickly so any CnC that people can offer ASAP would be appreciated...

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/Henry.jpg?t=1276033799

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/Untitled-1-1.jpg?t=1276033799

06-09-2010, 02:31 PM

What does everyone think about this, it's my first ever attempt at a sig.

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/160/3/3/33bacf98d5f39cc6f26954f1b0a6646c.jpg

I have to say I don't like the white space myself and I'll probably edit that, but I didn't have any ideas at the time.

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

06-09-2010, 02:52 PM

Alright quite a few things that you could improve on here...

1. The size: A standard sig is at most 500x200. Yours is like, 700x250. More space = More things to worry about.

2. The renders: First of all you have two of them. Generally you don't have more than one but there are cases where it can work out but sadly this isn't one of them. Get rid of Cloud or Zack.

3. The background: You've actually done well here, but there is one major problem. Neither of your renders interact at all with the background, either by fading into it, or blending with it via color/texture.

4. Both renders lack flow, your eye can't travel through the signature without multiple interuptions.

5. Color, ideally you want to pick a color and stick with it. Using Analogous or Complimentary colors will help your sig out. You may want to check this out since playing with it will undoubtedly help more than me just talking about it. http://colorschemedesigner.com/

6. Blending modes are more than just insanely helpful, they form the basis of color and lighting which you really want to pay attention to.

tl:dr, bad colors, no blending, no flow, use 1 render, experiment with blending modes. Sorry if I sound like a dick, but if someone doesn't say it now and get you out of certain bad habits you can experiment with later, they'll stick with you and bring your signatures down in terms of quality.

Cloud.Strife

06-09-2010, 02:57 PM

I try to use flow in the signature which i don't really use so i now try to use it in this sniper stock which i love :3
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5835/sniper2.png

Proximately

06-09-2010, 03:00 PM

Well yes. I agree with everything that Necro has said, especially the size (unless you fix it by adding more details to it) and the interaction between Cloud/Zack and the background.

However, for a first time signature I think it looks good. It's pleasant to look at and brings a message out. I think the interaction between Zack and Cloud works fairly well though, especially with the text that guides the two.

06-09-2010, 03:09 PM

Thanks for Commenting guys.

Sorry if I sound like a dick, but if someone doesn't say it now and get you out of certain bad habits you can experiment with later, they'll stick with you and bring your signatures down in terms of quality.

Not at all, that was exactly what I was looking for.

On an unrelated note, here's something I did for fun
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/160/8/5/85aa2e4f847ba08602478834217a7d1f.jpg
The White space is on purpose, just so you know

Cloud.Strife

06-09-2010, 03:22 PM

the bg of that seems like so fake o.o and try to let render blend into the bg :)

06-09-2010, 03:25 PM

the bg of that seems like so fake o.o and try to let render blend into the bg :)

It is(fake), that's kinda the point, but I see what you mean by blending
=== Double post was automatically merged. ===
Alrighty then, here's my next one, I'm hoping this looks better, partly because it took longer, but also because I focused a little more on flow and making sure it didn't look cut and pasted.

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/160/1/c/Zack_Fair_To_be_a_hero_by_CookiesFTA.jpg

BTW feel free to use this if you want, it's already got credit in it anyway.

Also this is another quick side project:
http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/160/1/2/Soki__s_Bloodbath_by_CookiesFTA.jpg

Vamper62

06-10-2010, 07:12 AM

Here is my first sig. I tried to keep it simple, but I'm not sure about the white text...

06-10-2010, 07:25 AM

Here is my first sig. I tried to keep it simple, but I'm not sure about the white text...

uhh... where is it?

Vamper62

06-10-2010, 07:28 AM

uhh... where is it?

its my sig right now...

06-10-2010, 07:58 AM

its my sig right now...

Can't see anything. Sorry.

533787655464

06-10-2010, 10:38 AM

Neither

/confirmation

06-10-2010, 12:08 PM

Also, what does everyone think of my current sig? It took alot longer and I think it's better but I'm not sure really. Criticism?

Cloud.Strife

06-10-2010, 12:31 PM

06-10-2010, 02:45 PM

It is better :3 and as i say blend the render to the background . u could take a soft round brush and erase the edges of the render.Text u should not put too much :)
=== Double post was automatically merged. ===
hehe my new signature
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/4200/roxas4.png
one of my best in flowing of my all signature

Thanks for the tips, I normally use the blur tool to put the render into the pick more, but I've also put them on top both times, do you think it would help if I put stuff over them?

As for yours, that looks AWESOME. And I don't say that lightly it's actually really cool.

Cloud.Strife

06-10-2010, 02:55 PM

Thanks for the tips, I normally use the blur tool to put the render into the pick more, but I've also put them on top both times, do you think it would help if I put stuff over them?

As for yours, that looks AWESOME. And I don't say that lightly it's actually really cool.
Thanks for the praise ;D try not to put something over them unless it is a C4D . For me , i mostly smudge the edges of my render if not i will erase the edges of my render using soft round brush.

06-10-2010, 03:35 PM

Thanks for the praise ;D try not to put something over them unless it is a C4D . For me , i mostly smudge the edges of my render if not i will erase the edges of my render using soft round brush.

Cool, i'll give it a try.

Vamper62

06-10-2010, 04:56 PM

Can't see anything. Sorry.

hrm... How about now? :confused:

http://dissidiaforums.com/picture.php?albumid=209&pictureid=2357

06-10-2010, 05:10 PM

hrm... How about now? :confused:

http://dissidiaforums.com/picture.php?albumid=209&pictureid=2357

That's actually pretty cool, it flows surprisingly well. I would say that normally alot of text is bad, but it looks really good, although I think the text on the right side is a little bit out of place and could do with being a slightly more similar colour to the background.

Cloud.Strife

06-11-2010, 10:30 AM

How is this signature ?
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/350/37058602.png
i wan try learn Micchi namine signature D:

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

06-11-2010, 11:26 AM

Cloud.Strife

06-11-2010, 01:22 PM

Damn Cloud.... You gotta point me at the tutorial you're using, I really like the style it uses. I think it works, the colors are nice and pretty balanced, it flows well, and everything looks nice.

One problem though, is the text you used. In this case it works out, but in general don't tilt your text. If you want to do that, it's better to type on a path like in Proximately's signature.

If you want I'd be happy to email you a few typography tutorials I have on my hard drive (I can't remember where I downloaded them from >_>)

Also, something all of you (Cookies, Cloud and Vamp) might want to consider is the Rule of Thirds.

Basically if you were to divide your sig into thirds length and width wise and line up your focal point at one of your intersections, the sig might look better. Don't bind yourself with this though, after you use it in a few sigs go and experiment a bit with your placement and stuff. All in all, it's actually very interesting to see your skill grow and your style subtly change over time. Keep it up you guys :R
About the text , i can't find a freaking colour to let the word to fit the sig . I tried to use eyedrop tool but most of the colour make the text too blend into the sig which make the text looks camoflage D: . But u say about the tutorial , the result of the tutorial is quite different from me or should i say completely different :( which i really hate that i cant do the result of the tutorial ): but thanks alot for the praising :D . The Rule of Thirds i tried before , i don really adapt to it nor like to use it so i go back to my normal way :D . i really need the tutorial that u have , i now need ALOT OF DIFFERENT TYPE OF C4D cause i can't find the C4D i wanted for my sig always :(

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

06-11-2010, 02:05 PM

Don't force yourself to get a result, if you like what you end up with then you're already doing better than if you used a tutorial.

On second thought, I'll post the typography stuff in the Tutorials thread so everyone can see it. You can check it out over there.

Cloud.Strife

06-11-2010, 02:21 PM

pinKtaco

06-11-2010, 03:59 PM

oh gosh....with the vectorize one...it do not want a critic :^D
whatever....I have done a new sig in different ways and I just need some critics °3°

normal
http://pics.livejournal.com/nekomizu/pic/00034f7t

black&white
http://pics.livejournal.com/nekomizu/pic/0003643a

normal + sharpen
http://pics.livejournal.com/nekomizu/pic/00037rcx

black&white + sharpen
http://pics.livejournal.com/nekomizu/pic/00038527

and yeah...it's Lady Gaga <3

06-11-2010, 04:04 PM

Personally, I think the sharpen for both looks much worse. This is because it looks more pixelated, even where it isn't. Funnily enough I was talking to a graphics student yesterday about this and he was telling me that pictures tend to work better when they are slightly blurred around the edges rather than sharpened, because it makes them look more natural and realistic (particularly with photos though). Also I prefer the colour, but that's just because it's got an awesomely wacky mix. I forgot to say that I really like it though, I bet it took ages :D

Haruhiist

06-11-2010, 04:17 PM

@Cloud.Strife:

Roxas Sig - Colours. The transition is too abrupt, it makes the sig look weird. Although, it'd probably look good to any person whom is just scrolling past your sig on a forum page, which is more or less what sigs are for. If you just look at it for more than 10 seconds, you might notice how awkward it is for the colour change. Not to mention red and blue don't quite complement each other, and contrast doesn't work here. There is also the issue of your sharpness of the sig, the left side is blur and the right side is sharp. Anyways, it looks okay as a scroll-past sig but it needs work as an actual piece of work. As for the flow thing, there is a nice flow for the right side of the sig, but the left side of the sig is just entirely blank, so the flow you went for isn't complete. Try to keep it throughout your sig.

Namine Sig - You should erase the C4D off the render unless it actually looks good. I think the sig would look nicer if Namine didn't have C4Ds on her face. There are other issues with the whole C4D spamming thing, but I'm not experienced in that area at all, so.

@Mizu:

That's awesome, I like the sharpness of the sig. Only thing I find out of place is the pattern, and maybe the weird red C4D you have on color dodge or something. It has little red strokes here and there (like at the top right of the render) and the sig might look nicer without it, and the patterns.

This point is entirely my own personal opinion.

Cloud.Strife

06-12-2010, 03:50 AM

テツヤ Kuroko

06-12-2010, 04:11 AM

:3
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c214/DevilMayCryDante/AkumaFGAku-XeltosCDTE2.png
First time using this style..So be Gentle. x3

Cloud.Strife

06-12-2010, 04:20 AM

:3
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c214/DevilMayCryDante/AkumaFGAku-XeltosCDTE2.png
First time using this style..So be Gentle. x3
i love all the C4D and brushes u use but about the render -.- i feel a little sick cause i used to see as a male den a female it feel a little funny. got any comment for my signature ? :D i wan improve it

06-29-2010, 09:54 PM

Here's a new one I made:

http://dissidiaforums.com/picture.php?albumid=208&pictureid=2510

I gather Cloud is a bit out of place in this one, he looked better when i had a quote in it too, but the quote itself looked crap.

So, CC?

Also a look at my new avatar might be nice. Thanks! :D
=== Double post was automatically merged. ===
Got another one in need of some CC:

http://dissidiaforums.com/picture.php?albumid=204&pictureid=2526

Proximately

07-10-2010, 06:17 PM

I love the new Sephiroth signature and the Cloud signature you have there. The Sephiroth one looks better and the colors go really with eachother. Cloud looks like he's walking away from an explosion, I think you could improve that one by just coloring the right side in a red saturation. The smudging fits pretty good too.

The Sephiroth signature may need a proper background but it's easy to look at and really puts the focus on the villain.

The avatar with Zack looks a bit odd though, a bunch of colors mixed together with some smudging. I get the feeling you want a special effect or some sort of "activate special ability" feeling with the background of it but I'm not feeling it. Less colors and more depth/blur could help along.

I need some feedback on an avatar I haven't finished yet. I'm stuck in the process and don't know what to do. Please help me. :(
The avatar is for the social group/team "The Lufenian Order". We're getting a new one.

Version 1
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii86/prox1mately/Signatures%20and%20Avatars/LufenianOrderAvatar2Version1.png

Version 2
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii86/prox1mately/Signatures%20and%20Avatars/LufenianOrderAvatar2Version2.png

This is the final version.
http://www.dissidiaforums.com/image.php?groupid=67&dateline=1272002839

This is a thing I did just because I felt like it. So in other words this is the first thing I did outside of requests. ^^
http://www.dissidiaforums.com/picture.php?albumid=198&pictureid=2586

The next signature was made for darkcloudVII, I'd like some feedback on it. The face is a bit sharpened, I don't know if it's too much but before this it was too blurry (without applied blur). The text is warped and it could have been done with more precision, didn't feel like working on that though.
http://www.dissidiaforums.com/picture.php?albumid=198&pictureid=2599

07-21-2010, 11:03 PM

Thanks for the CC. YEah not sure about the sephiroth ones...they were a bit hap-hazard.

BTW, I like the Final version of the Lufenian order one. That's a cool effect with the background and the L O. Only thing I'd say is I don't really like the original render, but you made it look good.

Proximately

07-22-2010, 04:07 PM

Thank you very much! ^___^
Now I just want some new stuff to show up in here. Do people only want feedback on their current avatar/signature these days? I posted there too but damn. xD

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

07-22-2010, 04:45 PM

Well, it's been a while since I posted here so I bring 3 of my latest sigs (read: the only 3 sigs I made since god knows when since I'm such a lazy bastard >_>)

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/Sephiroth.jpg?t=1279816853

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/SkullKid.jpg?t=1279816848

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/Shinobu.jpg?t=1279816849

Proximately

07-22-2010, 05:30 PM

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

Signature 1:
I don't know whether it's the coloring or that there's too much empty space on the left side. Sephiroth doesn't take up much space, I'm guessing that it had to do with you wanting to keep the upper half of his face hidden? I feel like the focus should have been his blade since I like the effects and brushing you have there the most. I can also sense a background that is of some interest but we're only shown a really tiny piece of it. To most people it won't do them any good and they'll just ignore it but I feel that if you let it show more it would add some needed variety to the signature.
The text could use some work in the areas of coloring, it simply is too different from the surrounding imagery to support the flow of it all.

Signature 2:
I like the eyes in this one but I think it's a bit too saturated. The contrast between the dark and bright places is nice though and I become relatively interested in who the character is.

There's still a lot of empty space and this works pretty well in this signature. But I think that at least some differences in the lightning that would differ the right from the left would be nice.

Signature 3:
I really like this one. The arm that stretches out toward the viewer pulls him/her in which gives a really neat perspective and depth to the signature. Your coloring is really nice in this one and the brown really fits with the feel, it's raw and down to earth. She seem kind of fierce and I think this is reflected well in the picture.

Proximately

07-22-2010, 05:37 PM

Please rate what out of ten? .____.

Kayarine

07-22-2010, 06:24 PM

I'm not particularly good at giving CC, but I guess I should point out a few things I noticed that I think could be changed to the better.

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/Sephiroth.jpg?t=1279816853
I like how you went for a different... um, what is the word? Cropping? Of the render. However, I think Sephi is a little too far to the right. If Prox is right about you trying to make his Masamune the focus of the sig, I think that's not such a great idea because the blade is so thin. It'd probably work better with something like Squall's or Tidus' swords.
I think it looks oversaturated/overcontrasted (as in, you messed with the Brightness/Contrast adjustment and put too much contrast). I know you like using multiple copies of the same layer on different blending modes, but you should be careful with how many of those you use, especially if it's Color Burn/Dodge or Overlay.

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/SkullKid.jpg?t=1279816848
I like this one, gives a feeling of eyes in the darkness staring at me. But I agree with Prox, it's a bit oversaturated as well. I'd suggest trying erasing everything other than the eyes (and other parts you may want to highlight) from a few blending mode layers.
And maybe - just an idea - you could try making the background a little lighter around the render? Like, add some lighting behind it.
Another idea: Add some glow to the eyes. Just brush some yellow with a regular round, soft brush over them (on a new layer, of course) and change the blending mode to Screen (and maybe under this a duplicate of the brushing on Color, with tweaked opacity)

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/Shinobu.jpg?t=1279816849
I like this one as well. The only thing that bugs me is that while the hand and dagger are supposed to be in the foreground, it doesn't have depth because everything is sharpened alike and it looks like just a flat picture. You should try using the Blur Tool to blur either the girl or the hand&dagger, so it looks like the viewer is focusing on either of the two, while the other is out of focus. You know, like when you look at something far away, things closer to you tend to look blurry, and vice versa.

This is the final version.
http://www.dissidiaforums.com/image.php?groupid=67&dateline=1272002839
At first I was going to say I found the blue background quite random, but then I remembered about the color wheel thing (orange and sky blue are in opposite sides in it, if I recal correctly, and that gives a nice contrasting combination). Still, I'm not particularly fond of the orange + sky blue combo (in general, not just in this avatar). But I suppose that works, it's just my personal opinion.
Anyway, I think Cid's head is a little too blended in. I think that in this kind of blending of render into background, the head shouldn't be so blended in, the body should. I don't know how to put exactly what I think into words... But it has a little to do with the head being the focus and all.
And I notice you blurred the bottom part of Cid. That's nice, but I think you could try blurring the background a little as well, for some depth.

soul-scythe

07-22-2010, 07:34 PM

?how does it look i only have windows paint (which sucks 4ss) after i lost my photoshop any one know any free programs?

Kayarine

07-22-2010, 07:36 PM

^ Check this sticky thread: Free alternatives to Photoshop (http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2362)

07-23-2010, 01:13 PM

Okay Necro, I'm not such a big fan of the Sephy one, but the Shinobu and SKull kid sigs are FREAKIN' AWESOME.

Skull kid especially. I really love how well he blends with the background and the effect that you've used for it is awesome, I'd like to know how you did it (so I can blatantly rip it >.>)

@Kayarine, whaddya mean not good at giving CC, you're kinda one of the best. Doop is all I can say to that comment. Doop.

K-Wilt

07-24-2010, 02:36 PM

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/982/75773097.png
Someone give me a CC

07-27-2010, 07:32 PM

Some CC pliz.

Firs of all, text or no text?
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/208/f/4/Vincent___Cold_Reaper_by_CookiesFTA.jpg
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/208/6/3/Vincent___A_signature_by_CookiesFTA.jpg

Then, 1 or 2?
1: http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/208/0/a/Zelgius___Black_Knight_by_CookiesFTA.jpg
2: http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/208/d/1/Zelgius___Duty_and_Destiny_by_CookiesFTA.jpg

Then this is just another random one:
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/208/2/8/Nephenee__Sapphire_Lancer_by_CookiesFTA.jpg

I hope you leiks!

Proximately

07-27-2010, 08:03 PM

Cookies

Signature 1:
This one should definitely be with text rather than without. It feels way too empty without the text there and I would personally recommend blending in one of Vincent's guns to make up for too much space, maybe with a coloroverlay of black, putting it in the white stripe and making the tip and bottom of the render to touch the black space in the signature.

Signature 2:
I don't really like either of the two more than the other. I think that blurring the lower one decreasingly from one end to the other would make it a lot better. The text from the top one looks the best though. I think the bottom has the better use of your render as the top one looks unsure whether 'it wants' to be the focus or not.

Signature 3:
I like the flow in this one but I also think you can make the text a bit more of a piece with the bottom layer. One thing I've noticed so far in your signatures is that except for the "Signature 1" signature you don't seem to have spent a lot of time working on incorporating the renders with the rest of your signature. I think one major improvement would be if you started experimenting with your renders and mixing it in with different backgrounds.

Total:
Out of the three signatures you submitted I like the Vincent signature the most. It tries to work a little with the original render (even if it's not top notch in the outcome) and ends up looking very clear and focused. Work on the empty spaces and return. I want BIG changes rather than MAJOR improvement. :P

Kayarine

07-27-2010, 08:05 PM

Before I post my (not-so-)wall of text, I'd like to ask for CC on this(these?) sig(s?).

http://i25.tinypic.com/35d5dfn.jpg

http://i32.tinypic.com/263d82v.jpg

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/982/75773097.png
What I don't really like is how large it is height-wise, but I suppose that's mere personal preference.
I think the area between the guy in white and the arrow is a little too empty. Maybe you could put some text there.
Some color blending could help as well, in my opinion. (Gradient Maps on different blending modes, perhaps?)
I can't think of anything else.

Firs of all, text or no text?
http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/208/f/4/Vincent___Cold_Reaper_by_CookiesFTA.jpg
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/208/6/3/Vincent___A_signature_by_CookiesFTA.jpg
Honestly, I don't like either. The text looks like it was just slapped on, and the textless one is way too empty.

Vincent is way too far to the right, which leads to empty space on the left. Following the Rule of Thirds here will help. Also, I think decreasing the sig width or overall canvas size (remember canvas size, not overall image size) might help if you're having trouble with filling the left side.

The flow here is bad (lines in the background go horizontally across the sig, while the red lines around Vincent are going diagonally). My advice is to either make either lines more subtle or make all lines go in the same direction.

Speaking of the background... It's really plain. You might want to do some smudging or use C4Ds (or maybe even mix both)

If you still want to include text, I suggest trying to mess with it a little more. Try different fonts, try adding sub-text (as in, for decorative purposes only, not for reading), try mixing colors. Personally I'm not good with text myself, so I can't say much on the subject.

Then, 1 or 2?
1: http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/208/0/a/Zelgius___Black_Knight_by_CookiesFTA.jpg
2: http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/208/d/1/Zelgius___Duty_and_Destiny_by_CookiesFTA.jpg
I'd say number 1, because he's blended into the background (albeit little) and the background is not as messy.

However, I think the text is terrible. Very fancy fonts such as that one are usually bad ideas for the average sig.

Again, I think he's way too far to the right.

I'd try to put something in those pitch black spots if I were you, even if it's something very subtle.

The background is kinda boring, though. Try to avoid copy-pasting a single C4D and call it a background. I'd paste mutiple C4Ds and change their blending modes (a non pure-black/white background is best if you do this). Change the hue of the C4Ds if they're of colors that don't match.

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/208/2/8/Nephenee__Sapphire_Lancer_by_CookiesFTA.jpg
I think the background is too messy here... Perhaps you could use the Blur Tool to blur everything in the background except for the part that goes in the same direction as the text.

And the render looks like it was just copy-pasted there... Make it interact with the background more. You could either smudge its edges or appy a few more C4Ds over him (be careful to not cover important parts, like the face. If you use this approach, I suggest using a less chaotic background)

The text needs some work, as well. I already suggested what I know for the other sigs.

07-28-2010, 08:50 AM

Thanks for the Criticism guys, I'ma gonna play around with those renders for a bit, and definately change the BK one massively, also the vincent one. I do want to ask though for suggestions of how to make renders blend in better cuz Cloud.Strife said it before but I'm not sure how...baring in mind that I've only used GIMP for a month and a half now.

@Kayarine I prefer the one with the red still in it and the background coloured. I think that having the background black does nicely draw your eyes to the renders, but it also makes the background look a little boring. Also the renders themselves look better with the red, IMO anyway.

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

07-28-2010, 03:28 PM

Hey guys, it's been a while... I think -_-

Anyway, if you haven't already seen this take a look at it. Nexus and I are using it as the banner for the Fighter's Paradise: Battleground of Valhalla tournament and I was wondering what you guys had to say about it. I originally designed it to look like one of the Final Fantasy logos, and if you look at each one of them they all have a central image that's accented and blended with brush strokes. That was the goal here and I think I got a reasonable approximation of it. Of course there are bits like the hair and the spear that stand out but other than those I feel I got it right. Anyway, I'll let you be the judge on that.

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/FightersParadise2.jpg?t=1280334418

Micchi

07-28-2010, 11:22 PM

^ I think it's cool, I like the whole two-tone color thing you got going there. My only compliant I have is that the render looks kinda blurry. Maybe sharpen it a bit...? That's just what I think, though. I'm not the best CnC-er around. :)

I'd like some CnC on these...?
v

http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz8/maea24/crocell-sig.png

http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz8/maea24/Eleane-sig.png

I'm not sure how to feel about them. One minute, I think they're cool, the next, I think they're ugly. So i'd like you guys to give me your honest opinion about them. Just go easy on me. I know i'm not that good. D;

Cait Sith

07-30-2010, 05:27 AM

well this is the first time i ever tried making something other than an amv and i can tell that this sig is horrible but i want to hear it from you guys :P i never actually finished the tutorial videos stopped watching them simply because they confused me, so i decided to find out how to make one myself, so after a little experimenting i came up with my fail signature! *victory fanfare* well here it is my very first sig :| the fist thing i myself notice thats off is the text.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x227/serj1232007/untitled-1.jpg

Sylphid

07-31-2010, 01:27 AM

Okay, so I got a new laptop earlier this month, and I discovered that it had Adobe Photoshop Elements, and I was like "Ooh~ I can do artsy stuff now without having to worry about my crappy drawings.." and I was pretty chuffed.

So I did a tutorial, as you do, because I'll admit, when using Photoshop on my own for the first time.. it was like a labyrinth.. I didn't know where anything was, or what did what.
So yeah, did a tutorial, and this is the result.

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz266/Entropy94/Lulu_edited-1.jpg

I didn't use a render, but rather an array of smudges, as a radial gradient went wrong and I panicked. But it turned out nice. First signature-esque thing, and tips would be appreciated. <3

And to Cait Sith~ O: I think that looks pretty kick-ass.. And what you mean by the text being off.. I don't see anything off with it.. :3 I think it suits, but then I know nothing about this "Lilium".. whatever it is.. x3

Proximately

07-31-2010, 05:59 AM

Try giving us a direct link to your picture if it doesn't work. Either that or you could also upload it to your album on this forum (beware of people who are unable to see pictures uploaded here though).

Kayarine

07-31-2010, 06:19 AM

I can't stay for long right now, so I'll give CC later... But here's the image Sylphid tried to post:

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz266/Entropy94/Lulu_edited-1-2.jpg

For future reference, remember to use the Direct Link of the image when you want to post it. c:

533787655464

07-31-2010, 06:23 AM

You guys are just jealous of my sig

Sylphid

07-31-2010, 10:31 AM

Thank ya kindly, Kaya and Proxi. :3

Own post fixed now.. x3 I didn't realise it was the Direct Link thingamajig box.

Kayarine

07-31-2010, 06:04 PM

Okay, here's the CC I promised earlier.

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo173/W4nts2belink/FightersParadise2.jpg?t=1280334418
I think you did a really good job. However, I also think the black/dark parts should be white or better blended into the colors because FF logos don't have any kind of definition like that (for a lack of better term), like the colored parts behind him. I'm not sure how to accomplish this, but my guess is that it would involve Gradient Maps under the actual color layers.

http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz8/maea24/crocell-sig.png
I love the colors and think this a beautiful sig, like all your others. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the text should be not so sharpened to not pull too much attention away from the render.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x227/serj1232007/untitled-1.jpg
First thing I'll point out is the size... Beginners tend to make big sigs, from what I observed, and personally I think this is bad. Sure, it may sound like a good idea to be able to show more of the pictures, but it also means that there's much more space to fill and worry about.

The second thing I should point out is the lack of focal point. With the two renders on opposite sides of the sig, it splits the focus and this is not good. My advice is to only use one character render in a sig or keep them very close to each other.

About the background... It's too bright/vivid compared to the renders, so it pulls attention away from them.
Besides that, it looks like the renders are just copy-pasted on the background. Work on making the renders blend into the background (don't overdo it, though. They're usually supposed to be the focal points, after all). Smudging the renders' edges or putting C4Ds, brushes or other things on the foreground can help.

Yeah, the text isn't looking very good. Don't have text all over the sig. Like focal points, it's best to keep them all in the same spot. But you shouldn't have much text anyway, unless you're making a sig heavily based on text or something like that.
Other than that, I believe it should be a little more subtle. The right colors and size usually accomplish that. Oh, and I suggest trying different fonts.

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz266/Entropy94/Lulu_edited-1.jpg
Like I said to Cait Sith, there's the size issue. There's a lot of empty, boring space because of that.
And like I also told him, the text shouldn't be all separated like that. Other than that, I think it could use a darker shade of blue to match the rest of the image better.

I see you did some things around Lulu, they help her blend into the background a little better. The only problem I have with it is that the lighter bits end too suddenly (uh, I don't think this makes sense but I dunno how to word it). Erasing the edges with a soft brush (or brushing with a soft brush, depending on how you achieved that effect) should fix this.

The background is boring... You should try smudging it or using some C4Ds or brushes or just adding more stuff to it in various blending modes.

Sylphid

07-31-2010, 11:45 PM

Like I said to Cait Sith, there's the size issue. There's a lot of empty, boring space because of that.
And like I also told him, the text shouldn't be all separated like that. Other than that, I think it could use a darker shade of blue to match the rest of the image better.

I see you did some things around Lulu, they help her blend into the background a little better. The only problem I have with it is that the lighter bits end too suddenly (uh, I don't think this makes sense but I dunno how to word it). Erasing the edges with a soft brush (or brushing with a soft brush, depending on how you achieved that effect) should fix this.

The background is boring... You should try smudging it or using some C4Ds or brushes or just adding more stuff to it in various blending modes.

First I want to say, thank you for the CC, Kaya. It was incredibly helpful, and I completely understand what you mean.. o: Although I had to Google C4Ds. x3 But then I'm not signature savvy, which you can tell because in my first post I said I didn't use a render, thinking that render meant background. >-<

I have updated it.. but I'm not at all happy with it.. Mainly because of the custom background.. It's all un-even and filled with white. So I'm going to try again with Lulu, and see if I can have success with her(No pun intended.. I think. ;3).

The3p1cN3cr0p4th

08-04-2010, 01:14 AM

My new sig eats awesome and shits epic. It's comprised of massive quantities of highly concentrated and unstable OMGWTF as well as a coating of win to keep it from destroying the universe.

You should all thank me for saving your lives by diluting the pure pwnage that the sig would normally emit to much more tolerable levels... All gifts should be mailed to the penthouse suite of the flatiron building in New York and I'm free friday nights... >__________>

[/joke]

But seriously, new sig; I think it kicks ass but I can't be sure, artist's bias and all.

08-18-2010, 02:27 PM

Hey guys, this is the banner I made for the Destiny XI online team. Any CC?

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/230/7/e/Destiny_XI__Thread_Banner_by_CookiesFTA.jpg

Proximately

08-18-2010, 07:00 PM

I think it's awesome. I think some lightning effects could be added behind the "DESTINY XI" text to give it an even more solid focal point.

CHOCOBO

12-04-2010, 04:12 PM

http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae94/AskTehNinjaz/halored.png

?

Haruhiist

12-04-2010, 04:25 PM

The effects are nice and it's pretty pleasant to see for a signature. Though, in my opinion, because the effects are so heavy on the render, the little empty space on the left and top left of the signature is very noticeable. You need to fill that up with something, or shape the sig such that there is very little empty space. It may also be because the effects on the render stop abruptly, if they trailed off a little more, it might be less noticeable. Another thing to mention would be the lighting. The render looks like hes facing something with bright light, but that isn't expressed in the sig where everything else has it's own lighting - most contradicting would be the flames to his right which are fairly dark. Provide a light source to the signature, or apply lighting to the entire sig through a technique like:

New Layer - Apply Image - Filters - Lighting Effects

The flow is nice though, and the effects with the C4Ds/brushes are very well done imo. One last thing I can say is that although the text sort of follows the flow, it's out of place in the sense that it's outside the.. area of the flow. You could either move it lower and try to style it differently so it fits better, or simply leave it horizontal and place it.. maybe at the bottom right of the sig, slightly elevated. Around the render's left elbow.

lolshack

12-10-2010, 08:01 AM

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af35/lolshack/polycastor.png

Castor didn't blend, amirite?

Hezzabeam

12-10-2010, 08:53 AM

SHINJIRO.

...Okay sorry. He's my favorite P3 character. Anyway, Castor looks fine aside from maybe...the horse part looking a bit light? He seems desaturated or something.

On that note, I hope my sig isn't too wordy. I just made it today and I'm already all worried that the text is teal deer or hard on the eyes. -is OCD like that-

Suppi

12-10-2010, 09:19 AM

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8634/vaanhaha.png

Criticism. Give me it.

lolshack

12-10-2010, 08:19 PM

I swear i have seen it, but with Touhou ones.

This is should be entered in Epic Picture Thread >.> imo

EDIT: Suppi, you fail. Exdeath's fingers is...meh.

テツヤ Kuroko

12-10-2010, 08:25 PM

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c214/DevilMayCryDante/Inspiration-SOTW5.png

I know there's alot of empty space, but honestly you don't notice it since you're so concentrated on the Focal Point(s). XD

Just wanted to see what people think otherwise. :P

lolshack

12-12-2010, 09:43 AM

I didn't realize the empty spaces ; i'm too focused on the render :3

And, CC?

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af35/lolshack/matsutoshiie.png

Kayarine

12-13-2010, 08:28 AM

And, CC?

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af35/lolshack/matsutoshiie.png

First thing I noticed was how the green lines by the text don't flow with the blade of the girl. You should try making it follow the same general direction of the blade for better flow.

Another thing I noticed is how the render/focal is so much to the left, while the text is pretty much on the other side of the signature. I'd say moving the render more to the right would be good (Rule of Thirds, anyone?)

Also, the black background is sooo empty. Maybe you should try some subtle brushing or a texture to fill it up.

And the render looks like it was just copy-pasted on the signature... Needs more blending, either by placing some effects/stuff on the foreground or by making the colors blend better with some Gradient Maps and such.

The text is a little hard to read, too. Maybe you should try a less elaborate font or make it larger (which would also help with filling up the empty space)

No78

12-13-2010, 10:12 AM

I don't understand this. How can you constructively criticize a signature? Something that's unoriginal by nature, and made to represent the user... It's not like it holds any function. The only person who can criticize it is the user themself, and they can rectify those mistakes until they have a signature they enjoy. You could think a person's sig is utter tripe but it doesn't matter, 'cause it's their sig and they use it and like it... Right?

lolshack

12-14-2010, 08:42 PM

Everyone here point out things the user can improve, but it is only the user that can rectify the sigs.

Kurayami

12-20-2010, 11:48 PM

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3187/testars.png

CC anyone?

MoD

12-25-2010, 07:36 PM

Hmm so let me try this
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u56/MOD1212/OKsig.jpg
I know its a mess but i love to use a lot of colors..

Cloud of Darkness

12-25-2010, 07:51 PM

Well if you like it with lots of colors then it represents what you like, I would suggest changing the font for "Onion" or at least raising it a bit, it is almost unnoticable, at first glance I saw Knight, then saw Onion when I looked at it clearly.

Maybe tinker with the colors to see if you like it any other way, personally I think it is pretty harsh in terms of colors, reds and oranges are typically heavy, or strong colors, of course it does go with Onion Knight though.

Overall I like it, but change the word Onion Knight somehow.

Repliica

01-26-2011, 11:26 PM

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3187/testars.png

CC anyone?

I need to become more active in this thread, therefore since no CC was given I'll put in my 5cents. ^_^

First I'll say I quite like this signature, the three panels work nicely together however I'm not keen on the same picture being used twice. I know that it's her alt costume but it would be nice if she were in a different pose. Also it feels a slight bit off balance because there's no black bar on the far right side, not that it's a bad thing but I'm usually all about balance. I definitely love the various colours you've used as well, one different one for each panel they all correspond to each other quite nicely and lastly just your text. Just be cautious of how you've positioned them because the linear positioning draws the eye upwards instead of through the signature and with the black rectangles behind the text it tends to become the main focus of the sig. I don't know if that's what you were aiming for? if so then you achieved it, my eye is definitely drawn to her name first then the pictures after. ~

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u56/MOD1212/OKsig.jpg

I quite like the strong use of colour in this signature. The render, though a bit hidden with the colour, actually suits it quite nicely. You could always try playing with curves and contrast to bring him out a bit from the background but I personally like it as is. I'd have to agree with CoD as well, change the text colour of 'Onion'? Just something lighter I think would work well :D and that's pretty much all I have to say because, like I said, I quite like this signature. My eye tends to be drawn to the render and it has a nice sense of flow to it, I think that's because of the positioning of the render as well ~

Alex

02-24-2011, 08:56 AM

I didn't see this thread (idk how i missed it :P) but anyway, i made a sig, decided to add moar stuff. could i get some CC? also, which is better?
http://i54.tinypic.com/2lwoltf.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/15wyski.jpg

Marco

04-19-2011, 09:58 PM

I just made these signatures, and i would like some constructive criticism.

http://i56.tinypic.com/2n24osl.png

http://i53.tinypic.com/20fxnc8.png

http://i56.tinypic.com/2ljsygz.png

http://i51.tinypic.com/15e9wuu.png

Note that im still new with photoshop, and don't know how to make more advanced stuff.

05-07-2011, 04:27 PM

Hmm, I don't think the text fits all that well, I think it would be better if it had softer edges and faded into the rest of the sig a little bit.

As for the rest of it, I like the style but it's a bit too simple, you need something more than just dark smudges I think, like the Emperor one, that's a bit better. For some insight into that sort of sig I recommend this thread (http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread.php?1112-BEYNd-s-Smudge-Style-Signatures&highlight=beynd+smudge). Beynd/Amphoric is very good at those kind of signatures, maybe you could steal be inspired by some of his ideas.

ByronJarebb

07-03-2011, 12:12 PM

Hey guys. I'm sorry if I'm reviving this thread but I need your criticism. This is basically the first sig I tried to make and I don't really like it... AT ALL. So I need your opinion on how I could improve my works. Any feedback is appreciated ;).

http://i54.tinypic.com/2jboa69.jpg

Oh and BTW, I also made a PSP wallpaper out of boredom, it's kinda abstract, though.

http://i53.tinypic.com/o030pf.jpg

Feedback for both images would be much appreciated :D.

DissidiaBattleNet

07-07-2011, 02:43 PM

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee485/DissidiaBattleNet/UntitledGIF.gif

Here is a GFX I did on one of my favorite characters in Final Fantasy: Kain

What do you think (btw, its signed MrTifa cause it was for another website. But I decided to post it here as well)

Sean1616

07-07-2011, 03:18 PM

For first. Well. 6. ^^

Try to work on text placing and effects. But try doing text first, then effects. Learn what font, sizes and colors suit the GFX well. :D

shomai19

07-08-2011, 02:42 AM

As the title says, I do need help improvement. Any advice? I've browsed through tutorials before but just recently tried the actual thing. I'm still using photoshop cs3 though, can't really afford cs5 (and even if I did, my laptop might not be able to meet minimum reqs). I don't have much fonts installed either...I'm trying to remedy that. Here's a couple...

http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/shomai19/ffviiicopy.jpg

http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/shomai19/Squallver2.jpg

advice?

Veloncia

07-08-2011, 03:11 AM

Not bad, but if that's a signature, it needs to be smaller, thinner, etc. Plus, the fonts are rather bland, and the color makes it difficult to read. For me, in any case.

shomai19

07-08-2011, 06:27 AM

I'm just a beginner myself but I think the text is a bit off, a little hard to read and plain. Not bad for a first, though.

ByronJarebb

07-09-2011, 03:08 PM

Hi guys. I made a couple of new PSP wallies today. I need your CC. If you liked any of these please tell me which so I can apply the art style I have applied to that specific wallie to future works I would do. Any feedback appreciated :D.

http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh352/byronjarebb96/2011%20-%20Photoshop%20stuff/Terra.jpg
http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh352/byronjarebb96/2011%20-%20Photoshop%20stuff/Terra1.jpg
http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh352/byronjarebb96/2011%20-%20Photoshop%20stuff/WarriorofLightPSP2.jpg
http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh352/byronjarebb96/2011%20-%20Photoshop%20stuff/Kefka.jpg
http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh352/byronjarebb96/2011%20-%20Photoshop%20stuff/Tifa1copy.jpg
http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh352/byronjarebb96/2011%20-%20Photoshop%20stuff/Tifacopy.jpg