My experimental take on...

...banners.

Earlier on in the week I critiqued Aizuke's latest banner in one of her blog entries, and that had me reflecting on some of the ones I've made over time.

Today I made this out of boredom -



Then I took another look at her latest banner and thought to myself how I could play around with the same render as well.

Hers:



Mine:



I didn't want to make it too busy, because I feel that the render can get a little lost in all the effects at times, and looking at her latest banner made me think that very thought, so I just wanted to see how I could try and use the same render slightly differently.

I also looked back at some of the banners I've made in the past that I actually like.

















You could say the style is heavily consistent in most of them, but it's not really something I care about. I make graphics as a kind of leisure and it's not really something I would say is my major supreme.

I like drawing more than I like graphicing, and that's why I never went too far with experimenting with styles.

I guess it's because I'm always using someone else's art when I'm not using my own. It feels impersonal and I can't really say it's my own. What is graphics? You may take resources and put your own spin to them and that's what may make it yours, but I still don't like it as much as drawing, where EVERYTHING is my own creation, including effects.

It feels like another form of collage, and I know other people may find that appealing, but I have a mindset where I'd prefer anything that involves me drawing it from scratch, because that to me feels more meaningful than otherwise. After many years of making my own creations, doing this sort of thing just doesn't appeal to me as much as it may appeal to other people.

I like the Zero sig you made.

You could say the style is heavily consistent in most of them, but it's not really something I care about. I make graphics as a kind of leisure and it's not really something I would say is my major supreme.

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You're naturally gifted! I foolishly strive to be as graphically and artistically talented as you. XD; Oh where oh where do you find those resources. :(

y u soo good at everything omgomgomg ;w;

Thank you for the comments, you three!

@Zet - I had a lot of fun with that one because the pose itself was dynamic, so I kinda wanted to make it look as if there's an explosion around him...albeit a very colourful one. :D

@TwilightBlade - You're so sweet! I don't actually think like that about myself, it's more so that I just practice a lot and come out with something that I and other people like. If you kept practicing and doing the same as well then I'm sure I'll be the one giving you a lot of the praise, as well as staring at anything you make. :D

@Touko - Well like I said, it's practice! If you don't try, you stay at a bit of a standstill.

Anybody can make any form of art, and I do mean anybody. Natural talent may be present in individuals but I know a lot of them that like to be lazy, so it's a waste of talent. I think actively pursuing your ambition so it eventually becomes a second nature skill is a talent in itself, and that at the end of the day is what makes you stand out from the rest.

As for resources, just downloading some random ones on DeviantART and other graphic communities around the net is how I've been getting mine. Just type "C4D packs" on google or something and you can actually get a lot of textures.

Flygon, Green Hair, Blue Eyes and Blue Hair are the best ones imo :3

Forever said:

Green Hair, Blue Eyes and Blue Hair

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I assume you're referring to C.C., Black Rock Shooter, and Stocking, respectively. Those three and the anthropomorphized Flygon are probably the best of the bunch. Looks like we can agree on some things after all. The Zero banner's also decent, though it could use a few less effects.

On the other hand, I just don't like the Neku Sakuraba, Anri Sonohara, or Noel Vermillion banners. Neku has an extremely busy background that distracts from the actual subject, and that red light could certainly use a bit more opacity. Anri's flow works well, though the actual background effect is a bit too garish, and the black spaces on both sides only serve to emphasize that effect instead of Anri herself. Noel is a bit washed out, and the light background only makes her look even brighter.

As for the latest variation on Saber, the banner's still a bit minimalist, but at least the focus is on still on the subject instead of the background effect. And now I want to make my own Saber variation. Right when I changed over to my Hibiki Ganaha theme, too. Wonderful.

Very helpful critique, Jack. Thank you very much! Most of these are quite old, and if I had the chance to tweak them now then I'd definitely keep what you've said in mind. I decided to pick these ones out of the many banners I made because a lot of them suffered from the same kind of habit I've had for months on end; they would look far too cluttered and oversaturated, even if one or two on this wall actually appear to be exactly that. I tried to experiment and most of them would come out a tad overexaggerated, but that's no problem to me since it doesn't hurt to give it a try and make a few mistakes along the way.

But it does make me laugh that Nica and yourself called that first banner a Flygon gijinka - the character is not a pokemon! Her name is Tsubaki from a game called Trinity Universe.