[Free Shop] Lapis Philosophorum

You made it before my departure; I'm so proud of you, onee-sama! <3;

With that said though, let's get on to critique:
Your banners are very vibrant. They do not look monotonous. At all. Props to you for that. Another aspect of your works, and I'm talking about your tags in particular, that appeals to me is the fact that you do not shy away from experimenting with effects. Some of them have textures, some have c4ds while there are those with you trying your hand at smudging. Really, say what you will about yourself but that quality of yours, this so called 'urge to experiment', is something really good for graphic artists. There are those, such as myself, who tend to get comfortable with a style in particular and refuse to let go of it in favor of experimentation which, ultimately, does not help us improve ourselves. But you're different. You've steadily improved a lot and it's visible in your tags. So yes, good job. I really do hope you do not give up making banners/tags/doing graphics anytime because you're good at it and I can see you do great if you continue with it.

Your colors are great and tags aren't monotonous. You experiment quite a bit with effects. Is there anything in my opinion that can be improved? Yes. Your banners look appealing but quite a lot of them feel unnecessarily busy. They tend to suffer from an effect-overdose, if you will. There's just too much going on in them. Not that having a good number of effects is a bad thing; but they just end up being distractions when it becomes difficult for the focal to stand out among them. That's the case with this, this and this tag, I feel. And perhaps a few more. You probably already know. Which brings me to the next point - depth. Quite some of your works, in my opinion, lack depth. Everything in your works, generally, has the same level of sharpness - be it the background, the render/stock or the foreground effects. You could do a lot better if you blur out some of the effects and sharpen the focal a bit in your works. Blurring them out to increase depth would also, to a degree, take care of the aforementioned problem of 'effect-overdose'. Because, in the end, both these problems are interconnected as they both stem from the lack of a distinct focal. So yeah, hope you work on that! :]

Your profiles and CSS are just plan gorgeous, btw. Keep up the good work! :]

Blade you are SO talented! Could you please make me an avatar with Tharja? <3

@Dero: Thank you for the kind words, bro! I shall definitely work on the depth in my future tags. I agree, sometimes I overuse effects, but I feel like a banner is too empty if there's not something going on in every corner of the piece. It's a bad habit I still need to break, yeah. XD; I'll find the balance once I do some tags in my spare time. Thank you for everything you've said; I would not have gone this far nor even posted a new gallery if I didn't have your support. <3

@Mac: Thanks! Here's a Tharja icon for your use:


I also randomly made two Pokemon icons since I have PS open:

omigosh your tags are amazing. love how each one is different. the coloring is just gorgeous.
i love how some of them have a main focus point which you are drawn to because of the lighing.
the first one does bother me i don't like the dark edges. i know dark edges help a tag, but i just feel like it is too dark. (i just like brightness)
i can't wait to see more of your artwork. you're perfect.

First, let me apologize for not getting to comment on this sooner.

Second, wow. Just wow.

And I don't just mean your amazing CSS skills, your unbelievable graphic talent, your irrefutable comfort with icons, or your stunning digital art. I mean the whole package just.. wow. Your banners are really what stand out to me. I have almost no idea the effort or work it really takes to create something like that, but I can imagine, from the obvious quality of the pieces, that a lot went into them. Part of me wants to say they're your strong suit, but then I browse the rest of your gallery. @_@

It would be unfair of me to say that any particular subject or medium is your best. Because, from everything I can gather, you're comfortable with everything. What I love most is how *you* really just shine through all of these pieces. Your style is so apparent and it makes each icon, each tag, so deliciously TwilightBlade. I love them all. What I can critique openly is your subject matter. >:3 What on earth is that Deino doing with that Vanillite?! Those two have no business being in love. Unless it's a Romeo and Juliette kind of thing, in which case I have no choice but to commend you for your unconventional tastes. xD

Nevertheless, from span to span, everything is wonderful. You definitely have a lot to be proud of here. And, with serious work at your skills, I can see you going so, so far with this. I've gone too long being a member on PC without seeing your work, and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to offer a critique (even though I didn't critique much but whatever!). I sincerely hope you update this gallery often because more of our members need to know how talented you are. c:

:3;; I wish I could deliver delicious goodies at a quicker pace, but these days whenever I do open photoshop, it's for making icons or CSS. :'( I love love love playing with colors, though! Oh yeah, I did get tired of the dark edges effect so you don't have to worry too much about that anymore, Kayla. :3 Also, the Deino loves to nom on things he shouldn't, so he's in love with the thought of licking the ice cream. He's not necessarily in love with Vanillite, haha.





CSS

Nnng the Scizor icon is just <33. I really like the sharpening and how nicely he fits into the canvas n_n

Request time, if I may! Can you please make an icon (100x100 to 120x120 since I prefer smaller icons wa) with this image right here? Just the Whimsicott + Cottonee, so no Zorua (sorry foxxy). Thank you muchly~

Thanks. :D I'm happy with the cropping on some of those, too. How's this for you?



Oh, this one was from a past icontest.



And this is from October 2011. Can never have too many Flareon around here.

Gosh that is just so cute. You're killing me Blade! ;C; <3 Thanks so much, I can't resist switching over!

Looks like I'm done changing icons sporadically like I used to, whee.

Wow your style is really nice. I love the diversity of it, you're really good at blending in textures which is something I wish I was better at. this signature right here ommmmmgggg sorry for the girly squeal but it's my favourite out of all your works, close with the Azumarill and Pidgey tag, I love the use of C4Ds and the colours. The lighting is nice and the depth shows up well. This is a very nice tag. Not saying your other tags aren't nice cause that's not true at all but that one is definitely my favourite.

Hey blade, your work is absolutely amazing. You lighting, your styles, everything about your tags I love. Your c4d usage is probably the best I've ever seen. Also your css skills, absolutely amazing, I especially love the scrolling.

<3 You guys are stunning. If anyone ever wants an icon, let me know. :) Some old, some new stuff.

130x130 Icons, rather recent.


150x150 Icons, from an old superhero staff collab.




Past CSS
Trade Shops / Galleries
the time is out of joint
the motion keeps my heart running
river of the heavens
chaos angel
veritas
shop template #6
shop template #7

Threads on interests/series
eevee and eeveelution
legendary pokemon
sonic the hedgehog
fullmetal alchemist
avatar the last airbender
sword art online
free, swimming anime
attack on titan
breaking bad
borderlands 2
video gaming get-together 2012
video gaming get-together 2013

Yeah, I still am offering icons.

Some very old banners (2008?) since I have nothing new to share. o3o;;; Lightmare collab with Cherii.

How about this?



I did this for Sydian


And this Mega evolution, but I don't feel like using it yet, if ever.

These are amazing! :O Fantastic, bizarre. Really, I am so impressed, I'm actually stunned. O.O

Do you do requests? :3

Oh wow, thank you :). I like it!

Rozu, I offer icons. I don't offer banners because they take at least an hour to do, and I don't have that kind of time during the semester. :o

Silais, glad you like it!

I did these recently, but if anyone wants 'em, I can resize:



Pokemon XY icons, featuring Skrelp final, Chespin final, Pancham final, and Tyrunt final