Declassified Documents [A Graphics Gallery]

Last updated 22 July 2009

OVERVIEW

While I've had both the tools and the raw materials in my possession for quite a while, it wasn't until November 2008 that I started making my own graphics for my own personal use. To be honest, I only consider myself an average graphics artist; I've only been at this for just under seven months, after all.

All my graphics were made using GIMP 2.4.6 (who needs Photoshop?).

RULES AND REGULATIONS

1. Don't steal. Just don't.
2. This is just a gallery, so don't pester me with requests. Go get other people to make graphics for you; they're probably better at it than me anyway.
3. If you don't have anything constructive to say, don't say it at all.
4. Follow the general rules and regulations of this forum.

MY WORK

1. Marisa Kirisame - Touhou Project

I was never very good at lighting effects, so sue me. You can't have my precious thing as part of the settlement, though; Marisa already stole it.

2. Gertrud Barkhorn - Strike Witches

Featuring a cameo from Gertrud's inspiration, World War II Luftwaffe ace Gerhard Barkhorn. Back when I was still using this theme, lots of people thought it looked like Gerhard wanted to rape Gertrud; he'd just be screwing himself, though.

3, 4, 5, 6. Mana Tatsumiya - Negima

Four variations on the same theme. A significantly cruder version was actually the very first banner I ever made; I'm not going to show that one to you, though. From top to bottom, the camouflage patterns are: Type 99, M90, MARPAT, and Flecktarn. Which one do you like best?

7. Orihime Inoue - Bleach

Depending on the angle you view it, the kanji on the pillar can change brightness. I especially liked how that turned out.

8. Hazuki - Tsukuyomi -MOON PHASE-

I doubt our Hazuki would use this theme, though. Bonus points if you can figure out where the background came from.

9. Lelouch Lamperouge - Code Geass

This theme was inspired by the song "Runnin'" by The Pharcyde. It's a damn good song; I doubt I could say the same of this theme, though.

10. Misuzu Kamio - Air

I just seized on the fact that both Air and Blood+ happen to have songs that have the word "Aozora" in their titles, thus explaining the text.

11. Lucy - Elfen Lied

Yes, I listen to Paramore. What of it? Inspiration is inspiration, no matter where you get it from.

12. C.C. - Code Geass

This one is actually a reworking of another early theme I made. I just changed out the background and made some other adjustments. I probably could have done a better job on the font choice and text placement, though.

13. Suzaku Kururugi - Code Geass

Yet another revision of an early theme. The initial inspiration for the original came from TV Tropes, of all places; sure, Suzaku doesn't really fit the definition of an actual Blood Knight, but who cares?

14. C.C. - Code Geass

Another C.C. theme, this time inspired by the song "Poison" by Bell Biv DeVoe. I just have a thing for early 1990s hip-hop, okay?

15. Catgirls - Battlefield 2142

Unfortunately, there aren't any catgirls in the actual game. It would be nice if there was a mod that included them as a playable character model, though.

16. Simon and Nia Teppelin - Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Read the text on the signs. Guess where Simon and Nia are. Again, I can't do good lighting, so feel free to sue me. Again.

17. Kotonoha Katsura - School Days

Kotonoha is perhaps one of the most tragic characters in modern anime. A Leona Lewis song would be a good choice for her theme.

18. Suzaku Kururugi and Euphemia li Britannia - Code Geass

This one is a special case. Kimi contacted me on MSN and requested that I make her a new header for her LiveJournal, and this was the result. She was actually quite satisifed with it.

19. Kallen Stadtfeld - Code Geass

Since C.C. got two themes, I decided Kallen needed a little love too.

20. Haruhi Suzumiya - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I figured it was about time I did some work with Haruhi. It's rather simple, but I like it.

21. Rin Tohsaka - Fate/stay night

I've been working on and off on this one for quite a while now, trying out different things with it. It was only recently that I hit upon something satisfactory.

22. Erica Hartmann - Strike Witches

I've had both the basic Erica render and the background pic of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 lying around, but it didn't occur to me to mate them together until a few days ago. I also decided to fool around with some other things, like the circles.

For reference, the lyrics in the background are the chorus of "Fly Away" by Asami Izawa, the second ending theme of Eureka Seven.

23. Amu Hinamori - Shugo Chara!

Kimi showed me an Amu render on MSN. I took that as a challenge to make something out of it. I initially had something more conventional in mind, but that didn't work out. Then, I thought of the cover for AFI's first studio album, Answer That and Stay Fashionable; that's when everything fell into place.

24. Aya Shameimaru - Touhou Project

Since I was on a roll with Erica and Amu, I decided, "Sure, why not?"

25. Reisen Udongein Inaba - Touhou Project

This definitely isn't one of my best works, I admit. I simply put it together in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landings; anyone with even a passing knowledge of Touhou would know why I chose Reisen as my subject.

26. Nanoha Takamachi - Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's

I've been working on this one for quite a while, mostly experimenting with the background. Once I found a background configuration I liked, everything else fell into place.

Very nice, actually. I rather like that last one though with Suzaku and Euphemia. It's great.

Nice job. I hope to see some more sometime.

your graphics are amazing.
i love the whole grungy feel of them.
some of them are too dark for my taste Dx

Your graphics are pretty good for being a beginner. :3 You really are improving though and as long as you keep practicing and messing around with your options, you'll be able to find other things you can try.

So keep at it, okay Jack? :3

Okay, I've added a new work to the gallery:

19. Kallen Stadtfeld - Code Geass


What do you think of it? Hell, what do you think of everything else here?

Just a quick tip that really applies to all your tags.
Scanlines often look worse than good, however if you erase around the focal parts of the tag they can be very effective instead of just being pasted over everything.
For example, in your latest tag, the scanlines cover the whole image. If you were to erase all the scanlines over her face, it will give it an easy alternative to depth, and also add the illusion that she is moving.
Try erasing parts of scanlines, even if you leave a tiny snippit in one place, they can look a lot better than covering the whole thing.

moments. said:

Just a quick tip that really applies to all your tags.
Scanlines often look worse than good, however if you erase around the focal parts of the tag they can be very effective instead of just being pasted over everything.
For example, in your latest tag, the scanlines cover the whole image. If you were to erase all the scanlines over her face, it will give it an easy alternative to depth, and also add the illusion that she is moving.
Try erasing parts of scanlines, even if you leave a tiny snippit in one place, they can look a lot better than covering the whole thing.

Click to expand...

I'll keep that in mind. Looks like I've some more revising to do, then.

^ LOL.

Lower the opacity only really. Quite like the old grunge style, never did hate it.

Gotta do something with the type though. Downloaded fonts are fun but not always pleasing.

https://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii39/strikekira105/Graphics/gallery_17804_1_46705.png
https://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii39/strikekira105/Graphics/index-13.png

Those two seem like they would look better if the text was blended to the background; rather than just be on top.

Okay, after taking the previous suggestions into account (all two of them), I've done some more revisions. I mirrored the old copies on Imageshack so that there comparisons can be made; half of them were already mirrored (I had used those themes in the past), while others had to be uploaded today.

So, better or worse?

11. Lucy - Elfen Lied


12. C.C. - Code Geass


13. Suzaku Kururugi - Code Geass


14. C.C. - Code Geass


15. Catgirls - Battlefield 2142


16. Simon and Nia Teppelin - Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann


17. Kotonoha Katsura - School Days


19. Kallen Stadtfeld - Code Geass


Also, two new works:

20. Haruhi Suzumiya - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya


21. Rin Tohsaka - Fate/stay night


Any opinions (if you have them) would be appreciated.

The text on Simon and Nia looks better in my opinion, the brightness is good. It is a improvement.

11. New
12. New, but I still don't like the text for some reason.
13. New
14. New it seems more vivid.
15. Looks better without the scan lines over everything.
16. The text is a lot better.
17. " "
19. " "

Your work is very impressive. Your style of having scanlines sort of going horizontal across makes your graphics even more impressive. And all of this was done on GIMP? Very nice.

Santaria said:

Your work is very impressive. Your style of having scanlines sort of going horizontal across makes your graphics even more impressive. And all of this was done on GIMP? Very nice.

Click to expand...

Small community, isn't it? You're a Kimi too. But I digress.

You actually like the scanlines? That other person who commented earlier said that scanlines usually make stuff look worse, but to each their own, I guess. Thanks anyway.

In other news, another new work finds itself added to the gallery:

22. Erica Hartmann - Strike Witches


Any thoughts?

Well, scanlines only work on certain types of graphics. But I think yours really accommodate them well.

Santaria said:

Well, scanlines only work on certain types of graphics. But I think yours really accommodate them well.

Click to expand...

Well, if you say so, then.

Also, yet another new banner:

23. Amu Hinamori - Shugo Chara!


Opinions regarding this and the previous Erica banner are welcomed.

EDIT: And then there's this as well:

24. Aya Shameimaru - Touhou Project


What do you think?

Jack O'Neill said:

Small community, isn't it? You're a Kimi too. But I digress.

You actually like the scanlines? That other person who commented earlier said that scanlines usually make stuff look worse, but to each their own, I guess. Thanks anyway.

In other news, another new work finds itself added to the gallery:

22. Erica Hartmann - Strike Witches

Spoiler:

Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

Jack, she's my friend. XD

Anyway, great work as always. <3 You have improved quite well and I'm proud of you! :D

They are all very nice. Some of the ones that have text look very well matched as well. The only thing I have to say is that all of them look the same way with the dullness. Perhaps some of them could use different brushes and color levels. All of them seem to be the same big size as well. If not the same big size, still pretty similar. In my conjecture, the banners could use different sizes. Overall, they are pretty good. Keep up the good work, and have fun making them.

It's been a long time since I've updated this thing, so here goes.

In honour of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, I decided to whip this thing together:

25. Reisen Udongein Inaba - Touhou Project

Somehow, I feel I could have done better. Your thoughts, if you have any?

You really are improving a lot Jack. :D I'm very proud of you as always. I like all of them are great. :D I especially like the Nanoha one. It came it really great. :3

Speaking of the Nanoha banner, I just made that one today, and it'll now be added to the gallery, like so:

26. Nanoha Takamachi - Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's

Opinions on this and the previous Reisen banner are welcomed.

I really like what you've done with the new one; Nice background, it fits the render.

Great jorb. :D