Loki: Signature Making Class Level III

[Loki]

The first thing I'm going to tell you about this class is that I'm not here to tell you how I make my banners step-by-step.

That's not what I'm here for.

Introduction​

I'm here to pump some style and flair into your banners, give you little tips and tricks that'll add the extra pop. I'm here to squeeze every last drop of graphical talent you've got out of your eyeballs and make you apply it! I'm not going to show you the c4d's I use, or the textures- I'm not here to do it for you! You're here to do yourself some good! It's a skill in itself to be able to find yourself some sweet extras to add to your banners, to know what colors and effects you want and be able give a stock a quick glance and think, "Wow, that'd look awesome on my banner!" And know exactly where you want it and what you want to do with it.


The second thing I'll tell you is that I'm a strict person! I have expectations! I have a perogative! I'm running a SCHEDULE HERE. GIVE ME RESULTS, NOT EXCUSES PRIVATE- *shot'd*

Anyway, here are a few things you need to know:​

1. I expect you to know most if not all the necessary terminology before entering this classroom. I want you to know what rendering, c4d's, texture's, lighting, depth, etc are. At least the basics, really. You're in level three for pete sakes.
2. I'm a nerd. I have school. Finals are coming. Patience is a virtue. Feel free to ignore me once I start stressing out and mentioning finals in every other one of my posts instead of studying. xD;
3. Know your blending modes. They are one of the many lovely features that make PS rock.
4. I mod the Art Gallery and Roleplay sections and even if I don't do a good job, that takes up time. I regularly spend hours on roleplays, I have my own graphics I want to make, and I have plenty of anime I want to keep up with. Again. That takes up time. To me, this classroom is not my #1 priority, likewise, I don't expect it to be yours.
5. Your work is probably going to be assigned on weekends, and graded on the next weekend.
6. Yeah. You get letter grades in this class. I'm too lazy to be bothered with + and -'s though, so don't worry about those. I'd like everyone to remember that I am one person out of millions, and thus my opinions should not cause you to have a cow or agonize over it. If you get lower than a D, you will be repeating the assignment.
7. If I feel that you don't have the caliber to keep up with this class, I'm going to send you to the Intermediate classrooms. Don't be offended if I do, it probably means that I let you into the class thinking that you weren't even up to my standards in the first place. Oh that's actually kind of more offending than sending you back now that I re-read it... Well, just don't let it happen! :D *SHOT'd*
8. I expect you to fix your assignments when I tell you why you got the grade you did. Unless you're an overachiever and got yourself an A. This means you keep all your .psd's.
9. Yes that's right, I want good grammar in this thread. I'm not about to sit around and try to decipher what you're trying to say in your post. Sorry guys, you have a roleplay-maniac for a teacher, the shift button was invented for a reason, as was good old punctuation. Yes evilcheese. This is for you. xD Try your best, kiddo.
10. Don't say your graphics sucks. If you think they suck, why are you turning it in? Exactly. You don't think it sucks, so don't say you do. The only person who's allowed to say it sucks in this thread is me. THIS IS NOT A DEMOCRACY! THIS IS A DICTATORSHIP!
11. I don't mind if you turn things in late. You have a life, I don't have a life, we all have lives, and I understand that this classroom isn't your top priority.
12. I do not want a vertical canvas. EVER. Unless I explicitly tell you that vertical canvas' are allowed, they are ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN! Dx Rawr!
13. Outer Glow on your text is ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN! In this classroom. It's ugly, and unless you think you pulled it off and it'll blow my mind to oblivion, don't do it.
14. If you continually fail assignments, or I can tell that you repeatedly put pretty much zero effort into your assignment, you can consider yourself gone. ;3 Be careful, the teacher in this classroom bites.

Icon credit to whichever lovely LJ user made it. I saved this icon before I was smart enough to put the creator's U/N in the filename, so yeah. xD;​

For all you lovely people who do not use the letter grade system in your academic courses, from best to worst: A, B, C, D, F. F, obviously stands for fail.

I'll add to the list of things to be aware of as the class goes on and as I think of stuff.



You will be listed by order of entry, but if too many people begin to slip in grades, I will go ASIAN-SCHOOL on you and list you from the top student to that random truant who never struts his stuff.

Students:​

1. munna [A-0][?-1]
2. evilcheese [B-0][C-1]
3. Akari [A-0][B-1]
4. Hazuki [A-0][?-1]
5. Shiranui [A-0][A-1]
6. Rena
7. DarkChild [A-0][B-1]
8. Motsuko Live [A-0]​

Alright! Onto the introduction assignment.

List of Assignments:​

A0. Show me your best banner. No, I didn't say 'The banner you like the most'. I said your best banner. That means you and pretty much everyone else liked it. If there wasn't a banner that you and everyone else liked, then… that's going to be something you'll have to wrestle with yourself. xD; Tell me what your favorite style is, and what you're most interested on learning in this classroom. Smudge, grunge, textures, blending, color adjustments, lighting, whatever. You can even pull an example of someone else's work (credit them!) to show me if there's something specific you want to learn. If I don't know how to do it, then I'll let you know.

Once you're finished with that, you can spend the rest of the week working on the first assignment.

A1. I'm sure you all know that I love my vector banners. I want you to make a vector banner. Go wild, commando, free as the wind! Mind you, I don't want to see you just slapping on some brushes and a render on top. That's called a half-assed banner, not a vector banner, and don't expect me to give you a good grade for it. xD Try to create some depth, use different techniques to blend your render with the vectors, etc. I want a light source, and a border- what kind of border, that's up to you.

Pay attention to colors. Don't go overboard like me, but make sure it's not just two colors extracted from the render. That's boring and as I like to say, we're not here to play Find Waldo.

Notice: I suggest you be careful with your layers, because you may have to go back and edit some things after I bother you about it. I'll be having you add plenty more effects to this banner later on in different assignments as well, so make sure the tag you make isn't something that you never want to look at ever again. xDD


You may turn these two assignments in at different times.

I would love to see your vector banner by next Saturday, May 2nd, I believe. But if that's not enough time, feel free to ask for extended time. This is level 3, I'd rather you take a month on it and give me a good product that spend a few minutes on it and give me something that'll flunk you right off. xD

For those of you that don't often make vector-type banners, try your best. Your time to shine will eventually come. ;>

A2: This might be complicated for some of you, maybe not. I would like you to find a stock. Mind you, a stock, not a render. Textures, brushes, light textures, c4d's, effect c4d's, displacement filters, other stocks, they're all okay for this assignment. I want you to make me a photo manipulation banner. I don't really know what else I can say to elaborate on this. ^^; This is mostly to see how far you can take yourself without being able to alter the background yourself, because we all get lazy and don't want to render things, and this'll be the assignment that'll pound a stock manipulation style into ya. Color adjustment layers and blending modes are your best friends in this assignment. Good luck? xD

Note: I want you to give me the link to the original stock with your assignment, please and thank you. If you do not provide me with the original stock link, your grade will be taken down one notch.

Please PM me if you're still unsure as to what to do.

I would like to see this by Saturday, May 10th. ^^ However, feel free to take your time, because I absolutely abhor grading. *SHOT'd*

A3: Brush based banner.

Yeah, that's right, we're gonna go old-school this time. Like a good teacher, I'm connecting my assignments and telling you, again, you're not allowed to use a render. :3 I know, I'm evil, right? So you'll be needing to give me the original stock link again. Anyway, vector, grunge, abstract, tech, decoration brushes, they're all valid for this assignment. See how well you can blend your brush strokes, see if you can make the colors of the brush work really blend with the rest of your banner. Pay attention to colors, brightness, and really really pay attention to the overall look of your banner. Getting caught up in the coolest little bit of the banner is easy, but maybe once you're nearly done with your banner and you're just adding the final touches, take a break. Go get some ice cream, or watch TV. Come back, and more likely than not, you'll notice things you didn't notice before. xD

This assignment won't be due until the end of the week after next, Saturday, May 24th. Why? Because I have finals week after next, and I would very much like to spend all my free time stressing out over my finals. (But ultimately, I don't usually end up studying anyway, so my 'break' from class will be more like 'stressing out over the fact that I'm going to have to BS my way through Literature and French and the fact that I'm getting behind the wheel of a car and there is a 99% chance I'll total the car right off the bat'. xDD)

I would love to be able to see your banners by next Saturday if it's no trouble for you, so I can start a few comments and such, but it's no rush. You can spend this time to edit your past assignments accordingly.

Like I've said, I expect you to improve your banners if I've told you to do so, otherwise don't be surprised when you get a boot to the face and fly right out the door m'dears.

 

[Hazuki]

Best one? Hm, let's see, let's see....

That's probably the best one for me... Oh! My style (is so called by Sammi) a flatist. Which means, I don't normally use brushes, I use textures, saturation, color swatches, and lighting effects, A LOT. I hope that explains a lot. T_T

What I want to learn is.... well... your style basically, but what I really want to learn is text placement. <---- wierd I know. >:

I'll do the first assignment later, I have a handful of requests to do.

 

[Aizuke]

Akari; reporting for duty! >O

I assume everyone liked it, if not, blah to them. XP

Favourite Style; Vector.

Most interesting in learning; everything Vector, smudge, textures, lighting, blending. :<

First assignment will be handed in later. *salutes*

 

[Pikabloo]

Assignment 0.

Best banner - Apparently, it's this Naruto one:

Favourite style - Guess. -shot'd- Smudging, nyah~

Most interested in learning - How to make good vector banners, I guess. Vectors are my weakness :\ And oddly enough, it's your strong point. Yay! -shot'd- And text, probably. I suck at text :|

---

Hoorah, I get to spam the pen tool in the next assignment.

I will probably hand it in late, though.

 

[evilcheese]

my best banner (as told by you)

favorite style: c4ds

most interested in learning: the way you do your vector banners, color matching, TEXT.

 

[Twinx]

0. Show me your best banner. No, I didn't say 'The banner you like the most'. I said your best banner. That means you and pretty much everyone else liked it.

Best Banner: I guess I'd choose this banner since so many people liked it and you can say that I was satisfied with it at the time..

Spoiler:

otherwise, it would this one (minus the border)

but if you want just one for this assignment, it's the 1st one I pick.

My favorite style would be smudging and C4Ds.

What I'm interested in learning: I'll take whatever I can get but I'd say vector, since I don't have much experience in that area >.< Second assignment is gonna be a challenge for me.. but I'm up for it..

 

[Loki]

Hazuki: My style? xD; That's such a broad… topic. *shot'd* Anyway, like I said in the graphics rating thread, this banner is way too light. :< I probably wouldn't consider it your best banner, but it's definitely fine. Your explanation is fine, I understand what you mean. xD; You'll want to work extra hard then, since I probably won't be asking much of you in terms of textures and the such. Text placement is a little more complicated, but we'll cover that when it comes. ;D We'll probably be focusing with darker banners when it comes to your assignments, because you don't seem to make those very much, and it'd be a big jump and challenge. ^^

Otherwise, I think you did fine. A~

Akari: I must say, that I don't think this is your best banner at all. xD;; There's great lighting, and the depth is alright, but the color seems to have been flushed down the toilet in this banner. xD; The text isn't the best either, but I've already told you that text is a major point that you'll want to pay attention to.

It's older, and in your old style that was used much too repetitively, but I still consider this one of your best banners. Why? It's obvious that you did awesome in terms of successfully brushing over the render, which gives it some excellent depth. There's more than just two colors implemented, and the subtle effects really help. However, the text is still your downfall. xDD If this had some lighting, then it'd definitely be your best piece.

Now I'm going to give you an early lesson on text placement: Had it been me, I probably would've placed the text down on that streak that sticks out of his sleeve, y'see it? If you can find a flat –or curved- surface to put the text on, that's usually the best place it can go. Sometimes you might have to sacrifice a few words or two, but that's not important. Also, when you're adding text, not everything is just about placement. It's also about how you blend the text so it doesn't look slapped on. Yeah I know, it's complicated- first you have to blend the render then the text, wtf. xD But here, the color doesn't match anything really, so that can actually be remedied by turning the opacity down, or adding a texture over the text. Also, if you have any color adjustment layers, it's a good idea to put your text under those layers. It's pretty awesome, what some color layers can do to white or black text on lowered opacity. ;D

What we'll focus on with you is probably blending, because right now, it seems that your only method of blending is soft erasing the corners, and that's not really… xD; That won't work 100% of the time. </3

I can't say your choice of best banner was what I would've chosen- or for that matter, what a considerable amount of other people would have chosen. But because you had a lack of comment on that banner, I'll cut you some slack. It definitely wasn't the right one though. xD; A, since you technically did the assignment correctly.

Shiranui: Actually, if I had to say I didn't like something about this banner, it'd be the border. xD It's really heavy and doesn't really match. It's okay in terms of making it look like a movie screencap though, so… xD It's just kind of distracting.

If you're going to pentool the next banner, I'd love to see if you could manage to make the focal a render that wasn't pentooled, like a cartoon/anime or real-person render. If you can, then when you're pentooling around the render, then make sure you have a general idea of where you want the text before you start adding stuff, that way you can prepare ahead of time and add to the natural feel of the text placement with the pentool. Because if it's a decoration of the banner and the text… That's like killing two birds with one stone. xD If you don't get it, then just tell me and I'll try to clarify.

Perfect: A.

Evilcheese: You need to work on your borders. xD; And text especially.

In the next banner, I want you to pay attention to the colors you use and how they look next to each other. It's really more of a help in terms of taste, but if at the very end, the colors look really weird, you can fix it with a selective color adjustment layer. I trust you to figure out how to use it, it's in the same window as the gradient maps if you don't know where to find it. If you mess around with the Neutrals, then you'll see that the colors of the whole thing sort of start to mesh together. I also want you to pay attention to the text. You need to download a very large font pack, or go to DaFont and find a really big handful of fonts. If you want to use default fonts, I forbid you to ever- evereverever, use the font you used in the banner you chose as your best. xD;; If you do use that font, you absolutely must must must use it in ALL CAPS, or A L L C A P S S P A C E D O U T. Or use a more formal font like Georgia. Like I said with Akari, you'll want to find a flat place to rotate your text and put it on in terms of placement. See that bright streak that sticks out of Shino's shirt that goes like /? Between the red and yellowish effect c4ds? I would suggest rotating your text so that it's on top of that, and it'll make the text impede a little less on the flow.

You want to pay attention to your capitalization in your banner text as well. Sometimes it's better to put everything in all caps or leave it all in lowercase, or alternate between words. Either way, proper grammar doesn't apply in banners all the time.

But it does apply in your posts when it comes to this thread, so if you'd like to stay in this class, I suggest you re-read the thing you need to know on the first post. If you can't figure out what you did wrong, PM me.

Spoiler:

Excellent job other than the fact that you didn't read my entire first post. B, because you're not following classroom rules. :/

DarkChild: I think you need to pay some attention to the contrast in the background texture and the render. xD; But otherwise, the BULLSEYE banner is good. The text and lighting is good too, I like it. I'd have to say, I'd like it even better if you'd blended the render a little. You pulled off the assignment just fine~ A.


There, did that help at all? xD

 

[Wish]

Okay, here it is.

Favorite Style: Hmm...I really dunno. I would stick with C4D (even though I'm not really good at that) Or Abstract if that counts as a style. :\

What I would like to Learn: I would like to learn Texturing, Vectoring, Text, and blending. I would also like to learn anything you might can teach. I would like to learn new skills and perfect the ones I have.

 

[Loki]

Kyon: You learn textures back in Hazuki's class, I probably won't be teaching you too much on that. xD; The dotted border is irksome, and I don't know about the shade of pink you used for the background. It's a little too purple compared to your render, and it causes it to look a little stuck on. Outer Glow on text is an absolute no. xD There's no lighting or blending, and the depth that was attempted to be created that brush work seems a little flat. You definitely need to work extra hard to keep up in this classroom. Seeing as you've essentially done the assignment, you'll get an A, but I'll tell you now that if that's your best banner, you may want to step back and learn a few things from evilcheese or Hazuki.


-adds that to the 'things you should know'-

 

[Wish]

Kyon: You learn textures back in Hazuki's class, I probably won't be teaching you too much on that. xD; The dotted border is irksome, and I don't know about the shade of pink you used for the background. It's a little too purple compared to your render, and it causes it to look a little stuck on. Outer Glow on text is an absolute no. xD There's no lighting or blending, and the depth that was attempted to be created that brush work seems a little flat. You definitely need to work extra hard to keep up in this classroom. Seeing as you've essentially done the assignment, you'll get an A, but I'll tell you now that if that's your best banner, you may want to step back and learn a few things from evilcheese or Hazuki.


-adds that to the 'things you should know'-

Thanks for your comments. If I can't keep up, I don't mind being sent back or kicked out. I'll try my best though.

 

[Aizuke]

Loki-sensei~ I'm handing my assignment in early because I have school next week, so I'm afraid I wouldn't have time to do it.

And plus this way, you can show me what I can change and whatnot.. ^^;;

Akari; Assignment 1.

 

[THIRTY-SIX]

A.0
Best Sig: Click it

But to be honest I'm not too sure it is… https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v510/munna170488/gallery/?start=all or gallery by me…(56k warning)

Favourite Style: Abstract.

Most interesting in learning: Anything interesting.

I suck at vectoring… so I'll hand it in another time

 

[evilcheese]

I'm not sure if it fits the style "vector", but that's for you to decide.

(That took longer paying attention to my grammer. *shot'd*)

 

[Pikabloo]

Assignment 1.
I'm-a be handing it in now:
a. Because I know I'm going to forget >.>
b. The colours hurt my eyes.

 

[Hazuki]

This was kinda hard because of coloring in Watanuki which I should have never have done that. >.>

I hope you don't mind that it's a transparent banner. ^^;

 

[Uryū Ishida]

As i said, i shall join your fun filled candy shop class

Assignment 0:

In my opinion this has been my best banner.

or

Some people seemed to like this and I'm pretty proud of it, i think both of these are the best examples of my work.

I really want to develop a style that's unique, and has a lot of depth, i want to learn about using textures and c4ds. My lighting needs a lot of work as well.
I really admire your (Loki) style, and want to have something similar to that, but still unique.


I will work on the First assignment when i have time, but now i have to go.

 

[THIRTY-SIX]

A.1
*image removed*
Yeah I suck at vector D: I used the renders colours… would I have to do another?
I also have a larger version too…
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v510/munna170488/gallery/pocoyo-1.png?t=1209392049 looks better imo.

 

[Twinx]

Loki, Let's call this a draft/sketch shall we? :P
I never worked with vector before and honestly I never liked it.
It looks a bit overcrowded to me. I don't know. What do you think?

 

[Motsuko Live]

Ok, Loki. You said to join your class for now, so here I am half asleep.

It just so happens that my "best" banner and my vector style banner would have to be the one in my sig. In case I've changed my sig by the time you read this (doubt it), then here it is:

Most interested in learning:
Lighting/Depth

I'm also interested in learning how to do they styles of banners you make.

Wow, I guess that just sounded like I'm a suck-up...majorly

Anyways, I just like them; and if that makes me a suck-up for some reason, then I guess I'm a damn suck-up :/

 

[Loki]

Akari: Yup, I think you should focus on lighting for awhile. xD Lighting isn't just a matter of grabbing a 100px white brush and just slapping it on somewhere. I see that you paid attention to where the shadows are coming from on the actual render, and that's great, definitely a +. But the fact remains that it just looks… awkward, and out-of-nowhere. xD If you choose to use a white brush for the lightsource, I'd suggest adding some black/dark brushing around the corners, and playing with it's layer blending and opacity. It really helps your light source look like an actual light, rather than a brush that's in the wrong banner at the wrong time. And remember, not a lot of light is actually white, so try using really light oranges/yellows, or just plain adding a photofilter over the whole thing. ^^ The vector brushes in the back are good, but the colors are kind of boring, and the renders don't really look like they 'belong' in the banner. This can usually be fixed by brushing over the render, or having the weight of the render lines just being the same as the background, like in your Zero banner, (which was awesome.) I don't know about that border, the color seems to come out of nowhere, since I don't see that shade of pink anywhere else on the banner. You did good though, incorporating multiple renders.

I'd like you to find a nice modern font and follow my advice from earlier about text, and just add some text somewhere. Think about where you've got the lines in your background, which brush you could use as a platform for the text, and where it wouldn't be absolutely 'ouch' against the render. I'd also like you to see if you can somehow make the light source a little more believable, whether with black soft brushing or the burn tool. I already tried it myself, it's completely possible. ;> Maybe try brushing over the render just a little bit at the very bottom would help the blend and maybe add a little depth? ^^

At the moment though, you definitely gave it nice go. Right now, you have a B on Assignment 1, but you most certainly can raise it to an A. ^^

munna: Anything interesting, huh? xDD Well, we'll see. Anyway, you did alright on the first assignment, but I just want you to keep in mind that I'm teaching more like, manipulation, than pentooling and art. xD; You're probably a notch up ahead of me, so I'll apologize beforehand if I seem like a crapped out excuse for a teacher.

Anyway, while I wouldn't say that's your best banner, the concept is good! The text is good and that's really all I can say about it. xD I know you've got a billion really great banners though, because I remember that before I made graphics, whenever I'd come to request a banner, I'd be scanning for 'munna' or 'sachi' and I'd die of joy whenever I saw that you had a shop open. So really. xD (I remember you did a first-come-first-serve thing and I was too late. I swear I sat at that thread for an hour, making sure there REALLY weren't any open slots. *shot'd*) 99.99% sure it was you. :>

Assignment 0 = A

As for Assignment 1, this is exactly what I mean by I have no idea what to say, since it looks more like art than a banner to me. xD It's okay that you used the render colors in the back, because you incorporated them well and didn't turn it into a hide-and-seek game. The background is really cool, but before I continue grading it, I must ask: Was everything pentooled? O_o!

evilcheese: Assignment 1 doesn't look 100% like a vector banner to me. I most certainly wouldn't label it as a vector banner at first sight, frankly. xD; It's a good try though, because I know you haven't ever really tried anything in this style. Your blending is good, but it shows that this isn't a vector banner, because I think it'd be extremely difficult to blend a vector banner the way you blended this banner. xD; The lightsource is good, but I think you should pay attention to the 'yellow' of his skin. If the skin is too yellow, then the whole thing just flushes itself down the drain. Ahh, the text. This isn't really something I can help with you on the first go, but you have to get a grasp of 'size'. Your text shouldn't be too small, otherwise it'll look awkward and amateurish, and it can't be too big either, otherwise it'll get in the way.

Right now, I'll give you a C on Assignment 1. Up the opacity on some of your vector brushes to make it more... well, vector-ish. Make your text bigger and find an actual spot for it, rather than just plastering it in the middle of nowhere. Text decorations really help your text look like it belongs where it is, so maybe you'll want some tiny text brushes or something. Also, add a cooling photofilter over the whole thing to alleviate the SinX from his gangrene gone yellow. Add some more color adjustment layers to make the whole thing a little easier on the eyes, which, again, means, less yellow.

And you didn't pay attention to colors, like I asked. Try adding a different color that won't make the whole banner so two-toned. I gave you the color wheel in my last post for a reason. ;<

You did good on the grammar though! :D *applaudapplaud*

Shiranui: My eyes are immune to bright colors! >:D No worries. *shot'd*

Anyway. I'll tell you now that you struck a sensitive nerve. I. love. Rainbows. *SHOT'D* I'll try to comment on it as un-biased as I can though. *covers up the rainbows* Anyway, I think the whole thing looks great. Maybe adding a subtle drop shadow on the arrow would give it a little more depth? The text is awesome, I don't know what you're talking about when you say you want mine; I'd trade you any day. xD I think this banner just really needs to pay attention to the depth, because right now, it seems just a little flat. I think you could definitely alleviate this by like, moving the light source behind Sora, so it looks like it's shining from his chest while the arrow stabs him? That would definitely be an awesome touch.

And also, I think in your showcase you stated you didn't know who the guy in your current set is: I believe he's from Ragnarok Online, as the fanart is found on the Ragnarok Online main website. I'm not sure which class he is though. ^^; He's probably from II, and I don't know anything about ROII.

You did awesome with my request for an actual render in it though, sorry if it was a pain in the butt. xD Because the things I asked you to fix are pretty minor, and the whole thing looks organized and collected even without the fixes, you're final grade~

Assignment 1 = A

Hazuki: I don't mind transparency banners at all. ^^

However, I know you can do better than this. ^^;;; I'm going to be honest and tell you that I'm not even going to give this a letter grade, because I'd like you to go ahead and try again. This time, keep in mind: You'll want to keep the texture of your brushes pretty much the same. See how some of the brushes have rough edges and others have smooth ones, and other ones have blurry ones? That's very depleting. xD; Also, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm seeing that you're kind of trying to follow my Persona3 vector banner? If you are, I'll let you know that the render I used was a vector itself made by Color Me Evil, and not just something I colored in. xD;;

Y'did good with the text. I like the way you did the text, but the rest of it just needs to be reworked. Also, if you want to do something with flat solid colors like this, feel free to for-go the light source, because it's easier to find a different way to grab someone's attention with the colors, rather than the light in a flat-color banner.

you kind of blew any depth out of the water, too. xD; Maybe do some brushing over?

So yeah, I'd like to ask you to re-do this assignment, if it's not too much trouble. You'll be exempt from the next assignment, unless you really want to do it.

Ishida: Well, I think you did good! The Shana banner is definitely probably one of your best. You might want to watch your text placement, but we'll save that for another day, since it's not a problem in the other banner.

Assignment 0 = A

DarkChild: GOOD. GOOD!! YOUR TEXT PLACEMENT IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT!! >:DD

But the opacity and font of it isn't. xDD As it is, it's pretty distracting from the main render, and it looks oh-so-lonely. I would suggest adding some text decorations on the sides when this happens, not your average tiny-text, but the real text decorations you get in icon brush packs. ^^ The font is a little too tall for the blocky-look of the rest of the banner as well. If you want a cursive text, maybe try one that's flatter, kind of like Jane Austen. The texture you used on the render is cool, I like it. The lighting is believable, on… one side. xD; The left kind of makes me wonder if you just forgot burn a little or something. It's too close to the borderline of the distance between the light source and the darkening on the right, so I would go ahead and just do a tad bit of burning on low opacity on the left anyway, to add some convincing shadows. I think you could definitely add some more action in the middle, because it looks pretty empty as is.

I'd say forgo the border as well. The arrows do fine to give it a container of some sort to begin with. ^^


edit: Oops, forgot your grade. B, but like I said with Akari, fix those few things I pointed out, and you'll bump it up to an A in no time. ^^

Motsuko Live: It's a good banner, I especially like what you did with the scanlines. It's probably boring in terms of color though. The text placement is good, but there's an issue with the size here as well. It seems kind of dwarf-ish, compared to the rest.

It's okay, I don't really think anyone is a suck-up, so don't fret over it. xD Suck-ups are people who… arghlefargle Don't worry about it, I don't go around labeling everyone who says something good to me as a suck-up. xD That would be a very sad life. *SHOT'D*

Anyway, you gotta make a new vector banner for the assignment. I don't want something that was made beforehand, sorry. xD

Assignment 0 = A

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Assignment #2 is now up.