The Graphics Rating Thread [READ THE FIRST POST. D:<]

[evilcheese]

@Ooka - yup barely any colors. don't worry i had this problem when i was addicted to gradient maps. filmstrip border are supposed be [/B]thick[/B] imo. there also isn't much focus or depth. mainly there needs to be an eye catcher something that wants people to stare at it all day and not get bored of it. it doesn't really appeal is what I'm trying to say. and text isn't good.

tried something new.

 

[moments.]

EvilCheese:
Hm I don't like this banner as much as many of your others. I think the background is very sharp and kind of distracting from the render. The light sources are great, the text is ok. I think try making the background a little less powerful by lowering the opacity or increasing the opacity / contrasts of the render.

My second banner ever so rate away!

3rd banner ever. I tried something new so what do you think?

 

[YOOM-TAH]

tried something new.

It's not bad, but it could use some blurring and sharpening of the background/effects to enhance the depth. The face is too sharp, makes it look all jagged. The lighting is a tad strong and should not only reflect on the render but also on the rest of the sig. Lastly I think the text should be less square-like and have more variety in size (like make the T and L bigger by 2 sizes or something). Lastly I think the green box should be a tad smaller and have the Link text start on top of it.

 

[moments.]

Looks like I get a free rate! =P
Seeing as this one didn't get rated I may as well post it again.

My 3rd Banner ever and tried a new style.

4th Banner using the same style as above.

What do you guys think about my abstract / nature banners?

 

[YOOM-TAH]

Well, they could use a lot of work.

First off, before I rate, are you using any stock photos/resources? If you're using anything not made by yourself, make sure that either it's a resource or you got permission from the original artist/owner.

Now, first sig. The moon thing looks really weird. It has strange glowyness (made-up word of the day) and the edges are kinda sharp. The edges of the terrain near where the moon is seen are blurred/faded, which is no good because land is solid. The stars and stuff in the back aren't bad, a little blur could help em out though. The text is not so great though. The terrain in the foreground could use a little sharpening.

On the second one, same thing. Don't fade the edges of the terrain as it gets to closer to the horizon where that sun-thing is. Also, the sun itself is not so great. It needs some solar flares going on in there, and that random black on the bottom right kills it. Could be more spherical and with some more orange as well. The stars in the back are not good either. There shouldn't be that many of them in view with a sun that close, erase the big ones right behind the sun. And lastly, again, don't like the text.

BTW they're not abstract.

 

[Gummy]

Well, as usual, YOOM-TAH pretty much hit the nail on the head with his rate, so I'll just post a couple of graphics:

 

[YOOM-TAH]

Well my main problems with it are the text and the light. The text and its placement aren't so great, it's more of just a distraction there. I say go no text on this.

The ball of light kinda kills it though. It's just...there...for no real reason. Don't think that every sig has to have the source of the lighting actually visible in the sig. It can be out of the sig's point of view. As long as the rest of the sig, and not just the render, reflect the same lighting, you're good.

 

[Pikabloo]

Gee, I haven't posted here in a while ^^;

Gummy: The avatar looks great, actually. The shapes and the colours look nice, and the soft brush glow helps dial in the focus. The text needs work, though. Well, I don't really like the yellow outer glow which makes the text stand out more than it should. Make the text blend in a bit, maybe even make it part of the background.

YOOM-TAH pretty much covered everything I was gonna say about the banner; the text and the lighting need work. It's an okay banner, though. Maybe add a bit more colour? o.o;

---

Experimenting with sprites...

 

[YOOM-TAH]

^^Pretty nice, the left (her right) arm on that sprite looks poorly made though (I know that was out of your control). The text could be better I think, or at least the placement. Not a fan of putting it off the sig like that. Did you actually vector out the background, or did you use brushes? Looks good though.

 

[Comic Tragedy]

Shiranui: That is an example, in my opinion, of a good sprite sig. I know you always say "I don't do sprite sigs" but this is a nice attempt! Like YOOM-TAH said the sprite's left side it is kinda choppy and yea you cant do nuthin bout that.

*scrumples face looking for mistakes* I love the vector work, and just like YOOM-TAH I want to know if you used a brush or not. One thing I would change, just because I have to be picky, is the solid color copies behind the render. Maybe add a different effect in replace of that because I think it takes away from the sig.

Sorry for being so bad at rating!


Here is my new theme sig. Ok before anyone asks I did do most of the pentooling, the only thing I did not do is the stars. I just got that stock wich I rendered, then recolored.

 

[moments.]

El Capitano:
Very nice banner here. I think the background may be a little strong and contrasting to the render so it throws off the balance a bit. However, it does look good and nice and bright which I like. The text is well placed and looks nice. May look better with a border on the top edge.

Here's my banner. One of my first attempts and this style.

 

[Comic Tragedy]

Kuggles: I will be straight up honest with you. You have done better. There are a few things I'd like to see in this sig more effects that really make it stand out. And better depth. You were telling me you were having trouble adding depth. Their are two ways I find effective to add some depth in my sigs. One I add a new layer and go Image>Apply Image. Then use the burn, doge, blur, and sharpen tool in different places to create depth.
Two simply add a new layer brush around with a black 40 px soft brush then set it to overlay.

 

[YOOM-TAH]

Here is my new theme sig. Ok before anyone asks I did do most of the pentooling, the only thing I did not do is the stars. I just got that stock wich I rendered, then recolored.

Very nice, I love it actually, awesome color scheme. First sig I've seen from someone on PC that I have no complaints about.

 

[Comic Tragedy]

Very nice, I love it actually, awesome color scheme. First sig I've seen from someone on PC that I have no complaints about.

*blushes* thanks man. I worked hard. Night all.

 

[Renyui!]

Rate it.

 

[Comic Tragedy]

Renyui: Hokay, I like the overall look on the right halve. The C4ds you used I think blended very nicely. But I think you could use a little more on the left side. I respect you were thinking simplicity on this banner but, that side seems a little too open ended. Another thing I want to comment on is you did a great job with depth this time using burn dodge and sharpen tools. But I think it was sharpened a bit to much at the face. I would tone that down just a tad.

PS. this reminds me of something that didn't turn out well of mine using the same render. I should try and finish that.

 

[Cyndaquil]

So, seems like we're allowed to post our SotW entries for C&C?
I guess I could take some crits on my entry then;

I don't know, to be honest, I don't really like it. It feels too busy and too unsaturated, but the low saturation really is because of the scenery, the Assassins Creed environment... :\

Edit: As for El Capitano's signature, well, I have to agree with YOOM-TAH. The only thing is that the cyan gradient "meshes" (well, the cylinders) in the left/center part, it feels a bit out of place. The red/pink orbs with thsoe blue dots connecting them (more center/center-ish) are pretty much perfect, as well as the rest around it. Really great one.

 

[Comic Tragedy]

Cyndaquil: Ok so I can tell this is a simple photo manip. I like the little flare effect you put between the clashing swords. I also like the little banner thing you did with the text etched out of it. One thing you can definately change is the wierd texture you have in all the background. There is definately not much to say with a banner this simple. And I cant really talk about adding more effects because I can tell you were wanting to keep it simple. One thing I would add though is some more color. Currently it is looking a tadd mono tone.

 

[Motsuko Live]

Yay! Don't have to rate. Good thing, 'cause I gotta go back to work in about 10 minutes.

I fooled around with depth in this sig. I haven't even thought about text, but I think it will be something along the lines of "reach". The focal point is suppose to be her hand (the reason I blurred her face) but there is a bit of lighting coming from her eyes, so I guess it kind of screws it up. Because of this, I made a second version with her face as the focal point. Which is better?

 

[Comic Tragedy]

Motsuko: Great work Motsuko. That is a great example of depth perception. You did an awesome job with blurring and sharpening. There is not much I can say about this baby. I am loving the clipping masks aswell.

Man you are getting better and better keep it up. BTW you should DEFINATELY make a tutorial on this because ALOT of youngsters in the graphics section have no clue how to use depth effectively.