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

[YOOM-TAH]

Well it's pretty simple which I guess is what you were going for. I'd change the background to a light blue with white gradient, corresponding to the lighting/shading of the pokemon in there. I'd also lose the text, as it completely overpowers the pokemon and it's not great to look at because the style is over the top. It's hard to even read as it goes over the pokemon, because of how dark it is.

Here's my SOTW entry.

 

[Azonic]

Nice, except I didn't like the fact that you smudged over the Aura Sphere. It's a little to plain though. It's just like a render slapped onto a background with a little smudging over the focal. More colors would be nice~ Anyways, it's pretty good. :3 Uhh... 9/10~

Made for SOTW, but I took the text out because I foresaw how many flame wars would start if you saw the horrible failure text.

 

[YOOM-TAH]

^^I think the effects are a bit too much in this one. All the stuff set to overlay gives Pikachu and other areas of the sig a really weird looking texture. Also there's a bit too much contrast because of that. The lighting isn't exactly right either, though it's not a huge deal in this kinda sig.

 

[Loki]

*facepalm*

SwampertTrainer, you need to go to the first post and read the rules, please. xD;;

 

[SwampertTrainer]

I know- I read them after I posted. Sorry.

 

[Loki]

Which means you should edit your post like any member who realizes they've done something wrong so that it follows the rules. ;D

And YOOM-TAH, you kind of slipped up on the same note, so you should go to the first post and refresh your memory too. :| Though not rating SwapertTrainer's banner was by all means not the problem~

 

[SwampertTrainer]

Can I just delete my post? Or have someone else delete it?

 

[Loki]

... o_O Is it that terrible? Well just leave it be then, if it's really that much of a pain.

You can delete it if you want.

And let's drop the subject. There've been enough rambling posts on this topic. :|

 

[Hazuki]

I don't feel like rating so....

 

[Black Rose]

I like the simplicity in this tag. Very clean, and bright. In fact, the lower right is a little too bright in my opinion. I love the sparkle effect; not sure if that's from blurring dewy grass or what, but it's pretty ^_^ I think the text is nice, perhaps a bit too big, but only a little. Italicizing the first and leaving the second makes the two pieces of text compliment each other. Nice ^_^ 9/10

I haven't done any GFX in a long time, so yeah . . . I didn't use any C4D's, just the render... Here is the original, just in case you get the impression that I just stuck a render on some fiddled-with layers . . .

Don't be too hard, ok? =)

~BR

 

[Gummy]

Black Rose: I take it this is your SOTW entry, so might want to add the words "SOTW" or "Pokemon" somewhere in there, or else you'll be disqualified. As for the banner itself, I like the filters on the background but the render itself sticks out a little to much. I'm guessing you added the render twice and set the second one to "Multiply". I advise you to delete that extra render and maybe add some Gradient Maps/Photo Filters to help with the blending. If you're not using Photoshop, this rate is probably gibberish to you.

~~~~~

My SOTW:

 

[YOOM-TAH]

@Gummy - It's a cool pic of Ho-oh, where is it from? Anyway I don't like the text, but then again it's probably just there for the SOTW text rule thing. My main gripe with the sig is that it needs more colors. There appears to be a rainbow in the BG but it's only yellow and orange. Don't be afraid to go outside of the 2 or so colors that are in the render. Also I wish it had a few more effects that stood out more. As it is there's just the blurred background and the render, and so it's a tad boring to look at. But it has potential.

 

[Pikabloo]

Gummy: YOOM-TAH pretty much said everything I was going to say, but just to add to his comments, I think that the bubble C4D towards the left of the banner looks... out of place, almost. Probably because the rest of the banner lacks effects, so it's sort of just floating there. Maybe, in addition to more effects, choose a bubble C4D where you only see dots, or sparkles, or something similar, and place it in that area, so it looks like Ho-oh is leaving a trail of sparkle-ness. Just a random thought. Though, maybe that is the concept you're trying to pull off in the banner at the moment.... eh :P

---

I would have moved the render further into the canvas, but Suzaku's head was covering up most of the other half of its body :\

 

[Loki]

DDDDDDDDDDD:

Those are amazing colors!

The firey look fits really well, the negative space is excellent, and I love the text. But if the clipping masks on the bottom of 'knightmare' is supposed to say something, I quite frankly can't for the life of me figure out what it's supposed to say. xD

Lance? Lh-something something? xD

Anyway, lighting is awesome, and the contrast is just right. Is that a c4d I spy? I vote this to go to evilcheese's c4d banner rally if it is. Because all that red stuff on the right is fabulous~

The only issue I can pick with this banner is that there's actually a little bit too much negative space on the right. Maybe add a little flare of flame on the side would help a little. :|

---------------------------------------------

75% of the time taken to make this banner was rendering the person. >:| I hate rendering RL people. But I really like how it turned out, even though switching between the smudge settings was a royal pain.

 

[YOOM-TAH]

@Shiranui - Cool tag, one of the better ones I've seen from you. My only gripe is the text. The style and placement of it really detracts from the focal, especially since the focal is already off to the side (which is not a problem in and of itself by any means).

@Loki - Pretty nice, great cut on the hair. I don't like the scanlines here. I've seen a lot of amazing tags in that style and so I may judge it harshly because of that. But the scanlines really obscure the details of the effects. Also I think the darker part of the gradient in the background has a bit too much exposure. Text isn't bad but could be a lot better actually. The effects look pretty good, they could use a tad more flow though.

 

[Loki]

Revision #1:

For better or worse? :D

List of what I did: v

1. I didn't lower the opacity of "Shinjiro" but I took it down a little on "Atae". I added more effects to the text though, like the all forbidden bevel&emboss, and a gradient overlay. (edit: Oh poo. The emboss on atae made it more obvious that it was before. :| I'll fix that on the third revision.)
2. Got rid of most of the scanlines, since the guy at PC didn't like them, but kept a little because Raito says they're okay at the bottom. :| You can't really tell anymore though.
3. Again, the super painful brightness/contrast on my older tags was really not my fault. ;; *points to monitor* The proof is in this tag, how much less ouch it is compared to the ones before I adjusted my screen. <-- Doesn't apply at PC, since nobody harped me on the brightness/contrast. xD;
4. Got rid of the black vector brushes. They weren't doing much other than blocking the smudge from view anyway. :|
5. Fixed the over-exposed gradient in the back.
6. Did Useless' suggestion to apply the image and erase it with a spatter brush to fill in the empty space.
7. Made the border... um. Blacker? :/
8. Added two photofilters to make the lighting less icky. :|

 

[THIRTY-SIX]

Not fond of that green and yellow, prefer the borer on v2, but the darker shaes on v1.

 

[Black Rose]

Yay! Free rate =D

I revised my tag, hopefully a bit better. Thanks for the help Gummy! ^_^

I added some photofilters on the render, tried to lighten it a bit, and hopefully blended it a bit better. Also added the SOTW test, idc if it looks good or not, it's just there to fulfill the requirement.

Original tag:

Revision 2:

Revision 2.1 (borders):

Comments/criticism? Which one looks best?

Please and thank you! ^_^

~BR

 

[moments.]

Blackrose:
Nice banner! I think that the background clashes a bit with the render because it is quite strong. Try lowering the opacity a bit or making it a darker colour so the render stands out more. I would also recommend adding some more special effects like lighting to add depth. Also can I ask that you change the font? Try using different sizes, positions and styles so that is looks not so neat and linear.

Okay here is my banner after a long time without touching Photoshop...

Tried something new, I thought it turned out ok...

 

[Nell]

Hmmmm.
Kuggles:
Actually, I'm liking the concept for this thing. But it's not exactly top-notch professionalism, is it? D: There's firstly too much contrast, in terms of sharpening, colours, whatever. It detracts from the focal, and the effects need to be toned down, and made less conspicuous in some areas, such as both of Matt's arms, and the leafy brushing on the right. I'm actually digging the text, but the 'Express' would probably be better off as a clipping mask or something. That white sticks out like a sore thumb D:

*image removed*

I made this for Loki, because I hadn't done her justice with requests in the past. I think it's alright, what about you guys?