Official Graphics Comments & Criticism

I would try making the size of the signature a bit smaller as theres a bit of negative space to the left of Bruce Lee. Also, try adding a round white brush stroke where your render is to add a bit more light and set the layer to either lighten or soft light and change the opacity. Adding a bit of light there should also reflect the light on his arms and face.
 
Nevermind.

Uhh, good work, guys.
 
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Some C&C please.

A simple piece I was contemplating entering over my iNature piece for the SOTW.
Nature-1-1.png


Something I just finished.
BeckinsaleSig.png
 
Some C&C please.

A simple piece I was contemplating entering over my iNature piece for the SOTW.
Nature-1-1.png

This is pretty much open for anything. The concept is good so far. Maybe go the ipod route but put your own lil twist on it.

Something I just finished.
BeckinsaleSig.png

look like the classic Ender tutorial with ur own lil twist..lol...looks good, i always liked this style. nice job
 
While I understand that you may still be learning, there has to be more effort put into your signatures. From the looks of it, there doesn't seem to be much work done on the background. When you're making a background, you want it to blend in with the render('s) you choose to use. If they don't match it brings down the overall effect of the signature.

There should be something to be said about this. I know its a C&C which is why i'm kinda back and forth on this. He doesn't seem to be improving or taking our advice but at the same time some people don't have the same passion as others. Like recreational sports, some people aren't that great at it but it doesn't mean they should stop playing and it is definitely unfair to criticize them for it. It is a CnC thread however although there really is no place to just show off a sig either. I'm not contradicting myself i'm just saying, its something to think about.

On another note.
What do you think of this?
Picture13-4.png
 
Bliss(Train)
25z40sw.png


One thing I must commend you for is making the scene look more interesting than how it was originally. The harsh contrast and analagous colors create a much stronger and emotional scene. In yours, it's like I can see his tense look/pose of anxiety conveyed through the entire picture. Edges are harsher, Lines are more hectic and their contrast more offputting, extra blues/greens deepen the approriate mood, etc.

Since this isn't really a tag (judging from your post), I'll leave it with that. Don't know much about the tools you used to talk about how well you took advantage of them, but for what you did, nice rendering decisions.


Darkprinny (Rouge)
rougeaq1.png


The squares surrounding Rogue are pretty cool. It creates a nice contrast in appearance between it and Rouge. Nice idea to use the same colors that are on her so that they and Rouge have a sensible relationship despite being completely different subjects.

Unfortunately, not much else is going on to make this piece strong. The background could use more features or variety (the squares are packed together in mostly the center of an uninteresting grey), squares could go beyond the picture in more and more varied areas around the frame (not just predominantly the bottom), and Rogue herself might have been better suited to being grounded with the bottom of the frame. Mainly an issue of unworkable background, but overall, decent effort, here. There is potential.

Bodine (Bruce Lee)
2v14xmb.jpg


Pretty cool. The way the flames seem to be reflecting strongly against Bruce's skin creates a very convincing effect of him standing within it. The faded characters with the dark background make a great backdrop behind him. Color usage is also nice; the warm colors of the flame perfectly blend with the cultural reds and yellows.

I think you have layering issues, however. The contours of Bruce are incredibly crisp and jaggy, preventing a seamless transition between him and the background (the dreaded "cookie-cutter" effect). The characters, while functional where they are, could be stronger if they were placed with more variety. The four around Lee are almost too conveniently placed around him. I think bringing some of them farther into being behind him (while still readable) would make the background appear more natural. I also feel as though there is too much emptiness in your background. You could either enlarge the subject (Bruce Lee on fire) to compensate or do more in the background itself.

Other than that, great effort. Great use of colors.

blueovalboy7

Nature (In Progress)
Nature-1-1.png


You definitely achieved your attempt to convey a nature scene. The sunset is nice and the way the foilage stands out against it and the clouds are great.

At this stage, it's pretty basic, and looks nice for what it is, but I feel it could be stronger. Currently, you have the issue of a dull central focus. The clouds and foilage are completely linear and the sunshine is centered inbetween them. In compositions, a blatant central focus is rarely more interesting than a blatant off-centre focus or a centered piece with off-center features (it is the nature of human condition to think so when looking at a picture), especially when the piece is simplistic where there isn't much in the side areas to compensate for it. Something as simple as adding birds off to the side, or having some foilage appear drastically closer or more distant to the viewer (you may have tried this already, so if you did, the effect didn't come through well enough), or having the sun shine off to a side, or all of the above would make your piece more dynamic and varied while maintaining its simplicity.

Anyway, as it stands now, it's a nice tag, but it probably won't be a fierce contender as it is now. The only reason why I say so much is because it's so nice, yet screaming for more variety.

(Side note: Clouds don't typically pack themselves only at the top and away from the horizon, creating a slightly unconvincing effect. Oftentimes, clouds are in a variety of distances from the horizon and the viewer.)

Kate Beckinsale
BeckinsaleSig.png


Well, excellent female choice, for one. :] Beyond that, it's quite impressive. I like your uneven lineweights surrounding the smaller pictures of her. It mimics the grooves seen on filmstrips, the rugged feeling of the dark earth tones, and the textured backgrounds all at the same time. The film concept was a nice idea, highlighting the staged appearance of her pose (and the fact that she's an actress in general). I can see that this is all the same photo, but your variety in sizing and cropping create a very unique and refreshing spin on the typical portrait tag. Great ideas, here.

I don't see much seriously wrong with this, other than that the brush you used around the smaller pictures could have been handled better (despite working for the most part), but it's nice how it is. Textures, color palette, and image usage all work together well. Good job.

---

I'll probably be back later to do more. Too tired to do others at the moment.
 
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lol, yeah, on rare occasions, but that's okay since I always enjoy making these critiques. This time, I'm actually tired because I should've been in bed hours ago, haha.
 
There should be something to be said about this. I know its a C&C which is why i'm kinda back and forth on this. He doesn't seem to be improving or taking our advice but at the same time some people don't have the same passion as others. Like recreational sports, some people aren't that great at it but it doesn't mean they should stop playing and it is definitely unfair to criticize them for it. It is a CnC thread however although there really is no place to just show off a sig either. I'm not contradicting myself i'm just saying, its something to think about.

I understand what you're getting at and I know I haven't been one to really show major improvements in my work. Most of my signatures don't take that much Photo Shop knowledge to make. Yet, I enjoy the simplicity of it. Going back to the user, I don't see the point in asking for critique when you don't even listen to the advice given by others who may only be trying to help.


@LeWaffles:

Your recent piece looks quite interesting. You seem to really enjoy working with shapes, which is nice. There aren't many other artists who I've seen use a style similar to yours. So, by doing so, you stand out. I like how you've flipped the image while still creating a nice flow with the shapes you made. I also like the use of text on this piece and the picture of the city in the background. It's nice to see that you've also edited this piece several times to different settings. Keep up the good work.
 
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@LeWaffles:

Your recent piece looks quite interesting. You seem to really enjoy working with shapes, which is nice. There aren't many other artists who I've seen use a style similar to yours. So, by doing so, you stand out. I like how you've flipped the image while still creating a nice flow with the shapes you made. I also like the use of text on this piece and the picture of the city in the background. It's nice to see that you've also edited this piece several times to different settings. Keep up the good work.

To simplify what you said, Le waffles is awesome!
 
blueovalboy7

Nature (In Progress)
Nature-1-1.png


You definitely achieved your attempt to convey a nature scene. The sunset is nice and the way the foilage stands out against it and the clouds are great.

At this stage, it's pretty basic, and looks nice for what it is, but I feel it could be stronger. Currently, you have the issue of a dull central focus. The clouds and foilage are completely linear and the sunshine is centered inbetween them. In compositions, a blatant central focus is rarely more interesting than a blatant off-centre focus or a centered piece with off-center features (it is the nature of human condition to think so when looking at a picture), especially when the piece is simplistic where there isn't much in the side areas to compensate for it. Something as simple as adding birds off to the side, or having some foilage appear drastically closer or more distant to the viewer (you may have tried this already, so if you did, the effect didn't come through well enough), or having the sun shine off to a side, or all of the above would make your piece more dynamic and varied while maintaining its simplicity.

Anyway, as it stands now, it's a nice tag, but it probably won't be a fierce contender as it is now. The only reason why I say so much is because it's so nice, yet screaming for more variety.

(Side note: Clouds don't typically pack themselves only at the top and away from the horizon, creating a slightly unconvincing effect. Oftentimes, clouds are in a variety of distances from the horizon and the viewer.)

Kate Beckinsale
BeckinsaleSig.png


Well, excellent female choice, for one. :] Beyond that, it's quite impressive. I like your uneven lineweights surrounding the smaller pictures of her. It mimics the grooves seen on filmstrips, the rugged feeling of the dark earth tones, and the textured backgrounds all at the same time. The film concept was a nice idea, highlighting the staged appearance of her pose (and the fact that she's an actress in general). I can see that this is all the same photo, but your variety in sizing and cropping create a very unique and refreshing spin on the typical portrait tag. Great ideas, here.

I don't see much seriously wrong with this, other than that the brush you used around the smaller pictures could have been handled better (despite working for the most part), but it's nice how it is. Textures, color palette, and image usage all work together well. Good job.

Thank you for the great C&C, the first one is not finished, I just hit a wall with it. Then tried to find some bird brushes for GIMP, but no dice. As for the clouds, the overall look of the tag is pretty flat so creating some depth with the clouds didn't really cross my mind. I'll have to try that next time.

I can't entirely take credit for the style of the second one, I use my own spin on an Ender tutorial I used quite a while back, but I personalize it how I see fit for whatever the stock is I'm trying to use. Glad you like it.
 
God this is awful. Ive been trying and trying to make something and im just getting stuck. N inspiration, nothing at all. Its been like this months. I cant make anything good.
 

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