Art My First Wallpaper!

[AzureWolf]

Well, I finally did it! I made a wallpaper!

Good God, these are hard to do! The character is from Chrno Crusade, which is also where my avatar, banner, and myOtaku pic are from. As those of you who read my myOtaku know, I can't do depth, so instead of my initial meadow idea, I had to go with an abstract background. Everything else is roughly the same concept, including the quote.

Be has critical as possible, as this was made for a CC contest! :) You had to take that stock picture of Chrno holding that head and make a wallpaper.

Questions and comments (good and bad) are all welcomed.

[I]While I'm at it, I'd appreciate comments about my banner and avi if you have the time.[/I]

[Kieko]

That's very good! I've never tried a wallpaper, so I can't say it's better than I can do, but it probably is. The only problem I have with it is the quote. It doesn't really seem to go with the picture. I know you have snowflakes and everything, but I would focus the quote on what might be happening in the picture, like something about what you think the man is doing (or was doing because he or someone else decapitated someone.) Well, it's good anyway ^_^. I especially like the energy balls around the people.

8/10 (oh, and it could just be my computer, but the man's face is kinda fuzzy.)

[haruno_sakura]

Wow, for a first wallpaper, it's pretty good! The stock picture is just slightly blurry, but not enough to be a major problem. The background is really well done, but the colors clash a bit with the stock picture. The background has more cool colors, while the stock picture is engulfed in warm, firey colors, which doesn't make it totally flow. But with the snowflakes, I guess there need to be cool colors or else the snowflakes would look out of place on a fiery background XD And the fireball things floating around the figure are pretty cool ^_^ But since there's a lot going on with the snowflakes, you may want to cut out one or two of them ^_^
Overall, you've done an excellent job! I love the font that you used since it blends nicely with the snowflakes and the fireball things ^_^ Well done!

~Haruno Sakura

[Hittokiri Zero]

-All of the sperm flys definatly need to go or be redone >_>...

-The stock image itself isn't of high quality either and the background is a pure mess of blurred colors that don't match the image as it is =\.

-With there hard outlines and dropshadows the snow flakes and what not stand out too much and overall don't look that appealing =|.

-Possibly move the Chrno Crusade text up some more? As for the "Is it snowing" text it actually looks okay but it's kinda of just "bleh" because of the way the rest of the wallpaper turned out...

*try again ^_^''*

[AzureWolf]

I don't see what's wrong with the [B]firefly things[/B], Hittokiri Zero, especially since you don't mention why they need to go, so I'm going to keep them. I like how they are wrapping around Chrno. :p

As for the "Is it Snowing?" quote, that's supposed to be what Chrno is thinking/saying, which was the intention... Any ideas on how to make it seem like he's saying it?

I got rid of the shadows as prescribed. Yeah, I did realize they stand out too much, but it looked cool. :D

Thanks Haruno Sakura. I took out some of those firefly things as you suggested. It does it look better now, IMO.

Hittokiri Zero, thanks for the suggestions too, but, as I said, I can't be held responsible for the quality of the stock picture: it was a given thing that needed to be put in the wallpaper for the contest. And could you clarify what this means? [quote]Possibly move the Chrno Crusade text up some more? As for the "Is it snowing" text it actually looks okay but it's kinda of just "bleh" because of the way the rest of the wallpaper turned out..."[/quote] And Kieko, I fixed the blurriness of the character - I think.

So, everyone, are there still problems or did I address what you were talking about?

EDIT: Oops, yeah, I forgot: I used a red shade on everything else except the background because the background was blue and I wanted everything else to stand out more. Not a good idea, huh? Should I give everything a blue luster to it, then?

[Kanariya]

[size=1][color=chocolate]For your first wallpaper, it's good.
As Hittokiri Zero pointed out, the background doesn't match with the picture. Neither does the text either.
Too many fireball thingys too; they take away the fun of the snowflakes and since the fireball thingys are there, it would be better if the snowflakes were left out.

Yeah, also stock image not high quality. It was a good wallpaper for first, but needs work.[/size][/color]

[haruno_sakura]

The stock picture isn't as blury as before, which is better, but the stock image still doesn't blend as well with the background in regards to the color theme. The cool colors of the background still contrast a little too harshly with the warm firey colors of the stock image...you may want to try making Chrono a little less red + orange and and a little more...blue? Or a more cool color of your choice that would blend with the blues, blacks, whites and pinks in the background. I hope I'm making sense haha ^_^

~Haruno Sakura

[Hittokiri Zero]

[quote]I don't see what's wrong with the firefly things, Hittokiri Zero, especially since you don't mention why they need to go, so I'm going to keep them. I like how they are wrapping around Chrno[/quote]

Other than pointing out how horribly out of place and ugly they look what more do I need to say :rolleyes:. If your trying to make some little "aura wisps" trust me when I say your airbrushing needs alot of work and until you have a much better idea of what you are doing stay away from those sperm thingys. On a side note they honestly don't look like they're wrapping around anything =|. Try tinkering with the opacity and "fade to" settings of the airbrush to get a better feel for what your trying to achieve.

[quote]And could you clarify what this means?
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Possibly move the Chrno Crusade text up some more? As for the "Is it snowing" text it actually looks okay but it's kinda of just "bleh" because of the way the rest of the wallpaper turned out..."[/quote]

Basically I was saying the "Is it snowing text" would look okay alone but because of the poor quality of the rest of the wallpaper it's kind of hard to tell. And what I meant by moving the "Chrno Crusade" logo up was basically moving the Chrno Crusade lofo up so it's centered vertically on the image -_o. I hope that clears things up.

[Kitty]

[color=blue][size=1]..... O.O.... Did I miss something? I missed something... In my completely unimportant opinion, I can't tell the difference between the first and second one..............

I've never heard of.... whatever it's a wallpaper of. I'm lost. Well, might as well rate it.

My 'score': 8/10

Nice shading, but add just a [i]little[/i] bit more color to make it better. And..... uh..... that's all.

~Totally Lost~

P.S. For those of you who care (I doubt that there are any), this is my 500th post!! I'm a member!!! *does a happy dance* Lalalalaalalala....[/color][/size]

[Mimmsicle]

[COLOR=firebrick]For some reason it looks like the character is about to get sucked into a black hole.... but that's beside the point[i] *cough*[/i]
I've never tried doing a wallpaper, so my comments should'nt be taken seriously.

It looks good, but somehow it feels like there's too much going on.
If the fire-thingys weren't rounded off, but kept as a flowy line, then it'd look a bit better (in my humble opinion)

It'd also be interesting to see what it looks like if you move the guy further to the left and put the logo on his right side, close to the corner.... or something.

Well, like I said - I know nothing [i]*lol*[/i]
But overall I like the feel of the wallpaper. Tweaking is a good thing[i] *nods*[/i]

- Mimmi[/COLOR]

[Baron Samedi]

I'll rate them separately. OK- the first one. It isn't the best I have ever seen, and the stock image could be better, but that isn't your fault. I think the wispy dragon flies/whatever they are would look better if they were smaller, slightly transparent and had less bulbous heads- were more flowing. I actually really love the idea though, but these ones are too pronounced for my tastes. I also feel that you have two many of them- just a little bit overdone. I think the background could be re-worked, I don't think you are too far off the mark with the general idea, but it doesn't quite fit... try a different colour scheme perhaps. With the snowflakes- stick to one style of flake. I absolutely hate the use of different types of snowflakes. Sometimes, uniformity and solid rank is better than random abstract. I also don't like the quote, or the effect on it. The edges should either be all completely dim, or bolder- I'd go bolder. Some of the edges for this are brighter, others are faded. Bad combination. 'Is it snowing?' I just think you could have come up with a better quote than that. Mayhap 'The frosted tears', or something else. Just something more interesting. That quote of yours is so blase, I just don't like it.

Edited version- PUT THAT DAMN LOGO BACK DOWN WHERE IT WAS!

Thats all I have to say.

[AzureWolf]

[quote]I've never heard of.... whatever it's a wallpaper of.[/quote] Haha, that's so unexpected to hear from someone who has a banner and avi of Rosette (who is from Chrno Crusade). :) And the difference between the first two is the CC logo's position, shadows on the effects, and sharpness of stock pic.

I appreciate everyone's replies (yes, even H.Zero's). Again, this wallpaper is for a contest, so I'd like to address all problems anyone has with it.

I tried doing everything everyone suggested, with the exception of getting rid of the fireflies thingy and uncentering the CC logo again (make up your minds) - I didn't bother with those. There wasn't any reasoning behind removing the fireflies ("it's ugly" doesn't cut it: does it conflict with the picture, is it too distracting? How is it ugly?), and I don't see what's so bad about having the logo centered. I liked it the way it was positioned originally too, Baron, but is it [I]THAT[/I] bad centered?

Oh, and I tried using only one of the several kinds of snowflakes available instead of the others, but I didn't like it. I'll see how using only one of the other kinds looks when I get a chance.

Mimmi, I shifted the background around to so it doesn't look like he's getting sucked into anything. I really can't move him except to either the far right or left. Here's the stock picture, which should also address all picture quality issues:

[IMG]http://home.earthlink.net/~azurwolf/images/Chrno%20Dec.%20Contest.jpg[/IMG]

So yeah, as you can see, it will show where his wings cut off from the picture if I moved him around anymore. I even had to remake some parts of his wings because of the text. I did try what you said, and I like the CC logo placed at the bottom right, but it looks too weird without Chrno shifted to the left as well. Also, if any of you can enhance that picture better than what I've tried, that would be greatly appreciated. :)

Alright, I couldn't decide on certain aspects of the picture (and whether or not I made the wallpaper better or worse), so here are four versions. Which one is the best one, the one I should continue improving on?

[I] Limited FTP space. All Wallpapers removed as of 12/31.[/I]

Again, thanks for the surprising amount of help.

[SasukeUchiha]

What program do you use photoshop? Why dont you try making the image ur using a brush and then picking a color and stamping him onto a layer ^^ I kind of have an obcession with that ^^.

I am a wallpaperist, and I have to say this is really good for a first wallpaper. You have good placement and picture cropping skills. Some of the more finer points come with practice ^^

I reccomend you change the orange outline on the lettering and bring down the outler glow effect you used on the glowing purple things so its less harsh and possible pick a more cool purple that has a bluish tint to it so as to match your beautiful background.

Also, remember that with a start bar on most computers the bottom of your iamge will be cut off by most computers. If you wnat any help of examples PM me or E-Mail me ^^

All in all I say the purple one is definitly my fav. I think you did an excellent job and have a good chance of winning your contest ^^

P.S. - I love your banner ^^

[Pyrophobic]

*meeps and puts up hand* Well, I like it a lot...

For a blue background - this looks a bit like the northern lights, which is a nice touch - all the warm colours you use present a nice contrast and have this suitable heating effect, and I don't believe after the first editation that the stock illustration is too blurry - only that the wing folds are a bit ragged and sharp. I think that's actually part of the original picture, but I might soften them anyway - they look slightly pixelated and rough, which isn't the quality that the planes of his wings have.

I like the way the fireflies fit around the image (cute curved tails!), and I certainly don't think you should dispose of that feature since they keep the stock picture from looking elevated and to all intents and purposes separated from the background you've created. Best of all I love the glow you've applied to everything, from the text to the logo to the snowflakes - it really works well with the red-orange tint you've given the stock image.

If I had to say one little thing to improve it, I'd point to the website credit at the bottom. I think these look better when moved to either bottom corner. Otherwise they tend to distract.

I hope that's of some help. Although Pyro is usually no good at giving advice.

Good job! Oh - and the banner I love - nice experimentation with the blur and light effects. Maybe on the avatar there isn't enough definition on the lower face, but heh, I wouldn't change it. ^^

[SasukeUchiha]

[quote]Other than pointing out how horribly out of place and ugly they look what more do I need to say . If your trying to make some little "aura wisps" trust me when I say your airbrushing needs alot of work and until you have a much better idea of what you are doing stay away from those sperm thingys. On a side note they honestly don't look like they're wrapping around anything =|.[/quote]

Your a piece of work arent you.....

[Hittokiri Zero]

[quote]Your a piece of work arent you.....[/quote]

That I am... But I prefer calling myself "sexah" or the uber fabrical "h-a-w-t-t" also works well -_-... Let me have my opinions and you can have yours -_o. There's no need to act childish and try to insult me :P... If that's what you call that pointless post...

Anyway i'm thinking the third of the 4 wallpapers you just posted is the best =O. Just a little bit of advice for the future try to set a color scheme early when your making a wallpaper my main grip with the colors is while the stock image is dull and drab (not necessarily in a bad way just in terms of color) the rest of the image is all bright and skippy XD.

[Sara]

[color=333333]Who's the pretty glowing girl in your banner? I like the image.[/color]

[Shippo]

[color=darkblue]
For a first wallpaper, thats actually really good^_^. Or at least I think so. The images are good, But the color seems a little- Miss Matched.

I love the little firefly's. They're awesome. Did you make them yourself? Because if you did I'm really impressed.

The font is also really nice, I like the little outer glow effect you used on it.

Nice job Azure, and remeber, practice makes perfect ^_-
[/color]

[SasukeUchiha]

[quote]That I am... But I prefer calling myself "sexah" or the uber fabrical "h-a-w-t-t" also works well ... Let me have my opinions and you can have yours -_o. There's no need to act childish and try to insult me :P... If that's what you call that pointless post...
[/quote]

You are more than welcome to your opinion, and you had it in your first post, then in your second post you turned into a....well many things. You should not insult other peoples work or other people and not expect someone to say something.

[AzureWolf]

[B]SasukeUchiha[/B]: PMed you already. :)

[B]PyroPhobic[/B]: wow, one of the few poeple who actually liked my initial idea of contrast. Yeah, I thought it was good, but after seeing how a more friendly mix compares, I have to go with the majority (plus, if more people like it, there's a greater chance that the judge will like it better too :D). I'm glad you and a few others liked it, because, after the first few responses, I thought this wallpaper was a complete and utter failure. Glad there's hope.

Thanks for the comments about the banner and avi too. :)

[B]Sara[/B]: haha, you always have the oddest comments. Anyway, she's Rosette Christopher from Chrno Crusade. She's a deep yet comical character. If the website wasn't down, I'd give you a link to the original picture.

[B]Shippo[/B]: Yeah, it's my first wallpaper. But to be fair, I've been doing banners for quite a while, so I wouldn't really say it's my first time in making something like that.

O_o of course I made them and everything else except for the CC logo and stock picture. Actually, I should say that I used Photoshop to make them. The fireflies are pretty intuitive to make: a circle with the paintbrush, then a strong smudge tool. The background isn't very intuitive, though.
______________

Ok, with the deadline being soon (Dec. 31st), I'm going to go with the majority vote (which was #4 - I asked on AIM as well), with the small changes that were recommended by SasukeUchiha and PyroPhobic.

Thanks to all. All these comments and help were responsible for the resulting fixes/changes to the wallpaper. Haha, I would have submitted the first one I posted if everyone didn't help me out. :)

Final Wallpaper can be seen [url=http://home.earthlink.net/~azurwolf/images/Chrno-Wall-Dec.jpg]here[/url].