Art Distorted Dreams...

[Onix]

[COLOR=SlateGray][SIZE=1]I was bored during fifth period today (Internet/HTML), and noted that the computers have Photoshop 5.5 on them. Being deprived, I have no Photoshop, so I decided to just play around a bit, and I ended up making two banners. Criticisms and critiques are welcome. Flames shall be met with the Mercy Shotgun.

[B]Weaving Dreams - [/B]
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/UnbornLordXion/Dreambanner.gif[/IMG]

[B]Distortion - [/B]
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/UnbornLordXion/distortion.jpg[/IMG]

Both were made by just...messing around, really. "Weaving Dreams" is named because, at the same time, I was attempting to make a website with DreamWeaver. In fact, I used it as the banner for the page. Or would've, had it been cooperating. I just made a bunch of random marks and used the "Glass" filter, followed by the "Fresco". I think it turned out pretty well, really.

The other is named what it is because...it's heavily distorted. I think I used about five filters on it...it was originally just a bunch of air-brush marks of varying color. Some of the filters; "Diffused Glow," "Neon," and "Poster Edge." I think. I wish I could've found a better font, though.

Again, all feedback is welcome. Not that I can really practice...

Man, I need Photoshop.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Annie]

[color=navy][font=tahoma]Ooh, simplistic, and really funky. They remind me of Biology. You know, looking at cells under a microscope; especially the second banner. I like the little hints of color. I myself, don't do too well with color, but I like to put in splashes of colors every now and again. So I can appreciate this.

I don't know what PS 5.5 has to offer, so I don't know the limitations to that version. The only thing that I can pick at is the font. But I won't lecture because I suck at fonting, and I'd assume you didn't have too much time to worry about it. Other than that, looks really good, Trev. Yes, you need to get Photoshop. I spoke with you on AIM, and that option I hinted at is still open to negotiation if you are that interested. [/color][/font]

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE=1]Download Photoshop CS2! You can have the trial for a month, may not be much, but at least it'll let you know if you should spend the money on getting PS.

Or you could get PSP9, then I can help you ^_~

But seriously, get Photoshop.

Now, onto the matter at hand.

[U]?Weaving Dreams[/U]
I like this one better than Distortion because it actually looks like a proper, organised splash rather than an experiment. I saw this for your Underground thread and the colours you used really suit the mood and theme for the RP.

[U]?Distortion[/U]
I don't really like this one, though I think it's due to personal taste, really. I never was a fan of the "Neon Glow" filter and I really do agree with Annie about looking like cells....actually reminds me of those onion skin cells I had to examine once.

Considering you haven't really used PS and this was in school, I think you done pretty well. *pat pat* Well done, darling. ^_~[/SIZE]

[Onix]

[COLOR=SlateGray][SIZE=1]Thanks, you two.

Well, I messed around with PS some more today during class, and have created two more little...banner-y...things. Just some more experimenting...seeing what I can and can't do, et al. And I was listening to the Ramones at the time, so...

[B]The Ramones - [/B]
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/UnbornLordXion/ramones2.gif[/IMG]

[B]Death of Honor - [/B]
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/UnbornLordXion/deathofhonor.gif[/IMG]

With the first one, it's just kind of obvious. I wanted to make something using the Ramones, and tried to do the "No Background" thing. And as the "dump bucket" feature was being spotty - at best - I had to get in to paint to turn the lower half black. Which wasn't exactly fun. And, before you ask, I don't think that 5.5 has extraction...and I didn't feel like looking for it, anyway. And, looking at it again, the text turned out very poorly. Damn.

With Death of Honor, there was a wierd chain of events in its creation. At first, it was going to be another Ramones-themed thing, as I was listening to the song "Pet Sematary". Then I went looking for pictures of Tombstones, couldn't find any, and decided to make my own. You know...be creative. However, once I made it, it didn't look like a tombstone, so the effect wouldn't have been very good. Instead, it shifting into this abstract-political commentary piece.

Comments are nice. Flames shall be met with carpet bombing.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Ima]

[SIZE=1][B]Banner1:[/B] This is nice but its also poor quality, not as in the whole image.... The pictures are poor quality and the text so it brings the overall feeling down. BG is decent and as you said you went for a "No BG" so I cannot really say anything about it. The image is very bland and its not light enough, I like bright colors they make people feel good and they make banners look very amazing.


[B]Banner2:[/B] This is interesting since i've never put my eyes on somthing like this =P. Its very unique and I like the white lines, once again.... the BG is far to bland for my taste but its a great banner "thing" overall. :P


The problems with these is that your making them bland and they are not sticking out to me.

Well I would give you about a 7/10 because of what you have to work with. If you had PS 7.0 im sure some of your master pieces would be amazing =P



Keep up the good work.[/SIZE]

[Retribution]

[SIZE=1]Good stuff, Sir Xion.

The first thing I noticed is that you don't like color much. It'll help out alot if you use even just small bits of bright colors (yellow, red) in constrast with your gray/black thing you've got going on.

Secondly, the filter thing. It's a good start (I [i]believe[/i] you just got PS. Don't hurt me if you've had it for a while. *hides*). I'd recommend some tutorials on using them in combinations from [B][url]www.pixel2life.com[/url][/B]. You've got the hang of it, and now it's just finding the perfect combinations to make things work out the way you want them to. Good luck on that.

You're pretty good starting off. Keep going, and you'll make giant leaps.[/SIZE]

[Onix]

[COLOR=SlateGray][SIZE=1]Man...been ages since I've done anything. 'Course, I only recently actually got Photoshop, and my only access prior was on the school computers. Seeing as school ended, I was PS-less, until now. Muahaha. Now, see my first Graphics set, which I call, [B]Blind but Bleed.[/B] It's not much, I know, but it's my first real venture into PSP9, so cut me a little slack. Inspired by [B]Once Upon a Time In Mexico[/B], and [B]Imi's Blog[/B].

Blind but Bleed -
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/UnbornLordXion/Banners/blindbutbleed.png[/IMG]

Blind but Bleed [Dark] -
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/UnbornLordXion/Banners/blindbutbleed_dark.png[/IMG]

Blind but Bleed [Hyper-Red] -
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/UnbornLordXion/Banners/blindbutbleed_hyperred.png[/IMG]

As you can see, they're pretty much just simple variations on the same image, with a few minor alterations. Comments, criticisms, et al.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Ezekiel]

[color=#F84E20][SIZE=1]Yay! My Blog has influenced you ^_^

[B]?One:[/B]
I like the image best on this, all the lines have showed up well as well as the idea of blood and possibly torment? That's what I'm getting anyway. I'm not too keen on the text as it's kind of hard to read for some reason (colour wise, I mean). I do like the text placement, though.

[B]?Two:[/B]
I like this the least out of the three--the image, because of how dark the rest of it is, looks like it's lost in the vast blackness of the rest of the banner. Also, white text on the black background stands out too much and the text placement isn't as good as it was on the last banner.

[B]?Three:[/B]
I quite like the way the red turned out, but the only thing I can really say about this image is that the lines have merged too much, making the eyes seem a bit too dramatic. Apart from that, doesn't look too bad. (Text placement=<3)

And that's it. Carry on practicing; love, so we can do that collab. ^_~[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Onix]

[COLOR=SlateGray][SIZE=1]Well, I made this for the Image Contest going on, but someone beat me to posting it. So, I'll just show it off here. Well, not show off as much as show the crappiness. I was going for symbolic and thematic and...I don't think I pulled it off. But I DO like that font. I must use that font more.

And I'm just noticing how the background screwed up...it was supposed to be see through, but instead it's...blue? Anyone know what the deal is with that? *knows nothing of the finer points of PhotoShop Pro*

[B]Thug-Life[/B]
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/UnbornLordXion/thug-life.png[/IMG]

Also, I guess I'll post this. My first effort in background removal, in fact. Unfortunately, the stock wasn't off the best quality, hence the odd pixelly-coloring. Ah, well.

[B]Lei-Fang[/B]
[IMG]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/UnbornLordXion/lei-fang.png[/IMG]

Comments? Doubt it...[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Retribution]

[SIZE=1][b]Fear not![/b] For I have come to comment. *no theme song* Aww...

[b]Thug Life:[/b] Actually, it's see through on my monitor, so mission accomplished. I'd suggest making the holes look fewer and more concentrated, like a gun blast of four bullet holes. But they'd have to be fairly large ones. As it stands, it looks pretty good though. The bricks feel natural, and fit well with this piece. The only problem I have with this is the text - it's a bit too small and it feels like it's being swallowed up by the dark wall. Maybe enlarging it (quite a bit) and adding a drop shadow? And besides, I see the elements that you're using, and you're work is moving past only-filters. That's a good sign. Keep that up.

[b]Lei-Fang:[/b] First off, the stock is too small. I'd recommend getting a larger, high-quality version of her and putting it on the banner. Text can't fill up all the spaces. Which brings me to your typography; I like the "Lei-Fang" in the corner, but the sentence feels ... wrong in that font. Change it to something a bit more badass, like you're trying to convey her, and it'll be good. Finally, your background seems a bit plain - maybe a white bar going through it to give it some flare would be good (like your current banner).

So keep it up, ULX, you're getting better. Seriously.[/SIZE]

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=#FF374C][FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=1]Retri, I made that set for him. :p See? The man should learn from the woman's example. Now.

[B]Thug Life:[/B] I agree with Retri on his comments, but as a PSP user I'd like to add something to help you. (If you don't mind, love)
The text has a pixelly border, but the way to stop that is by choosing "Anti-Alias" in Properties. You'll see the difference immediately. There are a couple of Anti-Alias options, you'll see, just mess with them and see what effect you get.

I already told you what I thought about the Lei-Fang banner and Retri said most of the crit. anyway.

You are improving, dear, I'm very glad to see you're using stock so early, too.[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]