A Signature

[September]

Please comment and rate this sig I made today for a character named Ryelle. I made it in PS and GIMP. I have a lot of brushes in GIMP and don't feel like redownloading PS brushes. Anyways, if you tell me to try a specfic thing, please tell me how to do it.

[Malagrond]

I'm going to sound harsh, but I'm trying to offer constructive criticism here, so please don't be offended.

First off, I like the concept. The execution is somewhat lacking.

Don't ever apply blurring or smearing effects to your entire focal. It takes away from the sig. Try to use more layering and lighting effects to create depth. This looks very flat, except for the text. The font is completely wrong for this sig (try some cursive/fancy script) and the color is completely unrelated (I would recommend the tan or some light shade of red). I can barely read the text on the bottom, but the font is better. (The color is still not appropriate.)

It's best not to use multiple focals, as it draws attention from the foreground. Also, it looks like the stocks have some leftover white pixels around them. Try to trim those as best you can, or use blending options to blend them into the background.

There seems to be some sort of texture overlaid on the whole image. Try moving that behind the foreground image and text. It's best not to put textures over your focal so as not to blend it in too much.

3/10

[September]

How's that one then?

[Malagrond]

Much better. 6/10

I'm still going to criticize. Again, I'm not being mean, I'm just trying to help.

You still used more than one focal, which tears one's eyes between them. I like the right stock, as the left is what's called FHS (Floating Head Syndrome). The background on the right is nice. Try putting the left stock slightly to the left of center, using the background to fill the rest of the sig. Copy a small part of the background from behind her torso (near the bottom, maybe 50px up at most) and put it in a new layer above the focal layer. Smudge it with a harsh, jagged smudgebrush. Smudge some of the background near this area with the same brush. Move the text up to the left side, about half-way down, in a slightly smaller font.

Granted, that's how I see the focal being best used, but it's just an example.

[September]

I tried to do what you suggested. It's probably not quite what you wanted. My cursor keeps sticking which makes stuff like smudging hard to do. I flipped the left stock as when I moved it, all you could see was her hair.

[Kami]

Hi September. :]

Personally, if you don't have a tablet and you're just starting out making graphics, I'd say nix the smudging all together (Sorry Mala. xD). I had SUCH a time trying to figure out wtf it was I was supposed to do with a mouse, and unless you're really good with mouse control, I'd leave it to a tablet user. =X I still can't smudge with a mouse, though I'm pretty good with a tablet, if I may say so myself.

Focal -- going to have to agree with Mala on this one. Using two images really takes away from the focal. If you absolutely MUST use two images (not sure why it's such a fad now-a-days), put them closer to the image you want to be the centre of attention, and either lower the opacity, or add some lighting to draw attention a bit away from it.

FHS - you've still got it. =X It looks really awkward, and it's generally something to avoid (tbh, I've never seen anything where it should be used). To better illustrate what Mala was trying to say with FHS, here's two pictures using the same stock:

image one:


definitely suffering from FHS. notice that FHS really gives the viewer nothing to look at. it's an enormous face. best correlation I can make is if someone got reaaaaaally up in-your-face, so much so that you couldn't see anything but the bottom of their forehead to just above their chin. faces are a good focal point, yes, but there is such a thing as way too much.

second image:


yay, no more FHS! ^^ It's a bit more interesting to look at, since there's no longer so much worry of covering up the picture with effects. The focus is clearer, now, and you can do much more with the image than just concentrate on the face. it's still not very good, but hopefully you get the general idea. xD

I think that FHS happens to a lot of beginners who previously made a lot of icons. it's not quite so bad to have an icon that's all face, depending on what you do with it, but it doesn't really transfer over too well to sig-making.

Effects --- those are some nice patterns, I think, but imo it's generally best if you tried to keep patterns / textures off of faces. There are some instances where it might look nice, but here it looks a bit accidental (regardless of whether or not it was), and in my opinion rather muddles an otherwise nice stock image.

Text -- I want to emphasize that not all sigs / images need text. Nor, in fact, should all sigs/images have them. If you do want to use text, however, make sure it's clear, readable, and doesn't cover up your focal. Text should also add to the piece, and not detract from the focal point. For example:

bad text placement:


it's a nice enough sig, but the text is so far away from the focal it's out of place, and rather serves as a second focal, which isn't really any good.

bad text placement:


the text might as well BE the focal image, it detracts so much. =S want to avoid that, as well.

decent text placement:


it's not the greatest, but at least the focus is still on the fountain-y thing, rather than the text.

decent text placement:


again, not the greatest, but the text -while visible- doesn't detract from the focal.

good text placement:


notice how the text is a part of the focal point, woven in so that while it's noticeable, it doesn't take away from the original focus (the character).

Personally, though, I find sigs without text (at least, those that aren't typography sigs) are [1] a lot easier to make, and [2] generally look cleaner than forcing text on because you want the image to 'say' something.

You may want, also, to play around with depth. This was a difficult concept to grasp for me, but the long and short of it is to make the parts of the sig that you want to appear farther away be out of focus (generally using blur), and make the parts of the sig you want to appear closer, sharpened (but not overly so). B.B. Valentine has a great tutorial on the basics of depth that are easy to understand with plenty of clear examples.

You may also want to look up some lighting-effects tutorials, as those can really add to the feeling of depth in a piece. I'd also suggest playing with different blending options in the layers dock (for example, a filled layer of dark blue set to 'exclusion' can be a wonderful addition to a piece and gives it a very soft look). I'm not sure if other programs have it, but Photoshop has 'selective color' adjustments options. Those can be very fun to play with as well, provided they're not overdone.

Oh, and play around with adjustments all together, haha. Some of my favourite pieces have a bit of adjustments on them. xD

I really hope this helps. :] My internet access is rather shoddy at the moment (as I'm writing this, I've been disconnected and am hoping it reconnects soon), but if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to try and help as often as I can. :]

[Malagrond]

Tablets are kinda optional, but they help xD I guess I have epic mouse control O.o I 100% agree with your post though.

[September]

lol, I don't have great mouse control nor a tablet, so I guess I'll just leave the smudging out.



At least I fixed the FHS and only have one focal. I don't really like it though. It kinda looks all boring and stuff. I did try to do some depth stuff and I also added an inner glow effect to the focal, but it still looks pretty flat to me.

[Kami]

posting from phone, so bear with me. I can't really see all the detail, so I'll just give my first impressions, and when I get 'net back, I'll post something more in depth.

First, I will definitely say this is an improvement. No FHS is fantastic, and a central focal is better. You say it feels flat, and while I can't see detail very well, it might be because of all that negative -empty- space.

Striking a balance between too much, and too little, is tough, and requires practice. If you reference the sigs I posted previously, one thing they all have in common is they don't have an overwhelming amount of negative space. Right now, you're still thinking like a multi-focal user, so you put the picture smack dab in the middle. You may went to try off to one side just a little bit. Also, even though you have a "centred" focus, don't be afraid to spread out a bit (reference the ichigo and 'an edge to leap from' sigs). As long as your patterns / effects don't take away from the focal feel free to add them in.

It's also a little monochromatic, from what I can tell - pull colours from the stock (ie yellow from her hair, colour from her eyes), or go with colours in a different hue so as to sort of "frame" your focal. I'll post examples when I'm back on the comp if you can't get the hang of it.

I want to just boost your confidence a little here and sat than I'm rather fond of your text placement this time around. Good job.

I hope to be back online soon, and I'll try to help out more then.

----

mala - true, tablets are def. optional, but a good investment overall imo xD lucky you've got good mouse control. I'd never smudge without my tablet. XD I've tried, it no werk so gud.

[Malagrond]

^ This. I do like the text very much! I'm horrible with text placement, so you've got that on me.

[September]

Okay, here's another one. I think my biggest problem is how I want everything to blend and match, but a lot of really good sigs have loads of colors but still look good. And I know her skin looks yellow in spots where the flower is behind her, but I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the yellow skin without making her look all flat.

[Kami]

I think you're getting the hang of placement, and whatnot. the image you used is a little fuzzy/grainy, so I definitely recommend trying to find better stock. a good stock is, ideally, larger resolution (so that sizing it down doesn't make it too fuzzy/blurry), and already clear. also, remember, you don't have to use a cut-out. Some of the best sigs I've seen are sigs with stocks (bg included); sure they're a wee bit trickier to work with, but it prevents the 'rough' look to cut-outs.

for this particular piece, i think you've gotten the hang of text placement, definitely. you may want to consider mixing and matching fonts for a bit of a more interesting look to your text. nothing too over-the-top, of course. :]

i'm on limited time here, but i'll make a bit of a more detailed comment on making backgrounds be integrated with the focal rather than just being a backdrop.

so far, so good, I think you're definitely improving.

[September]

A new celeb! lol, I made this one for a friend.



I made the text smaller.

[Malagrond]

The first thing I noticed is how half of his face is missing and he has this peculiar yellow glow around him. Besides that, the text placement and background are spot-on.

[September]

I was hoping it'd make him look like he was stepping out of the fog....and the character that uses him is a supernatural being thus the glow.

I really wish I could figure out how to incorporate the actual image background, rather than try and cut it out. I'm not very good with cutting out the people.