[Discussions] SOTM #30 - April 2015

[Ignis]

　　　　

Hi! This is my first time handling an SOTM. Previously, it had always been Pinkylicious, but she's been quite occupied with Life® that she hasn't had the leisure to take care of the competition for a while.

This is a discussion thread for SOTM #30. Here you can ask questions, post comments, and even post your draft work for others to comment on. While you can edit your entry submission post and remake your entry as many times as you please before the deadline, if you think there's still something missing from your signature, consider posting it here first if you'd like to ask advice from your fellow entrants.

The theme for SOTM #30 is FIRE.
No, it does NOT necessarily need to depict anything burning. Anything related to or depicting fire is fine.​

You can make anything related to fire. A warm hearth in a house weathering a harsh blizzard? An assortment of candles lining a chandelier? A wizard wielding a fire spell? Or even something as simple as cooking? Go ahead! You don't have to make a signature out of an image of you setting fire to a house. Because I don't condone arson in any way, shape, or form. You'll also go to jail for doing that. Instead, show us your BUUUUUURNING LOOOOOOOVE!

The deadline is on 1 MAY 2015.
You MAY edit your entry submission post as many times as you please before the deadline.​

Please submit your entry before the deadline. If you're unsure about aspects of your draft entry, feel free to ask around here. You can have only ONE post in the entry submission thread, but you're not restricted from discussing the SOTM as much as you want in this thread. The deadline may be extended on our discretion if circumstances necessitate it, but it won't be shortened for no reason, so rest assured and don't rush. Take your time to make a masterpiece!

This thread is only for DISCUSSIONS!
To submit your entry, please go to this thread instead.​

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[nanashi1]

This is really a epic opening Ignis, not in vain are you the best of the bests...!!!


Edit: Do you mean with heat? Man, I'm already hot on this SOTM... Some what smells burned now...

 

[Dark Angel]

I hope that [MENTION=2]Ignis[/MENTION];-sama will run for now and on the SOTMs

 

[Ignis]

Thank you for your kind words. I thought this thing could use some spicing up, so spice it up I did.

And yes, you can make a signature depicting a heat source if you want, or a (presumably mythical) creature commonly associated with fire like a dragon as seen in nanashi's entry. Just don't stray too far from fire itself and make something like, say, "a fiery red-haired hottie". ;) (Unless, of course, she's literally fiery, like the girl in Dark Angel's entry.)

 

[Dark Angel]

Well i thought using Itsuka Kotori cause she is the flame Spirit iFrit in Date A Live so i guess it could fit the burning flames theme a bit and i add some flames used by Corel Draw i add as a layer at the Photoshop and i continued there the rest of the project.

 

[nanashi1]

Thank you for your kind words. I thought this thing could use some spicing up, so spice it up I did.

And yes, you can make a signature depicting a heat source if you want, or a (presumably mythical) creature commonly associated with fire like a dragon as seen in nanashi's entry. Just don't stray too far from fire itself and make something like, say, "a fiery red-haired hottie". ;) (Unless, of course, she's literally fiery, like the girl in Dark Angel's entry.)

1st: Welcome and yo Ignis!

2nd: Well, my entry-siggy has a double meanings: 1st: The girl fights along with the dragon in a hot atmosphere (orange-yellow points show as fire-spark). 2nd: Or like in a manga/LN scene moves bravely the girl to the angry-hot dragon...


3rd: Dunno, if you noticed have, but the text/sentences on the main post of you seems direction right disappear.

 

[Dark Angel]

i was also thinking using either a dragon render or a Diablo III render with fire based background thought i wanted a character rather than a creature? Well i hope my decision ain't cost my dearly.

 

[Ignis]

Well i thought using Itsuka Kotori cause she is the flame Spirit iFrit in Date A Live so i guess it could fit the burning flames theme a bit and i add some flames used by Corel Draw i add as a layer at the Photoshop and i continued there the rest of the project.

I see. Are the flames like stock image resources or something similar? If so, you did a good job making them blend in nicely with the rest of the image.

1st: Welcome and yo Ignis!

2nd: Well, my entry-siggy has a double meanings: 1st: The girl fights along with the dragon in a hot atmosphere (orange-yellow points show as fire-spark). 2nd: Or like in a manga/LN scene moves bravely the girl to the angry-hot dragon...


3rd: Dunno, if you noticed have, but the text/sentences on the main post of you seems direction right disappear.

Hi! Yeah, she does look like the typical JRPG-esque magic knight, complete with the typical JRPG-esque holy sword of some sort. A nice mix with the fiery dragon, I'd say.

Also, sorry, but I don't really understand your third point. Do you mean the text gets cut off on the right side's edge? I coded the post to make sure that everything within do not occupy more than 960px of width, which is the typical width of a blog with a "fixed" layout. What's your screen size? If it's too narrow to display the post properly, you can hide the sidebar to allow for more horizontal space.

For reference, here's how the post looks on my end (1920x1080) with the sidebar visible:

Spoiler

i was also thinking using either a dragon render or a Diablo III render with fire based background thought i wanted a character rather than a creature? Well i hope my decision ain't cost my dearly.

Well, it's your entry, so it's your prerogative. Remember that you can always edit your post as many times as you see fit before the deadline! Whether you use a creature or a character as the model for your signature is irrelevant to the overall quality as it's up to you how you blend everything together ;)

If you're planning to change your entry into one with a creature instead, maybe you don't even have to render the image first: many images of creatures such as Diablo or World of Warcraft's Deathwing, for example, can make for a good start as they have flames aplenty already. Of course, you'll have to enhance the effects somehow to make sure they don't look bland, blend well, and don't look like "a lazy man's work". Bottom line―everything's up to you, good sir.

 

[nanashi1]

Hi! Yeah, she does look like the typical JRPG-esque magic knight, complete with the typical JRPG-esque holy sword of some sort. A nice mix with the fiery dragon, I'd say.

Also, sorry, but I don't really understand your third point. Do you mean the text gets cut off on the right side's edge? I coded the post to make sure that everything within do not occupy more than 960px of width, which is the typical width of a blog with a "fixed" layout. What's your screen size? If it's too narrow to display the post properly, you can hide the sidebar to allow for more horizontal space.

For reference, here's how the post looks on my end (1920x1080) with the sidebar visible:

Spoiler

Well, thanks Ignis! - Actually, she's the main heroine of the new LN series of Fujimishobo...

And yeah...

Spoiler

I've an 1600×900 LG widescreen monitor.

 

[Dark Angel]

I see. Are the flames like stock image resources or something similar? If so, you did a good job making them blend in nicely with the rest of the image.
Hi! Yeah, she does look like the typical JRPG-esque magic knight, complete with the typical JRPG-esque holy sword of some sort. A nice mix with the fiery dragon, I'd say.

well i started making simple lines with my stylous later i add the element on Corel Draw after finishing the background i add as background layer (behind the render) Then i made a copy of the original background that i placed earlier and i placed in front of the render, and then i blend it with layer style effect like overly, pin light etch and then i paly a bit with multiple stripes effect like the ones you have in the header but in other color matching the color theme of background. After that i made some shapes multiple with also different style in layer effect.

I was thinking making only a mask of the render based on tha background layer but then i thought that i was better playing with a full background layer rather only a mask.

this was originaly the render i wanted to use.

Spoiler: Diablo III

 

[LioNeeZ]

Hmmm fire... now there is some stuff I can burn Buhahahahahaha!

 

[nanashi1]

To be honest, it was planned that this animated is (gif), but did removed the project: Because I've thought the fire-sparks by the air flying to let, but at the gif version get the sparks an pixely edges and the colors lose their softness, what this the really shity looks...>_>







Edit: Welcome to boar Lio-kun...






Edit2: @Ignis - This SOTM seems not the same fate to get, like the Jan.-SMOT...xD

 

[Dark Angel]

hm i did go and add in my entry another 6 effects and changed a bit the coloring

Spoiler: SOTM #30

New Version

Older Version

​

 

[LioNeeZ]

does including the sites name counts ok by rule number 2?

 

[nanashi1]

does including the sites name counts ok by rule number 2?

Well, like said: You've all two objects on your siggy give - SOTM and anime-sharing.com - You can but also in a creative way give, like so: SiOfThMo or SoTm - and A-S.COM or as.com - Well, in several ways, but what counts, is that all 2 on your siggy be should...

 

[LioNeeZ]

Well, like said: You've all two subjects on your siggy give - SOTM and anime-sharing.com - You can but also in a creative way give, like so: SiOfThMo or SoTm - and A-S.COM or as.com - Well, in several ways, but what counts, is that all 2 on your siggy be should...

ohhhh now I get what im missing , thanks nashi for the info

 

[nanashi1]

ohhhh now I get what im missing , thanks nashi for the info

Lol, not to thanking, as senpai is me the task the kouhai's to lead...

 

[Ignis]

And yeah...

Spoiler

I've an 1600×900 LG widescreen monitor.

I see. Thanks for making me aware of the situation. I failed to account for the width of both the postbit and the sidebar combined, and because it still looked nice on a 1920x1080 screen, I didn't think it'd be broken even on a 1600x900 screen.

I've now adjusted the code so that instead of having a fixed width of 960px it has a dynamic width of 75% of whatever the available horizontal space is. This means that on bigger screens the width will expand and on smaller screens it will contract. It should look decent on all screen sizes now hopefully; I've tested it on a 1366x768 screen with the sidebar on and it still looks okay.

well i started making simple lines with my stylous later i add the element on Corel Draw after finishing the background i add as background layer (behind the render) Then i made a copy of the original background that i placed earlier and i placed in front of the render, and then i blend it with layer style effect like overly, pin light etch and then i paly a bit with multiple stripes effect like the ones you have in the header but in other color matching the color theme of background. After that i made some shapes multiple with also different style in layer effect.

I was thinking making only a mask of the render based on tha background layer but then i thought that i was better playing with a full background layer rather only a mask.

this was originaly the render i wanted to use.

Spoiler: Diablo III

Oh, you used a drawing tablet to make the base of the effect? Nice! A bit risky, though, and definitely not something for everyone as making flames from scratch using a stylus (or pen tool) requires practice. Alternatively, for those interested in making similar effects, there surely are plenty of flame-shaped brushes ready for use with Photoshop that people can find at sites such as DeviantArt.

And that's a really well-extracted render. May be hard to use in a signature, though, as the base area is big and requires a fair amount of width to be occupied, which may leave little room for effects you add yourself.

Edit2: @Ignis - This SOTM seems not the same fate to get, like the Jan.-SMOT...xD

I hope so! It'll be nice to see more people come and liven this one up.

hm i did go and add in my entry another 6 effects and changed a bit the coloring

Spoiler: SOTM #30

New Version

Older Version

​

The new version seems to have a stronger reddish hue to it, which I suppose blends better with the overall image. Personally, though, I prefer the old version, as it looks less monotonic. Your choice!

does including the sites name counts ok by rule number 2?

Yes, as nanashi said, you can do it however you please. "AS", "ASF", "Anime-Sharing", "Anime-Sharing Forum", with or without ".com"―it's up to you. Subtle edits are good, too, because I like subtlety. For example, you can embed the letters "A" and "S" onto existing objects in your signature. Allow me to demonstrate with a cheap edit:

By the way, may I ask how your entry represents "fire"? Is there any hidden reference I'm missing from your signature?

 

[LioNeeZ]

Ahhhh~! I totally forgot, why am I always asked the hardest of questions.
anyway no excuses I completely deleted the flames part of the entire image, I re-uploaded and added a reference, you can hardly call it an Easter egg...

 

[Ghost Kitty~]

Is that a dark souls reference I see? o3o

 

[Ignis]

Ahhhh~! I totally forgot, why am I always asked the hardest of questions.
anyway no excuses I completely deleted the flames part of the entire image, I re-uploaded and added a reference, you can hardly call it an Easter egg...

Ah, I see. No problem there. In my opinion, though, the elements in your signature were better integrated with each other without the dragon, so I can understand if you did honestly forget the theme itself and just went ahead with a nice-looking signature.

Is that a dark souls reference I see? o3o

Yes! o3o

 

[KingArturia]

Spoiler: Diablo III

Thats...Kil'Jaeden from Warcraft series and not Diablo xD

 

[nanashi1]

I see. Thanks for making me aware of the situation. I failed to account for the width of both the postbit and the sidebar combined, and because it still looked nice on a 1920x1080 screen, I didn't think it'd be broken even on a 1600x900 screen.

I've now adjusted the code so that instead of having a fixed width of 960px it has a dynamic width of 75% of whatever the available horizontal space is. This means that on bigger screens the width will expand and on smaller screens it will contract. It should look decent on all screen sizes now hopefully; I've tested it on a 1366x768 screen with the sidebar on and it still looks okay.I hope so! It'll be nice to see more people come and liven this one up.

1st: Thanks for your efforts this time as well, the main post seems okay now...^_^


2nd: I'm working at least 2 candidates to kidnap... - Pardon - ...invite in this project...

 

[Dark Angel]

The new version seems to have a stronger reddish hue to it, which I suppose blends better with the overall image. Personally, though, I prefer the old version, as it looks less monotonic. Your choice!

hm don't know the older has something that it was constantly yellow say? So i did at 8% more magenta so this 8% difference in coloring is fair enough for me. I was debating my self if did well adding 2 masks with blending layer effects. Anyway I think it's nice maybe if i have later or tomorrow a more clear mind i might tweak a little bit the color? We will see ;)

 

[Ignis]

You could also try using tools such as curve, photo filter, and vibrance to measure planned colour palette changes in an easy way (though curve isn't as simple as the other two) before applying a more complex method such as using masks. In any case, if you do plan on updating your entry, I'll be looking forward to it.