Yeah, it's not always possible. It greatly depends on what resources you have, though of course your own imagination also plays a significant role. I've felt like that way too―I had fairly abundant resources even as a beginner but I was irritated at how I couldn't make good stuff out of them while others could make better-looking stuff with fewer resources.
Glad you like 'em. By the edge being faded out and not sharp, I mean the text in the first image. It doesn't appear to have solid outer lines (though it does have a white one) as it's designed to be used with a dark background. If anyone feels like mashing up the first version (the transparent one) with a background of their choosing, feel free to.
Glad you like 'em. By the edge being faded out and not sharp, I mean the text in the first image. It doesn't appear to have solid outer lines (though it does have a white one) as it's designed to be used with a dark background. If anyone feels like mashing up the first version (the transparent one) with a background of their choosing, feel free to.
Well, at an better check, looks indeed zik-zak the lines at the 1st image, but there is sure also solution at this little case: The region (the line-area) there mark, and then with the softness-scale work.
Hmm, revamping the Hall of Fame thread is more work than I expected. Think I'm gonna take my sweet time doing it...
In the meantime, I made a simple mash-up of a chibi SOTM logo that I intend to use in the Hall of Fame thread.
If the edges look faded out and not solid, it's because the image is intended to be used on the greyish checkered background that I use for everything SOTM:
I dunno, maybe one of you can make use of it to promote the SOTM or something. I just felt like taking a break and sharing this here. Feel free to use it in your signature and such if you'd like. Oh yeah, thanks to Pekie for the chibi images as always. Check out his stuff.
Wow!~ It looks amaaaazing Iggy-sama! :) I'm really excited on how the Hall of Fame is gonna be revamped! :) And I think going back is going to be a big big pressure. lol. xD
Sorry for the late reply but it was just a texture xD but still you could do something similar :
1.First you should have a flower render(or anything really)to make things easier
2You should desaturate the flower
3Click beside the fx icon not the square one but the round icon and click levels and put : 27,0.75 and 123 and on output levels put 0 and 255
4.Then click the same round icon and click brightness/contrast and put the contrast to -48
5.Click again the round icon and select invert
6.Merge all the layers
7.click channels(beside layers) and click the RGB one
8.make a new file with black background and paste on it the flower(on another layer though) and lock the transparent pixels(the first icon beside the lock text)
9.Select a yellow color and paint over the flower and unlock the transparent pixels(simply re-click the icon)
10.click fx on the render level and select outer glow and use a red color,put the opacity to 50
11.Lock the transparent pixels again and paint around the flower with an orange color (you can't see the color don't worry it is just to make the effect a little better)
12.Now you need a fire stock(better if the blackground is black),open it,go to channels and select green(the green one should be the only one visible) and click on a little circle icon on the lower part then unhide the rgb one return to layers make a copy of the layer copy it and paste it on a transparent layer (it should be a little transparent now) copy it
13.paste the transparent fire on the flower(on another level though) and convert it to a smart object ,make it smaller and paste it around the flower it doesn't matter how just paste it all around and exagerate (it looks bad i know xD)
14.Rasterize all the fire layers and merge them (only the fire layers),with the eraser, if you want, erase the fire where you don't want it to be and put the merged fire layers on screen mode
15.create a new layer over the background but under the flower and color it with a deep red but the brush should not be the hard one but like the one who is a little out of focus? the sixth one(sorry english isn't my first language i can't really explain it ^^" )
16.select the flower render click the round icon and select levels and put : 0, 1 and 200
Now everything should be on fire,sorry that was a little long,should I post the texture?
Sorry for the late reply but it was just a texture xD but still you could do something similar :
1.First you should have a flower render(or anything really)to make things easier
2You should desaturate the flower
3Click beside the fx icon not the square one but the round icon and click levels and put : 27,0.75 and 123 and on output levels put 0 and 255
4.Then click the same round icon and click brightness/contrast and put the contrast to -48
5.Click again the round icon and select invert
6.Merge all the layers
7.click channels(beside layers) and click the RGB one
8.make a new file with black background and paste on it the flower(on another layer though) and lock the transparent pixels(the first icon beside the lock text)
9.Select a yellow color and paint over the flower and unlock the transparent pixels(simply re-click the icon)
10.click fx on the render level and select outer glow and use a red color,put the opacity to 50
11.Lock the transparent pixels again and paint around the flower with an orange color (you can't see the color don't worry it is just to make the effect a little better)
12.Now you need a fire stock(better if the blackground is black),open it,go to channels and select green(the green one should be the only one visible) and click on a little circle icon on the lower part then unhide the rgb one return to layers make a copy of the layer copy it and paste it on a transparent layer (it should be a little transparent now) copy it
13.paste the transparent fire on the flower(on another level though) and convert it to a smart object ,make it smaller and paste it around the flower it doesn't matter how just paste it all around and exagerate (it looks bad i know xD)
14.Rasterize all the fire layers and merge them (only the fire layers),with the eraser, if you want, erase the fire where you don't want it to be and put the merged fire layers on screen mode
15.create a new layer over the background but under the flower and color it with a deep red but the brush should not be the hard one but like the one who is a little out of focus? the sixth one(sorry english isn't my first language i can't really explain it ^^" )
16.select the flower render click the round icon and select levels and put : 0, 1 and 200
Now everything should be on fire,sorry that was a little long,should I post the texture?
Really interesting, you seem really an artistic blood to have in your veins. Who so consequently after an project goes, is then 100% a born artist, this can you me believe... We looking forward for more upcoming unique artworks of you...
Edit: Don't worry, the textwall from you wasn't really long, I know some people on the forum that twice thrice longer are...xD
Edit2: [MENTION=2]Ignis[/MENTION];, I need an opinion from you to this very hard (Has me about 2 weeks took to finish...>_>) siggy(s) - What this probably the current fire-SOTM replace would.
Sorry for the late reply but it was just a texture xD but still you could do something similar :
1.First you should have a flower render(or anything really)to make things easier
2You should desaturate the flower
3Click beside the fx icon not the square one but the round icon and click levels and put : 27,0.75 and 123 and on output levels put 0 and 255
4.Then click the same round icon and click brightness/contrast and put the contrast to -48
5.Click again the round icon and select invert
6.Merge all the layers
7.click channels(beside layers) and click the RGB one
8.make a new file with black background and paste on it the flower(on another layer though) and lock the transparent pixels(the first icon beside the lock text)
9.Select a yellow color and paint over the flower and unlock the transparent pixels(simply re-click the icon)
10.click fx on the render level and select outer glow and use a red color,put the opacity to 50
11.Lock the transparent pixels again and paint around the flower with an orange color (you can't see the color don't worry it is just to make the effect a little better)
12.Now you need a fire stock(better if the blackground is black),open it,go to channels and select green(the green one should be the only one visible) and click on a little circle icon on the lower part then unhide the rgb one return to layers make a copy of the layer copy it and paste it on a transparent layer (it should be a little transparent now) copy it
13.paste the transparent fire on the flower(on another level though) and convert it to a smart object ,make it smaller and paste it around the flower it doesn't matter how just paste it all around and exagerate (it looks bad i know xD)
14.Rasterize all the fire layers and merge them (only the fire layers),with the eraser, if you want, erase the fire where you don't want it to be and put the merged fire layers on screen mode
15.create a new layer over the background but under the flower and color it with a deep red but the brush should not be the hard one but like the one who is a little out of focus? the sixth one(sorry english isn't my first language i can't really explain it ^^" )
16.select the flower render click the round icon and select levels and put : 0, 1 and 200
Now everything should be on fire,sorry that was a little long,should I post the texture?
That sounds pretty complicated, way more than I expected. I suppose some steps such as 3 and 4 can be merged or done alternatively―other than adjusting levels and brightness/contrast, one could also make use of other adjustments such as curve (which probably could accomplish every adjustment needed here with a proper use), vibrance/saturation, or even filters (photo, gradient). Of course, people have their own preferences, and it's up to them which method to use.
In step 12, the method you described that involves editing channels could perhaps also be accomplished by tweaking the layer's blending options? For example, apply the "colour dodge" option to an image with a black background and scrub a bit of light grey brush on some spots that you want to make more shiny. Well, at least that's how I usually give light effects to my stuff; there are surely other uses.
Finally, for the colour you chose in step 15, maybe it's easier to just specify the colour in hex (e.g. #ff0000 ) or RGB (e.g. R255 G255 B255). We're talking about graphics-y stuff, after all.
Thanks for sharing your methods with us! And yes, don't worry about it being too long. I know I write 2 to 3 times longer than that for even a much shorter tutorial (with screenshots and stuff, though).
Edit2: [MENTION=2]Ignis[/MENTION];, I need an opinion from you to this very hard (Has me about 2 weeks took to finish...>_>) siggy(s) - What this probably the current fire-SOTM replace would.
First of all, sorry for the late reply! I'll start with the first impression: the elements in your signatures don't blend very well together. Or if you'd simply like a quick answer first as to which one I prefer, I'd go with the second version. The spheres in the first version are interesting, but they don't feel balanced in terms of proportions, most likely due to their positioning. If the magic circle were entirely visible, the spheres might look better.
I have several rules of thumb to keep in mind when making signatures. No, I'm not saying you need to follow them, but you wanted my opinion, so here it goes:
One of them is to never put effects overlaying the face of the character you want to use as the main focus. If you intend to make a graphical piece wherein everything blends seamlessly together, like everything is part of an artwork piece, fine. But if you want to make a signature with effects that 'engulf' a rendered character image (which is the focus), try to make the most important part―face―intact. Unless, of course, the focus isn't the face.
For the sake of demonstration, I'll use one of my older signatures. Please excuse the shameless plug:
Take a look at the girl's face. You may notice that her skin tone changes ever so slightly in the different versions, but even though the colour palettes are pretty contrast to each other, the face doesn't get obstructed. What I'm saying is that I had multiple layers complementing each other just to preserve the face and skin colour. Here's how the layer palette looks,
without which her face would end up like this:
As you can see, the unobstructed exposure of skin colour (this isn't to say I condone flashing private parts uncovered!) plays a significant role in determining the overall vibrance of the image. That's why I strive to keep face and skin (such as hands, arms, neck or anything critical to the main focus of the image) unobstructed by effects. To do that, simply make a rough crop of the parts you want to preserve, and softly delete the edges. Use a feature like feathering that I elaborated a few posts back or whatever GIMP can do to produce similar effects.
Next is the borders, I guess. Did you have a specific theme in mind or a specific look you wanted to achieve by making the outermost parts of the image foggy like that? Barring special circumstances, in my opinion it's generally better to simply use solid square borders. If you were intending to make a fadeout effect with the red fog that acts as the image background, you'd have to fade the outer parts more. The most obvious cut is the right part, but the left border also shows a rather prominent mix of foggy areas and a solid line.
Also, your choice of putting a purple-coloured image on top of a prominently reddish background is a bold one. Half of what composes purple is red, yes, but a harmonic transition from red to purple usually makes use of the other component that makes purple―blue―somewhere in between. While the red character looks just okay on the red background―it's nice how you made the space around her less crowded and almost plain to accommodate to her as a focal point―the purple character looks pretty out of place. This is exacerbated by the appearance of the purple character as the focal point, being bigger and all, while the red character actually has more potential.
First of all, sorry for the late reply! I'll start with the first impression: the elements in your signatures don't blend very well together. Or if you'd simply like a quick answer first as to which one I prefer, I'd go with the second version. The spheres in the first version are interesting, but they don't feel balanced in terms of proportions, most likely due to their positioning. If the magic circle were entirely visible, the spheres might look better.
I have several rules of thumb to keep in mind when making signatures. No, I'm not saying you need to follow them, but you wanted my opinion, so here it goes:
One of them is to never put effects overlaying the face of the character you want to use as the main focus. If you intend to make a graphical piece wherein everything blends seamlessly together, like everything is part of an artwork piece, fine. But if you want to make a signature with effects that 'engulf' a rendered character image (which is the focus), try to make the most important part―face―intact. Unless, of course, the focus isn't the face.
For the sake of demonstration, I'll use one of my older signatures. Please excuse the shameless plug:
Take a look at the girl's face. You may notice that her skin tone changes ever so slightly in the different versions, but even though the colour palettes are pretty contrast to each other, the face doesn't get obstructed. What I'm saying is that I had multiple layers complementing each other just to preserve the face and skin colour. Here's how the layer palette looks,
without which her face would end up like this:
As you can see, the unobstructed exposure of skin colour (this isn't to say I condone flashing private parts uncovered!) plays a significant role in determining the overall vibrance of the image. That's why I strive to keep face and skin (such as hands, arms, neck or anything critical to the main focus of the image) unobstructed by effects. To do that, simply make a rough crop of the parts you want to preserve, and softly delete the edges. Use a feature like feathering that I elaborated a few posts back or whatever GIMP can do to produce similar effects.
Next is the borders, I guess. Did you have a specific theme in mind or a specific look you wanted to achieve by making the outermost parts of the image foggy like that? Barring special circumstances, in my opinion it's generally better to simply use solid square borders. If you were intending to make a fadeout effect with the red fog that acts as the image background, you'd have to fade the outer parts more. The most obvious cut is the right part, but the left border also shows a rather prominent mix of foggy areas and a solid line.
Also, your choice of putting a purple-coloured image on top of a prominently reddish background is a bold one. Half of what composes purple is red, yes, but a harmonic transition from red to purple usually makes use of the other component that makes purple―blue―somewhere in between. While the red character looks just okay on the red background―it's nice how you made the space around her less crowded and almost plain to accommodate to her as a focal point―the purple character looks pretty out of place. This is exacerbated by the appearance of the purple character as the focal point, being bigger and all, while the red character actually has more potential.
2nd: Lol, don't worry Ignis, meanwhile am I from your textwalls positively spoiled; they're always so meaningful...^_^
3d: And thanks for your feedbacks, I wanted just an second opinion: That I know where I still go should.
4th: Well, I try always an story with my siggys to create - And this time wanted I with the current SOTM theme try: The act should handle, that the witch (the heroine in the story) enters the hell, where Kiki (the fiery female oni) with the magical circle on the surface of the lava-river appears (what below of the circle a shockwave is) and automatically with her fire balls in the attack position goes - what then also the witch her magic collects for an counter (btw, in the magical banners around her are the two terms: for SOTM and anime-sharing.com).
Interesting take there, and I'll probably reread this someday when I'm thinking of doing something a bit more complicated. I'm still very much in love with transparent backgrounds for sigs (which does limit the amount of stuff I can play around with, at times, although I'll admit I probably haven't been imaginative enough to explore the limits) since I prefer a smooth meld with the post background color, white. That, and I'm a bit daunted by higher level editing work; right now I'd do some quick renders, a bit of arrangement and resizing, find some good fonts, and off it goes to Photobucket.
4th: Well, I try always an story with my siggys to create - And this time wanted I with the current SOTM theme try: The act should handle, that the witch (the heroine in the story) enters the hell, where Kiki (the fiery female oni) with the magical circle on the surface of the lava-river appears (what below of the circle a shockwave is) and automatically with her fire balls in the attack position goes - what then also the witch her magic collects for an counter (btw, in the magical banners around her are the two terms: for SOTM and anime-sharing.com).
On top of the witch herself being cute and the image being well rendered, the colour composition looks like it would actually fit better with the reddish fiery/foggy background. Was there a particular reason for you to adjust the hue of into purple instead of just using it in its original colours on your background?
It's cool that you always try to have a background story with your art pieces. However, do be careful with how you implement the idea, as it may lead to an overly complicated result borne out of your wanting to stuff everything in accordance with your background story within the area for a signature. While that wouldn't be a problem for abstract art pieces and wallpapers, signatures are much more limited in scope, size, and complexity.
In any case, it's already the last day of the month, so you have only today to revise your current entry if you'd like.
Interesting take there, and I'll probably reread this someday when I'm thinking of doing something a bit more complicated. I'm still very much in love with transparent backgrounds for sigs (which does limit the amount of stuff I can play around with, at times, although I'll admit I probably haven't been imaginative enough to explore the limits) since I prefer a smooth meld with the post background color, white. That, and I'm a bit daunted by higher level editing work; right now I'd do some quick renders, a bit of arrangement and resizing, find some good fonts, and off it goes to Photobucket.
I can relate; I had the same view when I was an early learner. As you said yourself, however, focusing on transparent backgrounds limits what you can do with your image. It's generally harder to do, because when you're intent on keeping the transparency of your signature, you're (supposedly) leaving the signature territory and beginning to tread on the general graphics design territory.
This is something where harmony matters much, much more than it already is in basic signature composition. Lumping everything together in an abstract-like manner is generally a bad idea to achieve the desired result with this kind of goal in mind unless you're really good. There's also the fact that renders don't always go well with other elements.
Personally, I don't always use renders for my signatures―I think I don't at least half of the time―because sometimes backgrounds in the original images I want to use are better than anything that I can come up with. This is only logical, because the artists who draw the illustrations I want to use are certainly better than me by orders of magnitude, and thus can produce infinitely more harmonious artwork. That's why with such images I'd rather manipulate the already-beautiful backgrounds rather than omitting them (i.e. rendering) altogether.
Anyway, it's already the last day of April. Tomorrow is the deadline! Also, for the next SOTM, are we good with a free theme, then?
On top of the witch herself being cute and the image being well rendered, the colour composition looks like it would actually fit better with the reddish fiery/foggy background. Was there a particular reason for you to adjust the hue of into purple instead of just using it in its original colours on your background?
It's cool that you always try to have a background story with your art pieces. However, do be careful with how you implement the idea, as it may lead to an overly complicated result borne out of your wanting to stuff everything in accordance with your background story within the area for a signature. While that wouldn't be a problem for abstract art pieces and wallpapers, signatures are much more limited in scope, size, and complexity.
In any case, it's already the last day of the month, so you have only today to revise your current entry if you'd like.
Because if I on witches think, then is mostly their related aura-colours blue-purple-dark, and did' tried with this colourisation at her to manage... And the reason why I not with red-aura made, is because I feared that the red-aura disappear would at the redish BG/field of Kiki, where then... But I'll then today again try what I still make can, but I can't promising that a full success will.
And yeah, I know that problem very well - at an 500×300p area isn't easy to work, like at an wallpaper: Where you about 5000×3000p space have to play. Because of this did I the magic circle of Kiki not fully given, because then would the both charas too close each other stand, and this doesn't wanted.
Well, like said. I'll try the siggy still somehow to manage, but if I not until tonight could, then stays the first entry.
[MENTION=2]Ignis[/MENTION]; I'll keep that in mind, though for the upcoming one I'll stick to the method I know best until I figure out something that doesn't rely on renders as much. Messing with color tones on varying layers for different objects and other art tricks isn't something I'm familiar with (I'm an amateur writer but a terrible artist), so I might end up going back to the old days of picking a picture from a gallery and calling it a day. I've been tempted several times by particularly good artwork from Sankaku's gallery, that's for sure!
Well, my final decision says: That I stay with my first entry of this SOTM, because not only the topic of this event burns, but also my brain - The second project for this event did finally my inspiration for this work burned down - But I'll nevertheless this work save for an unknown-upcoming SOTM event, where this then with more luck finish will.
Because if I on witches think, then is mostly their related aura-colours blue-purple-dark, and did' tried with this colourisation at her to manage... And the reason why I not with red-aura made, is because I feared that the red-aura disappear would at the redish BG/field of Kiki, where then... But I'll then today again try what I still make can, but I can't promising that a full success will.
Fair enough. You could always try to make the red tone stand out even on a reddish background, though. There are a number of methods to achieve that, such as by adding outer glow effects to the foreground image. You could also simply try adjusting the colour tones so that the foreground stands out more. Or sharpen the foreground while slightly blurring the background a la depth of field effect, like what you'd see in most modern cameras. Just throwing some suggestions your way, anyway.
[MENTION=2]Ignis[/MENTION]; I'll keep that in mind, though for the upcoming one I'll stick to the method I know best until I figure out something that doesn't rely on renders as much. Messing with color tones on varying layers for different objects and other art tricks isn't something I'm familiar with (I'm an amateur writer but a terrible artist), so I might end up going back to the old days of picking a picture from a gallery and calling it a day. I've been tempted several times by particularly good artwork from Sankaku's gallery, that's for sure!
I see. That's the kind of thing where sense and experience are the main deciding factors, I suppose―there are no real guidelines to producing good results as adjustments such as color tones require a case-by-case decision that relies on your sense of aesthetics. Professional designers may disagree, but to me, it's kinda like a "I'll know it when I see it" thing. And I can totally understand the desire to turn nice artwork into a graphical piece just by looking at it. ;)
Anyway, I'll have the new SOTM as well as the poll for the current one up shortly. If any of you feel like making a last-minute edit to your entry, you're welcome to do so until I put up the poll.
Fair enough. You could always try to make the red tone stand out even on a reddish background, though. There are a number of methods to achieve that, such as by adding outer glow effects to the foreground image. You could also simply try adjusting the colour tones so that the foreground stands out more. Or sharpen the foreground while slightly blurring the background a la depth of field effect, like what you'd see in most modern cameras. Just throwing some suggestions your way, anyway.
Well, did' with the sharpness/softness/contrast/etc. tried, but it looked nevertheless crappy... But like said, I'll sometime again with this project continue/try plus with your advice now Ignis, I'll then sure manage...
[MENTION=2]Ignis[/MENTION]; Hello, is there possible to tell me what is the font name of the "AS| anime-sharing" this one here :
it the looks like the "RockWell" font from PhotoShop but it's not i wanted to use to my sig the one i am wearing now, I used the "RockWell" cause it was the far most identical to the forum's that is been used!
[MENTION=2]Ignis[/MENTION]; Hello, is there possible to tell me what is the font name of the "AS| anime-sharing" this one here :
it the looks like the "RockWell" font from PhotoShop but it's not i wanted to use to my sig the one i am wearing now, I used the "RockWell" cause it was the far most identical to the forum's that is been used!
Sorry for the very late reply! I wasn't around. Unfortunately, I don't remember, and I can't find the PSD which contains a layer of the text that is still editable (not rasterised yet). As far as I can remember, the "anime-sharing" text is just Century Gothic with a smoothing effect applied along the edges. The "AS" text... I don't remember. But I don't think that distinctive "A" actually came from a particular font. Pretty sure it was edited; it was a normal "A", just with the horizontal line removed.
Sorry I can't answer you definitively. To compensate, maybe you'd like this (also if anyone else is interested)?
The "AS" text is available unhindered (i.e. on a separate layer, not mixed with the background) in that PSD; however, it's already rasterised so I can't find out what the font originally was. If that interests you, here's the file: download
Sorry for the very late reply! I wasn't around. Unfortunately, I don't remember, and I can't find the PSD which contains a layer of the text that is still editable (not rasterised yet). As far as I can remember, the "anime-sharing" text is just Century Gothic with a smoothing effect applied along the edges. The "AS" text... I don't remember. But I don't think that distinctive "A" actually came from a particular font. Pretty sure it was edited; it was a normal "A", just with the horizontal line removed.
Sorry I can't answer you definitively. To compensate, maybe you'd like this (also if anyone else is interested)?
The "AS" text is available unhindered (i.e. on a separate layer, not mixed with the background) in that PSD; however, it's already rasterised so I can't find out what the font originally was. If that interests you, here's the file: download
And I knew, that I what importantly forgot have.... Happy b'Bday Pinky still, have an nice future...
