nanashi1

nanashi1

Elite Member
One of countless souls... 36 From Somewhere in a point of the universe
Messages
78,811
Reaction score
3,875
Joined
Last seen

Profile posts Latest activity Postings About Post areas

  • Ignis
    Hmm, weird. Maybe their server was just having problems. Ah well, as long as you got it to download, that means all is well.

    Yeah, it can take some time to get used to G'MIC. I use Greycstoration (the predecessor to G'MIC) which someone from Yande.re rewrote for Photoshop. It may be old, but it works great, though it's not easy to get it right and every use depends on what kind of image you're working on. I use Greyc mainly for denoising, though it looks like G'MIC also has the capability for general image enhancements, which sounds awesome.

    You can discover useful GIMP addons and tools at the site I linked. I just can't really get used to it, though. I've seen many good artists tell me that GIMP works just as well as Photoshop, but I just feel it's kinda lacking (I also started with PS, which I guess locked me in with it). As for renders, sometimes I don't even render anymore. Sometimes the stock image I want to use comes with good, usable background; some other times they have backgrounds I'd rather discard and thus I'd only render the absolutely necessary parts; yet some others I'd just blend and diffuse the background into my effects without even rendering the image at all (like my current set).
    Ignis
    Eh? Blocked? Were you at your workplace and the site was blocked or something?

    Ohhhh, her. That's Maho, not Mahou, lol.

    Whether it looks nice or not is another story, I suppose, but I'd say it at least looks more harmonious. It's pretty easy to accomplish that with Photoshop using the right adjustments of tools such as photo filter, vibrance, levels and curve, though I'm not sure what you can use in GIMP. Surely it must have similar features.

    I can understand. There are no rules set in stone when it comes to making a signature, anyway―anything and everything may or may not work well depending on the circumstances. For what it's worth, using character renders may be better than messing around with effects only to end up looking overblown.
    Ignis
    Yeah, you're off to a bad start with a jpg image. The format is lossy by nature; it will have artifacts and defects, no matter how unnoticeable, compared to a lossless format like png. Those artifacts will carry over even if you save the final work as a png. You could in some cases apply denoising actions (e.g. GIMP has G'MIC) to get rid of the artifacts, but it's very, very hard to do properly.

    What do you mean by Mahou? Are you referring to a member or a character or something? All is well if he ended up liking the sig you made, of course :)

    Well, there are all sorts of ways with all sorts of different outcomes. For example, you could wash the entire image in a tone of blue:
    One thing you must keep in mind if you want to 'recolour' an entire image and drench it in monochromatic colours like that, though: try to never touch the skin. Make a selection of all the skin of the character and duplicate the layer first, then put that layer above all the colour modifications. It'd be weird if the girl had a blue skin.

    I can understand an 'empty' signature that you feel like adding more. Why not simply use a panorama stock image as the background, though? You've done that quite often yourself―it only takes some trials and errors to get used to and know the ins and outs of using such stock images. Done properly, it could easily cover those empty parts that you would otherwise be at a loss to do with.
    Ignis
    Personally, I wouldn't even work on an image if it were of low quality to begin with. The image you're talking about seems to be not only low in resolution, but also in quality―it seems to have artifacts; was the original image a jpg? It's not a good idea to work with a low-res jpg (or even a high-res one, if you can find a png instead). And yeah, it sure does look difficult to render, what with all those hair strands and whatnot. I strongly suggest finding the right picture in terms of both quality and dimension... because otherwise you'll end up pulling your hair. That image has a cool impression like you said, though. If the quality were right, I personally wouldn't render it at all and just try to mess with the background and colouring as the original already has a decent composition.

    The pink image, while great (Tinkle!), doesn't come in an aspect ratio ideal for a signature. It's in a portrait proportion, which is good for an avatar, but it's going to have a bad perspective in a signature unless you render the entire image and lay a nice, well-blended background to go along with it. However, it can be very, very hard to both render an image illustrated by Tinkle AND to make a background that fits better than her own. Once she draws something, it's nearly impossible to tear it down and reforge it nicely.

    As for the Ikkitousen image, I understand the impression you want to make; it's just that the background is highly monochromatic (mostly tones of cyan), with which the girl (mainly blonde, yellow and red) doesn't mix well. Maybe tweak the colours of the dragon background? With Photoshop, I'd use tools such as curve, photo filter and vibrance, among others, though I'm not sure what GIMP has to offer.
    Ignis
    Fourth sig: just like the second, I think the girl looks out of place here. The background is clearly an integrated static image, but the dragon/beast/whatever is supposed to be the focal point in it. Putting the render of the girl on it feels out of place. I can see that you made some effort to blend her into the cyan-ish background in the area around her hand; why not extend it to the entire render and toy with colours and opacity to make her look like she's actually part of the background and not just an out-of-place bystander? Also, this is a matter of personal taste, but I'd rather not show the entirety of the render, especially when the character isn't standing tall like your render is. It'd look more like a painting that way. Again, preferences.

    Whew. I sure blabbered (；・∀・)
    Ignis
    Second sig: the pink tone and gradients are nice, but may need a little harmonisation with the standing sprite. She has blonde hair and white clothes―nothing on her corresponds closely to the pink gradients. Though, if making a monotonic/monochromatic background is your choice, that's fine, too. I'd argue that the text needs more emphasis, however. While light purple can go well with pink and magenta, the text itself looks like it's being absorbed into the background. Try adding a glow effect, a shade, or a contour―whichever works best on your background. You could also blur or darken the area covered by the text to give the text more visibility.

    Third sig: this looks nice; I can see you tried to make something unique. First of all, though, I think the text has the same problem as the second sig. In this case, as the background is more abstract and has fewer objects, you should strengthen the text instead of weakening the background. Also, I'm not sure what exactly you're trying to portray here, but how about adding some effects to the boundary between the reddish area and the girl? For example, cracking effects and the like could make it look like she's trying to crawl out of a red abyss or something. You could accomplish this by using custom brushes and playing with the colours.
    Ignis
    Now that that's out of the way, let's take a look at your sigs :) The first one looks the best imo. I'm not sure if the standing sprite is really needed, though. Maybe you could make it semi-transparent (with Photoshop, I'd recommend trying the "lighten" option for layer blending, though I'm not sure if GIMP has anything similar); it looks like it's trying to compete for focus with the bigger render on the right. Maybe it would feel empty without the standing sprite, but I feel that the focus is best placed on the right one.

    The ava is nice, but maybe close in more on the character? The focus is too far; showing her all the way to below her knees makes her face and hair―which imo should be the main focus―less prominent. I think you could show just the top half of her body (head to above the waist).
    Ignis
    Before I start blabbering, I think I need to provide a short primer: in graphics design and photography, there's an important concept called "focal point" (see entry 1.1). Basically, it refers to an area (or areas) in an image where all focus is meant to be poured on; an area intended to be the centre of attention of the viewer. For example, in a typical signature image with a character render and a background image, the area around the character's face is typically the focal point. Most images can be grouped to either having one or more focal points, or having no precise focal point at all, usually in an attempt to blend together the entire image and make it look integrated (example: landscape wallpapers).

    The most common ways to emphasise a focal point (or make a depth of field) involve either enhancing the area of interest or weakening the less important areas. This should not be interpreted to mean that a character render should always stand out from the rest of the image; blending is necessary to make a focal point stand out without looking out of place. "Blending" isn't exactly a fixed process; it refers to various methods employed to make a focal point integrate nicely with the rest of the image, giving them a feel that they are one.
    Ignis
    Yeah, that's often a problem. Just because someone is good at something (graphics) doesn't mean they're also good at teaching it (making tutorials). Though, speaking as someone who has written a few tutorials myself, I personally find that writing them is a lot of work that can take a lot of time, so I can understand why some tutorials feel incomplete or simply not well written.

    No, not "leaving" it at all. I don't think Photoshopping is something you can completely forget, anyway. You can get dull, sure, but it's a useful (not to mention fun!) skill anyway, so why not.

    That's nice. Inspiration is something that tends to come randomly and unexpectedly, so it always feels good when you've just found one. As for your signatures, I think you're getting much better :> As KK has previously commented on, your previous drafts for this round's SOTM felt a bit messy. To me, it looked like they lacked 'blending'―the render and the background felt separate; there was nothing that made them feel like they were both part of one image. It's very important to pick a combination of both render and background images that go well with each other by the tones and colours. Your current entry is much better in this regard.
    Pekie
    It's really the truth! ( I'm not tsundere type :D)
    Just happen doing update my collection (Icon), and back to ASL home page, and see your name on bottom, in Today's Birthdays section.
    And since you have Wishing my birthday before too ^^-
    Pekie
    Happy birthday nanashi1 ^^-
    (Just happen to scroll down to the bottom of the ASL forum)
    Ignis
    Yeah, they have just about everything, from abstract C4D images to brushes to tutorials. The tutorials are often written solely from the author's standpoint (as is the case with most tutorials), though, so it may be a challenge to achieve similar results even when you think you've tried doing everything in accordance with the tutorials. I personally felt that way with some tutorials like using smudge effects. Nowadays, I'm not really looking to learn something special (and I don't use Photoshop that much often anymore, as I've stopped doing scanlations too), mainly due to time concerns, though I also feel lazy at times.

    I know what you mean. Having so many resources at your disposal is great, but picking which ones to use can get confusing. I just go with what goes well nowadays, no specific styles or goals in mind. Throw in a bunch of stuff and see what ends up looking nice in the end. :p
    unownHGSS
    Sensei! I need your help with something. I know this Japanese girl which I bought a pokemon card from. So I wanted to thank her properly in Japanese too but my grammar is bad :deadsad:
    Can translate this sentence to correct Japanese for me? :fulfilled:

    "Thank you so much for the card and the drawing you made for me!"

    Arigatou sensei~
    Ignis
    When I was just starting, I used to lurk around DeviantArt to find tutorials and examples I could learn from. (I heard the site has become a mess, though. I have no idea; I don't even visit it nowadays.) It's not easy to adapt to a new style when you're already used to doing a certain style, of course, but it broadens your horizon, so to speak. It also put me in my place―making me realise I could barely accomplish anything compared to what I'd seen.

    All in all, though, sometimes being simple is the best way to go―rather than messing around with random uncommon styles you're not used to, adding abstract 3D renders like some signature makers like to do, and such... I'd suggest to focus on what you can, keeping it simple, and enhancing it with simple tricks such as image enhancement (sharpness and such) and colour management. Just don't overdo it. ;)
    Ignis
    Nothing much, just everyday routine. It's pretty repetitive, but not exactly bad either (・∀・)
    You?
    Vice
    Haha nice to know! What made you get into anime by the way?
    For me it was just randomly typing on the youtube search bar whatever came to mind as i was only 6 or 7 then.
    Vice
    Well i actually finished my exam on the 4th of march just the practical ones i have to deal with now.
    i appreciate your kind advice!
    If you don't mind me asking have you already finished your schooling or college stuff? If so how did you deal with it? as it varies from country to country i would really like to know if its not a bother to you.
    (sorry if the conversation turned out to be weird)
    Vice
    I am fine though just stressing over the three exams on tuesday 8th of this month.(which i am really nervous though)[IMG]
    After this exam it would my second year of college coming up.
    Vice
    Hello, nanashi1! how are you doing? its been a while since i have last talked to you.
    nanashi1
    R
    I tried that yesterday and I couldn't get anything out of her.
    In class she was fun and bubbly, so I don't dislike being with her, as of now. who knows later on?
    R
    Morning nana! : )
    Plan C. I didn't plan for that lol
  • Loading…
  • Loading…
  • Loading…
  • Loading…
Top Bottom
Back