Re: Random Fanart Criticism Have you tried using GIMP? I don't know much about the applications you're talking about, but I found it really easy to add color in GIMP.
Okay I'll get that done! I'll have to talk to Jacquie and Ducky about that and see what they think, I think since right now it's not too spammish it'll be okay to go in misc. since there's some discussion
Re: Random Fanart Criticism My computer doesn't like GIMP apparently. I downloaded it, but couldn't get it to work on my computer. :lol: I'm starting to feel like there's a conspiracy against me with photo editing programs cause my HP program (that came with my printer) won't work properly anymore either (ever since the reformatted hard drive and even though I reinstalled the program lol). Actually, the HP thing had some issues before the reformat. :lol:
^Can't this also go in Fanart, given that we're still allowed to post CSI franchise fanart here as well?
I wouldn't think Fanart would be the right place for it considering that we do post things that are not CSI related.
Thanks! I see criticism and think something like "OMG! That's a horrible icon!" :lol: It's a tough call. I'd love to have a thread like this in Fan Art, but I'd also like to stick to CSI stuff, since this is a CSI board. So for now, I'd say stick to the members lounge or Misc.
Alright, here's three Placebo icons I did. I already realise that 'I Promise' is kinda crappy, and that the text placement kinda kills it :lol:. It would look much better in light text in the center of the icon, closer to the crossed fingers. I've learned a lot since I made these but I'd be interested to get feedback anyway.
egeria - love the icons, the darkish colouring works really well. I love the cropping so awesome very creative. I think the text placement on the first icon is fine in my opinion, it could be a bit bigger to make it clearer. Also they're blurry you can fix this usually by saving in .png format - this makes the quality better! This is just some stuff I made for the LJ, a banner, fo banner and header: EDIT: gonna send this over to misc. enjoy it there!
Shazza~ 1: This piece looks gorgeous! I really like the subtle shading in the background. My one critique is that adding a curves layer for Adam's face to make it pop a bit more might help. It certainly doesn't fade into the background, but I think lightening it up might help a bit. Also, if there's any way you could amp up the blue on his eyes, I think that would help. The crop is fine. Although it's a tad off-centered, with his left arm closer to the edge of the crop than his right arm, it's not terribly noticeable. Personally, I would probably crop it so that part of him is cut off and he's starting in the crop (hope that makes sense), but your crop definitely works. 2: Awww they're adorable! He has such a nice smile. I like the fonts -- very LJ and purpose-appropriate. I can't quite decide if shifting the 'friends only' text a bit to the right would help, but your alignment definitely works. The curves and selective coloring comments still apply, but, overall, I think this header (I'm guessing that's what this is?) is gorgeous. 3: First of all, I love the lyrics you used in the third piece (LJ banner, right? I'm still getting the hang of everything LJ). Perfect song. That said, I think the lyrics might be better off in a different font. I think different fonts for both his name and the lyrics would help. It feels like something more glam would look better and a soft glow (the default lightish yellow one on CS3 and 4) might also help with that effect. Also the lyrics aren't not centered, and they almost crash into Adam's jacket sleeve. I think it would look better if there was the same amount of space between Adam's elbow and the 'A' in 'And I'm feeling good' and the 'd' at the end of it. That said, that aspect of the text alignment isn't noticeable, but it's still there. I like the coloring on Adam and I think that, were his eyes open, that would work well. However, given that the blue of his eyes isn't in this picture, I think you need more brightness and should choose a different color for the background. The combination of the black text and suit and the grey background makes it all a bit drearily colored. That said, Adam definitely stands out in it. Still, I think a dullish green or blue would work better behind him than the grey. As for the coloring on Adam himself, it looks great (wouldn't have expected anything different from you ;P). And I love love love his expression. What a great cap to use. Personally, I really like lining things up by thirds and I would recommend, if at all possible, that you try to make the text take up about a third of the space, or at least that you try to make it take up a comparable amount of space to each Adam. Egeria~ 1: I think adding a little more red to the hands in the first icon would help. I'm not sure which way you used to get the b&w effect, but I think using color balance and selective coloring to up the red in the hands would help and, once you've done that, bring down the saturation until the whole thing looks close enough to a greyscale. If you have CS4, the vibrance layer would work perfectly because you can amp up the vibrance all the way and then tone down saturation. Also, you can use the color replacement tool to get rid of the color in the rest of the icon (except the hand) so that the hand really stands out without looking too bright and red. Also, I do agree with you about the text. It would look better if you could get it to line up with the hand. Perhaps try to get it to align with a path. 2: I love the coloring on this one,and I love how smooth you've gotten his face. On a normal face, I would recommend making him look redder, but I'm guessing he's some kind of monster of some sort, since it looks like a horror movie, so I think the more yellowish tone to his skin works there as a result. I love the text and the crop here. Perfect font! Overall, I think your crops really rock on all three icons. 3: I like the crop and the overall coloring, but I don't really know what the lines on the side are or why they're there. I think the icon needs a bit more white and perhaps some other brush/text/effect instead of the lines. My pictures: Aretha Franklin: Diana Ross: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: I was especially worried about how to make Diana stand out more without making her look different.
Shazza: The coloring in the banners is awesome, but I have noticed that you seem to use the same fonts on most of your work, may I suggest you try to experiment with different fonts and font styles. I do know how Violation and Badaboom are great fonts, but they are more great fonts out there that could make your work even better Some fonts I would suggest: Juicy Hunt Bugebol, huomenna Denne Threedee Champagne and Limousines Chickenhawk Hawaii Lover Billy Dolls This site has some cute cursive fonts be sure to check out This one and of course you can use Dafont happyharper13: The coloring on the icons is not bad at all but the only thing I can suggest is that you perhaps erase a little bit of the textures off of the subject's heads/bodies, it just doesn't seem to flow very well when the textures passes over their bodies. And if it's a brush I understand it's harder to erase the brush than a texture, but trust me it can be done. I have found a way around it, make a text layer but don't place any text. Then rasterize the layer like I showed in the other fanart section and you should be able to erase the brush like you would a texture It even works for text as well, just in case you want it to appear like it's going behind the subject's head Hope I was any help --- Here's some from me:
Okay, I tried three different things with this icon. Which one do you think is more effective? These screencaps were hard to fix cause the show is from the 80s and 80s cartoons don't translate well when changed to new formats (aka dvds) apparently... at least not as well as 80s live action things do. :lol: So, the screencaps came out looking faded and whatnot, so I had to add more color to them. Sharpened: With dodge tool: Blur tool: By the way, for anyone who doesn't know, this is Kimber from the Jem & The Holograms cartoon.
Okay, thanks. I kept trying to get the darkness out of her face and dodge was the only thing that worked cause on the show her face isn't that tan. :lol: Any ideas on how to accomplish getting more lightness on her face without dimenishing the bright coloring?