328 replies to this topic

[Maremoto]

My tutorial for banners, check it out!

http://www.geocities.com/tsunamiasa//decentbannertut.html

Well since critiques cannot be freely given, here the critique thread. Me and hammygranny will will be reviewing peoples work and give our opinions on what needs to be improved. We are not here to insult, but to give contructive critiques. This is thread is only for people who want to get better, not a "fishing for comments" thread. We will give tips, explanations and ideas.

Hopefully some of you will utilize this service to improve yourselves and your work. I don't believe anyone can reach a higher caliber without getting critiques. It's up to you if you want to move above and beyond, or stay mediocre. Just a warning, this thread is not for the faint of heart. We try to be as gentle as possible but we're also honest. You can take them and be better or get offended and stay the same. If you can't handle it don't ask for a critique. Even I started in not so great condition. My oldest signatures are form 2002:

Photo Impression 2002






2004?



2005







2006









2007






Happy posting

Edited by Maremoto, 14 February 2007 - 04:17 AM.

[HammyGranny]

Hi All, I too hope this will Prove to be a great improvement for all of teh aspiring designers.

Now On to my OLD stuff XD

Using only Paint & mr. photo eraser

My First Ever Siggy:july 06'





august 06'






september 06'









With GImp
nov 06-jan 07









All This Goes to show you gotta start somewhere!

Edited by HammyGranny, 08 February 2007 - 12:42 PM.

[wiffy]

can I give non-siggies for critique? I'm talking about personal stuff I did like e cards and most are not hamster-themed

[HammyGranny]

Absolutly! anyone wanting honest critiques are welcome to post!

Edited by HammyGranny, 08 February 2007 - 12:43 PM.

[wiffy]

hamster-related artwork





Non-Hamster related stuff:

[monkeysmom]

MODERATOR'S NOTE:

I would like to remind the membership that this area is reserved for Maremoto, and with Maremoto's permission, HammyGranny, for their review of artwork. Please do not post random positive comments as HH will reserve the right to remove them. Any such comments should be made in other areas of the forum. This is considered a "workshop" for those members ONLY interested in improving their graphic art projects.

Thank you!

~ MM

[Laila]

V1:



V2:



What do you think?

[Maremoto]

Hamster Boss: I really like these! You have your own artistic flair and you put it to use. You know how to use your colors and you pull off the simple look nicely. They have the "hand-crafted" look to them and could make good posters. You don't make the picture too busy, the text compliments the object. I can't find anything wrong with these graphics.


Ami: I see you have some underlying talent, you just need to learn what tools you have available to you. Color coordination is very important, as well as picking calm colors. The pink you used is a tad too bright, I'd suggest using a deep, darker, and richer pink. I think you could improve vastly if you learned a few more techniques for making backgrounds. I'd say stay away from neon colors in general. Another thing I told hammygranny earlier is white and black are your friends when you're making text.

You want to see the text as clearly as possible and not have it blend in the background. Also, you could benefit from the erasing technique I posted in your thread (I think). You use a soft brush and erase away the picture so that the picture doesn't look jagged. It appears you tried to make some kinda design in the background as well but the pink you used is too similar to the bg itself so you can't really see it. Again, use different shades of pink to bring it out, take advantage of using brushes to make the backgrounds. pslover.com will help you with making backgrounds and just type "photoshop brushes" in google to find some, well, brushes. I know it's a lot to soak in, but I'm sure you could improve greatly with a little guidance and self-teaching. Good luck

Edited by Maremoto, 08 February 2007 - 05:14 PM.

[HammyGranny]

I must say HB I am very impressed. You utilization of colors and flow are very impressive! i too agree with maremoto, your text i svery clear and attracting, the pics arent cluttered, I especially like the non hamster ones, they have great artistic flare. I too cannot find anything really worthy of critiquing. ;) excellent work! ( i also really like your hamsters they are very cute design you might consider copyrighting that design of hamster.)


To Luvly,

Overall it has better structure than many of your others, but it really doesn't have much flow. I would recomend feathering your pic/render ( alpha to selection Select>feather>15 pixles>select invert selection> edit> cut ( on gimp)) so that it blends, and doing backgrounds that arent so stark against the central focus. Also make the pic/render the focus more than the text. Text can overpower a signiture. Use black or dark fonts as others can clash and wash out. Keep it up you are deffinantly getting better.

[Laila]

Thanks, guys. I'll take it all in and work better next time. ;)

[Lucky4me]

Can you give me tips on mine?






Sorry there's a lot.

[Maremoto]

Lucky: Well, first off I will say you need to get a better program. Download gimp from here http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ Paint is too underpowered, especially for a beginner. Anyway, I see the one thing you've been blessed with is some sense of color coordination. Specifially the green banner. But just like I said with ami, you need to make your colors darker so they're easier on the eyes. There isn't much you can do with paint so I can't really give you any pointers, except trying to do things like my sig. Make it simple and do pixel art. The pictures don't look like they belong and the quality is not so good, which is understable because it is paint. Stay away from doing hand-drawn hearts, swirls, and stars as this looks unprofessional. This place should help you learn new techniques once you get gimp going and such: http://www.gimptalk.com/forum/ Once you've learned some stuff with gimp we can help you more.

Edited by Maremoto, 09 February 2007 - 08:13 AM.

[Lucky4me]

ok thanks....... I think I am just going to stop my signature threads because I don't know how to use photoshop and I am not allowed to download things cuz it messes up the comp

[Hamsteys]

it didn't mess up my comp :P its really nice its almost like photoshop but instead it free!!!!!!

[Lucky4me]

Oh..... Lucky you:P