I'm going to post my best creations. They may not be up to the very best standards but I and others like them. Some were made for myself and some I made for others.
wo00ow
First image just changed to be banner sized for The Judge:
That's pretty good. :) I especially like the one for the Judge and the second one (in your first post). How long does it typically take to make one?
Not really long, it actually only takes me a few minutes. You gotta love PS 7.0!
I'm hoping to get my name change to Scorpion so I made this in case my name does get changed:
Did you pay for PS 7.0? If so.. how much and if not where do you download it?
Ares is where I got it...Why pay for it when you can get it for free?
I'd have to say that the banner you made for Hyper_Chao is your best so far, in my opinion. Good work.
[quote=Scorpion]Not really long, it actually only takes me a few minutes. You gotta love PS 7.0!
Is that why they're so stunningly awful? Say you've just been given a box of the world's best art materials, and you scribble all over a grey canvas with a pencil. Does it qualify as "good art"? It's not about the tools you use, it's how you use them.
They're terrible. The garish colours you're using would only appeal to those without an ounce of aesthetic sense. Stock images and distortion filters do not qualify as art, and they don't qualify as graphics unless you do something to professionalise them just a little. They look ugly as sin.
I have nothing more to say about these pieces of art work. I mean crap work.
[color=Red]Majesty!!! quit puttin everyone down like SCORPION!
[size=3]:Night Owl ; )
[/size] [/color]
Thanks for the great constructive criticism, you sure are a nice person. You are a jerk, just plain and simple. Instead of saying they aren't to your liking you just say they are crap, which they aren't, it is an opinion. And apparently they aren't crap because I've gotten several compliments and requests. So what that you are better with it than me. Not everyone has the same amount of talent at this. So why don't you take into consideration their effort instead of just insulting them like a jack*ss.
And I, like Rendon, got it from Ares. Which you can get from download.com
Everyone using and requesting one of your banners is an idiot. Grow up.
I consider what I posted somewhat constructive, I'M TELLING YOU TO IMPROVE AND GET A GRIP ON WHAT'S PRETTY AND WHAT'S NOT. Christ. I was pretty sh[color=3]it when I started, but I didn't start taking requests until I had at least six months or so under my belt.[/color]
You know what? I don't even care what you think. Why do you care if people like my banners or want me to make them one? Do you just want attention? I don't take anyone seriously if they're just rude. I think it is pathetic that you have to flame my banners so harshly, and I don't care when you started taking requests.
Majesty's right :/ Those suck. Maybe you should spend more than a few minutes on each, then they'd get better. You have to actually put effort into them.
[quote]You know what? I don't even care what you think. Why do you care if people like my banners or want me to make them one? Do you just want attention? I don't take anyone seriously if they're just rude. I think it is pathetic that you have to flame my banners so harshly, and I don't care when you started taking requests.
You should care what he thinks.. Because sometimes people lie and just say you're good. I know he shouldn't have said it like that but... You should still take his post into concern for it can help you become better. For example, this guy posted he don't really like my "work" because its shades of color, so i decided to make a sonic one but this time not all the same color in a way..
You should try doing abstract or grunge backgrounds. If thats not your thing, find your own style, but if you decided to go grunge, look for grunge brushes also.. Try experimenting with filters and continue on from there.
I highly reccommend adding brush work along with your filters.
There's my tip.
Also, when you post here, you should expect to get C&C (critique and comments) If somebody posts they don't like one it, work on it. As I heard many times in my life, slow and steady wins the race. Its just like saying you only take 3 minutes on a test. You put no effort into that test whatsoever. The teacher gives you an F if you think of it this way.. the teacher (the person who is C&Cing) says they don't like it. So take my time on that test.
[quote=Majesty]I consider what I posted somewhat constructive, I'M TELLING YOU TO IMPROVE AND GET A GRIP ON WHAT'S PRETTY AND WHAT'S NOT. Christ. I was pretty **** when I started, but I didn't start taking requests until I had at least six months or so under my belt.
O.O Majesty, you weren't telling him to improve, you were telling him his work was gawdawful. That's not helpful, that's harsh. You don't have to be sugar-sweet, but you don't have to be mean, either. :(
And Scorpion, try not to be so defensive. People will flame your stuff, often harshly - it's inevitable. Not fun, but inevitable. ^^; Try to roll with it; figure out what they don't like about it, if you can. If there's any useful information in a flame, it'll be hard to find. ^^;; And just keep working on improving. But don't take it to heart. :)
I thought they were very good considering you did only spend a few minutes on them. Keep in mind that anything rushed won't be your best work. Take your time - they don't have to be finished instantly. ^^ And don't be discouraged by a couple of people telling you your stuff's no good. :)
I do try, I think I have gotten better(not the best). Also no one tells me what they do in their sigs, how to make brushes, or do anything so that is why I get ticked off when they say I suck even though I have had no help. Also I think I have gotten better as opposed to my older work:
:/
I had no help at all when I first started Photoshop.
http://www.h22s.com/imghost/uploads/h22s1.jpg
My first PS banner.
The pixel font shouldn't have been anti-aliased and it should have been at a smaller size, but other than that, it's a decent banner IMO.
You have to go out and read tutorials yourself. Don't expect people to just tell you exactly how to do everything. It's all about experimenting and developing your own style.
I do attempt the turtorials but they never come out with the effect I want.
That's where spending more than a few minutes on each banner comes in handy. ;) Tutotials only teach you how to use the tools - it's up to you to figure out how to make art with them. It takes time to figure out what you like and what you don't. Just keep at it.
One thing you could try (if you're not doing so already) is saving different copies of things at different stages. Make something, apply some effects and whatnot, save it, mess with it some more, save it under a different file name, rinse and repeat. ^^
See that banner in my signature? You know how long I spent on that? Half an hour. Incorporating scanning, cropping, 3D transformation and font editing. I'm gonna grunge it up later, or I might add some different pretty effect. Yes; it's not even finished.
I accept the fact that I'm being overly critical, but hey! Someone with a skull that thick needs a roasting before they realise what's being said.
And I see no improvement from your early banners. I had little to no help using photoshop, I didn't know the layer options existed, and I simply used the brushes and filters. Surprise, it looked good!
Now, look at Flipboy or whatever. He's been using photoshop for as long as you have (hell, possibly even less) and his work looks good. It's nice. Hell, it's the sort of thing I'd put in my own signature! Use your intuition, learn what terms like "diffusion" and "polar coordinates" mean, because I severely doubt you know what they are other than "pretty effects". Return when you don't have to throw a tantrum every time you're flamed.
I'm taking your advice and spending a while on this so I haven't finished but I want you to tell me:
1.If I should put this in my sig
2.What you think
3.What should I add(also what doesn't look right)
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=Black]I like that one. Im not a big fan on those types of banners, Im more of an abstract type of person, but go ahead and use it.[/COLOR][/FONT]
I'm working on the text right now which is better, top or bottom:
I like the bottom one, but its all your preference. The backgrounds is okay, but its not my thing.
bottom!
The text is generally hard to read on both of them. Take the texture off the letters themselves. Also, the background seems very grainy. I'd try and reduce that.
Bevels and shadows are both hideous, as is that style of border.
Marginal improvement none the less.
I reduced the grain since someone said I should and got rid of the pattern on the text.
It still looks quite grainy (though I don't mind it), just a little brighter.
Well, you must understand, I ment it to look grainy...
better, but I hate the graininess. Grainy is almost never effective, unless you're the sort of person who enjoys staring at Celine Dion for hours on end.
I made a new one, no graniness. I actually think this one is pretty good, what do you think?
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Grid.jpg[/IMG]
I made it with this image:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/scorpion-pack-deception.jpg[/IMG]
Anyways.. they spelled collectors wrong unless they purposely did that.. Bleh.. I'm not really a big fan of Mortal Kombat but when I first saw the dude's face, I thought that glowy thing was like a bionic eye, until I went through my undergo studies (yes, I wore a labcoat) and found out it was len's flare. That font is pretty boring.(aha! yes, I also wore a labcoat to see if that font was boring. Remember, don't swallow before you chew)
Yeah, I have trouble finding good fonts(i know where to get them though) but yeah. And they spell pretty much all C words with a K. Like Kombat,Kollectors,Krypt, and Koins. It is pretty wierd...
New text:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Grid2.jpg[/IMG]
Touch
It's only a good idea to use lens flares when you're editing a photograph. If they're still recognisable in a graphic, then you're not trying hard enough.
Is there anyway to remove specific filters after you have saved and re-opened a file?
I tried something new:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Idontknow.jpg[/IMG]
and:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/tag.jpg[/IMG]
Do you think either are good, what should I do to improve them, and which do you like best?
there ok...just a lil to plain i think
And: [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Idontknow2.jpg[/IMG]
Who started the "Copy Hyper's sig" bandwagon? :( Now everyone's got thier aim/email in their banners. It isn't cool anymore.
Anyway, I still don't like the bevels. And the background for the text sucks. The border for it is jaggy. Smooth it out. I like the BG though, and the text is decent.
...Why does everyone use bevels?
lol, I didn't even notice that Hyper had AIM and stuff in his sig. Sorry, I got it from someone else. I'll change it, I was experimenting with it as you can see but I don't think it came out too well.
Hey, Hyper I took your advice and got rid of the bevels and text fill. Also I changed the color a bit:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Aa.jpg[/IMG]
lol, I didn't even notice that Hyper had AIM and stuff in his sig. Sorry, I got it from someone else. I'll change it, I was experimenting with it as you can see but I don't think it came out too well.
I look the color.. Matches better with the persons face. I think it looks better than your signature with the lens flare.
Other then what everyone else has said, I don't like the actual guy. He's too blah, or something... *Shrugs*
Yeah, the guy was Roger Smith from Big O. I couldn't think of any good anime(I wanted an anime character since you can get good quality pictures) except Big O. I remember Trigun and so I made one with Vash the Stampede. I like it better. It is in my sig, what do you think?
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Vashbanner.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Narutobanner.jpg[/IMG]
I just watched Naruto and so I had to make a banner about it!
The can you catch me... Is that a pixel font? If not, it should be. The background looks more cloudy than grunge. I don't really like the font color. You should add a border to both of them, but nothing to fancy. If I were to choose from the top banner and bottom banner, I would choose the top background plus the bottom picture of Naruto. The font, I would pick the top one, but thats just my preference. I dunno, but the "are you ready for this" and "can you catch me?", to me, it seems like somebody is over confident and lets the person gets a few hits and the person tries to hit them back but loses. Anyways... To sum it all up, make the background on the 2nd one more grungy, the font under Scorpion on the second one... "can you catch me" that font is boring, put a border around it but nothing too fancy.
Well, the second one, I ment it to look cloudy over grungy. I didn't want the "Can you catch me?" part to be too fancy, it is just supposed to be a little message, not the focus of the banner. Also, what do you mean by, "pixel" font? I am experimenting with different brushes so that is why it isn't a grunge backround. I personally like it and love the color of the main text.
A pixel font is a type of font.
Like this new one?
I went to dafont.com and found pixel/bitmap if that was what you were talking about.
Pixel fonts are good if you keep them at the size that they're intended to be used at. They look horrible when they're too big or small.
Well, what is a good size? And did you undelete my post(if that is possible) and then re-delete it just so you could de-rep me?!
I made this sig and then finished the words after Hyper helped fix my typing tool problem. 
Try putting a 1 px border.
Yeah, I wanted to do that, and I now how to do it, but I just don't know how to make sure that the lines are 1 px apart. How do you do that?
Create a new layer. Then go to Edit --------> Stroke. Then put whatever px you want.
All that does is make my image darker...
Did you make a new layer and merge all your other ones? Before you do this, save it as a .psd file.
Edit:
Bah, my bad, try ctrl + a, then edit ------> stroke.
That worked thank, but how do you make another border inside of the one on the outside? Like yours?
I ctrl + a, then Edit ----------> Stroke, 3 px Black. Then 2 px black clear ( if you want it to show the background through it,) but if not, do 2 px white with 50% opacity. Then 1 px black 100% opacity. But thats how I do it.
I made a new one:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/1pxborder.jpg[/IMG]
I added a border to it like you suggested.
Another new one:
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=Black]Seeing as you dont check your private messages much, I'll ask my question here. Do you know where to get some good brushes for download??
Good work BTW[/COLOR][/FONT]
Thanks for the compliment and here is where I got the brush set I use the most:
[url="http://www.scratch-design.nl/ENdownloads.htm"]http://www.scratch-design.nl/ENdownloads.htm[/url]
[url="http://www.greycobra.com/"]www.greycobra.com[/url] has great brushes for download, and the scorpion, your new banner doesnt look very good.
It isn't my new banner, I just made it.
That green banner sucks.. MANY people put tech brushes or some sort of brush like that in it that im tired of it. I mean.. its okay in some banners, but once everybody has it, it gets boring and you might think of it as made by another person.. The background is alright but I kind of don't like the cloudy feeling to it.
I don't like that banner too much either but I made it for Kid-Heaven where I was facing this guy in a banner duel and I've never seen them use the tech brushes so I entered it in the contest and put this banner in to advertise the site. I don't like the tech brushes since everyone is using them(hence my main banner doesn't have them) but for the people at Kid-heaven it was new to them.
Ahhh.. I see.. In that case it would be unique and probably overrated at Kid-Heaven.
yep you have improved alot lately Scorpion :)
and FlipBoy your right, tech brushes are over used so much!! but sometimes if used correctly can make a sig good :) but well done Scorpion and good luck with future work :)
New sig, I found an awsome tutorial that helped me make this sig's backround. :
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Abstract.jpg[/IMG]
New banner!
Hyper gave me some tips too!
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/LoveHinabanner2.gif[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/kakashibanner.gif[/IMG]
My first attempt with using overlay effects.
The Love Hina one is pretty nifty. I like it quite a bit. This last one is alright, I suppose.
What happened to the grunge techniques? :-D Anyways.. The Love Hina was is good. I think the picture looks kind of weird because its like a giant pimple face is emerging from that Naru's face. The last one is alright.. I don't really like how the picture is but meh.. I guess it goes with the words. Good job. Maybe rating 1/10 it'd be a 7/10?
Changed the color on my new one so the characters show up more:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/kakashibanner2.gif[/IMG]
This one is awesome
yea, looks alot better with more color.
They're still pretty bad in my opinion. I've said it before, using too many stock images and stock fonts doesn't really make it look that good... I can recognise most of the fonts you're using. My advice: Make your own.
And the backgrounds... No offense, kiddo, but it REALLY doesn't look like you made those yourself. Especially in the Love Hina one. And if you did, please do tell how you did that.
Well, I'm sad you don't like my fonts but what do you mean by "stock" fonts and images and how do you make your own fonts? But yes I made that backround my self.
What you do is make the size banner you want, then give it a black backround and give it 5-6 lens flares. Then do Filter>Sketch>Chrome: Detail-10 Smooth-0
Then duplicate that layer 5 times and distort each layer the way you want to and then set all the blending modes to Lighten. Then merge them all and do Filter>Blur>Gaussion Blur- 3.0
Then go to edit>fade gaussion blur, set it to lighten or choose a different mode depending on the effect you want.
Then hit ctrl+u and check off colorize and set it to the color you want a your done! Use different distort techniques to make it come out differently!
But don't steal it!!! J/k... But seriously, don't.
Man.. Scorpion... Sorry but.. You seem like a mediocre or less version of drumsticks and Hyper.. The green one, the one Hyper helped you with.. What made you chose Love Hina? What happened to your grunge? The fonts are boring. Why do you put pixel fonts in it now? You don't have to put words under your name. Why don't you find different pictures that nobody ever used before in this forum so it seems different. There's room for change. The background on the green one, it was a guide?
No, I made it myself. And I chose Love Hina because I've seen every episode and it is my favorite show I've ever seen. I don't have to keep grunge for everyone of my banners and I've only made one grunge anyway. I want to put words under my name. I've never seen anyone use the images I've used. And duh I'm mediocre compared to Hyper, he is one of the best banner makers I've ever seen, your banners(though better than mine) don't look too good compared to his either. And I used pixel fonts when I use small type since that is a good use for them.
I attempted to do a transparent kinda thing, but I didn't cut out the image too good. :(
Wanted to try something without an image in it.
I like that one a lot, actually. The text is kinda wierd, though, maybe take off that white outer stroke on it.
Look at it now, I fixed it and made the color stand out a bit more.
I was lacking on updating my gallery so here:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Sharingan-Demon_Brother-Banner1.gif[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Snake.gif[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/snakeblue.gif[/IMG]
I made this one cause i was bored. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Me.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/AburameShino.gif[/IMG]
I got a new one, it is my first animated banner so if you don't like it I'm still getting used to this stuff.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v394/KarlKroenen/Kyuubi_Banner2.gif[/IMG]
Good job on the animation, the only thing I can find to complain about is simply the compressed area when Kyuubi's eye opens. I can see the border, but otherwise it is pretty good.
Seven Point Five.
