My First Ever Photoshop Project. Opinions Needed!!!

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2010-09-08
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My first ever photoshop project. Opinions needed!!!
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 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-16 20:49:38
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Need opinions. I wanna know if i want to get into design as a college major, so opinions would be appreciated, i have a pretty thick skin for mean comments so idc if you do :o~

i did 2 versions...
1)


2)Just added a flame effect to it.. was gonna title it Burst III c.c


I know the floor's kinda screwed up but i tried!!
BTW i've been trying to teach myself how to use photoshop for awhile now..
 Phoenix.Darki
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By Phoenix.Darki 2010-05-16 20:54:44
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the 4 elements are floating, have no connection, the only thing that adds depth in this image is the mantaray? or whatever it is.
The fonts color doesn't stand out and just blends in with the gray, making it dull and non attractive.
the floor doesn't combine with the sky at all, lack of mixing with the retina, and the fonts look like someone stepped on them and they are to the side trying to hide or just not be there at all.

To me this job looks like you were really shy at doing it, and needs a more aggressive approach.

^
This is what two years of art university did to me. My god, sounded like that *** profesor I had.


edit: btw did you cut the images? you did a good job there, though, to make it blend on photoshop zoom on the edges of the images you cut, and turn the opacity down on the eraser and try erasing a little of the edges, making it like a smudge effect.
also, second image looks more aggresive than first, keep going through there.

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 Fenrir.Yugureame
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By Fenrir.Yugureame 2010-05-16 20:55:47
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http://ffxi.killvoid.com/forums/topic/68808-ffxi-rendering/

I think that should help out a bit, it will help ya out with rendering your objects in the sig so you can make them look more detailed!

Might want to move the text somewhere else too, and I think the bg is a bit busy...
 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-16 20:56:55
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lol the whole time reading i was like @.@
Mmmmk i'll edit it and repost when done, might be busy though :x
 Sylph.Futan
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By Sylph.Futan 2010-05-16 20:57:04
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The background is too bland. Either add more things up front to help detract from it or spice up the background. Or both.
 Phoenix.Darki
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By Phoenix.Darki 2010-05-16 20:59:25
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Sylph.Futan said:
The background is too bland. Either add more things up front to help detract from it or spice up the background. Or both.

nah, elements need to be eliminated, like floor, don't even need a floor to add depth, just need to play with the images. then again, the elements he picked don't match at all. Should scrap and start over with the taru and mantaray, and try to match the colors more using the color wheel.
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 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-16 21:00:19
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Looking at it now, its pretty obvious i used 2 pictures considering you can see the line in the middle of the pic..
 Phoenix.Darki
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By Phoenix.Darki 2010-05-16 21:01:54
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Siren.Snowe said:
Looking at it now, its pretty obvious i used 2 pictures considering you can see the line in the middle of the pic..

how cheap and lazy!
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 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-16 21:03:52
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Phoenix.Darki said:
Siren.Snowe said:
Looking at it now, its pretty obvious i used 2 pictures considering you can see the line in the middle of the pic..

how cheap and lazy!

lol x.x i mightve been able to merge the layers together then use the clone tool on the floor to patch it up..

don't you love when those things come to mind after you show it to the public? c.c
 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-16 21:12:15
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wow just got a newer version of AltanaViewer and it looks sooo much better >.>
 Phoenix.Darki
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By Phoenix.Darki 2010-05-16 21:15:55
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Siren.Snowe said:
Phoenix.Darki said:
Siren.Snowe said:
Looking at it now, its pretty obvious i used 2 pictures considering you can see the line in the middle of the pic..

how cheap and lazy!

lol x.x i mightve been able to merge the layers together then use the clone tool on the floor to patch it up..

don't you love when those things come to mind after you show it to the public? c.c

that's how you learn. I spent 5 years of my *** life learning photoshop. Here are the results.



Note to-self: I hate photoshop now. I never want to touch it ever again, and sadly, I have to.

This has turned in an post your art thread, go
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 Ragnarok.Faiye
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By Ragnarok.Faiye 2010-05-16 21:37:38
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I think its a good start, it takes patience to learn photoshop...you're teaching yourself so there are alot of graphic design tricks and such that will be easier to learn in a more formal classroom setting.

I'm a professional graphic designer myself, here is a bit of feedback you might consider:

1) Reformat your text so its cleaner and easier to read. Sometimes it might seem cool to use wacky fonts but it can have the effect of being too busy. If you make a block of text that is all the same color/size/font you can also end up making it difficult for the eyes, most people won't read it they will simply scan over it. You could try making the font sizes apply to the matter of importance for each piece of text, like making your name slightly larger font, the job lvls in its own block underneath your name but a smaller font so they don't overpower the overall design, etc. Add a slight drop shadow. Easier to show than explain in words, sorry.

2) Consider using a border to frame the piece. You can find stock elements at istockphoto.com.

3) Think about using complimentary colors so your artwork doesn't end up being monochromatic. For example, if your piece is primarily blue add a spot of orange somewhere. In case you need to know what the rest are:

blue <> orange
red <> green
yellow <> violet

4) The art itself doesn't make sense, there is no real unifying element. Is the focus on the taru or the monster? Why is the taru's back facing it? Why is the background devoid of detail? These are questions that might go through a person's mind when they are looking at your art. If I had to choose, I would say make the focal point of the artwork the taru and drop the monster altogether. You can try removing the mob and putting a much larger version of the taru in the background but change the layer's transfer mode to "Overlay."

Sorry I'm sort of typing in a hurry so alot of that might not make the most sense, but I hope some of it helps.
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 Phoenix.Darki
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By Phoenix.Darki 2010-05-16 21:41:07
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Ragnarok.Faiye said:
I think its a good start, it takes patience to learn photoshop...you're teaching yourself so there are alot of graphic design tricks and such that will be easier to learn in a more formal classroom setting.

I'm a professional graphic designer myself, here is a bit of feedback you might consider:

1) Reformat your text so its cleaner and easier to read. Sometimes it might seem cool to use wacky fonts but it can have the effect of being too busy. If you make a block of text that is all the same color/size/font you can also end up making it difficult for the eyes, most people won't read it they will simply scan over it. You could try making the font sizes apply to the matter of importance for each piece of text, like making your name slightly larger font, the job lvls in its own block underneath your name but a smaller font so they don't overpower the overall design, etc. Add a slight drop shadow. Easier to show than explain in words, sorry.

2) Consider using a border to frame the piece. You can find stock elements at istockphoto.com.

3) Think about using complimentary colors so your artwork doesn't end up being monochromatic. For example, if your piece is primarily blue add a spot of orange somewhere. In case you need to know what the rest are:

blue <> orange
red <> green
yellow <> violet

4) The art itself doesn't make sense, there is no real unifying element. Is the focus on the taru or the monster? Why is the taru's back facing it? Why is the background devoid of detail? These are questions that might go through a person's mind when they are looking at your art. If I had to choose, I would say make the focal point of the artwork the taru and drop the monster altogether. You can try removing the mob and putting a much larger version of the taru in the background but change the layer's transfer mode to "Overlay."

Sorry I'm sort of typing in a hurry so alot of that might not make the most sense, but I hope some of it helps.

She is right, but this is more advanced stuff though, You should really look up on the color wheel to know how colors work, your using too many dull colors, shows lack of knowledge on colors.
It's just start points too, you can either begin studying your elements or begin studying the program you are using, I recomend program so you can practice with more speed, though starting out on a program isn't always fun, why don't you trace your ideas on paper?

Just giving you ideas, I work in many different ways so I always have a different result.
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 Quetzalcoatl.Athial
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By Quetzalcoatl.Athial 2010-05-16 22:02:46
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While I give anyone credit for trying, I agree with a lot of what Faiye has said. Also, consider the colors that you are using, period. Choose a palette that's a tad easier on the eye but which also emphasizes the things you want to emphasize. Complimentary color schemes are so important. In most cases if something isn't initially pleasing to the eye, people will rarely stick around long enough to give it a second chance.

Convey a mood and as my art professor always says 'Plan your Composition'. Think of the ultimate piece, visualize it in your mind and then shoot for it as your finished product. Don't be disappointed if things don't always turn out the way you want them to. Some images are simply not meant to be and on occasion you'll find yourself scrapping the whole project in favor of a fresh start.

Experiment. Play with things. You will ultimately find out that there are some effects you can achieve by the simple grace of the clone tool, or the dodge tool... etc.

For things like FFXI signatures, employ the k.i.s.s. method. (Keep it Simple Stupid) When I first started doing my own sigs I would take actual screenshots from the game. (http://artrus.lost-girl.org/AthiRNG2.jpg) I would then take them into PS and putter around with them until I found a pleasing way to present them. Later on I graduated to using Model Viewer for poses which I then pasted onto backgrounds of my choosing and modified until I was happy. (http://artrus.lost-girl.org/AthiPLD.jpg, http://artrus.lost-girl.org/AthiSCH.jpg) Working in Paintshop shouldn't be like creating Frankenstein's monster. It shouldn't be more than adding a layer of make-up to improve the presentation of the face.

Smooth your edges, blend your layers, and avoid jagged/blocky lettering and huge, glaring flashes of light. For the beginner I would suggest taking screenshots from 'life'... or as close to life as FFXI allows. :)

Keep pecking away at it. As they always say, practice makes perfect.

A.
 Phoenix.Darki
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By Phoenix.Darki 2010-05-16 22:05:15
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Quetzalcoatl.Athial said:
While I give anyone credit for trying, I agree with a lot of what Faiye has said. Also, consider the colors that you are using, period. Choose a palette that's a tad easier on the eye but which also emphasizes the things you want to emphasize. Complimentary color schemes are so important. In most cases if something isn't initially pleasing to the eye, people will rarely stick around long enough to give it a second chance.

Convey a mood and as my art professor always says 'Plan your Composition'. Think of the ultimate piece, visualize it in your mind and then shoot for it as your finished product. Don't be disappointed if things don't always turn out the way you want them to. Some images are simply not meant to be and on occasion you'll find yourself scrapping the whole project in favor of a fresh start.

Experiment. Play with things. You will ultimately find out that there are some effects you can achieve by the simple grace of the clone tool, or the dodge tool... etc.

For things like FFXI signatures, employ the k.i.s.s. method. (Keep it Simple Stupid) When I first started doing my own sigs I would take actual screenshots from the game. (http://artrus.lost-girl.org/AthiRNG2.jpg) I would then take them into PS and putter around with them until I found a pleasing way to present them. Later on I graduated to using Model Viewer for poses which I then pasted onto backgrounds of my choosing and modified until I was happy. (http://artrus.lost-girl.org/AthiPLD.jpg, http://artrus.lost-girl.org/AthiSCH.jpg) Working in Paintshop shouldn't be like creating Frankenstein's monster. It shouldn't be more than adding a layer of make-up to improve the presentation of the face.

Smooth your edges, blend your layers, and avoid jagged/blocky lettering and huge, glaring flashes of light. For the beginner I would suggest taking screenshots from 'life'... or as close to life as FFXI allows. :)

Keep pecking away at it. As they always say, practice makes perfect.

A.

I think he is aware of this, he just needs to learn how to do it.
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 Ragnarok.Faiye
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By Ragnarok.Faiye 2010-05-16 22:16:14
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I think the keep pecking away at it is good advice. You will spend many hours if not days working to finish a piece. Alot of that time is spent trying to implement a good idea you might have which ends up not working out in the end. So there is alot of trial and error.

One thing we used to do when I was in college is take one of the greats, like a Van Gogh or a Bouguereau and do our best to duplicate it. This is called doing a master copy. The same learning tool can be used with graphic design, find a FFXI banner that is really well done and use that as your benchmark. You don't have to duplicate it dot for dot, but use it as a learning tool to figure out how and why they put certain elements together. Once you make those skills your own you can go on to create a piece that is a little more original.
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 Phoenix.Darki
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By Phoenix.Darki 2010-05-16 22:24:04
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Ragnarok.Faiye said:
I think the keep pecking away at it is good advice. You will spend many hours if not days working to finish a piece. Alot of that time is spent trying to implement a good idea you might have which ends up not working out in the end. So there is alot of trial and error.

One thing we used to do when I was in college is take one of the greats, like a Van Gogh or a Bouguereau and do our best to duplicate it. This is called doing a master copy. The same learning tool can be used with graphic design, find a FFXI banner that is really well done and use that as your benchmark. You don't have to duplicate it dot for dot, but use it as a learning tool to figure out how and why they put certain elements together. Once you make those skills your own you can go on to create a piece that is a little more original.


this is a good idea, for practice only, don't make a habit of being a copycat.
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 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-17 15:42:25
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Thank you guys for the advice :)
Is there any alternative to the program Autodesk 3ds Max?
I can't buy the actual program and it won't let me download the free trial..
 Kujata.Akeda
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By Kujata.Akeda 2010-05-17 16:25:58
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There's a couple if you Google for them.

3d work is very time consuming and difficult work though, especially if you get into 3d animation.
 Phoenix.Darki
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By Phoenix.Darki 2010-05-17 17:28:34
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Siren.Snowe said:
Thank you guys for the advice :)
Is there any alternative to the program Autodesk 3ds Max?
I can't buy the actual program and it won't let me download the free trial..


>: ( Corel Painter.
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 Caitsith.Neonracer
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By Caitsith.Neonracer 2010-05-17 17:55:55
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What are you using as a program if you dont mind me asking?

( Directed to the OP)
 Fenrir.Dramanue
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By Fenrir.Dramanue 2010-05-17 20:35:00
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I messed around with your image a bit to give you a general idea of what I would've done with your source image.



One of the big issues I found with this was the vast amount of text you wanted splayed all over the image. I did what I could with what was shown on your original, and I'm sure even my presentation could do with much more work. The main issue I found with my own is that there is no consistency with the font styles or effects. I just went all out, but this was mainly to give you ideas.

The silhouette effect has been played out, but, quite honestly, I find it still looks pretty nifty. I then used the same color effects found on the manta to color in the name by creating a mask out of the letters then clipping a section out of the manta.

I fixed the background by coloring over all of the snow on the ground where the tarutaru was standing and creating it "from scratch", that is to say, I used the cloning tool over a blank area of snow to create a new field which I later blended into the background using the smudge tool. The manta's filtering was fixed by cutting it out, then blurring out the original ever so slightly. The cut out was then trimmed around the edges and placed over the cut out so that the edges look smooth but the detail in the actual creature remained (mostly) untouched.

When cutting around your characters from screenshots, don't be afraid to zoom into 600-800% magnification in order to clip around the character. Don't go pixel by pixel, but instead, go around it as if you're creating a dot-to-dot diagram. Also make sure that you have "Anti-aliasing" enabled on your polygonal masking tool. This helps in the masking process by creating smooth edges and corners around your mask. If you've forgotten areas while masking, hold down Ctrl to add to your mask (holding down Alt subtracts from your mask).

Check out dafont.com for a great variety of fonts, and never, ever, stop messing around with Photoshop. You'll find out that you'll learn much faster just by messing with it than a book could ever teach you.

@Neonracer:
I believe he's using Photoshop. I'm not sure which version. He mentioned it in his first post, although he may have used a different app for the actual image he posted.

Photoshop CS3 user, btw.
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 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-17 20:48:11
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Ok, so i did this in about 30 mins. I got the idea from Athial's post and pics.



Here's my lame excuse for why i took the SS with the weather like it was:

I only had a few minutes to take one so i hopped on the boat to Mhaura regardless of the weather and i thought the weather might reflect a BLM seeing as its dark and gloomy and that's the version i have of how a BLM is portrayed.

So yeah. :)
 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-17 20:49:17
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Caitsith.Neonracer said:
What are you using as a program if you dont mind me asking?

( Directed to the OP)

Gimp 2.0 lol
It's a default program on vista and i've always used it c.c
 Leviathan.Niniann
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By Leviathan.Niniann 2010-05-17 20:52:33
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Not sure if this has been said, but what I suggest when you're playing around with FFXI images, change the background to some odd color.... Bright Pink/Green work well. The stupid "floors" in altanaviewer are not good source material. If you want to add depth with backgrounds etc, either take a 1st person screenshot ingame at a high resolution and spruce it up, or get a nice quality image online.

The image you take of your model, you want to make it big. Very big. Save it, open it into photoshop. Copy the layer, can delete the bottom. Use your magic wand, take off anti-aliasing, take off contiguous and set your tolerance to 1 and click the pink/green/randomcolor. Delete it. It should now be clear. You can resize the image smaller to make it friendly with whatever signature/etc you're putting it on. This will fake-antialias the image anyway, much like oversampling etc for your graphics ingame. You can blur it, boost up contrast, etc from here. I usually make my contrast about 30, play with other color settings until I like what I see.

Fonts are important. Colors are important. Composition is important.

Also for the love of god don't use .jpg formats, save your images in 300dpi... and use like.... .png... or .gif... or something that's not *** jpeg. /rant
 Ifrit.Darkanaseur
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By Ifrit.Darkanaseur 2010-05-17 20:58:25
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Try using magic eraser, get the models/images from a viewer and turn the background green or white or something, use the eraser to remove the back ground and you can move just the image you want into something else. Can blur the edges of the layer after
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By Bismarck.Sanchez 2010-05-18 14:11:54
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Another important tool you should become familiar with (after you gain a basic understanding of the main toolbar) is the pen tool and the paths palette. You can use the pen tool while in the paths palette to draw a precise area around an object to be loaded as a selection. You can then use that selection in the layers palette to isolate the object you outlined with the pen tool by doing a layer via copy. The result will be a crisp, smooth outline around your target object.

Also, If this seems a bit advanced and you still use a brush to work around your target object, be sure to become familiar with layer masks. By using a layer mask, you will have a much easier time correcting mistakes. If you brush over an area with a layer mask, you can always put it back by switching your brush from black to white. (Black erases image, white replaces it.) If you use the eraser, you delete pixels from the layer, and the only way to get them back is from a layer copy or back-tracking in the history palette.
 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-18 17:18:31
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Another "project". I'm quite satisfied with this one.. looks pretty good i think. You guys?
 Ramuh.Haseyo
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By Ramuh.Haseyo 2010-05-18 17:21:14
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The text could be a bit better. Just doesn't flow with the rest of the photo, lol.
 Siren.Snowe
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By Siren.Snowe 2010-05-18 17:24:08
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i think that's my main problem.. i can't seem to find good colors to match with the rest of the picture.. >.<
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