Art Critique

[Alric Kuhn]

I've been making my own signature for quite some time now for most of my characters. I'm mostly self taught, using only photoshop, google, and half a class of how to use PS to actually do what I do. I've also had some help from a few people more knowledgeable than me who have taught me a thing or two. I mostly just play around to get what I want in the image, however I have noticed that I lean towards a certain style of signature, and even avatars.

So here's the thing, I would like people to pitch in and tell me what I could do better, how I could do it, and maybe get some suggestions on new things to try!

Also, please keep in mind these are all a mash of images and effects, I don't draw or do anything like that, just take images I find online and mush them together.

Here's an example of some of my sigs;

Spoiler

 

[Vora Kaar]

[member="Alric Kuhn"], while in highschool, I took three classes on Photoshop, and the best I can come up with *when I have photoshop* is very much like yours.

I will admit I took one of your frames from one of your sigs a long while back and used it to make my own signatures. *I believe it was the one you used for one of your many Taliths*

Anyways, I very much enjoy seeing your sigs and how you create them. In fact I would consider you better than myself because I do not know how to make the words on my photoshop like you do. I keep messing around with it, but I can't ever get it. And now since I do not have access to photoshop, I can't try and figure it out again.

Dont sell yourself short man.

 

[Émile Roux]

My thoughts can be summed up in a few words regarding the work you put into this stuff and the end results. Don't you bloody dare stop, the majority are an absolute delight to look at and this is coming from someone who is generally opposed / loathes signatures and the like. As [member="Karma"] said, don't sell yourself short since as far as this particular brand of Photoshop is concerned, you are one of the better artists I know of. Granted my expertise on the subject is bare-bones, but still.

If there's one suggestion / criticism I could bring up reliably it would be in regards to the choice of borders on certain signatures. To use the ones you posted as an example, a faintly transparent border would be more fitting than none at all [First picture] or one that blends too much with the original piece as far as color goes. At the same time, the border in the fifth picture is slightly too transparent and it takes away attention from the picture itself onto the edges / rim. The sixth one has a perfect border but I feel the emblem for Vanir Tech. seems to be slightly too large and fights for the viewers attention with the animation itself.

This is all subjective so make of it what you will, but bottom line is I honestly enjoy your work.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Karma"]

Most of the border I make are perfectly fine to use, I don't consider it a big deal since I re-appropriate images all the time!

If there's one suggestion / criticism I could bring up reliably it would be in regards to the choice of borders on certain signatures. To use the ones you posted as an example, a faintly transparent border would be more fitting than none at all [First picture] or one that blends too much with the original piece as far as color goes. At the same time, the border in the fifth picture is slightly too transparent and it takes away attention from the picture itself onto the edges / rim. The sixth one has a perfect border but I feel the emblem for Vanir Tech. seems to be slightly too large and fights for the viewers attention with the animation itself.

I appreciate this a lot. I agree with the Borders, but it's sometimes hard for me to find a perfect fit, I've tried many different styles of borders over time and I think it's something I still need to work on.

Thanks to you both!

 

[Vilaz Munin]

That Rigor sig tho.

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Mother Askani]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Your awesome at everything...don't even know why you asked.

 

[Ellie Mors]

You are my inspiration ~

Or at least your art is.

 

[Darth Assimilus]

look good

 

[Netherworld]

0/10, try again.

You already know my thoughts. Good stuff, though. Always liked the way you did text.

 

[Tefka]

Your art is bad and you should feel bad.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Tefka"]

[member="Tyrone Verd"] [member="Lily Kuhn"] [member="Sochi Ru"] [member="Vilaz Munin"]

Thank you

 

[Jsc]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Here are some things I do to save myself time. 1st. I now use a generic template.

Mine is a combo of one vista image with two resized 1x1 avatar images. This way I never have to blend, crop, or otherwise edit all my assets into a single composition. I just cut n' paste. This idea has saved me hours of time. Hours.

2nd tip is to always save your scrap transparency layers, draft repaints, unused pieces, and full size starter images too,

This way I can recombine all the puzzle pieces back together on a whim. Rather than finish a whole composition and realize, oops, that I want to tweak something but can't. So yeah. Save your scraps. Even the dumb ones. I even have a whole Photobucket folder dedicated to just scraps and half-used transparency layers myself. This makes returning-to, or recombining-from-scratch? ...Easy as pie.

Cheers! And as always... Great stuff mate.

 

[Isamu Baelor]

Text is fairly inconsistent. Sometimes it works with the signature (Vanir Technologies), sometimes it doesn't (Healing Touch). Also blending looks a bit spotty in some (Mainly the guy in the jungle, I'm assuming you put him in the image?)

Outside of that, it's good stuff. I really like that Vanir Technologies one.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Isamu Baelor"]

I did, and that's something I've been working on as well. It's tough for me at times because admittedly I'm not the best eye-wise, though I think I've been improving, the first signature in the list is three separate images. Thanks for the words!

 

[Darth Prazutis]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Your art designs are amazing. I see them as relatively simplistic designs, but the articulate way you design and choose each ones color pallet, when it all comes together they are beautiful.

 

[Isamu Baelor]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

I use the "Lighting" option to help blend my renders into the signature. Sometimes it can produce some really nice results. I used that lighting technique on my current sig, putting some fire/smoke above the dude.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

Thank you, and I intend the simplicity. I think a lot of the time people throw too much in and it obscures things. Also I'm not very smart so simple is good.

[member="Isamu Baelor"]

I'll have to try that!

 

[Darth Prazutis]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Your exactly right. I think in a sig when its overly excessive it takes something out of it. A little goes a long way there.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Here's an example of some of my sigs;

This one is my favorite.

 

[Kana Truden]

My teacher in High School I-totally-have-a-degree-in-this-now said that Bevel and Emboss/Satin should always be used sparingly as it rarely ends up looking better than handmade shadows. That, of course, might be a bit overkill.

I really like what you do, and I agree that less is more.