watergleam's graphics. last updated: march 4th 2008 -- everything.

[Watergleam]

now, i'm still a newbie at graphic designing (i've been using psp for about a month) so i still have a long long long way to go until i become half as good as most people on here...

but yeah. @@; any ways to help my improve will make me very happy. also, any brushes you see i'm lacking are welcome to be pointed out... (o_o) and also, i still have no idea how to do half the stuff (like applying borders... even some text styles) that everyone (?) here does... so, don't laugh too hard at me.

Icons:



[basically me throwing images on a space and burning it forever. :D]

Banners:



Layouts:


that one's my first... i'm using it as a personal profile on a site... and comments would be greatly appreciated.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/1809/layout2je5.png

Other:


my possible custom for a site i moderate...

and i need lots of work, i know. but i'm trying... and i know that the image transfer of the girl onto the last banner was a little messy. *slapped*

[Watergleam]

some updates. :D



i adopted a new style and figured out layers/textures, so these are how my avs will look from now until i get even better.

[chandni]

Your graphics are acutually pretty good for a beginner o.0.  When I started I was...let's just say i was very bad :P, and it took a year for me to start getting somewhere  XD.
There are a few things i'd like to point out in your graphics.  First of all, in some of them, especially 1st icon, 1st banner, and both layouts, the colors are really....wierd.
The colors seem all around and don't really match together, you have been putting all sorts of yellow, blue, and red in the same layout.  Try going with more similar colors, and make sure your colors are not all over the place.

also another things is that your text is sometimes not readable, as it has the same colors as the background.  Sometimes what i do, is duplicate the text layer, and move it and lower the opacity, so it's like a shadow ^^.  You could also duplicate the layer and blur it, so it has also a little affect added to it...just experiment with layer styles, filters and such.....
Other tips:

• Cut down the use on the brushes...
  For example in the banner, the splatter brushes seem really out of place o.0, it sticks out A LOT among the clouds and sparkles.  Brushes are not *mandatory* when it comes to making layouts, there just a little extra stuff needed to make it look nice as a background (or sometimes on top), ^^.  A good example of not going brush crazy would probably be 3rd banner, and your avatars .
  
• Don't just focus on the background, focus also on editing the image a bit. 
  For example in your second banner, the image seems extremely blurry.  Try sharping (it is a VERY GOOD TOOL to use, especially after resizing your images) it, and adjusting it's brightness/contrasts, curves, levels, etc.  Also another good tool is the smudge tool, to remove any marks from your image (scanning lines, dirt (XD) etc...) 

Well here you go, i hoped it helped o.0.  Just continue making graphics and you'll become a master at it ^^ (i can already see improvement in your second post of icons ^^). 
btw my favs are: the 3rd and 4th banners and the first icon in your newest post 
Keep up the good work!

[Watergleam]

*nod* thank you. ^__^
yeah, i was kinda insane that day... XD *bignod* that was a huge problem of mine [the font colour], and it probably still is. oh, alright.. well, i'm not sure how to move layers yet, but i can create drop shadow, so i'll try that. yeah, i don't use brushes that much except for banners anymore. *nod* oooh, alright, i'll try to focus on the image too, and by editing you mean soften/sharpen, dodge/burn, saturation, and change to target, etc? XD
and thanks, you really did help. *runs off to experiment*

new layout: http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/742/1lovelesslyt3iy1.png

[Red_Eclipse]

Your layout looks nice. People really love them swirly text huh...? 

About drop shadows on text. Don't use them for small graphics. One of the major mistakes beginners use is making their text go through default blending options so that they are beveled, embossed, etc and they all look pretty bad. A thin and low opacity stroke or outer glow that matches the color of the immediate background and/or is a few steps darker than the text color usually does the trick.

To make the original image not look so raw, just duplicate the layer and soft light the top layer... TADA.... You can also use other blending options to fix them as well as make multiple layers and use layers masks to highlight certain things, etc...

The best way to learn is to find an idol in graphics and attempt to remake your graphics to look like theirs... You will be surprised how much you learn from this. Don't worry, there's no way you can copy them completely and I doubt you can get it the first 10 tries. During these trials however, you are expected to grow and branch off in a different direction anyway... 

[Fayna]

Type can make or break a piece. One thing I'd advise is to use sans serif fonts for smaller text (10 pt and below). This will make the text easier to read and overall looks much cleaner. Sans serif should also be used on dark backgrounds but it's not required. It really depends on the font for that.

Examples of sans serif fonts would be Arial, Myriad Pro, Verdana, Tahoma, etc. There are lots of nice free ones out there, just make sure to pay attention to their licenses.

Examples of serif fonts would be Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond, etc.

Sans serif vs. serif fonts crash course: serif fonts have more curves and decorations on the characters in the font (called 'serifs'... just look at Times New Roman compared to Arial), while sans serif fonts (which literally means 'without serif') have no curves at the end of characters. The font used in my avatar is a sans serif font.

Adobe has a great Typography Primer that I think every aspiring designer should read and learn. It's only the beginning to type in design. As for me, its helped me improve my work tremendously. I can explain why I use certain things as opposed to guessing what will work together.

As for your overall compositions, I'd try to play around with how your images and type are placed. Make some custom shapes, overlap things, experiment some more with other things besides brushes, hehe.

I hope this helps~ if you don't understand something, just ask!

[Watergleam]

thank you all for your comments! 

new stuff:



Edit [4/23/08]
Wow, it's been forever since I've updated. I have some new avatars, and I've downloaded a trial to Adobe Photoshop CS3. There's still a lot that I need to learn before my graphics are pleasing to the eyes, but I'm trying.


Those two are the avatars I made today in Photoshop. o:

And I also have an avatar that I made... Since I'm aiming to be an avatar designer, too.

[Watergleam]

Bump. o: