Johnny

Very nice, very nice.Would that render happen to be from the comic Runaways? O.o

Just two entries? That's not right...what happened to my Crew? You guys don't need me to always be around to help out around here...[i'll be functioning again by Sunday, by the way.]Anyway, my vote goes to Hulunes. I like the text, border, and style.Yours isn't bad though mike...mainly I don't like the text. Sweet render though.hulunes:1Saint-Michael:0

I was more talking about the end result of the sigs...I don't really mind how you go about getting there. Just saying the style looks similar for the finished products. Mainly text and the layout.

Looks pretty alright, but it seems like lately you've been repeating the same style a lot.It's also pretty hard to make out the render. It says spawn, but it looks more like dr. doom?

That one's a new Killzone render... O.oVery nice cut, and no, the text wouldn't matter unless you're using the whole render in the sig (which would make it so tiny it wouldn't matter) or you're just using the bottom of the render, which would make no sense.

Great render and renderer. Nice job.

IMO, the second one's pretty hot. I just don't like the texture on it.

She kinda looks like an addict in that pic, but as for the overall sig, 9/10, I s'pose.

NP, thanks.

You brought this back from the dead savge...try to avoid that next time. Some moderators would give you a warning for that.

Hm...I wouldn't call it a virus just yet. I've seen what viruses do (I was a wannabe hacker way back when) and most of them mess with the user while they use the computer, instead of just shutting them out completely.Try posting up what your computer says at the blue screen, or at least the gist of it. That might gives some clues as to what's wrong.From what I've seen the most common cases are caused from hard drive failure or a screwy program installation.Like mike said, try running it in safe mode first, if that doesn't work, try booting from a windows disk (if you have one).Reformatting should be a last resort.

My parents have one and it has jet streams that shoot up and well you get the point..

That's called a bidet (sp?).

Anyway, an auto-opening toilet seat. Sounds handy, but maybe a little too lazy?

If concerned about spam, you may use an image for your email, or use any anti-spam formats (e.g. [at], [dot], etc).
Made an image generator for one's convenience: Image Generator. Just type in your email, and after submitting, save the image for later use.

Neato. Thanks TF.

My vote goes to Mike. Overall I like the flow more than Kubi's. I liked the original version better though.(Sorry KuBster)Mike: 7KuBi: 1

The following people are being removed from the gfx crew, due to inactivity:Snlildude87psychiccyberfreakryoFrozenThe list will be updated shortly.

Thanks for the positive feedback all. I'm gonna try and post this on GR and see what people think there.I was also thinking of doing more tutorials...I don't think I ever finished on my last run...I just get really bored doing them. :)Anyway, regardless of that, I will be looking for more ways to better the "sig society". Keep an eye out, I guess.(I was also thinking of adding a "manners" section to this...should I?)

Yes, I've seen that render used a lot before...at first I didn't know it was samus, until I saw the helmet. It always ends up being cropped out. :)Anyway, that's a great sig...I'd rate it 10/10. I like the first one a lot more than the second.

The second one looks better, imo.I'd say take the contrast up a little bit, make the sig a bit smaller, and change up the font/text blending, and you've got a sweet sig. Nice job Albus.

I like it. I like the name-line thing you have going on. I might have to erm..."borrow" that technique.

Johnny's
Thinking Outside the Box
for graphics designers
A guide for beginners and experts alike

Before you read this, be warned that this is not a tutorial. It won't teach you a new skill or method. It's simply here to teach you to be a better designer in general.
This guide is mostly directed at sig designers, but I'm sure it can be applied to just about any field of art.

I think the current level of graphics design can be stepped up a few notches, so here's a few tips.

1 -- Your own style

The most valuable thing to any sort of artist is to have their own distinct style. Everyone needs it...Picasso, Mozart, Poe, and you. It's what sets you apart from the rest of the world, shows everyone that this piece is by -you-. So as you start to do more and more sigs, try and find a niche for yourself to fit into. What type of design do you like to do? Grunge, tech, vector, bright colors, dark colors, realistic, minimalistic, photomanip, black and white, freehand...find what style you like to do best, and try and stick with it. Of course you don't want every sig to be the same style, because that's repetitive and boring, but you do want to do most of your sigs in whatever way is best for you. I personally like brighter colors, and light grunge sigs.

2 -- The difference between being different

Now, this is probably going to sound really contradictory, but it's also good to be diverse when it comes to designing. It's good to have your own niche, but you still want to keep all your skills sharp so you're never rusty. But there's a difference between being different and being good. It's nice to have a unique style, but don't take it too far. If you become too abstract, you could be walking yourself off the plank, so to speak. People don't like art that is too far-fetched. It may look good to you, but most have a general sense of what looks good and what doesn't. Be unique, but don't go past what other people will like. Unless of course the only opinion that matters is your own...if that's the case, do what you want.

3 -- E is for EFFORT

There is nothing more ugly than a sig that didn't recieve the proper effort put into it. People don't always put effort into their sigs, and it shows. If you're not willing to put enough time into designing, then don't. It's like a song you hear on the radio that you know only took half an hour to produce, or the difference between a homemade dinner and a frozen one. I personally put an hour or more into almost all of my sigs. I only started that not too long ago, but you can see a big difference. I'm not saying you have to quit your day job or anything, but if you're going to design something, don't rush it. A good idea is to not release every single sig you do...if you're not satisfied with a certain sig, save it as a temporary and come back another day to work on it. This brings amazing results, trust me. I have about 40 unfinished sigs to work on, but every time I do, something good comes out.

4 -- Organization

Messy sigs get messy ratings. I've seen it so many times before, and been driven mad by it. Some like to throw a bunch of brushes on a sig, throw a render in, maybe some color, and a border, and assume they're done. Well, that might be the case, but you have to make sure each element looks good with each other. The ultimate goal of designing is the end result, right? So frankly, the individual pieces of the sig don't mean diddly squat compared to the finished product. Stop assuming "oh, this render is cool, I'm going to have a cool sig", or "these brushes rock, this sig will be awesome", and focus on "how does this all tie in to one good sig?" and "how can I make this piece fit with this piece to look good?". Just remember that every part of a sig is crucial. Even the border.

5 -- Sense of design

To be a good designer, you have to have a good sense of design. You can't be a chef if you don't know how good foods taste, and you can't design sigs if you don't know what a good sig looks like. Take some time to look around...look at product packaging, advertisements, company logos...of course sigs aren't the same thing, but it helps you get a grasp of what a good design looks like. This is one of the hardest things to do as a beginner to graphics design, but all I can say is that it gets better with time, practice, and effort. The more sigs you do, the more you'll start to notice what people like to see in sigs.

6 -- Consistency

Keep practicing, keep practicing, keep practicing. It's great to take a break from sigging every now and then (I just took a big one), but it's important to keep your skills up. The only way to ensure steady growth and learning is to keep on trying. Most of my sig designer buddies and myself will tell you that the way they got good was just by practicing. Every now and then you learn a nice little tidbit that can improve your sigs, and before you know it, you're full of these tidbits and you can make some really sweet sigs. Just keep practicing.

7 -- It's ALIVE

Experiment. Try and experiment with different styles and themes and such to find new designs. Having basically the same sig every time does no good whatsoever. I've seen it before...a designer starts to think he's good so he sticks with the same sig every time and it gets BORING. You can't get any better if you keep doing the same thing over and over again, and if your fans notice that you haven't changed at all, they'll get bored with you too. Doing "the usual" isn't good enough. You have to strive to be better with every sig you make. I myself just learned a new technique to create energy-ball looking things using feathering and two filters. I'm probably going to release a brushset of them soon. Experimentation is the only thing that can create new styles and methods, so experiment as much as possible.

8 -- Resources and Materials

An artist is only as good as his tools, right? Right. Believe it or not, it's extremely hard to get things done with just the defaults of photoshop (especially the old versions), so it's important to have good materials. The most important of which would be fonts, renders, and brushes. There's only so much you can do with Courier new and no renders, right? But by far, the most important resource is tutorials. Everyone can benefit from tutorials. I've bought full rights to about 20 good ones to try and make myself better. Tutorials are a great way to get new ideas and methods, because there are a lot of things another person can think of that you normally would not, and vice versa. Two heads are better than one. So make sure you have good material to work with.

9 -- Checklisting

One of my personal things I've picked up recently is what I like to call checklisting (Hm...I should probably copyright that or something). Make a mental (or written) checklist of all the things you want in a sig, and as you design a sig go through and check off the things on your list. It helps to ensure you have everything you want, because the better you get, the more goodies you like to pack into your sigs. Some examples of checklist items would be:
Background,
Text,
Render,
Border,
Color,
Blending,
Lighting,
Special effects,
Patterns,
Flow,
etc.

Of course you don't need all of these, and you can certainly add more, but that's just a general idea of what you could look for. Checklisting is probably very beneficial to beginners, because as you're just starting you tend to forget things like blending or borders.

10 -- Have fun

The huge underlying goal of sig designing is to have fun. If you don't have fun designing sigs, why are you designing sigs? My personal fun from designing is to see how people respond to the designs I make and if they like the same things I do. To me there's nothing more fun than getting great comments on sigs, so that's what I strive for. Everyone has their own reasons for sigging, but in the end it's all about having fun.

That's about it. As well it should be, my wrist is starting to hurt. Let me know what you think.

is this my month or somthing? a Gift from Avalon, and a gift from you i feel loved...thanx SM

I'm up next. Just not sure what to do...I don't want to be typical and do a HP sig, but it is really fitting, and the two I've seen so far are nice.

Knowing me though, I'll start with dumbledore and end up with a mechanized fish or something.

well the problem with tech borders, one of the reasons i stay away from them

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Mike, you did tech borders on 3/4s of your sigs for like a whole year...BWAHAHAHAAH!

That said...Mike's right, drop the tech borders, freshen up on the basics (blending, lighting, text), and then you're good to go.

I think the first one flows much better, and she's amply covered, so you don't necessarily have to link it.

7.5/10 on the first, 7/10 on the second.

Hm...can't see it. Tried going to view image but it still doesn't show.

No wonder your rank says Sig guru, they aint kidding now,

He did that himself when he was a moderator...I still say it's a lie.

I think we've gotten to the point where I don't need to put too much detail for you to understand what I mean, so I'll keep this brief.

First and third sigs -- typical mike, nothing impressive.

Middle (chun-li) sig -- awesome. the text could be better, but the rest is awesome. I like the original better than the revised.

Linked one -- Not bad. I'm not really for anime girl sigs, but it's a good one.

Mind you, I do adore anime itself.

render warning due to the pg-13 rating on that render.

Yeah, because there's a render ratings board, right?

Nothing's showing, it's fine.

The first one -- Looks good...the render-in-the-background looks especially well with female renders, so that's a nice touch. the way it's positioned almost looks like it's a different render of the same character, which is cool. the text fits well and the little touch ups are good.

The second one -- Very nice. I think the fire could look more realistic, but there's a limit as to what exactly you can do with just brushes. I've come across the same problem before, and I've found there's not many easy ways to create realistic fire. So with what you have it looks very nice, I'd just say shorten the width of it to close up some empty(ish) space. the text is fine.

Your best two sigs by far, saga. Keep it up.