Photoshop Meddlings V2

[Coco]

Although I'm not inclined to this sort of style, I think you always manage to pull it off splendidly. I remember when I was starting out in GFX. For the longest time, my favorite was the one you did that said 'gaze' (I still remember it. ) I'm glad you're re-exploring that style again. I love the abundance of elements and strong colors. My only comment would be that the text could be better--but over-all, great work.

One of my favorites from you ever. I wasn't around at the time to view or vote on this particular SOTW, so I only saw it in the SOTW winner's box. It's edgy, sophisticated and artistic. No words, minimal effects. My very favorite kind of style of yours.

Creative. I love that you played around with many elements and there's great variety in the tag as a whole. I love the navy blue, pink, red and yellow tones. Fantastic.

 

[Daenerys]

Thanks for all the wonderful comments and suggestions guys, really appreciate them

Here's a smallish update,

Penelo signature for Jess, Vikki did the text -

And here's the first in a series of Golden Sun tags that I want to make xD Jess rendered the three main characters so far for me, so I'm gonna crack on with the other one xD

 

[Sexy Beast]

Thanks for all the wonderful comments and suggestions guys, really appreciate them

Here's a smallish update,

Penelo signature for Jess, Vikki did the text -

And here's the first in a series of Golden Sun tags that I want to make xD Jess rendered the three main characters so far for me, so I'm gonna crack on with the other one xD

Now these just made me have a GFX orgasm

anyway, these are really REALLY nice O.O. I especially love the Penelo one. The effects, colors--everything is just made of pure win. I honestly believe that is your best yet, and my favorite from you :3

 

[Crazee Dayzee]

Omg Mark it's gawgeous.
The effects, flow, text, colors, everything. You guys make a sick team.

 

[Daenerys]

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments! They really made me smile ^^

Small-ish update, both collabs with Vikki. In both cases, I made the tag, and then she added the text -

 

[Kandy-Sugar]

This one instantly stood out to me.

Mainly because of the lighter colours and brightness of it all.

I love the background. It feels so serene and works nicely around Penelo.

Vikki's text looks awesome too! Love the fonts and the colour of Penelo. very well placed as well. =)

Gorgeous piece!

 

[Daenerys]

Thanks for the comments, Kandy ^^

I've been in a real GFX slump lately, I just can't seem to make anything I really like.

Here's everything I've made since my last update.

This one's a WIP that I haven't gotten around to finishing -

Collab with Jess -

Not sure whether to label this as finished, or add some extra stuff to it -

Pop-out signature SOTW entry, I wanted to do something different -

And my newest sig, I made this last night, and I'm quite pleased with it -

C'n'C GREATLY appreciated! ^^

 

[Sexy Beast]

I see a little inspiration from coco in this :3. But anywhoo, i love the softness to this--really I do. Usually I'd go on about brightness, but here you made the brightness work in your favor, and I like that. But if i do say something about the brightness, it's that the brushing you got over the gal's dress makes it "over-the-top", meaning that it's too bright ._..
Aside from that, the border is nicely added. And coming from someone who usually doesn't like to use borders(full not half), it's the highest compliment i can give ^^

To answer your doubt question, this could use some finishing touches(curves, levels) or any adjustment layers, for that matter. The blue, orb-thingy you have there really makes me love this piece. Not sure if it's part of the texture you used, or your own creation, but the smudging is fantastic. As far as the clouds go, I admire what you did with them, and it worked for you here. The colors you used were a bit off for me, just because the stock you used seemed more blue-ish--but that's just my opinion. For the contrast and brightness, you executed it well, and if i do say so myself, it's quite lovely.

I'm going to say this first. I LOVE Pop-out tags, no question. They always are automatic win for me, no matter how poorly the effects are--and I've seen some very horrible ones . But anyways, as for this one, I admire that you tried something different. By the looks of it, you did go in a different direction, but you still left one specific part that really made it yours; and that's the pink lighting you have on his arm. You tend to do some obvious lighting on lighten, and that seperates you from everybody else--myself included. I love the smudging you did on the outer-portion of this. That was a great twist. Also, the C4D you used is just brilliance, and it added a great effect to the concept you pulled out. I feel the brightness should of been more present, as the darkness/contrast really overpowered it, and didn't really feel balanced, perse. But it's persona, so it's cool in mah book :3.

 

[Kandy-Sugar]

This one struck me the most out of the lot.

I love the detail behind her. It looks as though a huge gush of fire has just exploded behind her.

Nice focal and the lighting I think could be a bit brighter on the woman but that's nothing major.

I love how the text was done as well with the smalling text running through the word 'Fire.'

Keep up the awesome work!

 

[Daenerys]

Thanks guys ^^

Here's my current WIP. Going for a "pink" theme -

Not really sure what else to do here, I like it, but it doesn't quite feel finished.

And, here's a new Stevie set. I tried something a little different, for me anyway, with the text. To compare -

Without text :

With text :

 

[Bei Bei]

I've always wanted to try this style but it's a little above my level. I've seen it done many times and sometimes they're good and sometimes they're not so good. But you seem to pull it off really well. It all blends nicely, isn't displaced or too sloppy, I wish I can get mine like that

 

[Warbsywoo]

Thanks guys ^^

Here's my current WIP. Going for a "pink" theme -

Love the C4D in the background, it definitely suits the signature and it complements Beatrix nicely.
Love how you're sticking to your pink theme, really nice.

And, here's a new Stevie set. I tried something a little different, for me anyway, with the text. To compare -

Without text :

With text :

I love the background that you managed to produce here.
I always like seeing those smudgy clouds and bubbles as effects, and the way you blended them is definitely appropriate.
Again, great job.

 

[Lebreau]

This is gorgeous. D= I don't care how long ago you made it, it's so pretty. The text is awesome, the colors... everything. I can't say a bad thing about it, it's just lovely.

Ohhhh I like this It's so small... but the rest of your stuff was small then, so... xD The text fits it nicely, and any more would have ruined it anyways. XD The little lines of... like... opposite colors or whatever look awesome, I just love this sig in
general. Yay Mewtwo.

... amg. I loooooove this. She looks so evil, and since I find vertical sigs AWFUL to do, I think it's just awesome. I even like the text, with the X's under it... it's just... amg.

... I remember seeing this when I first joined, and loving it. The little splashes of color are so awesome on an otherwise black and white sig. The text is nice too, which is usually the only thing I DON'T like about your sigs. xD

I love this sig too. It's got a lot of empty space, but it doesn't LOOK empty. The text fits it nicely too, and again, those dots of color! So pretty.

I'm going to kidnap you and make you teach me how you do those effects some day. I swear. It looks like the sig is all around him, like he's actually a part of it, rather than just being slapped on. Although... the colors of his face/shirt don't really match the sig,which is bugging me. The text too... the white "Balthier" just seems too... harsh, maybe? I don't really like the font for sky pirate either, and it seems like it's too far away from him. Clooooooser would have looked better, I think.

Amg, the text is just... amazing. This doesn't look like you've done much, but it's still really pretty. xD The text especially... amg. *drools* That image of Stevie is lovely too. XD

I'm so glad you didn't put text on this, I think it might have ruined it. XD Again, you've got those little colors splashes... eeek. xD Love them. I think the white border is a bit... harsh, though. It stands out too much.

I like this... but her hair looks really weird on the left. xD I think I remember you showing me this when you made it and I think I commented on that then too... so I'll shush. I like the effects though, they look so nice. The text... hm. I think you should have used a normal font for "never break the" and then kept "chain" as it is. That might've looked a bit better.

The effects on this are so fitting for Gaga. XD They just... go. Awesome sig, really. The text, I'm iffy on.. but I don't know what would have gone better either.

I think I remember Amanda telling me that image was shirtless and she had to edit one on... I like it, I think, but she's a bit lost in the background... her arm is totally blended to the point you can't see it. xD I'm not a fan of the text either.

The text on this is so cute. XD Just adorable, as is the rest of the sig. I think this won SOTW that time, and looking at it again, I can see why. XD It's absolutely lovely. So cute. :3

So much white. XD As you said when you posted it, the text is offfff. You've got those little bits of color again, I love those so much. Not sure if blue was the best choice for them.. but it does look nice.

I love this sig, I'd kill to know how you did it. The colors are just so gorgeous and make it look so awesome. It really deserved to win when it did, other than the text. I don't like the text too much, especially how the line extends past the last letter.

Amg. Love love love. The background... the whole thing is just awesome. XD It doesn't look like you did a lot, but it's still just awesome. The heart under the text is pretty, and the simple font works well to be readable. The smudge-y stuff around them looks like you clone-stamped it with a weird brush.. but I really can't tell. It's so nice looking. :3

skipping the large piece because I'm bad at critiquing those.

Alice in Wonderland. I loved that movie. The text in this is nice, with the small text under it. I'd probably put "Red" and "Queen" closer together though. The little hearts in the background are very fitting too, and the white spots are nice with the dark red background.

I prefer the smaller one, because it doesn't look like there's a bunch of empty space on the right side, although I would've left it taller and just cropped it on the right. The little x's next to the text look nice, as does the red text in a mostly black and white toned signature. I like the checkered background too.

This is really awesome. Even if you said you were in a slump, it's nice. The text is pretty and placed nicely, and I like the line under "outside". On the sides, it's a bit empty, but the middle part is just gorgeous.

I like this... but the straight lines of color seem really off to me. Spots or bits around her would've looked better than straight lines, I think. I like the wings and freedom font, but the rest of it is kinda... not so fitting. (I don't know if you did the text or Vikki did )

Skipping the avatars of the next two because I'm lazy.

That shadow on his face looks weird. =[ But that's not your fault, that's just the image... but it still looks weird. Other than that, I think this is really nice. The Gerard Way text looks a bit... harsh, and stands out a lot though.

I love this, it looks all washed out other than the splashes of color, and that picture of Beatrix is so nice. xD The text... I'm not so sure on. General could be a little bigger and Beatrix could be in a different font, maybe something simple like Times New Roman but not as... smooth as the one you have now.

skipping the WIPs because I'm lazy

Oh Sue, how I love you. I really loved this when you first showed it to me, and I remember how long you spent trying to get that freaking animation thingie in there, it took aaaaaaaaaaages. D= It looks good though, other than the fact that it doesn't match the sig colors too much... but there's only so much you can do, really. XD I love the text and her expression, they're just great.

The way it looks all foggy-ish and it sorta sneaks up on her is awesome. I think the only thing letting this down is the text. The font for Rhiannon/Cry/Gone just doesn't look right to me with the other font, and the color of both fonts seems off. the pink is too... bright, and the tanish color is too dark.

Those spots of color again. This sig is gooooorgeous. I don't understand vertical tags much, but this is just wonderful.

Ohhhh this is so pretty. The coloring <3 those spots of color... yet again. I love where they're placed though, they look wonderful. I love the subtle shiny effects in the background too, and the text... oh it's gorgeous. XD

Pink! I like the text in this, it's pretty. The background on the right is amazing, just AMAZING. If I liked Yuna more, I'd be asking if I could steal this sig. The pink on her hair seems a bit harsh though, maybe a lower opacity would've been good.

This is so cute. D: pink splotches again, which look loooovely with the rest of the darkness in it. I'd like to see text on it, though. I think it would add a more... finished feel, because the sides look a bit empty.

This is just wonderful. The pink doesn't fit the rest of the sig's coloring too well, but other than that, it's amazing. It looks so complicated and awesome, I don't understand how you do that. XD Just beaaaaaautiful.

I seem to remember you hating avvies, but I like this. XD Pink is so Aerith, and her eyes look really bright. The colors are dark and she looks worried, so those sorta match... I like it.

I love that picture of Vanille. It's so awesome. xD I love the cut on this, and the coloring. I'm glad you don't put text on avatars, they look fine without, I think. I'd like to see a bit more done on this one, though.

ooooh. This is quite nice. The little blue... bubble things are a bit bright for
the rest of the sig, though. Other than that, I wanna steal your computer and just raid your resources.

The text is niiiiiice. I like the lack of glaring effects here, everything's more subtle. I think Stevie looks a bit blurry... a slight sharpening might help that. I also think the colors of the dots are a little too random... but they do look nice. Just not too similar to the rest of the sig. XD

I love the flower thing you've got on this, I remember you linking me to them but I lost the link before I saved them. >.< pink splotches looking awesome, again. ;D I think the text might've looked nicer a bit closer to the people, and maybe not in white... it stands out a bit too much.

Very pretty simple avatar ^^

I like the text in this, it's just the right size and looks awesome where it is. Any bigger or anywhere else and I think it would've ruined the sig. The effects are lovely, I don't know how you do it. D=

Ohhh that's so... whoa. I seriously would kill to know how you do this, you know. Lightning's hair looks a bit sharp... hm. Other than that, I loooove the background. Love love love. D= I wanna know how you did that. Did I mention that yet?

I love the bright colors at the bottom of this, they're very bold combined with the white and the more sepia tone of Ms. Nicks herself. The background isn't overpowering but still looks very nice as well.

This sig almost looks like it's jumping out of the monitor at me, I love the effects in the background. The little balls of pinkish light are awesome with blue... blade looking things too, and the gold bits near him look good as well. Very nice sig.

This is so soooooft and pretty. Best accident ever. xD text might've ruined it, I think, and it looks nice without.

I put all of these together because I'm lazy, but I love this style. It's so soft and gentle, with the color stopping it from being boring. The Cid one looks a bit darker, which is fitting, and Serah's is even more soft and innocent than the rest, also fitting. XD This style is amazing, Mark.

I drooled over this the whole time Diar was using it, it's so nice. XD Everything about it is just gorgeous. I love this vector-y style here, it's just... I don't even know.

the lines over Jade (... I can't tell if that's a guy
or a girl.) look awesome, and this style overall is just... just... wonderful. I like the text too, although... I probably would've changed the font for one of them, but that's just me.

This is one of my favorite Stevie signatures you've done, which is saying a lot with how gorgeous some of them are. I just love the abstract/vector/whatever-ish background, and the text is just amazing. I can't imagine it looking nearly as good as it does in anything but black and white.

The blue almost overpowers a bit too much here, she's blue herself... not sure I like that. xD I do love the shiny blue thing near the bottom though.

That style again! I love the text here, it's awesome. The blue with all of the pink stops it from being too girly (though it still really is) and it's very nice. Her glasses look weird to me, though that could just be the image.

There's some... shimmery thing there, it looks cool. xD I like this avatar a lot.

oh whoa, it's so SHINY. The yellow at the bottom is a bit too harsh, it looks really weird and takes away from the sig overall, I think. The text looks really nice, and pops out quite a bit. Her hair is the same color as her face in one place, which looks really odd there... but otherwise, I really like this. So. Shiny.

this one is so weird. I think I would have reversed the colors of the girl, and made the one in front darker than the other, but I just love the idea of this. It's not like any other sig I've seen.

Ahhhh soft colors. :3 the text on this is really nice, I like the tilted "Always" a lot. I wouldn't have capitalized Always, but that's just a minor nitpicky thing. Other than that, I love how she's crying and you have her surrounded by all of these soft gorgeous
colors, it's like "Oh, everything's going to be okay." It's... sweet.

The colors! the light purples with the whites match her perfectly, I'm immediately drawn to her eyes... though because I'm drawn to her eyes, I would've moved the text a bit closer. The top line also looks a bit bolder than the bottom, which throws me off a bit too.

the blue and the yellow-orange colors mix wonderfully, I really like this avatar ^^

I've always thought she looked really odd in this picture, I can't figure out why though... hm. I like the little dotty starry things around her with the red and slightly smudged background, it's very nice. The text... is really a miss on this one though, it doesn't look very good at all.

This is really cool looking. XD I love the rounded boxy things and how the colors all match, plus the text is nice... although it does look like it's just hanging there a bit.

.... wtf XDDDD It's a nice... odd, but nice, sig, but I just don't know what to say about it.

Eeeeek, that render looks awful. I like the text, even if it was hard to read a bit. Cloud and Aerith don't really blend in much either, they sorta look slapped on. D=

I love love love this. The little sparkles with the white-ish background and that image... it's awesome. Her hat looks a bit pixelated and weird, though. The text is good on this one too. :3

Even for being done in a rush, it looks nice. xD I don't like the Little Bo Peep text very much, but the rest is pretty nice. :3 I think the Naughty text looks awesome XD

I'm going to hold your computer hostage, I swear. I love the text, it blends into the background really well and doesn't take away from the signature at all, and the effects are so complex and cool looking. :3

I love where the text is placed, though the white doesn't match anything else in the sig really. The effects surrounding her gunblade look awesome, it's like she's plunging it into the sig itself. very nice.

She... er... looks orange. Either she's tanned a lot or the purple doesn't agree with her. D= Other than the coloring though, I really like this. The tiny text under the big text is amazing <3

The light strands wrapping around her combined with the dark bits in the background and the middle toned background look so good together. XD There's no way this is too bright, it's very nice. the text... that may be a bit too bright at the start, but that's okay. I love the little boxes below the text too.

I love the flowers behind Vanille, the whole mood of this sig is really fitting for her. I would've pulled the text a little bit closer to her, I think, and her hair looks dark for the surroundings.

I wish the text wasn't turned sideways on this. D= it's not very eye catching, and actually a tiny bit distracting from Lightning herself. I don't think she matches the colors of the sig very well either, and I would prefer if she did... but I love the background colors as well, what a hard choice. D= I think I would've made her a bit more blue-toned.

It looks like you've got another sig leaking into the right corner there, the square-ish things are so random. xD Other than that, I love this. it's really busy but it's all moving in towards her, so it works. Something still seems off about that image of her, but that's nothing to be too picky of.

I think that image was black and white at first, and if it was, you've done some amazing things to it. I love the bits of color on her, and the repeated image on the right is just great. I'm glad you didn't add text, it really doesn't need it.

What are those pink things? They really don't fit into the background and look really weird. I think I would like it more without them. The circular things look awesome around Belle though, it's a very nice sig.

Oh whoa, the background matches what she's wearing so nicely. XD I love where you've put the text too, and the dots after lady... ooh. it's a great sig.

I love that image of Stevie, it's awesome. The lines look very nice, as do the dots. I like the squiggly lines a lot too, they direct your eyes to her, I think. The text looks good along the line, and I'm a big fan of the small text too. I can't think of a bad thing about this one.

I love everything about this too... except those purple and orange circles. The colors look really out of place, I think. The background effects though, are gorgeous, and the text is nice too. I love the splattery bits all over.

You know I love this, I don't know what to say about it.

I'm not so sure about the neon-ish yellow bits by/on his shoulders, they don't match the rest of the pretty orange colors very much. D= I love how busy the background is looking though, and the bright light is placed really nicely.

THAT STAFF. I hated rendering that. Anyways. I like the background on this one a lot too, it's very intricate and busy again, which is just awesome. The colors match her really nicely and the brightness around her that fades to darkness is cool.

(I'm running out of good adjectives)

Some of those spheres look kinda like disco balls... hm. This is really nice, I won't comment on the text as Vikki did it, but the sig itself is very pretty. The colors are warm yet sorta cool at the same time, if that makes any sense at all. XD

The quality of this image doesn't look very good. D= It's a bit grainy looking in a few spots, though I love the red blotch and the surounding parts. Very pretty sig overall, the red contrasts the white and black very nicely.

There's something off about her face... I just don't know what it is. And her hands look really small comparatively. xD The circles of color look a bit too solid as well, maybe with a lowered opacity I would like them more. I love the dots in the background though, and the small bit on the side.

Very soft looking again, but I can really tell it's a WIP. I wish you'd finish it though, it's got the potential to be a wonderful looking sig. D=

This is gorgeous. I love the colors and the dark and light parts of the background, it's just awesome. The colors are so rich and pretty. I think it's alright without text, though text also wouldn't hurt...

I like this, it's like he's leaving the signature behind for good or something. xD I'm not so sure about the pink over him though... it looks rather odd.

I love how dark this one look, it just like... conveys depression and darkness. It's amazing. Not so sure about the text, but everything else... oooh. I'm also not sure I like the random little light at the top, since it's not lighting up some things that I would think would be lit up... hm.

You're right, it doesn't feel finished. I don't know what you could add either though... the right side looks much emptier, but I don't know what could go there... hmm... I'm not any help. =[

I prefer the version of this without text... because I don't like the text. It looks very sharp and grainy for some reason. I like the placement and colors, though. The sig itself is very nice, the spots and the background are gorgeous.

-----------

I'M. NEVER. NOT. POSTING. IN. THIS. THREAD. AGAIN. I always say stuff on MSN and never posted, what a fucking mistake.

This post is 4511 words long. That's just stupid, you know.

 

[Daenerys]

Thanks for the comments everyone! Especially you, Jess. xD That must have taken forever.

This is the only thing I've made in photoshop lately. I'm trying to get back into the groove, so, for now, I'm only gonna make things when I really want to, rather than just for the heck of it -

 

[Sexy Beast]

This new one is pretty swell, and the overall effects are quite nice, but I think the brightness on the cape is over-the-top. Some of the effects on the wall..thingwacky are kind of out of flow. The yellow doesn't really go well imo. I would've either let that sit out or change the color of it to a very complementary red or even light purple. But if there's one thing about this I just adore it's, how on the left has a mystical/spacy feel to it, and on the right you have an explosive emotion.

Overall, I like this tag, and I can see why it won the SOTW of it's week. But yeah, work on the brightness, and it'll be sex in a rectangle

 

[Daenerys]

I've been in such a slump lately. Here's the only things I've made since my last update -

 

[Lebreau]

In your latest update, I can tell you were in a slump. The first two are still pretty, but they're not as pretty as some of your other things. The girl's face in the Cindy one looks really off, since she's like... blue.

In the People's Princess one, I would've surface blurred her face just a little to even it a bit, since it looks rough and it's really distracting me. I like the text though.

The last Stevie Nicks one you have there is my favorite of the update, and I really like it a lot. The text looks nice in that place, though floating a bit.

 

[Daenerys]

Thanks for the comments ^^

New stuffs. Not a huge update, I've been so busy with Uni I've had hardly any time for Photoshop

More of a WIP / Mostly completed work here -

 

[Six]

I really like the sparkles you have going on. The subtle hints of colours look pretty nice too, in my opinion. I kinda feel the text is letting it down though, but of course, that's just my opinion. I think it looks a little slapped on, and floating. Maybe a subtle yellow, peachy colour would've worked better. Plain white easily looks slapped on to pieces.

Maybe put it on overlay and put a floral bar behind the text? It might help if you lower the opacity to change the slapped on look. =)

Wasn't a big fan of the Lady Gaga one, it eyed a bit messy to me, but I really love the effects in the one above that. Starkiller? Nuuu D=

The work in progress piece has pretty glitters and C4Ds going on as well. Seems you enjoy working with C4D's and you do know how to work them into most of your pieces. =)

Nice one.

 

[Daenerys]

Thanks for the comments, Kira. I'll try to take your critique on board ^^

Here are two things I've made in the past 24 hours that I'm quite happy with, trying to move away from C4Ds, didn't use them at all here;