Haze

For the past few days, I have been making some stuff for a new mO layout. I, like everyone else, have started to love the new anime Samurai Champloo. I used the "official wallpaper" from the "official website" to get these 3 images. I made a background for each of them, then stuck one character on each. Anyways, I worked really hard on these, so have a look: [url="http://www.freewebs.com/rockemsockem/fuu.png"]Fuu[/url]: This one is of Fuu (duh) [url="http://www.freewebs.com/rockemsockem/Jin2.png"]Jin[/url]: this one is Jin [url="http://www.freewebs.com/rockemsockem/Mugen.png"]Mugen:[/url] And this one is of Mugen. Yayah! So those are the three individual ones. I took all of them and smurshed 'em up to make one big ole .gif. Unfortunately by saving them as a .gif, image quality went way down. And I mean WAY down. Anywho Here it is...Let me tell you though... let it finish downloading before you actually watch it. If you don't, the last bunch of slides will look really bad. On my computer it took a while to finish. That might be because it is 1.61 Mb. ^__^" [url="http://www.freewebs.com/rockemsockem/Champloo!.gif"]Right here[/url]

Meh. It seems interesting. Not expecting to win or anything like that. But it might be fun... Here is one of my best pieces to date... [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=19225[/img]

Yeah. That new border looks awesome. The grey border on the inside is cool. I like how you did that. I think the borders add more style to the banner, and they just look plain spiffy. ^__^ I'm glad you decided to remove teh "Emme888" text because I was really unsure of how you could tie that in. Even when I wrote the comment in the first place I was thinking of where you could put it, but I came up blank. I really like the new version too! It looks wonderful. Way to go! ^__~

I generally hate banners like this. A lot of words in teh background with more words on the foreground. It all seems so crowded... But in this case. .... [b]I love it[/b]. I can't explain what makes this one different, but it just seems more appealing to me than normal. I like how you have layered the picture and the words. It creates an interesting visual appeal. Also I like the topmost statement and its hilarity. It works well with the background text. It is a bit taxing on the eyes to read though. Technically speaking, this may not be your best banner ever, but I do think that this one, however simple, really shows off your style as an artist. Creating a banner such as this expresses you as the artist, not an anime, as seen in various other banners. And what is better than something that showcases you? ^__^ Two things realy quick things that I think will help you improve this banner. I think the placement of the text "Emme888" is off. It is a bit unreadable there, so I would suggest moving it to someplace else, or taking it out all together. The next is the border. I think I see a single pixel black border on there, but you still have alot of room left. I think perhaps a white border might add a taste of flash too it. You could also pull a color out of the picture you have on there.....hmmm maybe not. But a dark grey border might work as well. Play around with it though.

I agree with Mimmi. I love how you took ordinary photos and made them into awesome realist works of art. They are just loverly. I love the big thing with Vash on it. I have that same picture on my computer, and I have been trying to find away to use it for ages, but it seems you one-uped whatever I would have done. The background is way cool. I really like the colors. They started out kind of modest and soft, but when you added Vash (and I'm guessing more layers) they turned out to be bold and very striking. Great work. Heehee. I love that face Naruto is making. It so crazy. I really don't know what else to say. It has no flaws or problems that I can find. ^^ You're animated avi is awesome. It is just neato. I do think that the transition between the finish and beginning could be a bit smoother though. That is about all that I see that could be corrected. Way to go!!

Awesomeness..... Numero Uno: Meh...this one is ok. The picture is of les than wonderful quality. And the font isn't all that readable. I like the quote though. It is a really cute, mooshey little saying. I think it fits well with the picture. I do think something is missing though. Perhaps it is the empty black space over on the left, but it just doesn't feel complete. I'm not sure how else to express that. Numero Dos: Alright.... Now that is more like it. ^__^ Peeps do rule. I'm liking the cute little peep with a party hat. It's just so cute! I think the large bubbly text just makes it more so. That font just seems made for that banner. It's silly, and it's cute; What more do you need? Numero Tres: This one seems a bit more laid back. It is very simple, yet it does have spots where it doesn't look so simple. I like how you have faded the image of the girls into the "blocks" one. The textured effect the blocks bring in add alot to the banner. Very cool. Numero Quatro: Ohhhh....yet another animated one. Neato. For starters....I can't read that font. I'm sure teh quote is awesome, but I just can't read it. >__< The image quality is ok, not great, but still ok. The animation itself is smooth and orderly. What are those pictures from? Just one quick thing....it is 402 x 127. Did you mean for it to be that tall? All in all awesome stuff. I always enjoy looking at your art, so keep it coming! ^__^

[QUOTE] Also, I use PSP8. "Save up?" I'm 12. Not everyone's parents can afford to go out and buy 3 different programs for $200. I'm spoiled, but not that spoiled. [/QUOTE] I was unaware you used PSP8. I didn't think before I spoke. I will choose to ignore the fact that you basicly called me spoiled. But to clarify, [b]I[/b] bought those 4 programs, not my parents. [b]ME[/b]. Anyways, I am sorry that you took my comments the wrong way. The very first comment I made about agreeing with Hittokiri was a joke. I seem to forget every now and then that I don't personally kow everyone on the boards so my sarcasm is sometimes taken the wrong way. I deleted the comment since you didn't appear to take it well. You put your artwork up here for people to critique, so we did. If you didn't want people to speak the truth, you shouldn't have posted. Rereading my post, I didn't find anything that was particurly mean, but I will say I am sorry if you took it that way. I said what I thought about your art, not about you. Once again I am sorry if I said anything that you found mean or lead to the belief that I was "flaming" you.

[font=Arial][color=seagreen][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=seagreen]I would love to do it, though I realize I am probably not the most qualified. I know very little HTML code, but I am learning thanks to that handy link you provided on theotaku. ^__~ When I stumbled upon this site about a year ago, the first forum I found my way to was the art fourm. And now that I am always visiting some part of theotaku.com, I generally don't go anywhere other than there. I don't submit a lot of fan art, in fact, I don't submit any. Unfortunately, I was born with out the smallest shred of drawing abilities. Even so, I enjoy art in any form. I browse the fan art section almost every time I go to theotaku.com. I enjoy seeing the up-and-coming artists of our community submit their best and not so best works. It really is fun to just sit back and take a look at what our artists are coming up with. My favorite section is the "Original Anime" section. It takes a skilled artist to create their own characters from scratch and make them look as amazing as many of the artists here do. [/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=seagreen] [/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=seagreen]I'm not really considered an "oldie," but I do feel like I have "gotten around" so to speak in our community. I have grown to love these boards, and I think being a fan art moderator would be amazing. Ever since I was a mere n00b, I have wanted to be a mod. When I first got here, I was a bit in awe of them. I thought they were only there to keep members in line, never to just post in a thread. Then Syk critqued a piece I did in the art forum, and I realzied exactly what moderators do. They don't just do the technical stuff; they interact too. They post imput into threads just like normal members do. It takes the highest class of person to be a moderator. They have to be patient, kind, and for the most part, know what they are talking about. I feel as though I would fit in a position such as this. Although it is a huge responsibility, it seems like it would be a fun job to have. Plus it would be the single greatest thing I have ever achieved. Even if the beginning did start out a bit rocky, I think I would benefit greatly from the experience. [/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=seagreen][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=seagreen]The only thing that might even possibley get in my way of the duties of the fan art moderator is that I am still in high school. I will start my junior year this fall so time might not be all that abundant for the first few weeks of school. But I seem to always get drawn to theotaku.com at the most inoportune times....say when I am supposed to be doing school work. In fact, I think last year I posted more once school started, seeing as it was such an exciting time for everyone. I am sure it would be no problem at all. In regards to my being so young, I don't feel that it is really important. From what I have been told, I am very mature for my age. A bit nerdy at times, but still mature. [/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=seagreen][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=seagreen]You would not have to worrry about me abusing any of the powers given to me as a moderator. I would always use them wisely. [/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=seagreen][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=seagreen]In any case, I am sure that you will choose whoever is most qualified for the position. If it isn't me, then that is cool. I can understand why it wouldn't be. Any ways, good luck with all this....I'm sure it will be crazy. [/color][/font]

First Banner: That picture doesn't fit well. If you downsize anymore, it will look bad. If you move it up to see more Daisuke, you cut off Dark. Move down to see Dark, no more Daisuke. SO pretty much anyway you move it, the picture still won't look amazing here. I think you might add something, even if it is just a texture, to the background. The green just looks way too plain and boring. And the color of the text clashes horribley with the green of the background. As Hittokiri said, stick with a color scheme. And lastly standard banner size here is 500 x 100. Yours is 32 pixels too tall. Second Banner: Hmmm....It looks like all you did was take some random DNAngel picture and crop it then add some beveled edges. Bad move. Generally, banners aren't that special or adored if they are just stocks with borders. Anyways, my first piece of advice for this particular piece is to loose the bevel. Bevels make [b]almost everything[/b] they touch look tacky and crappy. As you can tell, I'm not a big fan. Also when you add in a character to an image, such as how you did here with the second Dark, fade them. When I first saw it, I simply wondered why there were two Darks. It made no sense. If you take a different picture of Dark, and fade it into this one it would look way better. And lastly this one is 45 pixels too high. Third Banner: Oh........ Ummm.....This one needs loads of work. First off, the images should be cropped. As I stated earlier, don't just take a stock and shove it on something. It looks unprofessional and tacky. Also like I already said, bevels aren't too great. And once again, as I said above, work on text colors. You can barely read the text, and in some places you just can't. Stick with just one simple, readable color. Don't do that crazy Rainbow gradient mess. You can almost never read it. And those sun rays just detract from your banner. They don't look very pretty. I'm a bit unsure of why you have text about Kagome and Kikyo, but you have a picture of Kaoru from RK on there? Oh, and on this one you were 27 pixels over. Fourth Banner: Heh....it doesn't work.....sillly Hittokiri..... Fifth Banner: Urps. Once agin you did nothing but crop an image. No good. The image quality is really low. It looks like a screen cap.....which would explain the crappiness. It's nice not to see a bevel on there, but it definitely needs some type of border. Preferably just a single pixel one. Also the gradient text doesn't work here. It just look plain tacky. And on this one you are 50 pixels too tall. My main advice to you is that if you wish to keep on doing stuff like this and move on to things that are more technical and more amazing, you need to invest in a good program that will allow you to do so. My personal choice is Paint Shop Pro 8, but it doesn't have alot of the things that many other programs do. Go for that or something from Adobe or even Photo Shop. Many of these programs run for upwards of $100. I know you are thinking "I'm only 13!?!? How am I supposed to afford that???!!!" Well I am only 15, and I have multiple programs like this. [b][i][u]Save up!!!![/u][/i][/b] That is the key. ^__^ If you go out and buy one of these, you can only improve, trust me. The key things you need to work on are text placement, text colors, adding cropped images to a background that isn't just one color, and size. I think the most important thing is size. Once you start getting used to a background that is 500 x 100 or smaller, you won't have to worry about them being to big. For me, making a banner that isn't that size feels.....wrong somehow. Or if you want to use larger images and backgrounds, try making some wallpapers. It is pretty much the same as making banners. Also quality images are a [u]must[/u]!

That is pretty good. The background is great. I like how you have made the background have that same grain effect as the picture. It makes it look like a manga scan. Really cool. That background is awesome though. It's all swirly and stuff. Great work!

*stupidness* When I first opened it, I didn't realize it was an animation.... I thought Kinetic was going crazy.....calling it an animation....Silly Haze. Anyways, It looks great. I kind of like the simple background. Maybe just a texture or something to spice it up, but it looks nice either way. I love looking at your stuff. I have always admired the simplicity you bring in and how you seem to create animations with such ease. The animations are always smooth and lovely, as seen here. I like the effect you used to bring the text out. It's like the other words were hiding behind "Hittokiri Zero." Very cool indeed. On a side note, what is that font you are using? I have always thought it looks so neat, but I have never seen any font like it.

[QUOTE=ReFlux][color=green][size=1] Uh Oh... Little Uzumaki Naruto, already gettin' the girls attention. Go Boy! J/K.[/size][/color][/QUOTE] And what is that supposed to mean?! :mad: Just kidding... You don't do wallpapers alot so it is nice to see one from you. I really like the background. How on earth do you make those? Brushes? Vectors? Please, tell us your secret! LOL The text and bars really look great. They add alot. I have no idea how you cropped that, but it seems like you did what I used to do. It looks like you used a background eraser with a high feather. The way parts of his body are transparent, while others aren't strengthens my case. And then there is that place where his hand is completely missing..... I don't know what is up with the cropping. It has always been my strong personal opinion that Rock Lee is very very feminine. I mean those eyelashes! Anyways, this picture only supports my belief. And as ReFlux said, it is very Snow White-like.

Lovely as ever, Uzumaki. I guess I can start at the ones from the first Sasuke banner. It looks really good. My only problem is the font. It is too pixellated for me. Everything else looks amazing. I Loooooooove those two from Saiyuki!!! I told you before they are great. I like how most of your banners have that bar on them...it sets them apart from all other people's banners. The AIM one is.........why did you make a banner for AIM? SIlly question I suppose, but hey, gotta ask. The background is really spiffy. Once again, though, the text doesn't work all that well. You can't make out alot of it. *sigh* Spike, Spike, Spike....what an awesome guy. This one looks amazing. That background rocks. I might suggest making the blocks a bit smaller though. The edges on his left side look blurry to me. It's like you used blur on that side only. Other than that it looks great. The darkness of his picture fits a little bit with his personality at times. The Itachi banner is.......WHOA! I love it. The reds and blacks swirled about fit with everything I have heard about him. The faded picture on the left adds a lot to it. The cut boxes look great. Once again, they are like your signiture. I like how they aren't plain black; they let the background and Itachi show through....only in lback and white. Neat idea. This banner has become my new favorite! ^__^ P.S. I started d/l the first episode of Naruto today! I am so excited. You would think I would have done it earlier....say around the time the Naruto Group started...

I got that picture from some website...can't remember which. For Baron, I redid the banner. I made it "thinner" and changed the text. I also solarized it, and it looked pretty neat. So both are attatched. Which one should I use?

I think it looks pretty good. I love that orange and red scheme. It works really well. On the avi it looks as though the top border is larger than the rest of them. Also Mamimi looks a bit blurry. And the only other thing is that you can't really see the word "firestarter." Awesome font by the way... I like the banner lots. I like how the picture look like a manga scan...is it? That picture is very pretty. My only suggestion for the banner would be to make "[Naru]" smaller. Not by alot. Maybe just a font size for two. They both look really great!

*hits forhead* CRAPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I suppose that everything will be ok since I am about to change. x__x I found this picture of this girl.....and I don't know who she is.... I NEED to know! It is killing me. She is so kawaii. *cough* Anyways...yeah. I took into mind what yousaid about the blue and the green not working well (or whatever that was that you said) on myOtaku, and I decided that I want something blue, not green. It's a girl's perogative to change her mind though. *nods* I think this one looks better than the other one. The background doesn't seem so.....bad....and.....ugly....yeah. Why "Look Out For That Blue Sky"? I dunno. I have no idea where that came from.

Erm... I thought that was his tongue... I agree with James. Everything looks really good. I love how you have that shiney part in his hair. It adds alot. Also the shading on the shirt rocks. I really like that soft glow that you have around the headphones. It's all those little details that make this picture look amazing. I have no idea how people can do stuff like that. It is amazing! I think that maybe something white and red with that same "techno" design that is on the headphones might look good for the background. Just a bunch of those lines and dogts and stuff. I'm not sure.....but I'm really loving those headphones! X__x Great job!!!

For you non-spanish speakers, that is "two projects." Name of the thread explains all. I have a web-page header, which will go on mO, and a banner. I want some critique. The first is the header. The guy is from War of Genesis. I made the background by putting about 9 images together and messing with their opacity. The text got a little fuzzy, I'm not sure why though. It says "The Spring Time Fiasco, staring Haze." It reminded me of some old movie, don't know why. So I gave it a movie title. *is odd* I want to know what you think. The banner is my new favorite. I blended about 4 images for this one. I originally created to be the background on a Star Ocean EX banner for someone, but I was never able to fully crop those stupid people. So I cut them out of it and made it my own. ^^ The text "Stand Back" is from the song by Phantom Planet. Enjoy.

Just a little something I made for my sig. I spent roughly 2 hours on and off on it. It is once again the product of many many many layers. 12 to be exact. I felt like something new in my sig....none of the same-old-same-old (not that the banner Uzamaki made me wasn't gorgeous or anything). I wanted something.....purple. :p Purple is my latest love. So here it goes. I want to know what [i]you[/i] think of it. Love it? Hate it? Tell me.

I hope you don't mind that I tried as well. It is fairly simple, yet I think it is kind of nice. I used your picture after several (failed) attempts to find some more decent ones. ^^ I hope you like it. Also if you want anything changed, let me know. E D I T: I fixed the little banner problem, so the banner should come up now.

[color=orange]Whew! Finally done with this. I have spent the last 2 (ish) hours on this one. I pretty much just took a lot of photos from the beach, pipes, construction sites, and people then blended them all together. Defintely one of my favorite pieces. This is the first time I have EVER done anything like this so I am pretty proud of it. [/color] [color=orange] [/color] [color=orange]I have been trying to figure out how to do stuff like this ever since I got PSP8. I hate to admit it, but I don't really know how to fully use it. I realized after making this that I barely use it at all. In fact, I didn't even know you could make things trasparent in it until a couple of days ago. Someone was telling me how they made some graphic and they mentioned the opacity level of the layer. I was shocked that you can do that! Needless to say,I have been practicing. ;) [/color] [color=orange] [/color] [color=orange]There are a few things I would like to clear up before you look at the picture.[/color] [list=1] [*][color=orange]The block of text is supposed to be blurry in some spots.[/color] [*][color=orange]The diagonal lines are wider than all the other ones. I found that keeping them the same size caused them to get lost in all of the straight, horizontal lines of the background and grid. So I made them larger. [/color] [*][color=orange]The block of text is from Ralph Ellison's [i]Invisible Man[/i]. It says:[/color] [/list][indent][i][color=orange]All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naive. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself.[/color][/i] [/indent][color=orange]So I hope you like it. C & C welcome and appreciated. Enjoy![/color] [color=orange] [/color]

Neato!!! Those are really nice looking. I really like the effect you used with the eyes on all of them. That white-glow is very haunting. Good stuff. I love the grid effect. How do you do that? ^^ I kind of enjoy the simplicity of all of the avi's. They are clean and smooth. I like the banner too. The font is perfect for the whole feel of things. I also like that you can just barely see a bit of texture to the background. I can't really say much else other than an endless stream of compliments. So there you have it!

*laughs* I have Animation Shop 3 too. ^^ It is different from what I have used before, but pretty good. Anywho... I'm diggin' it. I love the background. How did you make that?? Just a bunch of layers on top of each other? Rock Lee is sooooooooooo cool!!! His hair is nice. ^^ I really like how you have made one strip run through with that lighter color. I would, however, like to see the lines a bit darker and the stuff inside the box lighter. You can barely tell that they are different. I think it is a neat effect so you need to show it off a bit more. Also I donot like the text. It is simple, yes. But a bit too simple. The font gets overlooked, which I suppose is the point. But it is just.....so simple. It is nice to see you are posting things here instead of just sending them over AIM. ^__~

LOL.sorry about that. I read it as the effect was already in Adobe Photoshop. ^^" So now I have a question. I have looked around for it, but have come up with nothing. Does anyone know of a place that I can find a tutorial to creat 3D Crystals and those little Swirls for Paint Shop Pro 8? As I said, I have looked and found squat. I appreciate any/all replies. ^^

[size=2]Thank you both! ^__^ I really appreciate it. Godel....silly silly Godel.... swirlie text roxors![/size] [font=Verdana][size=2]This next one was a pain in my tail. I originally did it and saved as a .jpg. Big Mistake! So I had to go back and redo [i][u]everything[/u][/i] and save as a .png.. Not cool. Unfortunately the background image is not fully mine. I took another person's and "spiffed" it up a bit. But the crystals are definitly not mine. (Speaking of Crystals does anyone know where to get a PSP8 tutorial for them?) I like the colors and the girl. [/size][/font] [font=Verdana][size=2]I have no idea who that girl is. I wish I did, but I don't. Also the funky text says "Love Me." [/size][/font] [font=Verdana][size=2]This one is simple....just not as simple as the other one. ^^[/size][/font]