Retribution

[SIZE=1]Thank you, both, for the comments. I'll keep them in mind next time I write a story. I'm pleased that you two enjoyed this story, and I'll try to type up a few more of my stories to post in the Anthology.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]The erectile dysfunction commericals piss me off, because they're so awkward to sit through, and don't come out and say what they mean. Same thing goes for those tampon/sanitary pad commericals. Only those are worse. Because they never, ever say anything about menstruation or periods or what not. They rarely have the pad, but [I]if you're lucky[/I], they'll show you the tampon. >_>[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Hmm... well, I'm using Photoshop CS. I find it funny that CS 2 is not only harder to use (as far as texting goes), but there's less to work with than CS, or whatever you were running. Here's the steps I follow to make a .gif transparent. [1] Save file as [B].gif[/B]. It won't work otherwise. [2] The prompt "Indexed Colors" should come up. When it does, make sure you have the following settings (They work for me all the time...) [I]Pallete:[/I] Local (Selective) [I]Colors:[/I] 256 (I don't think this matters much though.) [I]Forced:[/I] Black and White (I don't think this matters much either. Transparency: Checked on. [I]Matte:[/I] This really doesn't matter. You actually get some awesome effects depending on what it's set on. *makes mental note of this* [I]Dither:[/I] Diffusion [I]Amount:[/I] 75% [I]Preserve Exact Colors:[/I] Checked on, unless you want a messed-up banner. I'm hoping your version has the same options to select. Hit save. Then, another prompt [should] appear. Select "Normal." I dunno what "Interlaced" does, and it probably doesn't matter. I'm just giving you the way that works for me. The file should now be saved. If it's still white, either I messed up, the programs aren't the same, or your background was white, and not checkered (Like it's supposed to be, to represent transparency). I hope it works for you -- it came out looking like this for me: [IMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/retri_trib/Revolution.gif[/IMG] --- Now I crit your banners, mu-ha. [b]Type Revolution[/b] is good. I like the colors scheme and the stock placement. Everything matches, but the only thing bothering me is the little pixel-font, a wanna be Pac-Man imitation which seems to have nothing to do with the banner's theme. I also don't like how you added in hyphens to break up "Revolution." It messes with the word flow, and in general looks less appealing that if it were without them. Did you use the font "04b_21" or something like that? I have it. ^_^ [b]Radiate Happiness[/b] has skillful image extraction, yet again. I don't like the color clash. The girl has a yellow thing going on, while the banner is mostly green. Maybe you should fix it so that the girl's highlights are less yellow, and more green? The next problem is the line on top of the standard banner area. It's kinda white, and lowers the quality of the finished product. But I loooove the background and the typography. What font did you use? I need that one. And did you use brushing for the cloud-like patch on the left? Looks awesome. [B]Time to Lead//Time to Follow[/B] was probably the lowest of the bunch, as far as quality and aesthetics go. I know it was your intention to make the image blurry and such, but it ended up looking confusing and messy. The blood in the background looks pretty rushed, and needs more patches in the coloring so I can see that it's actually blood, and not a solid red background. The only thing giving it away is the speckles of blood on the left side. Finally, the general rule on banners is all-or-nothing in regard to borders. There is occasionally one who can pull it off well (coughjamescough), but usually it looks confusing and incomplete. Check out Rising Sun's brushy Naruto banner to see what I mean. I love the way the expression matches the bloody hands in the background, and you really ran with the theme of sadness or whatever... I can't finish the post now, but know that I love your last banner. ^_^[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Well, to be honest I can't read the text. At all. So I'd recommend picking more contrasting colors, take away the bevel (that's what made it 3-d), and use an outer-glow/stroke to define the words more. Aside from that, try to make things flow together. I can't really offer much critique, as it's just a stage all graphic designers go through. When colors don't quite fit, and the font seems awkward. Look at banners you revere, and try to analyze what they're doing that you're not. Try to duplicate those effects. Read tutorials! Those help too. G'luck on all your future projects.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]It's about the Matrix. I was hoping these things could be subtle, but I'll go out and say them, as the very understanding of the piece is at stake. "One lost in the sea of zeros" Think binary code. A one carries data, while the zeros do not. Perhaps one could read so far as "the One." He is important, while others in comparision are not. He is lost among them. "Trace carrier anomaly" Means that somehow his code was irrational. This appears in the Animatrix with the house that made stuff float. Once the house was destroyed, a green prompt came up saying "Anomally Terminated" or something similar. Meaning ... the man was killed, if his irrational signal is terminated. The voice he hears is a voice coming from the "Real World." People in the Real World were telling him to run to the phone. I'm very sorry that none of this was obvious enough. My fault as the author. And no, this was meant to be a short story. Meaning no more to it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Forgive me if I seem overly harsh in the following post. I don't intend to be mean/snobby/pissy or whatever else you may want to call me. Or maybe I'm just being overly apologetic. [b]Banner 1[/b] it looks alright. I don't like the size of it, or the filter you used. It's a little too simple for my taste, and the checkers are a bit overwhelming in their sheer multitude. I don't like the cloud much either. It's a white whisp on a purple background. But the purple is good -- I like the color scheme to this. Mellow and calming. But the typography doesn't fit, as the word "Summer" isn't in a good font, and could be placed better if the image were smaller. [b]Banner 2[/b] I'd wager this is your best banner. I don't like the smeary look, and you've lost alot of vital details. It's good that the mouth is gone, as it was smiling and would give this a happy feel. But in the process, it seems that the chin as this ... tan-ish dribble coming out of nowhere. I'd get rid of that, and add in a small mouth, so she doesn't look so ... empty. The typography on this I can't see. The purple is too close to the other shades of blue and black, and gets lost amid all the colors. Go to Blending Options > Stroke OR Outer Glow, and play around with those to give your word more shape. Either that, or just change the color. Finally, the font is lacking. I trust you've heard of [B][url]www.dafont.com[/url][/B], but in case you haven't, they have a great many fonts for free. [b]Banner 3[/b] is pretty low-quality. The background is too defined, and doesn't flow well. The blues should go together ... maybe smearing would work. Another option is just applying the filter(s) to the stock (whatever image your modifying). What I said about banner 1's font/typography stands for this as well. [b]Banner 4[/b] is probably the lowest of the four banners. I can't really make out the girl, and the background is pixelated. The typography's colors don't match the rest of the banner, and it feels messy in general. [b]Avatar 1[/b] is good, but the font doesn't work. I have the feeling of smoothness and confusion radiating from the stock. You didn't edit this one much, but sometime's simplicity is key. [b]My recommendations:[/b] I'm no expert, so take my word for a grain of salt. But I think you could improve in the following ways. [1] [I]Use more than one filter per-banner.[/I] Don't be afraid to mess up, or all the banners will look relatively plain and boring. Triumph is sweetest after many defeats. [2] [I]Use fonts that will compliment the mood of the banner.[/I] For instance, "Bambino" or "Billo" (I think) may have been good choices for such a happy girl. [3] [I]Banner clarity.[/I] It was something lacking in these, and you should try to make sure all your images are crisp and non-pixelated. Make sure you save all your banners on high quality settings for that. [4] [I]Borders.[/I] These make the world go 'round, giving definition to the banner's size. Try different sizes, colors, and stuff like that. [5] [I]Backgrounds.[/I] This is the hardest thing I've named so far. Read a bunch of tutorials, and incorperate different steps together for different effects. This'll allow you to change the mood of a banner, or customize it completely. I wish you good luck on all your creative endeavors. ^_^[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]As a side note, you can make the image's background transparent, rather than trying to match its background with that of OB's. Yes, I saw it. lol. You can do that by cutting out the colored part so you have the checkered background in Photoshop, and save it as a .gif file, which is the only type that supports transparency. And my god, Dela. You're awesome, and Rising Sun and I (Yes, I'm gonna speak for him too) aren't close to graphic gods. It warms me that you find me like that though. Actually, it is I who should be worshipping your image extraction, abstract background, and general cleanliness of this work. Only think you could/should improve is the typography, which is kinda hard to read. But ... why am I critiquing a work of praise to me? I'm such a loser... [B]it looks fab.[/B] You're pretty good too, and you're learning faster than I. You prodigy, you. ^_^ I also like how "Tribute" can be "[B]Trib[/B]ute." I'm assuming just more of the natural Dela-crafiness. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Looks good, and you're on the right track. Simplicity is always a plus, as it's easier to work with smaller, simplified components rather than some grand masterpiece with small things moving about. However, I think you could've picked a better image to have of Death Scythe. And the beveled, yellow border I don't like much either. Try a black, one pixel thick border and see the difference. Also, try duplicating the layer of Death Scythe, and messing around with the blending options. It may not work for a picture as dark as this, but it'll do wonders for others. Try it sometime. [B]EDIT:[/B] I just threw together an example of what I mean. This one consists of a border, text, and a cropped picture. The border's nothing fancy. This isn't to show off, if that's what you think it is. This is just an example of how minimal space and other elements can actually make things look better. [IMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/retri_trib/worldscollide.jpg[/IMG] PS: You're getting better and better each banner. Go-get'em![/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Like Boo said, I don't like many of the fonts much. But ... I'll give some analysis. Since the banners are all the same (minus the font), I'm only gonna post one paragraph. Personally, I don't like the stock too much, but that's a minor detail. The major problem with me is how large the banner is (kinda big, if you ask me), the border (again, a bit too big), the texture, and black bar going across the back. The bar is an admirable attempt at placing the font, which was probably the right idea considering the stock and texture you used. But no matter, the bar interrupts the general flow of the piece. Which leads me to my next point -- the overall texture of these are somewhat grainy, maybe even unintentional noise. Finally, the font for the banners (more specifics). The first banner, I can see why he didn't like this. The cursive doesn't fit the emotion the stock is portraying. Does this guy look happy or elegant? No. The second banner is getting warmer, but the color isn't working for you. I'd recommend changing the color to what the background is. It would make this match better. The third banner's font isn't centered (vertically) on the bar, and I don't like the font so much. I think you need to download some more fonts, and pick what looks good (i.e., matching the emotion). I trust that you know of [B]dafont.com[/B]. [B]Final Suggestions:[/B] Make the stock larger, better quality, scrap the background, and a font to match. (Sorry, I lied about the one paragraph thing at the beginning). Keep up the work![/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Crit is a big, big help to me. Considering nearly no one posts on my Anthology topics, I would really enjoy a [I]few[/I] comments. [SIZE=2][B][U]Contact Lost[/U][/B][/SIZE] He was a lucky one, lost in the sea of zeros. It, therefore, was no surprise that he readily conformed to society?s structure, and shackled his mind to his paper pushing AM to PM job. On a walk home at 10:15 PM, when he got out of work, he got his first taste of freedom. It was dark, nearly impossible to see without the aid of the streetlights casting their beacons on the small patch of ground below it. As he rounded the final corner on his journey home, a dark patch of motion came to his attention. It was a person, who had just walked into a deserted apartment; vacant because of a fire some months ago. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he realigned his path to coincide wit the building, and heightened his pace to a brisk walk. He hesitated once he reached the door, but forced himself to brave the darkness. ?I?m here.? He heard the words coming from the next room, and immediately after heard a clatter break the ominous silence. Moments later, two men wearing heavily starched suits kicked in the door, wielding pistols of some sort. His hand immediately shot up, reaching for air. [Run to the phone.] The voice echoed throughout his skull, sounding like a voice from God. At the moment, the voice felt more persuasive than the lead-spitting steel held by the men. Reluctantly, he lowered his arms, and with his back to the men, walked into the next room. ?Sir, do not move, or we will shoot.? The receive danged from the small coffee table, swinging back and forth like a hanged man swaying in the breeze. He picked it up. [B][[Contact lost 22:20:03 PM EST ? trace carrier anomaly terminated]][/B][/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]A soldier is expected to die for the mission when in a combat situation. They're 'wind-up soldiers,' so to speak, not questioning the reason they're fighting for. Yes, they're expected to die for the the President believes in, and quite frankly, your opinion doesn't matter. And I would die for something I didn't believe in. [B]If and only if[/B] I knew it was the morally correct thing to do, but I didn't believe in doing it. For instance, if I were a soldier and didn't want to kill someone because it goes against my morals (which I "believe in"), if and only if I knew it was the correct moral thing to do.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I love Chipotle Burritos. They're what God eats when he gets tired of answering prayers. He puts the prayers on hold, and eats his Chipotle. I can cook very few foods. Here's the list: Fettuccini Alfredo Spagetti Chinese Stir Fry Lemon Chicken Fried Rice (who can't? lmao) [B]Instant Ramen.[/B][/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Hardtop Lamborguini Diablo. Or an '05 Mitsubishi Eclipse. I love those sporty, yet luxurious cars. Realistically though, I'd want a Mitsubishi Lancer (gotta

[SIZE=1]Actually, I don't have any crit at all. This looks like it'd be SNES or Genesis material, probably better than half of the sprites depicted in those games. If you have the time, maybe a side-shot for a platformer or something might be interesting. Unfortunately, I'm not about to try to sprite. I don't find it interesting, but I'm glad you do.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][QUOTE=AzureWolf][COLOR=blue]pdf's are great for things like music and other documents because they can never be edited. Sure, you can have the non-pdf version of a file, edit that, and then convert to a pdf, but when you do that, the original creator can prove that that isn't the version or pdf he/she gave. Once it's a pdf, you are safe in knowing that the document you submitted will not be tampered with. So, if you give something to a website, no one is going to play around with it. Senny always sends all his pictures to me in pdf form, although I'm not sure why. O_o I'm not a criminal, Senny![/COLOR][/QUOTE] Actually, this is not true. You'll have to take my word for it though ... it's too large to upload. >_> One can easily edit this puppies with Photoshop CS+ (maybe even lower, I'm not sure).[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Did you create the head of the people? I know you stole the body from Bass of Mega Man, and only recolored part of it, so technically you didn't make these completely. The heads look alright, but C's head is stolen from Mega Man himself, with recolored hair. I can see a jacket that's original (I think so, at least), so that's a plus. You've done well with these... except for ripping Bass' wings/body. Next time, try to create a spring 100% your own.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]As far as I know... a pdf file is an Adobe Acrobat file, used for reading images and such. How and why would you convert music into information?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][QUOTE=Godess Of Water][CENTER]I really don't know what group i fall into :animedepr . I have friends but i am not popular. Any ways who would want to be popular. with all thoose brain less followers. If u r popular doesn't that mean that everyone only wants to be your friend beacuse of that. i mean how r u ever going to find a true soul mate or best friend when everyone is only your friend because u r popular. u know. i guess i fall under normal if that is a group. A normal girl that likes to draw, watch anime and takes band because her parents make her (which is a total waste of time if u ask me), no offense if u r in band but band is sort of not my thing. i like it now only because i grew into it but it is still a waste of time But thats just me :catgirl: bye :animesmil :blush: ~*~Ally~*~:rotflmao:[/CENTER] [/QUOTE]Could someone remind me why being popular is now a social sin? Heh. Just because you're popular doesn't mean that you have a flock of mindless followers, or that you're a prep and mean to everyone who's different. It means that you have friends. Everything else is just a [B]stereotype[/B]. Ironic, eh? Sure, everyone technically can fall into their 'own group,' but at some level or another, we're not all completely unique and share characteristics with other people. These characteristics are what group us into these 'catagories' or whatever you'd like to call them. They aren't (rarely, actually) always accurate, but they're there all the same. Whether you know it or not, we're all part of one catagory or another. We're not all "normal" or "just me" or something else like that. Please don't misinterpret this post as me trying to justify labeling. Think of this more of a rant towards those who just consider themselves independent of all catagorizing done in the social arena.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]A very intriguing way you've blended in the stock. I especially like how the shirt is almost part of the background (which looks like a wall). But, I don't like his head, and how it's covered up by random grungy things. Maybe if you extracted his head, and put it above the rest of the layers, it would look better? Just a thought. Finally, the font is pretty good, but I don't like how it's placed. Maybe it's being nit-picky, but "Tech N9ne" should be lined up with "Anghellic," to make things more organized. I must admit, I don't like the font for "Anghellic," but I love "Tech N9ne"s. What did you use for it? This banner makes me want to give overlaying and soft lighting a chance. Heh. Good banner.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting... Assuming this is supposed to be a fun banner, I'm not gonna really be all that harsh. It looks pretty good, and the concept is original which is the most important. The typo is nice and colorful, but the best part is the "13." I have to say though, I don't like the black space in the middle, or the "I'm a RADICAL" much. Hehe. Happy Birthday. :p [IMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/retri_trib/parody.jpg[/IMG] [B]Much love.[/B] Hehe.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][quote name='Hittokiri Zero']I'm not sure why you've been going around telling people to explicity NOT use brushes. There is a fine line between "abuse" and "use". Brushes are a great way to save time and create an effect with less of a random approach to it. Granted I don't think you should download brushes and haphazardly place them around your image, what I generally end up doing with my grunge brushes (both those I have made and downloaded) is I place them around an image using the parts that I want and then use the eraser tool to make each brush stroke/placement "unique".[/quote]It appears I was not clear in my post. Sorry. What I meant to say was that by downloading some other person's brushes you're only hurting yourself. You lack ingeniuity, creativity, and style by using someone else's brushes. Custom brushes are quite alright, as they are made by yourself, and therefore are creative. Besides, no one's even crediting the site from which they got the brushes from. I'm pretty sure on all the sites that let you download brushes, it says "Give me credit." I do not see a link in the post to the site, so it seems as if he/she's saying "I made this all by myself," rather than "I got help from (link)." The only thing that gave me a clue was that he/she said "Point me in the direction of some nice brushes," so I made an assumption.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I'd say both are pretty hot-stuff. [b]Avatar[/b] is pretty good. I think the stock is what makes it so awesome, but the text you added in makes it look even better. But I don't like the font you used for "HZ." [b]Banner[/b] is even better, probably because of the font placement. Again, I don't see my editing, but sometimes that's a good thing. I [B]love[/B] the font that you used for "HittokiriZero" and "02." What are their names?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][quote name='Ima]I for one do indeed like it. I am not a Art Major or anything but I do think it blends well, I do not care for the avatar it dose not fit and the girl just seems out of place. But it looks quite nice. And I must say one thing if it looks good to [B]YOU[/B] and [B]YOU[/B'] enjoy it then it really dosen't matter what others think.[/quote]If that's the case, why should you or anyone else post their art online for crit? If you only care about your own opinion, don't share your art.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I'm not going to go searching, but search on Google for "Image Gallery Downloads" or something of the sort. I remember having the same problem, and having it dealt with by this program "Qdig" or something like that. Sorry I can't offer any more specifics. I do know that when you find it, you'll be a very happy person, as all you have to do is assign it a folder, and it will turn all the images in the assigned folder into thumbnails.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]The war continues, lol... You shouldn't use brushes because it makes you look really awesome, when you're not. I mean, any 8 year old kid can click here and there to slap on some pre-made brush. It takes actually [b]skill and talent[/b] to make your own effects and experiment, and [I]god forbid[/I] fail a few times. If you hadn't made that with brushes, I'd salute you, and possibly bow down to you. Considering you just reaped the fruit of someone else's labor, you get a "try again." I can see you at least have an eye for art.[/SIZE]