Art First attempt at a banner

[Zephyr]

First off I must say thanks to AzureWolf for giving me a few tips for making banners.

As stated in the subject this is my first banner, and despite my lack of skill with Photoshop 5.5 I think that it came out fairly well. As you should be able to tell it is a .Hack banner with two pictures of Aura and two of the church. The center picture of Arua was placed over the joint between the two other pictures, where I made a mistake I could not figure out how to reverse (until it was too late to fix it). :sweat: I wish I could say I worked long and hard on this banner, but in reality it was an hour-long game of "What does this button do?" :p

Since it is my first try, and I like it, that means that drinks are on me. :beer:

[techgirl_eva02]

lovely work for a first attempt, it's nice. I like the whole feel

[klinanime1]

Awesome, awesome, very well done. Great first attempt, and I love the pics you used and how you placed them.

[Zephyr]

Thanks for the compliments. I was almost worried at first that the Arua pictures would have been too bright in comparison to the background. I only wish the words at the top appeared brighter in the attachment. I cannot figure out why they seemed to have changed. They stood out very well in Photoshop.

[OtakuSennen]

Hehe, nice job for a first time, Black_Phoenix. I like the "feel" of the banner as well.

Though I do think that you may want to change the color of the text in the upper left hand corner. It is sorta hard to read on the dark background. And also, I think that it would have been a little more professional-looking if you did more of a gradual fade from the Auras to the dark background. It sort of makes them stand out a little too much. ^_^ Though that is a good thing if you intended that.

[b]8.7/10[/b]

Nice attempt, nice job.

[AzureWolf]

To make words stand out more, you should add an outline (if that's possible in Photoshop 5.5 :therock: ). You'll notice in almost all of my banners, I have some kind of outline for the text, whether it be subtle or bold. I recommend either a red or black outline (subtle one) for the words on the upper left.

[Zephyr]

[quote]
To make words stand out more, you should add an outline (if that's possible in Photoshop 5.5)
[/quote]

I will have to see if that is possible. I did not see anything for it, but I was not exactly looking for a way at the time, so I may have missed it. If all else fails there is a CD somewhere around here with Photoshop 7 (I just have to find and install it).

[quote]
And also, I think that it would have been a little more professional-looking if you did more of a gradual fade from the Auras to the dark background. It sort of makes them stand out a little too much. ^_^ Though that is a good thing if you intended that.
[/quote]

I have not figured that part out yet. :p To avoid the look of a picture just being pasted over the background I used the Blur tool to blur the edges a little. It does create a slight fade effect, but not the best.

[~Mystical Pan~]

Nice for a first try. My only complaints would be the text and the way the images are merged. While it's not bad, the text could use more work with coloring and the font itself. They don't fit with the background at all. The background has this dark feel while the text is isn't. They do fit nicely if the banner had only been of those two character images.

Also, like OtakuSennen, said the images stand out a bit too much. I would recommend try to start with simple banners with no more than 1 character image and learn to use the filters. You'd be amazed what one can do with ONLY filters, a couple of layers, and one image.

Still though, it's pretty good for a first try. My first try was HORRIBLE. OO;