Art James's Banners

[James]

[color=#707875]Well, here I am, creating one of those funky "banner threads".

I guess I'm creating this thread mainly because a few people have asked about some of my banners. And since I'm using a random image script...you obviously see a different one at a different time.

So, I thought I'd show them all here at once, rather than having them rotated.

I guess that these banners all have a similar theme in some regards. They are mostly based on a Mik Sang style of photography. Mik Sang is where you basically crop out a section of a larger image, to convey its "essence". Some images follow this line more strictly while others don't. And some don't follow any principle at all -- they're just fun/silly images that I produced.

So, here they are. I'll label what they relate to above each one.


Viewtiful Joe
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/candystripes.jpg[/img]

Final Fantasy X-2
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/cityofruinsnew.jpg[/img]

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/ffvii2banner.gif[/img]

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/ffVIIbanner2.jpg[/img]

Go-Go Yubari (Kill Bill)
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/go-goyubaribanner.jpg[/img]

Go-Go Yubari (Kill Bill)
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/gogoyubaribanner2.gif[/img]

Final Fantasy X-2
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/greatcavernnew.jpg[/img]

Kill Bill
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/killbillbanner1.jpg[/img]

Kill Bill
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/killbillbanner2.jpg[/img]

Kill Bill
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/killbillbanner3.gif[/img]

The Matrix: Revolutions
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/revolutionsbanner1.jpg[/img]

The Matrix: Revolutions
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/revolutionsbanner2.jpg[/img]

The Matrix: Revolutions
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/revolutionsbanner3.jpg[/img]

The Matrix: Revolutions
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/revolutionsbanner4.jpg[/img]

The Matrix: Revolutions
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/revolutionsbanner5.jpg[/img]

SSX3
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/ssxbanner.jpg[/img]

Viewtiful Joe
[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/VJ2.jpg[/img]

Generally speaking, my editing on these images is pretty light. However, the edits that I [i]do[/i] make are very specific.

Lately I've been focusing on editing colour/midtone/shadow quite a lot. I think that some of the subtle (sometimes very major) effects created by this can be really unique.

I've changed a lot of these images around also. I used to have a few others that aren't there anymore...and I'll probably keep adding/replacing them over time. I've done this because I can never settle on one banner -- the random image code has been very useful to me in this regard. I'm too fickle; I can't ever settle on one thing. So, I just keep adding simple things that spark my interest now and then. ^_^[/color]

[AzureWolf]

This should definately be a sticky or something, because your banners always bothered me. I could never figure out what you were doing, and I'm glad you explained. Haha, makes a lot more sense now.

They are all nice, but I have a question about that Final Fantasy one with Cloud's lower face in it: what's with the pixelated thing going on in it? I personally think it shouldn't be pixelated.

[James]

[color=#707875]My banners always bothered you? *gasp!* Hehe.

Um...the pixelated thing is really just an experiment with overlay and colour changes. I created a grid over the image and then I "filled in" specific squares. I wanted to do something weird...simply because the base picture had been used by so many people before.

I've tried to go with a different style for each banner generally -- in terms of colours and effects and so on.[/color]

[KittyLynn]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=dodgerblue]Jamison's banners are definately very good ^^ I love them all, especially the purple Advent Children one, the animated Kill Bill one and the Blue Matirx one ^^. No one really uses purple and everything in it just blends so well. The animated Kill Bill one is awesome, I think, because its different, and it's just very good looking. And the Matrix one is also awesome, because you finally used a different colour then green. Everyone uses green when they do a Matrix banner, and personally I've had enough ~^. I see enough green grass, trees and so on where I live. And seeing blue really spices up everything ^^;;


-Kitty[/COLOR] [/SIZE]

[James]

[color=#707875]Thanks for the compliments, Kitty.

This is a "banner" for an upcoming Shy/James RPG collaboration. Adam will even have some important cameo appearances in it...it will be an RPG revolution, I assure you.

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KIlogo.gif[/img][/color]

[Shy]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i]
[B][color=#707875]Thanks for the compliments, Kitty.

This is a "banner" for an upcoming Shy/James RPG collaboration. Adam will even have some important cameo appearances in it...it will be an RPG revolution, I assure you.

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/killadam/KIlogo.gif[/img][/color] [/B][/QUOTE]
[size=1]Yes, definitely. This RPG is going to make most Otaku Events look like a joke by comparison. No banner could do this monster justice, tee hee. Your "Kill Adam" banner is very good, and I hope it sparks all sorts of interest into this little endeavor of ours.

(And yes, AzureWorlf, I'm going to plug this RPG into everyone on Earth knows about it.)

As for the rest of your banners, I'm fond of the first Viewtiful Joe banner listed, as well as your Matrix Revolutions ones. I've always been a huge fan of your artwork, they look stylish without screaming "look at me, lol.I can do kewl stuff with banners!11" Keep up the good work, and try doing something with Bosko one of these days.

-Shy[/size]

[Kyo no Ryu]

Wow that sounds like a nice RPG. Those banners are pretty cool. I was always wondering why your baners change so often, anyway Ill be sure to join that RPG if I can.

[KarmaOfChaos]

[font=arial][color=deeppink]
Beautiful James, beautiful. ^-~ My favorite has got to be the Final Fantasy X-2 one though. It's simple, yet exudes a kind of...awe. You can really feel how miniscule humanity is, yet, without it, would make thethe picture completly different. Aya, but all this fuss over a banner. The Return is my second favorite, gotta love the purple.

Good luck on the RPG! I'm sure with the joint effort of such talented people, it will turn out rocking everyone's socks inside a plastic box that's locked. ^-^ TTFN!

-Karma

{PS: The Kill Bill & Kill Adam banners had me laughing for awhile...I absolutly loved it. ^-~}
[/color][/font]

[Baron Samedi]

As you know James, I dig all your banners. My favourites from that list would be the KillBill firing pin one, and the one of Cloud with the various "pixel" colour effects. They are the leaders amongst leading banners. Personally, you have the best banners on OB to my mind, I really like your style.

[Note: How did you get the picture of the firing pin? I could pause it there, but couldn't copy the image....]

[TheShinje]

I like your banners James, the mik sang photography works very well with them. The Kill Bill banners are stylish, especially the bullet one. My favourites would have to be the matrix ones however. Keep up the good work!

One question; if we have off site image hosting, can we put a code in our signatures that will display the random images?

[Hittokiri Zero]

They're okay banners, nothing special graphically but they are more of a old school kickback. Instead of going for all this fancy stuff your making little sigs of things you like. So in that sense they are very good. :p

[James]

[color=#707875]Thank you, Hittokiri.

I've learned one important thing, studying Graphic Design at BA level:

Artists are not always Designers.

I think this is very true. Someone can produce pretty art, but might not be a real problem solver or a "true designer". I prefer to think of myself more as a designer than an artist.

But anyway, I think your post really summed up the effect I'm going for. Very simple, yet very visually powerful. I don't want to complicate things with pointless busywork. ^_^ (Not that it's always a bad thing -- if the finished product looks great).

EDIT: Here is my newest banner:

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/pheonix.jpg[/img]

Again, I thought I'd put it here rather than just leave it in rotation. I like using PSP8's brushes. ^_^;;

I also changed the border colour for this one, even though the format is the same as the others.[/color]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]I see you did some things to this one after you showed it to me because I don't remember it looking that beautiful...

I truly enjoy your banners. I like them small and simple. I think it's about time for me to retire the one I'm using, even though it's very lovely.[/color][/size]

[Semjaza]

You know what I love most about this thread? The title. The fact that you actually put a 's after "James", despite it ending in an s. So many people seem unaware that the ' only thing is for plurals. I salute you.

As for the designers thing... my teachers have always made it very clear that there was a seperation between the two. Obviously, they can mix... but for the most part Graphic Designers themselves aren't really considered artists.

As for the banners, I've seen this thread from way back and all I have to say is nice job. I think they are all successful, and manage to not get heavy despite some of the imagery.

[Katana]

I'm not much of a fan for the first banners, but the one you just put up is very nice. It has a nice pastel-y effect to it, and the image of the dragon (type thing...) is really cool.
It's nice to see different banners on the fourms, rather that ones made with a hard, sorta cold effect to them. It appears that yours have a lotta heart. ^^

[Red]

[color=002E55]My favourite out of all of those banners has to be the fourth Matrix Revolutions one.

I like the way your edits seem quite minor, yet make a significant impact on the image as a whole. They seem very 'neat', too, a style which is easily recognisable as yours and a nice touch. As always, nice banners.

[size=1]Make an M.Bison banner. ^__^;[/size][/color]

[Baron Samedi]

I can't really say that I like your newest banner James... I think the border change is a bit shocking [but still looks good], however what really bothers me with this one is the image. It doesn't seem as sharp and well depicted as your previous ones. It seems vaguely blurry and just... not as defined and well chosen. So, for this banner I give it a low Aesthetic appeal. 4/10. I love all the rest of your banners, and I mean [i]all[/i] of them. All but this one.

Thats my honest opinion.

[AzureWolf]

Your latest one and the SSX3 one are my favorites. They are both vibrant and rich in color, but have a simple, singular focus. It's a clever setup. The border's style in general is very fitting (especially for these boards, haha), and I think the color doesn't really hold much significance (I think silver fits better with OB anyway). However, I can see that silver would conflict with the latest banner in that a colorless/grey shade wouldn't accentuate the colorful enclosure.

[~Mystical Pan~]

Simple and small, yet, so pretty. ^_____^

Some pepole are awesome at making complicated looking banners that are so beautiful.

Others makes simple banners but they also have this beautiful look...just as beautiful as the complicated looking whoa.

Your latest one is uber good.^_^

[James]

[color=#707875]Well, I've produced a couple more and added them to my list. They're actually probably my [i]least[/i] favourite banners right now...but that's because I made both incredibly quickly.

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/FFXII_2.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/ivalice.gif[/img][/color]

[Baron Samedi]

Hhmmm. They're OK. may I ask why you made them so fast though? It's better to perfect each one before putting them up.

Anyway... I don't particularly like them. Maybe I'm just bad like that, but I feel you're drifting away from your original style. Expanding horizons are good, but I really liked your old style. And these detract from it.

5/10 and 6/10 respectively.

Also, the font is really hard to read... what does that word say?

[Syn]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i]
[B][color=#707875]Well, I've produced a couple more and added them to my list. They're actually probably my [i]least[/i] favourite banners right now...but that's because I made both incredibly quickly.

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/FFXII_2.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/ivalice.gif[/img][/color] [/B][/QUOTE]

:/

I really must agree. The first one looks ..... for lack of a better word, terrible. Its blurry, the character used is dull and frankly, unattractive.

The second I quite like, the clouds look nice but im not so sure about the motion blur, which I assume you used, but what is noticable is the use of swirly things, be it brushes or font. I like the swirls and I think you used them well, giving the banners a sort of class. I love the font in the second, although I dont know what "Ivalice" is.

number ratings aren't too popular but it gives a more accurate point of view.....well I know what I mean ¬_¬.

First: 4/10
Second: 7/10

[James]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Baron Samedi [/i]
[B] It's better to perfect each one before putting them up.[/b][/quote]

[color=#707875]When you reach perfection, you have nowhere else to go. Better to always strive for improvement. ^_^

But more to the point...I'm not too interested in how others see them. That is, I know what I am capable of and I know what kind of standard I can usually hit. The thing is, with these two, I guess it was more a case of experimentation. I had no specific idea of what I wanted to do...I just played around. So there wasn't much focus on either one. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. [/color][quote][b]


Also, the font is really hard to read... what does that word say? [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=#707875]If the font is hard to read, it's through no fault of my own. Didn't you ever learn about Copperplate and such in school? ~_^

It says "Ivalice".

Kaisuke: Regarding the first banner...the stock image was of the woman from FFXII. She's actually quite pretty, but my treatment of the image wasn't very good. I was trying to make an old/sepia type effect...but I also rotated the image, which was [i]already[/i] poor as a stock image. So unfortunately it blurred here a bit. I wasn't sure if it was just me or if it was actually the case, so thanks for pointing it out.

Also, with that image, I really wanted to focus on using the brushes and typography. I love the colours in the more recent Final Fantasy games...and since I have never really used those bright/soft/pastel colours, I wanted to experiment. Hopefully a better stock image would fix that banner up nicely.

Anyway, here's my Sentinel one. Your comment on AIM reminded me that I'd not yet presented it here.

[img]http://www.otakuboards.com/banners/Sentinels.gif[/img]

This one uses similar brush techniques to the last few, only it's obviously a darker and more "electronic" feel. I don't know whether it's better or worse though.[/color]

[Baron Samedi]

Heh... what I meant James, was to a state of perfection, where [i]you[/i] are happy about the banner. By saying that you didn't really like them and had rushed them, you obviously hadn't done that.

And no, I've heard of the font Copperplate, but never of Copperplate. I'm in year 9, rural Australia. Don't blame me... ~_^

I like that Sentinel one. Tis a good piece. Nice picture, cool effects, plus I just luuurve the Sentinels. It also remains with [what seems to be] your typical style. I really like this one.

[Syn]

Well I dont think theres much else to say on the matter, the woman from FF12 is very pretty but the only art i've seen of her looks like shes picking her nose. I must agree that the colours in the recent FF games are lovely.

Anyway, the sentinal banner, like I said on aim, the dodge effect looks great and ties the whole banner together. The blue looks great and everythings nicely blended together. Your best in my opinion.