Art Neko's banners [May eventually be image heavy]

[Neko]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Magenta]Hewwo, everyone! I'm really, [I]really[/I] bored right now, so I've elected, by a democratic vote of ninety-nine brain cells to one, to start doing banners during my free time again.

That being said, I'd like to introduce my first two banners in this thread. They should (hopefully) be attatched as thumbnails. Please rate them as you see fit, on a scale of one to ten, with a good reason to back your compliments/criticism.

Oh, and I have no idea how the text got all 3-D-ish...that was most definitely [I]not[/I] supposed to happen. :catgirl:[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Retribution]

[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]

[Neko]

[COLOR=Magenta][SIZE=1]Thanks for the advice, Retribution! I tried making a banner for me this morning, and this is the turnout. If this is any better, I'll know I'm on the right track.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Kamuro]

[SIZE=1]Although Retri is the one who gave most advice, I figure I'll add some input as well. Everything he said concerning the first few banners is correct. The font is incredibly hard to read, although I did manage to make it out. I do think you progressed, however, with the banner you just posted. Although its a bit plain its much easier to read and I believe it meshes well. Retri will post his own comments though lol.

I'm not an expert on PS or anything, and I don't claim to be. But I've had many sigs in my day and one of the most important things is the text and how it meshes with the sig. Text can look amazing, but if its applied in the worng way, or put on the wrong sig then everything just looks out of order. Its sort of a feeling you get when you look at a banner. You want text to exemplify the feeling and overall imagery of the banner. It might take awhile to find the right one, but I assure you its worth it in the long run.[/SIZE]

[Neko]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Magenta]Wow, it sure has been a while! But I just recently finished some new banners n' stuff.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/Cursed_Vortex/3v1.jpg[/IMG]

This is teh first one, featuring Miho Tohya from [I]Megatokyo[/I]. Note that it's the one I'm currently using, and has a matching avatar.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/Cursed_Vortex/adventure.jpg[/IMG]

This is my new style. It features the two adventures I'm currently in in the [I]Arena[/I], [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=36602].hack//TRUTH[/URL] and [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=48297]the Mechanical Angel[/URL] (Still in teh inn). I could use some feedback about it, 'cause I don't wanna make a matching avatar if you all won't like it! ^^

EDIT: I added a Megatokyo banner and matching Avatar. They're in the attachments.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Guest Sean]

[FONT=Arial]For the most part, all I can see is you've just been adding tect to a cropped image, the last one is a small improvement, you've placed the seperated crops pretty wells and the text is ok, maybe the font and colour could change a bit though, heh.

I'm saying this, and I'm not amazing, take a look at Retr's thread, Sun's thread, Imi's thread for sheer excellence, I got as far as I did by reading tutorials, and getting advice from other people.

A good place for tutorials would be [url=http://good-tutorials.com]Good-Tutorials[/url].

But you should work on placing your text, having good positioned text always gives you browny points, if it's placed down and never given a second thought won't get you anywhere.

And, finally, good luck with all future projects.[/FONT]