Art sakura---> a NEW art thread

[sakurasuka]

[CENTER][SIZE=1]Well, none of my threads ever get very many replies... But I would like some ratings/suggestions and such on some of my older/brand-spankin-new pieces. Without further ado, here we go!

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/lms_006.png[/img]
This I did for the LMS Engagement. I was far past the deadline, and did not get to be rated on it. I would, however, like to see what some people think of it.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/gaarapic8.jpg[/img]
This is a banner I made by request. I think it looks too busy, but... I dunno.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/sakuraban41.png[/img]
It just says DNANGEL. I dunno why I even made this one. Meh.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/kelly11.png[/img]
Another request. They wanted more abstract though, so this lies un-used in some old folder... Lol.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/sakuraav55.gif[/img]
I was just screwing around in PSP and did this... It took me for freaking ever, but I like it.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/entersign1.png[/img]
A lufferly enter sign for my site. It didn't turn out exactly as I'd liked. Meh.

+ - crit welcomed and encouraged.[/SIZE][/CENTER]

[Retribution]

[SIZE=1]Hm. Just wondering... why'd you create a new thread? *shrug*

[b]Red Obession:[/b] Overall, this was hard to see. The stocks are covered up by a thick square pattern, harshly blended on the background, with clashing text to boot. Lighten up that pattern, and make the text less prominent. It doesn't need to be in your face.

[b]War:[/b] Interesting concept, but the handwriting in the background is impossible to decypher, and it makes the foreground harder to see. I see a white woman... riding on something, and a road. The typography would've been better compressed -- I have to do some searching for it.

[b]DNAngel:[/b] I didn't realize it said "DNANGEL" until you pointed that out. The text's color's too similar to the abstract shapes. To top it all off, you might want to add in a DNAngel stock -- it feels sort of unfocused right now.

[b]Behind These Hazel Eyes:[/b] The foreground with the stocks is interesting and gives you plenty to look at. However, it doesn't flow together, and the paper seems to be there standing alone. You also have a gap in there, and I?d recommend moving the woman on the left in tighter, then cropping. Again, the squares are there ? as a general rule of thumb, they impede the flow of the picture, and distract people. Finally, the text doesn?t feel like it matches the mood. I?d recommend a more prominent cursive font, and not using a glow effect, but something else that more subtly enhances its visibility.

[b]Sakura:[/b] I enjoy this one, but there?s a few elements that could use a little bit of tuning up. First off, the border completely rocks my socks off. The background is a good touch, as well. However, I don?t like the font you used for ?sakura? with the ninjas in it. Perhaps if the ?s? and the ?r? had people to show them, it?d be better. As for the other plain ?sakura,? it feels? plain and out of place. There?s also a feeling of emptiness to the banner in general, but I?m not sure what you can do to fix that. Sorry.

[b]Enter:[/b] I think this is probably the best of the batch. I?d say this is really, really strong except for the typography and the bit of black/dark purple in the top corner. I?m loving the splash effect you used, although it feels slightly pixilated. w00t, j00 win.[/SIZE]

[Doc]

[size=1]Well, I feel Retri covered every point possible... But I don't see that many things wrong with them. ^_^ I quite enjoy most of them.

Red Obsession: The stocks seem to be of varrying contrast. Two of them have some heavily darkend areas, while the third is generally a mellow shading. The slanted effect in the background does fit with the gridded texture on each person, but over all it just doesn't accent the piece in a good way. Even though I techniquely don't have much experience with these effects, when I attempt a grid, I make it extremely low on the ocupacy meter... Just so that it's bairly noticable, yet there to accent/add some texture. I agree with Retri, yet again that the blend job is a little harsh, but I can't be held to that, for I haven't really tried blending yet. I'm not gonna comment on the font, for I'm not sure of a way to improve it.

War: This is a very strong piece, and I feel it would have done well in the LMS. I love the words you used, and... well... Some of the image is confusing. Retri covered it all. The bride, the notebook in the bg... just... well, hard to make out.

DNAngel: I can't say much about it. The text cuts off, and the abstract shape, yet again, as Retri said, misconstrews the text.

Behind These Hazel Eyes: A great piece, my only gripe is the gridded effect. It's too vivid. It taints the ladies faces, and just adds a bit of unwanted color... in my opinion.

Sakura: I do enjoy it... *Loves simplistic* The little people is a nice effect, but the stars for the S and R feel out of place. Awesome border too. ^_^

Enter: This is an awesome splash image. All the colors in the abstract background do fit nicely. I feel, that the dark area in the upper corner is a little bulky, but it adds to the contrast, *And takes the eye away from the opposite bright corner* Yet, what bugs me... is it looks like you attempted blending teh cat girls ears into the background... yet left peices. I mean, on the left side of her head is a huge piece of what resembles hair jutting out into a spike. I didn't realize it was an ear piece... until I noticed the tail. Hm...


All in all, wonderful work. Way above my tallent. ^_^ Great job.
[/size]

[sakurasuka]

[CENTER][SIZE=1]Thnx, Doc! (Loves da commentses, people)

I re-did the Ninja one. I think this one looks a bit better... But it still looks kinda 'Meh' in my opinion. The .gif filetype made the font on the right slightly pixelated. Also, I just noticed before I saved it that I had mixed up the 'U' and the 'R'. They aren't on thier original letters, since S and r are usually the shurkiens, so I just blacked out the letteres and picked out cool poses and centered the letters on there. It took forever, lol. I almost died when I'd realized that I had 'sakRUa' and not 'sakURa'. *sigh*

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/sakuraav56.gif[/img]

Better? No?[/SIZE][/CENTER]

[Retribution]

[SIZE=1]Yeah, this is better. Not [i]best[/i], but better. ^_^

I think the problem now is that there's an unbalanced quality to the banner. I think it's probably because of all the "Sakura"s you have floating around. Again, I'm not sure how to fix it, but it seems fine for now. And your avatar pwns.[/SIZE]

[Guest Sean]

[SIZE=1]My first comment on your work, Fruit, whoo!

I have to admit, the re-did Ninja is so much better than the first one, but I love the splash you made. Very nice, I like the paint effect you used, very...hm, well it works well with the stock image you have used.

DN Angel looks good too, the curtain blowing effect is beautiful I must say, original, I've not seen something like that, and it blends well with the text.

I'm awaiting more to crit upon, best of luck, and keep the good work up Fruit!

[b]EDIT[/b]: Those were my favourites, ^^;;.[/SIZE]

[Stuart]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Red][B]Helba:[/B][/COLOR] Oh, yeah. Sun wanted me to PM you and sakusaksdjsa whatever her name is.
[COLOR=Blue][B]Sean:[/B][/COLOR] XD Ah, you do what I do.
[COLOR=Blue][B]Sean:[/B][/COLOR] It's fun, when you can't remember a name, you just type nonsense.
[COLOR=Red][B]Helba:[/B][/COLOR] We'll just call her "Fruit" from here on out.
[COLOR=Blue][B]Sean:[/B][/COLOR] Fruit! I like it!
[COLOR=Red][B]Helba:[/B][/COLOR] I'll shall now comment in her thread and refer to her as Fruit.
[COLOR=Blue][B]Sean:[/B][/COLOR] XD. I shall do the same! *never knew she had a thread* >>;;[/SIZE]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=royalblue]Sorry for not posting in this thread earlier. I know how it stinks to have your thread die down, so I'll do my best to keep up.

Haha, love the newest banner. Even though it's a bit off-balance it's working just fine for my views. The second "A" looks kinda cramped in there. Poor guy ;_;. The background is kinda... gray. Throw some vibrant colors in there and I've find it more enjoyable. Other than that I'm surprised on all the unique things you've been throwing out. Keep them coming, FRUIT! xP

[B]EDIT:[/COLOR][/FONT][/B]
[SIZE=1]hack_helba: Love the new avatar.
modexii: Thnx.
hack_helba: Very... orginal.
modexii: Is that sarcasm?
hack_helba: No, not at all. I mean it, lol.[/SIZE]
[COLOR=royalblue]
[FONT=Trebuchet MS]I believe that covers it for today.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[sakurasuka]

[CENTER][SIZE=1]Fruit? Love it! (So random. Just like you, Helba! Lol!)

I made some random enter/hiatus signs for my site. I actually like a few of these... But they're all pretty bland. Meh.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/sign_005.jpg[/img]
I made a banner out of this pic once.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/sign_007.jpg[/img]
Aww... It's so pretty ^_^ I don't know what I was thinking with the high-opacity pink scanlines, though... *Eeyuck*

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/sign_006.png[/img]
!!! Lookit the colors! Wow!!! (Dunno why it got all pixelated like that.)

These are some of my newest graphix. I'm gonna go do something with 'Fruit' on it just for the helluvit XD[/SIZE][/CENTER]

[Syk3]

[quote name='rawopotato']I like the third enter sign, all of the pretty colors. :D... everyone call Hack Helba Cindy.. Muhahahahaha..:angel:[/quote]In general, we ask that when you post, you keep to the topic at hand.. as this is an art thread, please make an attempt to stay focused on the piece(s). In this forum, constructive criticism is a must, meaning that we expect a detailed response that describes your own likes and dislikes of the piece and what you think can be improved. Please look around and see what others are doing to get an idea and example of this, or read the sticky thread in the main Art page.

[Retribution]

[SIZE=1][b]Enter 1:[/b] This is what I'm talking about. There's nothing to critique, and I mean [i]nothing[/i]. You cropped out a great part of a picture, added text that fits the 'mood' and maintained color harmony. Excellent placement!

[b]Hiatus:[/b] This is also very nice. Only a few things I'd change. First of all, the scanlines are a bit imposing; perhaps lowering the opacity on them would do the trick. Secondly, the "Site Under" text feels slightly too cursive for this... something a bit more sans serif would do the trick. ^_^

[b]Enter 2:[/b] Adding too many effects makes things feel messy and uncoordinated. Your first two works were clean and to the point, while this has unnessecary lines of different colors, and illegible text that's colliding with said lines. The "Enter" font doesn't fit the look of the girl at all... and taking out the other text overlapping her along with the lines would definitely improve visibility. Sorry if I sound harsh. ;_;[/SIZE]

[Sun]

[SIZE=1][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]Enter 1:[/B] Just like Retri said very simple and clean cut. I like it. Not too much going on and the text, as Retri said, "Fits the mood".
[B]
Hiatus:[/B] Yes, the scanlines are way too dominant in this piece. Highten the opacity on the scanlines and also on the text you used. It seems to bend in too much making it hard to read. This is also a great piece and with a little improvements, you can make it really look nice.

[B]Enter 2:[/B] Whoa, this piece makes me feel like i'm in a nightclub or something and lights are flying everywhere. So colorful and messy and i feel that the stock does not fit this piece at all. You really can't see too much emotion in his/her face and it sort of clashes with the fun background. And i do agree with Retri on all the typography. The lines and text don't mix, and the enter sign makes it hard to detect the emotion you are going for in this piece.I think if you just had a fun stock it would fit in perfectly. Just keep working at it.

Overall your work has been improving and i'm so glad you finally have a thread! I'll make sure to post often.

Best of luck,
[I]Sun[/I][/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[sakurasuka]

[CENTER][SIZE=1]Ooh, lookit what da Fruit coughed up now ~_^

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/fruit001.png[/img]

Rater-ness welcome ^_^

PS- Please don't point out the fact that I forgot the crop out the whiteness in between her hair. Helba already did that through IM =/[/SIZE][/CENTER]

[Stuart]

[quote name='sakurasuka][CENTER][SIZE=1]PS- Please don't point out the fact that I forgot the crop out the whiteness in between her hair. Helba already did that through IM =/[/SIZE'][/CENTER][/quote]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=royalblue]Yeeeeah, I guess I did. What's with this picture? The girl looks so sad, and the style of it is peachy! You're not sad, be happay! I like how the background isn't all soild, but it fades in and out in some areas. I don't recommed using the brick texture though. The font and arrows are nice; The pink goes well with the peach/tan colored background, and they've been placed right. I just barely noticed the heart and I don't really like how there isn't a complete lining around it, the tan heart cuts it off. Place the tan heart a little more to the left and place it more in there, and I think it'd look much better. "Fruit" is in a fuzzy font, which I don't find to be very appealing when the rest of the text is very soild and smooth, but then again peach is a fuzzy fruit =P[/COLOR][/FONT]

[sakurasuka]

[CENTER][SIZE=1]I'm not on my laptop right now, 'cause it seems to be screwed up. (Or maybe it's just my internet connection?) Anywho, don't be too harsh on the following... They are just screencaps of possible web layouts. My site is coming along, you can view it [URL=http://geocities.com/sakurasgfx/home.htm]here[/URL] if you so wish. (Be warned: there's nothing there yet. All of the links go to nowhere, as I took them down to totally rebuild my site from the ground up.)

The current layout is just a spinoff of a layout I once had on my old site a few years ago, but I had to put in that pic of the girl (The one in the 'Fruit' banner above) 'cause I just had to find something relevant to do with that pic, I like it so much...

Anyway, without further ado... Here we go! (Many of the screencaps below are quite large, and are saved as a .png filetype. You are warned.)

[URL=http://www.geocities.com/sakurasgfx/screencap1.png]--Green Chibi Layout--[/URL]

This was done a while back. I got the inspiration to do this layout from another site called Graphics.kaiosei.net, a beautiful site with a green layout. (Hence the color and theme.)

Ack! I've gotta go! I'll edit later... As always, + - crit welcomed.[/SIZE][/CENTER]

[PAche]

hee...i'm back!i've finished hibernating, exams are over(though the nest few are in 5 weeks time ><) and i see you started doing layouts!

prettypretty layout you got there keep it up^^i aspire to catch up to you, but i'm still very far Y_Y

[sakurasuka]

[CENTER][SIZE=1]Thanks for the reply, PAche! Anyway, I just noticed that I never edited my last post to add in all my web layout-things >.< I looked all over in my picture files, but I couldn't find all those screencaps I made. Anyway, that's dissapointing, but I made a bunch of random splash images! Here ya go...

[b]Unity-[/b]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/worldpeace2.png[/img]

[b]Behind these Hazel Eyes-[/b]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/kelly2.png[/img]

[b]Play to Win-[/b]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/playtowin2.png[/img]
(Photobucket resized it, so it looks sorta messy. That's why the borders are fuzzy, please try to ignore that ^_^)

[b]Don't lose your way-[/b]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/donteverlose1.png[/img]

Basically, I just wanted to see some simple/bright colored things I could do. I also used alot of strait lines. I dunno, but I think that it's not a bad tecnique/thing. Anyway, all crit welcomed![/SIZE][/CENTER]

[Cyriel]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Sienna][B]Unity[/B] - Very good coloring on this one, and I like the texturing it has as well. A nice piece overall, although... The font matches, but I think there could be better (of course, I have no idea what that would be). Also, I don't like how the underline connects with the small square in front - I wish they were separate instead, because it looks odd at the moment. Other than that, it looks quite spiffy, and I love the silhouettes.

[B]Behind these Hazel Eyes[/B] - Do not like this at all. It's just too much at one time, and has just exploded on the page in a mess. There are too many effects/backgrounds/pattern thingies, and it makes it look...messy. The biggest thing is the squares all over her face - is she a quilt? And then all the different fonts/words around her...it reminds me of a dohnut shop crossed with a baby store, and it's not very attractive. I think it was a good idea, but just...went odd in the making. But I like the colors. ^__^;;

[B]Play to Win[/B] - This is so cool! I'm not a very big fan of football (actually, I hate it), but this is excellent! I love the blurred-shadow effect on the words, and the colors complement each other quite nicely. Also, the image is very...matching, and distinct as well. Did you add the rain, or did it come in the picture already? I like it very muchly. I'm not a big fan of the orange lines in the bottom right-hand corner, but it would look empty without it, so...lesser of two evils, I suppose. Well done on this one.

[B]Don't Lose Your Way[/B] - The colors and the concept of this are ingenious, and at first glance I love it all. However, on closer and longer examination, I'm not liking the top underline too much - it fades too much, and then makes it all look unbalanced. It has a nice simple feel to it, but maybe...too simple? It seems incomplete - either that, or something more should be done with the words. But it's a very splendid piece, and I applaud you.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Retribution]

[SIZE=1]Since you commented in my thread (perhaps a little [i]too[/i] nicely ^_~), I will do the same for you.

[b]Unity:[/b] First off, I'd like to commend you on your choice of stock. The background and the colors are nearly perfect. The only thing I can say is that the lamp's light looks a bit... skewed is the best word. As for the typography, I don't think you picked the best ones for this. "World" is fine, but "peace" and "unity" seems like you were trying a bit too hard for cursive, loopy text. The black line up top works fairly well, but I'm not a huge fan of it. The orange line needs to go - point blank. It sort of points to nowhere, which bugs me. Overall, the placement might want to be reconsidered.

And I'm also sort of ... wondering about the smilie face. ^_^

[b]Behind These Hazel Eyes:[/b] See Cyriel's review.

[b]Play to Win:[/b] Hm. I don't like this, possibly because it feels off balanced more than anything else. The lines sort of feel... undirected, and seem to be crowding the main focus of the picture. The added rain effect (you did add that, right? _O_) feels too obvious. A more discreet effect might be what you want. Or just an original picture of a rainy football game. Finally, the typography. Not a bad idea for the layout, I'll give you that. However it clashes a bit too much, and the fuzzy "PLAY WIN" doesn't seem to be working well with its clear, lower case counterpart.

[b]Don't lose your way:[/b] Inventive colors. I don't like the color transitioning in this, but the neons are a breath of fresh air. The stock - pretty good, and the placement feels fine as well. I will say that the font really feels out of place. Either that, or you didn't use it as effectively as you might have wanted to. The Arial doesn't mesh well with this sort of ... Andy Warhol-ish feel. Moreover (heh. smart word), the underlines are somewhat superfluous.

So keep it up. And again, thanks for your comment.[/SIZE]

[PAche]

i noticed you've graduated to photo manipulation^^they're realy cool i'd never been able to do it.i cant really comment on each and every one of them cos i'm sorta in a rush but on the overall they're superb though behind those hazel eyes one seems a little too...imposing?informative?i dunno, its just a barrage of stuff shooting at you all at once

[Syk3]

[QUOTE=PAche]hee...i'm back!i've finished hibernating, exams are over(though the nest few are in 5 weeks time ><) and i see you started doing layouts!

prettypretty layout you got there keep it up^^i aspire to catch up to you, but i'm still very far Y_Y[/QUOTE]I'm afraid that we require a little more constructive criticism than this post. Your other one was fine, just try to consistantly get a little more into detail.

[sakurasuka]

[CENTER][SIZE=1]Hey hey! It's cool that people are actually replying in my thread, lol. I have just a few updates, so without further ado...

linkin park-
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/lp6.png[/img]

wallpaper-
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/weblay3.png[/img]

This is just a small version of it so you don't have to bother with a bunch of annoying links... Okay, that's a lie. I forgot to upload it on my site and I did it on photobucket, so I suffered from mass re-sizing, lol. But you get the point ~_^

Anyway... Ratings/crit all welcomed!

Edit- Yes, I made all the brushes myself. I've been asked this on other boards I posted these on, so I just figured I'd clear that up.[/SIZE][/CENTER]

[Doc]

[size=1]Hm... I'm not sure what exactly to say, or... how to critique I mean.

[b]Linkin Park:[/b] I personally love the band, so this piece is fitting. The background is beautifully depicted, and detailed. ^_^ And the gal is a nice choice. Her clothes/armor? fit the grayscale look of the background. I'd honestly use it. ^_^

[b]weblay3.png:[/b] As the files named... xD

The background is active, and amazingly layed out. The stock is nice, and definitly clear. I'd love to see a full version of it.

As for you making all your brushes, that's amazing. ^_^ I wish I had the tallent/time/patients make such brushes.
[/size]

[sakurasuka]

[QUOTE=Doc][size=1]
[b]weblay3.png:[/b] As the files named... xD
[/size][/QUOTE]

[CENTER][SIZE=1]Hah, yeah... I was screwing around with some stuff for my website. I kinda forgot the wallparer was there when naming the stuff, and just named all the files weblay1, weblay2, weblay3 and so on. I used the same brushes/pics on all of them, so it explains why, lol.

[URL=http://geocities.com/sakurasgfx/home.htm]-my soon-to-be website-[/URL]

Comments on my new layout would be greatly appreciated ^_^[/SIZE][/CENTER]