Art Avatar/banner creation advice

[Death]

can anyone tell me how to make a avatar an banner from this :animestunhttp://www.rurounikenshinhouse.hpg.ig.com.br/btx107.jpg

[SIZE=1][COLOR=RoyalBlue]I've edited out the image you posted into a link. It stretched the layout of OtakuBoards, which is against the rules to [primarily] help out folks on 56k modems. Hope you understand.

[b]- Retribution[/b][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Raiyuu]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]This is the wrong forum for art help, Death. I'm moving it to the Art Studio and changing the title to make it more informative of the thread's content. Check out the [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?][U]Rules,[/U][/URL] [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/faq.php?][U]FAQ[/U][/URL] and [thread=52331][U]Otaku Lounge Sticky[/U][/thread] while you're waiting for a reply.[/FONT]

[Death]

thanks it wont happen aggain, appreciate you're help.

[sakurasuka]

[size=1]That most definitely depends on if you're asking our advice on the subject matter, or lack the knowlegde and programs neccesary.

I'm assuming the latter.

Now, there are many, many, many ways to make an avatar/banner set. It takes creativity, practice, and some sort of program, such as Photoshop, PaintShopPro, or [the free, yet not-quite-as-good] GIMP.

I'll give you a step-by-step on how I make banners, if you have one of the above programs, or any other, for that matter. f you don't, then you can use the set I come up with, and this tutorial just might help someone else. Maybe. Maybe not.

1. Open your image in whatever program you use.

2. This image is a bit big to use on OB, so let's resize it to 50%. I like my banners small and sleek. Feel free to make it as big as you so wish.

3. Crop out a portion that looks nice.

4. Be sure to clean up the image a bit. This one has some slight issues, as it's not the best quality. In PaintShopPro 8, I like to use the Scratch Remover tool to fix most small imperfections. Here's what I've got so far, after re-sizing, cropping, and a bit of cleaning [Aprox. 1.5 minutes]-

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/tut02.jpg[/IMG]

5. Now, here's the tricky part. If you like the current background [With the reddish sky], then you can skip on to step 9 or 10.

6. If you want a different background, then extract your stock with the pen tool. This can be time-consuming, but the image is relatively small, so it only took me about 2.5 minutes.

7. Pick a background color and make it a new layer. I chose plain white, because I'm cool like that.

8. Now blend your image with the backround. This just takes practice, theres not much I can teach you here.

9. Now youre ready for the fun part. Brushing. There are hundreds of different methods on this, I generally like to keep things simple. Just some abstract things that match the theme, something plain, yet gorgeous. For this, I'd use my favorite brushes, bloodstain brushes.

*Tip- If you're using abrstact brushes to create the background, use them all over on a seperate layer below the stock. If you're just doing something like butterflies, swirlies, blood splatters, etc., then set it on a layer above the stock with a lower opacity. Here's what I've got so far-

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/tut03.jpg[/IMG]

10. Now you need some snazzy text. For this, we all love [URL=http://www.dafont.com][u]Dafont[/u][/URL]. I used a font called [URL=http://www.dafont.com/juergen.font?][u]Juergen[/u][/URL], and a font called [URL=http://www.dafont.com/elektr-02-5.font?][u]Elektr-02-5[/u][/URL] [< Both links].

11. Now add a border. I put a single, solid white line inside a single, solid black line. The most simple, and common sort of border for a banner.

12. Now just make your avatar. Basically just crop out a bit of the dude's face and put your username on there and repeat with the black and whie border. Here's what I got-

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/tut05.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/unmei_shinpai/tut04.jpg[/IMG]

You can use my set or make your own, but if you use mine be sure to credit me [;[/size]

[Death]

Thanks alot but i dont have any of the programs you mentiond could you do me a small favor and make a avatar to go with the banner and change the words to "My awited departure" oh one more thing for the font can you use edwardian script thanks alot it looks awsome .

[sakurasuka]

[size=1]Erm. Yeah. The avatar is already up there [:

It's not perfectly square, that might be what threw you, it's the standard OtakuBoards size avatar. [i][Edit- It's actually 15 px shorter than OB's standard, I didn't realize that until just now][/i] Save it to your computer and upload it as an avatar, it should work.

If you want an 80x80 one, I can do it though. When I get back on my own computer.

Edit- Once I get home from work and martial arts [probably around 9ish], I'll fix the fonts, quote and such.

Much love.[/size]