Art Banner Critique

[Haku877]

Well, I have the program Paint.net, but I am learning how to use Gimp2.

These are some of my new banners I am working on, I would like some advice on what I could do, some good/bad points, suggestions. Thanks a Bunch:animesmil

Banner 1.
[IMG]http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e298/anime54321/banner-1.jpg[/IMG]

Banner 2.
[IMG]http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e298/anime54321/Banner6.png[/IMG]

Banner 3.
[IMG]http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e298/anime54321/Banner5.png[/IMG]

Banner 4.
[IMG]http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e298/anime54321/Banner4.png[/IMG]

Banner 5.
[IMG]http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e298/anime54321/Banner3.png[/IMG]

Banner 6.
[IMG]http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e298/anime54321/Banner2.png[/IMG]

[Jeremy]

[SIZE="1"]1. Learn principles of design
2. Use better fonts
3. Add effects

At least you're making an effort to make banners, that's a step in the right direction. I'd advise you spend a lot of time browsing tutorials for GIMP and also learn about typography and composition, and color theory and whatnot. Good luck to you.[/SIZE]

[Boo]

[quote name='Jeremy'][SIZE="1"]1. Learn principles of design
2. Use better fonts
3. Add effects

At least you're making an effort to make banners, that's a step in the right direction. I'd advise you spend a lot of time browsing tutorials for GIMP and also learn about typography and composition, and color theory and whatnot. Good luck to you.[/SIZE][/QUOTE][color=green][size=1]Jeremy, please take another look at the [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=52171][b]Art Studio Basics[/b][/URL].

You've been around long enough to know that you should at least explain what your criticism is aiming at or is based on. Then the artist can actually put the criticism to good use, you don't look like you're being an arse and we have a nice and friendly atmosphere to post your art in.

Thank you very much,
Boo[/size][/color]

[Hebe]

I think your designs would benefit from some better fonts =)
It's also good too keep the text simple, and aligned to make it clearer.
You should do more like 'We are pirates' methinks, I really like that one.

[jigglyness]

[size=1]I think you should work on your text. Choosing the right font is a start. If using default fonts, I like to tell people not to use arial. The only default fonts I would suggest are probably Times, Georgia, and Century Gothic.

I also think if you practice with the effects and work with more colors, you'll have better results. I personally really like GIMP. I would suggest you look up some tutorials and just keep practicing. :D [/size]

[Sayrin]

I agree with everyone that you should change your fonts
here's a good site if you want to dl some: [url]www.dafont.com[/url]

keep working ^^

[sakurasuka]

[FONT="Arial"][SIZE="1"]

Banner number 2 is certainly the best. The contrasting colors work relatively well, and the simplistic font isn't out of place.

My biggest critique is that a few of these are too complex. I think that is what causes them to look jumbled or confusing.

Take banner 3 for example. Entire long quotes don't generally belong on signature banners. So, rather than typing [I]'Protecting what we cherish most is the reason why we formed this Pirate Crew[/I]' you could instead type '[I]What we cherish most[/I]' or simply '[I]Pirate Crew[/I]'

Not only does using less test allow you to make the text an integrated part of the design, but someone is much more likely to read 2-4 words than multiple sentences. This alone will make them stand out more.

Also, on banner 5, the text being alternated from the top to the bottom is very cluttered looking. I would just make the font larger and use more spacing between the letters to run the sentence across the entire banner.



Overall, I think text is the biggest issue. I think simplifying your quotes and reducing the number of words will allow you to see the text as a design element, which will make all the difference.

Other than that, keep up the good work! And please keep posting, I'd love to see how you improve!





*cough* There is nothing wrong with arial. You're just jealous.

[/SIZE][/FONT]

[boothten]

[size=1]Alright, here I go haha.

The main thing you should work on your banners, in my opinion, is overall quality. It seems like you're getting low-quality images and using them for these signatures. Make sure you're getting high quality stocks and renders, otherwise the quality as a whole for the signature is going to suffer.

As everyone has already said, everything text-related could use work. Text choice is pretty bad, expecially in that first one. Text placement is pretty bad as well.
One thing I [i]always[/i] tell people when giving a critique for their signature is this: "unless you know how to properly add text to something so that it will increase the overall appeal of the image, you SHOULD NOT be adding text."
You want text to be a part of the image, you don't want it to stand out, otherwise it just looks like you took an easy way out when adding text. It also decreases the appeal and quality of your image when you don't know how to add text to make it look hot, heh.
Remember! A TAG/BANNER/IMAGE [I]DOESN'T[/I] ALWAYS NEED TEXT.
Or a border for that matter.

Composition of the images in your signatures also needs some work, mainly banners number 1 & 4.

I'd also like to add that, with the exception of banner 2, 5, and maybe 6, it doesn't look like your doing much to the signatures. I'm not saying it's bad or anything, I'm just saying that this is directly related to the appeal and quality of them all. When it looks like all you did on some of them is copy and paste an image, and added some text, to be perfectly honest it just doesn't stand out as something all that interesting.[/size]

[Lucy]

[COLOR=#656446][FONT="Georgia"]Retribution uses Arial, doesn't he? There was a time when he used them in almost [i]everything[/i], and they all looked good. You know why?

Fonts are just like the PLBD (perfect little black dress) or any other good accessory - say a wide belt or chunky coral jewelry - the trick is to know how to work it with everything. Inject it into your formals, work it into your casuals, your Sunday best, your denims.

So get to know your fonts. Get to know each letter's every curve, every serif, height, width, placement and feel. It's not rocket science, really. If it looks good to you, que sera sera. Experiment. Don't be afraid to use text; I don't think you need to switch from Arial nor do you have to shorten the text.

In your case, the devil lies in text placement. Many artists insert text just so people can read the caption. But really, the text becomes unnoticeable and forgettable if you just put it anywhere you like. What we have to do is to consciously incorporate the text into our designs. Not just type, [i]incorporate[/i]. Hide it in the background, repeat it to form a pattern, make it glow, make it transparent, burn it into your background.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[eleanor]

[font=trebuchet ms] I really like Lucy's post. Out of curiosity, I just wiki'd "arial font" and the picture that went along with the definition sort of showed an example of what she was talking about, I think.

[img]http://xs229.xs.to/xs229/08302/396px-arialmtsp.svg317.png[/img]

I'd say most people new to 'graphic design' would not be able to make something like this, as simple as it looks. Granted, this image has followed a formula, as every font definition on Wikipedia has this image with the respective font, but it is a good formula nonetheless.

With a good sense of colors, size, and placement, it looks very pleasing to eye. Even with the most simple fonts, a solid hold on these elements can make it look good, which is why Retribution was able to make a lot of good-looking designs with minimal "flashy" effects. [/font]

[Jeremy]

[SIZE="1"]Ah yes, I apologize. Hmm, then allow me to explain my criticism now:

1. it would be beneficial for you to study composition theories and maybe analyze other successful banners to see how they're composed. Also, how lines and shapes are put together in the image can have an effect.

2. [url]www.dafont.com[/url] take a look at that website for more interesting/fitting fonts for your banners; the fonts should be a part of your work, not just be there to be there.

3. use brushes and filters and layer blending modes and gradient maps, and all kinds of other things, to add interesting effects to your images. Lighting is pretty important to make your banners look interesting and have depth as well.

Good luck, hope that was a bit more helpful : p[/SIZE]