I've been thinking about making one of these, but I didn't know what to put in it. Now, I have something to put in it.

I made a wallpaper, I guess, and I would like to have some comments on it. So, if you critics wouldn't mind, please tell me how my wallpapering went. This is my first one, so I don't expect it to be very high quality like some others here have the talent to make.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/Sondagger/Sanzo_wallpaper.png

This one features Sanzo from Saiyuki, with pics of the other three. I had hoped to make sort of a newspaper backround, but I couldn't either find one or make one. Instead I had "snapshots" of the other main characters. I made the pictures too, so they don't really look like an actual snapshot, but who cares.

The blood in the backround was a real bitch. First off I tried to just spraypaint it on, didn't look right. So, I decided to make a brush. Granted, that didn't turn out the best either, but it looked better than my other options. I just say it is smeared blood. Eh? What can you do?

Now, I need to ask you something. In the right hand side, particularly the upper right corner. I just feel like something is missing. Suggestions?

I plan on to make more stuff: wallpapers, layouts, sets, etc. Hopefully once my scanner is hooked up I can put up someof my drawings. Enjoy.

I think it's very good for a first-time. You had a great concept to start off with and knew what you wanted, so the graphic came out right. (Hint to all: Plan before you start work!) As for all the effects that you wanted but couldn't do or didn't come out right, you can try searching for related tutorials on good-tutorials.com or on any search engine. As for the upper right-hand corner, since the pictures are all related to guns, you can put a realistic bullet hole through there. (I don't know how to do it, but I'm sure there are tutorials out there that teaches you how to create it) Alternatively, you can put a pronounced blood splatter up there, again, go check out tutorials.

I was thinking about putting a bullet hole, but since I use GIMP good tuts are hard to come by.

I'm thinking about writing my own, although I've still been looking.

The snapshots need some kind of background... at the moment they're kind of suspended in midair. You could maybe do some kind of wood effect, make it look as if they're on a table or something? Only a suggestion tho, as the texturing would be a bit tricky. You've done a fabulous job of the arrangement though!

Oh, I just found out that there are lots of blood brushes in deviantart.com. Tutorials as well. Maybe you can find what you're looking for there. (Or to save on future efforts, try out Photoshop) And mazda's suggestion of a wooden tabletop is great. There are tutorials on how to create that as well.

~Hope to see more of your works soon. Don't stop creating!

Your art is really really good Sond! Its nice!

Some tips are to make the lines on the polariod less bold and straight-ish. Make it look distressed and less 'MS Paint-ish'. Somthing that is drawn on the computer, but not distressed in some ways to look realisitic looks a bit weird.

And your blood stuff is great! Way better then what I could do!

~

Keep working Sond, I want to see more work also!

Thanks for the info Stel. Normally I would have chosen photoshop, but I don't intend to do anything more but for my own pleasure. GIMP is good enough for me. Besides, I'm saving up for a sheet music program. :sweat:

I think I'm getting what you're saying, RD, but I'm not sure. I tried to make a shadow my own way (I didn't understand the tutorial), and I think that's what you're thinking that the bold lines are.

I'm hopefully going to fix it sometime, soon, but there are other things on my list I have to get done first.

Thanks for the comments guys, I'm flattered and thankful.

Lol, no one usualy understands me, no one... :cry:

Anyways, what I ment was the lines for the plaroids are to straight and crisp.

I was bored one day in class so, I drew this. The dragon itself is what I want to be commented on, not the lousy frame. I also plan to clean it up in GIMP one of these days, but I was too lazy and impatient to only put it up cleaned. I'll put up a clean version soon, but for now, here's the sketch.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/Sondagger/Dragon.jpg

- Great detail
- Anatomy is a little warped
- I like how the wing seems like an arm at first.
- Keep it up.
=]

One word:

Wow!

That certainly does beat Trogdor the Burninator anyday.

Visually, at least. ;)

The wallpaper is awesome! I like the concept with the photos, as well as the graytones and red. I'd spice up the right side just a little bit without making it look cluttered, but it looks great the way it is.

I love Sondagger's art, she even used Saiyuki! ^_^ I love her recent sig right now though! ^_^

Thanks for the new comments guys. Now I need your help. I requested a layout earlier and Stel said she'd give it a shot. Well she's gone now (No hard feelings at all) and so I decided to take a whack at it.

This is my current layout. http://symphony.atspace.com Sucks, don't it. Anyway, its time for a change.

I have two layouts that I attempted at. One's a table/div (not quite sure which) and the other's a frame.

http://tinypic.com/kevpn9.jpg

This is the frame layout featuring Spike from Cowboy Bebop. The big black space is where the text would go, so that has to be blank, or at least I'd perfer it. Running along the bottom between the lines would be the menu. I'm not really fond of frames, but I thought the layout turned out halfway decent considering its my second one and my first is the horrid saiyuki one in the link above. Same about the quality as the Akabane layout below.

[IMG]http://tinypic.com/kevnll.jpg

This is the other choice. Its the tables/div and it features Akabane from GetBackers. I wanted to go with a bloody theme considering his character, but when I saw it I thought tech looked better. The thing about this one is that its just the top part. When I do the coding It'll include the bottom which is just going to be an extension to the very bottom of the layout. The qulality of the picture is due to the host. It really doesn't look that fuzzy and darker brushes can be seen clearly.

Overall, I'm not too impressed about my layouts, but I think they are nice and quality made considering I'm just a noob at layout designing.

Now I ask you. Please be brutal. I need as much advice as I can get. Also, I would like to know if you think I should use either layout for my site.

Edit: I apologize for the lack of quality. Its hard to find a host that will host a big pic such as that. If you want a better look, I can arrange that via e-mail.

dunno if its the poor quality or not, but the second one's red text is kinda painful on the eyes, being on a black background..and it looks kinda hard to read. I like the first one more, cept the line separating the pic and blackness could get a bit annoying, unless thats exactly where the menu is going to be located.

That's definately the quality on the second one. The text is much brighter on the original.