King of Fighters: Mai Shiranui

[eddosan]

I've been starting to do wallpapers ever since I got Adobe CS2 for Xmas. I'm a n00b at this and want your opinions/criticisms/suggestions on this Mai Shiranui wp. Be picky. ;)

*edit*
I know the text is a bit boring, but (my skills) + (little time) = boring text [and other stuff]

[Xian Pu]

Well, crap. I'm getting an error message on the attachment. *shrug*

[eddosan]

It's the n00b's curse! Arg!

Well, I'll try this again...

*edit*
Someone know the problem? I'm getting errors as well. It's a jpg which I converted from psd. I might've done something wrong in the conversion process...? It's 1 MB, is that a problem?

I'm stumped... http://animeforum.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

*2nd edit*
Hmmm, I wonder what's wrong with the 1MB image... I can view it cleanly on my Mac, but it doesn't show up on IE. It's weird because I can make it my wallpaper on my Windows laptop. Maybe it has to do with something IE can't read correctly or misinterprets?

[Xian Pu]

Yeah, we like to measure things around here in kb.

[eddosan]

Ok, I reduced the dimensions and the file is 93kb. Let's see what happens...

<looks at WP>

Meh, the quality is reduced, prolly 'cause I made it smaller with paint instead of Photoshop. At least you can have a better look. http://animeforum.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

[GangstaKermit]

mhm ... the bg char is damn low quality .... x_X
And change it's color ... go with bg like color ;)

Edit: oh, and also ... the char is floating in the air ...

[eddosan]

About the floating in the air...
When starting this wp, I thought maybe I should place Mai like she was sitting down around the entrance of the house/temple. After looking at it for a while though, I changed my mind and decided to make it an abstract bg. Since it was an abstract bg, I thought I could just place Mai in any pose in the foreground. What do you think about that?

[Sophonax]

Abstract, you say? Where? o_O...

[eddosan]

Mai isn't sitting in the bg. There is no physical contact between sitting Mai and the bg. You know, abstract? Not concrete...?:huh:

[GangstaKermit]

hm o_O;; it isn't abstract ....

Here, the definition of abstract art ....
Abstract art is now generally understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses shapes and colours in a non-representational or subjective way. In the very early 20th century, the term was more often used to describe art, such as Cubist and Futurist art, that depicts real forms in a simplified or rather reduced way - keeping only an allusion of the original natural subject. Such paintings were often claimed to capture something of the depicted objects' immutable intrinsic qualities rather than its external appearance. See Abstraction. The term non-figurative is used as a synonym.

[eddosan]

I should've known better than using art terms (incorrectly) in an art-intensive forum. :P

Thx for your critiques guys!

So yeah, Mai is sitting on nothingness. I hope the abstract discussion is over. Please continue with my wp's criticism.

[MistressPookyChan]

I think they were talking about your wallpaper. You called it abstract, so they explained abstract.

I call it "the superman", meaning that she is floating/flying in there air. But, I don't think it's *too* bad. I like the colors in the background, but I with the character in the background was lighter without being transparent.

[eddosan]

Hmmm, is it bad practice to have a char just floating there, or is it just wrong to do so when making wallpapers? I see wallpapers with floating characters

(http://www.animewallpapers.com/game/kof/full_2_800.asp, http://www.animewallpapers.com/game/street/full_10_800.asp, http://www.animewallpapers.com/game/street/full_7_800.asp)

so I thought there was nothing wrong when I did the same.

-I wanted to stop talking about the abstract thing because after knowing my wallpaper's bg wasn't abstract, I don't know how else to call it.:unsure: I just wanted to point out that sitting_Mai (foreground) and the background are two separate elements (their physical coexistence is not real, in other words according to www.answers.com "abstract=Considered apart from concrete existence").

:ooh:Ah, now I see, I wasn't trying to talk about the abstract art form at all, just the foreground-background coexistence. I don't feel so "baka" anymore! Woohoo! :bounce:

Sorry about the misconception guys! I'll have to be more careful in later posts.

[MistressPookyChan]

Just because a character is floating in other wallpapers doesn't mean it's good to do. For example, that first wall you linked to is crap, IMO. However, the effect works with the second one. In the third one, they did a really cheap trick of hiding his feet, which looks very strange to me. Anywho, I think that in your wall the floating thing is a bit more acceptable; it fits in a little bit better than in that first wallpaper you linked to. However, I usually tell people to not have the floating effect because it just looks strange.

I still think your main issues are with the washed out coloring in the background and the image transparency.

[eddosan]

I see the effect that transparent bg_Mai vs opaque can have on the image. I guess I wanted a little bit of the side of the house to be seen. Maybe I'll shrink the house jpg so it can be seen more clearly, without having a transparent Mai. Also I'm experimenting different color effects with bg_Mai and the rest of the background. I don't want the whole bg to be pinkish like bg_Mai; I'm looking for something red, but not vibrant enough that it will attract more attention than sitting_Mai.

what do you reccomend I do about bg_Mai's quality/color? Recolor? Make it a vexel? (although I have next-to-nothing experience in vexeling). From what I've read in other threads, wp_pros are not too fond of blurring or using filters that have a similar effect on an image to improve image quality/reduce pixelation. I'll try avoid these tools in cases like this.

[飛竜]

Very awesome there dude. Not bad at all. :D

[eddosan]

OK! I got tired of the other version and redid the whole thing. Then I made a second version with tweaks on the overlayed leaves. Tell me which one you like best, or if you wanna critique the wall in general, do so ;).

So which one will it be? The stream of leaves, or the more conservative scattered leaves? I'm thinking that most people will like the second one, but I'm still curious to hear your answers.

Oh, and that yellow hair she has. I don't want to delete it, but I'm having a little trouble making it blend more with the rest of her hair :mad:. Any tips on this are welcome.

[choasking]

Wow nice wall paper :D .

[jigglyness]

The stock is too blurred so it makes the WP seem kind of awkward. Also work on your cutting too. it's a bit choppy. But the background is nice. :)

[Foxxer]

In the original image, little Mai looks like she's coming out of big Mai's armpit. And little Mai looks like a tracing; there's something wrong with her shading.

In the new image, Mai looks like a bad cutout - the contrast on her is too high, and the edge of her hair is too rounded. It might also help to bring out the red of her costume slightly more, to highlight her better.

I like the watercolor effect of the background.