Learning as I go

[gritts]

I appreciate the comments on past attempts as I work on bettering my skills. I would appreciate comments on my latest efforts. I know there are some izums about the extract (edges, color). That is an area I am trying to master as well.

My goal with this post is to get opinions on the composition of the wallpaper. Any comments are welcome. :D I'll gladly take other pointers as well.

[steelspike]

i like it my self im not very good at this my self but i would say cleaner lines around the person would help a great deal make it look more pro other than that i my self like it

[gritts]

i like it my self im not very good at this my self but i would say cleaner lines around the person would help a great deal make it look more pro other than that i my self like it

Thank you :)

I agree, the cleaner lines would make a big difference. Getting those cleaner lines has been eluding me but I believe I getting better at it.

[gritts]

Toyed some more with GIMP tonight... Here is my newest version of the same page

[Serated]

Alright, here are a few things I have for you that should get you started with a few new ideas.

First of all, with wallpapers, its always good to emphasize your message, here, its the title and the name of the character (Spice and Wold, Horo). So keep those things together, spreading text around makes things look all complicated. Like think about the covers of books and magazines, notice how they keep all the texts together. Now imagine if everything was spread all over the place, the title of the magazine up in a corner, the main articles jumbled around with the main focus image of the cover, the message would get lost.

Next thing to work on is where you focus is, and the focus is always the thing you want standing out more, which I am guessing is Horo. But here, you have her off to the right side, and not centered. Try moving her closer to the center, or, you could find another extraction of Horo and put it in there. Which ever works better for you.

Best of luck.

[gritts]

I spent some more time working on a new extraction. Not really satisfied with it but I used it anyway trying out a new version of a layout.

I brought all the text together as suggested and moved Horo out towards the center. The thing that bugs me now is the amount of color aberrations that I see on my extraction. They are present also as a stand alone image.

Any suggestions on how to handle those? Vectorizing makes them more prominent.

[Serated]

Could use a more vibrantly colored version of Horo. How about this version of her. Its one of my very own vectors, so see if it works better. Its already extracted, so I guess just work from there and see what you get.

[Hautalken]

@Sera: It's not at all necessary to centre the focus in your wallpaper.

@gritts: You'll need to find yourself some clean extractions. The one you've used here is low in quality and doesn't fit with the background. Also, it's quite dark. I think it would be better to use the extract provided by Serated. You just need to size it down some more. And please don't place it too close to the right edge as you've done with the first 2 versions. As for the text, make it smaller and put it in a corner so that it isn't allowed to take away the focus.

Try again, gritts ^^ I'm sure you can do better.

[gritts]

Could use a more vibrantly colored version of Horo. How about this version of her. Its one of my very own vectors, so see if it works better. Its already extracted, so I guess just work from there and see what you get.

I agree. Thank you very much for allowing me to use your extract! The extract is great. What is your software package(s) of choice for extracts?

I'll post my revision shortly...

Thank you for your input. I have been skimming through the anime trying to find that just right item to extract. I think serated just saved me a tremendous amount of time.

The image was from a dark scene and I do not think I did the resolution any favors by scaling it to fit. I wanted to find an image that showed Horo and hinted at her true wolf nature.

I have been toying with vectorizing images as well and this one just didn't quite go so well. I am still learning / perfecting my extracting skills..

I'll post my new version shortly. Thank you again for your input and the encouragement!

Here is my 3rd version of this Wallpaper. Thank you Serated for the extract use!

--

I made a couple of obvious changes here... The background is from the same series. I adjusted the background color some, still bugs me a little. The road closest to Horo, I cut and repasted to keep its original color and sharpness. Blurred the background to add depth.

Something is still bugging me about this though.. Can't put my finger on it...

[Hautalken]

Triple posting?? You know you could always use the 'Edit' button located at the bottom-right of every one of your posts.


As for your wallpaper, you're going to have to work on positioning. Push her to the right some more, not too close to the edge, and then pull her down. Ehh....to tell you the truth, I really don't feel the colors of this extract fit those of your background. You'll have to play around with the overall colors a bit. Maybe make it look like an evening instead?

[gritts]

Didn't notice the Edit button till you pointed it out :D . It may just be me but I'm weird in that I like to see the thread as in order as entries are made... I loose track of changses made within a thread.

Anywho, I made a couple of changes... this time different background, colors adjusted. The road I placed on a seperate layer and kept from applying a blur effect to it. I moved Horo a little more to the right and down a bit.

Can't quite place it but something about the image I am not sure about. The whole series had kind of a muted color feeling to it in my opinion. Making color adjustments is another task I am trying to learn. Specifically how to get the effect I "see" in my mind to be translated to the screen.