View Full Version : Photoshop Practice: New Banner?
chongkeat
23-10-2008, 04:51 PM
I'll be quick and (hopefully) painless:
Lazy to type, so I'll just post the gist of it:
- I saw a post about a new banner in Recom (really old post)
- Got Photoshop-crazy
- Half an hour later, ended up with an early draft:
http://xs132.xs.to/xs132/08432/recom224.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs132&d=08432&f=recom224.jpg)
- And here you are
What do you think? (Oh, god, please don't flame me....)
So, can I please have ideas or at least some constructive criticism? Pretty please?
I don't really want to use the banner as a replacement, just trying to practice my skills (even if I don't actually have any).
Some notes:
- The word "ReCom.org" is just a placeholder until I can find something decent enough to fit in......
- I chose to use a lot of blue to match the forum colors.
- I still can't think of anything to put as the word "ReCom.org". The current one (the one on this site) looks very fun, though. Is it the original logo or something? Because I can just try to replicate this in my banner.
- I noticed the current banner has transparency, and so is a GIF. I think JPEG will offer a better compression, if we don't have transparency. Actually, since the backgound is white, I think it is also possible to fake transparency by using a white background.
Very, very much open to suggestions, ideas and stuff. If anyone need a .psd file, I will gladly attach it here.
Or, you could just post your own version here?
My latest version:
http://img32.picoodle.com/img/img32/3/11/12/f_recom2m_805f3df.jpg
I've moved the thread to the photography section since it doesn't really fit into the questions/complaints section.
*seehua~
Smilehoe
23-10-2008, 05:29 PM
The right end (the tower, satay) is a bit pale, perhaps lightening the objects more?
chongkeat
23-10-2008, 08:34 PM
The right end (the tower, satay) is a bit pale, perhaps lightening the objects more?
Ya, I've only set about 40% opacity. Perhaps more, then. But I'm still busy crying over the Oct 4 SAT scores......
A good one for a beginner but you need to put more effort in putting more harmony among elements in the banner. Try blurring the rectangle regions with different shades of colors in the banner so that they appear seamless.
Now here is a good news: there is a chance a banner that you or any other member designed would be put up there on top of all pages on ReCom.org if the banner is cool enough ... or more specifically if you can make one that is cooler than Leen's banner below :wink
chongkeat
24-10-2008, 04:00 PM
Try blurring the rectangle regions with different shades of colors in the banner so that they appear seamless.
Yeah, well..... I was actually trying to make it into two separate regions. Maybe I should make it a bit more obvious or something. Here:
- Still no idea how to do the word "ReCom.org"
- I tried to fill the space in between with something. I made something like soaring into the clouds or an open door, i don't really know.
- I abandoned the idea to match the colors with the forum. It's just too bland.
http://xs432.xs.to/xs432/08435/recom3990.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs432&d=08435&f=recom3990.jpg)
- Of course, I lost some details in the clouds in order to make the colors stronger by using an overlay layer, what do you think?
http://xs432.xs.to/xs432/08435/recom2985.jpg.xs.jpg (http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs432&d=08435&f=recom2985.jpg)
Well, you could try filling the space with the clouds with the continuation of the flag picture, which only fades out, say, at the last 100px. The flag would then provide the background for the banner as well as unify/hold all the elements together. You can layer the three small pictures on top of the flag. But then the banner wouldn't be two separate regions any more, so it's really up to you.
For now I would suggest neater blending between the three small pictures and with the background. They don't really seem 'part' of the banner yet.
Just my 0.02.
chongkeat
24-10-2008, 08:16 PM
For now I would suggest neater blending between the three small pictures and with the background. They don't really seem 'part' of the banner yet.
Yes, I thought so too. But I have no idea how to better meld them. Help please?
The flag is just perfect, but i dunno whether it is wide enough to cover the whole banner.
More work with layer masks? How big is your original psd file? If you have a nice high resolution one, it would be easier to cut out/blend.
I think the night sky background for the twin towers is messing a little with the overall blending, especially since the background for the other two pictures is white.
chongkeat
25-10-2008, 03:49 PM
More work with layer masks? How big is your original psd file? If you have a nice high resolution one, it would be easier to cut out/blend.
I think the night sky background for the twin towers is messing a little with the overall blending, especially since the background for the other two pictures is white.
Yeah, that is a problem. Maybe I'll change the picture. Can anyone suggest any image that is Malaysian with a white background or something?
Then again, I could try to mask out the black background, but it wouldn't be nice without a night sky......
And the original flag pic is big enough for the whole banner, but the scale looks perfect right now and I don't wanna mess it up by making it scale bigger. I planned for the flag to fade about halfway through the banner, just covering the words on the left.
Besides, I tried having the flag as the background alone and it looked boring.
The banner feels too choppy. >.<
I will suggest making the white cloud thing diagonal and lessen the opacity too. That way, the banner doesn't feel like it is chopped off. The 3 little pictures look pretty similar to the current recom banner. In fact, the whole banner looks very much like the old one. I will suggest scrapping the whole current banner out of your head and try from scrap again. It helps. =D
Good luck with photoshop.
chongkeat
26-10-2008, 12:30 PM
Yes, of course. I tried not to change the main idea of the current banner too much. E.g. : The flag on the left, the three pics on the right......
Do you think it would be better to make a completely different one?
And which do you think is better? A chopped off banner (two sections), or a whole banner?
But I really like the left part of the banner I made......
UPDATE:
Exam's over!!! Before I get started on my application, I mucked around for a bit.
Here's what I did, starting from scratch.
http://img32.picoodle.com/img/img32/3/11/12/f_recom2m_805f3df.jpg
So?
BTW, can anyone just upload their own version of a banner please? I would love to share and exchange opinions and ideas.....
This is the banner I made that was meant to be ReCom 2.1 banner but later scrapped off after Leen submitted her banner.
I guess at this point anyone can tell that I'm obsessed with malaysian flag ... :nod
chenchow
25-11-2008, 11:40 PM
Do keep up with the banner practice and feedback sharing!
Hopefully, we would be able to have a good number of banners that we could use for ReCom.org Top Banner!
Good Luck!
chongkeat
26-11-2008, 04:07 PM
This is the banner I made that was meant to be ReCom 2.1 banner but later scrapped off after Leen submitted her banner.
I guess at this point anyone can tell that I'm obsessed with malaysian flag ... :nod
Cool flag! Did you made it using a tablet or something?
The flag is very neat, but I think go can do away with the bar beneath it and just include the "WorldWide Malaysian ...." sentence inside the flag.
I've been thinking about buying a graphics tablet for a long time now. How much does it cost anyway? I saw a second hand tablet going for RM 150.....
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