Kellz
Well-Known Member
If you see any Good Resources or anything Missing that should be added, PM me or Post
GFX Terms
Sig-Also Known As Signature
Gfx- Also Known As Graphics
Gfx-ers-Also Known As Graphic Designers
Render- A pre-cut image from a wallpaper or other image commonly used in signatures.
Stock- Any un-cut image. Such as photography or a wallpaper.
Sprite- A render of a pixilized character. Such as ASH from the gameboy pokemon or Ryu from the SNES Street Fighter. Can be any pixelized character.
Focal/Focal Point- The main part of the signature/LP that people see. Most of the time it's your stock or render.
Blending- How well the Render has been fitted/matched with the background. Also how the edges of the render flow into the background.
Flow- The overall direction of the sig.
Chaotic- Too much is going on in the Signature and it is very hard to make out.
Vomit- A bad sig rating
Brush- A downloaded brush from another site commonly used to make sigs. It is used as a tool to create backgrounds.
Brightness/Contrast- Change the settings of your brightness and contrast in your monitor......... notice the difference thats what its referring to. When its over contrasted it means that your contrast is way overboard and it has too much excessive dark spots/black or white light spots.
C4D- An abstract render made in a program called Cinema 4D, also commonly used in sigs.
Pack- A collection of stuff.
Font- A different style of text.
Pixel Stretch- A simple sig technique using 1px by "x[vertical wise" of an image and stretching it across the width of the sig.
Blurred- Blurring duh....you know when it gets fuzzy. It's used for adding depth.
Sharpen-This tool is used to bring up the contents of your focal, by changing the quality to a more "crisp" like view.
Foreground- The front part in a signature, usually blurry, to signify it is "too close" for the lens, or the focus is not on it.
Middleground- The part of a signature/photo where the focus is, where the crisp render is, and where the focal point should be.
Background- The back part of the signature, usually blurry, or made to emphasise the focal point.
Focal point- the first point that the eye draws to, or looks at, in any piece of art. This is strongly affected by placement, depth, and sharpness.
Composition- How well your piece is put together. Anyone can throw a bunch of stuff onto a canvas and call it good. Not everyone can put it together to form a nice piece.
Ripping-Another word for plagerism. Claiming something of your own when in fact it is not your's.
Photo Manipulation/ Manip- Creating something that's almost surreal. Adding things that wern't there to begin with. (Hard to explain, I tried >< )
Typography- Pretty much anything that has to do with text.
B&W- Black and White.
DP- Digital Painting. Using programs to digitally paint something.
Lighting/Light Source - The main source of luminance in the canvas. Lighting makes the art piece brighter. Sometimes there can be more than one light source, while other times there are none.
Effects - These are the parts of the signature that make it appealing and aesthetic, they are designed to aid in the flow of the sig while assisting the focal in looking good.
Sketch & Toon - These are C4Ds that mimic a drawing or a vector.
Mechanical - These are C4Ds that look mechanical or robot-like. They are not as helpful in flow as abstract freehand splines, but they are very intricate and detailed.
Effect Abstracts - These are C4Ds that are transparent with definitive colors and lighting. They are most often used to aid in the effects around the focal.
HQ/LQ- HQ stands for high quality and LQ stands for low quality.
Rights: If you are given "rights" to a resource or a piece itself, below are what you can do with these "rights". Not including full rights, you may not use a resource or piece to post anywhere else, edit it, or claim it as your own. All rights must have original owner's credit with them. When a .psd file is involved you may not use any layers of the .psd for your own projects. Only the original owner can give any type of "right" to you unless someone else has full rights.
WR/ Wearing Rights: When you are given a gift from another member, you may wear the piece in your signature or avatar space.
LR/ LRO/ Learning Rights- This is for a resource given by another member. You may look at it to see what they did to give you ideas of your own.
PR/ Posting Rights- This is also for resources. This means you can repost the resource on other sites.
FR/ Full Rights- You can do whatever you want except claim it as your own. You can edit, repost, take layers from a .psd file, sell it, whatever you feel like you want to do.
something about depth as well:
Blurring something away from the sig while sharpening the focal is an example of depth.
something about composition:
The fusion of lighting, depth and focal give the signature composition.
Other:
LP - Large Piece.
Vector
Pentooling
Raster: An image entirely of individual pixels in a grid format. Most signatures are raster images.
Vector: The use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based upon mathematical equations, to represent images in computer graphics. (Stolen from Wikipedia) To achieve a true vector, you must you a vector program such as Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia FreeHand. Photoshop does not produce true vectors. Most vector art is a compilation of shapes stacked on top of each other to form a whole.
Vexel: A word derived from "vector" and "pixel". It is an entirely raster based image that resembles vector style when at the correct zoom. When you zoom in, however, it will begin to look pixelated, just like any raster based image.
Pentooling: Using the pen tool, whether in photoshop or any other program that has one, to create lines, shapes, paths, etc. A pen tool uses vector formulas to encorporate lines, curves, and points into a path that can be filled with color to create a shape. The pen tool can also make curved lines, and gradients. Using the pen tool takes a little practice, but it's a lot more precise than brushing. The pen tool creates a nice, clean, solid shape.
Brushing: Using any of the brush tools in Photoshop to draw on a canvas, whether with a mouse, tablet, or some other method. Brushes are highly customizable, and can be used in a variety of ways. In comparison to the pen tool, brushing can add texture to a piece.
Expanding the definition of "Depth":
Depth is the illusion of distance within a composition. There are several ways to do this. The most common, and easiest ways to do this in a signature are; to blur the background and sharpen the focal point, making the background darker, and others. Overlapping elements on a canvas, closer items in front of items farther away can create depth as well. Negative space, if used correctly, can make the focal appear much farther back in the piece. Making something bigger or smaller can effect how "deep" into the canvas it is, a big tree is closer than a small volcano.
Photo Manipulation:
Taking a regular image and using editing techniques in order to create an illusion or deception. Like a regular picture would be some like some squeezing a sponge dry, Then the illusion of photo's drop nsted of water.
The Beginning
Alright, first off, you Need a Program. The Most common Programs used are Photoshop, and GIMP. Photoshop is very good and easier to navigate through stuff. But it is expensive. GIMP is free, and isn't as easy to navigate. You can get Photoshop Here and GIMP here Here.Ok now that you have your GFXing programm you could start to make some tags or other art works, but i would suggest to download resources. Resources are mostly things other gfxers(sometimes already professional gfxers have created) and you can use for your own works. The resources that will be important for you at the start will be brushes, fonts and renders.
Some Good Sites: DeviantART Renders-Graphiques and Dafont
How to Install Brushes and Fonts?
GIMP: When you downloaded brushes/fonts search the main folder of your gimp programm, open that fodler. In that folder you will see a subfolder of Gimp that is called Brushes and a subfodler that is called fonts. Now you just take the brushes/fonts you downloaded and paste the downloaded bruhes in the subfolder brushes and the fonts you downloaded you paste in the subfolder fonts. Now you are able to use this brushes/fonts in Gimp.
Photoshop: When you download Brushes, just go to Program Files, then click on Adobe, and go down to Photoshop [Insert your version here], then click on presets and In there is a Brushes folder, just drag the brushes there. For Fonts its a bit tricker, Usually the fonts file is hidden, so you usually just have to go to Control Panel and make a shortcut on your desktop, open it, and drag the fonts there.
Types of GFX
Typography: click
Grunge: click
Vector: click
Abstract: click
C4D: click
Smudge: click
Using C4Ds and ToolsNote: Some may not be on GIMP
C4D Usage: C4Ds are Usually used for Flow or to add Depth. An Average Sig using C4Ds is This But there are some GFXers who tend to do Pieces with Just C4D, which is Fine.
Pentool: Pentool is usually used for Shapes and Curves. More Expierienced GFXers like to use Pentool because they can shape it any way they want.
Move Tool: Move tool allows you to move the Layer you are currently selecting. (does not work if layer is empty)
Marquee Tool: Allows you select certain areas.
Lasso tool: Allows you to Select specific areas.
Crop Tool: Allows you to crop out Areas of a Piece.
Eyedropper Tool: Allows you to Select a Certain color just by clicking on it not trying to find it Manually.
Brush Tool: Allows you to brush of course.
Eraser Tool: Allows you to Erase.
Gradient Tool: allows you to make Gradient Maps or Overlays.
Blur Tool: Blurs out Any unwanted sections, can also be used to create depth.
Smudge Tool: Used many different ways, Blending, or just to make a Simple Smudge Piece.
Sharpen Tool: Sharpens the Image.
Dodge Tool: Makes Image Lighter.
Burn Tool: Makes Image Darker.
Type Tool: Puts Text on your Image
Path Selection Tool: Creates Paths for you.
Zoom Tool: allows you to Zoom in.
Rankings
Low Novice
Novice
High Novice
Someone who Just started, Who doesn't Execute the Basics well, but Has an Idea of what they are.
Low Moderate
Moderate
High Moderate
Someone who knows the basics but don't have some of them mastered just as yet, like composition. Work that show the appeal of having potential and know how to make something decent.
Low Intermediate
Intermediate
High Intermediate
Someone who understands and knows the basics but still have minor problems. They know how to make their work appeal as the advantage by making their work more complex.
Low Semi-Professional
Semi-Professional
High Semi-Professional
Someone who knows the basics and takes advantage of making their work unique with it's own variety of styles and complexity.
Low Professional
Professional
Someone that has a unique style and practically have their work in flawless execution and appeal.
Thank you for visiting this topic about GFX. I know there are already topics like this, but I felt, that SB needs more of advices and help and since there are more and more people who want to be part of this wonderful art, I want to help those ppl on their way becoming a better artist.
So…
WHAT IS GFX ACTUALLY?
If you allow, I would like to quote Wikipedia at this point:
“Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings, or other images.
The layout is produced using external traditional or digital image editing tools.â€
Well, I can imagine that you are possibly a little confused now.
Graphics are not necessarily bound to computer tools, but it is one of the most used possibilies of graphics.
GFX is not only signatures like many of you may think.
The word GFX can cover:
- signatures/banners/posters
- logo’s/symbols
- webdesign
- pixelart
- 3D modeling
- some may even describe digital painting as GFX
I will try to concentrate mostly on signatures GFX in this guide, mostly because the term GFX is too broad to talk about every single part of it.
WHAT STYLES ARE THERE IN GFX?
There are plenty plenty styles you can experiment with.
There is:
- SMUDGING
Signatures created mostly with the smudge tool.
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PENTOOLING/VECTOR/VEXEL
Pentool is also a very nice tool in graphic software which enables you to crate beautiful shapes and unique pieces of art.
The perfect tool for creating vector images is Adobe Illustrator or some people prefer a similar software called Corel Draw.
The difference between vector and vexel is following:
Vexel is based on raster layers unlike vector.
As you can see, vector is still sharp and pretty by resizing it, yet vexel becomes pixelated. If you want to know a little more about this, I recommend mister Google.
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C4D SIGNATURES
Those are signatures that concentrate mostly on C4D use.
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TEXTURING
There are also signatures that concentrate primary on the use of textures.
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OTHER
There are endless possibilities of a sig, you can create an unique piece with good resources or even make/draw your signatures and resources all by yourself (Which is preferred by professionals).
So we come to the next part of this guide.
Now lets splice this guide to three upcoming parts:
1. PART: For those who want to GFX.
2. PART: For those who GFX
3. PART: For those who rate GFX
-If you feel like becoming a GFXer, then do it. Nobody has got the right to stop you and the door to this beautiful art is always open to you.
- One thing is important. Do not start with GFX because of fame or other people, but always because you enjoy making art.
What do you need to start with GFX?
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Off course a GFXing program, the most used would be Photoshop or the free “copy†GIMP. Photoshop is a paid software and therefore his tools and functions are better in general than those of GIMP. But that doesn’t mean you cannot become as good as a Photoshop GFXer with GIMP. Once your GFX level will grow, you will want to use more programs like Adobe Illustrator, 3D Max for 3D modelling or Adobe Affter Effects for animated stuff. But in the beginning, become perfectly familiar with either GIMP or PS. The right time for more software will come.
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A strong will. And I mean a VERY strong will. You are not going to be good at the beginning, you have to be aware of that. You will suck the first weeks of GFXing. Nobody was good the beginning an all the good artists got their skills thanks to practicing and hard work.
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Talent? It’s an advantage, but with hard work, you can become a much better artist than the one with talent.
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Basic GFX knowledge. You cannot start to GFX with no informations about it at all. There are plenty things you need to know before you even start making your first sig. Let’s take a look at it:
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STOCK/RENDER
The main part of your first sig is probably going to be your favourite character. Now you have got two options:
- Render – a picture of a character (or other object) with erased background. Example: render
- Stock – Stock is kinda any standard picture you can find. Example: stock
When choosing a render/stock, keep in mind always choose a picture with high quality, colors and overall a nice appeal. Not even the best GFXer will make a piece of art from an ugly render.
Bad use of render:
^Perfect, now 90% of your sig is just a render. This is not the point of GFXing, make the render smaller and show us some effects.
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SIZE
There are no real rules for the size of a sig, YET keep in mind, that you are going to make a signature for a forum, not a poster, so standard size is around 400x130 or a little more, maximum size for SB sig is 580x300, but avoid this size in the beginning and better try to make your sig smaller than this.
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FOCAL
Focal is the main point of your signature. It’s the place where the eyes of ppl shall look first when looking at your work. In general, the focal is probably gonna be your chosen character. On higher levels, it might be an abstract shape, but don’t worry about that for now.
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DEPTH
Depth is kinda a little hard to explain. You know what’s depth in real life, right? Well, then depth in signatures is kinda the same. To create depth, GFXers often blur used elements in front of their focal or even the background. But don’t blure your whole sig, that’s not the point of depth!
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FLOW
Don’t let your sig end up messy. It’s a piece of art, it needs composition and no random effects abuse. The effects of your sig should me concentrated in some way.
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BORDERS
Borders are ugly. I am serious, 90% of sigs are ugly due to a border. The sig seems unnecessary boxed and it’s hard to feel the artistic freedom of it. Sure, there are some signatures which maybe look better with a border, but there only VERY VERY few of them, so better avoid them if possible.
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COLORS
Colors are also an important part of your GFXing knowledge. Remember, that you don’t have to abuse the whole color spectrum for one sig. Choose like two or three colors in the beginning (including all it’s hues) and compose a sig with them. Do not over contrast your sig, let the colors be gentle, your goal isn’t to make our eyes hurt. The colors have to go together well, pink/green/red/orange combination won’t probably work very well.
Very frequented colors in nowadays GFX trends are blue/pink/yellow, yet you have to learn how to use them effectively, so keep practicing and experimenting with different combination first.
^Sig based on two colors.
Also, black and white signatures are no crime. A b/w sig can be as good a colourful one, SB may tend not to accept this kind of signatures as good as they do with rainbowish ones, but keep in mind, that SB is no GFX forum, so don’t let this to you.
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LIGHT/LIGHTING
Uh oh, no, I am not talking about me right now. Light can make your sigs more lively. You can create light very simple by using a soft round brush and set in on overlay(if using white light) and/or screen(if using a colourful one). It’s usually good to concentrate light near the render.
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FONT/TEXT
Oh yes, text. The nightmare of most GFXers. It’s hard even for skilled GFXers to use a font that fits their sig perfectly. The main thing is not to use too complicated fonts. Very simple ones like “Impact†can work amazingly good when used in capital letters. Handwritting fots work rarely good and some fonts are completely unusable.
Examples of horrible fonts you should avoid:
And other similar ones.
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C4Ds
C4Ds are GFX resources which you are probably going to use a lot. There are
- abstract C4Ds
- effects C4Ds
abstract C4Ds are used on normal mode and help you to create composition.
On the other hand, effect C4Ds are here to create specific effects (As the name says) and are mostly used on screen or other transparent layer option. Very popular type of those C4Ds are bubbles.
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Now those were some basic things you should know (And I hope I haven’t forgotten any), but how to start now?
Well, a very good option is to use tutorials. There are lot of BAD, but also a lot o GOOD tutorials for beginners. I recommend you to look into the other SB GFX guides for tuts, I think it would be useless to list here something that’s been listed elsewhere.
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“People tell me that I suck.â€
- People tend to say mean things and there are many reasons for that. They want to be cool, they want to filter their frustrations on other people, but they may also be honest. If you have read my long long guide till now, I have told you already once, that you won’t be good at the beginning. But don’t let those words hurt you. Take advices from GFXers, listen to not-stupid comments and become better and show all the people, that you might be the best one day.
“People tell me to give up.â€
NO! That’s the biggest mistake you can do. People told me to give up too, but I kept fighting, so you should fight too. There will always be people talking bad about you and your work, no matter how much you try, nobody can satisfy all, but as long as GFXing is fun to you, you should keep trying.
“I think I am pretty good, people told me.â€
There are two kinds of people who will comment your work. GFXers and non-GFXers/beginner GFXers. If non-GFXers give you a rating of 9/10 and a GFXer a rating of 2/10, that sig might be appealing to the people, but GFX-wise it’s not good, so keep trying.
“I feel like I am stuck on my level.â€
Maybe you may not see the improvement, but believe me, you improve with every sig you do. You learn the aesthetic feeling slowly and gain skills, just like Pokémon do.:3 Sometimes even the best GFXer makes horrible sigs, but those black moments are in life of any artist.
“I want to improve!â€
If so, then I recommend you reading some tuts, as I said already.
Another option is to ask nicely some good GFXer to help you with your GFX and ask for advices. Some of the GFXers may even choose to teach you, but beware, that they are people too and maybe don’t have the time. In the end, the best teacher is you creativity, since you will improve the most when trying new things. I also recommend you to catch inspiration in professional LPs and signatures, which can be seen for example in the awesome Inspiration thread Beo posted here: HERE
And off course, don’t forget, this is no GFX community, visit forums like FringeFX or vibrantfx.net. Those people know how to rate, comment and help.
Well, that’s nice, but you shouldn’t rate randomly. There are rules for GFX and you should try to follow them.
- No work is perfect, keep that in mind, giving a 10/10 to a beginner is nice and surely makes the dude happy, BUT he won’t become better this way. And also such a rating is a disgrace to GFXers who worked hard to become professionals, so rate nicely, but not stupidly.
- I know people who don’t GFX don’t often recognize how’s that sig worse than the other and I don’t blame you. But please at least be aware of things like quality, color, flow and such.
- Because a sig is nice and shiny doesn’t make it good. Well it can, but it doesn’t have to.
- Rather than give a low rating, give a constructive criticism and tell the GFXer on what to improve. Don’t be a fag and tell also something nice about the sig.
- If somebody doesn’t ask you about rate or comment, then don’t do it. I am serious, some people don’t like criticism at all, so if you see someone wearing a sig which you don’t like, don’t tell him right now “Hey, dude, that sig is horrible, did your mom make it?†It’s not funny and you are making a stupid fool out of yourself.
- Don’t be mean to someone, if you think, you are a better GFXer. Everybody deserves a little respect, even the worst GFXer deserves some for trying. Don’t act cocky, there is never a reason for that and if you are really a better GFXer, try to help the others nicely.
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1.Introduction To Gfx.
2.Types of Gfx.
3.Tutorials
4.LRO .PSDs
5.Basic Things.
6.How to Cnc.
7.Stocks and Renders.
8. C4Ds and Wireframes.
9.Vectors.
10.Ripping.
11.Small Art (Tag's/Signature's)
12.Large Art (LP's)
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1.[Intorduction to Gfx.]
Gfx is a form of art. It can be made of anything using any Graphics Program like Photohop/GIMP/MS Paint.
Gfx isn't just Tags and Avatars, It can be large pieces, manipulation, logos, and designs, vectors, posters, anything really.
It is quite an easy thing gfx. It can be learnt in many ways and so many styles to it. People tend to use Gfx alot these days,
People can make money out of it or do it for fun, Gfx is seen in many things now'a'days. I can Gfx You could Gfx Anyone can Gfx.
So why don't you give it a go. The possibilities are endless!
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2.[Types of Gfx.]
There are many types of Gfx, Some of them I stated in the introduction.
.Signatures
.Avatars
.Backgrounds
.Posters
.Logos
.Manipulation
.Designs
And the type of Gfx that goes into it:
.Abstract
.Vectors
.Retro
.Grunge
.Many more
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3.[Tutorials.]
Alot of you may currentlly be using tutorials, I understand, That' fine. Because some of you may not know how to do certain things.
Some of you may be using Tutorials to be creating a signature just like in the tutorial. That's fine too. But if you want to do your own style,
And make your own things, If you really need to ue tutorials, only take like things you didn't know from it and tips, Don't copy it word for word,
Image for image. There may be somethings in a tutorial that maybe everyone or ome people wouldn't know, Those are the kind of things people should be using from tutorials.
Tutorials Could be also classed into classes to make it easier for people.
.Begginner Tutorials
.Novice Tutorials
.Moderate Tutorials
.Intermidate Tutorials
.Semi Pro tutorials
.Pro Tutorials.
But I really think most tutorials only go up to Intermidate.
Remember: Only take hints and tips from Tutorials that you didn't know, And ould be useful if you want to do your own things.
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4.[LRO PSDs/.XCFs]
When you come across PSDs that will be givin out by maybe a member or a graphics team on a GFX Board, All of them will be LRO PSDs.
LRO meaning: Learning Rights Only. Meaning You can only learn from them, Not copy them or layer rip. That's what PSDs are there for when they are given out.
LRO. People like to give out to the community, Because they want to help people out, Not for you to copy it and claim it as your own.
People Give out LRO PSDs when they think they can trust you. So some advice: When PSDs are given out, Do not layer rip neither claim it as your own.
PSDs can be found at Gfx Boards or anything associated with Gfx. You could also save your works as a .PSD, So incase you ever loe your touch like I did once,
You can look back at your other previous works and how you made em, another reason to save them as .PSDs is because you could always better them another time.
.XCFs For GIMP users work in the Same way for .PSDs for Photoshop users.
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5.[Basics You Need to Know.]
i How to save something(Photoshop): [I did this one because a friend of mine didn't know how to save].
File > Save As
Then choose the location
If you want to save it as a .PSD, The bottom option's default would be .PSD
Just change the name to whatever .PSD like. "Signature.psd"
You could always do the same for a .PNG
Click on the arrow in the Bottom option that says Photoshop File (PSD) into PNG.
And you know how to do the name "Signature.png"
Other formats work the ame Way.
ii How to Save something(GIMP):
It works just like Photoshop, Well ofcourse instead of .PSD you have .XCF.
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iii. How to upload
There are many ways to upload an image or .PSD. It's quite Simple, You just have to Click on the browse button to browse for your image then click upload.
Here are some sites that you could upload on, some you have to register.
Photobucket(Register)
tinyPic(You don't have to register, But if you want to store your images in a tinypic account instead of your computer, then register).
imageshack(No Registering)
UploadPSD (If that doesn't work, Try PSDUpload.com, and No Registering)
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iv What A gradient is
A gradient is what changes the tone/colour of your sig, Besides the other tools that do that.
How to Get a Gradient Map
Photoshop: Layer > Adjustment > Gradient Map.
GIMP: Click on the Black and White Square in your toolbox.
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vBorders and How to Add em
Borders are....well I'm not really sure anyone of you wouldn't know what a border is, like a frame. It is very simple to add them.
Photoshop: Layer > New Layer > Apply Image. Select > All. Edit > Stroke.
GIMP: Select > All. Edit > Stroke.
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6.[CnC
Cnc'ing is one of the best ways to improve your Gfx as well as Gfx boards. The more comments and Critisizm you get the better you get.
You can take the advice from Cnc's and like do it, to improve your gfx. You could also give Cnc to other Gfxers who you think need help,
Giving Cnc's Can raise your awareness of Gfx as well as helping others.
To Cnc, You have to look close at that piece of Gfx, know thing about Gfx and have sharp eyes =D.
Much people would want Cnc more than Rates, And it is better to have Cnc than rates.
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7.[Stocks and Renders]
Stocks and renders are two different things. render are images that have been rendered from another image. and stocks are the image.
You can find stocks on any image website and same goes for renders, But Planetrenders Is good for renders.
There's another place for stocks and renders on Soul Boards.
That place is here: ..:Official Soul Boards Grand Gfx Central:..
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8.[C4Ds and Wireframes]
C4Ds and Wireframes are what some gfxers tend to use. C4Ds and Wireframes can help your Gfx, But it could ruin it at the ame time.
If they are placed and used correctlly, good job, Alot of them on one sig isn't so great, it can ditract the sig and other things.
There are different types of C4Ds and Wireframes a list of them is here:
C4Ds:
Bubble C4Ds
Effect C4Ds
Solid C4Ds
Wireframes:
White WireFrames
Black WireFrames
Any other colour lol.
For wireframes, the way you can get a white one, Is by inverting it.
If you want any other colour wireframes, you know how to do that, just by simply changing the colour with adjutments.
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9.[Vectors and Retro]
Vectors and retro pieces of Gfx, Is a fabulous style. Some people would think Vectors are a little cartooney looking and others might think it's
a illustrated piece, But that doesn't matter, they both mean the same thing. Retros on the other hand, are a little like Vectors. They're like from example:
60's or 70's posters, They tend to appear alot in posters. same as for vectors.
Here are some examples of Vectors:
Vector:
Click
Click
Retro:
Click
Click
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10.[Ripping]
Yes Ripping is taken very seriously in Gfx, no matter which forums it is in. Ripping is Taking A piece of gfx someone made/tag/avatar from a site,
For example: you search "ichigo" in photobucket, You see a ichigo avatar saying a name on it, or you see a ichigo tag saying a name on it.
You save it, and upload it, or take the image code and put it into your profile or signature space. Ripping can also be seen when taking a tutorial or a .PSD and claiming it as your own.
Rippers cannot hide, Rippers cannot get away with it, They will always be caught out. If you ee a ripper, report to a member of the staff. They will deal with it.
You don't need to start a flame war. A further topic on ripping can be seen here:
Great Hall of GFX Rules.
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12 and 13.[Small Art and Large Art]
Small Art:
Small art is tags/signatures whatever you want to call it. They are made normally with a landscape perspective, but quite small in length. Roughly most are about: Width: 420, Length: 120. But you can also use any size, just as long as it looks like a signature, and fits the forums regulations size limit.
Large Art
Large art, is like signatures, but but bigger, normally like a portrait or poster type of size. I'm not too sure what most of them are rougly about (the size). In Large art, you have to be really creative, seeing as the canvas will be big. You also have to make sure everything fits into place and goes well together. LArge art is alot harder than Small art, but give it a go and try it, you never know if you'll like it to you try.
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What are graphics?
Graphics, usually referred as "GFX", are images created with the use of software, such as gimp or Photoshop. These take time to make, and are made generally for clans, personal wear, and basically for one to look better. You can't become a professional in a few months; it'll at least take three years. Getting critique from experienced gfxers is the best way to improve, instead of getting mad over what they say, learn from it and implement it. Soul-Boards isn't the best place to get good GFX critique, you should try this or this. Those two are very good critique websites, once you post a tag you'll learn what's wrong with it and you'll be able to fix it. I'll be explaining concepts in GFX from here on, and you'll be able to find resources to make graphics at the bottom.
Understanding your tools
The first thing you should do is understand most of your software's tools and how and when to use them. I'll be explaining tools of Photoshop only, but I hear gimp is similar to Photoshop, so you might not have a problem. I'll explain some basic tools in photoshop:
The burn tool is useful for darkening parts of your image, and should be used with the mode set to shadows with strength of 32%. Use a soft brush of 15-10 px.
The dodge tool is a tool used to add lighting in your graphic, basically making a part lighter. I suggest testing different modes with this one, but putting the strength on to 32% as well. Use a soft brush of 15-10 px.
The blur tool is used to blur things that distract the viewer from your focal point. Use this with strength of 30 and a soft brush of 15-10 px.
The sharpen tool is used to sharpen things in your image to help add depth to it, use it with strength set to 30 and with a soft brush of 15-10 px.
The gradient tool is used to add gradients obviously, I suggest using the default settings for it, and remember when you're adding one, add it diagonally.
The shape tool is obviously used to make shapes.
Understanding Concepts/Terms
Here I'll explain concepts necessary to grasp in order to make good graphics. If you still don't understand, PM me or post in the thread. I'll also explain some terms used to make it easier for you to live in the graphic community.
C4Ds
These are objects made in 3D software; they aid in graphics a lot. There are a lot of types as well, effects, solid, etc,. I usually set effect ones to screen.
Focal Point
Your focal point; the point you want your viewer to focus their eyes on. For example vegeta in a tag, you want people to look at him so he's the focal point.
Monotone
This means you have only one color in your signature, and this is usually bad. For example, I make a tag out of a red fox with red c4ds and red stocks, it'll turn out monotone and won't look very good. Note that with b/w sigs, this isn't the case; they look nice in black and white.
Stocks
Stocks are used to add effects in a graphic; you can find some places to get them at the resource section of the thread. I usually set them to screen, lighten or soft light.
Flow
Flow is a bit difficult to understand, so don't worry if you don't get it at first. Think of flow as waves in an ocean, each wave leads you to a certain island. That right there is flow, so flow in graphics means that the elements you put in your signature leads to your focal point.
Depth
Depth is making your focal point easier to see. Imagine vegeta(yes I make lots of references of him, xD) standing in a valley full of flying rocks. We want to see vegeta but because of the rocks, he's hard to see. We'll blur the rocks a bit, sharpen edges of him and even burn a little edge to make him stand out more.
Concept
This term means what you signature is based on. For example I take a forest stock and add a fire stock and etc. My concept is that I'm making a burning forest.
FX
This term means the effects used in your graphic, C4DS, stocks, etc,.
Composition
This term means the placement of your elements in your signature. For example, I place a c4d behind sasuke then I put a lighting bolt in front of him.
The Key
The key to GFX is to basically experiment; try new things and go out of your way, or a way a tutorial would suggest. Try new things, test out new tools, try out new concepts. Remember to follow tutorials if you are starting gfx and don't use brushes to build your backgrounds, ever.
Resources
I've compiled a list of tutorials, C4Ds, stocks, and renders. One of the tutorial is made by myself, but the rest are made by others, remember to give them credit. For planetrender links, I've made you guys both a forum account and site account. Please be mature and do not change the password. This will allow you to download mostly anything from the site.
Source: http://forum.gexir.com/index.php, wikihow, GFXWorld, My Self
GFX Terms
Sig-Also Known As Signature
Gfx- Also Known As Graphics
Gfx-ers-Also Known As Graphic Designers
Render- A pre-cut image from a wallpaper or other image commonly used in signatures.
Stock- Any un-cut image. Such as photography or a wallpaper.
Sprite- A render of a pixilized character. Such as ASH from the gameboy pokemon or Ryu from the SNES Street Fighter. Can be any pixelized character.
Focal/Focal Point- The main part of the signature/LP that people see. Most of the time it's your stock or render.
Blending- How well the Render has been fitted/matched with the background. Also how the edges of the render flow into the background.
Flow- The overall direction of the sig.
Chaotic- Too much is going on in the Signature and it is very hard to make out.
Vomit- A bad sig rating
Brush- A downloaded brush from another site commonly used to make sigs. It is used as a tool to create backgrounds.
Brightness/Contrast- Change the settings of your brightness and contrast in your monitor......... notice the difference thats what its referring to. When its over contrasted it means that your contrast is way overboard and it has too much excessive dark spots/black or white light spots.
C4D- An abstract render made in a program called Cinema 4D, also commonly used in sigs.
Pack- A collection of stuff.
Font- A different style of text.
Pixel Stretch- A simple sig technique using 1px by "x[vertical wise" of an image and stretching it across the width of the sig.
Blurred- Blurring duh....you know when it gets fuzzy. It's used for adding depth.
Sharpen-This tool is used to bring up the contents of your focal, by changing the quality to a more "crisp" like view.
Foreground- The front part in a signature, usually blurry, to signify it is "too close" for the lens, or the focus is not on it.
Middleground- The part of a signature/photo where the focus is, where the crisp render is, and where the focal point should be.
Background- The back part of the signature, usually blurry, or made to emphasise the focal point.
Focal point- the first point that the eye draws to, or looks at, in any piece of art. This is strongly affected by placement, depth, and sharpness.
Composition- How well your piece is put together. Anyone can throw a bunch of stuff onto a canvas and call it good. Not everyone can put it together to form a nice piece.
Ripping-Another word for plagerism. Claiming something of your own when in fact it is not your's.
Photo Manipulation/ Manip- Creating something that's almost surreal. Adding things that wern't there to begin with. (Hard to explain, I tried >< )
Typography- Pretty much anything that has to do with text.
B&W- Black and White.
DP- Digital Painting. Using programs to digitally paint something.
Lighting/Light Source - The main source of luminance in the canvas. Lighting makes the art piece brighter. Sometimes there can be more than one light source, while other times there are none.
Effects - These are the parts of the signature that make it appealing and aesthetic, they are designed to aid in the flow of the sig while assisting the focal in looking good.
Sketch & Toon - These are C4Ds that mimic a drawing or a vector.
Mechanical - These are C4Ds that look mechanical or robot-like. They are not as helpful in flow as abstract freehand splines, but they are very intricate and detailed.
Effect Abstracts - These are C4Ds that are transparent with definitive colors and lighting. They are most often used to aid in the effects around the focal.
HQ/LQ- HQ stands for high quality and LQ stands for low quality.
Rights: If you are given "rights" to a resource or a piece itself, below are what you can do with these "rights". Not including full rights, you may not use a resource or piece to post anywhere else, edit it, or claim it as your own. All rights must have original owner's credit with them. When a .psd file is involved you may not use any layers of the .psd for your own projects. Only the original owner can give any type of "right" to you unless someone else has full rights.
WR/ Wearing Rights: When you are given a gift from another member, you may wear the piece in your signature or avatar space.
LR/ LRO/ Learning Rights- This is for a resource given by another member. You may look at it to see what they did to give you ideas of your own.
PR/ Posting Rights- This is also for resources. This means you can repost the resource on other sites.
FR/ Full Rights- You can do whatever you want except claim it as your own. You can edit, repost, take layers from a .psd file, sell it, whatever you feel like you want to do.
something about depth as well:
Blurring something away from the sig while sharpening the focal is an example of depth.
something about composition:
The fusion of lighting, depth and focal give the signature composition.
Other:
LP - Large Piece.
Vector
Pentooling
Raster: An image entirely of individual pixels in a grid format. Most signatures are raster images.
Vector: The use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based upon mathematical equations, to represent images in computer graphics. (Stolen from Wikipedia) To achieve a true vector, you must you a vector program such as Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia FreeHand. Photoshop does not produce true vectors. Most vector art is a compilation of shapes stacked on top of each other to form a whole.
Vexel: A word derived from "vector" and "pixel". It is an entirely raster based image that resembles vector style when at the correct zoom. When you zoom in, however, it will begin to look pixelated, just like any raster based image.
Pentooling: Using the pen tool, whether in photoshop or any other program that has one, to create lines, shapes, paths, etc. A pen tool uses vector formulas to encorporate lines, curves, and points into a path that can be filled with color to create a shape. The pen tool can also make curved lines, and gradients. Using the pen tool takes a little practice, but it's a lot more precise than brushing. The pen tool creates a nice, clean, solid shape.
Brushing: Using any of the brush tools in Photoshop to draw on a canvas, whether with a mouse, tablet, or some other method. Brushes are highly customizable, and can be used in a variety of ways. In comparison to the pen tool, brushing can add texture to a piece.
Expanding the definition of "Depth":
Depth is the illusion of distance within a composition. There are several ways to do this. The most common, and easiest ways to do this in a signature are; to blur the background and sharpen the focal point, making the background darker, and others. Overlapping elements on a canvas, closer items in front of items farther away can create depth as well. Negative space, if used correctly, can make the focal appear much farther back in the piece. Making something bigger or smaller can effect how "deep" into the canvas it is, a big tree is closer than a small volcano.
Photo Manipulation:
Taking a regular image and using editing techniques in order to create an illusion or deception. Like a regular picture would be some like some squeezing a sponge dry, Then the illusion of photo's drop nsted of water.
The Beginning
Alright, first off, you Need a Program. The Most common Programs used are Photoshop, and GIMP. Photoshop is very good and easier to navigate through stuff. But it is expensive. GIMP is free, and isn't as easy to navigate. You can get Photoshop Here and GIMP here Here.Ok now that you have your GFXing programm you could start to make some tags or other art works, but i would suggest to download resources. Resources are mostly things other gfxers(sometimes already professional gfxers have created) and you can use for your own works. The resources that will be important for you at the start will be brushes, fonts and renders.
Some Good Sites: DeviantART Renders-Graphiques and Dafont
How to Install Brushes and Fonts?
GIMP: When you downloaded brushes/fonts search the main folder of your gimp programm, open that fodler. In that folder you will see a subfolder of Gimp that is called Brushes and a subfodler that is called fonts. Now you just take the brushes/fonts you downloaded and paste the downloaded bruhes in the subfolder brushes and the fonts you downloaded you paste in the subfolder fonts. Now you are able to use this brushes/fonts in Gimp.
Photoshop: When you download Brushes, just go to Program Files, then click on Adobe, and go down to Photoshop [Insert your version here], then click on presets and In there is a Brushes folder, just drag the brushes there. For Fonts its a bit tricker, Usually the fonts file is hidden, so you usually just have to go to Control Panel and make a shortcut on your desktop, open it, and drag the fonts there.
Types of GFX
Typography: click
Grunge: click
Vector: click
Abstract: click
C4D: click
Smudge: click
Using C4Ds and ToolsNote: Some may not be on GIMP
C4D Usage: C4Ds are Usually used for Flow or to add Depth. An Average Sig using C4Ds is This But there are some GFXers who tend to do Pieces with Just C4D, which is Fine.
Pentool: Pentool is usually used for Shapes and Curves. More Expierienced GFXers like to use Pentool because they can shape it any way they want.
Move Tool: Move tool allows you to move the Layer you are currently selecting. (does not work if layer is empty)
Marquee Tool: Allows you select certain areas.
Lasso tool: Allows you to Select specific areas.
Crop Tool: Allows you to crop out Areas of a Piece.
Eyedropper Tool: Allows you to Select a Certain color just by clicking on it not trying to find it Manually.
Brush Tool: Allows you to brush of course.
Eraser Tool: Allows you to Erase.
Gradient Tool: allows you to make Gradient Maps or Overlays.
Blur Tool: Blurs out Any unwanted sections, can also be used to create depth.
Smudge Tool: Used many different ways, Blending, or just to make a Simple Smudge Piece.
Sharpen Tool: Sharpens the Image.
Dodge Tool: Makes Image Lighter.
Burn Tool: Makes Image Darker.
Type Tool: Puts Text on your Image
Path Selection Tool: Creates Paths for you.
Zoom Tool: allows you to Zoom in.
Rankings
Low Novice
Novice
High Novice
Someone who Just started, Who doesn't Execute the Basics well, but Has an Idea of what they are.
Low Moderate
Moderate
High Moderate
Someone who knows the basics but don't have some of them mastered just as yet, like composition. Work that show the appeal of having potential and know how to make something decent.
Low Intermediate
Intermediate
High Intermediate
Someone who understands and knows the basics but still have minor problems. They know how to make their work appeal as the advantage by making their work more complex.
Low Semi-Professional
Semi-Professional
High Semi-Professional
Someone who knows the basics and takes advantage of making their work unique with it's own variety of styles and complexity.
Low Professional
Professional
Someone that has a unique style and practically have their work in flawless execution and appeal.
Thank you for visiting this topic about GFX. I know there are already topics like this, but I felt, that SB needs more of advices and help and since there are more and more people who want to be part of this wonderful art, I want to help those ppl on their way becoming a better artist.
So…
WHAT IS GFX ACTUALLY?
If you allow, I would like to quote Wikipedia at this point:
“Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings, or other images.
The layout is produced using external traditional or digital image editing tools.â€
Well, I can imagine that you are possibly a little confused now.
Graphics are not necessarily bound to computer tools, but it is one of the most used possibilies of graphics.
GFX is not only signatures like many of you may think.
The word GFX can cover:
- signatures/banners/posters
- logo’s/symbols
- webdesign
- pixelart
- 3D modeling
- some may even describe digital painting as GFX
I will try to concentrate mostly on signatures GFX in this guide, mostly because the term GFX is too broad to talk about every single part of it.
WHAT STYLES ARE THERE IN GFX?
There are plenty plenty styles you can experiment with.
There is:
- SMUDGING
Signatures created mostly with the smudge tool.
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PENTOOLING/VECTOR/VEXEL
Pentool is also a very nice tool in graphic software which enables you to crate beautiful shapes and unique pieces of art.
The perfect tool for creating vector images is Adobe Illustrator or some people prefer a similar software called Corel Draw.
The difference between vector and vexel is following:
Vexel is based on raster layers unlike vector.
As you can see, vector is still sharp and pretty by resizing it, yet vexel becomes pixelated. If you want to know a little more about this, I recommend mister Google.
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C4D SIGNATURES
Those are signatures that concentrate mostly on C4D use.
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TEXTURING
There are also signatures that concentrate primary on the use of textures.
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OTHER
There are endless possibilities of a sig, you can create an unique piece with good resources or even make/draw your signatures and resources all by yourself (Which is preferred by professionals).
So we come to the next part of this guide.
Now lets splice this guide to three upcoming parts:
1. PART: For those who want to GFX.
2. PART: For those who GFX
3. PART: For those who rate GFX
-If you feel like becoming a GFXer, then do it. Nobody has got the right to stop you and the door to this beautiful art is always open to you.
- One thing is important. Do not start with GFX because of fame or other people, but always because you enjoy making art.
What do you need to start with GFX?
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Off course a GFXing program, the most used would be Photoshop or the free “copy†GIMP. Photoshop is a paid software and therefore his tools and functions are better in general than those of GIMP. But that doesn’t mean you cannot become as good as a Photoshop GFXer with GIMP. Once your GFX level will grow, you will want to use more programs like Adobe Illustrator, 3D Max for 3D modelling or Adobe Affter Effects for animated stuff. But in the beginning, become perfectly familiar with either GIMP or PS. The right time for more software will come.
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A strong will. And I mean a VERY strong will. You are not going to be good at the beginning, you have to be aware of that. You will suck the first weeks of GFXing. Nobody was good the beginning an all the good artists got their skills thanks to practicing and hard work.
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Talent? It’s an advantage, but with hard work, you can become a much better artist than the one with talent.
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Basic GFX knowledge. You cannot start to GFX with no informations about it at all. There are plenty things you need to know before you even start making your first sig. Let’s take a look at it:
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STOCK/RENDER
The main part of your first sig is probably going to be your favourite character. Now you have got two options:
- Render – a picture of a character (or other object) with erased background. Example: render
- Stock – Stock is kinda any standard picture you can find. Example: stock
When choosing a render/stock, keep in mind always choose a picture with high quality, colors and overall a nice appeal. Not even the best GFXer will make a piece of art from an ugly render.
Bad use of render:
^Perfect, now 90% of your sig is just a render. This is not the point of GFXing, make the render smaller and show us some effects.
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SIZE
There are no real rules for the size of a sig, YET keep in mind, that you are going to make a signature for a forum, not a poster, so standard size is around 400x130 or a little more, maximum size for SB sig is 580x300, but avoid this size in the beginning and better try to make your sig smaller than this.
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FOCAL
Focal is the main point of your signature. It’s the place where the eyes of ppl shall look first when looking at your work. In general, the focal is probably gonna be your chosen character. On higher levels, it might be an abstract shape, but don’t worry about that for now.
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DEPTH
Depth is kinda a little hard to explain. You know what’s depth in real life, right? Well, then depth in signatures is kinda the same. To create depth, GFXers often blur used elements in front of their focal or even the background. But don’t blure your whole sig, that’s not the point of depth!
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FLOW
Don’t let your sig end up messy. It’s a piece of art, it needs composition and no random effects abuse. The effects of your sig should me concentrated in some way.
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BORDERS
Borders are ugly. I am serious, 90% of sigs are ugly due to a border. The sig seems unnecessary boxed and it’s hard to feel the artistic freedom of it. Sure, there are some signatures which maybe look better with a border, but there only VERY VERY few of them, so better avoid them if possible.
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COLORS
Colors are also an important part of your GFXing knowledge. Remember, that you don’t have to abuse the whole color spectrum for one sig. Choose like two or three colors in the beginning (including all it’s hues) and compose a sig with them. Do not over contrast your sig, let the colors be gentle, your goal isn’t to make our eyes hurt. The colors have to go together well, pink/green/red/orange combination won’t probably work very well.
Very frequented colors in nowadays GFX trends are blue/pink/yellow, yet you have to learn how to use them effectively, so keep practicing and experimenting with different combination first.
^Sig based on two colors.
Also, black and white signatures are no crime. A b/w sig can be as good a colourful one, SB may tend not to accept this kind of signatures as good as they do with rainbowish ones, but keep in mind, that SB is no GFX forum, so don’t let this to you.
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LIGHT/LIGHTING
Uh oh, no, I am not talking about me right now. Light can make your sigs more lively. You can create light very simple by using a soft round brush and set in on overlay(if using white light) and/or screen(if using a colourful one). It’s usually good to concentrate light near the render.
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FONT/TEXT
Oh yes, text. The nightmare of most GFXers. It’s hard even for skilled GFXers to use a font that fits their sig perfectly. The main thing is not to use too complicated fonts. Very simple ones like “Impact†can work amazingly good when used in capital letters. Handwritting fots work rarely good and some fonts are completely unusable.
Examples of horrible fonts you should avoid:
And other similar ones.
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C4Ds
C4Ds are GFX resources which you are probably going to use a lot. There are
- abstract C4Ds
- effects C4Ds
abstract C4Ds are used on normal mode and help you to create composition.
On the other hand, effect C4Ds are here to create specific effects (As the name says) and are mostly used on screen or other transparent layer option. Very popular type of those C4Ds are bubbles.
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Now those were some basic things you should know (And I hope I haven’t forgotten any), but how to start now?
Well, a very good option is to use tutorials. There are lot of BAD, but also a lot o GOOD tutorials for beginners. I recommend you to look into the other SB GFX guides for tuts, I think it would be useless to list here something that’s been listed elsewhere.
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“People tell me that I suck.â€
- People tend to say mean things and there are many reasons for that. They want to be cool, they want to filter their frustrations on other people, but they may also be honest. If you have read my long long guide till now, I have told you already once, that you won’t be good at the beginning. But don’t let those words hurt you. Take advices from GFXers, listen to not-stupid comments and become better and show all the people, that you might be the best one day.
“People tell me to give up.â€
NO! That’s the biggest mistake you can do. People told me to give up too, but I kept fighting, so you should fight too. There will always be people talking bad about you and your work, no matter how much you try, nobody can satisfy all, but as long as GFXing is fun to you, you should keep trying.
“I think I am pretty good, people told me.â€
There are two kinds of people who will comment your work. GFXers and non-GFXers/beginner GFXers. If non-GFXers give you a rating of 9/10 and a GFXer a rating of 2/10, that sig might be appealing to the people, but GFX-wise it’s not good, so keep trying.
“I feel like I am stuck on my level.â€
Maybe you may not see the improvement, but believe me, you improve with every sig you do. You learn the aesthetic feeling slowly and gain skills, just like Pokémon do.:3 Sometimes even the best GFXer makes horrible sigs, but those black moments are in life of any artist.
“I want to improve!â€
If so, then I recommend you reading some tuts, as I said already.
Another option is to ask nicely some good GFXer to help you with your GFX and ask for advices. Some of the GFXers may even choose to teach you, but beware, that they are people too and maybe don’t have the time. In the end, the best teacher is you creativity, since you will improve the most when trying new things. I also recommend you to catch inspiration in professional LPs and signatures, which can be seen for example in the awesome Inspiration thread Beo posted here: HERE
And off course, don’t forget, this is no GFX community, visit forums like FringeFX or vibrantfx.net. Those people know how to rate, comment and help.
Well, that’s nice, but you shouldn’t rate randomly. There are rules for GFX and you should try to follow them.
- No work is perfect, keep that in mind, giving a 10/10 to a beginner is nice and surely makes the dude happy, BUT he won’t become better this way. And also such a rating is a disgrace to GFXers who worked hard to become professionals, so rate nicely, but not stupidly.
- I know people who don’t GFX don’t often recognize how’s that sig worse than the other and I don’t blame you. But please at least be aware of things like quality, color, flow and such.
- Because a sig is nice and shiny doesn’t make it good. Well it can, but it doesn’t have to.
- Rather than give a low rating, give a constructive criticism and tell the GFXer on what to improve. Don’t be a fag and tell also something nice about the sig.
- If somebody doesn’t ask you about rate or comment, then don’t do it. I am serious, some people don’t like criticism at all, so if you see someone wearing a sig which you don’t like, don’t tell him right now “Hey, dude, that sig is horrible, did your mom make it?†It’s not funny and you are making a stupid fool out of yourself.
- Don’t be mean to someone, if you think, you are a better GFXer. Everybody deserves a little respect, even the worst GFXer deserves some for trying. Don’t act cocky, there is never a reason for that and if you are really a better GFXer, try to help the others nicely.
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1.Introduction To Gfx.
2.Types of Gfx.
3.Tutorials
4.LRO .PSDs
5.Basic Things.
6.How to Cnc.
7.Stocks and Renders.
8. C4Ds and Wireframes.
9.Vectors.
10.Ripping.
11.Small Art (Tag's/Signature's)
12.Large Art (LP's)
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1.[Intorduction to Gfx.]
Gfx is a form of art. It can be made of anything using any Graphics Program like Photohop/GIMP/MS Paint.
Gfx isn't just Tags and Avatars, It can be large pieces, manipulation, logos, and designs, vectors, posters, anything really.
It is quite an easy thing gfx. It can be learnt in many ways and so many styles to it. People tend to use Gfx alot these days,
People can make money out of it or do it for fun, Gfx is seen in many things now'a'days. I can Gfx You could Gfx Anyone can Gfx.
So why don't you give it a go. The possibilities are endless!
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2.[Types of Gfx.]
There are many types of Gfx, Some of them I stated in the introduction.
.Signatures
.Avatars
.Backgrounds
.Posters
.Logos
.Manipulation
.Designs
And the type of Gfx that goes into it:
.Abstract
.Vectors
.Retro
.Grunge
.Many more
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3.[Tutorials.]
Alot of you may currentlly be using tutorials, I understand, That' fine. Because some of you may not know how to do certain things.
Some of you may be using Tutorials to be creating a signature just like in the tutorial. That's fine too. But if you want to do your own style,
And make your own things, If you really need to ue tutorials, only take like things you didn't know from it and tips, Don't copy it word for word,
Image for image. There may be somethings in a tutorial that maybe everyone or ome people wouldn't know, Those are the kind of things people should be using from tutorials.
Tutorials Could be also classed into classes to make it easier for people.
.Begginner Tutorials
.Novice Tutorials
.Moderate Tutorials
.Intermidate Tutorials
.Semi Pro tutorials
.Pro Tutorials.
But I really think most tutorials only go up to Intermidate.
Remember: Only take hints and tips from Tutorials that you didn't know, And ould be useful if you want to do your own things.
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4.[LRO PSDs/.XCFs]
When you come across PSDs that will be givin out by maybe a member or a graphics team on a GFX Board, All of them will be LRO PSDs.
LRO meaning: Learning Rights Only. Meaning You can only learn from them, Not copy them or layer rip. That's what PSDs are there for when they are given out.
LRO. People like to give out to the community, Because they want to help people out, Not for you to copy it and claim it as your own.
People Give out LRO PSDs when they think they can trust you. So some advice: When PSDs are given out, Do not layer rip neither claim it as your own.
PSDs can be found at Gfx Boards or anything associated with Gfx. You could also save your works as a .PSD, So incase you ever loe your touch like I did once,
You can look back at your other previous works and how you made em, another reason to save them as .PSDs is because you could always better them another time.
.XCFs For GIMP users work in the Same way for .PSDs for Photoshop users.
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5.[Basics You Need to Know.]
i How to save something(Photoshop): [I did this one because a friend of mine didn't know how to save].
File > Save As
Then choose the location
If you want to save it as a .PSD, The bottom option's default would be .PSD
Just change the name to whatever .PSD like. "Signature.psd"
You could always do the same for a .PNG
Click on the arrow in the Bottom option that says Photoshop File (PSD) into PNG.
And you know how to do the name "Signature.png"
Other formats work the ame Way.
ii How to Save something(GIMP):
It works just like Photoshop, Well ofcourse instead of .PSD you have .XCF.
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iii. How to upload
There are many ways to upload an image or .PSD. It's quite Simple, You just have to Click on the browse button to browse for your image then click upload.
Here are some sites that you could upload on, some you have to register.
Photobucket(Register)
tinyPic(You don't have to register, But if you want to store your images in a tinypic account instead of your computer, then register).
imageshack(No Registering)
UploadPSD (If that doesn't work, Try PSDUpload.com, and No Registering)
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iv What A gradient is
A gradient is what changes the tone/colour of your sig, Besides the other tools that do that.
How to Get a Gradient Map
Photoshop: Layer > Adjustment > Gradient Map.
GIMP: Click on the Black and White Square in your toolbox.
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vBorders and How to Add em
Borders are....well I'm not really sure anyone of you wouldn't know what a border is, like a frame. It is very simple to add them.
Photoshop: Layer > New Layer > Apply Image. Select > All. Edit > Stroke.
GIMP: Select > All. Edit > Stroke.
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6.[CnC
Cnc'ing is one of the best ways to improve your Gfx as well as Gfx boards. The more comments and Critisizm you get the better you get.
You can take the advice from Cnc's and like do it, to improve your gfx. You could also give Cnc to other Gfxers who you think need help,
Giving Cnc's Can raise your awareness of Gfx as well as helping others.
To Cnc, You have to look close at that piece of Gfx, know thing about Gfx and have sharp eyes =D.
Much people would want Cnc more than Rates, And it is better to have Cnc than rates.
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7.[Stocks and Renders]
Stocks and renders are two different things. render are images that have been rendered from another image. and stocks are the image.
You can find stocks on any image website and same goes for renders, But Planetrenders Is good for renders.
There's another place for stocks and renders on Soul Boards.
That place is here: ..:Official Soul Boards Grand Gfx Central:..
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8.[C4Ds and Wireframes]
C4Ds and Wireframes are what some gfxers tend to use. C4Ds and Wireframes can help your Gfx, But it could ruin it at the ame time.
If they are placed and used correctlly, good job, Alot of them on one sig isn't so great, it can ditract the sig and other things.
There are different types of C4Ds and Wireframes a list of them is here:
C4Ds:
Bubble C4Ds
Effect C4Ds
Solid C4Ds
Wireframes:
White WireFrames
Black WireFrames
Any other colour lol.
For wireframes, the way you can get a white one, Is by inverting it.
If you want any other colour wireframes, you know how to do that, just by simply changing the colour with adjutments.
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9.[Vectors and Retro]
Vectors and retro pieces of Gfx, Is a fabulous style. Some people would think Vectors are a little cartooney looking and others might think it's
a illustrated piece, But that doesn't matter, they both mean the same thing. Retros on the other hand, are a little like Vectors. They're like from example:
60's or 70's posters, They tend to appear alot in posters. same as for vectors.
Here are some examples of Vectors:
Vector:
Click
Click
Retro:
Click
Click
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10.[Ripping]
Yes Ripping is taken very seriously in Gfx, no matter which forums it is in. Ripping is Taking A piece of gfx someone made/tag/avatar from a site,
For example: you search "ichigo" in photobucket, You see a ichigo avatar saying a name on it, or you see a ichigo tag saying a name on it.
You save it, and upload it, or take the image code and put it into your profile or signature space. Ripping can also be seen when taking a tutorial or a .PSD and claiming it as your own.
Rippers cannot hide, Rippers cannot get away with it, They will always be caught out. If you ee a ripper, report to a member of the staff. They will deal with it.
You don't need to start a flame war. A further topic on ripping can be seen here:
Great Hall of GFX Rules.
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12 and 13.[Small Art and Large Art]
Small Art:
Small art is tags/signatures whatever you want to call it. They are made normally with a landscape perspective, but quite small in length. Roughly most are about: Width: 420, Length: 120. But you can also use any size, just as long as it looks like a signature, and fits the forums regulations size limit.
Large Art
Large art, is like signatures, but but bigger, normally like a portrait or poster type of size. I'm not too sure what most of them are rougly about (the size). In Large art, you have to be really creative, seeing as the canvas will be big. You also have to make sure everything fits into place and goes well together. LArge art is alot harder than Small art, but give it a go and try it, you never know if you'll like it to you try.
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What are graphics?
Graphics, usually referred as "GFX", are images created with the use of software, such as gimp or Photoshop. These take time to make, and are made generally for clans, personal wear, and basically for one to look better. You can't become a professional in a few months; it'll at least take three years. Getting critique from experienced gfxers is the best way to improve, instead of getting mad over what they say, learn from it and implement it. Soul-Boards isn't the best place to get good GFX critique, you should try this or this. Those two are very good critique websites, once you post a tag you'll learn what's wrong with it and you'll be able to fix it. I'll be explaining concepts in GFX from here on, and you'll be able to find resources to make graphics at the bottom.
Understanding your tools
The first thing you should do is understand most of your software's tools and how and when to use them. I'll be explaining tools of Photoshop only, but I hear gimp is similar to Photoshop, so you might not have a problem. I'll explain some basic tools in photoshop:
The burn tool is useful for darkening parts of your image, and should be used with the mode set to shadows with strength of 32%. Use a soft brush of 15-10 px.
The dodge tool is a tool used to add lighting in your graphic, basically making a part lighter. I suggest testing different modes with this one, but putting the strength on to 32% as well. Use a soft brush of 15-10 px.
The blur tool is used to blur things that distract the viewer from your focal point. Use this with strength of 30 and a soft brush of 15-10 px.
The sharpen tool is used to sharpen things in your image to help add depth to it, use it with strength set to 30 and with a soft brush of 15-10 px.
The gradient tool is used to add gradients obviously, I suggest using the default settings for it, and remember when you're adding one, add it diagonally.
The shape tool is obviously used to make shapes.
Understanding Concepts/Terms
Here I'll explain concepts necessary to grasp in order to make good graphics. If you still don't understand, PM me or post in the thread. I'll also explain some terms used to make it easier for you to live in the graphic community.
C4Ds
These are objects made in 3D software; they aid in graphics a lot. There are a lot of types as well, effects, solid, etc,. I usually set effect ones to screen.
Focal Point
Your focal point; the point you want your viewer to focus their eyes on. For example vegeta in a tag, you want people to look at him so he's the focal point.
Monotone
This means you have only one color in your signature, and this is usually bad. For example, I make a tag out of a red fox with red c4ds and red stocks, it'll turn out monotone and won't look very good. Note that with b/w sigs, this isn't the case; they look nice in black and white.
Stocks
Stocks are used to add effects in a graphic; you can find some places to get them at the resource section of the thread. I usually set them to screen, lighten or soft light.
Flow
Flow is a bit difficult to understand, so don't worry if you don't get it at first. Think of flow as waves in an ocean, each wave leads you to a certain island. That right there is flow, so flow in graphics means that the elements you put in your signature leads to your focal point.
Depth
Depth is making your focal point easier to see. Imagine vegeta(yes I make lots of references of him, xD) standing in a valley full of flying rocks. We want to see vegeta but because of the rocks, he's hard to see. We'll blur the rocks a bit, sharpen edges of him and even burn a little edge to make him stand out more.
Concept
This term means what you signature is based on. For example I take a forest stock and add a fire stock and etc. My concept is that I'm making a burning forest.
FX
This term means the effects used in your graphic, C4DS, stocks, etc,.
Composition
This term means the placement of your elements in your signature. For example, I place a c4d behind sasuke then I put a lighting bolt in front of him.
The Key
The key to GFX is to basically experiment; try new things and go out of your way, or a way a tutorial would suggest. Try new things, test out new tools, try out new concepts. Remember to follow tutorials if you are starting gfx and don't use brushes to build your backgrounds, ever.
Resources
I've compiled a list of tutorials, C4Ds, stocks, and renders. One of the tutorial is made by myself, but the rest are made by others, remember to give them credit. For planetrender links, I've made you guys both a forum account and site account. Please be mature and do not change the password. This will allow you to download mostly anything from the site.
Source: http://forum.gexir.com/index.php, wikihow, GFXWorld, My Self
