Snakes Gould wrote:in my opinion the lighting looks too forced. ill agree with abrage that the lighting on wieters doesnt quite look right, nor does the johan. its just too specific and too distinct.
I actually didn't do the glow effect on Johan. It came from a professionally done poster I found on the web. As for the Wieter's lighting effect, it was my intention to get the crystal glow effect on the ball. I actually like the way it looks. I'm still getting the hang of using lighting, gradient, and lens flare effects. Any advice on how to make the players "pop" is appreciated.
i didnt mean on johan himself. i like the way he looks, i just meant on his hand.
as giants said, you'll actually really good to be nit-picked on, not necessarily by me, but anyone willing to give advice. you'll learn a million different things and adjust your own style accordingly. the artists here at the cafe significantly drop off during the off-season, but ill be around if you have any questions, as im sure giantsfan and smoove will probably be too.
i didnt mean on johan himself. i like the way he looks, i just meant on his hand.
as giants said, you'll actually really good to be nit-picked on, not necessarily by me, but anyone willing to give advice. you'll learn a million different things and adjust your own style accordingly. the artists here at the cafe significantly drop off during the off-season, but ill be around if you have any questions, as im sure giantsfan and smoove will probably be too.
Thanks Snakes. I appreciate everyone's help around here. The glow effect on Johan's hand/ball was part of that poster I mentioned. I didn't change it at all. I actually like the way it looks though. To each his own I guess...
i didnt mean on johan himself. i like the way he looks, i just meant on his hand.
as giants said, you'll actually really good to be nit-picked on, not necessarily by me, but anyone willing to give advice. you'll learn a million different things and adjust your own style accordingly. the artists here at the cafe significantly drop off during the off-season, but ill be around if you have any questions, as im sure giantsfan and smoove will probably be too.
Thanks Snakes. I appreciate everyone's help around here. The glow effect on Johan's hand/ball was part of that poster I mentioned. I didn't change it at all. I actually like the way it looks though. To each his own I guess...
oh ok, i misunderstood what you meant. the concept was cool in my eyes, but it just stood out too much for my liking. i would have added some lighting to tone it down a bit, or added extra sources of light on other parts of the sig.
its definitely to each his own and thats something i definitely preach when it comes to sigs. i dont want someone to copy my exact style nor do i want to copy any one else's. BUT, a huge but, you (not you specifically, just in general) have to understand each critique for what it is.
I like the second Wieters but I'll agree that the faded pic could use a lower opacity and maybe be smaller in size. The Johan is also good although the main pic looks a bit blurry. The glows on the ball aren't really my thing (but hey if they're yours go for it) and I think they'd look better if they were lowered in opacity. I know you mentioned that the glow on Johan was from a poster but you could brush over it in black or something dark and put it on overlay or soft light to dull it some.
About making the players pop or player effects: I used to do some stuff that involved about 5-6 duplicate layers of the player (I actually forget how I did it offhand but I'm sure I have some old .psd's with that effect that I can dig up and explain to you if you'd want to know). Something simpler that I've found looks good is to simply duplicate the pic and motion blur it at about 20-30 pixels and set it to color dodge, linear dodge, overlay, etc. and to lower the opacity to your liking. Should create a little lighting or focal point around the player, thus making him stand out or "pop" some.
Hal·la·day, n. 1. every fifth day in Philadelphia. 2. a day of rest for the bullpen. 3. innings eater. 4. doc. 5. ace.
smoovethug wrote: About making the players pop or player effects: I used to do some stuff that involved about 5-6 duplicate layers of the player (I actually forget how I did it offhand but I'm sure I have some old .psd's with that effect that I can dig up and explain to you if you'd want to know). Something simpler that I've found looks good is to simply duplicate the pic and motion blur it at about 20-30 pixels and set it to color dodge, linear dodge, overlay, etc. and to lower the opacity to your liking. Should create a little lighting or focal point around the player, thus making him stand out or "pop" some.
similar technique i use. if you look at my latest sig (joe blanton) you'll notice the lighting on his left arm (not jersey, just the sharp light on his arm). i still use multiple layers for my player render almost religiously. it really makes a world of difference if you ask me.
Yeah i do the same, i don't use quite as many duplicate layers as you guys, but two or three usually, actually i just learned this stuff a few weeks ago and it does make a huge difference
abrage22 wrote:mmmm.... doesn't look like you did anything i can see how the background may have a lot of layers, but doesn't look like much was done with the player
Well that sucks. Had six player layers. Altered the lighting. Sharpened the logo and facial features. One layer of Glow. 2 layers of motion blur. And a few more miscellaneous stuff...
abrage22 wrote:mmmm.... doesn't look like you did anything i can see how the background may have a lot of layers, but doesn't look like much was done with the player
Well that sucks. Had six player layers. Altered the lighting. Sharpened the logo and facial features. One layer of Glow. 2 layers of motion blur. And a few more miscellaneous stuff...
Did you try playing around with blending modes (most commonly "Soft light" and "overlay")? Sharpening and lighting are really minimal and aren't really noticeable unless they're overdone.
I like the layout, but I'm not too sure about that box around the text.