Serious About Your Skills

Not that it's bad if you don't make graphics, but this survey is just for artists. ;)

So, feel free to add questions if you want, I'm sure someone will edit them in. I just thought this would be fun! Make your answers as long as you want! :)

I would describe my style as sketchy. I tend to make darker, bolder graphics (in color, I mean). I don't really know how else to describe it.

I prefer making banners, because I find the constraints of the standard 700x110 to be a bit of challenge, which makes it that much more fun. I also like making avatars because they're small and you can get away with over-embellishing them.

It usually takes me a couple hours to make something good. I tend to remake the same thing with variations over and over again until I like it and find everything to be perfect. And I mean perfect.

I prefer doing it in one sitting. If I'm really not happy with where it's going, I'll come back to it, but otherwise I do it in one go.

I usually find inspiration in other people's galleries. :D I never copy someone exactly, I just get ideas for techniques. Sometimes I do try to remake something exactly, just so I can figure out how to do it for myself. Then I utilize that new found technique for other graphics.

Some of my best resources include sweetandtalented.com, various brush/textures that I find through TDA, and TDA itself which is great for actually learning. The tutorials really help.

If there's one picture or texture I overuse, it's this one. I seriously use it on almost everything, usually with a radial blur and then on lighten. I'm sort of like, addicted....

Some of the other ones I tend to use a lot are wham, bam, shizam!

The fonts I use a lot are labtop, windsong, optimusprinceps, dyspepsia, teutonic.

Some effects I almost always use are overlay layers, burn and exclusion layers, curve layers, gaussian blurs, drop shadows.

I organize my picture folders by Story Graphics, Random Files, Web Design, Harry Potter, Textures, Movie Stills, Avatars, Sets, Stock Images, Models, Blends, Banners, Heroes, and Perosnal Pictures. HP and Stock Images both have a bunch of sub-folders too; I got the amazing HP image pack from Violet and then sorted the pictures I already had into them (that was fun); Stock Images has the sub-folders 'Flowers,' 'Clocks, Candles & Objects,' 'Wallpapers,' 'Clouds & Sky,' 'Trees and Outdoor,' 'Buildings and Indoor,' and 'People & Other.' I'll admit, some of it is VERY disorganized, but at least I try. :D

I prefer uploading my pictures on Tinypic. Photobucket and Imageshack take too long for me, so Tinypic is quick and easy.

I usually save my pictures as .png because they comes out the most clear and is compatible with transparency. The only times I don't use .png is when it's animated, and then I use .gif.

I would only refuse to take a request if the pictures were poor quality or offensive. Or I didn't have time. Or if I really didn't like the person. Fortunately, none of those has ever happened.

My worst graphic-making memory is when I put about an hour into a blend and then my program shut down. Then I got a spurt of manic energy and I made it again. And it shut down again. Believe it or not, it happened a third time. I then realized that for some reason my vector tool triggered this lapse, so I began saving my blend about every two seconds. Unfortunately, it never was that good, so it really wasn't worth all the aggravation.

I use Corel Paint Shop Pro X v. 10.0

I wish I could use Photoshop. Sigh.

I'm only really pleased with a piece if I look at it and everything just fits together, especially the background, and the coloring is just right. So much has to be perfect for me to be pleased, and that is almost never. But I'm especially happy if I'm able to utilize several techniques in one piece and it all looks good.

The one thing that annoys me above the rest is, besides poor quality pictures, and besides misuse of models (would Eva Longoria really hook up with Harry?), it would have to be misplaced text. Or anything text. It can be the wrong font, the wrong color, too bold... If anything at all is wrong with the text, I immediately hate the graphic.

Whenever I'm in a jam, I look through other people's galleries for inspiration. Then I look through some more after I find something I like, just so that it doesn't stay in my head and then I can make something with it being a rip off of someone else's amazing work.

When I'm making graphics, I like to listen to something that puts me in the mood of the story. I'm usually making something for myself, but I try to do the same even if it's not for me. I've found that it really helps in making a connection with the art, as cheesy as that sounds.

My mood shows in my graphics when I'm listening to music. For that reason, I'm not going to listen to Carrie Underwood when I'm making a banner for an actiony dark thriller.

I've seen myself improve on so many levels. I don't think my picture placement was bad before, but my overall coloring and embellishing has made such a huge difference in the overall look of my graphics.

One thing I sometimes struggle with is backgrounds. If the background is bad, the whole image sucks. I really have a hard time making it creative and at the same time relevant to the story and compatible with the foreground.

What I find most pleasing about making graphics is the time spent. It's a great way to spend leisure time and also to express oneself if even in such a small way. I siply love the feeling of making a graphic that's just good. If you've done it before, you know the feeling, because it's obvious when it isn't good.

My advice to up and coming artists is merely to follow tutorials. I know everyone says it, and it can be frustrating when you don't seem to be making any improvements. Trust me, though, the more you make graphics and learn new tools, the better you will become. Of course, you're going to need an adequate program to get there, and you really need to build up your pictures. By this, I mean saving pictures to your computer and having them at hand. It's no fun to want to make a graphic when you can't find any pictures to use.

I would describe my style as cluttered. lol. I use a lot of stock. Seriously though, I don't think I have a style yet. Though, I do use the Brown/yellow gradient a LOT :D

I prefer making banners. I'm obsessed with banners and I'm actually good at them (sometimes) :alli:

It usually takes me a while when I'm making a graphic. If I'm trying something new, it takes me half a day to complete it. Whatever the graphic might be, it often takes me more than 45 minutes to complete it. No less.

I prefer to complete in one sitting. But I keep coming back if it's not complete (or if it sucks) :P

I usually find inspiration everywhere. Most of the time, I stalk the Staff and Graduate galleries on TDA.

Some of my best resources include GOOOOOOGLE my best friend! ;)

If there's one picture or texture I overuse, it's the almighty CLOCK :D

Some of the other ones I tend to use a lot are beads, clouds, there's a feather picture I use sometimes, but honestly, I'm trying to use new stock now. Someone told me stock/texture reuse is not good. We should always try new stuff.

The fonts I use a lot are Arial, Parseltongue, Aquiline, Jellyka, Giddyup and some more.

Some effects I almost always use are Filters and gradiant map.

I organize my picture folders the simple way. I needed to, especially after I kept mixing stuff together and it turned into a pain.This is how I arrange my folders.
The Main Folder
> Fonts
> Graphics and Tuts
-- Tutorials
-- Bases
-- Textures
-- Graphics by others (I usually save them because I like 'em a lot and need inspiration)
-- Graphics by Tahi (this subfolder includes others like 'graphics for request' and 'challenge graphics' etc)
-- Banners for Tahi stories

I prefer uploading my pictures on Tinypic. It's a the best

I usually save my pictures as .png

I would only refuse to take a request if the requester is too nitpicky about stuff. For example using the same pictures that they provide, especially if the pictures are bad quality. If there's a long title/quote or if they want specific pictures used in their banner and I can't seem to work with them for some reason.

My worst graphic-making memory is The Five Minute Graphic Challenge on TDA. God, mine totally sucked! :blush: And then, there was that time when I made a rare blend and there was an electricity cut-off. I hadn't saved it and I lost it <_<

I use Photoshop CS3

I wish I could use Photoshop is the best (and hardest, they say) I don't really wanna use anything else.

I'm only really pleased with a piece if it's perfect. Duh. AND it gets squeed by a lot of people :D

The one thing that annoys me above the rest is Hmmm....there are actually a lot of things that annoy me.

Whenever I'm in a jam, I quit graphicking and listen to music, watch movies or read stories.

When I'm making graphics, I like to listen to songs. Those which are my current favourites. They usually change as I listen to new songs. lol

My mood shows in my graphics I don't dunno if it does :ph43r:

I've seen myself improve in colouring, placement and blending. My colouring is better than before, mainly because I didn't even know how to colour initially, but it's still not the best and I'm working on it.

One thing I sometimes struggle with is text :chase:

What I find most pleasing about making graphics is I dunno, it just makes me feel good and important. ^_^

My advice to up and coming artists is try new things. Don't be afraid of other people's reactions. Also, learn to judge yourself, don't depend on others. That's really important :)

This should be interesting to do. ^_^

I would describe my style as busy and dark with heavy contrast and an utter lack of simplicity.

I prefer making banners!

It usually takes me too long because I'm a perfectionist. :P Anywhere from 20 minutes to an entire day.

I prefer coming back to it. Usually it turns out looking better.

I usually find inspiration in the images themselves. A different image changes the whole feel of the banner.

Some of my best resources include oclumencia, the costumer's guide, and livejournal.

If there's one picture or texture I overuse, it's the mirror one! :P

Some of the other ones I tend to use a lot are any from The Painted Veil.

The fonts I use a lot are Black Night, Linotype Zapfino, Perpetua, anything Jellyka

Some effects I almost always use are surface blur, selective colouring, gradient maps.

I organize my picture folders I have three main ones - Harry Potter, People, and Other (which contains all general stock images). Each of those is divided further by topic (character, person, mood, or movie).

I prefer uploading my pictures on photobucket or tinypic.

I usually save my pictures as .png

I would only refuse to take a request if it required it to be bright and happy. Don't do those. :lol:

My worst graphic-making memory is making something on my new laptop only to discover that the colour settings were entirely screwed up and the banner had turned out looking horrible!

I use Photoshop CS3 Extended

I wish I could use PSP. I really can't figure out that program at all.

I'm only really pleased with a piece if I can't see any obvious flaws in it. :rolleyes:

The one thing that annoys me above the rest is anything that's overdone - colouring, trends, sharpening, blurring. I'm an "everything in moderation" sort of person.

Whenever I'm in a jam, I walk away from the graphic. It'll work out better later, and I don't want to delete it (just in case).

When I'm making graphics, I like to listen to any music. Usually just whatever's on the iPod.

My mood shows in my graphics never. I tend to splurge on graphics when I'm feeling down, as it's calming and obsessive. :P But that doesn't really show up in the graphic, unless my love for dark graphics is related to mood.

I've seen myself improve in being able to evolve my own style without having to pay heed to trends or outright copy other artists. I feel like I can do my own thing and it'll still turn out well. ^_^

One thing I sometimes struggle with is colouring. Everything else falls into place so easily, but colouring is always a terror.

What I find most pleasing about making graphics is that people like them! I don't always, so it's at least nice to know that they don't look ugly to everyone else.

My advice to up and coming artists is to never give up and never give in to what's popular. Making graphics is filled with hurtles, and too many people give up too soon. Taking advise from others is hugely helpful. It was the advise of BitterEpiphany and others at TDA that made me better. :)