Pink Poogle Toy Forum

<b>Dawn2</b> -- Relatively clean edges around the butterfly. But why did you make the sig rectangular? It looks out of place because the image is so curvy. And you should have flipped the gradient on the main text so that it doesn't blend in with the gradient in the background. Also, the bar around the subtext is uneven. There seems to be two pixels on the top and one on the bottom away from the text. If you're going to do something like that, try to make it even, and at least two pixels away from text on both top and bottom. The background is bland. It needs texture, not just a gradient.

<b>Sunnie</b> -- Cool. I don't like the size of the sig, but that's just a personal preference. I like the extra stroke that you put on the image in the sig. The background isn't monotonous or anything. Good.

<b>Darklengendary</b> -- The background is pretty cool. Good contrast and placement of the images. The text placement, however, could use work. The main text should be centered more, or place elsewhere so that the set is balanced. It's a bit heavy on the left side, if you know what I mean.

<b>bluehawaii19</b> -- The font is incredibly hard to read. There's so much blank space, especially on the rightside of his head. You could have easily cut off the edge there. I also don't like how the lower right corner of the avatar looks like it's cut off because of the overlay border. It just looks silly. This set is just bland. You need to add something to it to attract attention... not just tint the original image all one color.

<b>remybuxaplentyfan</b> -- At first glance, I thought you had just pasted the image on a blue background. It took awhile for me to realize that you used some kind of gradient. Try something with more contrast next time, because one can hardly tell that there is more than one shade of blue. Also, empty space everywhere! It needs texture.

<b>Optimus</b> -- The pixel effect is too large and distracting. For that effect to be done tastefully, you need to try something smaller. Question: his eyes aren't golden?

<b>Starchaser</b> -- Your work is always amazing. I love the warmer glow you used on the original image; it adds a bit of life to her. Ironically, the subtext you chose also fits very well. I just wish you had extended the set a bit longer, for effect.

<b>Kitten Medli</b> -- Her face looks stretched out in the sig. The grid lines are too far apart. Because the focus of the image is so small you might as well have cut down the size. Overly large signatures look bulky.

<b>moogie</b> -- Again, the pixel effect you used is a bit too large. I think the faded text behind the main text is slightly distracting. Perhaps try either pixelating or the random text, but not both?

<b>hellyer</b> -- Nice use of filters. It looks a lot cooler than the original image did. I guess I just don't like how the text on the signature isn't centered in that dark spot. Personal preference though.

<b>Kyra</b> -- Ohhh. Lovely. The height of the sig isn't my taste. And I can't read the first word of the subtext (---- of ice). I love what you did to the main text though. Variety is great. The background goes really well with the theme of your set, but I still think you could have cut down on the size.

<b>xerai</b> -- Perhaps you should use a pixel text for tiny text so that it isn't hard to read. And for the text overlay, it needs to go all the way to the bottom. It also needs to be in a different font because the line spacing is too far apart, making it distracting. I think the far right image could have been moved over to the right more. The few pixels of net could have been used for the racquet and such. Your style is very distinct though.

<b>Shadowfare</b> -- Pretty good. It's simple and comes off nicely. The only thing is that the stroke around the text on the avatar and the lowest text on the sig doesn't make it stand out so it's hard to read.

<b>Koku</b> -- Gorgeous. Everything is just tastefully done. The background is so simple but classy. The only thing that bothers me is the extra space above the main text. Subtext would have filled it out nicely.

<b>Fzun</b> -- You should have saved it as a jpeg, because there is a lot of quality lost, as is evident by the pixelly blue moon. I really like how you focused on just the moon and clouds from such an obscure image. The text placement on the sig is also a bit weird. The main text is too close to the edge.

<b>tymaporer</b> -- The image you chose wasn't great to begin with. It should have been enlarged. The background is choppy and doesn't match with the image. Neither does your text. Try a blue next time. The random lighting on the text doesn't help make it any more legible. It also needs to be placed in a way that adds something to the set, rather than making it more random.

<b>amethyst</b> -- Save it as a jpeg next time, so that the quality is a bit better. The main text is kind of overbearing. Even though I think you could have picked a more vibrant image to work with, the end result is decent.

<b>apricus</b> -- Love it. I don't know how you always manage to turn random images into great work. Other than the purple being kind of blinding, there is nothing I want to pick at. =P

<b>watericesage</b> -- The edges are clean. The main text is distracting. Also, use a pixel font and make sure that it's even; as in, use all caps or all lowercase letters. The random placement really takes away from the uniformity of the set.

<b>Scholastic</b> -- Creative. Looks neat. You just need darker borders around everything: the outer border, inner borders, text borders. The faint gray makes everything look washed out. Vibrance would be preferred.

<b>...Alex</b> -- Love the sepia-ish tone. I don't like how the text runs into her head. Also, it's a tad unbalanced because there is more space for the guy than the girl; as in, you cut off more of the image on the girl's side. You hid your name very well. I didn't even notice it until just now. Kind of cool.

<b>Meowth1982</b> -- Plain, but decent. For some reason, the text placement is a bit off. The subtext is too... square. I don't know how to explain it. Did you align it left or center? I realize that the lines are pretty close in length, but in the future, try to center it unless it's at the edge. Also, your main text is just overbearing and uncentered between the image and the right edge.

<b>Scottnak</b> -- Text placement! Auggh. It's unbalanced. Even with the little swirly thing in the background, you need a bit more going on then just a tinted image. Plus it should have been "I'm sad...." and "They wouldn't let my green friend in." Grammatically, your way doesn't make sense. *glare* And on the avatar, the text should be more to the right, regardless of the thing in the background. Remember. It's in the background. Ignore it unless it's vital to your image.

<b>JellyFish27</b> -- I used to do exactly what you did: take a pretty image, put on text, and add cutouts. While your style develops, it's okay, but it's generic. You have to make sure the cutouts add something to the set, otherwise it's just unnecessary. Also, check "Anti-alias" when using a non-pixel font; it'll keep your edges smooth. The color you choose for text also needs to stand out against your image unless it's meant to blend in. You also need to place it tastefully.

<b>Paola</b> -- It's fantastic! I don't know what to complain about. I love the background and how you focused on a small part of the image while still establishing the mood. Lovely job, dear.

<b>DM was on fire!</b> -- The overlay overkill hurts. When using overlays, you still need to lower the opacity or you end up with these bright layers that blind people. To be blunt, you haven't been listening to what the judges have said in the past. First off, your text is illegible. With the text overlay in the back and the ridiculously complexed font in that color, it's hard to see anything. Please, select a legible font from now on. The subtext has to be even. Use all caps or all lowercase letters. The borders for everything (text, set, etc.) need to be darker. See how the girl has a bit of black and red? Incorporate that into your set somehow; it's easiest using the text. The avatar is the most painful, because it's hard to see anything at all. It's messy and overly-done.

<b>polarbearpop</b> -- Were you the one that entered the dreamy dog + flower set? You take awesome pictures of your dog then. They're so clear! Anyway, this looks pretty cool. The text overlay in the background is a bit too strong; just lower the opacity. I also don't like the blinding white spot on the left, but other than that, it's decent.

<b>Mermaid Hil</b> -- The border is pretty, and I like the colors. The gridlines are too far apart. Try smaller ones, so that it's not distracting. But if you had used smaller ones here, it may have been overkill with the randomness. The background removal wasn't very clean though. Did you use the magic wand tool? Because that's a killer. Try using a layer mask to erase it by hand. It takes longer, but the effect is a lot nicer. The text placement needs work. Perhaps you should have moved them closer together. When you put text at the top and bottom, they make the gap in the middle look extra big. The disappearing text is really choppy. Lower the delay of the frames.

<b>Sakura</b> -- I always love your work, Jenn. You're awesome at doing random stuff with text. The white looks slightly out of place. Perhaps an un-ugly shade of pink or something? No complaints though.

<b>Alex</b> -- I love how the image quality is great even with the massive transition. Probably because the color scheme is relatively close... good call, dear.

<b>timkhj</b> -- Hahahaha. I love the random background. It's great.However, the images are really blurry for some reason. The originals are really sharp, but did you accidently adjust from a high pixel per inch to a lower one? Random bluriness happens when I do that. I don't like how "Yurble the Kid" is covered partially. I realize you did it that way because of the image on the left, but I think that should have been faded more into the background. It's so pixelly that it's distracting. Also, the subtext and the text on the avatar needs to be fixed. You must have kept "anti-alias" checked, because that's why it's blurry. Next time, uncheck it so that your subtext/pixel text will be crisp.

<b>Neko</b> -- Usually when someone uses such strong scanlines it's overbearing, but I actually really like how you did it. I'm glad the pixel effect is small so that it's not distracting. I don't like lowercase subtext, but that's a personal preference. The end effect is really cool. Good job.

My votes go to tymaporer, watericesage, JellyFish27, and remybuxaplentyfan.
The following people should take heed, as you came close: Dawn2, bluehawaii19, Kitten Medli, xerai, DM was on fire!, Mermaid Hil, and timkhj.

The text overlay finished on the last line. There was nothing much I could do about it; only really find a bigger font. That wouldn't look good.

Only one person has rated me. I feel unloved. Kidding!



Oh, I see. I believe that's actually the pixel font you use, dear Silja. MS Sans? Or is it called MS Sans Serif? I forgot. But, yeah. Now that I look at it, it wouldn't be as bright either.

Yeah.. it was originally longer, but then the file size started to get huge -.-

And I think that brings up the total to... er... 7 people

I LOVE that subtext so much XD Go Daggy Do! The Angry Beavers is one of the best Nicktoons ever made. I thought that about the avatar text too when I looked at it after the deadline. Sometimes avatar text is a problem for me :/ I see what you're saying about the main text though



Aren't the Angry Beavers great?! I made the background the way I did cause it was a bit more Norbert 60's without being tie dye. (I hate tie dye, it hurts my eyes x_x) I agree with you about the avatar and main text though

Make that 8.

The text on the av's hidden-ish so that no stinky art thieves steal it- I'd tried it with text before, and hadn't been satisfied with how it looked, so I decided to just keep it there on a super-low opacity. Looking back, I realise that was rather silly, as I do have the original PDFs, whereas any thief wouldn't. Gah. x_o

...Alex: Hm, I've never really like monotone tinted images, I think they always look kind of dull, and this one looks especially washed-out. I find it really odd that you left enough empty space to fit in text, but left it and put very very faint text in the water and on his shirt, they're both hardly noticeable where they are. 6/10

Alex: Very nice work on the sig, I like how the "Alex" doesn't move, it makes it look very uniform. I also think it was very clever to choose two images with similar color makeup, not only does it keep up the color scheme, it keep the filesize fairly low even with the animation. I think the second frame of the sig (the parking lot) looks rather awkward because it's from a different perspective than the beach picture, perhaps you could have distorted it a bit to keep the perspective angles similar. 8.5/10

Amethyst: I think the image you chose looks very odd resized down to av/sig size, you can hardly see any detail in his eyes. Good job reconstructing the background, but I think the magenta at the bottom of the sig is so harsh that it draws attention away from everything else. I really like the grungy scanlines and text overlay, they fit with the image well. 9/10

Apricus: I like how you oversaturated the colors in the original image, they make a nice contrast and frame the woman nicely. Very interesting backgrounds, they certainly look dizzying. I think it would have been even cooler if you'd mixed up the text on the sig. 9.5/10

bluehawaii19: Well, unlike most color tinted images, this one has the problem of being overcontrasted; the skin tones are very flat, and his features are very dark, it looks rather creepy. I can hardly read your text, it's so curly, try using a more legible font. Also, I rather dislike the weird empty gap on the right side of his head, you could have trimmed it off without losing any image detail. 5/10

Darklegendary: I like the whole grungy/ghostly theme of this set, the colors are very well suited to it. Not much else to say, it's very nice and original. 10/10

Dawn2: This reminds me of how my sets used to look. It's very plain, but no serious problems other than that. I definitely think you could have done more with the backgrounds. Gradients are very fast and do not show any unusual techniques. I actually think the open-face font suits the veiny butterfly wings very well, but the gradient really detracts from it since the top portion blends in with the background so much. The only other thing I noticed is very small and hardly a problem; the strip behind the subtext should be one pixel taller or shorter so that there's an even amount of space between the top and bottom of the text. 7/10

DM was on fire!: First, a little side note. It's bad practice to use fan wallpapers as source images. I happen to know Nat (the girl who made that Chobits wall), and she went to a lot of trouble to reconstruct this image to make such a nice wall. It's riding off her hard work to use it yourself, and even though it's not hurting anything, it's just impolite. Now then. The sig seems unneccessarily wide. I'd recommend a different display font, the gothic calligraphy looks much too heavy for this set, especially since you went with a light color scheme. The background is very plain, and the text overlay on top of it makes it look very crowded. I really dislike the text overlay on the picture, it makes it look very messy. 7/10

fzun: From what I can see, you did not do much, simply cropped the picture down to size, made a few level adjustments, then added a border and text. I think you should have adjusted some of the compression settings when saving it as a *.gif, it's VERY jagged. 4/10

hellyer: Dry brush filter, I presume? I can guess that you used a variety of filters on that image, but Dry Brush is very recognizeable because of the hard edges it creates; next time maybe you should soften them with a Gaussian Blur. The color on your display font looks very out of place, it's overly bright for the dark corner it's in. 6/10

JellyFish27: Doesn't look like you did much at all with the image, just added a border and text. Remember to anti-alias your display fonts, or else they look jagged and out of place. 4/10

Kitten Medli: This color tinting actually looks okay, which is nice to see. Her skin tones are still a bit flat though. There is a little widening in the sig, it's nothing too noticable though. I think your display font looks very bold and out of place next to the soft picture, maybe a lighter (thinner) font would look nicer. 7/10

Koku: I like that you oversaturated the image a little bit, the original looks a little flat. The background looks very nice, and it matches the original very well. The display text on the sig it looks too bold, I think you should have used a more neutral color, or a lighter font. 8/10

Kyra: Very nice, the color scheme and the subtext work together very well. My only complaint is that the subtext on the sig is hard to read (does that say 'Peon of Ice'?). 9.5/10

meowth1982: I can see white artifacts around the edges of the creature in the av, particularly in the tufts on his head. The white text on the sig looks very bold, out of place against the dark-ish background. Also, it looks like it says Meowth/982, you might have chosen a different font so that the 1 didn't look like a forward slash. 8/10

Mermaid Hil: The extracting on the picture is very rough, especially in her hair. It would have been nice if you'd used some dark gray elements also, rather than just blue and white. The fading animation on the sig is very staggered, if you used more frames, it would have been much smoother. Also, there's way too much wasted space between the display font and the fading subtext. 6/10

moogie: Hm, changing the positioning of the image really does a lot to change the mood of the set. That and the screened mosaic overlay make this set look very romantic. Her hands don't have much detail, and they take up a large part of the bottom of the av, and it looks very plain, I think you could have cropped it in a different position to include less of her hands and the rest of her chin. 9.5/10

Neko: Ooh, very pretty. I can see a variety of effects on the image, but they're all so subtle that they don't detract from it at all. The only thing I'd suggest is to do something about the bright white spots in the top right and bottom left corners, they're a bit distracting. 9.5/10

Optimus: Very nice too, I like how you used the mosaic overlay to frame the eyes. The pixellated background in the sig is very simple and nice, and offers just enough detail not to be empty, but not so much that it's distracting. I find it a bit odd, though, that your subtext says 'Golden Eyes' and they still look very brown. 10/10

paola: A very pretty source image, the color scheme matches very well. One problem though, the overlaid border around the edges is green in her hair. Besides that it goes against this round's requirements, it looks pretty weird. 9/10

polarbearpop: I like the overexposed effect you made on the dog, it softens the image and brings out a lot of shadow detail. There's a very small thing I don't like, and it's the placement of the text in the background of the sig. About 30 pixels to the left of the display text, there's a big column of empty space, it would look nicer if you move the text around a bit so that the spaces don't make 'rivers.' All in all, though, a very nice set. This is the first time I've seen your graphics, and if this is beginner's work, I'm very impressed. 9.5/10

remybuxaplentyfan: Hm, it's all very plain. To be honest, all the flat colors makes it look like something drawn totally from scratch in MS Paint. Photoshop CS is capable of a lot, it's only limited by your willingness to explore its functionalities. I suggest you brush up on some tutorials and learn new effects to add interest to your work.

Sakura: Next time please remember to at least give your source image. The colors work together very nicely, despite the shocking light gray in the sig. You kept up the whole grungy feel very well with all the visual effects. 9/10

Scholastic: An interesting way of displaying this image. The gradiatent background on the av looks rather awkward, I bet it would look nicer if it was transparent. I like how you added a little bit of color to the grayscaled image. I would suggest a different display font for the sig, the script looks very out of place with the tough-looking guys. 8.5/10

ScottNak: For the most part, it's a nice looking set, but from the information you provided, I don't think it was very hard work to make. The image you chose to use for the background has no effects other than grayscaling, and the Animation Shop can make the fading animation with a filter. Overall though, the composition is not bad, I would recommend a less striking display font for the sig, though, the dark gray looks very out of place. 6.5/10

Shadowfare: It's very nice, I especially like the way you composed the text on the sig. My only suggestion is to adjust your compression settings, the sky has a lot of compression artifacts in it. 9.5/10

Starchaser: I've noticed that you use a lot of L. Soa CGs. If you like them, I'd also suggest you check out Hyun Kyoung Up's work, he's another very talented Korean CG artist, though not nearly as prolific as Soa. My favorite part of this set is the border, it's very unusual and pretty. The background on the sig bothers me a bit, I would suggest you take a section from a different part of the picture, rather than mirroring that section, the symmetrical reflections of the smoke, vine, and stars make it easy to tell that area had to be reconstructed. 9/10

Sunnie (Zero): I don't really like the rough edges on the girl, it's particularly noticable in her shoulder and hand, the edges look strange since the rest of the picture is still smooth. I like the striped lines across the bottom and left edges, they add interest and contribute to the tough grungy look. There's a lot of empty space above the display text in the sig, and the dot overlay doesn't help it at all. 8/10

timkhj: Wow, that's blurry. Photoshop's resize function doesn't do that on its own. My only guess would be that you did it yourself to help your color change look more natural. I actually think the color change looks just fine, it's not really noticable. The display font on the sig looks very girly for this set, I think a more scratchy font would have fit better. 6/10
tymaporer: You started off with a rather bad quality image, it has a lot of compression artifacts and it's a low resolution. Generally, one or the other in an image is okay, but both together makes an image very hard to work with. The background you chose doesn't match the image very well, as it's a true gray, and the image is a cold (blue tinted) gray. I think you had a good idea with the subtext, but your font choice wasn't fitting for it, a plain sans-serif font (like Arial or Verdana) would have worked nicely. 5/10

watericecage: I guess the teal in the original image was too green looking, so you changed it to a true cyan, which I think is overly bright. I think the av is good, very cute. The sharp corner where you cut off her shoulder is a bit awkward, I think it might have looked nice if you'd simply cut out her shoulder entirely and just left her hair and the ruff of her collar. The sig, though, needs a lot of work. I think you chose that display font because it looks a bit like cracking ice, but it's very hard to read, and it doesn't look good with the girly image. The gradient background is very plain, and it obscures some of the subtext. 5/10

xerai: I can only view the image of the tennis player, so I don't know what sort of background the boy in the av has. However, I can tell you made a feathered selection all around him and blended him in with the tennis player fairly well. I'd recommend you do the same with the girl on the left also, the dark background overpowers the entire left side. Also, the handwriting overlay would look more uniform if it covered the whole image. 6/10

I vote out fzun, JellyFish27, remybuxaplentyfan, and tymaporer.

When I use song lyrics or text overlays, I just pick a pixel font and repeat the lines to cover all of the image.

Aww...I thought it was my best.



I was trying to find the original image, but I couldn't find it. I'll keep that URL in mind. Thank you. Anywhoo, the reason why it was so wide was because when I tried to make a smaller sig, my username went over the image and when I made it smaller, I couldn't see it.

OK, I get it...I shouldn't have entered that set...

*puffs* Oh, I got back just in time, I think! Wow, there's so many of you! Best get cracking...

Dawn2 - Ooh, pretty! I like this set a lot, especially the av. The pale blue of the gradient draws the eye wonderfully (though unfortunately, it does draw the eye away from your name at the bottom!). Nice job with the butterfly cutout. For the sig, I'd suggest making the main text colour contrast a more with the background. The gradient is nice, but the light blue disappears into the background a lot, making it hard to read.

Sunnie - (Zero, you changed your name?! This is gonna take me ages to get used to!) Ooh, I really like that bright orange and the pixelly-grainy background to the sig. It's a pity the girl's outline looks pixelly, though. The jagged black looks a bit too obvious around her shoulder. The choice of font is great, by the way. It really suits the set.

Darklegendary - Very nice, lovely shades of purple. You did a great job colourising. I really like the sig's background and the broken up reflection of the puppy petpet (I've forgotten it's name!) in the top right. I like the placement of the subtext a lot, though it does make it hard to find a place for the main text.

bluehawaii19 - Heeee, what a great photo! I like the colourising work you did on it. It might have been nice to add something to the background, though, as the sig looks a bit plain in parts (though simple is always nice). The font for the main text is very nice, but, as the others have said, the subtext is very hard to read. It also looks a bit mismatched next to the main text, since they are both curvy fonts, but different!

remybuxaplentyfan - Hmm, I must say, the background does look very plain. Plain (or plainish) colour backgrounds can look nice next to a more complicated picture, but since the mouse is drawn quite simply and has a pixelled outline, it looks a bit unfinished, overall. Unfinished, but much potential, of course! Experimenting with brushes and photoshop layering effects would be great here, just to add interest to that blueness =)

Optimus - Ooh, textured pixelness, very cool! I especially like those darker dots above your name on the sig. Fonts are very nice, as is the text placement. The av text is a liiittle hard to read, but the sideways effect is worth it. As Marissa says, it's a pity the eyes aren't golden! I think the texturedness and contrast has made them even darker than the original image, unfortunately. Some colourising would've looked great there!

Starchaser - Wow! I love it! The blue/grey/teal background is gorgeous, the text looks lovely on it. The border is very nice too, it stands out as something different... in a very good way. One slight thing I noticed, though, is that the girl is on a slightly different angle on the av than in the sig... it's not something you'd notice unless they were next to each other, though. Oh, and the av text is a bit hard to read... though I really like the way it's angled, and the use of the two fonts =)

Kitten Medli - Pretty pink! The background is nice, I like the grid... it can be a bit too bold sometimes, but I think you've worked it in very nicely! Font is cool *nods* ... Shania seems to have gained a bit of weight on the sig though? Hehe!

moogie - Hmm, since the girl is so pale and her eyes are dark, to me (at first glance) it looked like only her eyes are pixellated on the av... which looked a bit strange! The main font (and different fonts behind it) on the sig is nice, though I tend to find text crossing a character's face a bit distracting.

hellyer - Cool set. I really like how you focussed on the guitar and hands... and the different angles from the av and sig give the set a lot of "movement", which is perfect for the rock theme! I'm a bit undecided on the font, though. The dirty-grungy look of it is perfect, but maybe something wider and larger would have matched the boldness of the picture a bit better.

Kyra - That's an awesome picture, I really like the way you matched the background to it, too... the texture makes it look like an old painting on cloth, but the bright blue is very modern! The font is nice too, as is the placement. The only thing I don't like quite so much is the border... the black dashes are a bit jarring, after all that nice blue. Something a bit softer (maybe textured/brush looking?) would have been nice... but great overall.

xerai - Very interesting! It has some very nice elements... that darker area above the girl looks great. Overall, though, it seems a little bit cluttered/confused. The first maybe because of the balance... the boy's head is rather close to the other guy's foot. The second, due to the writing (though in general I really like it, the font was well chosen!). Generally, though, it comes across as fun and eye-catching =)

Shadowfare - Hehe... confusing as it is, I'm kinda with Silja on this one! It's a very nice looking set, but I feel that there is something that is needed... though I can't quite put a finger on it! I think it might be the girl's dress merges into the background. Something to break up the blue might have been good, or even a lighter blue, to add contrast? I like how you used some of the planet in the background on the left there.

Koku - Cute pic! I really like this ... the soft oranges and pinks of that background are lovely, and really compliment the picture. I like the little "dawn" text in the middle of the av... and I actually really like the space above the main text in the sig. The upper swirls from the "d" and the "w" curve nicely into that space, and I think they would have clashed with anything more busy in the background. I'm a bit biased towards empty space though!

fzun - Ooh, you really brought out some lovely colours in that picture. Nice choice of font, for both the main text and the subtext. I would have maaybe moved the main text on the sig to the right a little, but... really it looks fine as it is! Good work!

tymaporer - This might sound really weird, but when I first saw the set, I thought the picture was a cow's head! Um. I think it might be the way that part of the pic is cut off to the left and... oh dear! Anyway. As the others have all said... it was a bit of a tough image to work with, I think. Since it's so small, it's hard to see what's going on, and doesn't quite have the effect I imagine it would if it were bigger (which is a pity). In general I think yellow-ish writing on grey looks rather cool ... though unfortunately I don't think they match the blue-grey of the picture that well. The faded edges make it quite hard to read, too, since it's quite a "thin" font. I quite like that square though! A couple more of them would be good, though, since it looks a bit lonely at the moment!

Amethyst - Hmm... I quite like the scanlines and grungy feel to this set (the writing in the sig background is cool!), but I'm not sure if I like what's happened to some of the colours of the pic - mainly the greenish-yellow on the face, I think. Generally, though, the placement of text and picture is great, as is the font.

Apricus - That's a great photo! I love the colours in it. The background is very nice, as are the scanlines, the colours, the font, and everything! Hehe. I'm afraid I don't have anything else to suggest =D

watericecage - I like av, and the way you changed the colours of the picture to blues... it makes them look a lot better! I don't heaps like the shape of the sig though. Combined with the gradient, it looks a bit abrupt, somehow. A lighter blue colour for the border might have lessened that a bit. The font you've chosen for the main text is hard to read and slightly messy looking... I think a blocky font would have given a better "icy" effect.

Scholastic - Wow, this looks really great. The four-part av is very unique. The various faces are a little bit hard to make out, but I think you did well considering the size constraints! The shiny metal look of the sig border is very cool, and the four faces look great =)

Alex - Hmm, looks nice! For the sig, though, I feel that it would have been more balanced if there was a bit more space on the right of the lady (Claire, I guess? hehe), to counteract that on the left of the guy. Also, I think the text looks a bit cramped near the lady's head at the moment. It might've looked good centered, with a word per line.

meowth1982 - Yay, Angry Beavers!! The av is great, no suggestions except maybe moving the subtext so that it isn't covering Norbert's teeth. Sig is nicely balanced, the background contrasts nicely, and that subtext fits perfectly!

ScottNak - Hehehee, poor little kacheek. Good job with the shades of grey... monochrome can be a bit boring sometimes, but I think you have a good amount of contrast going there! Animation timing and font choice seem orright to me... but whatever is that thing in the background? A black (red, yellow) hole? =D

JellyFish27 - That's a cool image you've used... it might've been good to add a little bit more of your own touch to it, though. Maybe some colourising, or some sort of overlay. The curvy font is a good idea, but it antialiasing it to get rid of the jagged edges would make it look a lot nicer. Part of the "J" is also cut off, so the text would probably look good moved to the right a little... with an added glow behind it, to make it stand out from the light, uh, thingamyjig!

paola - Oh, gorgeous... those blues really bring out the picture a lot better than the green in the original image did! Lovely choice of fonts, and I like the smaller-than-usual size of the av and sig =)

DM - I find the pixelly effect over the picture rather overpowering, I'm afraid. That effect combined with the text in the background and the high contrast makes the image look rather choppy and not very good quality, especially in the av. The main text on the sig looks cool over the background text, though.

polarbearpop - Lovely, you did a nice job removing the background from the dog, and the purple looks really nice. The different shades of purple in the background, combined with the text, make it very pretty and interesting, besides =)

Mermaid Hil - Very nice purples... I like how you added a light grid over the background to change the "swirl" look a bit! The edge of the wing is a bit a jagged there... maybe a white glow behind her would have looked nice? It would have helped the wings (and her in general) stand out from the background a bit more.

Sakura - Ooh, very dark... lovely shades of red-pink grunginess there =) I very much like the positions and colours of the subtext (the way the second line is lighter) and the main text too. The gray stands out nicely, though it does contrast with the rest of the set quite a bit.

Alex - Wow, great animation! You did a great job matching up the orange colours, the beach photo looks really nice like that. I love the subtext on the av too... that's something you don't see too often!

timkhj - Oh, it's a pity the pictures are so blurry! Better to use a small picture than a blurry one, sometimes. The background is very cool, and the subtext is cute. As vkceankraz said though, it's better to turn anti-aliasing off with pixel fonts, they are a lot clearer that way. It might have been nice to use the same pixel font that you used in the av in your sig as well, to match =)

Neko - Very nice! I like the scanlines and the dots you've added to the left and right of the sig. The way the picture is rotate on the sig is great, too! I'm often not a fan of sideways sig pictures... but this one works really well =) Nothing else to suggest!

Okay, the part I don't like quite so much. My votes go to:
JellyFish27, watericecage, DM and remybuxaplentyfan.

Instead of warnings, I thought maybe I'd congratulate some entries that impressed me a lot. Commendations go to:
Starchaser, Scholastic and paola

Heh... oops... the blurriness on the av came when I removed the green in the av last second. . . I accidentally resized the Bori, and while I THOUGHT I undid that step, I obviously did not. The faded Bori that looks so blurry I belatedly (about the time I read the first review) remembered that I screwed that up when I first made the set. I had always meant to go back and fix that. And the whole font blurred thing is a rather silly mistake on my part. Well, live and learn. Don't enter hastily done/unfinished/unchecked work into a set contest unless you want a bad review on it.

I dunno. . . I just wanted the name to well, be there, but the focus to be on the Bori. I guess that didn't go over well...

Awww :'( I thought that was a neat way to add depth to the sig, and not have just text over image. Again, I wanted the Bori to be the focus, but meh, didn't happen that way.

Maybe having 5 females living in the house with me is getting to me Seriously though, I had wanted something that just flowed on the page. . . That too was pointed out to me after I first posted, and again gets chalked up to that check-stuff-before-entering-in-a-contest rule.

Requester's choice of words, not mine

Ya, a weakness of mine. I really need to work on border designs.

D'oh! I think thats quite a good idea (one I know I've been told before) so thank you for reminding me .


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Well, thank you for your input. (Hopefully next round) I can use this wonderful input and do better in the future

vkceankraz,

Yes, I'm the one who entered the picture of Dreamy Luv w/ Flowers.
Thanks for the comments about my photos! She's the only thing that really inspires me. : )

Um...I didn't put a pixel effect on it. o__O All I did was I had two images, one on hard light, one on normal at a set opacity (forgot what it was) and on the normal I had scanlines on it.

But, yeah. That was my favourite font to use, FetteFraktur. Strange name, cool looking. =D

I was actually refering to your font choice. I don't judge what a set's subtext says, just what it looks like.