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<b>Laq</b> -- Cute. I like the golden glow that you added; it makes for the dreamy look. The weird black shadow on the far right of the sig has to go, however. I also dislike how the main text looks really thin and jagged. Perhaps you should've selected a different font or added a 2-pixel stroke. The subtext is also hard to make out because it blends in with the background a little too well.
<b>Neopets Addict</b> -- One can still see the blue tinge on the left side of the flower petals, which detracts from the rather nicely done extraction job. The border is not very strong and at some parts, you can't even tell that there is a border at all. The main text is a little too close to the almost-border (especially at the top of the "k"). Even though the subtext you chose is a little too long to be in one frame (I personally would've animated it), you get props because I remember that line from <i>Mulan</i>, which is the coolest animated Disney movie ever.
<b>Jasujo</b> -- While I commend the abstract approach, I can't say that it all comes together very well at the end. I don't think the green things in the background match with anything else in the main image. Rather, it clashes with the butterfly. I also dislike your font choice (Curls is hard to read and not nearly thick enough for a presence) and the effects you did to it. You should try rotating your images to fit the sig properly, as the butterfly's original position is rather awkward.
<b>Kandice</b> -- It's incredibly hard to see anything because of the super-dark color scheme. Everything just seems... black. Because there's nothing but duplicated faces in the background, you can't tell if there's a border or not. I very much dislike how the subtext has a dark gray stroke, as it pretty much nullifies the point of the subtext altogether. Might I suggest a broader range of colors for your future creations? I can tell that this color scheme is your style, so perhaps a wider selection from the white-black spectrum. Light gray shows up nicely on black.
<b>Bangle/Dawn2</b> -- The original image had that bluish tint, which you should've gotten rid of, as it washes out the image in the set. The extraction job you did is also very poor; I can see the clunky line next to Buffy's hair where it meets the subtext bar. You could've gotten away with shrinking the image a lot more, because signatures that are very high with little width can be rather unattractive and clumsy; they leave too much blank space, as yours does. There is definitely way too much space where the subtext is placed. In addition, the subtext bar isn't nearly opaque enough to set apart the subtext from the background. It's hard to read and poorly placed. Why is there space between the end of the bar and the border? The end result is hasty and messy. On the avatar, I think, again, that you should've shrunken the image more so that you'd have more space for text. As is, the text is too close to the image and too light, making it look awkward. I also dislike how there is hardly a border. For dark images, you should use a two-pixel border or something that'll frame the image better.
<b>Amethyst</b> -- The contrast between blue and orange is fantastic. I'm not a fan of large grids, but it's not a huge problem in this set. I really like how you focused on parts of the butterfly rather than using the whole thing; it worked out nicely. I would've used a double pixel border for this particle set, as the one-pixel border doesn't feel strong enough to hold the set together.
<b>Adoration</b> -- Once again, you have decided to use the "tint image + monotonous background + thin white text" style. Because it's your own technique, I've decided to stop hinting at a change, but rather examining the aspects that must be modified. Namely, the thin white text. While in this image it stands out (because nothing else is white, which I usually disapprove of), it's not advisable to use such thin fonts with this technique. You've also placed it entirely too close to the border and the guy's glasses.
<b>InsanePlushie</b> -- The overall look is pretty neat. I just think that the text is too strong to be contained in such a weak border. You should've made the main text a little smaller so that you could increase your border width properly. I'm also a fan of matching cutouts, so if you did cutouts on the avatar, I'd like to see the same on the sig.
<b>watericesage</b> -- While I really like the focus on the flower, I think the set is missing something. Perhaps it's simply the text. I think for such a vibrant image, you'd also need something similar for the text. I don't like how it fades into the background. You could've gotten away with a paler yellow color. I also dislike how the subtext is so transparent, because it just looks awkward. All of the text objects simply look washed out.
<b>mazil</b> -- I very much like the take you had with this set. My only complaints are awkward text placements. On the signature, the main text should've been more centered in the blank area. On the avatar, everything seems to be concentrated on the left side, which throws off its balance and makes the right side look strangely empty. If you had put the text in the bottom right corner, I think that would've alleviated the imbalance easily.
<b>Scholastic</b> -- Eh. Nice approach but in the end I think the harsh scanlines and odd extraction makes for an awkward-looking set. I can't pinpoint anything else, but all in all I think it's just a little too vibrant for my tastes, as the set is rather dizzying.
<b>DM was on fire!</b> -- You know, I think your sets would turn out a lot better if you selected a color scheme that didn't wash out your image. I don't know what else I can say. At least the outer glow around your text is a nice touch.
<b>Jaye</b> -- I really need to comment on your layering method. To me, adding the drop shadow to your main text means that you want it to be on top of the rest of the set. Then you go and place the subtext (without a drop shadow) on top of the main text. The end result just looks awkward because, logically speaking, it doesn't register with your audience's eyes. If you're to add a drop shadow to anything, it should be the topmost layer unless the thing on top of that also has a shadow... but of course, too much drop shadow and you've got a rather awkward and redundant looking image. Now about the image itself: you've selected a pretty image to work with, but it doesn't look like you've done much work, other than adjusting the levels and adding an overlay.
<b>Fizzy</b> -- While the idea itself is creative and cute, you should have included the whole car instead of having the little corner cut off there. I also don't recommend using object-cutouts when you have to extract an image from a busy background, because then you're left with bits of the background which makes it look a little messy.
<b>Neko</b> -- I've only got a few complaints. Your main text looks a little chunky where the "N" overlaps the leaf overlay. I dislike how the subtext bar is abruptly cut off on the right side. Lastly, the avatar seems to be more yellow than the signature. Perhaps you used a different section of the overlay? It just looks odd, but it's not a huge deal.
<b>Lauren</b> -- I actually really like the advert that was your original image. The signature just looks really busy where you attempt to cover up her body. I suppose that was the objective though, right? I don't quite know what you could've done to achieve the same goal without making everything collide in that area, maybe used less brushes? I also dislike your choice of subtext font, as it doesn't seem soft/romantic enough for the tone of the set.
<b>Koku</b> -- While I'm not a fan of cyan/blinding light blue, I don't think it detracts from the overall quality of your set too much. I think the cloudy-looking butterflies are a nice touch. The glow around your main text is pretty neat; it really adds to the whimsical feel. I suppose I just don't like how the border isn't symmetrical; not the outer border itself, but how you faded the right corners more than the left. It looks a little awkward. Other than those minor complaints, I think it looks fantastic.
<b>Sunnie</b> -- I'm glad that you realize where your weakness lies: in using photos. I see that you made a rather nice attempt at your usual style, but it didn't quite work out. The image looks kind of grainy with the blue tint, or perhaps it was a side-effect of choosing a poor quality image to work with in the first place. Also, when you duplicated Rob's photo and placed it in the background, it is now a part of the background. You don't have to place text around it. I don't think you should've duplicated it at all, rather you could've gotten away with simply placing text normally.
<b>Rachel</b> -- I kind of like what you did with the original image, even if it doesn't look very realistic. I never would've noticed that it was a photo had I not checked the original. The end result looks plasticky and lacks realistic lighting. I think the blue water is just a bit exaggerate and should be toned down. The funky text is a nice touch though.
<b>Kitten Medli</b> -- As I've probably said before, your work has improved. The background is a little too simple, but I'm glad it's not incredibly busy either. I don't like the text placement. Is there any reason you chose to have your main text all the way on the right? It makes the rest of the set seem unfortunately empty. The main text is not very prominent either. It should usually stand out more than the subtext.
<b>Twisted Sanity</b> -- I think I see where you used all the rest of the pictures, in the background of the sig? For some reason they look more concentrated on the left of the guy while the space above the blurry subtext is nearly empty. In the avatar, the "Twisted Sanity" in the background is distracting and doesn't look very good. It also looks like the grid doesn't continue all the way to the border. What pixel font did you use for the avatar (I hope it's the same as the font you used in the signature, as matching fonts always work better)? I'd advise against using it again, because the letters are unevenly formed. Unless you didn't set it at size 8 or you wrote it up yourself. Aim for even letters in the future, as they look more professional.
<b>jellyoflight</b> -- While the puppy is really cute, you didn't really do much to enhance the image. I dislike the random green tint around the edges of the image because it blocks out a lot of the dog and looks kind of messy. The pixellated effect was not a good choice for this, as it looks out of place in something that should've been soft and cute. Also, you should've had the subtext bar start all the way from the border instead of randomly a couple pixels away. When you have the subtext bar, you should make sure it doesn't interfere with the image; in this case, it does run into the puppy's muzzle. The bevel/emboss on the main text is very out of place. Such an effect works better for an image that is supposed to resemble slime or something (it's effective when working with slorgs, jelly, slime, that kind of thing). It looks like you have some pattern at the corner of your signature's border; in the future, you should try to make the border on the signature and avatar match. I realize that you were experimenting with lots of popular effects in this set. This is the perfect example of why we run this graphics competition-- to help people realize what works and what doesn't.
<b>Apricus</b> -- Even though the grungy effect works out nicely, I'm not a big fan of green and purple, especially for grungy tones. I'm not quite sure what else to say about that, as many of the aspects of a good set are there, but it just doesn't fly with me. Personal preferences though, and nothing to do with your talent.
<b>timkhj</b> -- Awesome animation! You're going to have to show me how you did that. My only complaints lie with the text. The main text doesn't stand out enough in the signature because of the color. You need to put an outer glow around it or something, so that it doesn't blend it with the flowing water. Also, the subtext is placed too close to the right edge. You need to leave more space between the text and the border. In addition, the fonts don't really suggest "beauty" of any sort. Perhaps just be more selective with the fonts you choose, knowing that fonts add to or detract from the tone of a graphic.
My votes go to Kandice, Bangle, Sunnie, and jellyoflight.
Warnings go to Jasujo and Fizzy.
Last edited by vkceankraz on Thu Jun 23, 2005 8:53 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Thanks for the oppurtunity anyways, and perhaps I'll enter the next contest and make sure to not forget...-grumbles about a bad short-term memory-
By the way vkceankraz, any suggestions for my future set? If you can't write down here, mind PMing me, please? I would love to hear your suggestions. 
