Beta0

By 'car templates', do you mean a 3d texture map? Or this template?

I found this tutorial (by RuokDbz98) helpful. It was a time when I was really concerned about making a good lineart (because I didn't and don't have a graphics tablet.) Also, there's the option of drawing the strokes, scan them and tweak them, like in this tutorial, by acsoundwave. I've found that a combination of brushes (with an eraser to shape it), a radial gradient (set to transparency mode), and median can give me a decent result. One has to brush in a separate layer, and erase it (whether the person wants to create a lineart or paint shapes or shadows.) Then, select the gradient tool, and, starting close or in the middle of the stroke, expand the gradient. The edges should look faded, like this (from XxiMercurYxX.) Then, duplicate the brush layer and merge. And, finally, use median. Example: Brush hardness: 0% 75% (default when opening PDN) 50% 25% 100% No antialiased (or MS Paint-like brush) Median (radius set at 15 in all of them, only the percentage changes): 30 45 40 35 50 (a higher setting will turn the stroke into an MS Paint-like one) 50 (a higher setting will give it a white outline) Note: Settings may vary depending on the brush size, especially the settings for median.

@Maximilian You're welcome. @Ego Eram Reputo I had to bookmark it... X]

@Seerose You're welcome. And thanks. :]

Oh, no... I forgot to vote... ._.

@Humility Okay. Improve Your Artwork by Learning to See Light and Shadow, by Monika Zagrobelna: This tutorial will help you understand how we see light and shadows in real life. Redline- Notes on Cel Shading, by ThirdPotato: While it's more about cel-shading (or 'toon shading'), the author gives an insight about the color of shadows and thinking of the object as a tridimensional one. Tutorial-Cel-shading, by ThirdPotato: This one is for understanding shadows in real life, too. Tutorial-Shading Hair and Form, by ThirdPotato: Another one about cel-shading. Tutorial-Understanding Shadows, by ThirdPotato: Another tutorial, similar to the third one. Bonus: This is another one of the tutorials that advised against pillow shading, which was written by Zemael. While the last one is for MS Paint, I always thought it's knowledge can be used for other programs (except the part about the background.)

@Ishi Okay. Hmm... Better if you keep in touch with them about it and come to a decision. Just to be sure. *nods* It's normal to be discouraged. The Adobe Suite is considered a standard in many jobs related to Graphic Design, including the film industry. Said statement was repeated many times while studying at college, a time when I felt like the only person who had (and still has) programs that were not from the Adobe Suite (aside from a professor who encouraged the use of these programs.) But, after some observation, I understood that it's not the program (whether it's simple or complex, popular or somewhat underrated); it's the person who works with it. The person has knowledge through education, experience or both. This applies to the guys at the printshop, too. Also, here's a little extra. X] (None of those videos belong to me. Sorry if they seem out of topic.)

@Humility I suggest looking for tutorials that will help you understand the basics of light and shadow. Using bevel, when I saw some of the images, looks like pillow shading. I used to have problems with shading, which led me to look for tutorials (a lot of them.) One of them was made for MS Paint art (it was more related to cel-shading.) The author showed three ways of shading that weren't good; pillow shading was included. Some of them, which were more oriented to realistic/semi-realistic art, advised about including fore-lights (a light that appears were the shadow is, but it's weaker compared to the main light.) Test them and see which one might work for you.

@Ishi I checked them out. The colors and designs are more for other kinds of celebrations. So, the choice of a neutral color and/or tint (peach) is okay. By folded, do you mean like a brochure or like this? As for the ribbons, I think that's possible. I remember that, during practice, few students doing practice (including myself) or were in a work/study program were ordered to work folding brochures with an elaborate design. The job lasted for a whole day. I couldn't even go to work with the shirts. X] Did you got discouraged about that? o.o

@Humility With this new image, I feel like the focal point is the angel. Also, the colors are varied. By the way, I've seen your older works in this thread. You have improved.

@Ishi Thumbs up for blending modes and adjustments! And making sure not to go overboard with them. X] @Humility You're welcome. Note: You mean 'trial and error'? I've been doing that with PDN for some time. XD Also, I better go to your gallery for the critique.

Available! For a limited time only! Call 1-Its-Not-Real! (Yep. It's not real.)

@AndrewDavid You're welcome. Your latest picture is interesting and strange. The title caught my attention, and I wanted to see what it was. :]

You're very welcome. The funny thing is...I didn't know about it, either. I was searching through Google so I could refresh my mind a bit. X] I didn't know about exporting to PNG, but to PDF yes. MS Publisher is a desktop publishing program, like InDesign. When it comes to design and layout, all I remember is that: The work should have balance; It must catch the viewer's attention, and; Less is more. So, I've searched and I've found this and this. They might give you some inspiration on how to begin. I'm not good with cards, but that's what I've learned about design.

@Ishi Somehow, A1 and A2 came to mind since they're small, like cards. But, if you want a folded card, then, the size should be bigger, possibly double, depending on the orientation (portrait or landscape.) Maybe Papersizes.org might help you. There's a chart about A paper sizes, with measurements. If you're going to a print press, then toehead's advice is good. I did a supervised practice in one, and the problem (at least, in that print-shop) wouldn't be if the card was made on Photoshop or not; it's the measurements they might have already set for printing and for when they need to use the printing press cutter. There are margins and bleeds involved, as well as printing layouts. Also, print one copy for testing. It's just to be sure if it'll come out right (the right colors, the position of the cards, etc.), and if the cutter won't mess up the cards. I once had a bad time printing something (it happened way before the practice), and it was because I didn't know a thing about how press printing worked. There's this issue with RGB and CMYK since I've read and heard that many print-shops use the latter. RGB has a wider range of colors than CMYK. So, RGB files printed in CMYK come out dull, as if some colors of the original file disappeared. I've read here that it's possible to set MS Publisher to CMYK. Finally, check what types of files the press prints (like pdf, jpg, png, etc.) Sorry if I don't seem clear with all of this. It's been a few years since I worked on a press print. And sorry about not having an advice about filigrees and fonts.

I didn't know which part you had trouble with, but I'll respond. Colors: Use tints, tones and shades. Tints are colors mixed with white. Tones are colors mixed with neutral gray. Shades are colors mixed with black. Curiously, I've read a lot of tutorials with this advice: Don't use white/gray/black for lighting/shading. I admit that these three don't help making the picture look great if you're aiming for a colored image. However, I've observed that 'mixing' them with colors and making sure the color doesn't reach white/gray/black can help. Contrast: In the Adjustments menu (as far as I know), there are two options for turning your colored images into grayscale (or black and white): Black and White and Hue/Saturation. The first gives you a quick result by clicking it or pressing Ctrl + Shift + G. The second one has a slide bar called Saturation. True to its namesake, it allows your image to gain or lose the color saturation. If you move it to this (<<) direction, the picture will turn into grayscale. As for the use of layers, let me tell you this: blending modes (even the normal one) can help with contrast, especially if you're working with colors. The ones that, by far, helped me in creating contrast are: Normal: It's more about color theory...aaand following my gut. :] Multiply, Burn and Darken: These allow you to make some parts dark. But I've found that tints and pure, saturated colors work well with the first two since the darkening effect is too powerful with dark colors. The latter (Darken) works better with dark colors, and the effect is more subtle. Addition, Screen, Dodge and Lighten: These can help you lighten certain parts of the drawing. I see them more as a tool for setting places were the light/s hit the subject. Addition and Dodge should be used sparingly as the effect is way too strong. By the way, Burn and Dodge are opposites. Screen can be used with moderation (I've considered this one as Multiply's opposite, though I may be wrong. XD ) These three, as far as I've seen, can work with pure colors and dark colors (so the effect creates a colored light and not white.) Lighten can be used with light colors; it's the opposite of Darken. Overlay: This one helps creating more contrast and saturating the colors. It's like a Multiply/Screen combo in one mode. Using dark colors (as long as they're not too close to black) with this blending mode can darken and change colors. Using pure colors can help with creating light. Keep in mind that blending modes should be used sparingly. Also, they seemed to work better if the opacity is low, combined with other blending modes (for example, overlay + multiply), and set in a certain order (for example, a multiply layer placed on top of an overlay one.) Finally, I suggested a soft brush because, after a lot of observation, soft brushes help creating shadows (at least, shadows that one can follow and refine later when painting.) Textures: Overlay is, by far, the best blending mode for textures (in a low opacity and if the texture is in grayscale/B&W.) You can combine it with other blending modes, like Burn, to intensify the texture. Grass: There's one more thing I'd like to recommend: pyrochild's pack. In it, there's a plugin called Smudge. Recently, I was making a picture with grass. And that plugin helped me out. (If you already have it, don't listen to this last tip. XD )

@toe_head2001 Thanks.

Is the current competition over? o.o Edit: @toe_head2001 2. Your entry must be 100% made using Paint.net. Don't use another image editor. Don't use stock images/photos (in full or parts thereof). I have a doubt about this rule. Does it mean I can't use images for reference?

I like the use of orange and blue. They're complimentary, so they look good together. Plus, the piece makes me think of watercolor artwork. :]

@MJW, @Red ochre and @AndrewDavid Thanks! :] @Seerose Thanks!

Wow. We're all winners. o.o << *did not expect to win* Oh, well... *shrugs* Congratulations to everyone. ^^ Also, thank you @Pixey, @DrewDale, @Scooter and @Woodsy. You're welcome. :] No worries. It was a good challenge. ^^ @Woodsy More than just vote.

@Seerose You're welcome. :]

@AmadeusX (I don't know if you will visit this thread. ) Tip: Since you mentioned that you're color-blind, I would suggest having a list of colors with their respective names and codes (hex color code since it's Paint.NET). Example: Red - FF0000 Just do it with the ones already in the program. Also, use the HSV sliders in the Colors window. (H = hue; S = saturation; V = value) Finally, use a color wheel (an RGB/Red-Green-Blue color wheel since that's what Paint.NET is using.) Observe where each color is located within the wheel. I hope this helps. And now, for the image: The colors of the logo are desaturated. It doesn't catch the viewer's attention. You could use any option from 'Adjustments', like Hue/Saturation. But, since there are gradients involved, the logo might be started from scratch using saturated colors, slightly darker. Remember: the background has dark and light colors. The logo needs to 'pop'. It could need some resizing as well. The background seems fine. You can leave it like that. I like the choice of the font. It's simple. While I can read the name of the product, it might be too thin and small for others to read. And, also, it's gray. It's located were the gradient from white to transparency begins (the top.) You could make it darker and set it in the middle of the ad/banner. In advertisements, words need to be legible. For the slogan, I think one is enough. Using User friendly level: Easy and at the same time seems redundant. As for the color, it could be more brighter. In addition, you could move the slogan below since it's darker. Someone commented about the grammar; I think it's about More easier to use. It's either Easier to use or More easy to use. Always check your 'writing' (in this case, typing) before using typography in an image. It's worth it. If you want, you could rearrange the composition. I saw it with a mirror I have in my room (because I don't want to download the image.) It seems unbalanced. Move the logo and the Get it NOW! closer to the center Flipping (mirroring) the image horizontally helps you see if the composition is balanced or not. @Humility (I'll be commenting on the first image you posted on the thread.) The colors hurt my eyes, literally. They're too bright and/or saturated. They're all fighting for attention, and...I don't know what's the focal point in the image. Since I manage to read the title, I'll assume it's the angel. (Also, keep in mind that someone with a brighter screen might be seeing that image.) Use a main color (choose a dominant color for the whole picture.) The contrast is low. If you duplicate the image and turn it into grayscale (black and white), you'll see it'll be mostly gray and white. The angel would be almost unrecognizable because of the low contrast. I'd suggest making the rest of the image a bit more dark since the angel is the focal point. You could select the angel, invert the selection and use either Levels, Curves or Hue/Saturation to darken it. Or, you could use a layer set in overlay, burn or multiply, fill it with color, erase the area where the angel is and play with the opacity. Also, you could use the light coming from the angel and the sky as a guide to shade the characters. For shading, I suggest using the brush. A soft one would help. While textures are good, there's no need to go overboard with them. Try to keep the texture subtle. Use layers with low opacity and different blending modes. I see you're having a bit of trouble with the grass. You could go to any of these tutorials: Complex Grass and Textures/Patterns: Make hair/fur/grass.(Easy). This is to make the characters seem like they're on grass. (And that's it. Sorry if I seemed too harsh or too talkative in this reply. )

Looks fancy and shiny. Plus, I like the combination of colors. Good choice. :]

*Scratches head* I was asking myself why I couldn't vote for two entries. Now, I know. o.o