I've been really interested in Graphic Design lately, and have just started messing with the software. This right here is my first attempt. Stock: Spoiler
I'm not quite sure what you're going for, possibly a demonic/robotic flamingo? Here's my critique: The effects are cheesy, it's a nice idea though it wasn't executed well. I'm wondering how you came up with the effects? If you did it at a whim without any instruction then I'd suggest you look up a couple tutorials either found through google, in the graphics tuts thread (<I used this one a lot when I started), or in the universal resource thread. It takes a bit of time to get used to things. BTW are you using photoshop, gimp, or what? Positives: You saved in png, that's the optimum/ideal file, good flow! lol I'm not sure if that's intentional but there are several lines that "point" towards the focal. At that, nice defined focal. Almost forgot size. If you're going for a wallpaper.. that's way too small. If you're going for a signature.. that's way too big. If you're going for just a random graphic with no real intention.. you should always start with an intention. If you don't know about any of the words I used.. tutorials and practice will help. That and google. Nice signature for it being your first, you just need more instruction and practice. Good luck sir and I look forward to your future work.
Thanks for that, I badly need the critique. I'm almost slightly shocked that I was able to comprehend all of terms you mentioned. I haven't really looked into any tutorials yet, but by all means, I plan to. I'm just playing around with the implementation of cocepts like focals, flow, effects, blending, ect. As far as size goes, I'm just looking to just work with raw image editing before I dive into anything like sigs or wallpaper. Basically, I was scanning my hard drive for tender inspiration and when I saw the bird, the eye leaped to me as a potential focal. Throughout the editing, I did in fact make an effort to keep emphasis on the eye, which I actually think went quite well. I use Adobe Fireworks, which accents as a hybrid between Photoshop and Paint. Funny you should mention the effects, I created those by deleting the backround of the stock with the "magic wand" tool, but in doing so I used an upped tolerence and a feathered scheme. Then, I placed a pink square that was totally transparant, save the pattern of "blurred parchment" that spread across it. Next, I added a few more textures of similar shades, and finally, I went over them all with a blur tool. But no, I'm not very happy with how the backround came together. Thanks for the advice.