Critique my work?

[wooden_fish]

I focus on vector graphics but thought I could try my hand at photo-shoppy type work. This was done in GIMP. As a bit of background it’s a tangerine leopard gecko- with a tangerine. An artist did something similar, so the creativity’s not mine but the effort is 🙂

Comments/critiques/criticisms? Good enough to offer as a gig? The shadow needs some work and the back of the peel doesn’t quite line up, but I think it’s not too bad for a first attempt at this sort of graphics.

[pandumstudio]

I focus on vector graphics but thought I could try my hand at photo-shoppy type work. This was done in GIMP. As a bit of background it’s a tangerine leopard gecko- with a tangerine. An artist did something similar, so the creativity’s not mine but the effort is 🙂

Comments/critiques/criticisms? Good enough to offer as a gig? The shadow needs some work and the back of the peel doesn’t quite line up, but I think it’s not too bad for a first attempt at this sort of graphics.

Gecko1.jpg1600×1200 265 KB

WOW, i never thought about this idea! 😮

Anyway, you need to add some Adjustment layers so the color of both the peeling and the lizard are blended well. My critiques and suggestions will be technical, so here they are:

1. add Color Balance adjustment for the orange peeling > reduce yellow, add red.
2. add Curve adjustment for the orange peeling > reduce the white and the contrast
3. add Gaussian Blur effect for the orange peeling > add until the texture look soft and balanced with the lizard skin.

Good enough to offer as a gig?

More than enough of course, but just need to improve the rendering quality and technique. You did great! 👍

[wooden_fish]

WOW, i never thought about this idea! 😮

Anyway, you need to add some Adjustment layers so the color of both the peeling and the lizard are blended well. My critiques and suggestions will be technical, so here they are:

1. add Color Balance adjustment for the orange peeling > reduce yellow, add red.
2. add Curve adjustment for the orange peeling > reduce the white and the contrast
3. add Gaussian Blur effect for the orange peeling > add until the texture look soft and balanced with the lizard skin.

Good enough to offer as a gig?

More than enough of course, but just need to improve the rendering quality and technique. You did great! 👍

Cool, good suggestions. I’ll work on making those changes and see if we can get it even more realistic. How do the “adjustment layers” work or what do you mean by that?

[pandumstudio]

Cool, good suggestions. I’ll work on making those changes and see if we can get it even more realistic. How do the “adjustment layers” work or what do you mean by that?

See the tab on the right side of your screen, and you will see the “Adjustments” menu.

Actually, the explanation about how the adjustment layer work is quite long, so let me summarize it.

The name itself is self-explanatory. Adjustment layer gives you full control to “adjust” or manipulate the pixels characteristic. You could change certain color, add contrast, change hue, etc. Adjusment layer won’t change the original pixel, so it is non-destructive.

I think you may want to learn it from Youtube. There’s plenty of explanations and tutorial that you could learn.

Maybe if you could hand over the PSD file, i’ll show you how to use the adjustment layers 😀

[wooden_fish]

I focus on vector graphics but thought I could try my hand at photo-shoppy type work. This was done in GIMP. As a bit of background it’s a tangerine leopard gecko- with a tangerine. An artist did something similar, so the creativity’s not mine but the effort is 🙂

Comments/critiques/criticisms? Good enough to offer as a gig? The shadow needs some work and the back of the peel doesn’t quite line up, but I think it’s not too bad for a first attempt at this sort of graphics.

Gecko1.jpg1600×1200 265 KB

This was done in GIMP.

Unfortunately I don’t have access to fancy non-destructive layers here.

I did a couple color adjustments. Toned down the highlight a bit, reddened up the peel, mellowed out the white part of the peel. It’s really similar, near identical; not sure which I like better. I think it blends a tad bit better in the front.

Old on left, new on right.

[wooden_fish]

See the tab on the right side of your screen, and you will see the “Adjustments” menu.

Actually, the explanation about how the adjustment layer work is quite long, so let me summarize it.

The name itself is self-explanatory. Adjustment layer gives you full control to “adjust” or manipulate the pixels characteristic. You could change certain color, add contrast, change hue, etc. Adjusment layer won’t change the original pixel, so it is non-destructive.

I think you may want to learn it from Youtube. There’s plenty of explanations and tutorial that you could learn.

Maybe if you could hand over the PSD file, i’ll show you how to use the adjustment layers 😀

@pandumstudio, any other suggestions?

[uxreview]

I believe Black Friday sale is still on until Cyber Monday. Get yourself a decent toolset from Adobe.

Otherwise it’s a good start. You might also want to create something on your own because if I was a buyer I would expect this level of creativity from you. If someone makes an order you might not have a tutorial to follow.

[wooden_fish]

I believe Black Friday sale is still on until Cyber Monday. Get yourself a decent toolset from Adobe.

Otherwise it’s a good start. You might also want to create something on your own because if I was a buyer I would expect this level of creativity from you. If someone makes an order you might not have a tutorial to follow.

Good points. I definitely have considered and will consider Adobe CC. I’ve done well without it so far.

It wasn’t a tutorial; just came across these pictures and thought I’d try to do something similar. At this point I think it’s more important to develop my skills with the tools than to come up with something totally original.

Gecko Time – 31 Mar 16

Scrumptious New Leopard Gecko Morphs Developed! - Gecko Time

The union of GMO (genetically modified organisms) and selective gecko breeding has borne incredible fruit recently! Artist and leopard gecko breeder Ben Bargen has given Gecko Time the scoop on his amazing work pushing the envelope of the leopard...

I also don’t expect to have a buyer that says “do some weird stuff to photos” with no further direction.

[eoinfinnegan]

Good points. I definitely have considered and will consider Adobe CC. I’ve done well without it so far.

It wasn’t a tutorial; just came across these pictures and thought I’d try to do something similar. At this point I think it’s more important to develop my skills with the tools than to come up with something totally original.

Gecko Time – 31 Mar 16

Scrumptious New Leopard Gecko Morphs Developed! - Gecko Time

The union of GMO (genetically modified organisms) and selective gecko breeding has borne incredible fruit recently! Artist and leopard gecko breeder Ben Bargen has given Gecko Time the scoop on his amazing work pushing the envelope of the leopard...

I also don’t expect to have a buyer that says “do some weird stuff to photos” with no further direction.

I also don’t expect to have a buyer that says “do some weird stuff to photos” with no further direction.

You must be new here 😉

[wooden_fish]

I also don’t expect to have a buyer that says “do some weird stuff to photos” with no further direction.

You must be new here 😉

Hehe!

I most certainly have enough creativity to do some weird stuff for them then.

So far I haven’t hit any tricky buyers besides a couple that are maybe a bit undercommunicative.

[hanshuber16]

This was done in GIMP.

Unfortunately I don’t have access to fancy non-destructive layers here.

I did a couple color adjustments. Toned down the highlight a bit, reddened up the peel, mellowed out the white part of the peel. It’s really similar, near identical; not sure which I like better. I think it blends a tad bit better in the front.

Old on left, new on right.

1 v 1.1.jpg2000×731 255 KB

Old on left, new on right.

The one on the right (the new one) looks much better imo. The orange peel blends into the gecko image so nicely. :+1:t3:

[genuineguidance]

Old on left, new on right.

The one on the right (the new one) looks much better imo. The orange peel blends into the gecko image so nicely. :+1:t3:

What he meant when he said, “There may not be a tutorial”…was that IF you did get a buyer who wants some wild thing made, you would need to already know how to work with the software you are using to create these neat effects, and you may not have a You Tuber to explain it to you. 🙂

GG

[uxreview]

Good points. I definitely have considered and will consider Adobe CC. I’ve done well without it so far.

It wasn’t a tutorial; just came across these pictures and thought I’d try to do something similar. At this point I think it’s more important to develop my skills with the tools than to come up with something totally original.

Gecko Time – 31 Mar 16

Scrumptious New Leopard Gecko Morphs Developed! - Gecko Time

The union of GMO (genetically modified organisms) and selective gecko breeding has borne incredible fruit recently! Artist and leopard gecko breeder Ben Bargen has given Gecko Time the scoop on his amazing work pushing the envelope of the leopard...

I also don’t expect to have a buyer that says “do some weird stuff to photos” with no further direction.

I also don’t expect to have a buyer that says “do some weird stuff to photos” with no further direction.

This gecko is waaaay different from your current portfolio. Once you add this to your portfolio I’m sure you’ll get more complex orders 😉

Anyway, I didn’t want to demotivate you 🙂

Just make sure the tools you use today will support your creativity in the future.

[wooden_fish]

I also don’t expect to have a buyer that says “do some weird stuff to photos” with no further direction.

This gecko is waaaay different from your current portfolio. Once you add this to your portfolio I’m sure you’ll get more complex orders 😉

Anyway, I didn’t want to demotivate you 🙂

Just make sure the tools you use today will support your creativity in the future.

This gecko is waaaay different from your current portfolio.

Do you think it’s way different in a bad way? Too much diversifying?

What he meant when he said, “There may not be a tutorial”…

Thanks for the Genuine Guidance!

The one on the right (the new one) looks much better imo. The orange peel blends into the gecko image so nicely.

Well, good.

[uxreview]

This gecko is waaaay different from your current portfolio.

Do you think it’s way different in a bad way? Too much diversifying?

What he meant when he said, “There may not be a tutorial”…

Thanks for the Genuine Guidance!

The one on the right (the new one) looks much better imo. The orange peel blends into the gecko image so nicely.

Well, good.

Do you think it’s way different in a bad way? Too much diversifying?

I mean you should do a few more, update your portfolio and get ready for a different type of buyers.

Your current portfolio is completely different. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

I can’t speak for others, but for example personally I would not pay $25 for this icon set

But if I had the need for a gecko like the one you did, I’d be happy to pay $100+ without thinking. Especially if it’s an original idea and I can use it for some type of ads campaign.

[pacquo]

This was done in GIMP.

Unfortunately I don’t have access to fancy non-destructive layers here.

I did a couple color adjustments. Toned down the highlight a bit, reddened up the peel, mellowed out the white part of the peel. It’s really similar, near identical; not sure which I like better. I think it blends a tad bit better in the front.

Old on left, new on right.

1 v 1.1.jpg2000×731 255 KB

Unfortunately I don’t have access to fancy non-destructive layers here

You can (either on Adobe PS and GIMP) duplicate a layer and work on the copy. As for the hue and the colors you can obtain a more precise result working directly on the curves of the colors. I love GIMP.

[wooden_fish]

Do you think it’s way different in a bad way? Too much diversifying?

I mean you should do a few more, update your portfolio and get ready for a different type of buyers.

Your current portfolio is completely different. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

I can’t speak for others, but for example personally I would not pay $25 for this icon set

But if I had the need for a gecko like the one you did, I’d be happy to pay $100+ without thinking. Especially if it’s an original idea and I can use it for some type of ads campaign.

I can’t speak for others, but for example personally I would not pay $25 for this icon set

Why not? (Not asking in a defensive way of course, just appreciate any feedback I can get, positive or critical.) Is it the style, the quality, or would you never pay $25 for 4 icons? It’s far from expensive compared to a lot of the other sellers. Do I just need to use a different example set?

You can (either on Adobe PS and GIMP) duplicate a layer and work on the copy.

Well, yes. It just looked like in PS there’s a magic button that perhaps does something differently?

[uxreview]

I can’t speak for others, but for example personally I would not pay $25 for this icon set

Why not? (Not asking in a defensive way of course, just appreciate any feedback I can get, positive or critical.) Is it the style, the quality, or would you never pay $25 for 4 icons? It’s far from expensive compared to a lot of the other sellers. Do I just need to use a different example set?

You can (either on Adobe PS and GIMP) duplicate a layer and work on the copy.

Well, yes. It just looked like in PS there’s a magic button that perhaps does something differently?

Why not?

I would recommend using a different set. Something that’s more personalized and complex to justify the cost.

I don’t know who’s your target audience, but I can say that a lot of decent web developers get their icons from stock platforms where you pay a small monthly fee and get thousands of icons. And I can’t imagine a small business owner who would order 4 generic icons for $25.

I would understand if a customer needs a very specific logo. For example, a while back I did a website for flower shop and it was a nightmare to find an icon for every flower and make sure they fit the overall brand guidelines. So I ended up ordering a complete new set.

So if you wish to sell small icon sets then the icons should be unique 🙂

[misscrystal]

Do you think it’s way different in a bad way? Too much diversifying?

I mean you should do a few more, update your portfolio and get ready for a different type of buyers.

Your current portfolio is completely different. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

I can’t speak for others, but for example personally I would not pay $25 for this icon set

But if I had the need for a gecko like the one you did, I’d be happy to pay $100+ without thinking. Especially if it’s an original idea and I can use it for some type of ads campaign.

As uxreview said, people can get stock icons and choose from thousands. I found a site with 1.25 million free icons in 85 categories. If anyone wants to get some ideas for icons they can google free icons.

[wooden_fish]

Why not?

I would recommend using a different set. Something that’s more personalized and complex to justify the cost.

I don’t know who’s your target audience, but I can say that a lot of decent web developers get their icons from stock platforms where you pay a small monthly fee and get thousands of icons. And I can’t imagine a small business owner who would order 4 generic icons for $25.

I would understand if a customer needs a very specific logo. For example, a while back I did a website for flower shop and it was a nightmare to find an icon for every flower and make sure they fit the overall brand guidelines. So I ended up ordering a complete new set.

So if you wish to sell small icon sets then the icons should be unique 🙂

Well, of course they need to be unique. Either in what they portray or just very targeted to the brand. It seems there is a market here for icons.

I paused that gig and I’ll put some more work into developing less generic examples and better styles. I was admittedly too hasty in putting it together.

@misscrystal I read your edit- I appreciate your honesty. 😉 It’s certainly a bold style and I can understand opposition to it. Maybe I can run some updated ones past you and find something not so horrendous?

[misscrystal]

Well, of course they need to be unique. Either in what they portray or just very targeted to the brand. It seems there is a market here for icons.

I paused that gig and I’ll put some more work into developing less generic examples and better styles. I was admittedly too hasty in putting it together.

@misscrystal I read your edit- I appreciate your honesty. 😉 It’s certainly a bold style and I can understand opposition to it. Maybe I can run some updated ones past you and find something not so horrendous?

I shouldn’t be so harsh, and I apologize.

[wooden_fish]

I shouldn’t be so harsh, and I apologize.

Apology accepted. It’s far from my best work, and I knew that, but you helped me step back and realize how much I could improve it.

[misscrystal]

Apology accepted. It’s far from my best work, and I knew that, but you helped me step back and realize how much I could improve it.

An icon is supposed to represent something or some idea. I suggest googling “free icons” where you can look at a lot of them for ideas.

[wooden_fish]

An icon is supposed to represent something or some idea. I suggest googling “free icons” where you can look at a lot of them for ideas.

Please tell me that’s a general headsup instead of meaning you didn’t see the symbolism in this set.

Because if there wasn’t recognition, it’s on me, and I failed the primary task.

[misscrystal]

Please tell me that’s a general headsup instead of meaning you didn’t see the symbolism in this set.

image.jpg900×600 46.5 KB

Because if there wasn’t recognition, it’s on me, and I failed the primary task.

No I don’t but maybe that’s just me. I’m trying to give up coffee and not very alert. Oh weather? Yes I see it now. Probably on a page about weather they would work.

,

If the lightening bolt was more vertical, like it is coming down from the sky, and the snowflake had pointed tips rather than oval tips, and the raindrop was slightly narrower and less round it would help.