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[size=+1][b][u]Contents[/u][/b][/size]
Part 1

1. Introduction
   
2. Definitions, Terminology and General Help
   
3. Resources
   
4. Programs

Part 2

1. Focal Points
   
2. Renders
   
3. Flow
   
4. Depth
   
5. Effects
   
6. Smudging
   
7. Text
   
8. Lighting
   
9. Blending
   
10. Borders
    
11. Signatures
    
12. Large Pieces
    
13. Web Design
    
14. Tips and Tricks
    

[size=+1][b][u]Introduction[/u][/b][/size]

I thought I'd share my ideas and thoughts on GFX for others to take a look at. This isn't going to be a 'proper' tutorial but it will cover some essential things. I've opted not to use the multi-page feature for each new section as it would annoy me to load nealy 20 pages for one guide so I'm not going make you do it either. The first page consists of an introduction, some definitions, terminology and a list of places to find resources. The second page, once I figure out how to use it, will contain the bulk of the guide.

New sections are in bold, underlined and [size=+1]+1 Size[/size] so they shouldn't be hard to miss.

[size=+1][b][u]Definitions, Terminology and General Help[/u][/b][/size]

What is a sig? An image normally within the size of 550 pixels wide and 300 pixels high. There is also a vertical version where the height is larger than the width. Other words for a sig is a tag and a signature.

What is an avatar? The image you see under people's usernames on forums. Sizes vary from site to site though There's normally smaller than 200 pixels wide and 200 pixels high.

What is a userbar? A small image usually no larger than 400 pixels wide and 30 pixels high. Usually used to show your support for something or advertise.

What is a large piece? A large piece is just that, a large piece. They can be anywhere from 500x500 pixels to 4000x4000 pixels. People usually make these as wallpapers.

What is photomanipulation? Taking several images and combining them into one to make a single scene. They are usually quite large.

What is a tagwall? An easy way that sig makers use to show off their recent work. It consists of a few (or many) sigs being placed on a single canvas (usually a vertical canvas) for easy posting on forums.

Where can I upload my images? You must login or register to view this content., You must login or register to view this content., You must login or register to view this content.

Terminology

• LRO: Learning Rights Only, mainly used on resources, means that you can't take anything from it and use it in your own work
  
• PR: Posting Rights, means you can distribute it anywhere you want. Crediting the original creator is usually required.
  
• WR: Wearing Rights, means you can take the image and use it on a forum or some other place that will let you. Usually you need to credit the original creator when doing so
  
• FR: Full rights, you can copy pieces of the image for use in your own work, wear the image and redistribute it, but you can't claim yourself as the creator.
  
• CnC: Comments and Critique, analysing a piece
  
• Tag: Another word for sig/signature
  
• Avy / Avi: Short for avatar
  
• LP: Short for Large Piece
  
• Tut: Short for Tutorial
  
• C4 Short for Cinema 4D, a 3d Modelling program. Also used to refer to renders created with it.
  
• PS: Short for Adobe Photoshop, an image editing program
  
• PS Photoshop Document, the source files used by Adobe Photoshop
  
• XCF: Gimp Document, the source files used by The GIMP
  
• B&W / B/W: Black and White / Greyscale images
  
• Jpg / JPEG: Prounced Jay-Pegg, a type of image, usually used on websited for it's small file sizes
  
• Gif: A type of image, usually used in animated images
  
• PNG: Prounced Ping, a type of image, offers the highest quality of images and is recommended for use no matter what you're doing.
  
• TIFF: A type of image, usually used when rendering 3D images, supports 'alpha' layers allowing you to easily extract content from an image that has been loaded with an alpha layer
  
• Vectors: Images that are based on specific points rather than pixels. This means that you can resize it without any loss of quality provided all the points are intact.
  
• Stock: An image that is used as the basis of a piece
  
• Render: 1) An image that has had it's background removed; 2) An image that has been created using a 3D modelling program
  
• Soft Brush: A brush with the hardness set to 0%
  
• Hard Brush: A brush with the hardness set to 100%

[size=+1][b][u]Resources[/u][/b][/size]
All the sites below are free.

Renders

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Stock Images

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Textures

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Brushes

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Effects

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Tutorials

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Fonts

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Most GFX forums will have their own dedicated section to resources. They will usually have stocks, renders, effects, brushes, fonts and tutorials. Here are some of them that I know of. You'll need to register and maybe reach a certain post count to be able to view the resource sections there

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[size=+1][b][u]Programs[/u][/b][/size]

There are many programs around that can be used for GFX. Each program has it's own specialty in some way and they all suit a particular type of artist. Depending on what you want to make, your level of commitment how much you have to spend, there is a very broad range of programs that will fit your needs.

Photo Editing

• The GIMP
  
• Paint.NET
  
• Paintshop PRO
  
• Adobe Photoshop
  
• MS Paint

3D Modelling

• Cinema 4D
  
• Maya
  
• Blender
  
• 3DS MAX

Other

• Corel Painter: A program that is used primarliy for digital painting. Think of it as a much more advanced version of the brush tool found in other programs.
  
• Adobe Illustrator: Mainly used to create vector images
  

[multipage=Renegdr's GFX Guide: Part 2]
[size=+1][b][u]Focal Points[/u][/b][/size]

The Focal Point of any piece is the place where our eyes are drawn to when we look at it. In most pieces there is only one focal point, providing a clean and more professional look, but depending on the how the piece is going to be used more focal points may be added to get the message across (such as a website banner or advertisment) When deciding on where to place a focal point, do what you can to follow the rule of thirds. This rule says that the best place for a focal point is along a "third" line in the piece. To find the third line, divide your piece into nine equal segments, three at the top, three in the middle and three at the bottom. The place where the segment lines intersect is the best place for a focal point on a piece, giving you four in total - one by each corner. You don't need to have the focal directly on the intersection, just have it in the general area.



Try not to cover up your focal point too much. Keep it clean and visible for the best results.


[size=+1][b][u]Renders[/u][/b][/size]

A render is simple an image that has been removed from it's original stock piece. It can mean other things when you're talking about 3D modelling, but for now I'm going to talk about it in terms of simple images.



A lot of people have difficulty picking a good render to use. The best renders are cleanly cut meaning that there is no trace of the original stock image it came from on it and that the edges are smooth. They also should be environmentally neutral meaning that they don't have any defects based on the image that they used to be a part of. Examples of defects would be discolouring, chunks missing and general low quality. Some people will argue that if there is some lighting on a render already that it isn't environmentally neutral, technically it's not but having some 'natural lighting' on a render can make it much easier to work with as you can utilise this lighting very easily. Also when you're looking at renders, keep in mind that bigger will always equal better. You can resize a bigger image to make it smaller no problem, but if you made a smaller image bigger then you will notice a dramatic loss of quality.

Just to recap on things renders should not have: (examples pending)
- White / Black / Any lines going around the edges eg.
- Any colour tones that affect it's original state eg. You must login or register to view this content.
- Bits missing from things that used to be in the way of the render eg.
- Low quality / blurry / pixelated eg.

Ways To Render
I primarily use Photoshop for all my work so for now this section will focus on the tools in Photoshop. Later if I have time I'll add a section for rendering in GIMP if there is a dramatic difference between the two.

There are several ways to render. The best way in my opinion would be to use the Pen Tool and create a map of points around the area you want to exract. You can edit the points you make by holding the CTRL/CMD key and move them around to create curved lines. When you finish the map you can right click > make selection > right click again > layer via cut. A similar method, though quicker and less accurate would be to use the Magnetic Lasso Tool. With this, you only need to create a starting point and then move your mouse around the edge of the piece you want to extract and points will be created for you.

When it gets to rendering hair and other fine lines things can get very difficult. I find the best method to do this is to use the Pen Tool and do the best you can with the piece, not focusing too much on some of the hair for now. When you make a selection of it, go to the Menu Bar at the top and under the Image tab go to Layer Mask > Reveal Selection. This will remove everything from the image apart from your selected area. If you look over at your layers pallette you will see that a box has appeared beside the layer preview. Right click on the new box (it should have a decent amount of black on it) and select Refine Mask.



A new window will pop up. Now simply brush over the edges where the hair is / should be to reveal it momentarily. Photoshop will do the rest, and will determine if there's anything there that should be part of the bit you extracted earlier. Keep going over the hair until your satisfied and click ok at the bottom. While this method isn't perfect, it's much more accurate and easier than if you were to do it manually.


[size=+1][b][u]Flow[/u][/b][/size]

The flow in a piece is the direction that things are moving in. Flow can come in many forms, but the main and easiest ways to implement it is to have it originate from the focal and move outwards or to sort of pass by the focal in the background.



There are several ways to implement flow, the easiest of which is to use a solid C4D render [see Effects below]. Other ways include smudging, using brushes, shapes and really just about anything that you can think of. Flow isn't limited. The only thing that will limit it is your own ideas.

[size=+1][b][u]Depth[/u][/b][/size]

Depth is a bit hard to explain, but giving an example is easy Right now, take a look around the room you're in and focus on one object. As you focus on it, notice how the objects beside it become a little blurred and how things further away are even more blurred - that is depth. The perception of an object and judging it's distance based on what's around it. Depth is easy to see in pieces as it emphasises the focal point by adding a blur to it's surroundings. Simple blurring of a background will emphasise the foreground content, making it seem closer to you. Blurring the foreground will emphasise the background, giving the feeling that you are looking off into the distance at it.

Depth is also used to help direct your eyes in a piece. Many people (myself included) use depth to push the viewers eyes towards the focal by simply blurring around it, increasing the intensity of the blur as you move further away.

[img]depth images pending[/img]

There are a few ways to add depth to a piece, here are a few examples:

• Using the blur tool to blur the background and using the sharpen tool to sharpen the main focal.
  
• Applying the image (Image > Apply Image) and using the blur or gaussian blur filter (Menubar > Filters > Blur > Blur / Gaussian Blur) on it followed by erasing over the focal with a soft brush
  
• Similar to the method above, but using the sharpen filter (Menubar > Filters > Sharpen > Sharpen) and erasing the background with a soft brush
  

[size=+1][b][u]Effects[/u][/b][/size]


[size=+1][b][u]Smudging[/u][/b][/size]


[size=+1][b][u]Text[/u][/b][/size]


[size=+1][b][u]Lighting[/u][/b][/size]


[size=+1][b][u]Blending[/u][/b][/size]


[size=+1][b][u]Borders[/u][/b][/size]


[size=+1][b][u]Signatures[/u][/b][/size]


[size=+1][b][u]Large Pieces[/u][/b][/size]


[size=+1][b][u]Web Design[/u][/b][/size]


[size=+1][b][u]Tips and Tricks[/u][/b][/size]

very helpful hopefully you will finish it soon

Thanks, I plan on doing it bit by bit over time. Doing it all at once just seemed a bit too daunting for me and no doubt I'd have given up half way through if I did.

6/17 sections basically done though, hopefully I can get it all done in a week or two depending on how much I add each day. I reckon I'm going to leave a lot of the images until later as the actual writing part is more important and a bit easier imo.

must add "lost and taken" to the textures list <3
and planet renders and tagfreak for general resources
and flickr and tumblr to stock images
but really good job

Added lost and taken, flickr and tumblr to it. Planet renders seems to be primarily renders so I'm not going to put it under general, but I did add tagfreak as well as a few other sites.

I've bookmarked this. :y: It needs to be stickied.

:y: .

hopefully you decide to finish this, second best guide i have seen the first best iv'e seen is a fuqing monster of a guide

One thing i will say as a tip:

Dont try and make the sig look perfect the whole way through, i know i do it sometimes, where i try and make each layer look like a complete sig, rather then aiming on an end goal. The best sigs i've made have looked like crap in the first 5/6 layers, but it slowly pieces together over the last 15/20

Should be sticked when its finished, Also great thread :p