Sorry guys we lost electricity last night.....I am getting ready to CnC all the tags on this page and anyone else who posts...I will try to get them done as fast as I can.
JL Bonzai - Hmm I would not have to say that this is the best work that I have seen from you. Nor would I have to say the smudging has come out as well as you normally see in cloud smuding tags. First off what I was looking at was the text. I usually never start off with text in my CnC but this time I actually am. The text I think detracts from the tag quite some. Usually text like this is joined with some larger text, or in this case not so long in length, but more taller in width when using that amount of text. This text in my own opinion reminds me of an Anti-Rip text and not so much a text to add to the tag. The next thing would have to be the render joined with the effects. The smuding is not the greatest, but it is not the worst either. But combined in one area with the render it looks like something went wrong. The sprite just kinda slowly fades into the cloud effects which kinda seems a tad boring. There is nothing going on over, and there is nothing that really catches the eye. Also the circle under the sprite looks a tad out of place. Then also there are a few areas of color that could be fixed that also seem like they should not be there. The last two areas I want to look at is the depth and the lighting. There is a decent amount of depth in here, but the depth I do not think was done as good as it could have been. The sprite is suppose to be in between the clouds, however he is still sharper than the clouds in front of him. I think if there were some sharper effects up front with the blur in the background it would look better. In this case, the only depth I am seeing is all dependent on the lighting. That is where the lighting actually comes in to play. The lighting in this tag seems to not play such a part with lighting but more with flow and depth. There is no main light source, except coming from the back which looks nice except for the fact the light is coming from the other direction on the sprite. So I think a closer, even just small light source might have helped. Also on the left and the right bottom there seems to be a darker light source and a -------light light source that just seemed to have been randomly placed there.
Ombre - I always hate to be harsh when I do these critiques, but unfortunately this is one of those times. I hate to really say but there is very, very little I can actually say good about this tag. The only thing I can compliment even the slightest is your smudging. You kinda of have a wispy cloud type smudging going on. The first two things I will start off with are depth and lighting. There is pretty much absolutely no depth in this tag at all. The background, or just behind the smudging is bland. There is nothing going on in the back at all, which creates zero depth feelings within the tag. I would suggest at least getting some type of effects back there and even just blur it up and sharpen the effects up just a tad bit. Then for the lighting, well it just seems to be chaotic. There seems to be not just one light source but several, and none of which are really there for lighting, but just to make the tag brighter. You should try to focus on one, maybe two light sources in a tag and have the directional or in the background so that you either create lighting flow or some depth in the tag. In this case, it just seems too random and actually makes the tag too bright. Last two things are the effects/smudging and the border. The effects and smudging have a nice overall effects, but then at the same time lack that very thing. Those effects could be very nice, with something else going on in the tag. You have them so they are the main focal and they are all that is going on within the tag. That in turn makes it so the tag come out unappealing and unattractive. They are also pretty blurred with no sharpness, which also does not make it very eye appealing. In short, there needs to be more going on within the tag. Then also your border just kinda seems to be there for a border. Almost as though there was no thought put into that at all. When using a border, you have to be very careful because you can truly ruin a tag if the border does not fit.
Jyorei - Well you are asking for some hardcore CnC so I am going to regretably give it to you. Even after being away from PS for a few months, this is not a good tag in almost any area. I am guessing that even before you left you might not have been up to par with many of the other tag makers around GR. But I will go ahead and tell you what is wrong with the tag. The two first things I will start off with are lighting and depth. The reason I chose both of those is because in this case they go hand to hand. The depth in this tag could actually probably be very good, but unfortunately you over powered it with the lighting. You have the lighting so strong and so overwhelming within the entire tag, you washed out the background in the tag. With the lighting also you seemed to have washed out both the render and the effects as well to a certain degree. With lighting you want to be careful you don't over do it, and you actually want to usually try to gauge by the render where the light should be coming from which is usually in one area. With that as well, you want one powerful light source compared to any others in the tag. So I think because of the lighting you lost some good contrast and color in the tag. The other things are the text, border, and overall effects of the tag. The effects in this tag actually seem to be very minimal but that might again have to do with the lighting of the tag. It looks as though you just used a few c4d renders in the tag, which actually can ruin a tag. If that is all you are using for effect, it is as though all you did was stick a couple stocks together and said the tag was yours. You need to have more going on in a tag, and actually depth might even be able to fix that so you do not have to have much. The text and border in this tag just seem to be out of place. 1px border equals never use because they are simple tag killers on any tag. The text also just seems to be placed there with very little thought. Although if everything else was fixed, it is very possible the text might look good.
Volmorous - Since this is only your 3rd tag I will take it a little easier on you. But unfortunately not to easy, otherwise you can not really learn how to improve. So I am sorry if this comes out harsh. But I will say, you did very well for it only being your 3rd tag. The first two things that I was looking at were the effects and the text. The overall tag just seems to be very messy, random, and chaotic. There does seem as though there was anything that you were really going for except for effects. When using this many effects you have to be very careful and it is very tough. You need flow in a tag, and unfortunately what you did here was put so much into it that you kinda got rid of the flow and just made the overall tag messy. You can see where you tried to get the flow, but unfortunately it did not work as much as I am assuming you hoped it to. It just seems to random. Also, the two clipping masks on the left just seem out of place. When using those types, you have to be very careful in placement and also hoping that you do not over do it and also in this case, you did. There are also a few colors within the tag that do not fit, and I would almost think a b.w version of this would look better. Then also, the text just seems out of place as though it is just in there for some text. You have to be very careful when using text because it can ruin a tag easily. The other two things are the lighting and the render. Your lighting placement seems to be dead on, but the lighting usage was not all that great. It seems to be over contrasted and it also seems as though it was not set up well in transtition. The lighting transition seems to be very quick into dark. You want it so that it looks as though the light is giving out light and not that that is the exact light source. Also, there seems to be too many effects over the render. You want to make sure if you have ANY effects over the render they are well planned out, and usually have it over the face is NEVER good, so be careful with that.
Aspectt - MEGHAN FOX IS DEAD SEXY!!! I give you a 10/10 in render usage! At this point I would love the tag even if it completely was the worst tag I had ever seen! Anyways, I will try to look passed her and actually CnC the tag, but it will be hard to look at her and do that....hehe! Ok well the first thing I was noticing was the premade brushes or shapes or what not with the clipping mask. They would probably look good, but I think they are used a tad too much. Especially since they are going OVER the render. Maybe if they were not going over the render, or at least not so much maybe it would look better. But since they are really noticeable, mainly on the left of her hair and on her chest, they look bad. I think maybe try to get rid of those or tone them down a bit and it would look nicer. The effects in the back with the smudging look nice but there is one thing about them that is bugging me. When I look at I feel like I am looking at a double image. I am not sure if it just came out that way or if in areas it really is double when you were doing something, but it kinda bugs me and looks a tad odd. The next two things I was looking at was the lighting and the text. The text I like the idea of it very much. However, I think it could be a tad better. I like how it is kinda destroyed, but I think it is a tad too much destroyed. So maybe tone that down a tad and it would look really nice. Especially the G-A-N, the M and the E I think are just fine. The lighting I also think could be a tad better. I like the light source on the right, but then I saw the light source on the left and realized that was just a clipping mask. Then the lighting transition on the right could be a tad better when it is going to the corner. I think it gets a tad bit dark too fast. I also think a small light source with some good light to dark transition on the left might look nice.
Bdiddie - Unfortunately this will be a quick CnC because I really can not say anything good because this is a tag that needs a lot of work on it. I would also suggest that you check out the tutorials we have on the site because they will really help you. First off, your tag is WAY too bright. It actually hurts me to look at it for too long and that is not an exaggeration. You really want to work on your contrast and get more darks into a tag. You always want a good variety of light and dark colors, especially when working with a b.w tag. Also your text is very hard to read. You want to choose a font and color that will not completely blend into the tag. It is alright if it blends in a little to the point where you can still read it, but in this case I can not read it at all. Also your render seems to be out of place with the colors you chose for the effects and also seems to be a bit too blended in as well. That is where you need to focus next is with your effects. I think that if you had some more darks in there the background would look well and you might even be able to make a few changes to the point where you could get some good depth in the tag. However you once again lost it all with making the tag so bright. Then lastly is your over effects where it looks like you have some effect of just motion blur over everything which looks bad. You almost never want to use a filter that is going to stand out that much unless you really know how to use it and know it will go well with your tag.
Random1337 - Hmm I am not thinking this is the best actually. Looking at this tag and your current, I think if you took the time and really tried that you would easily be able to come up with something better. It looks as though you used a blur layer on lighten, which is very rarely good. It is easy to tell that and usually can break a tag even if it is the best tag ever. Your effects seem very rushed in my opinion. They do not look like you actually took the time to sit down and work on them. There is not a whole lot of depth either. I think if you blurred the actual background and then maybe added some sharper effects up front that it would create some really good depth. However, it looks a tad over contrasted and in areas look pixelated which is not the best. The pen tool also could have been put in there better, especially with the render. I am also not too fond of the clipping mask with the eyes in it, because it just seems out of place. Lastly, the text just seems slapped on as well to try to get some text in there. So like I said before, I think that if you took more time to work on a tag, you would be able to come out with a decent result.
Thanks for the critique. I am mainly trying to figure out new ways to make effects that I can incorporate into larger pieces. I will try to keep your points in mind next time I make a sig. Surprisingly enough I didn't ever use the smudging tool in that sig, it was all just default brushes, filters, and a stock photo I took of a water bottle. I used it for a base to start my brushing.
