2 Years At Photoshop? Yeah Right

I'm pretty much in the same situation...

I started making signatures right as the transfer between just filters and using brushes was happening. Pretty much I got into making sigs with brushes, and eventually got to the point where I thought I was good at it; then the style started switching into the trend its at right now. Its pretty much, "I am sticking to what I did best, and there is no reason to 'upgrade'." But in reality, there is a reason to upgrade, because people are usually only interested in the newest trends.

Also, back then I had Photoshop open everyday, but in the past two years, I have it open maybe twice a week, and sometimes never in a week; usually just making random things.

Also, being younger at the time, I was willing to accept the trend and the norm; now a days, I prefer to what ever I think is the best way to make it. Plus, I would rather work on larger pieces, than something like a forum signature.

Lastly, like other people were saying; its the resources. I remember when good-tutorials was the best place to go for a tutorial, and even then they weren't too comprehensive; you had to ask someone how they did something, now you can just use google to find yourself that tutorial or method. I think, that when people come into the trends mid-way through the trend, its a lot easier to assimilate themselves in because they have all the resources, like tutorials, brushes, filters... Even those things you can download from the internet that are basically batch files that will do a whole tutorial for you. (I don't use CS much so I forget their name). Since there are many more people that do it now, its even more easier to get into it, since there are a lot more signatures to look at and get a grasp of what you want to do.


Not to mention, gone are the days of a dedicated signature site... Like BEO or Leetweb... Clans don't need amazing signatures or banners anymore; because most likely they all have Photoshop and are somewhat proficient with it, or have at least one member with it that is really good at using it, so they do everything.

 

some people just have natural talent
it doesnt seem fair...but its life -_-
ive been making sigs for about 2 years now on and off
and i still think iam a noob
the only reason iam improving is because i get feedback on the sigs i make and i know what to improve on and i also ask questions when i dont know how to do something.
resources, tuts, and --- friends are all you need imo ^_^

 

Virtuoso is right and so is Kennedy

thats what I did when chaosgfx was up

 

this isnt a mean comment: maybe you just arent as talented at graphics as others. its not all about practice, you have to have talent. its like any sport. you can play it a ton, but it doesnt mean youre going to be good, you have to have talent to do it.

 

Thats not true, anyone can get good at sports or gfx. If you have talent you can just get there faster, but it doesn't mean you can't get there if you don't have natural talent.

(imo ^_^)

 

RxBandits is right in some points, I dont agree with the sports, but I agree with the art on some point. Art isnt meant for everyone. Some people can do it for years and still dont make anything good, my art teachers, say you gotta visualize it, and thats not for everyone.

 

I don't visualize anything...my stuff turns out worse when i visualize. So i just make it.
But then again im weird.

 

Oh, its also others opinions.. They may see something differently.. Everyone';s tastes and perceptions of whats good looking or not are different.

 

art is inherently subjective. whether something is appealing or not is up to who's looking at it.

when i started out, my sigs were of the basic "text, BG, render off to one side" variety. i slowly began to change this as i learned more with my chosen program, GIMP.

at the time, brushed sigs were all the rage, but i wanted to see what i could do without downloading any brushes. essentially, i started with defaults. from then on, my tags and work got better slowly. and i mean SLOWLY. i was still learning what GIMP could do.

i set a goal to make a sig a day for a year. after completing that, i had a vast and deep knowledge of GIMP. this caused a change in my THINKING. once you know your program well, you can visualize what kind of effects or feel would fit a particular stock, and then you can make what you've seen in your head.

so my advice is to focus less on the resources, downloaded brushes, tuts, or PSDs. if you've got GIMP or PS or whatever, the most important thing is to KNOW your program. then, the improvement will show.

 

I can also say I know how you feel...I've pretty much been doing photoshop for the same amount as you and has the same creativity block or feelings that I'm not improving at all, just getting worse and worse the more I make. I am always trying tutorials though so I can learn new things and hopefully put them to use when or if I ever make a good sig lol.

I can even say the same for video editing, I've been doing it since I was 13 and over the years, I feel like I'm doing worse and worse, never better...

Like some have said, others just have the talent, while others don't, and some just never had it in the first place. Some get better with time.

And just my wittle spin on things, maybe some people's talents also have a prime. Like a time in which they were awesome at what they did. When I was kid I used to draw amazingly well and overtime, its like the ability just packed its bags and moved away, I can't even draw a face anymore lol. Some lose it, others can keep it up for life, others it just fades away and you find something else that you're good at and enjoy. Life's strange like that...

 

Just try your best every single time. Try re-editting sigs after they get critiqued too. I have problem with colours coz i'm slightly colour blind but that doesn't stop me either.

 

just try copying someone really good without using tutorials

you wont be able to get the same product, but u will develop your own techniques that way

 

Well a lot depends on how often you actually use ps. After all practice makes perfect. Some people are also sometimes just don't have a good eye for graphics, personally what helped me most was watching my friend make sigs on his comp (he's really good)

 

I think everything you need to know has been said in the 1 sentence. I couldn't have said it better myself.

2 more things though: I do believe in the fact that creativity is something that needs to "grow", 99 out of every 100 people don't just "have" it. I also believe everybody can become creative to a certain extent. Just keep practicing.

Secondly, don't listen to the people that tell you not to use tutorials. hey're the best way to learn every tool, setting and property of photoshop. You should use tutorials, but spent more time on learning the ins and outs of every single tool, and spend less time on learning techniques other people developed. If you think you mastered photoshop in a decent way, start developing your own style.

Good luck mate!

 

We're in the same boat here buddy, I've been on and off at PS for about 2-3 years as well and have SLOWLY improved (in my own eyes).

Its all subjective. Honestly, who was the first person that said "this is a great sig and this one is a dunce"? And what right did they have to say that?
Fair enough if you are an art teacher or something with a lot of knowledge in art.. but honestly, who cares what some 13 year old says about a few pixels?

There are those people that are naturally gifted with an eye for art. Many times, I have been told I am gifted with art. In real life I can draw and paint well, or so I am told. But when I hit the blank canvas on Photoshop, that perspective is changed. Knowing how to use Photoshop's powerful tools to render on the canvas what you see as a finished work is the hardest step in making sigs. I personally know how some tools work and others I have never tried, which is my weakness.

To show your natural eye for art in your sigs/graphics, you have to know what you are doing in Photoshop. That is the difference between a good and a bad work in my eyes.

Now as I was saying, read tuts, look at PSDs in layers, try and try over and over again, randomly throw in different techniques until you find something YOU like.

Just do what you feel right, NOT what others say is the right thing. Don't be a sheep in the crowd and follow the trendy styles, be the shepherd who sets them.