Any and all suggestions and critique welcome

[Vafann]

admittedly the smoke is a bit to thick maybe lower the opacity slightly could even try duplicating the layer lowering the opacity on the under copy and then set the upper copy blending mode to dissolve or soft light. maybe adding a bit more contrast to the main subject so she stands out a bit more

OK, I´ll try that! I will also try changing the wings to one of the pictures Luna linked, they are much better than one I had.

[luna]

always seek stock fotos on this sites:

1. Stock.xchng - the leading free stock photography site

2. DeviantArt - deviant art resources and stock images

3. StockVault - Free stock images

[Vafann]

always seek stock fotos on this sites:

1. Stock.xchng - the leading free stock photography site

2. DeviantArt - deviant art resources and stock images

3. StockVault - Free stock images

Thank you Luna! I will. I have to go to bed now, it´s getting really late here.

[ibclare]

something like these effects http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/desig...hting-effects/ light curves in different colors)

Thank you Luna, those are some impressive effects. Gr8 collection.

So, quite the back and forth dialogue going here Vafann, Luna, Hoogle. I agree about the first one obscuring the figure, pretty much entirely for me. It looked like a pirate at first glance, without magnification of course. In that aspect, the 3rd is much better. I do like the bolder, crisper, more contrasting aspects of the first image. I don't like the middle one where the book hue was blue. I like it better with the parchment colors. The BGs on the last 2 seem too flat to me with the dithered color. It has more depth in the first. I think it was mainly the figure and the ribbons of smoke obscuring it that bothered me. The only other thought I'll throw out there and I'm interested in other opinions (don't go changing it on my account), is that the mask looks too bright compared to the model. I think it should have a gleam. Maybe it has a bit too much.

Take any opinions with a grain of salt. You are the artist.

All in all, I think it is very pretty and imaginative. Kudos for your openness to critique.

[fenix]

I put the text together so I could change it without doing it one by one, I warped the smoke and changed the color a bit. Is this better?

Oh It looks great vafann! Maybe I would have reconsider using bevel on the text tho, but taste is so very personal and it´s anyhow YOUR design, not mine. Otherwise I think it looks great!
PS: you could achiveve a quite nice "break out / dissolve" effect by using scattered brush / make a new layer from about half the butterfly / stretch it by using free transform so the foot touches the book / mark the layer / click Alt + New Mask (the square turns black) / and adjust the scattered brush and "paint in" the lower half of the little butterfly.(alter the size of the brush for best effect) This way you could achieve the feeling of that it materialize itself straight out of the book.

[Vafann]

Thank you Luna, those are some impressive effects. Gr8 collection.

So, quite the back and forth dialogue going here Vafann, Luna, Hoogle. I agree about the first one obscuring the figure, pretty much entirely for me. It looked like a pirate at first glance, without magnification of course. In that aspect, the 3rd is much better. I do like the bolder, crisper, more contrasting aspects of the first image. I don't like the middle one where the book hue was blue. I like it better with the parchment colors. The BGs on the last 2 seem too flat to me with the dithered color. It has more depth in the first. I think it was mainly the figure and the ribbons of smoke obscuring it that bothered me. The only other thought I'll throw out there and I'm interested in other opinions (don't go changing it on my account), is that the mask looks too bright compared to the model. I think it should have a gleam. Maybe it has a bit too much.

Take any opinions with a grain of salt. You are the artist.

All in all, I think it is very pretty and imaginative. Kudos for your openness to critique.

Thank you so much Clare! lol, that´s funny because my biggest problem with it at first was that I thought it looked like a pirate too lol. I probably didn´t choose the best model in the world and I even had to brighten it up before you could see a person there at all, she looked mostely like a siluette. I have a number of free stock photos, and I try to collect as many different ones as I can, but usually I just have to make do with I have, and that kind of makes things weird.

I also agree with you on the mask,besides it being too shiney, it´s also too big for her face I think. I think I´m going to pretty much start all over again, with the same kind of idea, but maybe different pictures. I am going to try out the stock links that Luna added, I knew about them, but it seems like you have to credit any of them you use, and I don´t know how to that unless I organize everything after the person who owns the stock. Also the other ones, you have to become a member and I have just thought it was ahssle, since I am a member of so many things already, but I am going to do it anyway. (Thanks again to you Luna

I am so happy that I get so much critique and help and sugestions around here, it´s like having a whole site full of tutors, I am here to learn, and I won´t learn anything if I don´t have anyone telling me what´s good or bad. Even if I can see a lot of what´s wrong myself, I still don´t know how to fix it, since I don´t know that much photoshop yet. I have only been usuing it for a couple of months. Without all the help i have been given here, I would be stuck all over the place.

So thank you very much for your helpful suggestions, I am so happy to have them.

[Vafann]

Oh It looks great vafann! Maybe I would have reconsider using bevel on the text tho, but taste is so very personal and it´s anyhow YOUR design, not mine. Otherwise I think it looks great!
PS: you could achiveve a quite nice "break out / dissolve" effect by using scattered brush / make a new layer from about half the butterfly / stretch it by using free transform so the foot touches the book / mark the layer / click Alt + New Mask (the square turns black) / and adjust the scattered brush and "paint in" the lower half of the little butterfly.(alter the size of the brush for best effect) This way you could achieve the feeling of that it materialize itself straight out of the book.

Thank you Fenix! Tack tack tack I am going to save this as a note, it sounds exactly like what I need to do to get the effect I wanted! I am going to start over again, and hope it turns out more like I wanted it to next time.

[luna]

I think that constructive criticism should be the cornerstone of this forum especially for us beginners,otherwise what is the point when every comments on work is the same( is beautiful,great...).One thing is the artistic aspect of the work(concept,idea..)and another thing the technical part(using photoshop tools,blending pictures in bacground,colors,choosing the right stock picture....)

For example in my manipulation for speace challenge(Brave Explorer)I showed my work to my friend(more experienced Photosop user)and he pointed out technical flaws in the work(colors ,exposure,shadows,blending of rover in bacgraund)and I corrected them,without his criticism I would have believed that the work is good(Technically speaking).

I believe that learning photoshop is very similar to learning traditional arts you must first master the basic techniques(portraits drawing, oil painting techniques,watercolors......)before you can create your own works of art.

[Vafann]

I think that constructive criticism should be the cornerstone of this forum especially for us beginners,otherwise what is the point when every comments on work is the same( is beautiful,great...).One thing is the artistic aspect of the work(concept,idea..)and another thing the technical part(using photoshop tools,blending pictures in bacground,colors,choosing the right stock picture....)

For example in my manipulation for speace challenge(Brave Explorer)I showed my work to my friend(more experienced Photosop user)and he pointed out technical flaws in the work(colors ,exposure,shadows,blending of rover in bacgraund)and I corrected them,without his criticism I would have believed that the work is good(Technically speaking).

I believe that learning photoshop is very similar to learning traditional arts you must first master the basic techniques(portraits drawing, oil painting techniques,watercolors......)before you can create your own works of art.

Yes, I think you are absolutely right. I do admit that I often post comments like "Coool" and "Beautiful", this is because I Like what I´m seeing, but I don´t feel like I know enough photoshop to give any real suggstions. I am really happy when there is something I can help someone with though, and the more I learn, the more I can help others learn as well. That is coooooool!