Need criticism please

[massdestruction]

I just made this..

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/277/elfish.png


What would you rate it? Amateur, Semipro, Noob.. 1/10? What would you change.. Need to know my limits..Thanks.. I'm 13 years old.

[Oldat29]

Ok 13, il go easy. Its a sig. WOW.

Ok now for the info. Graphic design in not just about GRAPHICS........ Your only larning how to use a program with this sort of work...

Heres a challange to push your limits.

Design a poster for a big up and coming DJ fest in scotland. Age gorup would be 18+......You have full control of the finished project and the one restriction you do have is, you must only use TYPE.

[massdestruction]

I can't use text at all.. It's horrible.
I'm not using photoshop.
I'm using gimp.
The signature is made up from scratch.
The only thing I got was the render, on the right.
It was black and white.
If you look closely theres alot of detail..

15 layers.

I've been working with Gimp for 3 years.. For me that's an amazing work. I know how to do professional work, as I have on my computer with photoshop CS3.

Thanks.

[garricks]

Moved to the Crit Pit.

http://koolsplace.com/images/movingtruck.jpg

Welcome to GDF, mass. Please read these important threads posted here (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=42). They will explain a lot about how the forum runs, from the rules and regulations to frequently discussed topics to the background on some of our lingo and inside jokes.

I hope you enjoy yourself!

[garricks]

Graphic design is about communication. You'll need a background in typesetting and page layout if you want to be a professional graphic designer.

You'll also quickly learn that graphic design is about making the client happy.

I suggest that you read the topics listed HERE (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33048) for more information. :)

[shmoo]

Why do we need to know how old you are?

[CkretAjint]

I know how to do professional work, as I have on my computer with photoshop CS3.

That means absolutely nothing. What about InDesign or Illustrator? Knorledge of color theory or font and design history?? "Professional" has nothing to having Photoshop on your computer.

Being 13 years old or not, I am going to give you my honest opinion. It's a sig, you designed it as yourself being the client. There were no outside guidelines, requests or information to follow. If you are happy when the out come, then that is all one needs to hear. There is no reason for us to "critique" this sig image.

[NTLemon]

I think its useful Schmoo, especially since the majority here are made up of Professionals its doesn't make sense to treat them at the same level as we would treat another professional or even someone coming out of school.

To the OP: The problem I see with it though is that the figure doesn't make any correlation with the tech-like background. I would say for your age it's pretty good in terms of learning the software and using image making techniques, but the images don't work in context.

You should also heed the advice that what your creating isn't design as much as it is digital art, and that the programs, while often used in design, do not constitute design simply by their use.

It would be akin to hand sketches or figure studies compared to a finished painting. It's more like practice and study.

You have a lot of time to learn though and if you have the opportunities through school to take design classes or work on the school newspaper the more the better for the experience and education if this is what you want to do for a living.

[Sketcher]

I did my fair share of sigs when I first started learning the software and I'm sure a lot of other people on here did too. For what it is, I think it's good. However, it is not graphic design. It's digital art. If you're really interested in learning graphic design, stick by here and you'll learn a lot.

[Roth]

I've been working with Gimp for 3 years.. For me that's an amazing work. I know how to do professional work, as I have on my computer with photoshop CS3

The false modesty didn't last long, did it.

[Bob]

It's great.

But... I might be biased. I mean, that looks a lot like my first girlfriend.

[double A-ron]

I know how to do professional work, as I have on my computer with photoshop CS3.

Wow, that's a pretty ballsy statement to make, especially on a site made up of professional graphic designers. If you're so confident in your skills, than lets see some of this professional work you know how to do.

As for your sig. Sorry, I don't like. To me it just looks like every other sig out there done by people that think they're graphic designers.

[PrintDriver]

The only thing I got was the render, on the right.
Where did you got it from?

[SeveBallesteros]

The false modesty didn't last long, did it.

12:34 -> 12:53 = 19 minutes precisely.

Just think of the development that can take place in 24 hours!!

I suppose by this time tommorrow he will expect to be a senior member with moderator status.

[Jaffnae]

True its only a sig, that you are posting on a Graphic Design Forum. Excuse the generalisation, but an image and a bunch of filters is not graphic design. You, however are only 13 and you have years ahead of you to understand the above. At the moment I think its great that youre learning the applications as you will need to do this at some point in your life. I think that if you are seriously planning to get into the industry than its only great youre starting now. The earlier the better :).

[ExFactor]

As a graphic design student, I could only say that before I've started taking my classes at the university, I couldn't tell the difference between graphic design and digital art. Now, on my third and final year of my BA, with some experience and still a lot to learn, I can only say that graphic design is all about communication and the messages you want to communicate through your work. It's not always about the effects you can apply with the software that you use. Sometimes, it can be something very simple, but still create a strong message. Personally, I like typography very much. We've just started getting really seriously into it, and I like it a lot.

The image you've created, what kind of message does it communicate? What's the purpose of it? Maybe you could explain it a little bit better?

If you wish to be a graphic designer, there are a lot of things you need to take into consideration when you do your work, like grids, fonts, mix of colors, etc. To me, your work seems a little bit amateur, which is totally acceptable, since you're only 13 and still have a long way a head of you. The most important thing is to have passion and enjoy creating. Add a little bit of patience to that, and you'll have a winning combo.

[Roth]

True its only a sig, that you are posting on a Graphic Design Forum. Excuse the generalisation, but an image and a bunch of filters is not graphic design. You, however are only 13 and you have years ahead of you to understand the above. At the moment I think its great that youre learning the applications as you will need to do this at some point in your life. I think that if you are seriously planning to get into the industry than its only great youre starting now. The earlier the better :).

I agree with this sentiment and would never discourage someone from a career in design. However, the attitude of the OP is not untypical of many of the younger posters here which has nothing to do with a love of design, but rather a naive, headlong rush into the abyss of their own artistic greatness. There's no inclination in learning either technique, history, or even something as simple the appropriate programme for a project. They start so early and spend so long cultivating bad habits i wonder if the have the gumption to unlearn them and apply themselves to serious GD.

[PrintDriver]

Here's a bad dream for today's Graphic Designers...
What happens when these kids grow up and run businesses or you have to capture their attention which insists that their collateral has to look like the sigs they grew up with cuz that is whatz kewl???

I see a day in the not too distant future when paint spatters, lens flares, incoherent colors and 'borrowed' art rule the world. Oh...Wait...........

[dmerfield]

The problem is, there are hundreds of kids, wait no, hundreds of thousands of kids like yourself who think they are professional graphic designers after producing some trite piece of tut like this. However, you clearly have enough confidence in your own 'ability' and I commend that. Having the balls to come onto a graphic design forum and say 'I know how to do professional work, as I have on my computer with photoshop CS3.' takes confidence.

Please don't be disheartened, just a little more realistic. This reply may sound harsh, but I feel a reality-check is necessary.

[*the girl* ryan]

Working for myself, I get the occasional joys of working at the kitchen table with my lunchtime 'Cops' show on

Every day, without fail, is an ad for the California Art Institute (or some big falluting name) with a girl, sitting at a computer with a picture of a guy on it. She smiles at the camera and says "Check out what I can do!" and proceeds to 'unhide' layers in photoshop of a monkey face which she puts over this guys face.

The commericial goes on to say... "we will teach you to be a professional graphic designer... making Movie Posters, CD Covers and Band Flyers AND i kid you not... the font they are in is Sand www.identifont.com/samples/apple/Sand.gif

I die a little inside everytime I see it.

[PrintDriver]

If you consider the graduates of such a class your competition, you need a reality check as well. ;)

[*the girl* ryan]

oh, no, its not that I consider them competition. I think its kind of sad that schools are encouraging this 'idea' that just screwing around with photoshop makes you a graphic designer. Maybe this kid has an 'ability' somewhere in there. His color palate doesn't clash, the image has a sort of 'balance' BUT in the end, it is a sig, with no plan, no order and a 13 yo with Gimp and Photoshop who says he can make professional designs.

[anothefoo]

OP is 13 years old. You guys wanna back off a bit?

Reality check for a 13 year old? Seriously?

[*the girl* ryan]

I'm sorry to have come off that way. I wasn't giving a reality check to the 13 yo. I have just seen a serious change to the face of the graphic design industry and schooling in the last decade.

I'll bet the guys who did it before computers thought we were all doing it too easy too lol.

OP, keep up the gw. Try sketching ideas out some plans before the next one, and then show us your progress :D