[CoffeeFiend]

larryb123456, on 03 August 2011 - 11:31 PM, said:

I followed your *clearer directions*, and, again, had no luck. When I released the mouse button, the foreground color did not change one bit.

Oh well. Perhaps that didn't work back with version 5?

CoffeeFiend, on 03 August 2011 - 10:23 PM, said:

Just to double-check, by "color picker" you do mean the "Eyedropper Tool" (as it's called in PS 5.0), don't you ?

Yes. That is what I meant (poor choice of words on my part)

CoffeeFiend, on 03 August 2011 - 10:23 PM, said:

when I sample a color from a screensave, I always have the Eyedropper Tool "Sample Size" set to "5 x 5 Average".

Useful when the colors change like in a photo but in a screenie of a forum the background is completely uniform, so that really changes nothing.

CoffeeFiend, on 03 August 2011 - 10:23 PM, said:

Perhaps you could get the ( r,g,b ) values and Post them for me

I already had #fafbfc, or (like gUiTaR_mIkE said): in decimal RGB format:
Red: 250
Green: 251
Blue: 252

[gUiTaR_mIkE]

gUiTaR_mIkE said:

my user name has a flow, like a gentle sign wave

What an id***, not exactly the 'sine' I was referring to...

...removed image, not necessary.

This post has been edited by gUiTaR_mIkE: 05 August 2011 - 03:28 AM

[larryb123456]

---------------------------------
Thanks, gUiTaR_mIkE and CoffeeFiend for getting the ( r, g, b ) values for me.
CoffeeFiend, with my screenshot saves, the background isn't uniform. If I recall correctly, it consists of 2 different colors in a "checkerboard" pattern -- as 1600% magnification shows. I think this is the fault of my old browsers, rather than PS 5.0. But this point is now moot, since I have the correct values.
---------------------------------

gUiTaR_mIkE, on 03 August 2011 - 11:16 PM, said:

sans-serif (non-italicized) works for me. If by regular you mean all lower case, could you try with lower-upper-lower etc like I have it, if this looks bad then use all lower case. It isn't real evident here but at times my user name has a flow, like a gentle sign wave but this doesn't show as much when the lettering is bunched up (and the font used), there needs to be a bit of space then you see a bit more of a step up then down and so on between letters.

Glad you got me to *clarify*.
No, by "regular", I *definitely* do not mean "all lower case". Instead of saying "regular", I should have said *vertical* -- like all the letters in your member name. As I have always said, your *exact* member name -- with the "lower-upper-lower" caps/lowercase arrangement as you have it -- should be preserved. This will *not* look bad. It will look GREAT ! Guaranteed !

We can experiment first with your "gentle sine wave" question to get the relative heights of the letters narrowed down. (Also, spacing between letters). What I'll do is make a few jpegs with the individual letters different sizes so that we can establish the basic sine wave "look" that you want [just in black on a white background (with no effects)]. One thing that looks "a little funky" is if each letter is rotated at a different small angle from the horizontal relative to the adjacent letter. You can also move the baselines of the different letters up and down a bit to get a little more erratic look (but not too erratic). I think with your moniker ( lol ! ), we don't want it too "regimented". We want it a "little wild" -- no ? Again, I'd just make these jpegs with black letters on a white background. Once we establish the "LOOK" that suits you, we can then start to add strokes, layer effects, etc.

These pictures should allow you to specify the signature "look" you're after.

gUiTaR_mIkE, on 03 August 2011 - 11:16 PM, said:

One thing might be nice is some bit of trim around the avy. I like the stock avy because it has a separator in the thin black line. I'm not sure what would work but a thin line that will act as a separator between the avy and the forum - not sure, no picture frame kind bulky stuff just a nice subtle outline of some kind - experiment, maybe nothing will wind up being best.

IMO, any "trim" around the avatar would *compete* with the interesting, *bold*, black border and completely destroy the avatar's "magic".

gUiTaR_mIkE, on 03 August 2011 - 11:16 PM, said:

Size, for the avy 150x150, I just joined a site that allows this size, kinda nice if there's detail within the avy that a smaller size loses. I've used a sig once (maybe) so I'm guessing, (sig) 400x100, not sure. If an amp and guitar are implemented as I've envisioned for quite some time I will need some space, not a lot.

No problem in resizing the avatar. Since the maximum signature size on MSFN is 380x100px, I'll make it this size. My guess would be that you'd want to use a big size on MSFN, since your "gUiTaR_mIkE" moniker is rather bold in itself. I think the guitar and amp would look good with the lettering. That's what we'll shoot for. Like I said, I'll look for some freebie pics.

gUiTaR_mIkE, on 03 August 2011 - 11:16 PM, said:

One other note, let's use a lossless format, isn't .png or .bmp lossless, this way I'll have a nice format to work with and I can 'save-as' when needed to another format.

http://www.wfu.edu/~...ts/formats.html
tells that:
PNG is a lossless storage format.
BMP is an uncompressed -- (i.e., lossless) -- proprietary format invented by Microsoft. There is really no reason to ever use this format.
JPG is optimized for photographs and similar continuous tone images that contain many, many colors. (JPG is a lossy format.)

It is clear that the images should be uploaded to the 'net in JPG (jpeg) format. I do all my work in the lossless .psd (Photoshop) format and convert to jpeg at the end.
This is important:
What do you mean "a format to work with" ?
What "work" do you envision doing to MY creations ?
As you can tell, this is a very touchy area for me. I have made beautiful creations for others in the past, and in their lack of expertise -- i.e., IGNORANCE -- they took it upon themselves to "manipulate" -- i.e. RUIN -- the images. These experiences have been very painful to me, and I have *no desire* to repeat them.

If you give me feedback on ANYTHING that you'd like for me to do to the images as we progress together in the development of your signature, I'd be more than happy to accommodate you. I have infinite patience in this regard. But if you plan to take my images and "work with them yourself" to produce "who knows what", I'd have to respectfully withdraw my offer.

I *always* would appreciate any suggestions from other forum members as the work progresses on how to improve the images, and I'd *happily* incorporate these suggestions into the work.

So, as I see it, the next step would be to establish the basic "structure" of your gUiTaR_mIkE signature with the black letters on a white background. This should take just a couple of days or so. Also, please define what you mean by "a format to work with".

I think a good way to show the developing images would be for me to "host" them and then provide image links for viewing. That way, I could get feedback from you -- as well as from other forum members.

Thanks

[gUiTaR_mIkE]

larryb123456 said:

But if you plan to take my images and "work with them yourself" to produce "who knows what", I'd have to respectfully withdraw my offer.

OK, we best nix the idea of my avy & sig, I wouldn't want to make you upset should I forget the stipulation on using your artwork. I do appreciate your time though and look forward to seeing what you produce for others, I'm sure it will look nice

[larryb123456]

This Post is just to "set the record straight" a little about my Screensave capability with my Windows 98 OS. (I'm something of a perfectionist, and I didn't want this mis-statement of mine to stand uncorrected.)

larryb123456, on 04 August 2011 - 02:52 AM, said:

CoffeeFiend, with my screenshot saves, the background isn't uniform. If I recall correctly, it consists of 2 different colors in a "checkerboard" pattern -- as 1600% magnification shows. I think this is the fault of my old browsers, rather than PS 5.0.

I took a screensave of the MSFN signature area using my Opera 9.64 browser (the highest version I can have with 98 OS) and analyzed it. There were not 2 different colors in a "checkerboard" pattern, as my *faulty* memory dictated.
The true "color field" in one 5 x 5 pixel area was described by the "matrix" shown here:
A,B,A,B,A
C,D,C,D,C
A,B,A,B,A
C,D,C,D,C
A,B,A,B,A
where the 4 letters represent 4 different colors, whose ( r,g,b ) values are:
A = ( 240, 248, 240 )
B = ( 240, 248, 255 )
C = ( 255, 248, 255 )
D = ( 240, 247, 240 )
When I set the color picker Sample Size to "5 x 5 Average" and clicked in the exact center of the 5x5 pixel area, I got the ( r, g, b ) values of the MSFN background to be ( 244, 248, 247 ) which is obviously incorrect, since the *correct* values are ( 250, 251, 252).
Please note that I also get non-uniform MSFN backgrounds from screensaves from my Firefox 2.0.0.20 and Netscape 9.0.0.6 browsers (the highest versions my 98 OS can have).

Well, CoffeeFiend, don't you and gUiTaR_mIkE wish that you lived in the "technological" Stone Age like me ?
For I think living in caves and killing wooly mammoths for lunch is *far superior* to modern-day life ! !

[larryb123456]

gUiTaR_mIkE, on 04 August 2011 - 04:28 AM, said:

larryb123456 said:

But if you plan to take my images and "work with them yourself" to produce "who knows what", I'd have to respectfully withdraw my offer.

OK, we best nix the idea of my avy & sig, I wouldn't want to make you upset should I forget the stipulation on using your artwork.

Well, I guess I might have been a tad "cranky" -- (from lack of sleep, probably) -- when I made that rather *harsh* "pronouncement".

I would like to make something for you, though.
(I feel so much better if I have a *specific* PS project to work on. If I don't, I feel a little "depressed".)
Can we reach a COMPROMISE ?
On MSFN let us keep the image (if you like it, of course) *exactly*, *exactly*, *exactly*, ..."infinity" (as Pee-Wee Herman would say) as it is in our agreed-upon final version -- and don't change it, unless *we* agree to change it.

I don't care one iota what you do with the images on your other forums -- since I'll never see them -- and I'd be happy to save the images for you in the PNG format so that you could WORK with them. I really wouldn't care if you "manipulated" -- i.e., "ruined" -- the images until they "stunk to high heaven" -- so *bad* even that the police brought cadaver dogs to your house to find the source of the STINK. ( lol )

Certainly -- I would hope -- you would not forget the stipulation on using my artwork JUST ON MSFN. I mean -- it's just one site to "remember". Go *wild* on your other sites if you want. (I sure hope a cadaver dog doesn't bite you !)

Please discuss this with me regardless of whether or not you want me to come up with some signatures:
When you say "guitar and amp", I really don't get a feel for your musical *tastes* or preferences. I mean, guitars and amps are used in music from Christian Rock all the way through Heavy Metal Metallica, for example, and beyond. What are some of your favorite bands, and I can check them out on YouTube.

Thanks -- as I said, I hope we can reach the "compromise". If not, it's no biggie.

[gUiTaR_mIkE]

Quote

Please discuss this with me regardless of whether or not you want me to come up with some signatures:

...not much to discuss, the usage policy regarding your work is reasonable and well within your right, the use restriction should have been put in the first post though, I wouldn't have bothered getting involved had I known. I don't need a sig and a stock avatar is fine for now, if I need more I can break out Inkscape and give it a go

What you might do is create a set of avatars and sigs with a technical slant that complement MSFN, maybe avatars highlighting the various OSes - 98 thru 7, then invite members to take a look, just mention the usage policy in a license agreement so there's no misunderstanding from the get-go. There are projects here that may be interested in a logo or icon - who knows - that's all I have.

[larryb123456]

Thanks for taking time to respond, gUiTaR_mIkE.

gUiTaR_mIkE, on 05 August 2011 - 03:26 AM, said:

the usage policy regarding your work is reasonable and well within your right, the use restriction should have been put in the first post though, I wouldn't have bothered getting involved had I known.

You are so correct.

When I made the first post on this thread, as I stated, my primary objective was to improve my Photoshop skills by working on *specific* projects. I just wanted to immerse myself in "art projects", for I truly enjoy them.

I offered to make *custom* avatars and signatures to suit the *tastes* of forum members. As I said, I would respond to feedback on the developing images and adjust them so that they would wind up being just what the forum member wanted. I never anticipated that once someone had the *perfect signature that totally suited his tastes*, that he would want to change it on his own.

In the spare time that I've had, I've worked on your gUiTaR_mIkE signature (with a *very nice* sine wave effect) to have it show up on MSFN similar to the "bookmark social" logo at http://www.bookmarksocial.com/ as I had originally discussed. This project is very easy to do. Just a little "tweaking" is called for.

I would *very much* like to give you this signature in the PNG format (with variations, etc.) for you to use -- restriction free -- on MSFN or anywhere else. I should have it for you in a couple of days.

What I'd like to do is HOST the images and provide links for you to download the images from the 'net. This approach would accomplish 2 things for me: # 1) other forum members could look at the images and give me feedback on how to improve them, etc.; and # 2) I would have a documented record of *my creation* -- i.e., "my version" -- in case you wanted to change the image on MSFN (as I said, I'd be happy to make any changes you wanted, but if you wanted to make your own changes, feel free to do so).

gUiTaR_mIkE, our exchanges have been very beneficial to me in that they *clarified* in my mind what is of *primary importance* to me -- doing art. As long as I can HOST my versions online, I don't need a "use restriction", as you called it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me try to summarize and make clear to everyone what I want to achieve here. I will work with you -- in a collaborative manner -- to develop an avatar and/or signature that *totally* satisfies you. I will respond to your feedback and alter the images to try to get them closer to *your version* of perfection -- for however long it takes. The developing images will be HOSTED online, and I'll provide links so that they can be viewed on MSFN and downloaded from the 'net by you. THERE WILL BE NO "USE RESTRICTIONS" WHATSOEVER FOR ANY OF THESE HOSTED IMAGES. FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD THEM AND DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH THEM.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm also going to put this statement right at the beginning of Post # 1 in this thread.

Respectfully submitted, Larry

This post has been edited by larryb123456: 05 August 2011 - 06:42 AM

[CoffeeFiend]

larryb123456, on 04 August 2011 - 06:57 PM, said:

Well, CoffeeFiend, don't you and gUiTaR_mIkE wish that you lived in the "technological" Stone Age like me ?

XP is already pretty close to the stone age IMO. Going back to Vista is tolerable (mainly it's missing the new must-have taskbar) but I truly don't care for XP anymore. Same story for Photoshop almost. While the CS5.5 suite brings essentially nothing to Photoshop, CS5 is still very nice and CS4 is alright. CS3 though is already a very big step behind, and I'd rather never have to use anything older.

Oh yeah. Here's a tease for the painter in you. A quick screenshot of the brush option palettes from Corel Painter 12 (there are more options beyond those):

There's hundreds of existing brushes from all kinds of different media types and you can easily create new and very cool variants based on them.

Oh, and don't worry about double posts, we just delete 'em, no biggie.

Edit: no, sorry. I'm not sharing personal work over a forum. Call me paranoid... Not that I'm a great painter or anything (far from it)

[larryb123456]

CoffeeFiend, on 05 August 2011 - 11:44 AM, said:

Oh yeah. Here's a tease for the painter in you. A quick screenshot of the brush option palettes from Corel Painter 12 (there are more options beyond those):

[URL=http://i.imgur.com/6lQCf.png][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/6lQCfl.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

There's hundreds of existing brushes from all kinds of different media types and you can easily create new and very cool variants based on them.

It's hard to believe the number of options. With so many options, I could *totally ruin* an image in no time flat ( lol ). I know that one could use the brush options alone to create a totally abstract picture or in conjunction with the face of a georgeous model, for example. I recall seeing a tutorial where someone started with a woman's face and -- layer by layer -- added "speckles", subtle "lines of paint", other brush effects, etc., etc., and arrived at a truly great image. I think he used a couple of hundred layers. (I wish I had saved the link.)

CoffeeFiend, do you have some links to examples of your work done using brush effects alone or in conjunction with an image ? (Also any other examples.) I'd truly love to see them.

Thanks

This post has been edited by larryb123456: 05 August 2011 - 04:26 PM

[larryb123456]

larryb123456, on 05 August 2011 - 04:22 PM, said:

CoffeeFiend, do you have some links to examples of your work done using brush effects alone or in conjunction with an image ? (Also any other examples.) I'd truly love to see them.

CoffeeFiend, on 05 August 2011 - 11:44 AM, said:

Edit: no, sorry. I'm not sharing personal work over a forum. Call me paranoid... Not that I'm a great painter or anything (far from it)

Thanks for answering. I was lucky to find your answer in the Post *before* the Post in which I made my request. I'm sure you're being modest in assessing your abilities. Your response got me wondering: are there any "dangers" in what I'm offering to do -- i.e., showing off my skills (or lack of skills) for everyone to see. Is there something I'm missing here ? If anyone calls me a lousy artist, I'll just say "I know you are, but what am I ?", just like my all-time favorite hero, Pee-Wee Herman. (lol)

[CoffeeFiend]

larryb123456, on 07 August 2011 - 09:53 PM, said:

I'm sure you're being modest in assessing your abilities.

Nah, definitely not! I'm more of a photographer who likes to tinker with painting. I truly suck at drawing and such things. I can turn out pretty decent photos anytime (I'd totally do it for a living if 99% of the work didn't suck) but being good at painting will probably never happen.

But no. There is no real "danger" to worry about. I just like anonymity so I keep my work (personal or otherwise, of any nature) off of the internet. I stay away from things like facebook as well.

[Tripredacus]

larryb123456, on 01 August 2011 - 03:25 PM, said:

I know that PS 5.0 is an outdated version, but when coupled with a little creativity and ingenuity, it can, IMO, produce *good and interesting* results.

Of course! Some people can create wonders with MS Paint

jaclaz said:

and no, I don't want to start the usual Gimp vs. Photoshop flamewar

Me either. Everything I make is in Fireworks

larryb123456 said:

As my time permits, I'd very much like to work with any MSFN member to create a *custom* avatar and/or signature.

What kind of avatars or signatures have you done before? Do you have some examples?

Spoiler

Anyone remember this one?

[gUiTaR_mIkE]

I know you can't get something like this done in an evening but with hard work and the right tools it's amazing what can be created - have a look.

Spoiler

[larryb123456]

gUiTaR_mIkE, on 08 August 2011 - 10:25 AM, said:

I know you can't get something like this done in an evening but with hard work and the right tools it's amazing what can be created - have a look.

Spoiler

I'm glad you put this in as an example.
This is easy to do -- basically, you just need a pencil and eraser. Easy and FUN. You can also do neat "effects" to your basic image as shown -- like adding an outline, dropshadow, etc., etc. But, you don't want to do "too much* to your basic image, or you'll spoil its simplicity.

In developing your member name, the first thing I did was do a screenshot save of it and measure the relative heights of the letters. I decided then to also remove all the background around the letters.This *rendition* of your name is *exactly* as it is shown on MSFN -- in a solid color with a jig-jaggy (i.e., "stairstep") look to the diagonals. Personally, I think the look is cool. I will include this image along with all the other ones I'm developing. I think I'll put it in white letters on your avatar dark-blue background, again at 380x100px PNG.

[larryb123456]

Tripredacus, on 08 August 2011 - 09:15 AM, said:

What kind of avatars or signatures have you done before? Do you have some examples?

Hello, Tripredacus, nice to meet you.

Well, of course, there's my avatar (very simple) and signature (more complex). I also have a Photo on the "My Profile" page.

My recent project with a MSFN member was with jds (Joe) -- again a relatively simple avatar project. He was using a "stock image" of Blaise Pascal as an avatar -- done entirely in shades of black, white, and gray -- on a white background -- and the image faced away from the Post area. I removed the background, put a blue-gray gradient fade around Blaise, and flipped him so that he'd look *toward* the Post area. We then brightened the image to go with this relatively light fade background. This was a big improvement over the original avatar. Even though this was a "simple" project, it required a long time -- in the back and forth -- until I had something that suited *Joe's tastes alone*. It was definitely a collaborative effort.

I have a *whole bunch* of signatures that I made for the larryb123456 member name. I have a lot of signatures in the identical *format* shown in my present signature. But in this collection of signatures the letter color doesn't change "across the board" -- it stays constant, but the letters do have an inner bevel to give them some "dimension". For example, in one signature the letter color might be red, in another blue, etc. I experimented -- in a systematic way -- with all the *combinations* of colors for letter, outer glow, and bevel. I also have an entirely different *set* of signatures for larryb123456. I'd be happy to show examples from both sets -- say 5 or so from each. I just need a little time to organize it and have the images hosted.

Also, I can show examples of what I was most recently experimenting with -- involving quotations by famous people as a MSFN *image* signature. I'll try to present these images in a way so that if anyone likes them, they can download and use them either here or on any other site.

I should have the "project" with gUiTaR_mIkE finished in a couple of days, and there will be *many* images for you to look at there. Of course, Tripredacus, I'd much appreciate your feedback (if you want to give it, of course) -- and the feedback of others, too -- for my main objective here is to continue to improve.

[CoffeeFiend]

larryb123456, on 08 August 2011 - 06:18 PM, said:

Even though this was a "simple" project, it required a long time -- in the back and forth -- until I had something that suited *Joe's tastes alone*. It was definitely a collaborative effort.

That's the very nature of doing this stuff for a living (then again, so is software development). Vague requirements, many constraints (often including some stuff that's just not possible), many late changes, lots of compromises, too much time wasted in meetings, but mainly design by committee -- all while staying within the number of billable hours quoted. Whatever the client wants. Often the end result isn't quite what I wish it was or what I would have chosen but it's their money so you deliver what they ask for.

[larryb123456]

larryb123456, on 08 August 2011 - 05:10 PM, said:

In developing your member name, the first thing I did was do a screenshot save of it and measure the relative heights of the letters. I decided then to also remove all the background around the letters.This *rendition* of your name is *exactly* as it is shown on MSFN -- in a solid color with a jig-jaggy (i.e., "stairstep") look to the diagonals. Personally, I think the look is cool. I will include this image along with all the other ones I'm developing.

I wanted to respond to this now, rather than discussing it in the Post concerning your images. The enlargement of your member name to the 380x100px range was just too great for Photoshop to do effectively. The name was incredibly blurry. Even "Nearest Neighbor" -- which usually does a better job than "Bicubic" for this type of image -- didn't give very good results. The approach to do the "enlargement" would have to be *manual* and very *labor intensive*. Here's how it would work. Suppose we wanted to enlarge the name by a factor of 10. We would pick out a pixel in your small-sized name and then -- in a new Photoshop file -- "color in" a 10x10 pixel area. We'd then repeat this process for *each pixel* in your small-sized name, making sure that we would reproduce in the enlargement the *arrangement* of pixels in your small-sized name.

In conclusion, IMO, the result would not justify the effort *at this time*.
However, if I did have some time in the future, I might do it -- because the "look" of the letters is *somewhat cool*.
Really, I wouldn't color-in a new 10x10px area each time, I'd just make a "New File" 10x10px, and "paint-bucket-fill" it with the color. Then, I'd just drag these colored squares into the 10x enlargement file, as needed. Pretty efficient. Of course, squares would only be for a proportional enlargement. If the enlargement were not proportional, rectangles would have to be used. All this could be calculated from the outset.

[gUiTaR_mIkE]

All I know is I hope anyone reading this thread understands my post (#34) was a joke, a bad one apparently but a joke

[CoffeeFiend]

larryb123456, on 08 August 2011 - 09:10 PM, said:

The enlargement of your member name to the 380x100px range was just too great for Photoshop to do effectively.

Am I missing something, or you're just talking about the user name to the left of the post? If it's just that I'm not sure why you're going through all that hassle. It's just regular text rendered by the browser, as dictated by the cascading style sheet (css):

First, in the body selector there is:
font: normal 13px tahoma,arial,verdana,sans-serif;

then in the body h3 selector you have:
font-size: 1.1em;
font-weight: bold;

So as-is, you can just use the type tool with: Tahoma, Bold, 14px high at 100% zoom (just increase that if you want it bigger), and the color is #4E6A97. There's no need to resize screenshots of text. There might be some minute differences in kerning (typically Photoshop being better/more accurate) and such between Photoshop and the browser depending on what browser you use, the anti-aliasing method used in Photoshop and a couple other things that will change how it looks in a browser like ClearType settings (or possibly not having Tahoma installed, in which case it would default to Arial instead, or then Verdana after that)

gUiTaR_mIkE, on 08 August 2011 - 09:43 PM, said:

All I know is I hope anyone reading this thread understands my post (#34) was a joke, a bad one apparently but a joke

That's totally my new wallpaper!