GW II Round 1 - The D&D Connection vs. Theosaurus

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

Graphics Wingman II

[YOUTUBE]Qi8q_t3le60[/YOUTUBE]

Welcome folks to Graphics Wingman II where sig-makers battle it out in a match for sig-making supremacy. We have an excellent match-up for you today, when two teams of excellent sig makers go head to head.

Introducing first, a team that is tighter than a nun's vagina...

The D&D Connection!

Their opponents, a team that has been making quality sigs since the beginning of time...

Theosaurus!


The scheduled category for this match is "WWE." Teams have until December 15th to post their graphic. At which point, two graphics, one from each member must be put forward to the public vote and a winner will be decided.

Please remember that this forum is non-spam, so if you want to discuss any graphic that is posted, please ensure that you follow the spam guidelines and rules for this forum. Alternatively, post your thoughts in the Graphics Wingman Discussion Thread in the Requests sub-forum.

So, with that said, let's get it on!​

 

[Theo Mays]

Alrighty, best of luck to the D&D connection. But I think it is time that Thesaurus and I roar through the competition (yeah that was lame). Seeing as Santino just won the WWE tag team title at Raw last night I felt the need to make a sig for him now that I got PS running on my house computer. So without further adieu:

Spoiler

First I got my main render with Santino and the stupid tag team title. Next I took the blue from his singlet along with the black and set that as a gradient background. Then I got a stock image of a building and set it on darken with a low opacity. Then I added in two larger renders of Santino and I adjusted them with a threshold, set them on lighten, and then lowered the opacity. Then I took two circle brushes of two different blues and placed them behind my render to make it more of a focal point. Next step I added text saying Santino and then for the subtext I added a white bar with black text on top. Then I added some splatters of green, white, and red and placed them through out the sig. Then I took a white concrete stock, inversed it, and duplicated it three times (all set on linear dodge). I played with the opacity and fill of the bottom two and left the top one at 100 each. I then applied the image and set it on hard light to brighten up the sig a bit, added a black border, and called it a night. Enjoy!

 

[M. Winters]

Alright, here's my entry. Nice one BTW Theo.

Spoiler

First I started off with one of my basic grungy backgrounds and duplicated it, setting the duplicate to soft light. Then I got my Wade Barrett main image, couldn't find one I liked so I cut that one myself, I then duplicated it and set it to overlay. Next I found a basic image of the nexus and duplicated it as well. Made a new layer and painted it yellow, putting the duplicate nexus image over top of it set to overlay. Then I found the Nexus logo, scaled it lower and made a sheet like version of it and put it between my original two backgrounds layers, then duplicated it and put it over the duplicated nexus image. Then I did the little rounded edge bars that I like, chose a font and boom. You have what you see.

 

[Avrusha92]

First off, Good Luck to all of you.

Ladies & Gentlemen be amazed... THE CHAMP IS HERE!!

I first added a golden/yellow background, then added a black gradient tool on both sides, so now it looks like there is a spotlight.

I added a render of John Cena, and used his color scheme, i first used a grunge paintbrush (Yellow) Made it look glossy, then added a few more other colors such as purple, and gray.

Now how I made the text & the brushwork around Cena glossy, I combined the text JOHN CENA which was in yellow with the Brush Work I did, and then I used blending options (gradient tool low opacity so that the text looks more metallic/golden, drop shadow, and outerglow (color purple)

Anyways, Enjoy!!



​

 

[Dave]

I know, I know. I have come late to the party, once-a-fucking-gain. That being said, I am still in time, so please forgive me.

Now that is out of the way, I can get on with showcasing my graphic.

Spoiler

That's right! The King has returned! ME!

I'm kidding, I am nowhere near that vain. However, this graphic is the next in a new line of sigs I have been trying to work at. I am not the most creative of people with C4D's but I do a lot of work with photo filters and gradient maps. This signature is one of my favourites thus far and I think I have finally cracked getting them right. I have been working on getting some of the finer details sorted and think that this one has come out just right.

Once again, sorry for keeping y'all waiting. Life has been busy.

 

[Daniel]

There is some really great stuff on display here. So, let's get to it...

I really do like this. The colours work really well (obviously reminiscent of Santino and Italy) and the background is an interesting element to it. The primary text's font works really well but I can't read what it says underneath. To be honest, that is the only negative I can find. Very well done.

There is so much going on here and for the most part, it works. I have seen so many Nexus graphics than I care to remember but this ranks with some of the best. The first thing that strikes me is Wade Barrett (nicely cut, by the way) at the front. To be honest, I don't like him coming out of the graphic from the top and bottom. Just because you can see the top of head cut off and it loses some impact if you can see the definitive end of the graphic (I know that may not make sense but it does in my head). The background image is the understated star. I really like what you have done to make it much more than just a picture. Finally, I probably would have done away with the text. The Nexus are so distinctive now that they don't need text. It also blocks the head of a member which kind of disrupts the flow slightly. But other than that, it is a very solid graphic.

Quite simple but sometimes simplicity is key. I like how glossy and polished it looks. You've got some nice brushwork going on and the colours flow very nicely. The text works and the background, while it doesn't add much, if perfectly fine. There isn't a border but that is a minor problem. Very nice.

Dave, I can honestly say that is my favourite thing that you have ever done! It is actually faultless. The background images work beautifully with the image of Triple H even if I'm not sure what they are. The thing I especially like is the way Triple H has melded seamlessly into the graphic. The text suits the render without being overtly Triple H-esque. Brilliant.

There is some really nice stuff from everyone and I hope I have helped with this post. But their has to be a winner and by a very, very narrow margin The D&D Connection wins my vote.

 

[The Doctor]

Spoiler

This is an interesting one. I like the style, I like Santino, but at the same time, I feel there's something missing. I know there's an image blended into the background but the part above the text just doesn't seem very interesting to me, like a big block of emptiness. Perhaps it's the lack of a real definite "This is the subject" image. The shot of Santino with the title is more of an action shot than anything, so the whole sig feels...not unfinished, but unstable.

That said, it's very attractive, I just feel something isn't quite working.

Spoiler

This is a pretty basic Nexus sig. Of course, "basic" doesn't mean "bad". I like it a lot! It's very attractive, well-designed, and it fits the theme well. I'll give this one high marks, but you do need to experiment a bit, go outside of your comfort zone.

I love John Cena, but something about this isn't quite working for me. The colors are fine, the idea is there, there's just...something wrong. I think it might be the brush strokes. They're distracting. Perhaps blending the text into the background and putting the Brush Strokes behind would have been better. As of now it feels like a load of layers on top of each other as opposed to a finished product that flows.

Spoiler

WOW! Dave, make a tutorial on how you did this. I have no idea...couldn't even begin to think. Fucking beautiful. My mind is blown. This is as perfect a sig as I have ever seen.

And because of that, I think I'm going to give it to The D&D Connection.

 

[Avrusha92]

Wow Doc, I dont think I ever had any of that criticism from you.
I guess there is something wrong, when you look at it from a certain perspective.

Anyways, I sent out this sig to people and they said it looks great, and its a winner.
But your an expert on graphics, so I will listen to your critique.

I feel that the idea of this sig is that it should be glossy, and neon brush strokes in cenas color scheme, and I like to keep simplicity to my sigs, nothing over the top.

I usually receive good words from you about my sigs, maybe this time it really is THAT bad, even though I dont think it is...

 

[The Doctor]

Wow Doc, I dont think I ever had any of that criticism from you.
I guess there is something wrong, when you look at it from a certain perspective.

Anyways, I sent out this sig to people and they said it looks great, and its a winner.
But your an expert on graphics, so I will listen to your critique.

I feel that the idea of this sig is that it should be glossy, and neon brush strokes in cenas color scheme, and I like to keep simplicity to my sigs, nothing over the top.

I usually receive good words from you about my sigs, maybe this time it really is THAT bad, even though I dont think it is...

Don't feel bad. It's not bad by any means. There's just something about it that isn't personally clicking with me. I'm sure for plenty of other people it works fine. Everyone has different opinions on what looks good. We can't all bat a perfect average, you know. Lord knows I've made plenty of sigs that people didn't like. I really like what you did with the colors and the look of the render, it's just the design I'm not too keen on.

 

[WWE.IS.AWESOME]

I just had to comment on Angelic Diablo's sig.

I LOVE IT!

I'm not sure why, but there's just something about it that makes it stand out to me. The text is awesome and I love the brush stokes around Cena. The whole thing just looks so finished and glossy. Great Sig man!

To all the other competitors, you had amazing sigs as well, but Diablo's just stood out to me.

For those reasons, I voted for the D&D Connection.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Brilliant stuff by all but I think D&D takes this.

Diablo, keeping our amigo-ry aside, I think has done a great job with a simple sig. The dust off in the background is a great touch and adds to the purple theme.

Dave, no need to comment on yours; all that could be said, has been said. Smashing sig! Only one critique, the writing font had to be more 'kingly' if you know what I mean. A little more grand.

Thes chose a very common sig topic, not bad but too simple.

Theo, good sir, that is a beautiful sig! For me it was tied with Dave's. The use of the splashes of the Italia colours and the Santino mirrored watermark... all great!

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

Time for my feedback.

Spoiler

It's a very good sig Theo. But I really don't think Santino was the best choice here. I don't know whether it's the colors or the actual render that turns me off, but something about it just isnt right. Again, it's a good sig. The effects are very well done. But I dont think that Santino was the right choice here.

Spoiler

Had you not been against Dave and Diablo, this would have been a good sig. But it really is blown away by everyone else's work. Like Doc, there are way too many Nexus sigs these days. Every one just seems generic and boring. Not saying that this is a bad sig, because it's very good. But I think you could've chose something different.

[/CENTER]

This is very good Diablo. All the colors match up, and everything just clicks. It's a simple sig, yet it's a brilliant one at that. Everything just seems so crisp and clean, and it really works. Like Doc, the only problem I have is that the purple brush strokes just seem weird. The sig may have been better off without them. I've said this before, simplicity is key. Obviously, you can see that. Very good work.

Spoiler

There are no words. Absolutely beautiful.

The D&D Connection get my vote.