default header

Games

The Artwork/Wallpaper/Lifestyle Image Thread

Moderator: JC Denton

Unread postby raphael » 26 Oct 2012 03:14

Yes I noticed you did it like that and figured why. Most of the time you rightfully do so. But on a couple of images the result just feels strange. For one, left and right don't work the same, and two, centered subject can sometimes not be a problem and even be a necessity.

What I do is I import the frontpage in Photoshop and then the image behind. So instead of cropping I am framing directly through the final page layout. So, in my haste, I occasionally produce a lousy header, but usually the integration with the site is very good. And contrarily to the rule, sometimes centered images do better. I trust my eyes.

I took a moment to watch again the cropped headers I sent you yesterday. Here's what I found:
- The Pokemon header seems properly framed (the boy can be in the center it is not a symmetrical image anyway) but the quality of the source material is poor. Well, try it and see if you like it.
- Arcana Heart header 1 and 2 are too blurry and not that great anyway.
- Arcana Heart header 3 is okay but not amazing
- Arcana Heart header 4 will probably be the best but needs a few pixels reframing
- Bayonetta 1 and 2 are just useless, 4 is undoubtedly the best (try it and please tell if there's something wrong for you)
Last edited by raphael on 26 Oct 2012 10:31, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
raphael
 
Joined: 04 Mar 2008 19:31
Location: Paris

Unread postby raphael » 26 Oct 2012 04:28

New batch of headers.

Wipeout 2048:
Image

Image

Image

Image

Mass Effect 2:
Image

Deus Ex: Human Revolution:
Image

Image

Your Killzone 3 header crops a little too short on the left so I corrected it laterally and tried a few alternatives.

Yours, corrected:
Image

My test versions:
Image

Image

Image

If you need it, I can send you a psd file to make it quick and easy to test within the page layout. Just ask.
User avatar
raphael
 
Joined: 04 Mar 2008 19:31
Location: Paris

Unread postby icycalm » 27 Oct 2012 05:44

I am not currently using Photoshop on my netbook, because it'd be too heavy for it, and my PC is not set up yet. But I can test headers quickly enough anyway by simply posting them on the frontpage.

As for what you've made, I'll certainly be using one of the Killzone ones, and probably also the Wipeout one. The Mass Effect 2 one needs to have the dude moved quite a bit to the right, and even then it's probably not going to be usable on the frontpage. I don't think I can explain to you exactly what the requirements are for a header to go on the frontpage. It took me ages to figure them out myself, and there are tons of headers I used to use which I eventually discarded. For every header on the frontpage there are anywhere between 5 to 10 which I made but discarded. Good is not good enough, it has to be stunning otherwise it's not going on the frontpage (though it may go in the fourm...) It can be deceptive because there are plenty of gorgeous wallpapers which you'd think would make gorgeous headers, but it doesn't work that way. The Deus Ex ones you made, for example, come from a very nice wallpaper, but the layout of the artwork does not lend itself to the short, elongated format that we need. You had to rotate it a lot to fit it in the needed dimensions, and when I place it on the frontpage it will look like the he's lying on top of all of Insomnia's articles, and that will look lame. I know because I've tried dozens of similar headers from other wallpapers in the same style (for example, many DOA girls, or Catherine) and finally figured out that having the character lying horizontally doesn't work (nor does your first version, which shows the protagonist essentially hanging from the ceiling?) The AH3 headers don't work either. It's not your fault, it's just that for some reason NONE of the wallpapers for ANY of the Arcana Heart games have the kind of layout that will work as a header. They are either squeezing too many girls in too little space, which means that when you try to crop them you end up with a bunch of headless girls, which looks lame; or they have a single girl in the entire wallpaper, but just standing there looking lame, without fighting anything or going in some sort of cool pose or something.

Bottom line is there has to be DRAMA in the scene for the header to work well on the frontpage. You want EVERY SINGLE HEADER to SCREAM OUT at the viewer "THIS SHIT IS AWESOME, THIS SHIT IS VIDEOGAMES, MOTHERFUCKER".

And the drama needs to be in either the left or the right side and not centered.

So let me try those of the ones you made that look promising, and I'll get back to you. And thanks for the effort, as always.
User avatar
icycalm
Hyperborean
 
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby raphael » 27 Oct 2012 12:17

Okay I understand what you need now. I'll try and stick to it.
User avatar
raphael
 
Joined: 04 Mar 2008 19:31
Location: Paris

Unread postby raphael » 28 Oct 2012 02:22

Congratulations on the new headers you have made, they look great. Some of the older ones start to pale in comparison.

I tried to make some more, trying to follow your guidelines as much as possible (the available source material rarely makes it easy).

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Image

Uncharted 3
Image

Gears Of War
Image

Image

Gears Of War 2
Image

Guild Wars 2
Image

Image

Image

Image

Halo: Reach
Image

Image

Image

Left 4 dead
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Monster Hunter Frontier
Image

Image

Image

Image

Monster Hunter G
Image

Split/Second: Velocity
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
User avatar
raphael
 
Joined: 04 Mar 2008 19:31
Location: Paris

Unread postby El Chaos » 26 Aug 2013 20:14

Gears of War 3

omen_by_jace_wallace-d4b3300.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby El Chaos » 02 Oct 2013 22:56

Rockman Zero

RZ_1.jpg

RZ_2.jpg

RZ_3.jpg

RZ3.jpg


Wild Arms: the Vth Vanguard

WA5_01.jpg

WA5_02.jpg

WA5_03.jpg

WA5_12.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby El Chaos » 03 Oct 2013 02:06

Final Fantasy Type-0

fft0-rem-and-machina-illust.jpg

FFT0_1_1920x1200.jpg

FFT0_2_1920x1200.jpg


Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

MGRR_Raiden_Jack.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby El Chaos » 05 Oct 2013 17:49

God Hand

GH.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby El Chaos » 11 Oct 2013 20:27

Rockman Zero

32427971.jpg

35253460.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby El Chaos » 26 Oct 2013 14:37

Silent Hill 2

SH2.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby El Chaos » 28 Nov 2013 02:23

Metal Gear

mg25th_hfix.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby zinger » 28 Nov 2013 22:42

Baraduke

write021a.jpg


Don't know if the quality is good enough (it has some scratches), and it might require some editing for it to fit, but damn this flyer is cool.
User avatar
zinger
 
Joined: 22 Oct 2007 16:32
Location: Sweden

Unread postby icycalm » 29 Nov 2013 00:03

To fit what?
User avatar
icycalm
Hyperborean
 
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby zinger » 30 Nov 2013 03:59

To fit as a header / banner.
User avatar
zinger
 
Joined: 22 Oct 2007 16:32
Location: Sweden

Unread postby icycalm » 30 Nov 2013 05:54

No amount of editing could do that. You'd just get a head and a gun in there, with no context whatsoever. I am not particularly fond of the image, but what beauty there is in it needs all the vertical elements to work. Try to cut out a thin strip of any part of it in your mind and you'll see it won't work. And in any case, this isn't the header thread.
User avatar
icycalm
Hyperborean
 
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby El Chaos » 14 Mar 2014 00:31

icy, I uploaded the Pokémon pic here: http://saucenao.com/

And got the source: http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php? ... id=8683366

8683366_p6.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby El Chaos » 02 Apr 2014 16:40

Sonic the Hedgehog

30846112.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby icycalm » 13 May 2014 02:37

The Pokemon image you posted is the same one I already have, no? And your links aren't giving me anything...
User avatar
icycalm
Hyperborean
 
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby El Chaos » 15 May 2014 02:27

Yeah, that's the source. You've got to register on pixiv in order to see the pictures. There's also the author's official site: http://kwne.jp/~apois/simpleviewer/images/r_003.jpg
User avatar
El Chaos
Insomnia Staff
 
Joined: 26 Jan 2009 20:34
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unread postby icycalm » 15 May 2014 03:31

That's too bad. Thanks for the effort anyway. By the way, I just uploaded a couple of headers to the frontpage from material you suggested (Gears of War 3 and Sonic), and I am working on a few more, so keep them coming!
User avatar
icycalm
Hyperborean
 
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby icycalm » 16 May 2014 20:47

Many MMOs have fantastic illustrators churning out amazing wallpapers for them. It's frustrating that I can't use them.
User avatar
icycalm
Hyperborean
 
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby icycalm » 17 May 2014 00:18

I've been trying to make a Titanfall header, but nothing works, and finally I realized why. The mechas are ugly as fuck, as in all Western-made mecha games.
User avatar
icycalm
Hyperborean
 
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby icycalm » 17 May 2014 00:28

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread. ... st85847407

dreamfall wrote:Greatest Thread on GAF, I need help.

Does anyone have the full artwork for this image from the Red Dead Redemption booklet?

I literally cut it out, and pinned it on my wall ages ago hoping I'd run across it.

iTGJbAYbdIL7G.jpg


I want it too.
User avatar
icycalm
Hyperborean
 
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

Unread postby icycalm » 17 May 2014 15:22

Lots of new headers on the frontpage, maybe 20 or so. Take a look at them if you're into that sort of thing. You can listen to this while watching the slideshow. Nothing gets me as pumped to play games as this.

I'll take a break from this for now to post some new reviews.
User avatar
icycalm
Hyperborean
 
Joined: 28 Mar 2006 00:08
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands

PreviousNext

Return to Games