Renegade's Little Hideout

[Renegade334]

UPDATE STATUS: Upd. 08:52PM GMT+1, May 11th, 2011 - Sig n°101 added.



>> ALL SIGS NOW ON IMGUR ALBUM <<


Yeah, well...*scratches head*…I figured it was finally time I made a small compendium of my modest works. God knows it's been a long trip since I started this hobby of mine and I'm still not seeing the end of it. I'm still using Photoshop Elements 2.0 and it will be some time until I finally graduate to CS or CS2. I once tried to install the thing on my machine and the results had me ripping my hair out of my scalp - too many file extension changes and the bloody brush interface wouldn't display all 715 sets I have on my PC right now. So even at this moment I'm still playing with a modest artisan’s tools - there is still fun in using old stuff, after all.

Anyway, my style evolved greatly over the years. At first I only did GS/GSD stuff, mostly tech-centered sigs but most of those files have either been deleted, lost or forgotten in the half-dozen computer crashes and reinstallations I had to go through during the last five years. Then I switched to simpler designs with whitish-gradient backgrounds, only to find some growth in grunge...and then finally abstract and 3d stuff. You’ll find most of my work quite busy – filled with details and the like…to the point of being distracting from the main focus -- the render itself. In fact, it’s part of my vision to embed the said render in a backdrop that tells its own story or suggests a certain atmosphere. In certain instances, I even view sigs as screenshots taken at specific circumstances...hence why my realistic sigs are particularly well detailed. In consequence, most pics are sharpened, but I must say this feature depends on the render itself; whether I choose to insert a ghost blur to make it more...glamorous depends on what looks best on the final product.

My latest fad revolves around realistic backdrops - like forests, foliage, rocks, clouds, ocean waves...you name it...everything's progressively being tried, kept or discarded. I'm not versed at all in vectoring and whatnot, but I can stand my ground when it comes to cleaning scans (provided, of course, I don't have to deal with pagefuls of kanji - that's usually when my poor heart dances the macarena and I start crying tears of blood). Textwork happens to be a nail on my coffin’s lid – it worked fine when I still fancied the whitish-gradient BG but now that I’m into busy sigs, the magic has faded away. Ugh. Necromancy is of no use to me.

Note: Most of my sigs bear my previous screen name, namely 'Soultaker7' (AKA 'S7'). Nowadays I just sign my GFX 'R334/S7 DES.'

So, without further ado, here goes (from roughly oldest to newest):

Spoiler for Part I:

001.
002.
003.
004. -- This thing must be as old as Methuselah but it's one of the best I ever made right then.
005.
006.
007.
008.
009.
010.

Spoiler for Part II:

011.
012.
013.
014.
015.
016.
017.
018.
019.
020.

Spoiler for Part III:

021.
022.
023.
024.
025.
026.
027.
028.
029.
030.

Spoiler for Part IV:

031.
032.
033.
034.
035.
036.
037.
038.
039.
040.

Spoiler for Part V:

041.
042.
043.
044.
045.
046.
047.
048.
049.
050.

Spoiler for Part VI:

051.
052.
053.
054.
055. -- The Sia sig was quite an embarrassing moment. I had posted it on a different, GFX-centered forum (where everyone except ME knew everything about Shuffle!)...only to realize that I had gotten the name wrong. I think I put 'Kaede' or something like that, and I had to backtrack and carefully erase my mistake and replace it with 'Sia'...which is a headache as I don't keep backgrounds and stuff; in other words, if you eff-up you’ll have to restart from scratch. Yeah, misspellings and other blunders like that tend to take years off your life expectancy. XD
056.
057.
058.
059.
060.

Spoiler for Part VII:

061.
062.
063.
064.
065. -- My take on retro/pop art style.
066.
067.
068.
069.
070.

Spoiler for Part VIII:

071.
072.
073.
074.
075.
076.
077.
078.
079.
080.

Spoiler for Part IX:

081.
082.
083.
084.
085.
086.
087.
088.
089.
090.

Spoiler for Part X:

091.
092.
093.
094.
095.
096.
097.
098.
099.
100.

Spoiler for Part XI:

101.

I did a couple wallpapers a while ago but I'm no longer into them. Avatars aren't my staple either, especially now that the current fad revolves around retro/pop art and I don't really connect with that stuff. There are many people waaay more talented than me when it comes to those things.

Here are a few:

Spoiler:

Updates will come and go at a random pace, though - it all depends on whether I have ideas crossing my mind or if a particularly aesthetic scan bribes me into making a sig. I'm currently trying to resource myself by reverting to simpler designs and backgrounds, but I have yet to find more stable, pinpointed but auspicious grounds. I'm currently fiddling around with renders I made a while ago but that I make anything good out of. So whenever something I deem good will come, it will come here, too.


Also, one last thing - most sigs here have been used or are still in use by various Animesuki members. So beware when you make requests - I don't really keep track of who's having what and whether they still have it.

I'm not sure for requests - as I said, creativity comes and goes like a whimsical mistress. I'll give my opinion if someone asks me to make a sig - it may be a yea or a nay, it depends on how much free time I've been given or if I really feel up to the challenge... To be utterly truthful, I'm not really good at straddling deadlines and I don't think it'd be a nice thing to keep users waiting only to betray their hopes. My answer'll also depend on whether I have good scans stashed up my sleeves or not. But don't let this deter you from dropping a request from time to time - I'll see what I can do for you. ;D

Cheers.

[KasumiGirl]

Hi.
You have some very nice stuff here (alot too, may I add ). I see you are into c4ds and such.
Some of my faves from you are these:



and much more.
Keep it up, and I'm sure you will continue to post very nice sigs.
Btw, how long have you been into photoshop?

[Renegade334]

Uuuuhh...*scratches head*...let me think...I believe it was midway through Gundam SEED Destiny when I started experimenting on PS. I can't recall when exactly, as it took some time for me to get really serious about making GFX. It must have been end 2004, beginning 2005. I can't say more -- reminiscing is not really my forte.

[The Chaos]

Really good stuff I loved all of Code Geass and GS & GSD and a lot of other sig
keep the good work

[Sephi]

Great hideout nice sigs you got there. I like how you did 23 and 24 (and the rest that are similar) very nice how the it looks clean and yet very interesting the background.

Overall great effects in your sig. I like them a lot.

[konstargirl]

I love how to work on those siggy really well. The font and everything else isd great too. You work is like so cool. ^_^

Make More please. <3333

[guiltygearxt]

thats probably your best work so far, good effects

did you smudge the bg?

[Renegade334]

Errrm...nope. Just cloud and sky brushes lifted off DeviantArt, plus a cloud layer on top using colors sampled from the render...and then of course the usual pilfering involving layer duplication, gaussian blurs and various blending modes. The...usual.

Smudge doesn't exactly work with me... Tried it once, failed miserably and gave up. End of story, I guess.

EDIT: oh, and, uhm, one small detail - I don't use C4D. I use abstract brushes with my own little twist to make them look C4D-ish.

[guiltygearxt]

Originally Posted by Renegade334

Errrm...nope. Just cloud and sky brushes lifted off DeviantArt, plus a cloud layer on top using colors sampled from the render...and then of course the usual pilfering involving layer duplication, gaussian blurs and various blending modes. The...usual.

Smudge doesn't exactly work with me... Tried it once, failed miserably and gave up. End of story, I guess.

EDIT: oh, and, uhm, one small detail - I don't use C4D. I use abstract brushes with my own little twist to make them look C4D-ish.

meh you shouldn't gave up

everyone sucked @ smudging the 1st time they tried it

it's actually all about the setting so just look for a tut on it and once you get it, it should be pretty easy

I actually had quite few smudging tuts on my old laptop but too bad my HD was fried so i lost everything or I'd show you

[Solace]

Wow. Such amazing improvement and your latest sigs are really nice, so clean and tons of detail and colorful too!

[Renegade334]

Originally Posted by guiltygearxt

meh you shouldn't gave up

everyone sucked @ smudging the 1st time they tried it

it's actually all about the setting so just look for a tut on it and once you get it, it should be pretty easy

I actually had quite few smudging tuts on my old laptop but too bad my HD was fried so i lost everything or I'd show you

Oh, I am certain one can achieve good smudge effects with the right tips, as I did try to replicate them on my own sigs. I did download tuts, but midway through the list, I realized that those guys worked on CS/CS2 and Photoshop Elements 2.0 didn't share the same commands/options, especially on the topic of customized brush parameters. In other words, it was pretty much a dead end for me and quite a disappointment, too. However, it will still be some time before I switch to CS/CS2 for the reasons I expounded in my first post.

The only other instances where I tried to smudge renders were either to create a makeshift motion blur or in order to color a black and white background (by duplicating the render, smudging and setting the layer's blending mode to either 'soft light' or 'color').


EDIT: new Sousuke Sagara (FMP!) sig.



I'm trying to use some negative space but...well, it's nothing but a mere push in one direction. I'll be vying for simpler designs in the far or near future.

[The Chaos]

Good Sig I almost Didn't Know him Intel You side Sousuke Sagara (FMP!)

[konstargirl]

You are really good. What program you use for this beautiful creation. 0_0 The font of the text is just amazing. <33333

[OceanBlue]

Wow, you do well with effects and colors. Number 65 is my favorite.

konstargirl, Renegade uses Photoshop Elements 2.0.

[masterwok]

these are some great stuff that you drew renegade334 i wish you would go back and do some more wallpaper bc i really like your artwork

[Renegade334]

Uhm...I already start biting my fingers while wondering how to appropriately fill a 160x400 sig, so...can you imagine me working on a 1024x765 wall? I'd be good for a psychiatric institute - not to mention that these days I tend to get depressed whenever I throw a look at my 715 brush sets. I still can't understand why I downloaded so much only to realize that a very little fraction actually answer my needs. *sigh*

Anyway, ka-bump.

This is too large (kb-wise) to be used on Animesuki but I'll post it here anyway (to keep it under the 50kb I had to radically cut back on the resolution, which was a shame). I retrieved one of the tutorials I saved a while ago (when the chaosgfx forums were still there, IIRC) and tried some smudge instead of abstract or realistic. This is more an experiment than a genuine attempt to make a good gfx, mind you.



My original take had blue and purple hues but they didn't elicit anything strong from me so I tried some color manip to get this final result. I know, the subtext can be hard to make out but it wasn't what I put most of my mind on. And trying to make CS2 effects while having an older PSE2.0 is no easy ride for the weak-willed.

[Renegade334]

Severe apologies for double-posting but this is just another bump; mods, feel free to merge my post with the one above if you believe this was unneeded.

69.
70.


Yeah, I'm trying to see what I can do with smudge but I don't think I'll dwell on it overlong. C&C, please?

Pet peeves of the day: don't those size limits drive you mad? Each time I try to keep my sigs beneath 50kb, the resolution levels suffer a ghastly and mighty beating. No wonder people lose hair so prematurely nowadays...

[guiltygearxt]

very nice, you are getting a hang of it

now just adjust the texture and color and you should be fine

and very nice font btw

[Renegade334]

Uh, thanks - I never bothered pilfering with texture but I might try it next time I try smudging around. Maybe I'll get something that might catch my eye. But for now I'm trying to find something out of the ordinary, which isn't easy IMHO. As for textwork, it's usually hit or miss with me. At times the text is okay and at others, well, I suddenly get the urge to sigh in defeat. I usually select Agency FB, Arial Narrow, Perpetua Titling MT, Scriptina or Splendid ES - as they are those who retain my attention the most when my browse through my font pack.

Anyway, two other sigs (respectively from Tenjou Tenge and Touka Gettan) up and about.

71. -- A sig of mine that is less than 150px in height? NO WAY! O_O;
72. -- This one took forever. I think I must have used three dozen layers in order to create the floating dust/debris and the surrounding foliage. A real nightmare especially when you want to create gradients within the said brushes. And some of the pixie dots seem too bright - a phenomenon I have started to observe after lowering the resolution level to keep the sig under 50kb.

C&C, please?

EDIT: fixed some colors hither and yon.

[The Chaos]

Really Cute...Nice sig..72 it really Good...