Terith's 101 on GFX [WIP]

by **Terith** 22nd October 2016, 7:27 pm

Terith: Empyreal Sword; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lineage : Ensō Catalyst
Position : None
Posts : 617
Guild : Sabertooth
Cosmic Coins : 0
Dungeon Tokens : 0
Mentor : Shizuo Hyouga [Primary] | Kimigiku-hime [Secondary]
Experience : 9,600

Character Sheet
First Skill: Renegades of Rebirth
Second Skill: Ballad of the Battlebow [ WIP ]
Third Skill:

Post n°1

Terith's 101 on GFX [WIP]

by Terith 22nd October 2016, 7:27 pm

TERITH'S 101 ON GFX

Soo....you wanna learn how to GFX? Well....lucky for you, here's a tutorial! -chugs the tutorial at you-

Just kidding. On a more serious note, this is still a WIP guide. However, it'll include everything from gathering your resources, building your base, beautifying your renders, and general aesthetics in terms of siggy symmetry. I'll be updating it as I go by. So keep a close eye x3. I've no time to update it as it is, but a promise for those who wish to dabble further into forum GFX, I'll keep it as informative as possible.

Cheers!

by **Terith** 23rd October 2016, 4:38 am

Terith

Terith: Empyreal Sword; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lineage : Ensō Catalyst
Position : None
Posts : 617
Guild : Sabertooth
Cosmic Coins : 0
Dungeon Tokens : 0
Mentor : Shizuo Hyouga [Primary] | Kimigiku-hime [Secondary]
Experience : 9,600

Character Sheet
First Skill: Renegades of Rebirth
Second Skill: Ballad of the Battlebow [ WIP ]
Third Skill:

Post n°2

Re: Terith's 101 on GFX [WIP]

by Terith 23rd October 2016, 4:38 am

00. BACK TO BASICS
This is the intro for the things you'll need to get yourself up and going. Know that this'll only serve as a brief detailing on what they'll be and it's totally up to you whether or not you wish to follow it/read it. Consider them as pro tips. If you're well aware of what you'll be needing, then feel free to skip. Otherwise, if this is your first time, you might wanna brush up on all of them.

A. Your Software
- Your photo editing software doesn't necessarily determine the quality of work, this I can agree on. However, there are some softwares that have better work interfaces and simpler steps of getting a desired effect. You're free to use any sort of software you can get your hands on, of course. Just remember to search up on what the various tools can do prior to using it. I highly recommend taking your time in knowing the little nooks and crannies of the software before attempting to get big. Don't worry if this seems like a boring step. As you go by, you'll learn to use it like the back of your hand, which, trust me, will open up a whole lotta possibilities for you and your work by making the steps seem a lot simpler than they were before.

-I for one use Photoshop CS6 when I make my siggies. It's not necessary to get your own, because I know PS is extremely pricey beforehand (I just got lucky down the line). But, if you'd like, you can start with earlier versions of PS that have been provided by your local pirate website, yar har fiddle dee dee. The guide will mostly detail works that were made in PS, so the steps and tools will differ somewhat to other softwares. Nothing too drastic, however. I've used things like GIMP and online ones too, and really, there's not much of a difference apart from how their named and where they're placed. Functions are typically the same all through out. So don't rush to get yourself a fancy shmancy editor for now. What's important is getting one...and not settling for Microsoft paint lol.

B. Your Resources
- Your resources are gonna make the bulk of your downloads folder soon enough. I'm not just talking about brushes or pictures. I'm talking about custom fonts, custom shapes, textures, five brush sets for one siggy probably, and various PNGs for your base. First time with these words? No problem. In the next section, I'll define the various resources you may or may not use in your adventures through GFXing, and bust out some examples while I'm at it as well.

-Don't be afraid to re-use your resources. A lot of good material can be used an infinite amount of times so long as it fits the siggy theme. Though I mention a lot of things, I don't exactly mean you'll be downloading new stuff every time you make one. Download when you need to download, and re-use if applicable.

-A good starter tip would be allocating one gigantic folder for your resources, creating smaller folders for their types, and labeling them accordingly. This'll help you organize it better and will lessen the time needed to scroll around your downloads folder just for that one font.

-Sometimes, a certain FC will have limited resources. This can be thwarted to some extent, which I'll show you when I detail the resources in the next post. That being said, FCs with small source material are always the ones that're hardest to work with, because they limit you quite a bit.

C. Patience
- Probably one of the key things you'll be needing here, and lots of it, too. GFXing is a tedious process, and for one, the more complicated ones tend to range between an hour or three hours, five if you're dead set on making some of the more diligent work like making your own render. So...patience is more than just an outlook, it'll be your entire driving force from the moment you start a particular project. It's highly recommended to GFX when you actually have the time...because, you know, that paper of your's is probably much more important than a bunch of pixels, amirite? Weekends are nice. GFX is considered a hobby, so don't prioritize it too much, and remember to have fun.

-I usually spend a minimum of two hours for a particular siggy, five if I'm not content with how it came out initially. Remember, though, your GFXing time is going to be a lot slower when you're starting out, but that's totally fine. Take your time to experiment a little.

D. Time
- I can't stress how important time is for GFXing. It goes for everything else, of course. But as far as siggies are concerned, they tend to take up a lot of your time and might kill off your mojo to post/do irl stuff if you didn't allocate a certain time for it. When you're bored or have some free time on your hands, it's nice to dabble into your photo editor for a bit and experiment. Otherwise, it's better to strictly limit GFX to weekends or those boring evenings where you have 0 things to do, or those days when you've 0 muse, whichever's applicable for you.

-Cut yourself some slack from time to time. Assuming you put up a shop in the forum, it's best to go one at a time when you can.

Anndddd....that's mostly it for the intro. Meh, not a very exciting post. But this is a shout out for all the hesitant beginners out there. Everyone can do GFX. You can too. You'll just need a lot of time and patience for the most bit. It's a fun hobby overall, so when you think you want to, go ahead and do so, no one's stopping you.

Alright, in the next post, we'll be talking resources and tools. PS Tools, specifically. Oh, geez.

Fairy Tail RP

Terith's 101 on GFX [WIP]

Terith's 101 on GFX [WIP]

Re: Terith's 101 on GFX [WIP]

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