Sponsors
Highlighted
__THISRES__81653.jpg "Fly... by °Phill 3 weeks 3 hours ago")
^nat
This wallpaper captures the urban essence that proliferated the art of Ghost in the Shell in every incarnation of the series. Phill does an amazing job of capturing a moment of surrealism.
While there are a few, stray building angles and shadows, you find that your eye forgives the minor details and instead focuses on the overall scene that is larger than life, with lights trailing off into infinity.
While there are a few, stray building angles and shadows, you find that your eye forgives the minor details and instead focuses on the overall scene that is larger than life, with lights trailing off into infinity.
ShoutBox
~uufhd
26 seconds ago
@amy: well...i prefer personality than looks...i think looks is like an extra, really...so yeah....yuu could say i only like yuu FOR your personality n_n
~amerie1994
2 minutes ago
*Shakes Sam* Someday People will See me 4 who i really am and not 4 my looks right?
~uufhd
6 minutes ago
Well hopefully she's not dead...so praying wont do anything *sniffs* thanks anyway *hugs*
~jajuka69
6 minutes ago
Nonono you guys fail this is the ultimate QQ emote TT__TT
~amerie1994
7 minutes ago
*Cries* I'll Pray for her to come back
~uufhd
9 minutes ago
Im sure she does ;_; she said she was going to chicago...but she didn't mention for how long u_u
~amerie1994
10 minutes ago
*Huggles Sam* Its Okay I bet you she Misses you
~uufhd
11 minutes ago
@jajuka: read the FAQ. @amy: jenni...*cries* i havn't heard of her for over 2 weeks ;;_;;
~jajuka69
12 minutes ago
How the hell do i load a walpaper on this site? 50 paper? wth , how does this work
~amerie1994
16 minutes ago
Sam- LOL your so silly *pokes* So is Kain?
I made a wall, but I don't think its good enough to
1 month 6 days ago
"Seeing as you know that you have to go back to the drawing board, i won't be commenting on the image that you posted up. but there are still a few things that i wanted to say.right! having the right attitude seriously counts for a lot. if you are willing to work hard, you'll be able to get past the bumpy beginning.
wrong. while AP does not have the "crossover" or "other" category, crossovers may be submitted to the category to which the dominant character(s) in the wallpaper belong. it is not clearly stated so in the FAQ the last time i checked, but i heard this directly from an admin. xD just thought i'd clear this up.
mm, this is a bit of a weird question, no offense intended. ^^; walling is about creation and since the foreground images aren't your art, the background is where that "creation" happens. so asking to find backgrounds is... yeah o__o remember that learning to wall is to challenge yourself. set your goals outside of your current skill limit but within your learning limit. don't say "i can't"; do your best to figure out how. that's the way to grow as a waller. come up with ideas; attempt to execute them (and thus gaining experience with various tools); look for tutorials and ask questions here (if you're having trouble). you might not succeed right away but hey, that's where that "keep trying" you mentioned comes in. ;D
and a note about what shawnhao mentioned (stock photo site). while http://www.sxc.hu/ is an excellent source of material, use with a LOT of care. generally, the amount of original effort (aka how much you created yourself) has a direct positive relationship with the probability of the wall getting accepted. effort is highly encouraged. so when it comes to using stock photos, you'll still have to do lots of work. for example, filtering them will not suffice.
ganbatte! :]"
View
Komamura Sajin - Night escapade
1 month 6 days ago
"You've got an idea, but the execution still needs to be improved if you hope to submit to the AP gallery. well, to be blunt (sorry ^^;) i see filtered stock photos, brushes, text, and a scan. it doesn't speak much for creativity and effort, which are two things you really want to convey strongly.the scan currently has some issues. the blurred outer edge is not a good idea because as the foreground object, the scan must be crisp and in focus. as well, it contrasts with the other outlines, which are sharper. it's better to be patient with the extraction process. :] another thing is that the scan itself is not clean enough. scan lines and discoloration are pretty visible. have you cleaned the image at all? if not, it would be worth a try because quality is really important. (you can search for tutorials on the net; i don't know what software you are using.)
as for the filtered-stock-photo background, well, here's an excerpt from the FAQ:
using a stock photo correctly and effectively in an anime/manga/game wallpaper is really hard. (people usually use multiple stock photos as reference or as a basis from which they then draw/vector/paint their own scene.) biggest problem is removing the photorealism and yet maintaining the aesthetical value. filters may achieve the first part but they harm the visual appeal. in addition, the result does not necessarily go all that well with the anime/manga/game art style either. that means that they are a no-no when it comes to creating your own background. >__<
lighting is another issue and this often happens with matching up images from different sources. for the bg, the light source is the moon, which is in the distance (behind the character) and somewhat to the left. for the foreground character, the light source is in front and above him -- a different location.
and i'm not sure if this is fixable or not but one thing that works against your effort to fit your bg and your foreground together is the color. although yes, there are browns in the bg, it is so dark that the colors are pretty much all blues. however, on your scan of choice, there are distinct browns and tans. he doesn't look bluish (which would reflect the bluish lighting) at all.
some thoughts. sorry if you find this really lengthy or in any way discouraging. i don't mean it that way. xD; so do your best and keep working. :] the beginning is always rough."
View
Haruhi x Konata Wall - Rejected-
1 month 1 week ago
"Well, the rejection is a thing of the past and while you may still feel that it is unfair, it's not something you can dispute and undo. ^^; (it is lucky star art and not TMHS art after all, and papers are not given back in any case that i've heard of.) it's best to just look on the bright side and move on. besides, you'll probably see soon enough that 100 papers really aren't a huge deal. you can earn that fine back quickly through simple things like leaving useful comments on wallpapers, participating in forum discussions, etc.and if on your second try, you do get the wall into the gallery, then you'll earn 250 papers, which more than makes up for the deduction! so focus your efforts in improving your wallpaper. :] (it's a good thing that you are willing to try again.)"
View
Haruhi x Konata Wall - Rejected-
1 month 1 week ago
"Please, link your image instead of posting it directly.anyway, if you would look through the scan gallery for "lucky star", you would have found it. it took me a while as the scan was rather old, but i found the link for you.
this is identical to the scan you used and it's under the "lucky star" category. apparently, lucky star sometimes brings in characters from other animes, so even the cross over rule wouldn't have saved you that 100-paper deduction. and actually, if you look at it, haruhi is drawn in the lucky star style, not the other way around. that should be a pretty good indication which is the correct category.
that aside, i can see another reason why this would be rejected. that white burst they are standing on and all those white floaty bits are of really low quality. looks like you enlarged it by quite a lot, so no good. if you want to keep it, you'll have to redraw or vector it. you can also take the opportunity to add some more elements of interest to your bg, because aside from the white stuff, it's just a pink gradient. it doesn't demonstrate considerable effort, unfortunately. ^^; aim for a pop art style and it should go well.
as for the text, i'm personally not so fond of it. the color choices glare a little and the perspective is questionable. :x and a little note: while you have the same sig in your wall as your actually signature, it would be easier if you just changed it to match your AP username. once you get rejected, the papers don't come back. so better be safe than sorry about such a small thing. :]
hope this helps you in some way."
View
Mi first Wall...
1 month 2 weeks ago
"First thing: never post the image directly. upload to a free hosting site, such as http://www.imageshack.us and link it instead. that way, we can see the entire wallpaper properly.this also seems to be of a weird resolution. and if you're aiming for AP's gallery, then it is definitely too small.
but from what i can see right now, this one needs to go back to the drawing board. :/ to be blunt (sorry) the background lacks sufficient originality, effort, and quality. it is a collage of one piece images with overly heavy filtering. >__< generally, the background is where you get to let loose your creative drive. it's where wallers get to create. best to keep in mind that don't rely on filters this much!
when making a background, you first have to have a concept. be sure that it is within your learning limits (which is not your current skill limit ;]) to make the goal realistic. your elements should be relevant to your scan/character(s)/anime of choice and they should complement the foreground. of course, the style (i.e. sketchy, vector-clean, painted etc.) must be consistent throughout the wall for a sense of unity. some basic ideas; i probably didn't cover every general tip though. ^^;
when it comes to the extraction, it seems fine at this size. but for the quality of the scan, there is some noticeable artifacting. it may be that your original source image is not of high enough quality or it may be the result of the quality setting at which you saved. be sure to minimize/get rid of such quality problems. :O
that's all for now. hopefully this is helpful to you in some way. keep working! =]"
View
First Wall
1 month 4 weeks ago
"Mm you've got a good start, but there are some things you need to pay attention to.for starters, the outlines are of quite poor quality. some are discontinuous (e.g. the line for the beach), others are out right jagged (e.g. legs of the leftmost girl in dark blue). some looks as if they've been partially cut away (e.g. leg of the rightmost girl in red). in addition, there's coloring outside of the outline for the thigh of the girl in dark blue. the roughness of the outlines doesn't fit the otherwise nicely cleaned up scan. :x
as for the bg -- sand, sea, and sky -- i'm guessing instead of real digital "painting" they were done with the brush + smudge tool? it's because the signs of smudging are quite heavy and that doesn't look too good. ^^; with clouds, i suggest you take the time to brush in detail (low opacity + in layers = easier to control). only use smudge (small radius) to smooth the color blending, but not to the point where things look very blurry. same thing for the water -- and really make sure you keep most strokes and any smudging you to the same direction as the orientation of the water (which is about horizontal). ;] right now, the water to the very left and very right look awkward because of this directional issue.
regarding the beach, it's a bit messy right now. xD; i don't know if you notice but there are bits of gray showing up here and there. the shading also look very smudged. for the right side of the wall, the colors are also a lot more saturated for some reason. the sand castle is also not in very good shape because the blurry transitions/edges contrast with the sharper non-smudged ones.
i hope i don't come across as being harsh. x__x you've done well, so keep up the good work. and really pay attention to detail!"
View
Temari - first wallpaper
2 months 1 day ago
"A few things. to start off:so as stated by the FAQ, unfortunately, your background is not up to scratch. it's over-filtered with some sharp pixelly edges and it does not quite demonstrate your effort and creativity. ^^;
well, the artifacting is still quite visible. >__< quality is a huge issue. and the current filtered stock bg does not match the image's sketchy art style. (matching the background and foreground's styles is important for unity within the wall.) bg and character lighting do not match either. as well, the top and bottom bars are best removed. and before i forget to say this: required signature identifying you as the waller is missing.
i'm wondering, is this official art? o__o just so you know, in the event that you plan on submitting to AP: only walls of official art are accepted into the anime/game/manga category; walls of fan art or doujinshi by a recognized or highly skilled artist would go into that artist's category. otherwise, i don't think it can get into the gallery proper.
you'll have to take this one back to the drawing board, but don't get discouraged. the going is not smooth in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, walling is a very rewarding experience. xD"
View
First Time so
2 months 2 days ago
"*head to wall* don't be discouraged! one thing about walling is that no matter how much critique gets thrown your way, you have to have the will to keep your head up and keep going. it's hard in the beginning, but be persistent. your concept is worth the effort. i know, i know, this is all just talk. xD but we are here to help. the usage of a massive amount of text in a wallpaper is known to be a challenge, but if you stick with it and make it look right, it's rewarding.a very important thing when it comes to appreciating the text in walls is to get used to the idea of thinking of them as artistic elements just like brushes and vectors etc instead of just as text. while they can convey meaning by being read, they also have the ability to communicate to viewers in the same manner as pictures.
well, not to advertise myself or anything but i can't really think of other examples similar to my work: click and click. and they are of styles different enough in comparison to AssasinXXX's examples that i thought they are worth showing. :x you may or may not like them but notice how text design can be utilized to create moods."
View
First Time so
2 months 2 days ago
"Ghosting is in reference to the use of the low opacity image. it's generally something frowned upon, as most find it to be not quite visually appealing. it's also considered an unimpressive method of filling up background space. ^^; this might sound harsh, but really and truly, it's best to stay away from ghosting. so if you remove the translucent mina, obviously, you'd need to work more on developing your background. try to think of relevant elements that would support your foreground character as well as your concept. abstract would probably be the easiest direction to take this wall inimage quality is a very important issue, so if you could vector your image, that'd be great. if you are unable to improve the quality further, then unfortunate, whatever advantage it has in "expression" will not get the wall into the gallery. >__< and here's something to take note of: generally speaking, a wallpaper is centered around a character. in this case, it'd be the small mina. but the problem here is exactly that, she's so small and so out of the way that the focus doesn't seem...um, to come naturally? anyway, she needs more of the spotlight. aside from that, i'd also recommend the removal of the drop shadow behind her. it's not necessary to make her stand out (you should actually rely on color choices to bring attention to your image of interest). not to mention right now, all it does is flatten mina, making her look like a piece of cardboard or something. D:
back to how i said she needs more of the spotlight. the text is kinda...taking up too much. it's entirely black, which isn't usually a good color choice unless you're doing grayscale. it's entirely capitalized, which takes away any sense of softness, of romance, and whatnot. be more creative with the appearance of the text. but caution, this does NOT read use default blending effects, as you've done for the title. :x when it comes to text, 99% of the time, these effects (i.e. outer glow) should not be applied.
another issue with the body of text is that it doesn't "interact" with the rest of the elements in this wall and its arrangement lacks artistic interest. if you think about it, there's the big title to the left on the bottom. there's the text going down the entire wall, off center. then there's the small mina image to the right on the bottom. they don't "connect"; they are not "aware" of each other. they are just simply there...if you can somehow understand what i'm getting at. xD; with regards to repositioning the text, there really isn't much concrete advice to give. don't be afraid to experiment and don't be afraid if some parts of it can no longer be read (say, for example, it gets hidden behind mina).
sorry for the huge post. hope you don't mind. :]"
View