Monday, February 23, 2009

Blog Header: hot or not?



I decided I should try to start a new blog, since the one I had was from '03 and was not kept up. What do you guys think about this header? I'm iffy about the font and font color, but I ran out of ideas. It doesn't completely fit the sides of the natural header either. If you want to see how it looks on the actual blog, see http://krisfulk.blogspot.com/

I'm so sorry, but I can't seem to figure out how to link the url -_-

Thanks and your helps much appreciated!!

***

EDIT - 2/24
- lengthened the width by copy/paste + took off font effects + increased font size
- made the hair blacker again

13 comments:

Candace Trew Camling said...

the font looks like a horror film font. (sort of like blood) I think you should pick something a little more whimsical. I like the red with the bluish background though.

Carmen Medlin said...

Yeah I think I agree about the font.... maybe something like "Curlz" would work there, it's kind of fashionable yet also whimsical.
You can change the header box width under the "html" section in your formatting page -- but it will end up making the main part of your blog less wide too which you probably don't want to do. You could try doing another cropping of the image that makes it longer (like cropping more of her neck out), or just add on to the sides with the same textures, colors and whatnot to make it longer.
I too like the red color of the font though, it goes with her lips. :)

kris fulk said...

Thanks, Carmen, Candace! I edited it some, though I'm still not sure about the position of the font etc. I may just not include text - is that a viable option?

sara.b said...

Hey Kris!
I agree with what the girls said, and I have to say before I get into the crit, that I really enjoy the texture of the illustration. And her big hair! It's a lot of fun. The teal is a beautiful color, very attractive.

You're almost there with the font. I think it's the shine on the red that isn't helping. What if the font color was the same as her lips? Without the embossing? The font should still stand out against that black. :)

Carmen Medlin said...

Getting closer Kris!! I'm with Sara about the embossing -- if you're doing this in Photoshop, maybe try taking the emboss off and go for a more subtle outer glow and see how that looks?
I like the placement how you have it, it looks good contained in her hair I think. And the Curlz font is looking nice too. :)

pete said...

I agree with the above, too. I actually think the red might pop more if you leave the black darker. Can you go bigger with the text? Or will you be cropping out the bottom?

kris fulk said...

Wow thank you guys for all the suggestions. I posted Edit 2/24 with a longer width (have to click on the pic to see full size). It's still not long enough to cover the full header space, but it's closer. Let me know though if the width doesn't work, or the font. Without the effects, the font is not as deep a red (eye dropped from the color of her lips).

Thanks again!! Also, I found out there's another SCBWI illustrator member in my college yesterday, and my professor is arranging for us to meet! I am *so* excited (she's apparently a professional writer, come back to college for some classes, who wants to get into children's illustrating). Anyway, someone in the same boat as me (kind of hehe) - yeay!

sara.b said...

Much better! Love it! :D

Unknown said...

I like the character and the pose - and the colors are pretty terrific.

However...

I'm not fond of the text (still). I think the color clashes with the rest of the piece - it's the highlights on them and the font choice - only because the font is very crisp and embossed looking and the character and background aren't. There isn't the same kind of highlights on anything else (as there is on the font).

I'd say either to 'clean up' the character to be more 'clean' like the font - or vise versa - where you would do more of a hand drawn text to match the drawing.

And there's a green border going around the picture - some sort of frame? I don't think that's necessary - it doesn't fit the style of the painting and strikes me as being too photoshoppy.

kris fulk said...

Hi, Isaac! I edited my post to show the most recent picture - I took off the one with the embossed letters (I had too many pictures up and that was confusing). The font I'm now using is Curlz, without any photoshop effects, color matched to her lips.

I'm going to make one without the border and post it here later in the afternoon when I get back from class. I can't say which one I like better.

Carmen Medlin said...

Hey, this is looking great now Kris! I really like this version! The text looks so much better at this size and without adornment. Great job. :)

Unknown said...

It definitely looks a ton better! I like that the text is now complimenting the color of the lips. My only thing is that the text is still so crisp and clean and the rest of the picture isn't so liney and crisp. I know in Illustrator they have a 'wrinkle' tool where you can fake some texturing...I don't know if you want to do something like that with this - but that's the only thing that strikes me about this picture that could use some revising...

Christy/Tiddly Inks Digitals said...

I like the final design, but not crazy about Curlz...Have you tried downloading some from DAfonts? They have one called eraser dust that is soft and looks like chalk. Kind of like the rest of the pic?
The final is a huge improvement over the first though and this one looks fine as is if you are tired of messing with it. LOL :)