8 replies to this topic

[vujsa]

I'm working on my hobby site (http://vwone.com) and have found that it really needs a better look.

I designed the current template from scratch and realized that it is just not right for the site. I need the site to have a more car site feel to it and a different color scheme.

I'm going to use a blue-gray / gray theme with maybe some blue highlights. I'm not entirely sure yet because I am hoping to be inspired by the banner graphic.

I was thinking of something with an actual classic VW Beetle photo incorporated into the banner perhapes in a monotone or two-tone blue-gray (color highlights would be fine to draw focus). I have seen a lot of really nice signatures images done here and thought that a similar technique would work for my application.

Here is what I was hoping for:
Width: 600 to 700 pixels
Height: 150 to 200 pixels
Primary Colors: blue, gray
Images Included: Classic Volkswagen Beetle
Title Text: "VW One"
Description: "Your Volkwagen Information Resource."
Border: Optional
Text Effect: Rolling Color Change / Fade Effects (animated effect) - Perhapes Title Only

I'm not a very artistic person and I'm using Photo Shop 6.0 so I can't really get the results I'm looking for by myself.

Thanks for any suggestions or submissions you can give.

vujsa

[tdktank59]

vujsa, on Oct 7 2005, 09:50 PM, said:

I'm working on my hobby site (http://vwone.com) and have found that it really needs a better look.

I designed the current template from scratch and realized that it is just not right for the site.  I need the site to have a more car site feel to it and a different color scheme.

I'm going to use a blue-gray / gray theme with maybe some blue highlights.  I'm not entirely sure yet because I am hoping to be inspired by the banner graphic.

I was thinking of something with an actual classic VW Beetle photo incorporated into the banner perhapes in a monotone or two-tone blue-gray (color highlights would be fine to draw focus).  I have seen a lot of really nice signatures images done here and thought that a similar technique would work for my application.

Here is what I was hoping for:
Width: 600 to 700 pixels
Height: 150 to 200 pixels
Primary Colors: blue, gray
Images Included: Classic Volkswagen Beetle
Title Text: "VW One"
Description: "Your Volkwagen Information Resource."
Border: Optional
Text Effect: Rolling Color Change / Fade Effects (animated effect) - Perhapes Title Only

I'm not a very artistic person and I'm using Photo Shop 6.0 so I can't really get the results I'm looking for by myself. 

Thanks for any suggestions or submissions you can give.

vujsa

ill see what i can do but i cant do it right away... i also dont know how to do animated text talk to kubi about that he did an awsome banner for me when i was just begining...

[vujsa]

tdktank59, on Oct 8 2005, 01:14 AM, said:

ill see what i can do but i cant do it right away... i also dont know how to do animated text talk to kubi about that he did an awsome banner for me when i was just begining...

The animated text isn't too difficult actually. You set the text fill color to transparent then place a new layer just below the lext layer so that it is the one that you see through the text. Then place a color burst on the new layer. and save (image001.psd - This is the hard way). then move the burst a couple of pixels to the right and save again (image002.psd) repeat until every fram of the animation is complete. Compile the frames as an animated image. This would produce a colored light moving in the text from left to right type effect. Instead of using a color burst, a gradient backgound could be used to create a color shifting effect.

By the way, I would prefer to have a copy of the photoshop file for the banner so I can make any adjustments that the website might need or output different file formats.


I just found an example of a similar text effect to what I was interested in made by Saint-Michael:


Those are some pretty nice signatures Saint-Micheael has created.

vujsa

[nelimitat]

You could work harder for your site because it isn't very attractive. I was curious to see what you can do in web-design but I was a little disappointed.

You could use some modern graphics (3d icons) and so on and change the layout of the site.

Is your site related with VW or you are just building a fan site?

[Saint_Michael]

its ok but yeah i would suggest doing the car website in complete graphics then you will have a sleek look to it. but yeah the animations are easy if you find the right tutorials cuz the one i did above took me awhile to figure out how to set it up, but i havn't done a fading text before. maybe later tonight my time i will give a crack at it i do have some vwbug pics i think would have to check to make sure.

[Cool_Freaker]

Having animated banners I'd say you're better off using Flash. Animated GIFs are really not that great, and if you're going to try and accomodate different screensizes and whatnot, or loading times, I'd advise against it.

[vujsa]

nelimitat, on Oct 8 2005, 04:48 AM, said:

You could work harder for your site because it isn't very attractive. I was curious to see what you can do in web-design but I was a little disappointed.

You could use some modern graphics (3d icons) and so on and change the layout of the site.

Is your site related with VW or you are just building a fan site?

Actually, I have stripped all of the graphics for the most part from my website in preparation for a new look. I'm not really looking for website design tips. I am a programmer not a graphic designer.

No, I'm building a hobby site, I am in no way affiliated with the Volkswagen Corporation. The website is a resouce of VW information and a place for VW lovers to meet.

Flash, hmmm....
In my opinion, Flash should be reserved for mindless internet games. The use of Flash on a website for any purpose other than entertainment, is completely undisired by users. Flash scripts use a lot of resources and provide for absolutely zero search engine indexing. So, no to the Flash idea.

The animation isn't 100% required for a banner. If the animation is too difficult to incorporate, then leave it out. I was surpprised to hear so much fear of animation creation among such artistic individuals.

Anyway guys, I appreciate any bannersthat you can submit. I'll try to figure out some fair way to compensate you for your efforts if your submission is used.

Incomplete banners are acceptable as long as they can be modified in PhotoShop 6.0

Thanks.

vujsa

[vujsa]

So here is my feable attampt at creating the style of banner I want. I don't have any fancy bruches or textures so I was limited in my options. Oh, and I'm not very artistic. It isn't very pretty but it should give you a better idea of what I was thinking about.

Here is a red blob moving in the text:


Here is a rolling color change in the text:


Here is our new television channel in the text:



Any suggestions or submissions?

vujsa

[Avalon]

How about this, using a spotlight filter on the text?



P.S. You made a typo in your banners