- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I'd advise against using diffuse glow. Unless you are going for a grainy effect, it really does take away from the quality of the artwork. Try using Inner Glow under the layer effects menu (right click on the layer you want to apply the effect to). Personally, I try to avoid blanket solutions like that. I'd probably use the Burn and Dodge tools to subtly adjust the highlights and shadows on the edges of the characters. If you're new to Photoshop, keep in mind that it's time consuming to get it right.
Other things I would suggest are avoid showing image cutoffs. One example in your wallpaper is the Councillor Elite you have in the background. The right foot is pretty much in the middle of the piece, but it is cut off halfway through. Try hiding it behind another element.
It also looks like you've used Paint Bucket to fill in white gaps in the artwork. The left hand of the Honor Guard is one example. Check the jaggies between the fingers. I suggest using polygonal lasso with anti-aliasing turned ON to select the area and fill it with white. Hit shift-f5 to fill. You can select white from the pulldown menu.
Too many lens flares. Far far too white.
Can I ask why the group of Elites is aligned to the bottom of the wall? You could probably move them to the center, to accomodate the taskbar, no matter which edge of the screen people have it positioned (or if people use macs).
Try and adjust the colours and contrasts to make it seem as if the Elites are standin in the same room under the same light. Even with the extreme brightness, you can tell they are all taken from different sources.
You have some peculiar jaggies around the edges of some of the Elites. When you are cutting things out from their backgrounds, try to make sure your are getting straight edges.
Position the Arbiter a little better. He looks like he's taking his hoof off the Honor Guard's hoof.
Resize it down to 1600 x 1200 pixels. Most people don't use resolutions any higher than that, and it'll help keep the image file smaller.
Here's a few links you might find useful:
Halo 2 Wallpaper Kit.
Its a little old and doesn't contain a lot of the more recent stuff, but its nice to have lying around.
Prometheus's Wallpaper Guide.
This was posted a few weeks back. Its a nicely written overview of how to go about making a wall, including tips on how to use text. I'm particularly fond of it because the author refers to one of my walls as one of his favourites :).
For a first time Photoshop user, you aren't doing too badly. You haven't gone overboard and used every single filter in the one piece, nor have you put in badly placed and horrible looking text. The layout is nice and simple.
EDIT: Keep up the good work.
[Edited on 1/9/2005 9:12:36 PM]