jack

Number 3

stay cool brah

Render effects are sick, text isn't bad. Not sure what I'd do with the text but it would probably be difficult with this sig. Nice work mang.

Number 2

Nah saying that counts as 2 TPE

I meant for the CNC thing. Just to verify to make sure people aren't claiming TPE for saying "nice sig".

If required I could be a judge for whether CNC is 'valid' or not.

Edit: Ignore

The "hot" symbolizes how Sochi is sort of a "resort" city for Russia. It's a lot warmer there than a lot of Russia. The "cool/cold" represents how it is the Winter Games. The "yours" is just the marketing for the Games to make it the people's games. More info here: http://www.sochi2014.com/en/news-sochi-2014-reveals-its-slogan

Hallstrom:

Not going to make one unless you have some piece in your post for your request. I'm trying to do something new.

Name your player and a player you want me to use. Then post a piece of art (can be digital, paint, photography etc) that you want the sig to be inspired by.

Yeah I can't stand the repeated shooter rule, but Oshie is fantastic.

Tell me what they like? Why, in this sig, did I get a 6 instead of another sig? And the second person can just as easily disagree and offer some advice for improvement.

I've gotten a 6/6 once since the one grade rule, and I honestly felt cheated. I post all of my sigs in the Graphics/Design forum, but usually the feedback is limited to "dooooope" from Kesler and a few other remarks. The only place to get guaranteed feedback is in the Point Tasks forum. There's no reason that GFX graders can't keep up with doing two grades, since so few 6/6s are given out anyway.

Glad he had a solid game to get some confidence before Finland. Also nice to see Carter play like that.

I knew something was off with it, thanks for pointing that out.

Really nice lighting and render effects. I think the text is pretty good, but maybe make a new layer above, and using a soft round brush click a few times with a brush around 60-80px. Use dark red or dark orange. Set this layer on Color Dodge. Other than that, maybe a bit of render blending on his back, it looks a little stark against the background. I'm only nitpicking because this is really good! Keep it up

Nice! Maybe erase a bit more of the darkening layers around his jersey, but I think this looks better already.

It shouldn't be a huge difference, just something to make the render blend in a bit more while still keeping some nice lighting and colouring.

Yeah very cool background. This is actually a really nice start, and with a few minor changes could be very slick. First, bring the text in a bit closer to the render, maybe overlapping a bit. Next, make a new Layer and go Image > Apply Image (this should make a copy of the whole sig). Then go Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen. Erase some parts around the text if they're too sharp. Then make a new Layer above everything and fill it with light grey, (around #B3B3B3) then set it on Multiply. Erase some parts around the render's face and the text to make those parts focal points. Then go Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Exposure, then set it to Exposure: 0, Offset: +0.0165, Gamma Correction: 0.9. Finally make a new layer above everything and set it on Soft Light and 70% Opacity. Using a large, soft brush use black and white to create some lighting (dark in the background and light around the render). Make sure you use a brush on low opacity, this should be a subtle effect. Keep it up!

Hope you're ready for some tough love You should almost always avoid using two different fonts for the first and last names. In this particular example, I'd scratch the first name and just have 'Raymond'. Also, try to keep the font simple, but use different techniques like clipping masks and making a background for the text to make it interesting. Next is blending. The background is actually pretty nice, but the render sticks out like a sore thumb. Your render should be the focal point, but it should look like part of the sig. First way to do this is colouring & lighting. This can include Gradient Maps, Levels, Color Balance, Curves, Photo Filter etc Adjustment Layers. Ask here if you have any questions about those. Put these near the top of the sig to have a complete look to the sig. Along with Adjustment layers is the stock work. You seem to have a handle on things here with the background, but try to put stocks above the render as well, erasing whatever necessary to keep the render visible, but blended in. Keep up the good work! You're improving very quickly.

Baldwin sig is an easy 6 in my opinion, for what it's worth. Your stuff is usually sick, but I still think the Jones sig was not up to your calibre.