Steve

I use Affinity Photo. I don't really use any preset processing but I use a ton of noise/denoise. I go through phases where I run with one thing for a bit and then try something new. Thank you for your review.

The LA Stars are in their rough patch of the season. It's not horrible and we are still winning games but not at the pace earlier in the season. It seems every team has their ups and downs so we are just riding it out. It should, in theory, swing a bit more in our favor as we play out the rest of the season. I see us peaking more towards the end of the season, which would be the best time. Our defense is tough as hell. Alex and Jeffery are good leaders for the rest of the team. Stamen is looking like the player he really is and Merrick is showing his age but still hanging in there. The team just needs a bit of puck luck and we will get some wins strung together. It's a fickle game we play and the smallest of things can change the outcome of any game. You just have to believe in the leaders and go out and do your best for the team. The locker room is very optimistic about the rest of the season.

1. We sit on top of the NA thunderdome, how do we stay there? Well I would think it's going to be the typical up and down season but I hope through hard work we stay at or near the top. 2. Who is our biggest competition? At this point, just about everyone below us. 3. What makes us different from the Stars of past seasons? I think we are much more balanced. Good offense, good defense and we have a great goalie. 4. Which VHL mascot would win in a battle royale? Anyone of them that carries a sword or gun. 5. Which player would win in a battle royale? I think Pines would be a top choice for me. 6. What's the funniest thing you've heard on the ice? A Toronto fan yelling that they will win the cup.

Review: Well, modern art is a good title for your project. I don't really attempt this style but I think some work was involved with your project and that should be highlighted. I like the rambling render and all the abstract elements to this graphic. I wish you did a logo swap, I think that would have really made it relevant. It's a wild project. I like the effort. 8/10 @TXC

Review: Good to see members make different graphics and see what they have in their toolbox. This graphic looks fairly good with a few issues that you will learn as you go. One thing I do like is the background. For a wallpaper, it isn't too busy, which is good. The logo feels small but stands out nicely with the shadow you threw on it. The text is just bad. Chopping letters seems lazy or maybe resizing isn't something that you felt was needed. The lightning bolt looks to be low res and could have had some effect on it to make it not look so flat. 7/10 @Mr Bohannan

Things are looking a bit better in LA these days. It is still early in the season and we all know how it can be a roller-coaster ride but LA seems to have overcome a slow start and have been making really good progress. Scoring from everyone and a really solid defense and net minder has always been a recipe for success. At the moment, it is all clicking. We are hoping it will keep us rolling along with a better than the often up and down pace. I think Pines moving to defense has helped a lot along with production from the back end has made our team much more balanced. It is also good to see Pistil Stamen producing on a level where he should have been last season. I believe he will be leading the team by the end of the season, he is just that good. Old man Merrick is producing as well and might be able to hang on to his point per game pace. There are so many on the team that are doing really well that will only improve over the next handful of weeks. It is good to be an LA Star.

Review: I really like the basic elements of this graphic. The design is solid and the color palette looks very smooth and consistent. Balance is really good for being such a short format. Good font/text. For the most part I really like it. 8/10

Review: I am confused about this graphic. It looks like the same render you used in your posted sig but without any processing. The lack of detail doesn't do it any favors. Your color palette is also contrasting and that is more distracting than complimenting the rest of the project. Balance is iffy as it looks heavy on the left side but with a good font/text, that could have been corrected. Overall it looks like a great start but it didn't go any further. 7/10

1. What are your goals for this season? Merrick has had a good career. My hopes is that in his twilight years he stay above or at a ppg. Winning the cup would be the most important goal. 2. Do you have any expectations for our performance this season? I think we have a shot at the cup and we are coming together really well. 3. Where do you think we will struggle? Consistency would be an issue we have struggled with for a few seasons. I hope we are past a lot of that now. 4. What do you think is our biggest strength? What used to be our weakness seems to becoming a strong point, scoring goals. 5. Recommend me your favorite movie! John Wick would be one of my favorite movies or Call of the Wild. 6. What's your favorite song right now? The theme song for Deadpool 2.

Review: What a great looking graphic. Your text is really fun to look at and the background really highlights the other elements. Nice logo swap and other top layer effects are not distracting. I wonder what it would look like if the render were larger. Good stuff all around. 8.5/10

Review: I like your design. You did a good job with the fog effect and the text looks like it belongs. I would also have liked to see a logo swap but what I do if I can't get one to look good is make the render just large enough to not show the logo. A little levels adjustment would have helped this out so you could see the highlights a bit more. I think you did a great job and just keep plugging away at it. 8/10

Well we made it through the off season and now a few games into the next. Time does fly when you are having fun. Even though the off season feels like it drags a bit, it really is about the right timing to get ready to play again. Just enough of a break to forget all the bad games and remember only the good ones. The LA Stars had a fairly dramatic roster change with Jeffery Pines switching to defense. I think this a great move for the team as it will help our defense and open up a chance for Stamen to finally shine. Stamen is going to have a great season to make up for the last one where we saw him not able to take advantage of his skills for no known reason. Should be a fun season in LA. I look forward to playing a better team game and I think it will show in the standings later in the season.

1) How is your summer? Did you get any time off? I was able to enjoy the summer and just rest up for this season. 2) Do you enjoy spending time with family on vacation or by yourself? I like being around family. 3) What is your go-to special meal? Ribeye steak of course with anything else. 4) If you could be in the body of an animal for a day, what would you choose? I would like to be my dog for a day. He is treated better than most family members. 5) What was your favorite part of this season? I think the ending of it was a good part. We really never got going. 6) What was your least favorite part? Playing and losing when you know we could do better but last season had everyone scratching their heads.

Thank you for the kind comment. I have been working with lighting with colors to create a feel to whatever graphic I am working on. I am far from getting it down but having a blast trying different methods.

It was great news this morning with the birthday TPE. Being in my regression season it will come in handy to combat that drop in TPA. It's amazing that a sim could continue to keep players involved and the community active after so many years. I can say that I am happy to be a part of the league and even through a couple of rough times, I stayed with the league knowing it was where I wanted to be. I think the leadership has done a top notch job and issues have been resolved. I can't wait to see what the come up with next. It's a good time to be in the VHL for sure. Merrick played well in the WC and is happy to be able to play with some really talented players. The team was amazing and it was a fun experience. The LA Stars are looking for a stronger season as it looks like we signed most of the players that were needed and got a great player in the draft. Let's hope we can find a couple of players to plug some holes. It's looking good in LA and look forward to next season.

Review: I really like sigs with good render effects. This one is very cleanly done. Good looking background with the focus on the player, it works every time. My only slight issue is the formatting. I think for balance, the render should be left with the text to the right. That is subjective and balance is a hard thing to get right sometimes. Overall a very pleasing graphic to look at. 8.5/10

Review: Wow, you really put together an interesting graphic with this one. Great design with really good text. The color palette never looked so wide but in this project it works really well. I think a logo swap would have been great but other than that it looks fun and fresh. 9/10

Thank you for the TPE and happy birthday !!!