An artistic opinion. (please read)

[Mew Master]

I offer a question to you all. Out of the following picture, which symbol for fire do you think is more aesthetically pleasing? A or B? My Roomate brought this up and I'm unsure which looks better as they each look fairly good.

So what do you all think?

Here

Other symbols I've come up with so far. Plan to have two more later.

EDIT: 1-07-09

Air
Earth
Water
Light
Shadow
Shaman
Alchemy
Conjurer
Vitali

Okay so those were the Affinities that I managed to get done. Here are the Aspects I have finished.

Elemental Aspect - Combines Fire, Water, Air,and Earth.
Illusion Aspect - Combines Light and Shadow
Invoker Aspect - Combines Shaman and Conjurer
Weaver Aspect - Combines Alchemy and Vitali

Well I suppose it's time to put everything into context. These symbols are going to have a use as you'll see with the following pic:

Elemental Magi Array - The description here pretty much explains the circular patterns of previous images. The other reason I'm leaving them mostly black and white is because there is going to be some glow effects around them, so the design has a reason to be simple without any color. So it's easier to manipulate in Photoshop for glowing patterns without having to worry about color.

Fire Magi Wiccard Blare and Dragon Familiar Brianna Kíash (Warning: Mild Nudity) - The description pans it out, but this is one of the few works I've ever done where I'm so surprised at how well it turned out, I can't stop looking at it. Now the Magick Array under Wic's feet shows you what I was planning for these symbols (at least for the four Elementals anyway). You can also see that I went with Option A. The reason I did so was that through various people, both picks came up about 50-50, so it was down to me to decide which one to use for this piece. I chose A because it felt more complete when I looked at them both. The two flares in the fire seemed to give it a sense of completion.

[Crazy Elf Boy]

I think that the fire symbol B is better, because its simple and sort of draws your attention in the right manner. A with the extra two small flames seems to be a little distracting and doesn't have the impact that B does.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

Agreeing with above user.

[Mew Master]

Okay, so what do you guys think of these other symbols I came up with to resemble the elements?

Air
Earth
Water
Light
Shadow
Shaman
Alchemy

I'll also update the first post with this one, so that all the links are there.

[Blademaster]

Neither of them looks very fiery, IMHO. A is moreso than B, though, so it gets my vote.

[DarkestLight]

Don't like Air.
Don't like Earth
Water looks like fishes, so it stays
Light looks too busy to be light
Shadow should be Light's symbol..
Alchemy I'm ok with. Same with Shaman

[Mew Master]

... I know I asked for opinions.... but I can't help but think with a sarcastic edge:

You give comments like those and you ppl wonder why Fan Art is dead?

[Kyuuketsuki]

A is better for fire.

Air/Earth/Water/Light are all fine
Shadow needs more details
Shaman/Alchemy/Conjurer are good as well.

[ChobiChibi]

Denz, you asked for an opinion and that's what you got. Therefore this is the reason fanart is dead:

People are too affraid of the negative comments and ones that don't nessisarily match the veiw of the artist, so therefore do not post. Maybe they don't bother because they're actually scared of not getting any comments at all or ones exactly the same as before, so don't post it.

Art and arts in general is a very opinionated subject anyway. I think I may post a topic later... When not on the phone... And reply to the other symbols (I already told you I like B better). Luff you really Denz, don't be offended <3

[Blademaster]

... I know I asked for opinions.... but I can't help but think with a sarcastic edge:

You give comments like those and you ppl wonder why Fan Art is dead?

Don't be such a thin-skinned pussy. You of all people should know that art is NOT supposed to be "i <3 dis lol". You give us a few black-and-white circles - don't expect praise. Just be glad that I didn't respond to your eleven other symbols if you're gonna be touchy about it.

[Mew Master]

As I said, my thought was more of sarcasm than literal, although I do think that the wave of negative/Shallow comments that seems to stem in Fan Art is a factor. I also should have stated it, but my comment was directed more towards DL than anyone else above the post.

Don't like Air.

Why?

Don't like Earth

WHY?!

Alchemy I'm ok with. Same with Shaman

WHY MUTHA FUCKA, WHY?!

DL's comments on Light and Shadow at least gave a reason (although short ones) and that I can accept.

People are too afraid of the negative comments and ones that don't necessarily match the view of the artist, so therefore do not post. Maybe they don't bother because they're actually scared of not getting any comments at all or ones exactly the same as before, so don't post it.

No it's not. The reason ppl don't post is because whatever feedback they get (either Positive or Negative) is a joke. Lacking in reasoning WHY a viewer likes it or hates it. Feedback is an artist's life blood, and frankly comments like "i <3 dis lol" or "i hat dis RAGE!" do as much as feeding a fat-man crumbs (i.e. Very little).

Don't be such a thin-skinned pussy.

Blade, I'll be honest. Almost NOTHING I see you post any more is positive or constructive in the least, and I really don't care anymore. More and more you seem to be a dick not for the lulz, but for the sake of being a dick. And btw... the "Rock Polisher" joke is getting old :/

When I asked for an opinion on which looks better (A or B) simple responses are fine. At the moment the comments I've received show about a 50-50 split, which is fine, I'm even divided on which one looks better.

I enjoy Fire A cause that was the modified original symbol I came up with, and I thought it filled the space well. Fire B also has it's appeal for the use of the same space, even giving some negative space.

When I came up with a Symbol for Air, I kinda recycled one of my previous designs from Chains of Dragons, to get the vortex look and flow of wind.

Earth was a bit more difficult, as all the symbols for earth are fairly simple. The Earth Symbol in historical alchemy was just a circle with a cross through the center. So I used my knowledge of rocks and such, to make a symbol that shows the larger whole being made up of parts. As a rock is made of minerals made of compounds made of molecules made of atoms, so is the Earth Symbol, and I slightly tied in with the historical Alchemy symbol for Earth.

Water was by far the most difficult one to come up with. Nothing I did seemed to work right until I saw a three ring symbol while doing a Google Search and then decided to modify it into my own.

Light had a lot of images online, but only a few that sparked any kind of artistic spark. The symbol represents the rays of light emanating from a central source. At least that's the reasoning.

Shadow, is simply the lack of light and thus the simplest symbol as a result.

Alchemy was more or less my own artistic take on historical Alchemy.

Shaman was my own symbol to represent what that Magi can do, technically.

Conjurer was the same way. Using a different take on the various summoning circles I Google-searched online.

Vitali was different. Since the symbol was supposed to represent a class of healers, I had to try and find any historical or mythological references to healing. Which there are very few, but I found that a Lotus was considered healing (as are various other plants thanks to Herbalism and historical shamanism), so that's what I went with.

The Aspects are merely combining the others into their own spheres. Elemental (Fire, Water, Earth, Air), Illusion (Light, Shadow), Invoker (Shaman, Conjurer), and Weaver (not done yet, but will include Alchemy and Vitali).

So there...my views. :/

[ChobiChibi]

No it's not. The reason ppl don't post is because whatever feedback they get (either Positive or Negative) is a joke. Lacking in reasoning WHY a viewer likes it or hates it. Feedback is an artist's life blood, and frankly comments like "i <3 dis lol" or "i hat dis RAGE!" do as much as feeding a fat-man crumbs (i.e. Very little).

That's not limited to just here, y'know. dA is exactly the same and you know it. Even the popular artists that get 1000 views a day will get comments that say "Aww cute" 95% of the time. It's just the way things go.

[Mew Master]

Notice I said "feedback" not just "comments." And yes, it's true that that's all they get on DevArt, and you know what? It PISSES ME OFF to no end. When someone says they like something, I want more than just "it's guud" I want reasons! Why did you like it?! Why did you Hate it? What grabs you? What brings you to it?

Is it so wrong to WANT more than just "it sucks" or "it's good" when someone comments? Is it? I want honest to goodness FEEDBACK, not just smart ass shallow remarks.

At least I try to do that on DevArt to people who's work grabs me. Leaving a "it's good" or "i love it" comment is shallow and shows that whoever posted it has a shallow view of art. And I can't stand that.

[Blademaster]

Blade, I'll be honest. Almost NOTHING I see you post any more is positive or constructive in the least, and I really don't care anymore. More and more you seem to be a dick not for the lulz, but for the sake of being a dick.

Denny, I'll be honest.

...You got a good point and, looking back, I do sincerely apologize for my last post here.

But that doesn't change the fact that you ARE being thin-skinned and you're being a pain in the ass over what are, in fact, black-and-white circles with squiggly lines in them. The base designs rarely fit, and without any sort of coloring, it's hard to portray the elements properly. Personally I feel elements are pretty cliche anyway, but for the sake of being constructive:

AIR: It's how air should be. Simply, light, and it resembles a vortex. Whether it be a tornado or a mild gust, the vortex is pretty much the definitive 'shape' of the wind.

WATER: No. Don't like it. The vortex pattern was already done with Air, and the droplet shapes are very generic (and scientifically inaccurate, as I'm sure you know). Something a bit more active and fluid is needed.

EARTH: Very symbolic. The four ovals remind me of stony impact craters, as well as the four corners of the Earth, and the diamond in the center is just that - a gem forged in the planet's core. This needs no alteration at all and is tied with Air for my favorite design.

LIGHT: No. Not good. It looks like a footprint in between two moons. It looks like it should be Shadow, as Darkly said, but I have a different idea for that (See below.). Something sunny would portray the image better, but it doesn't have to be a static Sun.

SHADOW: ...It's supposed to be nonexistent because it's shadowed? Sorry, but that little ball doesn't do it for me... Maybe two circles overlapping, forming two crescents on either side of a football-shaped patch of the night sky. I dunno, something about those crescents on the Light one. They belong here, not there.

SHAMAN: It looks like a dragon. Needs more of a hood-shape, or some sort of tribal symbol.

ALCHEMY: I like it. A LOT. It reminds me of FullMetal Alchemist, and the infinity sign is a nice touch to give it some character. Keep it.

CONJURER: ..........It's a flower. At least put a summon circle border around it or something - it looks really out of place. Doesn't make me think 'conjurer' at all.

ELEMENTAL: Very good, but Fire and Air are too prevalent compared to Water and Earth. I'm not even sure which part Water is supposed to be.

ILLUSION: Passable, but it doesn't change my mind on Light's appearance.

INVOKER: Again, a summon circle should be here. In fact, if you trim the petals and eyes off this and compact the rest into a circular shape, I think this'd be a good stand-alone for Shaman.

WEAVER: I like this a bit, but I can't say anything without seeing Vitali first.


Also, I skipped your tl;dr self-evaluation, so if I repeated anything... Yeah. My bad.

[Mew Master]

[quote=Denny, I'll be honest.

...You got a good point and, looking back, I do sincerely apologize for my last post here.[/quote]

I made a point? ... WHO-HOO! Go me![/sarcasm]

But that doesn't change the fact that you ARE being thin-skinned and you're being a pain in the ass over what are, in fact, black-and-white circles with squiggly lines in them. The base designs rarely fit, and without any sort of coloring, it's hard to portray the elements properly.

There's a reason why I'm not coloring them, and the latest update explains why. Unfortunatly you'll have to read the description for it on DevArt because I'm too lazy to copy-paste it here. I've also uploaded Vitali, as I thought I had it up already, but apparently did not.

[Blademaster]

I made a point? ... WHO-HOO! Go me![/sarcasm]

Hey, screw you. I was trying to be nice.

Also, I gotta say, Vitali is pretty clever. I like it - very simple yet eloquent way to depict the literal life-givers of this place with a flower coming into life.

The elemental circle, again, reeks of FMA. Which automatically makes it awesome. Not good enough critique? Screw you, that circle is awesome and you should feel awesome, and that's all you're getting out of me right now.

[MeLoVeGhOsTs]

I hate the positivism in this thread

[Mew Master]

I guess this topic has slowly evolved from a "Which looks better to you" to a "look what else I've been designing" then to this "Okay, this is what it all comes down to" moment.

As of very very VERY early this morning I finished a work that I was planning to submit to a club on DevArt for a Contest, however I had to remove and edit part of the picture. In any case, I've updated with a link to what the work was acumilating towards and how it will generally look. So any feed back you guys have on that end is greatly appreciated.

[DarkestLight]

my comment was directed more towards DL than anyone else above the post.

Why?


WHY?!


WHY MUTHA FUCKA, WHY?!

I DIDZ IT FU TEH LULZ!

>> Denny, shut up. I did state my opinions like that for the lulz, and well it worked. Sides, I hardly ever come to fanart, you kicked me over here. Ima go back to fanfiction now and get to reading, k? Wanna hug?

[Mew Master]

Wanna hug?

Yes. *sniff*