Chaosfyre Graphix & REVIEWHAVEN will be undergoing design changes soon.

There probably won’t be any posts/reviews made for a while until the designs are complete [It's not easy trying to design two completely different sites.]

Regards,
SniperFox ( James Headrick ) [ ADMIN ]

Sorry for such a long delay (not that anyone really reads this, XD.).

Let’s see..what all has happened since my last post? Well, I started school at ITT Tech in Tampa. It’s been good so far. I’m in the School of Drafting and Design Visual Communications program.

Going for the Associate of Science degree.

I’ll be dropped from it if I can’t get my diploma in by August 30th, though. I need $85 to get it :( . I would ask for a donation in this situation, but it would only go to my PayPal account, which would be pretty much useless.

Hopefully we can scrounge up the money to send away for it, though. I really want to finish this :(.

Anyway, in other news: I’ve been trying to get back into abstract art. My first foray back into it can be seen here.

Drop a comment if you can! I’d love some feedback.

Something else I’m working on is a new web layout, but it’s not agreeing with me for whatever reason. You can see it here. I left a post on the P2L boards, asking for help, but if you’re reading this and can spot what’s wrong, please let me know!

Lastly, I wrote another review, this time of Need For Speed Underground 2. Check it out here.

It should be posted on REVIEWHAVEN soon, so watch out for it.

Later Days,
- FOX

EDIT/UPDATE — Well, the layout has been fixed, and it is now up for sale :).

Best Offer, PayPal only.

Includes –

• .PSD File. For editing any images.
• .CSS File
• .HTML File
• All image files

It is only one page, but it should be fairly easy to make more, based on the one available, if needed.

Click Here to View.

Created this in my free time. It’s up for sale, Best Offer as usual. Drop me a line if you’re interested.

Includes:

• HTML Files [Index, Contact, Portfolio, Resumè]
• CSS File [Style.css]
• Image files

Again, it’s a Best Offer deal.

Told myself I was going to do this after the MGSF Sig contest was over, and forgot about it. Finally remembered to do it :). It’s a BIG file, so be patient while it loads, guys.

Link To Tutorial [2MB File]

Links/Resources
Displacement Map Tutorial
Depth/Flow Tutorial
C4D Search On devART
Tutorial PSD w/ Displacement Map File ( .RAR )

I went into as much detail as I possibly could, while still allowing for some experimentation.

Enjoy :D.

UPDATE: I forgot to add the stock into the .PSD, so here it is!

Yep. The move is over, and everything is pretty much back to normal. My puppy is a bit traumatized though o.O.

Poor thing isn’t used to the place yet :(. Anyway, obviously we have the internet back, FiOs now :D. Amazingly fast. Definitely recommend getting them if you can afford it, and it’s available.

That’s pretty much it. Haven’t had any time to really work on any new art or anything, yet, but I’ll be back to it soon, hopefully.

‘Til then!

Computer Troubles More Or Less…

…OVER. I finally got my cooling fans in for my computer, and got them installed the other day. So that’s over with. Now I still need to get more RAM, as i think the RAM I have is getting shot..my comp seems really slow lately, and a Tablet.

I’m also thinking of getting a game or two. I’ve gotten back into a Star Wars mood, and it’s made me begin missing my old Battlefront games. I also need to get Ratchet: Deadlocked, and pick up Shadow of The Colossus again [I loved that game so much!]

Plus I need to get a gift for both my mom and my sister’s birthdays.

Dammit! I get money and it’s already spent :(!

Moving On In The World

Sort of, anyway. We’re in the process of moving into a new place here, in the next few days. I wasn’t all that excited at first…then I saw the place.

Now I can’t freaking wait >_<!

Just finished yet another new layout, fully coded, and valid :). Check it here.

I have to say, i feel it’s my best yet :D. This is starting to get a bit easier, though I still had a little bit of trouble on some parts, I managed to overcome them and fix them on my own ^_^.

Anyway, the layout itself looks it’s best in Firefox ( The DIVs show their hover effects, and the layout is perfectly centered. ), but it’s pretty close in IE7/8.

I still don’t know how to code login forms, though :(.

My thoughts on WP2.5, the upcoming Firefox 3, and updates on what’s going on recently!

Wordpress 2.5 Finally Released

Well, it’s finally been released, and I must say, I’m impressed :D. I’m running it right now. It appears to be much, much faster. Everything is much more well organized, and the Dashboard is far nicer to look at than it was before.

I will say it might take a little getting used to, as I’ve been using the older Wordpress versions for a while now [You know, getting used to where everything is now, things like that. They haven't made any drastic changes to where things are, but some things have been moved/recategorized.]

All in all, this is a damn good update :D.

In Other News..

..My computer is bugging out on me again. This time, the CPU/Processor fan is dying. It’s doing fine so far, but I need to replace it soon. Because of this, I can’t really do much that requires a lot of CPU power [Things such as Photoshop, or gaming.], so I won’t have much new work to show, and I probably won’t have any retro reviews coming up anytime soon over at ReviewHaven.

The replacement I’m looking at getting is the COOLER MASTER RR-KEE-L8E1-GP 80mm Rifle CPU Cooler. Unfortunately, I can’t afford it [I need about $10-11 more dollars :(.]

If you feel generous, and can spare it, I wouldn’t mind a donation or two. However don’t feel like you have to :).

However, That’s Not To Say..

..that there is no new art or anything. I did manage to get a couple of things done! Number one was an old sketch that I had, of a lioness against a sunset that I drew a while back [In around 2004, I believe.]

I’d been inspired to do it after watching The Lion King.

I recently was inspired to do some new art, and decide to take the old sketch and color it in Photoshop, and this was the result.

Also, for the GameTrailers.com Photoshop User Faction artworm, I made an entry, which you can view here [The white is so that it blended better with the previous entry.].

Firefox 3

Supposedly, Firefox 3 is to be released sometime this June. Of the announced changes in FF3, the one that stands out most to me is “Less Memory Usage“, which is music to my ears!

Firefox 2 is a great browser, but I’ll be damned if it’s not a RAM hog [I just brought up the Windows Task Manager, and Firefox is currently using over 138 MB of RAM right now. It's ridiculous!].

End of the Road

Well, that’s pretty much it for updates. I’m still waiting to get my Playstation 3 fixed, and it’s driving me nuts because I need to play some Metal Gear Solid 4!

Again, if you guys can spare it, feel free to make a donation!

Welcome!

Time for another tutorial. Today, i will be showing you how to create something similar to this.

You will need -

• At least Photoshop CS2 or higher.
• A floral background pattern.
• Some patience.
• A good playlist :).

You can find plenty of floral patterns at Brusheezy, as well as textures and free Photoshop brushes.

Once you have everything you need, let’s get started!

Step 1

First, open up a new document [CTRL + N, or File >> New], and set the dimensions to 500 x 500 px, with 72dpi.

Once you have your document set up, select your Gradient Tool [G, or SHIFT + G]. Set your Foreground and Background colors to #151515 and #262626, respectively.

Now, drag a gradient, with these two colors, down along your canvas.

Try to go for something like this:

Step 2

Next, what you want to do, is switch to your Fill Tool [If you still have the Gradient Tool selected, just hit SHIFT + G]. Up at the top, set your Fill Tool to “Pattern”. Next, select your pattern by clicking on the little arrow and going to “Load Pattern”. Browse to the pattern you want to use.

Refer to this screenshot to see where everything is if you need to:

My result so far:

Step 3

Next, take out your Custom Shape Tool. Make sure it’s set to “Shapes” and not “Paths”. Next, choose the shape “Registration Target 2″ from the drop down menu. refer to the screen below to see what it looks like.

Click To See Full Size

Current Result:

Step 4

Now we start on the main shape, and layer styles. We will only be using one layer style in this tutorial.

First, take out your Rounded Rectangle Tool, and give it a radius of 5px. Make sure it’s still set to “Shapes”!

Next, click and hold in your canvas. Now, while holding SHIFT and ALT, drag out your shape. Make it as big as you want, but don’t go overboard.

Align your shape where you want it. Now, it’s time to add our layer style!

Head to your layers palette, and double click on your rectangle’s layer, the Blending Options dialog should come up.

Use these settings:

Drop Shadow Settings:

Blend Mode: Multiply
#0D0D0D
Opacity: 53%
Angle: 120
Use Global Light: Checked
Distance: 0px
Spread: 0%
Size: 16px

Bevel And Emboss Settings:

Structure -

Style: Inner Bevel
Technique: Smooth
Depth: 42%
Direction: Up
Size: 6px
Soften: 0px

Shading -

Angle: 120
Altitude: 30
Contour:

Anti-Aliased: Unchecked
Highlight Mode: Screen
Color: #FFFFFF
Opacity: 75%
Shadow Mode: Multiply
Color: #000000
Opacity: 75%

Gradient Overlay Colors:

#C2C2C2 // Position: 0%
#FFFFFF // Position: 34%
#CECFD0 // Position: 70%
#FFFFFF // Position: 99%

Now, click ‘New Style..’, give it a name you will remember, and make sure ‘Include Layer Effects’ is checked. Click ‘OK’, and you now have a new layer style to use anytime you wish!

Next, click ‘OK’ in the Blending Options dialog to apply the style.

Your shape should now look something like this:

Step 5

Now we get into the details! It’s actually very easy!

First, rasterize your rectangle layer. This is important, if you don’t, these next steps will not work.

Now, take out your logo [If you have one], or create another shape, or place some text over the rectangle. I chose to use my logotype.

Step 6

Next, CTRL + Click on the layer [If in CS3, CTRL + Click on the layer thumbnail!]. Now, head back to your rasterized rectangle, and hit ‘DELETE’ on your keyboard.

See that? Your image/text/shape/logo is now imprinted into the rectangle, and the layer style as adapted itself to it’s shape!

Steps 7 and 8

Why are these together? Because they are pretty much identical.

Step 7: If you wish to, add your text to the image. Doesn’t matter what color, just make sure you can see it for positioning purposes!

Next, head to your rectangle layer, and Right-Click on it. Choose “Copy Layer Style”. Head back to the text layer and right click. Choose “Paste Layer Style.”

Your text now has the same metallic look as your logo!

Once that’s done, you can deselect the layer with CTRL + D. Now, right click on the layer in the layers palette, and again, choose “Paste Layer Style”.

ta-Da! Metallic finish on the border as well!

We are now all finished!

My Koda Kumi Tag Tutorial is now on Digg! Go check it out and make sure to Digg! it :D.

read more | digg story