Praise me. Nao.

[naikou]

So, yeeaaaaahhh...

Tried my hand at photoshop. And stuff. Signature is my result. Figured some people here would know how to do it, considering there's an entire subforum. (De)constructive criticism would be great. Honestly, I probably need to be knocked down a peg, because I'm so giddy at finishing my first attempt.

:gong::O:DO.o<.<
(these lifeless blue bastards do nothing to e-communicate emotions)

[Ilythia]

You will not be praised. But I can tell you, you're definitely way better than I am. I know that it's not criticism, and I don't deem it fair for me to give an opinion as I haven't been active in this department for a long time. Oh yeah, I was supposed to undergo some gfx training too but I completely forgot. XD

I wanted sushi smilies. =<

[Kanji]

Looks pretty smokin' hot to me. No real criticism to give. Instead, I'll say there's some awesome cohesion going on in that banner, which is an impressive trait for your first foray into these things. Keep at it.

[Sam]

Tried my hand at photoshop.
(these lifeless blue bastards do nothing to e-communicate emotions)
Feel free to make some for us. :p

Anyways, good work. A lot better than what I can do with PhotoShop.

[Final]

Hmm, everything looks smooth. Lively layout, creative text, transparent border... However, before I jump to real conclusions, I'd like to know how you've built up the background.

Very nice for a first try though, keep it up. :)

[naikou]

Aw, thanks guys. But now my ego is going to get even bigger. DX

Feel free to make some for us. :p
Ahah. That's okay. I'll stick with text smilies.

However, before I jump to real conclusions, I'd like to know how you've built up the background.
Don't know if I'm entirely sure what you mean by that, but essentially, I painted it pink, added some random brush strokes and gradients, then copy/pasted a free C4D render and set it on overlay.

[Final]

That was all I wanted to know. :) Nice job, keep it up!