snazzy web graphics... How do you do it

[NothingLikeit]

Okay I've visited quite a few sites of various community members and I've notice most of them look pretty good. so my major question is how can get those cool, non linear graphics? Most of my design is kinda.. linear. Whenever I work in photoshop my curvy stuff ends up lookin like crap.

So How do you all make your curvey (Not straight/boxy) graphics

enlighten me :D

[Bmc]

pen tool, plenty of tutorials out there

here is a google search to get you started http://www.google.ca/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial_s&hl=en&q=photoshop+pen+tool+tutorials&meta=&btnG=Google+Search

there is no real magic trick to doing them, just practice

[Sharpfish]

Don't know which sites you consider "good", so I may be speaking out of term - but I use some curves - and I concur - the PEN TOOL is your BEST FRIEND. :)

[NothingLikeit]

Yours is actually pretty cool sharpfish If i can say so. I just started my site redisgn yours (among other here) stood out for its cool non linear shapes.

I use the pen tool and some vector shapes too. But I'm not really sure what's the best way to integrate them into the website.

Meaning: should I just import them as a graphic, or are they better as background graphics?

[Sharpfish]

Well get your overall design up and running, I use layers a lot too. Then use the slice tool (though you don't have to) to chop them up into workable sections then select "save for web" to apply some optimisations. Lastly I use tweakpng to reduce the filesize even more - it was even more gfx heavy until a recent "move around" to some boxy elements - but my site is constantly changing as I learn better ways of doing things and a lot of it is just "for now".

Anyway - if you have a graphic (like a logo) that is just going to sit there then do the above and just place it - if you have an image that needs to fill a large area but is non complicated (a thin slice) then you can use it as a background image in tables or on the page and it will autorepeat when page sizes grow which saves a lot of headaches.

You can always check your page load times at http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/
to make sure there is nothing too bad going on.

HTH

<edit> about the pen tool - other people may differ in their usage but I find having the grid turned on (and using the different interactions with the pen tool) eases use of it by not-so-good freehanders like myself.. are you using the grid?

[NothingLikeit]

There are grids in Photoshop? wow if there are that would make my life so much easier.

I got a basic content map of where I'd like to put stuff. So now I got the design. But does anyone use layers in Dreamweaver? It's cool because I can move stuff around freely but Im noticing that pages are slow to load when they have lots of layers.

Has anyone else encountered this?

Also in another post most of you suggested that I add more pictures to my page. I don't have much of my game done yet. In the mean time the site is going to sell the games of others and maybe have general info on my company. What kinda graphics could I have to spice up the page?

[Sharpfish]

Yes there are grids (short cut will depend on locality I think but it is in the menus).

You mention layers - No, I didn't mean I use layers on my site if that is what you mean. I meant in photoshop with the pen tool and delete to create interesting shapes with nice edges.

[Gnatinator]

Paths are awesome. If you are using photoshop, access your grid and grid snapping under the view menu. You can change the grid size (and other things) under the Edit->Preferences->Guides, Grid & Slices... menu option

If you are up for a lot of reading/experimentation. There are literally thousands of tutes located here. (http://www.webdesign.org/)

[Robert Cummings]

I'll do a perfect website to your spec if you get in touch. It will be cheap too!

[NothingLikeit]

thanks rob and I appreciate the offer... but I'm also a web designer.... I should probably do that myself. :)

[Adrian Cummings]

I love Robert's entrepreneurial spirit on here (no we are not related) least I dont think so? heh :)

[NothingLikeit]

Yeah I mean its all good. Being in business means pimping yourself and your stuff out on a constant basis. I just don't feel confident enough to do it yet. On here at least

[NothingLikeit]

Okay I did try to revamp the page a bit base on your... suggestions from another forum. Keep in mind though that the site is still very much under construction. Everything is not in place and some links may not work. Some links go to older pages that still look the same... so its a work in progress.

I'm looking for some feedback on what other elements i can put on my main page keeping in mind my buiness model is as a game developer, affiliate game seller, and a web site publisher.

Any thoughts on other graphics i can use?

Thanks in advance and thank you all for your kind feedback.

[steve bisson]

your " nothing like it " claim sure raise the bar for you man :) better come up with some "snazzy" stuff allright.

:D

[terin]

I just used a template myself... Im lazy and cheap!

(ok more like I don't have time or money)

-Joe

[NothingLikeit]

your " nothing like it " claim sure raise the bar for you man :) better come up with some "snazzy" stuff allright.

:D

oh i will steve.... i will