Posted by Luke Ormand on February 16, 2011 at 11:03 PM
Made my first "banner" for my blog which I've been spending a lot of time updating lately...
Any feedback is welcome! I'm thinking of swapping out the Gyrfalcon (on the right) w/something else since Gyr's are pretty rare on Long Island... and also it has virtually the same colors as the Merlin.
For those interested in how I made it...
I took a background image of the ocean and cropped it to my liking. All 3 of the birds are separate layers and using the magic wand I selected just the bird and deleted the rest. For the Little Blue Heron on the bottom the head was turned down so that the bill intercepted the horizon... utilizing the puppet warp tool (wow it's so easy - can't believe I'd never tried it before) I moved the bill/head up a bit so it was no longer cutting across the horizon. Added a text layer and that was it..
I'm also considering playing with the levels/exposure of all the birds to make it look a little less PS'd
I think this is really cool!
But I'd also like to see your idea of a very different bird on the right. It's true the Gyr and Merlin are pretty similar, and the casual non-excellent birder will not see much difference. Something very different would draw them more, imo.
You might also consider keeping the GYR since it is more unusual and works so well where it is, and substitute something different for the Merlin.
REALLY nice work!
Sandy
Sandy
Posted by Brad Hill on February 16, 2011 at 11:27 PM
Hey Luke,
So did you buy the photos from a stock agency? If not, where the heck did you get them??
Cheers...
Brad
PS: Feel free to tell me to p___ off if you want...just couldn't resist!!
Posted by Luke Ormand on February 17, 2011 at 9:12 AM
The thought would never cross my mind Brad - I got a GREAT deal on those photos!
Sandy, thanks for the input. I may replace the Merlin with a Tern or something (that is, if shutterstock has a good enough photo! )
Posted by Max Waugh on February 17, 2011 at 10:23 AM
Luke, as a designer I could ask all sorts of questions , but I'll stick to one.
When you say banner, I take it this is meant as the header image that will appear at the top of your blog? If that's the case, you do have any concern about it being too tall? I always have concerns about top page content spacing, because the taller it is the further someone has to look/sroll down for the actual page content. This is one of the larger header images I've seen... but I come from a background designing for marketing purposes, so with a blog that may not be as imperative.
It's really well put together and I like the birds and poses you've chosen.
Max
Posted by Keith Bauer on February 17, 2011 at 10:37 AM
Luke: Looks pretty nice. The position of the bird in the top left and the "dot" above the "i" draws me there thinking the bird has decided to let loose..... Yep, the wrong color, but still.....
Posted by Luke Ormand on February 17, 2011 at 10:38 AM
max - check out my blog to see how it plays out. I too was a little concerned about the size (though previously I had used a standard sized image so this is a major improvement).
Since my blog posts are usually long and filled w lots of other images - I'm not terribly concerned with how long people have to scroll because they will be doing it anyways. Additionally, I've added new "pages" that are linked above the banner and I want these pages to generate a lot of traffic... I think if the banner is too small they may be missed.
Also, I use a 27" iMac and my browser is almost always taking up most of the screen, so when I do this work at home I tend to forget what the "average" user is really going to see, so I appreciate the input!
Posted by Luke Ormand on February 17, 2011 at 10:39 AM
Keith,
... Interesting observation
Posted by Jeff Loomis on February 17, 2011 at 4:30 PM
Hi Luke - I tried the link in your comment it didn't work for me (page not found). I find it through Google and its a great looking site. I do agree with your thinking on replacing the gyr, but I'm not sure what to put in its place. A gull species would be very appropriate, but then I'm afraid the casual observer would just see it as a 'seagull', so the overall affect is probably not what you're after. Maybe a skimmer or oystercatcher? Or maybe one of your harrier or Rough-legged shots...
PS: I have to be honest, I thought the same thing about the dot over the 'i'.
Posted by Luke Ormand on February 17, 2011 at 6:33 PM
Thanks Jeff - appears I forgot the "http://" in the hyperlink above. I'll play around with the design and if I come up with something knew I'll post it on here. Thanks to all!
If you wanted to add some humour, move the merlin into the right position and REALLY make the "i" look like poop.
I think that would be really funny, and your readers would chuckle..
Sandy
Posted by Brad Mangas on February 17, 2011 at 8:55 PM
Guess it looks like a banner though it does look very unnatural, not sure what you are wanting feedback on, if someone else likes it or not? Max made some good points.
Posted by Luke Ormand on February 17, 2011 at 9:07 PM
Brad,
Having never made one before... I'm simply looking for feedback on how to improve it. Here is the latest iteration which is now up on the blog and took several things into consideration that were noted above (decreased height, swapped out the merlin, reduced the size of the heron, etc.).
As for it looking natural... it will never look "natural" when combining different species into a scene like this... natural isn't so really what I'm looking for. Just an attractive design that entices the viewer and makes them want to spend some time on my site and at the same time shows off some photographic and photoshop prowess.
So, THANKS to everyone... and keep comments coming.
Posted by Max Waugh on February 18, 2011 at 2:37 PM
Luke, I don't think the alternate bird choice in this latest version works as well, because the cormorant is too dissimilar to the other birds (and the overall color scheme). The dark tones and bright red are jarring compared to the medium blues, grays and browns of the rest of the scene. From that standpoint, the merlin was a better choice IMO. You could either aim for a variety of colors or similar colors throughout, but I think the addition of this particular bird gets you caught somewhere in between.
I should note that when I visited the site on my laptop yesterday, all I could see was the top nav and the banner. It wasn't even apparent at first that there was content I could scroll down to view. However, on my iMac at home I can now see the first entry beneath the banner, so it makes visual sense... but the view from a smaller monitor (e.g., my MacBook Pro) is one cause for concern when it comes to tall banners like this.
Looking at it now, I think it works okay within your blog frameworks, but I do prefer the previous bird.
Max
Posted by Luke Ormand on February 18, 2011 at 3:04 PM
Max,
Thanks for the detailed commentary, it is appreciated. I have decied to swap it out every 3 months so keep it looking fresh... so I will certainly be looking at a slimmer version that may be a bit more cohesive for the next one. I'll try and get some feedback from my readers too (since they're the ones who are most important!)
Posted by Michael Lotito on February 19, 2011 at 12:32 PM
I like the banner alot. Did you consider a marsh with woods in the backdrop as a background?
Posted by Michael Lotito on February 19, 2011 at 12:38 PM
I like the banner alot. Did you consider a marsh with woods in the backdrop as a background?
Posted by Luke Ormand on February 19, 2011 at 2:28 PM
Mike,
Thanks a lot. I chose this scene because it sort of resembles "long island" with the sandbar in the middle and water on both sides... it also created a clean backdrop for some birds in flight that I wanted to show off. After the discussion in this forum, and with others I've decided to make a new one every 3 months or so... and I think it would be appropriate to make them "themed". So the next one will perhaps be a grasslands scene with appropriate birds or maybe a marshland theme with the types of birds you'd find there... this way it keeps things fresh. Thanks for the input.
Discussion
17 repliesAny feedback is welcome! I'm thinking of swapping out the Gyrfalcon (on the right) w/something else since Gyr's are pretty rare on Long Island... and also it has virtually the same colors as the Merlin.
For those interested in how I made it...
I took a background image of the ocean and cropped it to my liking. All 3 of the birds are separate layers and using the magic wand I selected just the bird and deleted the rest. For the Little Blue Heron on the bottom the head was turned down so that the bill intercepted the horizon... utilizing the puppet warp tool (wow it's so easy - can't believe I'd never tried it before) I moved the bill/head up a bit so it was no longer cutting across the horizon. Added a text layer and that was it..
I'm also considering playing with the levels/exposure of all the birds to make it look a little less PS'd
But I'd also like to see your idea of a very different bird on the right. It's true the Gyr and Merlin are pretty similar, and the casual non-excellent birder will not see much difference. Something very different would draw them more, imo.
You might also consider keeping the GYR since it is more unusual and works so well where it is, and substitute something different for the Merlin.
REALLY nice work!
Sandy
Sandy
So did you buy the photos from a stock agency? If not, where the heck did you get them??
Cheers...
Brad
PS: Feel free to tell me to p___ off if you want...just couldn't resist!!
Sandy, thanks for the input. I may replace the Merlin with a Tern or something (that is, if shutterstock has a good enough photo! )
When you say banner, I take it this is meant as the header image that will appear at the top of your blog? If that's the case, you do have any concern about it being too tall? I always have concerns about top page content spacing, because the taller it is the further someone has to look/sroll down for the actual page content. This is one of the larger header images I've seen... but I come from a background designing for marketing purposes, so with a blog that may not be as imperative.
It's really well put together and I like the birds and poses you've chosen.
Max
Since my blog posts are usually long and filled w lots of other images - I'm not terribly concerned with how long people have to scroll because they will be doing it anyways. Additionally, I've added new "pages" that are linked above the banner and I want these pages to generate a lot of traffic... I think if the banner is too small they may be missed.
Also, I use a 27" iMac and my browser is almost always taking up most of the screen, so when I do this work at home I tend to forget what the "average" user is really going to see, so I appreciate the input!
... Interesting observation
PS: I have to be honest, I thought the same thing about the dot over the 'i'.
I think that would be really funny, and your readers would chuckle..
Sandy
Having never made one before... I'm simply looking for feedback on how to improve it. Here is the latest iteration which is now up on the blog and took several things into consideration that were noted above (decreased height, swapped out the merlin, reduced the size of the heron, etc.).
As for it looking natural... it will never look "natural" when combining different species into a scene like this... natural isn't so really what I'm looking for. Just an attractive design that entices the viewer and makes them want to spend some time on my site and at the same time shows off some photographic and photoshop prowess.
So, THANKS to everyone... and keep comments coming.
I should note that when I visited the site on my laptop yesterday, all I could see was the top nav and the banner. It wasn't even apparent at first that there was content I could scroll down to view. However, on my iMac at home I can now see the first entry beneath the banner, so it makes visual sense... but the view from a smaller monitor (e.g., my MacBook Pro) is one cause for concern when it comes to tall banners like this.
Looking at it now, I think it works okay within your blog frameworks, but I do prefer the previous bird.
Max
Thanks for the detailed commentary, it is appreciated. I have decied to swap it out every 3 months so keep it looking fresh... so I will certainly be looking at a slimmer version that may be a bit more cohesive for the next one. I'll try and get some feedback from my readers too (since they're the ones who are most important!)
Thanks a lot. I chose this scene because it sort of resembles "long island" with the sandbar in the middle and water on both sides... it also created a clean backdrop for some birds in flight that I wanted to show off. After the discussion in this forum, and with others I've decided to make a new one every 3 months or so... and I think it would be appropriate to make them "themed". So the next one will perhaps be a grasslands scene with appropriate birds or maybe a marshland theme with the types of birds you'd find there... this way it keeps things fresh. Thanks for the input.