Here are a few things that I look for in graphics in the different challenge categories. Though remember! There are always exceptions! ;)

Avatars:
* At least a 1 pixel border around the avatar. It realy makes it look more finished.

* Text: If you aren't very good at text find some icon text brushes and let them do the work for you.

* Origional cut: Don't always go with the most obvious cut. I like "different". ;) But if you can make the most obvious cut look fantastic then go for it!

Signature:
* Borders are good. Just remember that. ;)

* Image and text placement: Don't scrawl your text over your image and cover it up. Get creative if you have to or just use minimal text.

Wallpapers:
* Usable: I want a wallpaper I can use. My personal preferences are something where the main image is to the right of the canvas and if there are images on the left that they are more blended into the background. I don't want my icons covering up the wallpaper. But remember, if you can make it look good doing your own thing then go for it!

* Grainy is just bad. Don't optimize your image to death or save it as a gif file. Wallpapers should be JPG for optimal image clarity. You may need to find a diferent host for your wallpaper submissions if you have to optimize them alot so they don't get resized.

* Image quality: Jagged edges on your images look bad. The wand tool is not always the best for removing backgrounds from images. Blend your edges with your background and other images. If you use Photoshop, a good technique I like using is adding a layer mask to the image then useing a good soft brush to remove the background and blend the images. It's much better than the eraser tool because you can go back and change it at anytime.

Blends:
Small image blends a prety new to me but it's not hard to know what I like and what I don't.

* Text: Different transparencies, colors, overlays, etc, look realy great when using alot of text.

* Image Quality: No grainy images or jagged edges. Save your image at as high of image quality as you can. it makes a huge difference.

* Good use of colors and textures. I've seen some awesome blends that are like small works of art. Since blends tend to be smaller you can do so much with them! Be creative and origional.

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What I don't like seeing over all: The same image again and a again. Try different image placements and different cuts and just be origional!

I've seen some great graphics so far and alot of people have awesome talent! If you're looking for new inspiration on what to do for your next entry or looking for some good resources here is a list of links for you. If you would like to add a link please PM me and I'll get it on the list!

So good luck everyone and have fun with your entries!!

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Angelic Trust
Vbrush
Komet Tail Designs
Day Dream Graphics
Vanilla Design
1greeneye
Classic Tere-art
The Magic Box
Annika Von Holdt
Photoshop BrushesAethereality
Pootato.Org
Lisa Explains
Good Tutorials.com
Touchstone's Art
Lush Brushes
Anime Share
Beautiful Sin.Net
Square Petites
Miss M
Damned in Black
Rhysin Graphics
Muse Driven
DayDreaming
Hybrid-Genesis
Absolute Trouble
Roshiweb
MagitekBlendid Style
Digik Designs
Celestial Star
HTML Goodies
1001 Free Fonts
Photobucket Image Hosting
100x100_Brushes
Helping icon makers one tutorial at a time
Yellowpigeon
dafont.com
Tre-Xture
Angelic Network
My Webpage