Randomland - The Forum

Bam! I am liking the new forum banner. It's fun. The only thing I'd suggest is adding "forums" to it somewhere to clarify that this (the forum) is not the entirety of Randomland...the "home" button of the toolbar doesn't really clarify that either, but yeah! Cool photoshoppage.

Was that done with all those wacky tree brushes?

No, the wacky tree brushes look like real trees :) Those are just 'free hand' (free mouse anyway.) If you look at a bigger version you can really tell :) I've had that image floating around since last Christmas. It just never got used for anything. 
Both fonts are random free ones harvested from the great wide interwebs.
     The main one is : ' http://www.dafont.com/ambulance-shotgun.font '
     The green one is: ' http://www.dafont.com/octin-spraypaint-free.font .'
Now no one can say I didn't credit them.

Head Here (http://randomland.net/node/1053) for the PSD file for use in GIMP or photoshop.


Here is an example of the image we are talking about (in case the logo has changed with the seasons and you find yourself reading this, not knowing what we are talking about.)
(http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/600px_wide/nick/images/randomlandSnowTrees.png)

You should upload your cabin as well. Itz da shizzle...or something. What kind of ideas do you have for the main Department of Random Forestry site's banner?

I have been thinking leaves of color and transparent overlays to create fading. Perhaps a gravel road and distant mountains. I don't know. Trying to keep with the seal and replace the spooky-trees with something more falling and seasonally festive. Maybe a turkey or two.

Leaves of color is always a winner in my book

Oh, there is a little speck of blue on the top "T" of the RANDOMLAND.NET in the forum banner. It shouldn't bother me. When I forget about it, it does not; when I remember it, it does.

Its part of the font.


Here is my first rather basic concept image. I was thinking more of leaves, but the little fungus caught my attention first.

(http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/600px_wide/nick/images/MushTop.png)

I would take leaves over fungus, if available, but I like the coloring. There is a bit too much brown or too much distracting detail in the brown twigs. But yeah, I can see that working

I think I might go for a wider overall spread. Perhaps centering everything and incorporating the seal into it. But I always have more ideas then ability.

Here is another variation of that idea.

(http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/600px_wide/nick/images/GoldenFronds.png) (http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/nick/images/GoldenFronds.png)

I need to go take some pictures with this in mind. Get some low angle shots of a pumpkin sitting in a pile of leaves and the like.

What the heck is that? It looks like Moonscape Indraustralia.

Apparently its no longer obvious that those are leaves. It a crop of a picture of a tree. All decked out in its fall colorings. Then given a sligh oil-paint look to hide the purple fringing. Its a part of this picture. (http://randomland.net/node/1079) I didn't find and pictures better suited for the task. But I only looked back a year (through mine.)

Oh. I kind of see it now. I liked it better when I thought it was oil rigs and rusting metal on a distant, rocky moon though.  :)

I never saw it that way :) But now I kinda can.

I think I mentioned this somewhere...There is a little piece of blue that looks like it does not belong. Perhaps it does belong but just looks out of place as there is some other weirdness going on on that T.

(http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/600px_wide/zourtney/images/what-the-dilly-banner.jpg) (http://randomland.net/node/1082)

Its just part of the font. I will remove it if it bothers you that much  ;D

Nah, as long as it's intentional, leave it. It looked strange, like someone used Photoshop's clone tool and grabbed something they didn't mean to. Knowing it's part of the font appeases my inner pedant sufficiently.

However, I do think you should bust out another Moonscape Industralia theme. Kind of a Dune meets Total Recall setting. That would totally rock the randomnets...and totally kill anything we had going with the blue on green theme. So maybe not. The rusty brown on golden plains look was just so intriguing! And I like saying Moonscape Industralia.

Too late, I already removed the offending specks. Retrieving them would involve me deleting a layer, so we would easily bring them back. Not that anyone, anywhere would notice either way.

I will keep on with the banner making. Its fun, and I should be keeping in practice with as much webdesign stuff as possible. I hope to add randomland to me resume soon so people have something to look at as far as my limited creative abilities (I would probably make an empty clone of randomland for that... not because there is anything offensive here, but so they cant see how dumb I am  :))

Some of my old stuff is offensive, but it was always so sarcastic and satirical that it made it hard to tell how serious I was. But yeah, it would be nice if Randomland was presentable and not too embarrassing. I think it is much better than it was a year ago, in both respects.

Yep, it would be nice. Especially considering all the stuff I did at department of forestry got lost in a beuricratic mess of no one wanting to maintain a simple database of fire dangers. And all the stuff I did at alliance is completely internal. 

Tried making any new banners lately? I'd be up for seeing a little snow sprinkled upon the main site's banner as well.

Sorry. I have been painting things and racing things :)

I have been thinking about it though.

What have you been painting? You should paint the forum's snowscape on your wall :D

Haha. That would be cool. If only I had the tallent. I might be able to pull off a few trees, that would be niceish.

Spay painting a flower pot and spray varneshing a lamp I made. I should post a short little thing about the lamp up here some place. Its only kinda neat, but I like it anyway.

Do it! Pictures at least  :)

Quote from: Nick on Nov 24, 2009, 10:42 PM
Spay painting a flower pot and spray varneshing a lamp I made. I should post a short little thing about the lamp up here some place. Its only kinda neat, but I like it anyway.

You should add that to the idea list thread. Not that anyone ever looks at it, but yeah.

Anyway. I think you should make banners because that'd be awesome. And I like the forum one, it's cool. It makes the main site seem boringer.

Another idea for the main sites banner. It might be a little overdeveloped for what I am capable of. But have a look.

Awesome! I like it. Throw it up!

I particularly like how the RL circle shines and seems to have made a crater in the snow (or perhaps those are snow drifts?). I also like the texturing in the snow around the "seal," though it seems to fade out or be missing under the trees.

I like the seal too. Thanks. I will add more texturing to the snow. It ads a sense of depth to it all I think.  I also want to make the trees look a little nicer. They kinda look scribbled on now that I give it a second scrutinizing. Should the cabin come to the main site?

Cool. Let me know what you come up with. I don't mind the "scribbled" look too much as it's not really meant to be photo-realistic. Same with the banner here, on the forums. It has a nice, comic look.

Oh, and feel free as a bee to delete my semi-transparent nav bar. It could be cool if you gave it some icy blue buttons that blend into the banner. Just a[n after]thought.

I like the nav bar :)
I might make a few small changes to tie it into the banner more. Make it all integrated or something.

Did you work any more on this? I very much liked the image shown a few posts back.

I have been genuinely busy the last few days. Trying to get some cars back to working, putting up insulation in my grandma's garage and taking a 6 or so mile hike around silver falls has kept me away from playing with colored pixels. But soon I hope.   

REV2 of RL snow-trees

Looks good! I definitely like the snowy theme. We could even make a few images with icicles or snow drips and slap them on the sidebar tops or post titlebars.

The only thing bad thing about the banner image is that the trees seem a little blurry. Can the edges be sharpened?

It almost needs a guy flying sideways through the air on a snowboard above the RL :)

I like!

We should get a new banner for the main site. It's cool and all, but the one we have here on the forum just blows that other one away with, uh, like 50 megatons of awesome. So yeah. I guess I could try to make one myself...I'm sure that would be disastrous, though.

I have some made. But I never think anything looks good enough. I'll try drawing more trees. I like trees.

Nick (or anyone, for that matter): do you have any interest in making up banner ideas still?

Yes, always. I have been finding far too many things to distract myself lately (Wow, it seems that after playing guitar for a while I cant type! I just got back from class as it were) But I would live to see something more interesting go up on the main page. Not that I don't like the "spooky forest" but its not October anymore. Perhaps something spring related? Leaves and greens and barky brown barks.

I posted this in the (locked) randomland needs a new logo thread. But that thread is full of broken links and missing images. It should probably be allowed to bury itself over time.

Anyways..
I have been toying with springy designs for the forum logo.

Tell me what you think. If you will. :

(http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/nick/images/randomlandSpringForumsLong.png)

And another for the right end of the header.

Lil' Cabin:
(http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/nick/images/lilSpringCabinTrees.png)

Me like. Especially the little tree to the left of the cabin. Spring time, oh yeah.

Edit: the center one, that is.

I have updated both images to include (perhaps?) better looking grass.

(http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/nick/images/lilSpringCabinTrees_0.png)

(http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/nick/images/randomlandSpringForumsLong_0.png)

much better! the "the forums" could use a little more POP to it (blends in with trees, in my eyes). But yeah, a++!

Better?

(http://randomland.net/images/logo tests/randomlandSpringForumsLong.png)

Totally. Post it! :)

Its up! And I added the lake/pond that I mentioned. If I could draw mountains I would add them to the background. But sadly what you see is the apex of my artistic ability.

Thoughts?
Suggestions?
Take it down before it burn the eyes of the worlds innocent?

No, man, it's cool!

So dead....

The banner is dead? That's sad. Should I make a forest fire one?

Hehe :) Sorry, wrong topic.

Maybe it could use a couple hippie flowers...!

Yes. And some mountains and better water... and perhaps nicer grass. Oh, and a cooler cabin. :)

Ok, so, this isn't supposed to look good, it's just a rough idea.

The colors suck, the tree sucks, etc., but I like the RL-seal thing. And I was thinking it'd be better as an image-only icon. The kind that you can recognize without needing letters in it. And we like trees.

Currently, the site name and tagline lack any styling and are oddly aligned. Having the logo and title side-by-side seems to balance things a bit better....in my estimation.

(http://randomland.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/600px_wide/zourtney/images/Untitled-1.png)
[Adobe Illustrator file (http://randomland.net/node/1425)]

Here is my fist mock-up of ideas. I am just now learning illustrator so its a little rough looking, but I am sure you can get the idea.
Also, for zourtney, here is the PSD of the RL circle. I should remake that in illustrator to help learn how to use it.
RL-Seal logo - http://randomland.net/node/1427

That's cool. I think I might take it down to 3 trees, for simplicity and scalability. But perhaps that's just me. Ideally, a logo could be instantly recognizable down to about the size of a quarter ($0.25). And something about designing it monochrome. Brad will tell you all about it :)

...not that I was thinking about that too much when I was playing around.

We can have different logos for different uses you know. We can make a small version that is easily identifiable when little yet still have a larger more detailed logo. Making it bland/overly simple just so you can have a tiny one is kinda overkill. Other then the url favicon thing, where will we need super tiny logos?

Moichandising! Moichandising!^{1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvmZ9SPcTzU)}
:)

Dude, so I haven't posted in forever. But yeah, I actually really like the forums banner that you made and put up. Looks nice. I also am really liking that Randomland logo with the trees and stuff. So maybe not too many people will see it but it looks nice. Good job whoever did those!  :)

That was Nick. I think they're pretty awesome too. Last year we had a snow-covered winter theme too. It's quite nearly time to bring that back, I think.

Also, it'd be nice to come up with a few new things for when/if we update the site to use Drupal 7. It's my opinion that a new theme is in order for the main site.

Winter-forums is back up. I like it. I want snow. Piles of snow!