The SSMB Banner Thread

[Roarey Raccoon]

Right, here's to announce that, if no-one else on the staff is able to take over handling the member banners, I (bmn)'ll be doing so. We will, however, be changing the rules a bit (they'll also be subject to change if they need fine-tuning), but hopefully those changes will enable you to be more creative in your designs.

 
The new rules regarding content:

• Must be based on a Sonic Team product, and must not include fan characters.
  • If no Sonic the Hedgehog characters are included, or if a meme such as Gumball Eyes Sonic is used - especially the latter - the banner will be held to a higher standard. In other words, such a banner won't be considered unless it's very good.
• The name of the Website, "The Sonic Stadium", must be prominently displayed on the banner.
  • You're free to create your own logo or styling, or you can make use of the official logo (PSD/PNG). You can change aspects of the logo, such as colours or layout, as you please.
  • You may use a variant of the name, such as "The Eggman Stadium" or "The Sonic Moshpit", but if you do the banner will be held to a higher standard.
  • If you want to include a slogan, you're free to create your own. Or you can use the official one, "Love Sonic? Love the Sonic Stadium!"
• Consider your target age group to be around the early teens, so no inappropriate or offensive content.
• All artwork must be your own work. Any case of malicious plagiarism will get you blacklisted from banner submission.
  • This means that background art should also be your own work.
  • Non-original imagery (http://board.sonicstadium.org/banners/banner62.png, for example) may be allowed if they are used in creative ways.
  • Your own http://board.sonicstadium.org/banners/banner80.png can be used, if done so creatively.
• Not all banners will be used, and if you submit more than one they should be original in terms of content.
• It should go without saying, but they should look like you put a bit of effort in!

 

Regarding format:

• Banners must have a height of exactly 200 pixels.
• They must have a width of between 800 and 1000 pixels.
• They must be uploaded in PNG format.
  • This is to ensure that we have a good quality image to work with - the format may be changed when the banner is made part of the rotation.
• They can include transparency.
• You can select, or include, a separate background image or background colour.
  • The image should be a PNG, with a height of exactly 200 pixels, and a width of 1200 pixels or less.

 

So, what's this about a background image?

• Most of our current banners have their own background, so that background abruptly ends on each side of the banner. It doesn't look great.
• You can choose to replace the http://board.sonicstadium.org/public/style_images/ssmb_header_bg.png with a http://board.sonicstadium.org/banners/ghz-bg.png, by mentioning it when you submit your banner. More backgrounds may become available later... especially if someone is nice and makes some for us.
• Alternatively, you can create your own background as a separate image. This image will replace the blue zigzag, and will be tiled horizontally, so if you like you can create a http://board.sonicstadium.org/banners/banner3-bg.png that will repeat across the page.
• The background doesn't have to be a short one, as long as it doesn't go over the width limit.
• There's also the option of a background colour instead. This can be a solid colour, or a gradient, which you should mention when you submit. You can also have one colour/gradient for one side, and another for the other.
• Whichever type of background you use, you can use http://board.sonicstadium.org/banners/banner2.png to allow the background to show through.

 

I'm hoping that these changes will give you more freedom to create amazing banners for us, so let's make the forum look even better than it already is

 

I'm likely opening a can of worms by allowing memes, but let's see if we can have nice things for once...

 

 

Original post:

Updated 6th August 2013:

 

I don't have the time to carry on running the banners anymore, peeps (among other reasons), so sorry it's been so long since I posted in here. I'm going to try and get the recent banners up there soon (the appropriate ones anyway XP) but after that, unless another staffer takes this over, the user banners are going to have to go. I'll update with more info as to why at a later time.

 

Thanks for all the great banners you guys have made since this thread was started, I hope you enjoyed making them and seeing them on the forum main page. They'll be kept up, with the new additions, for some time yet still, but as I said unless another staff member takes this on that'll be the end of the user-made banners XP.

-----

Allo there ladies and gents; fancy seeing your work in the SSMB forum banner? I've put up the past two banners having cobbled them together myself and they're not much good, so this is where you come in. There are a plethora of talented people on this forum and seeing your works in the banner would be a nice little community venture thingymajig. Anyway, if you want to see your art in the SSMB banner, this is what you do:

• Post (or link to) your banner in this topic (1000x200 pixels).
  * DRED: Changed to 1000 pixels. Already-made banners not affected.
• If accepted, you'll see it on rotation as the forum banner. Banner images will be randomized, a different one popping up on each refresh.

Isn't that easy?


Not so fast though, here's some rules:

• Banners must be based on Sonic, naturally XP. Other Sonic characters are welcome too, but no fancharacters.
• Banners should include the name of the website (The Sonic Stadium) somewhere in the artwork.
• Please make your banners to a decent standard, so no shoddy jpeg artifacts or just some shit you scribbled in MSPaint.
• Images must be in PNG format.
• You can make banners amusing, but no internet memes please XP.
• Be sure that all artwork is suitable for all ages, so nothing inappropriate.
• Make sure that all artwork is your own stuff. The whole point is to have your artwork on the site, so altered official images and art used without permission are not acceptable.
• Banners can be transparent or opaque, just make sure you stick to the dimensions (1000x200 pixels).
• If you want your logo to have a background that loops seamlessly across the screen, you can have your main logo be transparent and have a separate background image. It can be any size up to that of the main logo.
• You may submit more than one banner image but make sure they are completely different from eachother or one of them will not be selected. Please also be aware that a second banner you make may be rejected or delayed for use in order to be fair for other members submitting theirs.
• Banners will be used on the site for one month before being replaced by new images made by other members. Around 15 new banners will be used each month, provided there are enough submissions. If there aren't, older banners will be recycled.

If you'd like to partake of this opportunity or ask some questions, please do so in this topic XP.

[Blue Wisp]

Can it have Blue Wisp?

Serious question, I want to have Sonic along with Wisps on the banner.

Edited July 13, 2011 by (屮ʘДʘ)屮

[Valkyrie]

Make sure that all artwork is your own stuff. The whole point is to have your artwork on the site, so altered official images and art used without permission are not acceptable.

Soo... no photomanipulation / signature using official Sonic character renders? What? 'Tis a Sonic fansite/fanforum... Aww. .-.

Edited July 13, 2011 by Valkyrie

[Roarey Raccoon]

Make sure that all artwork is your own stuff. The whole point is to have your artwork on the site, so altered official images and art used without permission are not acceptable.

Soo... no photomanipulation / signature using official Sonic character renders? What? 'Tis a Sonic fansite/fanforum... Aww. .-.

The whole point of the banners is to celebrate fan art, so no photomanipulation. You can put what you like in signatures XP. SSMB banners have pretty much always been official art, so this is something different.

[Blue Wisp]

So I have to draw it.

Ok, not entering. Sorry.

[Adamis]

I'll enter.

Does we need to add a specific logo or something? And can I use watercolours?

Edited July 13, 2011 by Adamis Fox

[Roarey Raccoon]

I'll enter.

Does we need to add a specific logo or something?

Ah, good question there actually XP. You should have the name of the website in the banner, I'll add that to the rules now XP. And yush, feel free to use watercolours XP.

[Nemain]

So up for this. Any "official" SSMB logos I should include? =)

EDIT: Ninja'ed. Okay then!

[Roarey Raccoon]

So up for this. Any "official" SSMB logos I should include? =)

EDIT: Ninja'ed. Okay then!

Nah you don't need to use any proper TSS logos matey XP.

[Blue Blood]

Aw, that's a shame. Zero drawing skills on my end so I won't be able to contribute anything either. We've have official art plastered around the forum banner before (it makes up all the art in the forum skins), so why not now?

[Roarey Raccoon]

Aw, that's a shame. Zero drawing skills on my end so I won't be able to contribute anything either. We've have official art plastered around the forum banner before (it makes up all the art in the forum skins), so why not now?

Thought it would be nice to have a change for a while XP. Plus, we can make official art banners easily ourselves anyway.

[Adamis]

How many entries can we submit?

[Rabid-Noodles]

I'm interested, is there a due date?

Edited July 13, 2011 by Rabid-Noodles

[Roarey Raccoon]

How many entries can we submit?

For now just one will do, possibly more in the future; we'll see how things go XP.

I'm interested, is there a due date?

Nah, take your time XP.

[Nepenthe]

I'm assuming based on the transparency that our character artwork is merely going to go over the GHZ background, and that altering that part with a background of our own would be discouraged? I'm asking out of curiosity.

[Blue Blood]

Thought it would be nice to have a change for a while XP. Plus, we can make official art banners easily ourselves anyway.

Anything's a change from Poorly Looped Green Hill Zone. How essential is it that characters are actually drawn in the banners?

[Roarey Raccoon]

I'm assuming based on the transparency that our character artwork is merely going to go over the GHZ background, and that altering that part with a background of our own would be discouraged? I'm asking out of curiosity.

Well the GHZ thing is there so that it doesn't matter what res people are viewing the forum at, so to cover it all you'd have to make a massive banner for the biggest screen resolutions, which would automatically rape smaller resolutions. You can make a solid banner but do it at the dimensions specified XP.

Anything's a change from Poorly Looped Green Hill Zone. How essential is it that characters are actually drawn in the banners?

Well if there are no characters in the banner it'd be kinda shit. If they aren't drawn/created from scratch by the person submitting it, then it breaks one of the rules XP.

[Adamis]

So, we just draw some characters with no background (so it'll be pasted on that GHZ background) or can we use our own background?

[Roarey Raccoon]

So, we just draw some characters with no background (so it'll be pasted on that GHZ background) or can we use our own background?

You can make an opaque banner, ie has your own background, but just don't make it bigger than the specified dimensions XP.

[Adamis]

Thanks for the replies

[azoo]

Alright, everyone already asked my questions and I got answers for them all. =)

I'll start to work on one near immediately as soon as I get back from this trip I'm on. Expect my submission this weekend. :3

[Gatestormer]

PUMPED Definitely gonna be submitting something for this, I'd better start brainstorming! Is there a high-res version of the original TSS logo that we can get to use or can we/should we make our own variations? Can we not use ANY sort of official work, even logos? For example the 20th Anniversary logo could be a nice touch in a corner, would that be allowed?

Edited July 14, 2011 by ENVY

[Blue Wisp]

Eh... Changed my mind. I will try to do my best.

Just one question, it DOES need to have Sonic right? Can it be COLOUR!!ed using Gimp/Photoshop/Etc.?

Thanks for your time Roarz.

[LimeTH]

Are we allowed to use pre-existing artwork that we've done? I think it'd be fun to use the tap dancing Sonics in my signature for this. If not, then thats fine too.

[Swiss]

Creepy Sonic is creepy.

If an original background is needed, I can easily change it, as well as anything else.