Roleplay Graphics, yes or no?

[Absyinthe_Artica]

Roleplay Graphics. Things such as icons, banners, Character Tags, and even Div Boxes! But of course there are countless of things you can design for roleplaying you just have to think it up!
Do you use Roleplay Graphics?
Would you, if you don't?
Do you know how to make them?
What programs do you use? If any?
What do you like about them?
What do you hate?

 

[Drakel]

Do you use Roleplay Graphics?

When I can, Yes.

Would you, if you don't?

Yes I would.

Do you know how to make them?

No.

What programs do you use? If any?

I don't know. I can't make any cause I suck at art. ;_;

What do you like about them?

Visual imagery is nice to see and seeing it shows the GM really REALLY cares for the RP and would do anything for it.

What do you hate?

The fact that I have to completely rely on others due to my lack of ability to make my own shit.

 

[Absyinthe_Artica]

If you ever had the inkling, someone could teach you!

 

[Asuras]

Do you use Roleplay Graphics?
Would you, if you don't?
Do you know how to make them?
What programs do you use? If any?
What do you like about them?
What do you hate?

Yep. Always.
I make my own.
PS CS6
Make things prettier. It's fun to put time into designing a thread.
It takes time.

 

[Kestrel]

Nope.
Probably not unless I'm super-bored.
Yes.
PS & Illustrator CS6.
Atmosphere, makes it feel more effort is put in the RP.
Takes time and effort to create better spent on developing the game and/or roleplaying. In other threads it can be misleading because graphical design skills do not translate to RP design skills.

 

[Diana]

Do you use Roleplay Graphics?

Yes, when I am not feeling lazy. 8D I like to have a header image because I use them on my personal site for cataloging my plots. Then if I need to advertise I make a banner to go with it. That's really all I do. >>

Do you know how to make them?
What programs do you use? If any?

I use a really oldass version of photoshop! I am a "average" graphics person. I know my way around the basics, but I am nooooooo where near a professional. >>

What do you like about them?

Pictures are great for setting a tone or giving you just the right imagery you want for the roleplay! And accents are good for organizing.

What do you hate?

Well... people who have zero eye for design and make terrible graphics. ._.; That hurts. I also hate when people go OVERBOARD with all the images in their signup threads. D: Tons of images everywhere. It ends up being distracting instead of amplifying.

 

[Brovo]

Do you use Roleplay Graphics?

No.

Would you, if you don't?

Unlikely.

Do you know how to make them?

No, but I know people who do.

What programs do you use? If any?

None.

What do you like about them?

They can present a visual hook for people, draw them in. I can appreciate how useful that is.

What do you hate?

#1: People generally plagiarize pictures from the Internet and then just add some shiny filter on them and horrible out of place text. This irritates me to no end.
#2: People who use them in place of actual descriptions of the world. A picture may say a thousand words, but that doesn't mean it's comprehensible.
#3: People who post like, twenty pictures all over their first post. Sweet Mary's Tits, my phone shits itself and dies when you do that, and it always looks terrible!

Personally I just don't use them because I'm fairly old school where it concerns my use of pictures. I'll use them as reference material for describing something with text, and occasionally I'll leave a link for the curious, but beyond that? I don't feel like I need a role play graphic to describe my text adventure.

Now, that being said, I've seen them used well. I can appreciate the amount of effort a really good graphic takes and I tip my hat to those people. I just don't use them myself because I don't really feel like I need to, so, I can spend that time doing other things. Like polishing details on the world!

 

[Pachamac]

I love the shit out of them and use them everywhere I can! Why do I love them? It helps the presentation of an rp and it helps to make reading posts far more manageable then they otherwise would be in just being giant ass walls of text; it makes it easier on the eye. It also makes it instantly understandable to know for what character the scene is being written for, which can be a small aid in rps with a lot of characters. I'm also just generally a really visual person, so yeah, I love them.

 

[ASTA]

Do you use Roleplay Graphics?

Sometimes, but it's incredibly difficult for me to find a picture that accurately displays my character's' physical appearance. I typically run with a description, but I might accompany it with a visual piece for flavor.

Do you know how to make them?

I stopped drawing when I was 17; for reasons that I still can't explain, my interest in the hobby tanked--hard. To be honest, I'm still kind of bummed out about it because I'd like to be able to produce art of my more unorthodox characters.

I'd have to answer this question with a no. I don't own any graphical software either.

What do you hate?

People who spam three-thousand videos and pictures in one post. Seriously, it's beyond annoying. It also drives my PC to rope itself and causes my phone to elegantly swan dive off of the Empire State Building.

 

[Peregrine]

I don't usually use graphics, but that is mostly because I work in one on ones. If I want to share a visual image, I just give it to my partner in a PM. :)

However, I am in a couple group roleplays, and there I use images fairly extensively, as well as colored text and borders. This is in part because it was the established norm for it, and I just went along with it, and in part because I really do feel that it makes what might otherwise be a long, relatively boring wall of text that much more engaging at first glimpse. I'll never force anyone to use it, though! :D

 

[Hellis]

Yes, albeit sparsely.

 

[The Ghost Note]

I don't use graphics, but I can see the appeal of them. Eye-candy to catch the reader and draw them in. But they're optional, really. If I could make them, I would, but I can't.

 

[Absyinthe_Artica]

That's awesome guys! :D

 

[SnowQueen12]

I don't use them because I don't know how to make them and I'm an extremely lazy ass so I wouldn't even bother with it anyways. Unless I'm a professional and need the roleplay graphics for something like advertising, sure. In general though, I don't use them for previous reason stated. However, I don't mind it if my partner uses them and wants to make the roleplay visually pretty! Then I don't mind using them.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Images are dead handy. They break up walls of text, add some visual appeal to your game, and can be good for drawing the eye and garnering more attention when you're starting up.

In-game, using things like maps and images keeps everyone on the same page, helps bring about consistency and a better understanding of the game's events.

But yeah, you gotta use them sparingly. There's such a thing as overdoing it, throwing too much at a player to the point that it's overwhelming.

 

[Absyinthe_Artica]

I completely agree!

 

[LeVen]

But yeah, you gotta use them sparingly. There's such a thing as overdoing it, throwing too much at a player to the point that it's overwhelming.

I once joined a group that insisted that everyone post a picture related to where they where. It was awful and left the group

 

[Rare]

Do you use Roleplay Graphics?
I do use them, when I could make them.

Would you, if you don't?
I would.

Do you know how to make them?
Yes, I do. I am just lazy to make them.

What programs do you use? If any?
GIMP.

What do you like about them?
They are cool useful from a RP.

What do you hate?
When, they aren't done very good and turn into crap.