Hey maties!

I just thought of how I actually started creating graphics, like what led me to it, basically the reasons etc.

I'm creating graphics (+ coding and designing web-layouts) since about 5 years already. I used to own Fanlistings, Fanpages, blogs etc. and OMG my first attempts of "working" with Photoshop have been... well XD but I improved my "skills"; I read loads of tutorials and "how to do's", until I kinda found my own style to create graphics.

But how did everything start? Apparently, I've always ALWAYS been infatuated by graphics (especially gifs) and whenever checking out some tumblr blogs, I've been questioning myself "Why not trying to do this on my own?". So anyway there hasn't been a particular reason actually lol. I started working with PS Elements and "tried" to "create" something, which turned out horrible XD STILL, I practised a lot, like really A LOT XD until feeling confident enough to create a GFX Page (which was meeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhp). Due to stress, and well no time, I closed the Page and started doing Fanlistings (until present... but I don't own them anymore, I'm mostly helping out).

But even if there hasn't been a particular reason of me, starting with graphics, except for being kinda infatuated by other artist's work, I really don't regret anything, why should I? XD

Okay, enough of personal content   I really want to know, how you guys started making graphics? Has it been some special occasion? A friend? Tumblr? XD

I'm excited to hear!!

I've been doing graphics since I was 12, so about 14 years now. I got into it creating Neopet Layouts, so I also dabbled in coding but not very well. I didn't have the resources so I used ms paint. I then found out about paint.net a program that I still think was a god send. I was never able to really get into gimp, it wasn't as user friendly. Then in 2008, when I was 18 I finally got my first real product, Photoshop elements 7, and then in 2011 I got CS5 Photoshop and never looked back. It still serves me well even after all this time. ^^

I was heavily involved in making graphics for layouts, then eventually for guilds and guild pages (on the pet side). I grew out of that and eventually ended up on a huge forum (20,000+ people) and started making signatures and avatars for people. I've won the best sig maker award a few times there to be honest :3 it kept my interest until I ended up on tumblr and eventually here.

So this is my story~

I've been on forums since...well 1999-2000-ish not an accurate date tbh, but on my journey to find a good anime community I found a Spanish forum called on that time 'Digizona' which is inspired by Digimon (well on LA it aired on 1999 so it makes sense), this forum has its digital art section and i remember going there and see all those amazing signatures and then one day I saw this purple signatures with giant swirls on it, I feel inlove with it! and also became very curious on how to achieve that. so asking people and the internet I read for the first time about a software called "Paint shop pro" I managed to get it coughcrackedcough and then figuring out how to make this swirls, reading more and asking in that forum i discovered those were called 'brushes' so i started to search for those and found some and then started to be creative and blah blah blah.

Later on I discovered another software called 'Adobe photoshop' and all i could read about it was 'it's difficult to use' but since I like challenges I managed to get it (I think it was CS2 at that time) and then managed to understand it, and in 2003 (I remember because it was around the time PGSM aired) someone was kind enough to teach me how he does his signatures and I discovered something wonderful: layers. the rest is history~

I would LOVE to say I have a style but I don't xD i've evolved over the years and sometimes when I like something and I try to 'imitate' it and make it more 'Maru' (nickname btw) and I ended up doing something completely different and end up hating it 80% of the time xD but there is something that i keep doing and that could be 'my style' is to overload the graphics and make it shiny as possible, which mean use light/orbs/bokeeh textures and use coloring so bright that I could make people blind.


Lately I've tried to make things more minimalist (you know, trying to be trendy) sometimes it looks good, sometimes bad. I love learning and i love it more if it's art related, so doing art in photoshop is my one true passion even tho I fight with my art sometimes because is not so pretty as others xD

Currently using PS CS6 and learning to use better illustrator because vectors are lifesavers <3

I think I started in maybe the early 2000s, so about 16 years ago in my very first fandom forums for Harry Potter and Charmed. The latter especially is filled with talented graphic makers, and of course there were a lot of gorgeous avatars and signatures. I wanted to be able to make my own, and my passion for the show made me want to make my own edits naturally. I actually started with Photoshop right away, though back then it was usually cutting/slapping a picture on a canvas, adding a text, and calling it a day. How I ever thought those were good enough was a mystery, but I had to learn somewhere.

One of my best friends from the forum was more knowledgeable and taught me tips on improving etc, eventually I learned how to cut out backgrounds, how to blend, and how to use brushes and started improving by teaching myself and learning from other people.

I didn't start making .gifs until I did my Sailor Moon rewatch in 2012 because I really wanted to gif the Uranus/Neptune death in Stars xD I looked up a tutorial, and it turned out to be simple, so I started making .gifs on Tumblr from that point on and kind of made my SM blog much bigger than what I started it off as (my Tumblr had been around for years before that but I was just reblogging stuff and making few original contents that were just still edits).

And then I became a graphic admin here and the rest is history~