General Comments - As you can tell quite easily this signature isn't made to be humerous or witty but instead more meaningful or thoughtful. When you think of the signature think of all the things you see, you have the flowers, the ocean, the two islands and the bright sky. When trying to tie these to the text you should try and find a key word to describe it all, most of you went with Paradise which is fine...but the moment I saw the signature I knew about half the people would use paradise. Perhaps a different word could be used to convey the picture-perfect scenery. Once more the more areas you link the subtext to the better,
this includes the text.
I'm surprised how many people didn't link it to the name Rachel, the subtext should always have a strong connection to the main text, never forget that. If you were asked to write a an essay on the following sentance
"The boy walk-
MONKEY -ed down the lane."
You wouldn't solely comment on the boy walking down the lane as you've missed a large chunk of text in the middle. If you are going to focus on the boy walking down the lane solely then make sure there's no hints of a connection to the monkey. Though it could be effective to simply talk about the boy and not the monkey it'd be better if you described all of the key features
Those that used fading effects have to think about the style of fade as well, in the "paradise" that you all describe you would expect things to be trouble-free, easy-going and perfect. You couldn't have a quickly change between the sections in this meaning your fades will have to be long only very subtely changing. The more fades you are the more somebody is going to have to sit there and watch your signature...the more they have to watch the more likely it is they're going to lose interest and keep scrolling. Remember, something like "Perfection." can be a lot more effective than a sentance or above of text.
The above is all my opinion. I didn't eliminate anybody solely because they didn't relate it to the Text or because they used a fade. I just thought I'd voice my opinion and show others how I feel about the connections that should be evident in signatures. Right now I'm not being too nit-picky about the small things but in coming rounds I'm going to have to be due to the sheer quality in everybody's work
If I've basically ranted over the connections only then it's a good subtext...I'm just suggesting ways I feel it could be improved. From the next round on I'll be looking for the ones that really stand out and the ones that don't seem to stand out at all and commenting on that as well as my standard comments...right now there's too many for me to individually pull every subtext apart
Kitten Medli - "Dancing in paradise" : You've got the connection to the images on the signature clearly linked with the word Paradise...however you've almost completely ignored the name Rachel. You've made a small link with the fact that Rachel is dancing in her paradise but to make it more clear you should re-enforce it later in the text. A simple extra word could show the link between the name, "dancing in
my paradise" would make this subtext a lot better. The dancing doesn't seem to fit in with the setting either, perhaps something like 'Relaxing' or 'Lying' instead of 'Dancing' would have made the links more clear. You've got a good base to a good subtext but those few modifications make all the difference
Dawn2 - "Tropical Beauty" : The length in this is perfect really. Nothing further needs to be said about the signature and trying to do so would clutter the signature. A nice relationship between the Tropical settings and the main text. A nice signature that I wouldn't bother trying to make better as it would just be needlessly tampering with a very good quote.
Twinkle - "Two small beauties (fades) in one perfect paradise." : Remember, though a fade in the middle decreases cluttering on the signature it increases the time it takes to read. The main problem I find in your quote is the fact that the 'two small beauties' section sends mixed messages. Whilst it could be talking solely about the two flowers it could also be talking about Rachel and the flowers. Try to establish a firm connection between what you are talking about and the words themselves so that nobody is left saying "Wha ??" afterwards. Other than that it's a nice subtext.
Robert2100 - "So Quiet, So Beautiful" : Watch me as I eat my own words. I feel a fade here would be rather effective. I think that having the words 'So quiet' on the signature constantly with '...so beautiful' fading in and out slowly would make this even better. I take it you are mainly referring to the images (unless you think Rachel is quietly beautiful
), though in this particular case I think that referring only to the images would be better than trying to weave Rachel into it as well. You can't really weave in the text unless you want to make it something like 'It's so quiet, I'm so beautiful" which isn't the best idea
I think that if you had gotten to choose the text as well as the subtext then Rachel wouldn't have been a good choice to put with the subtext. However since you are stuck with the main text you should try to build your subtext around that.
.:Requiem:. - "Beauty for the feeling heart" : Something about the quote doesn't really seem right, I don't know what it really is...perhaps grammar. I can't place my finger on it but the quote doesn't make much sense. I can see the beginnings of a connection between the images and the text but you really needed to make them more clear.
Kugetsu - "A little slice of paradise." : Like many others you've focussed on the images alone. Remember, the main text and the subtext should at least show some signs of a connection. A simple word change could greatly improve the subtext, "A little slice of perfection" relates it to both the tropical settings and the text itself. Other than my personal "relating to the text" issues and the small improvement I suggested it's a good subtext
DM was on fire! - " " : Your quote is way too long. You've seperated them with fade outs but the fact of the matter is, even if you made the transactions and display time very short it's going to take too long for the reader to watch. Perhaps this would do better as a quote underneath the picture itself and not a part of the image. Remember, the longer it takes for something to appear the less interested some people become.
Ammer - "Petals of paradise" : It is my opinion that this one is not as good as the first round
You've linked the central image of the flowers and the background image (Islands and ocean) well but you've ignored the text entirely. Remember, in this competition you can't alter anything other than the subtext so you have to build it around the other central points. Again, I'm obsessed with the overall "connecting to everything possible" so I tend to rant a lot
Amarise - "Beauty in serenity" : Its a nice quote but with a little more work and two extra letters it could be even better. 'Beauty is in serenity' to me sounds a lot nicer. You've linked the key features well and the length is perfect but that little change could have made it so much more effective
JellyFish72 - "Shady *fade* Pink *fade* ...Paradise" : The *fade* fades *fade* could *fade* fast *fade* get *fade* annoying *fade*. Remember that when fading to ignore the fades completely, would you have submitted "Shady Pink...Paradise" if fades were disallowed ?? The wording seems a bit off and I don't really think the fades are nescessary...Remember to link it to the big chunk of letters spelling out "Rachel" as well as the scenery
Hellyer - "Heaven blooms on earth" : A nice length and a nice link to both the central and background images...however, the main text link is a worry. You've made a very small link between the text and the subtext. There is a link there but it's not very clear. Intentional or not, it's better to have no link to a section than an unfinished / unclear link to the same section. Don't make me lecture you on boys and monkeys...
Ziggy - "Flora and Fauna" : I can see what you're getting at but if you stop and look at the signature do you really think it suits it. While it does link to a lot of the signature it doesn't link to the theme or the signature. While subtext should be short and sweet it doesn't mean they should seem unfinished. Try relating it to the theme(s) as well as the features
o_0 - "I wish I were there... ...and not shoveling this snow." : The signature isn't the type of signature that suits this sort of text. It's not an Ironically Humourous looking signature. If you had control over the signature itself then you could have the paradise image fade out and have a dreary, muddy snow, depressing scene fade in along with the text which would look much more effective...however you can only control the subtext so you'll have to base it around the things you can't control. The subtext has potential but with the second half there it loses the effect, perhaps just 'Wishing I was there...' would suffice.
Watericesage - "A Tropical Paradise, untouched by the seasons..." : A nice little quote there...however, it's flirting with the line between a good length and too long. A fade could be used in this situation to seperate it the two statements quite effectively. Remember to try and link it to the main text as well, unless you think Rachel is a paradise untouched by the seasons
Eliminate : DM was on fire! *fades* Ziggy *fades* o_0