Entrochique

Entrochique

***-- (Rated by 11 people, viewed by 226 people)

Entrochique is a fairly new and fairly small resource site, offering a variety of graphic tutorials and textures.

Added by entrochique in Other

Entrochique has 11 Reviews

Below are the reviews left by other members on Entrochique. Jump to review form?

  1. Derick gave it **--- on 21st Nov 2008 and said:

    hmm... The colors do not flow with each other very much. I would have chosen a different shade of grey for the content area. The super bright blue just doesn't look right with it.

    Also, your navigation area is really boring. The text is all the same color - links, navigation, titles - all the same. You should change them in order to make things stand out.

    I don't know, it just doesn't catch my eye. It is not very original. I could find 10 other sites that look just like yours.

    So I would suggest making a different layout. That will make all the difference. :)

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  2. [img: avatar]
    tormentosa gave it ***-- on 17th Nov 2008 and said:

    Layout
    The color scheme looks different in my three computers. I liked it a lot when I thought it was brown instead of gray for the main content area.

    The colors are nice, but I think you should change the links color, cause right now it clashes with the background color and it's a bit difficult to read. When I try to read it, I get blurry vision and maybe it's my problem, but I think somebody else mentioned it, so it'd be wise to fix it.

    Also, the main font color is too bright. I'd tone it down a little so there wasn't that much contrast with the dark background. It's a little bit blinding.

    The font size over all is very tiny for this kind of layout. If I were you, I'd increase the size one or two points (at least 12px). Right now the font is so small that I have to stand right before the screen to read, and nobody bothers to do that.
    I think you could also increase the size of your headings to make them stand out as headings and not simple text.

    About the header: I really like the color and the diagonal bars. What I do is to simplify it by only having a gradient behind those diagonal bars, if you know what I mean...but that's my personal taste. I like it simple. The font used for the title is very nice, and I like the effect. However, I don't like the tiny text brushed you used under the domain name. It takes more than it adds, in my opinion.

    About the three boxes: if I were you, I'd make them wider, and I'd add more padding for the text. I'd also reduce the transparency so it'd be easier to read. Right now, the white font color and the transparency makes it difficult to read. It wouldn't hurt to enlarge the headings so they stand out more. I think they are almost unnoticeable right now, because of the transparency and thin font you're using.

    It'd be nice if you added a little bit of footer information in the bottom area. Also, in the static pages, more padding it's needed at the bottom. Right now there is none whatsoever and the text looks squished against the bottom (sidebar text, that is).

    Coding
    I ran your site through a XHTML validator and I got around 24 errors. Most errors are omitted tags, or using obsolete coding. This can simply be fixed by following the tips you get by using the validator.

    When it comes about your blogging tool, you're using Cutenews. I don't know if you're familiar with the fact that cutenews is a very insecure script. I think it'd be wise of you to change to either Wordpress (it's not only a blogging tool, but also a completely free CMS), Expression Engine (this one is also a very powerful CMS, and it's fully customizable, making it easier to implement layouts) or Flatpress if you want to keep it simple.

    I got two errors when running your stylesheet through a validator.

    Value Error : background-attachment Parse Error
    103 a.nav:hover
    Value Error : font-weight none is not a font-weight value : none

    For background-attachment you haven't declared any value. Then what's the point of having it? You can delete it altogether.
    For font-weight there's no "none" value, so you can either give it a "400" value (which is the default) if it's different than the rest of the site, or not specify it at all. There's no need to have extra lines of CSS coding when you don't need them.

    I'd recommend you to check the following article about shorthand CSS. It makes CSS coding a lot easier and you avoid having to write unnecessary lines of code. (http://www.dustindiaz.com/css-shorthand/)

    For instance, instead of writing:


    background-image : url(background.png);
    background-position : center 0%;
    background-repeat : repeat;
    background-attachment : ;

    You could write:

    Background: url(background.png) repeat center;

    For your layout however, I think it'll do by writing this declaration instead:

    background: url(background.png) repeat-x top;

    This way, the image is repeated horizontally right from the top, which is what I assume you intended. This is better and more deeply explained in the link I provided.

    When it comes about 0 values, there is no need to specify the measure unit because 0 is always zero no matter the unit you're using.

    Content

    Some of your textures were very good, some others I wouldn't use because I don't normally use that kind of textures. However some people might find them useful, so I think it'd be good to either set up thumbnails for the textures, or increasing the size of the sample image. Right now it's a little bit difficult to see how the texture really is by the tiny sample.

    Now I saw that you have a little slogan below each heading for tutorials and textures. I would increase the font size so it's readable, otherwise I don't actually see the point of having it when it's barely readable.

    About the tutorials, I think it'd be nice to have a title above each tutorial image. Since these images lead to the actual tutorial it'd be nice to know which kind of tutorial it is before clicking. I know that it's obvious in some cases,but for instance in "other tutorials", I didn't know which kind of tutorial it was before I clicked. It was in this case, pixeling.

    Domain: I think it's ok written, but I'd provide with deeper information about tools used, credits, and such within that same page. I don't see the need of having separate pages when you have so little information on them . I'd also write down another type of sentence to state when the site was opened. That sentence right now seems out of place.

    I'd think it'd be better if the affiliates, fanlistings and link back sections were separated from domain, for example in a section called links. I also don't think your about page should be there. Information about you does not have anything to do with information about your site.

    Sidebar
    I think you have some information there that isn't really necessary in my opinion. For example hostees and the fonts you used for your layout. That can all go in the domain section, I think. The same for most things besides the navigation. Why not adding a little introduction about the site and yourself in there instead? just a thought.

    Summing up: Overall, the site could do a lot better by only fixing a few details here and there. Right now I think the main problem is the font size and color besides the disorganization across the site. With that in mind, I think it wouldn't take you great effort and time to come up with a greatly enjoyable site.

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  3. [img: avatar]
    Joanna gave it ***-- on 17th Nov 2008 and said:

    Hi Claire! :) This review was written when there were just two for your website. Sorry I've taken so long to type it out.

    Layout - size: I had a little problem viewing the entirety of your layout because it didn't fit in my 800x600px screen. Next layout think of me and my little screen. n_n
    Text - colour: The text also doesn't stand out that well, against the blue and same with the grey, which is a strain on the eye. I wonder if black or a dark shade of grey would do?

    Text - size: Just 8px is really quite small. You could try 10px min. and see what you think of it.

    Text - padding: I'd like to suggest adding some padding (of 5 or 10px maybe?) to your text so that it doesn't "stick" to the sides as much. :)

    Links: I can't tell the difference between text and links, for example the affiliates in the header are white, although they're links. And then the links in the sidebar are blue, which is the same colour as the headers, and bolded words too. Ideally, a different colour for each is nice (headers, text, links). Experiment a bit with some different colours; I think it would certainly help your layout "pop out" a bit more if just the things above are tweaked with. :)

    Updates: are regular! That's really cool. And always commented on too; good sign there.

    Comments: The default smilies have their rough edges show up on dark backgrounds. It might be time to go on a look out for a different set?

    Reviews: Are these review sites you like, sites you're reviewing or websites that are reviewing you?

    Link Buttons: Several sizes is a plus so congratulations for providing several here. Personally I think they represent your website well; clean and elegant.

    Hosting: I think there might be a little typo in the word "negotiable". n_n

    Apply: "If you don't hear back from me within a few days"

    Affiliates: They are linked twice, once in the header and then again in the sidebar. Just linking to them once would free up some space.

    Colouring Tutorials: There's a little problem with the "link back" URL. I noticed the address had "/blog/" in it, that's perhaps why. The Layout Tutorials and Texture Tutorials pages also have this error in the URL to link back to your site. Should be quick to fix these. :)

    About Claire - Online Communities: "gets pissed off and abandons it".

    About Claire - DVD Collection: "however keep in mind". (Ha ha! We have similar tastes here. I noticed that too when going through the fan listings you've joined. n_n)

    About Claire - Hair: "though she doesn't have photographs of every colour, she has a few". (Love the purple colour!)

    Three stars for Entrochique.org because I enjoyed reading about Miss Claire, and I actually thought that your textures and tutorials were all very useful! And not ugly!! You show how to do effects that I find look good rather than just.. "destroying" a photo, if ya know what I mean. :D Yep I enjoyed browsing your website. Careful about the typos! I'm terrible at this too so now I use that spell checking tool in my browser. Helps a bunch. But the text/links/header colours do really need tweaking with, oh and the font size too of course. Just little things here and there which could make a whole lot of difference. I hope to visit your site again; glad I joined Rev.iew.me or I may not have come across it. I hope you continue on with Entrochique. n_n
    ~Jo

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    entrochique's Response:

    Thanks for the review

    I have no excuse for not making a layout that fits in an 800x600 screen. But as mine is 1440x900 when I do something to fit in a smaller resouloution it looks very empty to me, but as a few people have mentioned it I'll definitely think about other monitor sizes for my next layout ^^

    Text colour, text size and padding are three things I think almost everyone has mentioned I will make sure I sort those out next time and not make the same mistakes twice =)

    I know the default smilies are hideous. It's one of those little jobs I've just forgotten about. They will be changed soon (hopefully) I'm planning on making my own this time round if I get the time.

    Thanks for catching me on all those typos, I'll go and change them in a minute ^^

    I used to have my site set up differently hence the /blog/ bits, and obviously forogt about the tutorials section when I was checking the site -.- I'll sort those out in a minute.

    Thanks so much for the review and when I next make a layout I think I'll come and look at all these reviews and make myself a checklist of some sort. One that includes no bad colour schemes and tiny fonts xD

  4. [img: avatar]
    Anna_Kirstin gave it ***-- on 17th Nov 2008 and said:

    First Impression: The first thing I notice is this really bright blue. Then I notice small white text and I do mean small. I'm talking about your header. The header title and the underlining text is way too small. I had to lean into the computer and concentrate to make out the "Providing you with textures and tutorials." That's not a good thing. I couldn't even make out the text you have next to it or under it - and I have 20 / 20 vision. (That's damn near perfect.) Imagine someone whose vision is a little off.

    The next thing I notice is that you are using an image map. Anyone browsing your site with images disabled or using a phone would be unable to access anything in your header section at all. I would consider switching to divs and actual text to make it more accessible.

    Both your entry section and your side-bar could do with some padding. They just seem too close together.

    Text: Your text is really on the small side. I would consider taking it up a size or so - also for accessibility reasons. Visitors get tired of having to read little bitty text. You did choose a nice font to use though.

    Navigation: It doesn't really stand out that much to be honest. I only noticed after looking over your header and reading a little bit of what you had to say in your entry section. I would try to find a way to make it stand out more - especially since you are a tutorial and resource site.

    I would also consider adding some padding from the top of the header image. It looks really kind of crowded over there with it being so close to the bottom of the header image. Giving everything in the side-bar a little bit more space will give your site a more professional appearance.

    Links: I'm not really liking the blue against the gray. I think it blends in a little too much. I would try to look for a color that is a little less bright and a little more visible. Hover colors are always fun so long as you can see them on hover - which yours you can. :)

    The 'click here' link in your footer section really needs to go. Where the hell is 'here'? I obviously know it's the credits section because I read it three seconds before. Why not just do the link as something like "For more information see the credits." 'Click here' links come across to most people as very amateurish - like I said you want graphics and tutorial sites to seem as close to professional as possible to bring as much credibility to your work as possible.

    I just kind of scanned through your textures and tutorials. They're not really my thing so I'm not judge of them. I am pleased to see that you didn't have any copyright images used and instead used stock photography.

    Entrochique: This section has a lot of information (complete with pictures) about you and your site. No complaints. I'm glad to see that you credited your stock photography sources.

    Overall: I think the colors in your layout (while pretty) don't quite go well with each other. The blue is too bright. The gray is too dark. I would suggest finding a nice balance between the two. The text size could definitely be increased.

    I hope that you find this helpful. :)

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    entrochique's Response:

    Thanks for the review ^^

    That person whose vision's 'a little off' would be me ;) You're not the only person who has mentioned the font size and colour choices and I'll definitely be sorting those out next time ^^ Same goes for adding some padding.

    The navigation isn't something I'd actually considered before, but I will make some effort into getting it to stand out more with my next layout.

    I'd not thought about my credits like that before and I definitely prefer the way you phrased it so I'll be changing that later =)

  5. [img: avatar]
    Mimi gave it ***-- on 17th Nov 2008 and said:

    Reviewed with:
    Mozilla Firefox | 1440 x 900 Resolution| Windows Vista
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    First Impression:

    I really like the layout. It's not like, super-amazing-omg but it's simple and effective. The blues in the bottom half of the layout were kind of bright, but I will get to that later. I guess my official first impression was that I liked the blue on gray. That blue is a pretty color.

    Coding:

    I checked out your site's validation on the W3C validators and the CSS one was really close! There were only two very minor errors, so I thought I might show you what to change the fix it! :)

    First, you can just remove this from your CSS entirely 'coz it isn't even a real value in CSS:

    background-attachment : ;

    Then the other error was this:

    font-weight: none;

    If you didn't want the font to be bold, the correct way would be this:

    font-weight: normal;

    Like I said, they aren't big deals. However, I was looking over your CSS and it's really not bad at all, but I could help you make it even shorter! It would also make your load time much faster. Here is your CSS rewritten in a shorthand form, if you wanna use it I would be honored! If not, just kinda look at the things I changed and see why I did it, etc.


    body {
    margin: 0px;
    color: #FFFFFF;
    font: 8pt Verdana;
    background: url(background.png) repeat top center;
    }

    #container {
    margin-left : auto;
    margin-right : auto;
    width : 950px;
    }

    #menu {
    width : 150px;
    float : right;
    }

    #content {
    width : 795px;
    float : left;
    }

    #footer {
    clear: both;
    }

    i {color: #ffffff}
    b {color: #5FBEFE}
    u {color: #0091F6}

    strong {font-size: 8pt;}

    a {
    color: #5FBEFE;
    text-decoration: none;
    }

    a:hover {
    color: #FFFFFF;
    text-decoration: none;
    }

    input, textarea, select {
    color: #000000;
    font-size: 7pt
    }

    h1 {
    border-bottom: 1pt solid #ffffff;
    line-height: 10pt;
    font-size:9pt;
    color:#5FBEFE;
    text-align: right;
    margin: 0px;
    }

    h2 {
    font-family: Tahoma;
    border-bottom: 1pt solid #5FBEFE;
    margin: 0px;
    font-size:9pt;
    }

    h3 {
    font-family: Georgia;
    margin: 0px;
    text-transform: uppercase;
    line-height:7pt;
    font-size:5pt;
    text-align: left;
    }

    Basically what you need to remember is this:
    - If you set the font in the body tag at the beginning of the CSS (just like you had it!) it will inherit that font for the rest of the page. Translation: If you want your font to be Verdana for the whole page, you only have to type it once in the body part. Since you wanted other fonts for the headers (IE- h2 you wanted Tahoma and h3 you wanted Georgia) it was correct of course to tell it then that you wanted those fonts. This also goes for the font size (if you want it all the be 8pt, only write it in the body section and change it only in the parts you need it different) and for the font color.

    - You might noticed that I added a little something to it, #footer. Since you are using a div container, I see you have the outer structure, the right and left side floating but you will need to add that footer to clear the floating. So in your pages, add this:

    <div id="foooter"></div>

    ... after you end the div for your content.

    - You had this elaborate navigation set up in the CSS, yet is was not being used in the layout at all. I just removed it since the original link CSS you had was working for your navigation, too.

    Your CSS was actually very nice, I just tidied it up a little bit. Don't think I am trying to say you suck because honestly, it looked really good. Also, for someone who doesn't get into validating, having only 2 errors is a really cool thing. :)

    Ok, I wanted to address a few things in the actual coding as well before I move on. I see that you don't have a character encoding for your page. If you want to make your coding super, you will want to look into this. Jem, the uber ninja of this site, has a wonderful tutorial site that can tell you just how to do that. I noticed that you are using tags, so it looks like you would want to make your document XHTML since you are already on the right path to that! I prefer XHTML Transitional, so let me show you the page for that on Tutorialtastic:
    http://www.tutorialtastic.co.uk/tutorial/validating_your_webpage_to_xhtml_1_transitional

    She talks about how the tags will differ from regular HTML, but let me just quote the part to get you started. Before your tag on top of everything, you will need to put this:

    <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

    ... then change your tag to this:

    <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

    After you do that, you can click this link and it will show you a list of errors that you will need to change in order to make your coding 100% valid. It's really easy because the validator will tell you exactly what you need to change and how to do it. :)

    Also in your coding, I have spotted several tags that look like this:

    <div><h2>Blah Blah</h2></div>

    The div tags that you have there are pointless, you can just remove those. The leaner your code, the faster your site is! This makes it easier for search engines, too, which translates to more hits!

    Ok, so I've given you a ton of information to work with, I really do hope you will utilize it. If you need some extra help and really want to validate, please feel free to message me. I would be more than happy to help you. You seem to already have a pretty good understanding of coding so I doubt you will have any problems validating, but just in case...!

    Design:

    I already mentioned that I think the blue is pretty, but the links and stuff look a little too bright on that gray background. Might I suggest a darker blue for the links? It would still match the layout and give it some more color variety.

    I find it odd that you are using an image map for your header image like that. You could just use DIVs to make those actual text boxes instead of just a big picture. It would be much easier to change and cut down load times. I really wanted to give you a pat on the back because you didn't resort to making a horrid celebrity layout. I think that people like you obviously are much more creative than people who can't make a layout without celebrities to save their life. The title image at the top looks very pretty, it's my favorite part of the layout.

    While the header is quite fancy, the bottom part of the layout looks a little neglected. It's kind of plain, really, and I think you should spice that part up a bit! One more thing, maybe you could put a little more space between the main content and the sidebar? It's so close, it's almost touching.

    I think some of the others reviews were sort of harsh on the layout portion and I honestly don't think it's that bad at all. I rather like it. Lets move on!

    Content:

    You have massive amounts of textures and that's pretty cool. :) The only thing that bothers me is how many clicks it takes to get to the actual texture images. For instance, I click on '800x600 Textures'. Then I am presented with another list of choices. It seems a little too categorized, maybe.

    The tutorials are short but sweet. I really enjoyed looking through the icon tutorials that you have. It's so cool to see how you can transform something so much with just a few, simple steps. Also, it's cool to see techniques that other graphic designers use! Gives me ideas, mwuahaha!

    I really thing you should implement the style in the 'Layout Tutorial 2' to your current layout. I think that it would make your current layout much fancier, I would love to see it!

    Oh my gosh, you have more hair products than a beauty salon! Also, I dig your hair color and your glasses. You are really pretty! *blush* As far as the whole "What will Claire do with her life?" thing, I feel like we are twins on that part. People have come to expect failure out of me and it just seems like a statement I could hear my family say to me. Oiy.

    Also, don't be afraid of Wordpress. It is SO easy! I was terrified of it at first as well. I hated Cutenews because it was so buggy and had so many spam problems. Plus, Wordpress has probably thousands of plugins to use. FUN!

    Final Thoughts:

    I think you have a really nice site going here, you can always improve though. You seem to be fairly knowledgeable already so it should be a piece of cake for you to fix those errors. Also, CSS shorthand is a wonder. I did a little bit of that in the rewritten code up there, hope you noticed it! :) Still, if you need some help, let me know! I love to help out.

    I will give you a 3/5 simply because there are lots of upgrades to the coding to be done and because there are some changes to the layout that would be good to make. Great job, I love your textures!

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    entrochique's Response:

    Thank you so much for this review, you don't know how much I appreciate it ^^

    I'll go through my css later and look at the changes you made and edit it all, thanks for doing that =)

    Thankyou for all the information about validating. It is on my list of things-to-do and has been there for quite a while. It's one of those things I keep saying I should do and then get distracted by something else ;) But I will do it. Eventually.

    There will be a new layout. It's one of the first things I'm going to do. Unfortunately nanowrimo is taking up all my time at the moment so it won't be until December, but when I do get around to it I'll take into consideration about link colours and the like ^^

    I'm always like that with categories, I can't get the right balance. I either have things too categorised, or there aren't enough categories. I am thinking about redoing the whole structure of those sections though, again when I have the time.

    Wordpress scares me. I've been using cutenews for years and I'm not good with change ;) I'm thinking about looking into fanupdate or something though because I know I really need to get rid of cutenews.

    Again thankyou so much for the review, I really appreciate all the time you put into writing it and the suggestions you made ^^

  6. [img: avatar]
    Aisling gave it **--- on 16th Nov 2008 and said:

    Ugh. I do not like this AT ALL. The blue is blinding. The title and following description and random text is like an eye-test. An eye-test that nobody could ever pass.

    The three boxes look messy, they need more padding, and to be FILLED. The centred text annoys me. And, it all annoys me in general due to too much brightness.

    The grey is equally difficult to look at, but this half of the page IS my preferred bit. The pain content could use more padding. Your sidebar is alright.

    Navigation needs more attention to it. It blends into your sidebar too much.

    The little tagline you have for each section is pointless because it is far too tiny to read comfortably.

    Your textures are pretty nice, no complaints here. Nothing I haven't seen on EVERY resource site. But not horrid.

    On to tutorials, your banner tutorial is basic, and really just a lot of "set this to multiply." The textures are yours, but where did the photos come from? Please credit them, and only use them if they are meant to be used for this purpose.

    Same goes for most of your layouts, it seems.

    Your layout tutorials look pretty nice, so I am REALLY confused as to why you are making us look at the horrid design you have up presently.

    Your About Entrochique page is okay. Nothing special. Not a lot of information, just okay.

    Your About Claire page on the other hand is interesting, and has visuals to compliment it! Very nicely done.

    Okay, you have credits for stocks on this page, so that seems to be in order. The rest of the section seems to be in order too.

    So, really, not a bad site apart from the way your layout raped my eyes and left me for dead. Your other layouts (in your tutorials) were so much nicer, so I guess this one was just a miss? Because, I don't care what the little followers of your site say, that is NOT pretty. It buuuuurns. :P

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    entrochique's Response:

    Thanks for the review.

    Don't worry as soon as I have enough time this layout will be gone and it, along with it's blinding colours, will never be seen again.

  7. [img: avatar]
    cinnamon gave it ***** on 16th Nov 2008 and said:

    First Impression: one of the best site I see on the net nowadays.I love the header, the fonts you used and all. And one of the most important things is that it is really easy to navigate which helps a lot.
    Your textures are simply amazing!You have a big variety of them and all of them are great, I love the paper ones, they are really great.
    Your tutorials are great, the layout, icons and textures ones are one of the best you can find on the net. The second layout tutorial is really cool, I will try to follow it!
    One of the best things of your site is that you offers no celeb stuffs and you are really original with your designs and teach to your visitors how to do original designs as you do.
    I am going to give you a 5/5 because I simply adore your site

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    entrochique's Response:

    Thankyou for the review =)

  8. Vitalis gave it **--- on 16th Nov 2008 and said:

    The problems:
    - The colors for this layout were poorly chosen. They're very bland in my opinion.
    - The text in the header that reads, "Providing you with textures and tutorials" is way too small. I honestly don't understand why so many people use such small fonts in their layouts!
    - I'm not entirely sure what the point of having a second welcome message right under the header is.
    - I would have chosen a different font size for the text that reads, "entrochique". It should be larger since it is your website.
    - You have a tendency to center your text and then align them to the left which is rather annoying as it ruins the "flow" of your design.
    - The sub-text under all of your titles is incredibly small and very difficult to read. For example, in your Textures page it reads, "The variety of textures available at Entrochique". You want your titles and sub-titled to pop out, not shrink back and hide from the viewer.
    - You can not pull off the fullscreen layout concept you have going on with this design.
    - You should separate your "Domains" page and your "About Me" page as I'm not entirely sure how those two things correlate with one another.

    The good:
    - You don't use celebrity headers in your layouts and that, my friend, deserves a round of applause.
    - Based on your recent blogs I would say that you're a pretty mature person.
    - Content-wise I'd say that you were a pretty organized person.
    - Your About Page is pretty fantastic! Very in-depth and organized.
    - Your "Textures" page like the rest of your pages is pretty organized. Although I wish the previews were a little bit larger and just a tad more aesthetically pleasing.

    Conclusion:
    Personally I think you have a pretty well rounded site content wise. I think that you should work a little bit more on your layout as it brings down your website as a whole. I also hope that you take into consideration my advice about increasing some of the font sizes throughout your site.

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    entrochique's Response:

    Thankyou for the review ^^

    I'm realising now that yes, the colour choice was a hideous mistake, one that I hope I won't make again in the future ^^ Same with the font size, I'll definitely be increasing that on my next layout.

    I will be making the texture previews bigger at some point, it's just a task I have been putting off again and again because it's going to be one of those tasks that jsut takes forever -.-

  9. [img: avatar]
    mary gave it ***-- on 16th Nov 2008 and said:

    FIRST IMPRESSION
    To be honest, the site gave a not-so-good first impression for the following reasons:

    - The 3 boxes in the header have very small headings, smaller than the text they contain, and it's a bit hard to read both the text and the heading (even though I have 20/20 vision). I noticed that you used images for your header's boxes. This is not advisable, specially for your updates section since the content of that box will change often. It will be easier to post your updates using text. This way, you can update your 'updates' box without having to use an image editor everytime.
    - For the same reason, the tag line of Entrochique: 'providing you with textures and tutorials' isn't very visible since the text you used for the image is too small.
    - Despite the spacey header, your menu and content columns are a bit too close for comfort. It would be easier on the eyes if you add some padding/margin between them.
    - Design-wise, I didn't expect that much talent because (and kill me if I'm biased) the main layout is a bit plain. Judging from your textures/tutorials I'm sure you could do better.

    DIGGING A LITTLE DEEPER
    The textures you're using in your tutorials are all yours (unless otherwise stated) so that's a plus for not using googled photos and slapping copyright on them. I browsed through your textures and they're all good so I'm really wondering why your site's first-impression doesn't show that.

    Your tutorials have good end-products but the way you delivered them doesn't seem too helpful. For me, it felt like: 'do this' - 'do that' - 'okay, you're done, off you go' --- which is counter-intuitive for a tutorials site. You want us visitors to be WANTing more, having fun reading your tutorials and learning new things, and going back for more. So you might want to spend more time on writing the tutorials. Add little details like explaining why a paper texture would look well on this particular 'effect' you want to achieve, mentioning a good font resource, etc. Kind of like in a cooking show where you tell the audience something about what you're currently doing instead of just doing it in front of the camera.

    On the other hand, your language isn't a turn-off, but there are a few typos like in the About Claire page, in the last sentence under Education/Work,

    WHich us to now, and another round of 'What should Claire do with her life?'.

    --- maybe you meant "Which leads us to another round of..."

    TO CONCLUDE
    I hope you can find time to show your talent in the main layout. Most of the visitors will only have 10 seconds to check out a site before they decide whether to look around or close the tab. (unlike reviewers who are going to poke around, good first impression or not) --- so you have to pull them in. Give them a taste of your textures (maybe have the latest thumbnail in your updates box instead of plain text). If I'd seen thumbnails of your work in the home page, I would have been more curious to explore the site (plus the thumbnails can also break the monotony of text).

    Make the site eye-friendly. Increase the font-size or add proper spacing/margin/padding so the text doesn't look too crowded. You can also shorten your content section and widen up the navigation. The content column becomes hard to read in pages where there are a lot of text (ie top of About Claire page) because the lines get too long. If you shorten the content (+1) and widen up the navigation, you'll have space to have a preview of your work in your sidebar (+1 again!) which, for the 3rd time in this review, should be showcased because you're good at it.

    You have something to offer your visitors but so do other textures/tutorials sites. The thing to do is make your site a pleasant experience. I don't mean put bunnies and hang candies, just don't do it half-heartedly because it will show.

    I know you said in your welcome message that entrochique is a small but rapidly growing site. I hope this review helped and I look forward to giving entrochique a higher rating in the future.

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    entrochique's Response:

    Thanks for the review =)

    With the layout I'm aware that there are a fair few problems so rather than fixing it up I'm thinking I'm probably going to be better off making a totally new one ^^

    Regarding the tutorials I hadn't actually thought about that before. I think over christmas (or before if I get some spare time) I may go through all of them and instead of just saying what I'm doing, saying why I'm doing it.

    Thanks for catching the typo, I'll change that now ^^

    I love the idea of having a thumbnail to show off my latest textures and when I sort out the next layout it's definitely something I'll make sure I do.

    And once again, thankyou for the review it was very helpful and when I do have some of that mysterious thing known as free time, I'll definitely be working on your suggestions.

  10. aliyah gave it ***** on 16th Nov 2008 and said:

    Layout

    I love this layout – the colours are really pretty, and the layout looks very professional. I’d recommend changing the link colours, since the blue sort of blends in with the grey. The structure is nice, although I don’t see the need to link your affiliates twice.

    Textures

    Icon Textures
    These are very good quality, and it’s considerate how you’ve made separate pages for image versions of them. The light textures seem a bit overdone though – you have about 12 sets of them that all look somewhat alike.

    Various Sized Textures
    Just because I’m too lazy to go through each different size’s sections, and I’m assuming they’re mostly the same but with different dimensions. Very high quality textures, and it’s visible you’ve put effort into them. I’d definitely use them; especially the greyscale ones.

    Stock Textures
    I like the idea of supplying images to make textures with, although some (like the Greenery Stock Textures) look similar to each other.

    Tutorials

    Banner Tutorials
    The outcomes of all of these are pretty nice, I especially like the last two tutorials (Fairytale and The Street Where I Lived).

    Colouring Tutorials
    I love your previews for this, showing half of each image before and after. The after effects look very nice, and the tutorials are well explained.

    Icon Tutorials
    Wow, you have a lot of these. The finished icons look really nice – why not offer icons on your site? The tutorials are simple and well explained.

    Layout Tutorials
    I like how these aren’t explaining tacky celebrity layouts. The layouts all look very nice, although the instructions on Layout Tutorial 2 get quite confusing throughout. Fix it up and simplify the words a bit.

    Texture Tutorials
    A nice, original idea. I’ve always thought that making textures would be complex (the reason I’ve never made them), but with your tutorials they seem easy.

    Other Tutorials
    I adore your pixelling tutorial. The girl is so amazingly cute! Make some more pretty please?


    Domain

    About Entrochique
    I sort of love how I’m mentioned here, lmao. The actual history is quite brief, so maybe go a bit more in depth with it. Also, the part where you mention the five different layouts is outdated, as I can only see one layout.

    About Claire
    I love the Aliyah references again :p It’s well written, and you include all the necessary things about yourself. It’s written in a way that makes me want to keep reading, and the images you’ve provided are of a good size. Well done.

    Credits
    I love me being mentioned on a third page. I also agree with the statement that I’m awesome. About the actual page, it seems well organised.

    Link Back
    You have pretty buttons with a nice variety of size.

    Apply For Affiliation
    Nicely set out – no complaints on the actual page here. Personally, I disagree with the whole no reply, no acceptance logic that some sites use – even if I’ve been rejected I’d want to know. Personal opinion though.

    Apply For Hosting
    The requirements and what you get is set out well, no complaints here.

    Fanlistings
    Fanlistings are so addictive to join, and it seems as if you were addicted too. Well organised.

    Overall

    Overall, Entrochique is a high quality site. You offer a wide selection of resources, and unique tutorials that are helpful. I’ve found no grammar/spelling mistakes, and you seem to put a lot of effort into your site. You have a few little things to fix on your site, but other than that, it’s a great site. I hope this review has helped you to improve :)

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    entrochique's Response:

    Thanks for the review ^^

    Adding icons on my site is definitely something I'll consider, but not until I've sorted everything else out first =)

    And a few people have mentioned to me about the whole not replying if you're not accepted and I think I may look into switching that around and always replying.

  11. [img: avatar]
    Petey gave it ****- on 16th Nov 2008 and said:

    Hai claire!

    Layout- Your layout is amazinggg ~dazzled~ The colours work really well together, and there is a large area of a content and the nav is easily wide enough. One thing, Maybe make the headers a little bigger, so you can see them a bit better :)

    Blog - Good to see blogs from you regularly :) That's something I definitely struggle with when I am not doing a blog-everyday project :P

    Icon Textures - Hugeeeeee amount of textures here Claire, perhaps break them up into two columns with a simple table? Just to lessen the amount of scrolling necessary. I love all of the sets :) The idea of downloading a zip, and being able to view them separately works well, as then visitors with a slow internet connection can just view the page rather than downloading a time-consuming zip. Well done :)

    800x600 Textures - Good to see this broken down into a few sections, Black and white are really good :) The blurry ones are really good too, though a some are a little basic. Misc textures are really nice too, I really like the ones with Motion blur or something on them. Paper textures could also be passed as Stock so this is a very yayful situation. Scratch ones are good too, one of my personal favourites for textures.

    1024x768 Textures - It makes me happy that not all of these aren't just larger versions of the 800x600 ones. The blurry ones again have really nice bright colours :D A hugee amount of Black/White ones here, well done! The grunge ones are just amazingg :D Again, another huge amount for the Misc ones, very nice also (I am wondering if you can tell I am running out of words for nice ;D )

    1440x900 Textures - Not so many of these yet, though its good to see you offering a large size like this, as many people make graphics this large now. All of these are again very nice :D I love the variety that you offer.

    Other size Textures - A few of these are a little small to be of real use, I would recommend just sticking to the three larger sizes and icons as these are the most frequently used by people. Though saying that, I order the grey one in the Misc section.

    Stock Textures - The stock textures are nice, though a little too much like photos imo.

    Tutorials -

    Banner Tutorials - These are amazinggg! I use these quite a lot actually. I love themmm. k moving on.

    Colouring Tutorials - Great way of presenting these, showing the transformation possible :D My favourite is the second.

    Icon Tutorials - Big range here, these are amazing though, every single one offers a really nice effect -insert heart- I also use these a lot :D

    Layout Tutorials - The orangey one has amazing colours, I also love the other two, they both look very professional.

    Texture Tutorials - These are really good, I especially love the second to last one.

    Other Tutorials - Only one here, though its a very good one, very detailed, good topic too. Though the image could be copyright, only issue with it D:

    Overall - The site is amazing Claire, good job :D :D

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    entrochique's Response:

    Hi, thanks for the review =)

    Regarding the icon textures, I will be splitting them up so there aren't as many on each page. It's one of those little jobs I keep meaning to do. I think it'll probably be sorted into types like I do with the other textures (page for light textures, page for paper textures etc.)

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