THIS IS FOR NEWBIE GRAPHIC DESIGNERS :)
this will be updated periodically as I remember things that are just a struggle in making graphics :3

***edits:
              * Dec 7th - Added Water
              * Dec 8th - Added Shadows

• Something commonly misunderstood in graphics is water, that lovely thing that makes all of our lives horrible when trying to create a manipulation. There are many things that fall under the category of water, one being splashes. Oh those lovely things that even I have trouble figuring out.
  
  

Well first we need to understand water itself.  TIME FOR SOME SCIENCE!!!!!!
****** The surface color of water is a reflection of its suroundings and the atmosphere of the Earth, and in the case of just a sky, it will reflect said color of the sky in a slightly darker shade.

Splashes, however, will not reflect this color entirely. They consist of a much lighter version of the color. Take https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Water_splash.jpg that for example. The color of the water is a green-blue but the splash is closer to the white side of the color spectrum. Splashes arenever the exact same color of the water, even on stormy days. :)

Reflections are another HUGE problem in graphics. Where do I place it? or How do I make this look like its rippling. I know for a fact that in GIMP 2.8, under Filters > Distorts > Ripples you can adjust the reflections "ripple effect", however, when using programs such as Photoshop, Part 1: http://fav.me/d30j6e9 and Part 2: http://fav.me/d30j6g4 will help you learn how to create the reflection itself and this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1jzXCnQSMc or this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MvjWH8opK0 may help you add the actual ripple effect to the image. 

• Another commonly misunderstood thing is shadows under animals. Oh Lord, here we go. 
  
  

The intensity of shadows and how they are positioned ALL depends on the suns position in the sky.

Shadows are a tricky subject and going about them isn't always the easiest. I've seen many, and am no angel myself, graphics where there is a dark blob under the horse or animal that just look COMPLETELY out of place. (No need to feel guilty or ashamed, I'M even responsible for this at times. The BEST way to make a shadow is to copy the animals layer and paste it again(or duplicate the layer) and then distort it. http://fav.me/d2rzqsd is a VERY good example of how to do this. However, we must keep in mind the background choice. If a background has a strong light source then the shadow will be more visible and visibly darker. An overcast image will not produce a dark shadow, however there will be one visibly there. A HUGE PROBLEM PEOPLE RUN INTO, MYSELF INCLUDED is when you cannot seem to locate the light source of the image. Come on, we ALL have had this issue before. Well, I'm going to let you in on a secret I figured out as an art college student: whenever you cannot find the lighting source of an image look to other objects in the background. More often than not there will be some sort of shadow cast on the ground. The side of the object that is illuminated(or not in shadow) is the direction of the light source. AND IF ALL ELSE FAILS, and you cannot seem to find the light source for the life of you, place a medium value shadow under the animal the length of their body, connecting all four legs(or two if they only have two). It's always better to be safe then sorry, because, and I know this because I've done it, sometimes the absense of a shadow can make the manip lookstrange, or disfigured. 

Water can be so difficult sometimes! I personally hate ripples and avoid it as much as possible. Still water is best :) 

I hope other people starting graphics find this useful! Keep it up!

Maybe you can add shadows or lighting? I know a lot of people have trouble with shadows.

Emblas site had a good tutorial on ripples ;_; 

May it RIP haha

Love the idea of trying to help others ;) 

Paints since 6-8-14

EEEEE, thanks for the feedback! I will most definately add shadows and lighting, because whoooowwwwiiieee that stuff can get complicated!

This is such an awesome post!  It is so helpful.  Thank you for sharing!

*follows*

Thank you for sharing! :D

Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it! I'm so glad I can help!