Quote
2 quick comments...
Are the layer effects scripts provided with Gimp by default?
I know you warned 56k users, but 1.7MB is probably a bit large for a forum post image. Parts like the menus and dialog boxes could certainly be shrunk down quite a bit and sections typed out instead of included in the image. At the moment it is quite an imposing image and has a lot of unused space which really doesn't need to be there.
It's good presentation, but not really that accessible.
As for your first question, yes, the effects come premade in GIMP. Or, they did for me at least.
As for the second, I think you're wrong there. Ask yourself what's easier, 20 different images, that will have to be downloaded, with text in between them, or just one image, that includes everthing you need, so that you could even save it, and use it without the internet? I can remove the flashy background if you all want me too, but the image stays. Go to gamerenders.com , and you'll see that there a are a lot of tutorials like this, so if you ever plan on using them, I'd get used to this type of tutorial now, cause they won't edit them into 20 different pics either.
I like your stuff Blinkz, but, did you use the drop shadow, or inner shadow? I find that a certain amount of depth really helps the text. Otherwise, it looks mostly like a bumpmap.