yeah, says same to me;)
either way, I decided to change a sig for a period of time
I know it's black and stings in eyes.
I gotta add "join kishiro" and "message dump" graphics so it all blends in
I liked the sig a lot, I would suggest some alterations if you accept or like, if I may.
Because that the char and the hive (bee stuff) is in simiarl color scheme, I guess it would be more "in depth" to have the character a different colored coat or an appearance standing more "front" with hue changes / darkness changes or glows.
also, can I suggest to have the shield a bit bigger in size so that its top border wont sit as if it is a continuation of the background line behind. or perhaps, you can use an inner shadow trick to show as if its a "pressed stamp" like shield IN the background, only deeper.
Just some ideas, overall, I really liked it and the ship infocard like stuff makes the dull renders look really cute I believe.
Waratah, your knowledge of using the tools seems fine but I suggest you study some composition. Graphical composition i mean. If you improve your "weight" knowledge of colors and objects in a composition, I guess you can do far better stuff with the potential.