CC needed!

[BananaBabeQT]

So I just got the program GIMP because I heard from some people it was good and user friendly. I've never been big into making graphics but I want to start learning how to do all the cool things with the backgrounds and effects (you guys inspired me!) So I made this sig of Naruto, I would like any constructive criticism that may help me make it better. I basically just made the graphic more transparent and had the gradient background show through then colored the eyes red to stand out. One thing I think is wrong that I tried to fix with no luck is that you can still see the edges of the original Naruto picture instead of him looking like it is just him in the background.. soo hmmm here it goes!

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b86/BananaBabeQT/narutosig.jpg