Lets bloody well do something!

[Squeek]

prepare for the ultimate WALL O' TEXT.

WOW! That's AWESOME! <3 <3 <3

yet again, your power of color astonishes me!
mmm juicy bubblegum pink.

I love how the pony looks like a my little pony!
I love them little ponies so much.
Vicious WOULD like my little ponies. she would indeed.
Her shoes are to perfect, as well as the tea-cup.

She seems a little separated from the pony, however.
Almost as if the pony is more of a background rather than something
she's sitting on..
it looks like you've tried to curve her arm around the mane, making it look a little unnaturally bent.
Drawing the mane (either in photoshop or in the rough)
of the pony a little in front of her arm and giving it an appearance of being
slightly transparent could aid in creating the illusion of space and placement.
you could go even farther and do the same to her bottom,
making her look as if she is draped over the pony's back.

one more thing and I'll stop ripping into your beautiful piece, Williamthebloody.

as it is obvious by my terrible photoshop skillz,
I am a huge fan of making things look like they are glowing.
especially in the case of ectoplasm!
I think by creating a light blur of an object's color, either around the object
or on a non-glowing object nearby, it can create a subtle yet
unmistakable difference in the illusion of space.
I think this is b/c objects do this, in fact, in real life.
Ish called "local color". (you have probably already heard this)
objects naturally reflect color on things around them.
so yea...if she had a little pink tint to her skin where it is
closest to the pony, it'd REALLY sell the illusion yo where going for.

Wonderful job, again!
I think you has a fan....



TEIM:


I love the pose! you've really successfully made her look at peace!
(especially considering what kind of sleep Sera's been getting lately)
that pose is a very difficult one to pull off and make it look natural and confident.
challenging yourself with different poses is a perfect way to improve your skillz.
The blue in her hair is great, as well. I love blue. so very. very. much.

One thing I'd love to see in future art postings of yours...
contrast.
I think by bumping up the contrast between those darks and lights you'd really see a world of difference,
and I think your drawings would simply pop right off the background!

I also think that if her head was moved slightly to the right on her neck/body
that relaxing pose would be completely sold.
right now her body kind of appears as if it is laying aside her head,
like they are detached somehow.

regardless of my nit-picky suggestions,
I really like your unique animation style and I can't wait to see more from you, esp your pony theme!



Alphatroll:


WOW. this is one action-packed picture!
I ALWAYS have trouble coming up with new and interesting scenes/poses.
great job!

I really like the touch-ups you've done, the flames look ridiculously awesome and for some
reason I keep expecting them to spell out something.
I think it's b/c the way you've drawn them is VERY similar to
a style of graffiti typography, here's some close examples of what I mean:


graffiti typography can be much more intricate than that, even!


(not my art btw-found on google)

I'm betting you could probably do some CRAZY-awesome graffiti art.
I can just imagine this drawing painted 6ftx6ft (or bigger!) on a wall with the
fire spelling out some phrase or even your name!
you've definitely got the stuff to go for bigger projects, to say the least!



really, the only thing I can nit-pick about is maybe some work on anatomy
(or in stylized animation's case- a "formula".)
and that stuff just comes with time, patience, and practice.

keep up the awesome work!



Alphatroll: It can be REALLY hard to find motivation and inspiration sometimes..
art blocks are definitely a force to be reckoned with,
however, if you keep that sketchbook near and keep reading/looking at/playing/ listening to things...
the inspiration will come and that block will melt away.
I'd love to see anything you've come up with!
if it doesn't relate to this topic, post it in Soiled Heart Road!






* As for me.......

I still have nothing.

I've been working on my costume, two projects for my niece,
another secret-sexy-sera project, and soon-to-be-painting for my sister...
along with several other projects that are on the sidelines right now..
I REALLY want to do this, but right now I've got WAAAAY to much
on my plate, and I'm afraid that if I start another new project,
I won't finish the ones I'm working on.

Either way, I'm really enjoying the work you all are producing,
and I can't wait to see more!

[alphatroll]

ultimate indeed, i'm curious to see whether this reply even ends up on the same page!

i noticed the graffiti resemblance right after finishing those flames, & weighed whether to do more with that or try to change it for a while, eventually decided that it was suitably weird for "snotwork" & left it as is. but i *do* love doing elaborate lettering, mebbe i'll get some posted someday.

unfortunately large-scale stuff (meaning anything bigger than 9x12) has always been my weakest area. all my stuff is all about intricate detail, as in "can't see the forest what with all the leaves & bark & squirrels & stuff in the way" intricate. i love *looking* at huge-scale stuff that you can only make out by standing way back, but even when i plot it all out on a grid it still never comes out right. maybe if my arms were longer.... (but then the shaky hands thing gets in the way pretty bad....i've never been able to work on an easel at all, even a tabletop one.)

i'm still working on fixing maryanne's proportions a bit, but lack of a working computer makes that so difficult i'm actually considering some old-fashioned cut-and-paste work with real scissors & glue!

right now i'm just hoping V doesn't notice that sera's wearing her boots....

[williamthebloody]

She seems a little separated from the pony, however.
Almost as if the pony is more of a background rather than something
she's sitting on..

i know exactly what you mean. i didn't really notice it until i coulored in the ponee that instead of looking as though riding side sadle, Vicious appears more to be rather floating nebulously in the general area of where she would be sitting.... T.T

as it is obvious by my terrible photoshop skillz,
I am a huge fan of making things look like they are glowing.
especially in the case of ectoplasm!
I think by creating a light blur of an object's color, either around the object
or on a non-glowing object nearby, it can create a subtle yet
unmistakable difference in the illusion of space.
I think this is b/c objects do this, in fact, in real life.
Ish called "local color". (you have probably already heard this)
objects naturally reflect color on things around them.
so yea...if she had a little pink tint to her skin where it is
closest to the pony, it'd REALLY sell the illusion yo where going for.

yanno, that was actually the original plan. except, refer to it by AMBIENT LIGHT for some reason or REFLECTIVE LIGHT (in my younger days i called it "under light"). i was going to impliment something similar to what I did here:

yeah, i was GOING to do that, add a slight hint of pink under glow, but i forgot. and if you think YOU have poor photoshop skillz, then be prepared for when i tell you this: i don't colour via layers. i use MASKS. i have yet to grasp the layer. because i'm old. and dumb. and have no instruction manuals. also, dumb. so, i had coloured in Vicious's pants and moved on, when i realized i forgot the pink lighting, and when i went back to grab her pants with a mask, they are so dark in colour that their outline gets grabbed too and that just doesn't work out for adding pink ambient light coz i suck ass at drawing the outline back in with the mouse. did any of that make sense? y'all use your fancy layers you probably have no idea what i'm on about.
BUT!
when i have free time i do plan on revisiting the pic and hope to find a way to add the ambient pink light. i think maybe if i fudge with the tolerence level of the magic wand mask i might be able to do it. i was just in such sort time and in a hurry to get it done that i didnt have the time or patience to mess with it at the time.

[alphatroll]

, and when i went back to grab her pants with a mask,

i'd be careful about grabbing v's pants, even with a mask on....

[Squeek]

Alphatroll:

There's something I used to take advantage of when
transferring sketches onto larger surfaces...

A PROJECTOR!!

you can trace it from the projector, and then look at it when you're finished
and determine if anything needs changed now that it's a larger scale.
(since some details look good in smaller sketches but may
look awkward when converted to a larger image)

you should look into it, you're very talented/ skilled, and that ability
deserves to thrive and grow!


*HAHAHA. THAT WAS EPIC FUNNY, btw.


Williamthebloody:

I gained the majority of my knowledge from just messing around with
it, experimenting, making mistakes, correcting them..etc..etc..
but taking some classes where we worked in it probably helped a lot too..;

try messing with the layers sometime...they're really easy once you get used to them,
and a hell of a lot less stressful when you make a mistake.

What you did in that piece was very good. it really created a sense of
space and sold the illusion in a subtle, yet unmistakable, manner.
you could very easily give your V+pony pic that extra "umph" by using
some layering...if you would like, I could tell you some quick things I've learned..
I know that sounds pompous but, I promise,
I just want to tell you what I know b/c I think you
have some serious skills, and knowing more about the program
you work with could help your art flourish.

[alphatroll]

i learned pretty much all i know about layers from a paint shop pro for dummies book. they are damn handy, the problem is that if you scan something in then the (usually white) background is still all white, so you can't see any layers that are behind it. fortunately, masks are a great way to carefully remove all that unneccessary "white paint" so you can see through to the next sheet of "virtual celluloid". layers and masks used together are a wonderfully handy set of tools.

[Squeek]

I usually set the scanned image as the bottom layer and add layers
on top of it playing around with the blending modes, (multipy works the
best when you want your line work to show through the colors well.)
opacity, and such until I get it how I want...using the lasso tool and such to select..
the tablet that I use probably makes this so much more possible for me..
I love this tablet. <3

I really haven't worked a lot with masks. ;
I should try to work more with them. that's probably how ppl get those vector-
"Adobe Illustrator" -looking graphic work out of Photoshop.


wait, you're working in paintshop pro? I don't think I've worked in it...
so I don't know if layers work the same as Photoshop..

[alphatroll]

PSP does pretty much the same stuff as Photoshop, it's just cheaper & i already know how to use it

re: projectors--unfortunately that still leaves the wobbly-hand problem.

[Squeek]

The wobbly hand stuff can be cured with practice, if that's all that holds you back.

speaking of wobbly hand, I FINALLY decided on a theme to do for my niece's
shoes....(took long enough, eh?)
STEAMPUNK!
and oh my god, I has the wobbly hands when it comes to drawing circles (gears/cogs/clock-work etc..)
hadn't realized it was so bad till now...

*btw- steampunk band----->Abney Park=good.
http://www.abneypark.com/
http://www.youtube.com/v/cycXIYdFGsQ&feature=related
I don't know what it is about their quirky music and style that I REALLY like,
but everyone should check 'em out!

[alphatroll]

for the ultimate kewlth in steampunk, see that created by Profs. Foglio & Foglio. study their work & be enlightened

i think my hand wobbles are a neurological thing, been that way since b'fore you was a twinkle in yer momma's eye i *can* seem to maintain control if i'm constantly moving, but if i try to stay still it all goes asterisky or somethin. something with lots of big sweeping strokes might be doable. but normally i can only do detail if i can actually rest my hand on the object i'm painting or whatever. also, amphetamines help a little. frankly, i'm scared to *drive* without them.

i even chop half the handles off my long painting brushes, since i just have no use for all that & it keeps poking me in the eye anyway (& that's *definately* bad for your artwork quality... )

[Teim]

Steampunk eh?


....I think we've found our new topic!


Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot

[Candy]

Hell yes! I loves me some steampunk.

Now if only I could find a space to get the scanner set up again (and I s'pose I should probably draw the first two themes, too). ><;

[alphatroll]

oh THAT kind of topic.... ....hmmm, mebbe could do sumfin like that....

[williamthebloody]

people who make steampunk stuff like this:
http://www.datamancer.net/steampunklapt ... laptop.htm
make me slobber with joy and envy.

steampunk as a topic, eh? woooo i'll have have to take a bit to wrap my mind around how to accomplish that.... ^.^'

[Squeek]

OOOooooooooh MAN.....I REALLY want to do this topic!!!
But I need to do the other topics too!!

I've had so much on my plate lately,
I think the world is rushing past me with the swiftest of ferocity,
and donkey punches....


Porkshanks on devart, is another mad-awesome steampunk artist to be highly revered.
<3 her work.
and you might recognize this from Abney Park's video, Sleep Isabella