Messages

These are some of the nicest exmples of coloured sketches I've seen on the forums. You're technique is very strong, it doensn't look to bold or too pencilly (if that's a word).

As people have said you just need to address the composition of your scenes, and maybe think a little more about perspective. Try and think of the balance in a scene. The composition in the first pictur is the strongest - you have a cliff left and centre balanced by an expanse of sky top and right. It works for me!

Try placing furniture and objects into one of your rooms, and don't be afraid of putting objects in the foreground to frame the shot. It's a cinematic technique, but many games to it.

I think it has a nice Discworld 1 like feel to it. I'd only note that there isn't much ground in the shot - not much space for a character to walk. It looks more like an establishing shot from a cut-scene.

The only thing I would suggest is clarifying the edges of the door/window to show depth and that they are actually set into the tree.

[Manny Get Your Gun]

After much deliberation, I'm going to choose Manny Get Your Gun. Obviously I was secretly grading your efforts based upon how quickly you replied to the post.

Thanks for all the entries, I particularly enjoyed seeing Evil as some kind of shadow-man in a tabard.

Now it's up to Mr Gilbert to post the next Photoshop Phantazmoganza!

[Farlander:]

I wonder how one would draw a land of 1000 D'ohs. Perhaps it's best to steer clear of that minefield.

(Farlander: I don't know if Homer gets stupider every day, the BBC aren't showing the Simpsons because of a dispute with Fox. It's all because people in spain could pick up the Simpsons without paying. Somehow, I suspect you were behind this.)

I suggest Waterman, because It's intriguing and High Impact doesn't really sound like it's about anything. Exept maybe a meteorite.

[mätzyboy:]

Thanks for your input!

A few specific responses...

mätzyboy: The character was made quickly, I'm going to try and tweak him a little - make him look simple without looking simplistic.

Highwaygal: I didn't follow that tutorial, but I have read it and a number of similar ones before. My eye is modelled like the Adam Baroody tutorial that site links to. Baroody has a nicer iris map than me. I think you're right that it looks a little dry. I'll work on it.

Increator: I'm surprised you think it's too realistic, the iris is far too large for a human eye. What is it about it that makes it look less cartoony?

Hotspot: Thanks, that's because the iris is curved inwards.

Hello, I've just been playing around in three dimensions. I had a go at modelling cartoonish eyes with that charming pixar-like glow. I don't really have a game in mind, I'm just playing around with character.

Here's an eye (drag and drop the link in your address bar to view):
http://themonkeyhut.tripod.com/eyeball.jpg

And here's a simple character using the eyes.
http://themonkeyhut.tripod.com/Blob.jpg

I suspect my monitor isn't calibrated so they may be a little dark. Aside from that, what do you think?

The Magic Telephone for the BBC microcomputer
&
Lander on the Archimedes 3000

[What is a Photoshop Phriday?]

What is a Photoshop Phriday?

Photoshopping isn't drawing a completely new image -- It's editing images to create a new image, such as editing one image or combining several images.

Also, you don't have to specifically use Photoshop -- Paint Shop Pro, MSPaint, or any other programs can be used.

See this link:
http://www.somethingawful.com/photoshop/

And for other examples, see here:
http://www.worth1000.com/

The two above websites should give a fair idea of what is involved.

Also, make sure your image doesn't exceed the width of the screen or terrible things will happen. Seriously, I heard about this one guy...

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Since Esseb has been destroyed is unable to host this week, it's me. Contain your disappointment.

I'm feeling a little fruity, this week's topic is AGS Broadway!

Yes, I want an adventure game musical, stage or screen. Put an adventure game character, or an AGSer, into a musical phantasmoganza.

Remember to give it a title like "7 brides for 7th guest" or "Wilco-klahoma!".

Does anyone remember Lost in Time, the 1995 game from Sierra.Ã,  It had a black female as the main character.Ã, 

I've been playing that game - I had no idea she wasn't white!

It's a nice background with no major perspective problems aside from the window. Perhaps the rug in the centre of the room shouldn't come as far left, or as near to the bottom of the screen. It looks a bit large.

The poster seems to be a photo you've shrunk so it doesn't fit in because it has soft gradients and the rest of the image uses flat colour. To make it fit, you could raise the contrast on it, or add detailed shading to the rest of the image.

Finally, If you're inspired by Vincent (that was you right?) why not take a look at stills from Tim Burton Films and The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari to help you design scenes in the right style - think Black/White and high contrast. I'm afraid I'm not aware of any tutorials for doing shadows.

[Football heroes of World War II:]

By the next one they'd realised the strategic possibilities...

Football heroes of World War II:


Actually, do the Japanese celebrate the heroes of WWII?

It's just a pity Thatcher's still alive.

Farlander: Are you wryly suggesting that I shouldn't rejoice in the death of another human being? Um...

You may be right, but snopes says it was released everywhere without the 'III' and the IMDB says it was called Madness of King George III in Australia:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110428/

Harry Potter is no freak, lots of films in English are cut differently for the British and American market, plus it's not a British film. When 'Brassed Off' played in the US they added a mini-history at the start explaining who the Tories were and so on.

On the Americanisation front, do you remember FilmFour's 'The Madness of King George'? The name was changed from 'The Madness of King George III' in case American audiences thought it was part of a trilogy.

But, of course, that's another case of film producers and distributors assuming Americans are stupid, not evidence that they actually are.

That's a nice bad guy (If that isn't a contradition), but I'd suggest giving him slighlty less green skin, making his head a little less of an ellipse and changing his hair a little - it looks a little like it's perched on the crown of his head.

Also:

[not pretending to be a moderator] You're asking other people if they can draw a bad guy, it sounds like you're talking about a sprite jam. Try entering here:

http://www.agsforums.com/yabb/index.php?topic=14362.msg174583#msg174583

If you win you'll be able to set the next topic: bad-guy-o-rama.Ã,  [/not pretending to be a moderator]

Superman was flawed from the beginning

Exactly, If he'd just thrown every lead briefcase he saw into the sun/leant heavily on the lead doors to vaults, he never would have had any problems with Kryptonite.

York, Yorkshire, York...land.

I'll PM Magintz, If he doesn't pick in the next day or so, I'll choose a winner.

If he made an "unbiased" film, why would he care about a 6 month posponement?

This has been rebutted quite effectively by Las Naranjas, but I still want to make the following statement:

Having a point to make is not bias, stopping a recount because you're not happy who might actually have won the election is. I'm tired of closed-mindedness and bias becoming synonimous with acting upon well-founded beliefs.

Plus, hi-poly models tend to be made up of squares instead of (like many low-poly models) triangles.