Messages

[OSC]

OSC, Andail stated that threads would not be moved. If they were, I could see where it would cause a ruckuss. I, personally, am not sure how I would fit in if the forums were split. I am not currently working on a game, but rather am working on the skills I would use in making a game.

I can see how it would be beneficial to weed out some of the underachieving the goes on, but I don't see a problem of epidemic proportion, either.

Rather, it seems as though the community itself does a satisfactory job of policing this problem themselves. Those that put a lot of effort into a drawing receive a lot of feedback. Those that do not have threads which tend to whither, die, and fade away.

My 2 cents.

Here is the logo for Geriatric Express:

If 3D backgrounds and 2D sprites are your style and forte, I say embrace it. Sometimes, a 2D sprite on 3D can look really stylized. I'd done some testing with 2D, super cartoony sprites and photographed backgrounds and the results were pretty cool.

Much the same could be achieved here, I think. If I find some of my old tests, I'll post them here for you to take a look at.

I just received Richard William's Animator's Survival Kit. Wow.

If you can spare $30 and want to get better at animating... BUY IT.

I've read about 80 of the 340+ pages... pure gold. Written in a clean, easy style and never condescending. It's the second best thing to taking a class, I'm sure.

Honestly, it is fine as it is and I was in no way saying that it should be changed. I just wanted to point out that adding some curly beard hairs was feasible.

Unfortunately, I am as unlearned as a heathen when it comes to the definition of haddas.

SSH, I have a few things in mind for your logo. I will try to use your tartan when drawing it (or at the very least would leave that texturing to you).

Your logo will require a bit of the old ink & paper, though, so I might not have anything together very quickly on it.

Because I can't really associate the word 'Haddas' with  anything but you or your avatar, the first thing that comes to mind is a cartoony, black-and-white, comic-book-style version of your avatar in the middle of a circle (think Nintendo seal of Quality) giving the viewer a thumbs up with a cheesy smile on his face. The circle would have the words "Haddas Appropriate Games" around it with a frilly, official looking edge. Silly and official at the same time.

Secondly, mostly because of your inclusion of HAG, I think of an old lady with a controller playing video games whilst sitting in a recliner. You know, one of those generally-associated-with-the-elderly types. All adjustable remotely and whatnot.

I do a lot of my logo design in Flash (as opposed to Illustrator, Freehand, or Corel Draw).

The colors I pick are usually slightly modified versions of the default web-safe palette in Flash. They seem to be as good a starting base as any. Most of my old (Pre 2000) pixelart was done entirely in a web-safe palette. Go figure.

As far as inspiration for a design goes, I just try to come up with something appropriate. I either take the name and think about what the words conjure up in my head as pictures, or I try to incorporate pictures into the letters (like the penguin being the lower half of the X in my logo).

I'd like to challenge the assertion that in order for something to look 'cartoony' it must lack in detail. Adding a few curly hairs shouldn't make things muddled.

I've done a little redraw of half of the Pirate's #3 beard.



I'd say that you can have detail and a cartoony style without any contradictions.

Here is the Martin Software logo that was requested. I had ambitions of making a little alien to stand in for the A in martian. Time was short, but I may add that in if it is in popular demand.

I like #3, but it is a little to symetrical and sparkly. It would look a lot more realisitic if there were little tufts of hair sticking out of the sides of the beard (this really goes for all examples).

Just to prove my 'street cred,' here are a few pictures that show my level of personal experience. I am not often without some form of crazy facial hair.





Add some straggler hairs to #3 and I think you'd have perfection!

I'll animate it when I'm good and ready!

Seriously, I am going to fix his right arm, raise his knees a bit further up on the legs, and try a fleshier face first.

I am going to animate it, though. Walk, attack, and death are in order.

About animating this piece: It isn't so much difficult as it is time consuming. I've got a pretty decent method together where I draw flat-shaded versions of all the frames and then add all the details at once. It kinda keeps me on track and simplifies things a bit.

I did want this mummy to be a bit sparse. I've got some mummies that are heavier, and some a little fleshier. This one, specifically, was meant to be discernable by his skeleton-like self.

Maybe I should ditch the skull and give him a head with tightly draped flesh and rot?

I've drawn a new mummy character. First things first, his lower jaw is supposed to be missing. Other than that, have at. Be harsh, be mean, be cruel, I like a challenge!

The character's face has a really unique style to it. The plot sounds interesting. Overall, I'd be happy to play as that character in a game with a similar plot to the one you're developing. Cool beans.

I'm getting a book named 'The Animator's Survival Kit.' It's supposed to be a great resource for aspiring animators like us. I'll keep you all posted as to whether or not it's a good value.

Despite a flagrant lack of free time, if anyone wants a logo they can PM me and I'll get to it sometime next week. I don't mind helping out.

I didn't want you to think I was just giving you my left-overs, so I came up with something else for ya:



It's simple and easily/cheaply reproducable as a 2-color design.

Thanks for the comment, Scummbuddy. A really bad anecdote something to the effect of "everybody needs Scummbuddy  sometime..." popped into my head. Disregard.

About Invasion Games:



In the top right corner, you'll see a "Black Army Press" logo. That was a logo for a failed comic book publishing company I almost started (lost a few backers). I modified it for an Invasion games logo as seen above.

If I had more time, I'd probablly come up with a good font for the name of the company, use varied, brush-stroke-like line widths, and draw the track setup on the tank.

Don't worry about giving me credit if you use it. No biggie! I hereby relinquish any and all connection to that drawing. TM & copyright for you and all that jazz.