Messages

50x30, 30 colors





Perhaps not the most intimidatingly looking of killbots, however due to it s miniscule measurements, this beelike robot should be able to bypass any securitysystem and intoxicate the subject/s of choice.

Does 30x50 imply 'width(30) x height(50)' or is 'height(30) x width(50)' acceptable as well?

Hope it doesn t come too late

Been ages since the last time I used a tracker, but for these things, they re unbeatable.

Entry

Edit: Some notes: I m aware that it s repetative (I would add some other parts to it, if I had sufficient ambition) and I m also aware of some dissonant parts that might not please the ear.

Some modifications:

(tried to stick to the style. not sure whether I succeeded or not)

Darths old or new. Whichever is closest to win.

Tough choice between Darth's n kaaz'.

Think kaaz' entry suffers somewhat from the same problem as mine (although in a much lower extent), in that it doesn't look much like a hotelroom.

Darth's on the other hand lacks the finesse of kaaz'.

So from a thematical point of view I vote for Darth's.

I have to admit I forgot about the hotel part when I made this one (only remembered creepy room) but with some goodwill I guess it could be called:

Suite in Abandoned Hotel

x2


I have no idea where the light is coming from btw and the perspective is lacking. Was done very quickly; just wanted to get an entry in.

Guess this ll be my final entry:



Edit: had linked to a previous version

Ah, I see. I ve got some modified versions in the owen, so if we could hold until tomorrow I d appreciate it.

Em, where did my post go?

(submitted an entry yesterday)

I m aware of the date, but is it too late to submit an entry?

(I don t actually have it ready but it would take me a day or two max)

[Some tips]

The thing holding these back the most in my opinion, is that the highlight/midtone/darktone values are the same throughout the objects. This creates an illusion of depth but more in a bumpmap sort of way (if you re familiar with 3d) making the objects flat though "bumpy".

To remedy this try focusing on the main shapes instead of beginning by shading every wrinkle. Start out with the basic shapes (the skull is spheric etc) and define the it with darktones and highlights (preferably in that order). After this is taken care of you can proceed with taking care of smaller details.

Thing is that highlights on the darker side of an object is darker than the ones on the bright side. Once you ve defined the basic shape with some simple values you simply increase the existing values to create highlights and vice versa with darktones.

Original:




x2


Here are some steps:

80 kb

Some tips (these are just from my experience, don t rely on them):

Avoid the smudge tool and smudgy looks.

Keep distinct darktones and highlights; don t smudge them out. The transition (between the darktone and midtone and midtone n highlight) depends on the material; in the case of skin (and other light/porous/uneven materials where the light scatters beneath the surface) there should be a some transition (the more porous/uneven the material, the more transition) and in the case of solid/smooth materials like metal the transitions should be pretty nonexistant.

Avoid flat surfaces. Even though I recommend keeping welldefined highlights/darktones they should never be in a single value. Subtle gradients (done by hand) in these helps avoiding it.

Stick to few lightsources. Having light coming from many directions will give the image a flat/uninteresting look.

Edit: Fixed a link

[Results]

Results

As I stated in the competitiondescription the entries was judged based on:

(i) How well the tune describes the character / picture
(ii) How strong the melody is
(iii) How close to 30 seconds it is
(iv) The quality of the arrangement

Of the total of 9 entries, here re the top 5:

(The names are hidden, you will have to highlight the text in order to see them)

5th Place

Odd tune with a memorable melody. The lacking arrangement drags this otherwise fine entry down to a fifth place:

Spoiler

Dick Tracy theme by Damien

[close]

4th Place

With a rich and heavy arrangement it describes the foggy streets of London at the turn of the century well. The melody not being the most memorable and a general lack of dynamics drops this entry a few placements:

Spoiler

Sherlock Holmes theme by Ghormak

[close]

3rd Place

Overall a very fine, welldescribing entry but unfortunatly lacking a memorable melody:

Spoiler

Dick Tracy theme by Ghormak

[close]

2nd Place

The style and arrangement of this entry, as well as the excellent flutecountermelody gives it this high placement and would be competing with the #1 position if the melody had been stronger.

Spoiler

Dick Tracy theme by Ben

[close]

1st Place

With an excellent melody, arrangement and midiprogramming the clearcut winner of the week is

Spoiler

Sam Spade theme #2 by Geoffkhan

[close]

As Ghormak said the standard this week has been very high the number of entries impressive; well done everyone.

I m unable to access Ben s entries. Could anyone who s downloaded them host them for the rest of the day?

Will be judging in approx 12 hours.

Quick attempt:

Personally, I don't think we should be allowed to update our entries because we could be affected by other's entries and get ideas, etc.

What s the general opinion on the subject?

Mind if I take a shot at the other characters as well?

Enter with as many entries as you like. Feel free to update your entries (with newer versions) as well, just be sure to point it out so I don t miss it.

Nice entry btw (perhaps could make it more dynamic (less static).

[The goal]

Presenting the theme of the week:



The goal: will be to compose a introtheme to one of the above pictures/characters. The actual characters mustn t be considered, just go with what looks fitting to the images above.

From the left we got Sherlock Holmes, turn of the century London, the middle Sam Spade, hardboiled noir detective, and to the right Dick Tracy, more cartoony/less serious version of Sam Spade.

Restrictions: The tune should get as close to 30 seconds as possible, the closer the better. Think of it as if you were assigned to actually write music for a TV-serie for one of these characters and 30 secs is the introlength you ll need to adapt to.

Judging: will be based on how well the tune describes one of the pics/chars (you must pick one of them and include what one you are submitting to), how strong the melody is, how close to 30 secs the entry is and lastly the arrangement.

Misc rules: Enter with as many entries as you like. Feel free to update your entries (with newer versions) as well, just be sure to point it out so I don t miss it.

Formats: Any compressed format at sizes below 3 mb.

Enjoy.

His eyes seemed to point outwards (opposite of cross-eyed (exotropia)). Think I corrected it. Also made the whites less white to decrease the eyesize n thereby making them seem wider apart (too closely aligned doesn t look good imo, makes him look a bit stupid).

The eyebrowses has been set further apart as well to give the impression that the eyes are wider apart than they actually are.

The new look is a large improvement though, giving him a look u don t see often in games.