|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 19, 2009 12:22:31 GMT -9
Wow, that looks cool. Eye-gouging, but cool.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 19, 2009 12:17:34 GMT -9
Heh. I never even thought of that, Beau, but I kinda see where you're coming from! ;D
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 19, 2009 5:49:42 GMT -9
Thanks, all. These foot troopers are pretty spartan in terms of decor (dark mail, white tabard and a few choice bits of plate armour), but I intend to make them more elaborately equipped as they go up the ranks. He looks Great!!! I really like the black/silver coloring, but it may make it difficult to outline. What plans do you have for the shield? I agree with the dark areas, and I'm thinking of adding a highlight layer to brighten the dark mail up a bit. That there is a straight texture fill from GIMP (the Java texture), and I wasn't planning on leaving it like that. The shield, I thought might be nice with some sort of identifying symbol on it. Possibly some of the letters from the DarkArts BB or Wizardspeak fonts at Blambot. I might even leave the shield blank, but add a couple of symbols by the side that can be stuck on if you want.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 18, 2009 20:22:26 GMT -9
I've started to sketch out a couple of designs for my Elven Nobles for my own fantasy world. My first ones here are basic foot troopers; a swordsman and and spearman. They were first sketched out in blue in GIMP. Swordsman: The spearman I've inked properly (again in GIMP, retracing in black on a new layer), and then imported it to Inkscape, where I used the Trace Bitmap function to get nice vector art out of the linework. Then I re-imported the new, neater lines back into GIMP for colouring. It's not finished yet, but I think it gives an idea where I'm going. I'd love any input you might have.
|
|
|
Badger
Feb 18, 2009 13:08:43 GMT -9
Post by Aestelon on Feb 18, 2009 13:08:43 GMT -9
Looking tasty so far; I really like the shirt design. As for programs, there's quite a few gratis ones out there, and if you've got the hard drive space for them, it's worth downloading several, as there's always stuff that one program will do that another won't. GIMP's pretty versatile, but as I've said in this thread, I do a lot of my vector work in OpenOffice.org Draw, with occasional forays into Inkscape. And since you're not paying for them, why the heck not get as many as you can..?
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 18, 2009 11:55:53 GMT -9
If you're using a vector program, you should be able to simply make a merged copy of all the objects in the image, and increase the thickness of the merged object's outline to whatever you're after. Then you can place that object behind the actual image.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 18, 2009 4:13:49 GMT -9
Your nephew has a really massive head? That seems a little mean. That's a pretty darned cool first attempt! A few extra details and a little cleaning up at the edges, and I think that's already a worthy fig...
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 18, 2009 2:54:45 GMT -9
"Kludgy". That's one to add to the gaming dictionary, alongside "clutty"...
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 14:09:59 GMT -9
Very nice, Dave. Love your textures!
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 9:45:47 GMT -9
He's presumably referring to the same kind of 'bodgers' that my goblins are. Bodging in this context is basically building useful stuff out of scrap. Assuming he's thinking what I think he's thinking, "Junkyard Wars" (or "Scrapheap Challenge" as our UK version is called) is a TV show in which two teams of engineers (professional or otherwise) are dumped in the middle of an enormous scrapyard and given ten hours to build a machine (according to the week's theme) from whatever they can find. They could be told to make anything from a catapult or cannon, to a hovercraft or flying machine. It's usually a pretty good source of lulz.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 7:54:05 GMT -9
I'm sure it's been asked elsewhere, but this seems like the right place for a proper thread on the subject. I was just wondering what programs everyone uses for their art (figures and otherwise). Artweaver: I'm a big fan of this program since I discovered an article about it in ImagineFX a couple of years ago. It's a beta program (currently on version 0.5.7), so it's not actually complete yet, but it's already got a good deal of the functionality of programs like Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro, including plenty of artist-type brushes, and the ability to easily create your own custom brushes. There's also quite a few user-created plug-ins and filters. The other big plus is how intuitive it is to use. OpenOffice Draw: Part of the OpenOffice.org suite, this is a pretty capable little vector graphics app. I haven't really made use of it for things like figures, but I've designed some rather nice badges with it... Again, I find the UI pretty instinctive. Painter Essentials 3: I'd never have bought this program, but it came packaged with my tablet, so I figured I might as well install it. I quite like it, but I find the layering system odd - it's quite obviously only designed for painterly-style art, so it's useless for anything like photomanip work. The one thing I use it for over Artweaver is sketching. Artweaver can be a little heavy on the processor at times (although no moreso than Photoshop, as I understand it), and occasionally runs a little sluggish. For quick sketching work, Painter is a fair bit lighter, so I can quickly jot stuff down with it. Then I can open it up in Artweaver later and embellish. Inkscape: I haven't quite got to grips with this one yet, as I mostly use Draw for my vector stuff. But I downloaded it anyway, partially because it handles several formats that Draw doesn't (although the opposite is also true), and partially because it has the handy 'bitmap tracing' function, which I think will come in quite handy. The GIMP: I'm not a big fan of the user interface personally, and I find it fairly counter-intuitive, even though I know a lot of you guys swear by it (as opposed to at it... ). But, as with Inkscape, I find it's handy to have around, as there's certain things it can do that my other programs can't.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 6:12:28 GMT -9
I was all for round bases, but I must admit when I saw the octagonal ones, I realised they're much more versatile. The corners don't stick out much more than a round base (which can be important for some games systems, where turning rules can be really strict), but they make determining facing easy, and on top of that, they're as good as square bases if you want to rank them up in formation. Better, actually, since you can rank them horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, depending on what angle works best for the individual unit.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 6:05:56 GMT -9
I've tried doing this to the Deep ones I was assembling yesterday, and while it does look good, I found it better to modify the technique for best results (which I'm still working on achieving, but I think I'm getting there). The main problem I found was that by using thick paper (or thin card in my case), when I tried to stick the tabs under the base surface, the tabs were too thick to really fit well. It closed, but I wasn't really satisfied with the fit. Adding to the fact that I found it very difficult to line up the two halves of the fig no matter how carefully I scored the centreline, I thought I change of tack was in order. So I cut the tabs off entirely, and aligned the halves of the figure manually (by cutting close to the black in a couple of key areas and aligning those. I created new tabs by folding small strips of paper in half (in this case taken from Post-It notes) and gluing these between the two sides of the fig. Then I cut out the figs to the black line and assembled them to the bases as described above, trimming the edges if necessary. I made custom octagonal bases to try and match the texture used on the existing Deep One bases - so there's 6 30mm octagons, 4 25mm, and 2 octagonal 25x50 pill bases. The texture is basically a cork texture I lifted from the Net, on which I dropped the contrast, and raised the brightness and saturation. When I make figs myself, I'll probably do a version with octagonal bases attached to the feet; that should be more stable and less hassle for me to assemble.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 3:35:06 GMT -9
That's the fella.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 3:34:13 GMT -9
Hmm... junkyard = possible ready-made goblin settlement in my fantasy world. Are there any pics of this so far?
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 3:31:24 GMT -9
Depending on the quality of the outline, although it'd take a little little longer, I'd recommend using the lasso tool to select the base areas on a different layer, and bucket filling that. If your lines aren't completely solid (that is, if there's even the slightest bit of fuzzy edge), the bucket fill won't extend all the way to the black, and you'll get a white edge round the colour.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 3:28:41 GMT -9
Oops.
Wasn't too expensive a mistake, I hope?
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 17, 2009 2:56:01 GMT -9
He he. Concerning, but very cool...
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 16, 2009 12:40:28 GMT -9
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 16, 2009 11:04:32 GMT -9
I must make a guilty admission in that I haven't actually bought any of Jim's figs yet; I only have the free downloadable stuff. I intend to pick up a few bits soon, though.
Like several of you, gaming's not really something I get much chance to do nowadays. The only place I know of to play is the GW store in the city (though I'm sure there are others I just haven't found out about yet), and obviously the scope for what gets played there (and what with) is pretty limited. I used to play 40K regularly with friends back home, but I moved a few years ago, and haven't picked up a new group here in Nottingham.
However, I am working on a versatile mini-game ruleset, and given the time investment required to model traditional figs (as much as I love it, I have other things I like doing too, and there just isn't enough time for everything), paper models seem the ideal medium for playtesting it. So I'll be investing in a few of Jim's sets, as well as designing some of my own.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 16, 2009 8:22:29 GMT -9
I think I like that last idea of yours best, Jose - creating a separate base texture that slots on past the fig. It wouldn't be able to entirely cover the base, but it should look good enough.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 16, 2009 5:21:59 GMT -9
You're right, it's insane. If I understand what you're going for, while I'm sure it's possible, it seems prohibitively complicated and pricey. Surely (assuming you're talking about paper minis) it'd be far easier and cheaper to just print off another copy of the figs and attach them to different bases...
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 15, 2009 5:04:55 GMT -9
Thanks! Yeah, that's what I intend to do eventually; I've got a whole fantasy world that I've been trying to write a novel about for years with little success. Part of my reasoning with the figs is that they can help me solidify the look of that world, and the races and characters in it. Maybe playing a few games could even help me with plots. I've got rough sketches down for some other orc troop types, as well as other Grune (goblins, dragons etc). I've got a ton of other races and groups jotted down that I need to work on, too. Just need to actually bring myself to do it...
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 14, 2009 19:07:51 GMT -9
Thanks, mate. Yeah, life got in the way and I didn't manage to finish the fig. Though as it turns out something Jim said made me rethink the image and I've redone it with (I think) a more miniature-like look to it. Just need to finish off the back view and I can colour and compile it, hopefully in plenty of time for this month's Hoard. Here's the front view, as I've redone it:
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 9, 2009 16:01:37 GMT -9
For the record, Inkscape does do vector tracing. If you look under the Paths drop-down menu, it's labelled as "Bitmap Tracing". Check out the Help section and you see it's got a fair bit of adaptability, too. Oh, and Hello Kitty's penguin mate is called Badtz Maru. I wouldn't have known this, except he's the sidekick in "Hello Kitty Roller Rescue" for the PS2, which me and the missus just bought yesterday...
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 4, 2009 14:49:01 GMT -9
Damn technology. Unfortunately, that's happened to me far too many times for my tastes. I still need to learn to back up more often...
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 4, 2009 14:44:15 GMT -9
Love 'em. I particularly like the idea of the '2.5D' Crawlers - matter of fact I was thinking a couple of days ago about creasing shoulders and such to add dimensionality. Jack and Adrian look particularly cool, too.
|
|
|
Post by Aestelon on Feb 4, 2009 7:43:02 GMT -9
Yuk, yuk. Gotta love those language filters! It took me till the second of MKChris's "thingypit" posts to realise what it meant..!
Fantastic work, Gren. Any chance you could link the thumbnails to bigger pics?
|
|