Great Scott! Is that a flux capacitor at the top left?

*Notices FA screenshots in the monitors*

Is one of them a screenshot of a video game stats website that you play. The icon on it seems a lot like a dragon eye.

Great attention to detail overall!

It is a flux inductor actually. More useful in space but a bit unstable. it runs on water. "Yes, ordinary water, laced with nothing more than a few spoonfuls of LSD. " (Guess where the quote comes from and you get a cookie.)

Yeah, I got lazy and threw up those screenshots. It was taking too long as it is. *.*

I could sit back and point out all the mistakes... but that will take almost as long to list than it took to make the darn thing. Glad to be done with it.

It's non-pr0n so I doubt I break 100 views. But that is how it is on FA. >.>

Hmmm...I'm going to guess Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas even though I haven't seen the movie for the quote.

Don't be hard on yourself. It really seems like you put a lot of effort into it.

Whoa, that was way off. I'll give you a hint., it is from a cartoon series. One of my favorites matter of fact.

Lack of views is bad enough. But aside from you two, getting comments is an exercise in futility. Porn works are a little better but still a vast wasteland. I guess I should be used to it by now but I have this nagging think called hope that keeps bugging me. Maybe I'll set a trap for it and set it free out in the wild so it can do some good. I wonder what would be good bait for it.

At any rate, my next drawing is going to be a bit simpler... and adult oriented. Features a rainbow too, in fact playing a big part in it. ^..^ No previews of that as it would spoil the 'joke'.

Hmmm...the only cartoon series that I really follow is South Park, and that quote doesn't ring a bell. I give up!

Hehe, this drawing should be pretty hilarious. I look forward to it!

Zolen got it, Futurama. I love that show. I used to watch South Park a lot but much less lately. Kinda lost interest in it.

Well, I hope my next drawing will be a roaring success. And I hope to get it done by this weekend. It is pretty simple (especially compared to the above one) so it is doable... if I don't anymore things piled on top of me. Been another hell of a week. >.>

Futureama?

Bingo, you hit the nail on the head. You get a cookie. *the dragon tosses a big chocolate chip cookie with a flick of his wrist.* There you go, enjoy.

Well at lest you broke the 50 mark so you might be getting there.

I like it, very well detailed, and despite how you said you didn't get the background how you wanted there is are quite a few things to it, the screen shots seeming to give it interesting touch as well.

Well, the view count is over any of the previews so I guess that is good.

If I ever attempt a background like this, I think I'll do the primary shading before using the perspective tool. Maybe I'll get a better 3D effect. They look too flat for my taste. The screenshots did made things go quicker.

Have hope you have already beat the view count of most of the things I post.

And hm, I have never tried much for 3d effect, (admittedly I avoid background a lot, just making some generic black or white maybe with stars.) I don't know if it will give that big a difference but then again I have never tried that. Might want to test it on a dummy image, something simple so that it won't take to long to see if it works. Before you put it to practice.

I usually do something simple for background but like to branch out. I done a lot of skylines with clouds and distance mountain. Easy but I want to transition myself to better fare.

The key to get that '3D' look I believe is the lighting effects. I suggest start with a sphere and try to visualize how the light would look on it. What I typically do is do my sketching on a layer, place another layer just below that for my base color (I'll turn off the sketch layer once I am done with the drawing so don't erase it. You can use it for reference as you work).

Then I make a shade layer right above the base colors (I keep the sketch at the very top). I set that layer to multiple and then 'paint' the shadows. I do it quite dark at first (but still at like 1% to 4% or so) and then go over it with the smudge tool (at like 10% to 20%) to smooth the shading. I repeat that till I get something presentable.

The next step I feel either make or break the drawing. I create a highlight layer above the shade and set it to divide (as in GIMP). then I add brushstrokes to where I think the light would hit and reflect. Again I smudge it until I think it looks good.

I sometimes use many sets of these layers on different objects, especially there are on different 'levels' away from the viewer. Make it easy to move objects around if need be plus with the separate base colors, I can change them if I don't like it.

For the final touch, I use a 'glint' layer set to normal. So I set my brush to pure white and add the shiny spots in the eyes and things I want to show a sparkle.

Hm, I think I have seen that done the quick drawing used as reference later as you go. (I thought about doing it once but I stopped when my drawing board(no idea what to call it exactly, just something you can draw with by hooking into the computer) stopped responding....I need to buy a new one of those its hard to draw with a mouse) But it did help me in creating that wing armed man that I have in my gallery....(outline was done but details were not when it stopped responding, at the time I had no experience with the mouse so I could not add details so I improvised, meaning he became a silhouette) I have been ignoring my layers as well (yap everything I have drawn so far was done on one layer)

I will follow your suggestion, thanks for the advice.

I think you are referring to a graphics tablet, sometimes called a drawing tablet. I still use the mouse for pinpoint detail work at the pixel level and the like. But the tablet works nice for sketching and blending the colors and shading. I really abuse the smudge tool to death and then some.
As for layers, I use dozens f not over a hundred at times. Far easier to fix mistakes such as resizing and moving certain elements around. Also change the base colors if need be.

Another thing I learn to do is to save often and under a different version number each time. I had in the past somehow corrupt a file on save and lost a ton of work. By adding an incremental number at the end of the file ( i.e. 001, 002, etc.), I have many backup to go back to if I screw something really up. Sometimes I make a mistake and don't realize it until I did several saves. I'll go back and find the good version and use that. Since harddrive space is so insanely cheap these days, I don't worry about the space all those version are taking up. I have projects that go into the hundreds of megabytes of data but that doesn't both me.

Back in the old days I had to be very conscious about storage space but these days I can buy a 2TB drive for less than $100US on sale, it is not worth the time to penny pinch. Besides, what is cool about the different version is how I can see a work progress from start to finish. Nice to go back every once in a while.

Let me know how things work out for you. I plan to make a slideshow with the various previews like I did to the previous gift pic. Not only to help others but to look at the mistakes for myself. Cool to see how a drawing comes to life though.

forgot to reply, but yea I kind of lot attention and started trying to go back to traditional art work....not as good, but at least I have more control over the end result.

Also, can I put this up in my own profile (I will be directing it back to the original one).

Sure, got ahead and use it, I don't mind.

I hardly do anything on paper anymore. I make way too many mistakes. At least with digital, I can chop and resize as I go along. I still end up with glaring errors. That seems to work better for me.

Thanks.

I always end up with more mistakes on digital work, might be easier though if I could get one of those laptops that you can just sketch on the screen.

But with digital, I can fix it. And even better, go back to a previous version if I really mess things up (I save multiple older copies as I work). I had a bad habit of screwing up the inking on paper when I did them. Making smooth lines is not my forte. I even had to resort to using vector to get my lineart one the computer. But I abandoned my lineart eventually anyway as not only it was easier for me to go straight to coloring, but I think it looks better with my style.

I would love getting my paws on one of those tablet laptops,. But alas, I am not willing paying the premium prices they are running. I know at least on company that is offering a kit to convert laptops to touch screens. I wonder if something like that can be done to a LCD monitor.

I know Watcom makes such a beast combining a monitor and graphic tablet but they cost a hella lot. If I can find a conversion kit cheap enough, I'll go for that. Pretty much a moot point at the moment as I am moving back to my 3D arts.

I got used to using the regular tablets well enough. Just takes some practice to get the hand-eye coordination down, but wasn't too bad.

Hm, so far I do a sort of odd method instead of inking, I color while still in paper form (not much practice in computer coloring) then I simply after taking a picture mess with the contrast setting till the lines are pretty much solid black, alter the colors a little with settings in gimp and photoshop, and then I got it, and it is far faster then inking ever was. (then again quality drops a lot, but that might more be from using a camera instead of a scanner)

Hm, it might be more based on plasma and HD monitors, then again, that more depends on what you are doing to the monitor.

I borrowed one, tried to draw something, I am not really sure what I was attempting, I kept looking at the tablet instead of the screen, so a bunch of lines ended up overlapping. I am to attached to seeing the image on paper when I use something like a pin or pencil. (my excuse)

Back when I my drawing on paper, I would sketch and then try to ink on top of that. As you can imagine, I ruin a lot of sketches that way so I rigged up a lightbox by using a transparent clipboard with a light source behind it. Worked well for what it was. I eventually started scanning that inked sheet into the computer and color that. But I begin to skip the inking on paper and go to do it on the computer as well by scanning the raw sketch. Ever since I got my graphic tablet, I go sketching right on the computer, skipping the paper steps altogether. Mind you this progression took over years of time.

Yeah, a flatbed scanner will do a much better job than a camera. I scan at least 300dpi but sometimes go much higher. I then reduce the image size to a manageable level, but still well above what I plan as the final size. I try to go as large as my computer can handle while working on it so that when I finally shrink the drawing, a lot of the fine errors vanish. Another trick I learned is to use zoom a lot, even so close that I manipulate individual pixels at times.

I guess my hand-eye coordination developed over so I don't need to look directly at my tablet. Maybe all the FPS gaming I done helped out with that. *shrugs.* I don't have a problem with it, even going from monitors with different aspect ratio.

I started with a 4x5 pad and found it a pit small but the 6x8 feels much better. I haven't tried a bigger one but it might be too unwieldy. Still I would like to test one out some day.

Yet as a writer I draw just for bored amusement, I attempt to gain skill on computer art work, yet I may eventually grow bored of drawing and do something else entirely.

Hm, if I only I had the money to buy anything.

It just feels odd to me, looking up to the screen when I have gotten used to keeping my eyes on the tip of the pencil. I have played plenty of games (mostly RPGS) yet I don't think it has effected that area of my ability's.

Hm, save money to convert your screen and you will be set.

RPGs generally don't need a lot of hand-to-eye correlation especially the turn based ones. I gotten to the point where I don't need to look at my tablet. I guess it takes time.

I made an attempt at writing and did eventually completed my first story arc ever but I haven't continued it even though I have at least two more in my head. I have a bad habit of leaving projects unfinished. Perhaps one day I'll go back to it but that probably will take a long time indeed... if ever.

I been trying to get back to my 3D works that I stopped many years ago and that been slow going. But I am determined to slosh my way through it.

True, but there are a few that require it regardless. (I think the only turn based I play anymore are final fantasy games)

Hm, the power of procrastination is a annoying curse that play on many. The only way to fix it for most, is to make it interesting, sadly that sometimes can be incredibly hard.

In only procrastination power can be harnessed. I only will be able to power the world sixteen times over with some left over. Not only I tend to put things off, I have the bad habit of leaving stuff undone. So many projects started... so many left undone. >.<

I have over 68 stories that I have made in the past 12 months, only one of them got past chapter 4

Whoa, that is a lot of stories. I only have my 15 chapters but at least that part is done. I wasn't sure I was going to make it for a few times there. Now is only I get the motivation to get on to the next installments.

I lose attention a lot sadly. I do get some stuff pretty far, for example, look for the "chapter" marked stuff I have, "Awkward with time"(title of the story) got pretty far.