Darkjedi

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I'll be mounting wings on this one

LS Back LS Front

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Mine are going on Battle-Angel

BATTLE-ANGEL (screenshots)

BATTLE-ANGEL (comic version)

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Veteran reward eh? Guess newbies are out of luck. Since trenchcoats are the 3 month reward, wings are 6 months?

It would seems there are new flight animations, about damn time. I hope I can fly one arm out.

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One source called them 'veteran rewards' (including the movie), while someone else (Positron?) said they'd be an unlockable costume piece.

Either way... day one - gotta get my wings!

I created Battle-Angel over 2 years ago, specifically for wings (back when they were talking winged AT). It looks like, 50 levels later, she's finally going to find redemption and re-earn her wings...

Man, I love this game...

A while ago, GillBates popped in to Victory to congraulate the winners of his multi-server costume contest. People were rude to him, and I got a bit steamed. Said some things in Gill's defense.

I haven't been back there since.

What the heck... 49 for Battle-Angel (who shall soon have wings!!)

Battle-Angel

Cool idea, BTW. I wish I'd thought of it!

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Could you do Akillion my main? Sorry, no screenie, hope avatar is alright. He's got same legs as his arms.

Thanks

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LOL, your avatar is itty-bitty - there's no way an artist can get any detail from it. If you're interested in having someone take a shot at drawing your character (for free, no less), make it as easy as possible on the artist.

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Seriously though, could someone draw him? He's supposed to be a kid, like... 13 or so. Thanks a lot!

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He's only 13? Too bad... I draw the line at 14.



Just kidding too.

Wierd. I replied to this thread earlier, but I don't see my post.

Anyway... this is a lot better than the previous incarnation. It looks complete now, and the darker clouds really make TA pop out. I'm not a fan of the cape leaving the frame, but since I didn't say anything before, I'll let that little criticizm go.

Very nice. I particularly like the one by Momo.

I'm tellin' ya, Liquid... art trade!

I say ditch the War Walls.

They're a silly artifice created to explain the zone borders. Besides, the Devs have said they're coming down soon (tm). I've never put them in any of my images.

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NCSoft screws up royally often when it comes to handling this community -- I am not surprised that they fumbled the ball here as well. When this game has vanished, the artists and artwork, will live on as a tribute to this community and the players of this game.

If the makers of this game cannot realize that fact, then that is their shortsightedness, stupidity and ultimately, their loss.

Gill -- You continue to be the consummate professional that you are. You've proven yourself time and again that you are a valued member of this community and an extremely talented artist. No restriction of one of your pieces is going to erase that fact, ever.

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/signed

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Well guys, I just received an email from Arctic Sun and it looks like they won't be adding my piece to the gallery after all. They don't like the fact that my logo is displayed on it and I refuse to remove it because just like my signature it represents myself personally and my art. I don't understand or agree with their hypocritical position at all as it is a FREE gift that I spent a LOT of time on from both myself and W00T Radio (which is why their logo is on the piece as well, it was their event). But hey, if that's their attitude about artists who take the time to support one of their own then they can shove it lol.

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Man...

I'm speechless.

The tail *does* connect to the base of the spine (right above the butt-crack). I think it just looks high since you can't see her backside.

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Beautiful stuff Doug.

Several months ago, when I felt like I wanted to give you a detailed critique on a Poser piece, I'd immediately go to the background, knowing that I'd find some issues there. Those days are LONG past!

Any insights you can share regarding painting fur? (I'm assuming all the fur was done in post, correct me if I'm wrong)

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Thanks, PMD. I know you're a tough critic and I take your observations very seriously. Everyones' feedback is valuable to me, and I have lessons learned from each piece improve the next one.

As for her fur... it's mostly texture. I spent 2 days creating a custom fur texture using a photograph of a tiger and the clone tool, with the emphasis of making sure there was no obvious tiling. Once the piece was rendered, I post-worked by adding in small fibres along her outline, thus removing the hard edge.

Here's a sample of the Body Texture;

ROWR - Body Texture

ROWR - Head Texture

Here's a peek at the piece before I post-worked it, focusing on just the knee. I labelled what changes I made;

ROWR - Postwork Sample

And finally, the hair. I paint the hair last so I can shape it around the figure. I start with a single dark color. Then, I start choosing lighter and lighter colors with smaller and smaller brushes. Finally, I use a 2 or 3 pixel brush for the individual strands. Hair usually take about 30 minutes.

ROWR - Hair Sample

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That is A-MAZE-ING.

Doug, as someone who is trying (in vain) to learn the ins and outs of Poser and PS and all that jazz, I bow to your superior talent and technical expertise.

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Thanks, Professor.

I've been using Poser since version 1 (they're on 6 now), and Photoshop since version 2 (they're on 10 now). Of all the programs I've dabbled with, I feel I've gotten closest to mastering those two, and getting them to 'play nice' together. I'm the first to admit that Poser has some pretty serious limitations, so I've spent the last couple of years learning to get around those constraints. That's why I do so much postwork.

Sharby always has such a cool, glossy look. VERY clean.

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Gratz on that man was it a pain? lol!!

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Absolutely. The fur was a BIG pain, but after a stack of tests, I finally figured out how to approach the piece. This one one of the more difficult commissions I've done, even though she's practically naked, heh.

Lounging in Founder's Falls, no less!

ROWR - Poster

ROWR - Detail Shot

Since you asked...

Here's my website commissions page. Samples and prices are all there. I'm available, but have a pretty long waiting list.

DouglasShuler.com

Yeah, what Gill said... because I can't say it better.

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Lightspeed

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0.0

*blink blink*

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OMG! I love it, Starchasm! I can't wait to show this to my daughter (who watches me play Light-Speed all the time).

You made my day.

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Decent video.
Meh on the music.
But, oh how I love bots.
A-

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I agree - better music on the second half would make for a better video overall. Bots *DO* rule though.

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"...Yeah, but if you use a program with more versatility in skinning, lighting, shading,and rendering, like Maya, you don't HAVE to do any post-work or clean-up..."

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But... but I *like* postwork. That's the most fun part.

I have a friend that paints portraits in the method of the old masters. He stretches his own canvas, he mixes his own paints, he makes his own brushes from imported camel hair, and he even creates his own linseed oil from something or other. He's a true master of the craft. The downside is that each painting requires 6 months to generate. Sometimes more.

I also paint, but I use pre-made paints from tubes and pre-stretched canvas I buy off the rack. I've never spent more than a week on a painting. Neither technique is 'better'... they're just catering to different audiences - one is more fine-art-oriented and one is more commercial-oriented.

I've been modelling and texturing in Maya for years, having created assets for both low-poly games and high-poly commercials. I've made some really cool stuff, actually. But the time it required for one item, or one project, or one image was too much to justify it for the one-time commissions I do for people here in COH/V-land.

Sure, if I were to work on a movie or other lengthy project where a character would animate or be seen from multiple angles, I'd use Maya. But if someone wants a one-time image of their superhero modelled for COH/V, generating a custom model from scratch wouldn't be affordable. Modelling, rigging, texturing, posing, and rendering something from scratch requires dozens (or hundreds) of hours and would cost thousands of dollars. A personal weakness of mine is that I get bored of pieces I work on easily, and I know I don't have the patience to work on a single model for 3 weeks... and I won't charge that much for my pieces.

So, when I get home from a long day of high-poly modelling at my day job, I just want to go for the fun, visceral, quick joy of setting up an entire scene in a night.

I'm not bothered by my pieces 'sidetsteping crucial challenges of 3d art' because I have no pretentions. I'm not trying to achive anything by way of 3D innovation since I know full well I don't have the time or dedication that current 3D masters have... I'm just wanting to make a cool image, have a little fun, and make another player's character become a little more 'alive'.

Boy, did we ever sidetrack! Sorry for the thread-jack. /blush.

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"...Poser gives you meshes to use in your artwork. Those meshes were created by other artists..."

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I think you've fallen into the same misconceptions about Poser that I encounter pretty much everywhere else; that all one needs to do is open the program, place a few figures, and render a piece without any effort. Unfortunately, that's where most Poser users stop... which is less than halfway. And that's why most Poser images are really quite bad.

If someone stops working on a piece at the point of the "Render" button, then I agree with you completely - Poser isn't capable of delivering final images without a LOT of work. 99.9% of the Poser art is just that; unfinished art. Where the artist steps in is in the post-work and clean-up stages.

However, I still maintain that it has it's place in 3D because, in the right hands, it can be made to do some really cool things. When you see a great Poser image, it's not because the program made the image and the user just sat back. No... making a great Poser image is the result of a lot of effort and artistry.

Keep in mind that I'm in the freelance art business, where time = money. If I can make a completely fresh image every few days, that directly effects my production. If I were to model every scene from scratch, it would no longer be cost-effective. So, in my particular case, it's more efficient to use Poser as a base image and then post-work the heck out of it until it's somthing reasonable.

Here's a good example of a horrible render and a piece after postwork. If this piece DIDN'T undergo 6 hours of post, it would have been horrible.

RAW RENDER
AFTER POSTWORK

As far as models being made by someone else...

I draw, but I don't manufacture my pencils.
I paint, but I don't mix my own pigments.
I take photos, but I don't create my own film.
I use Poser, but I didn't make the base figures.

*EDIT* - Oh, and Battlewraith... thanks for the great dialog. I love talking all things 3D.