Magneton - a study on Gradients

I posted a contest on another forum, and to the winner, I promised a custom portrait of any Pokemon/Trainer(s) of their choice. The winner of the contest chose a Magneton. And the only stipulation he gave me was that he wanted it turned slightly. :P So I decided I'd use the opportunity to learn a bit more about Flash. Guess what I learned? Gradients are my friends! And there's a reason why Alpha comes at the beginning of the alphabet, lol. As of right now, this piece isn't finished yet, but I'm so happy with how it's turning out, I have to show somebody. :D So here we go. What do you guys think so far? Keep in mind that I had no idea how to use gradients or alpha before I started this, and that this is my first time trying to draw anything 3D with Flash. >_< Please be gentle, but firm, lol.

*Work in Progress - 6/28/05*
Stage I

*Still in Progress (But MUCH more complete, lol) - 6/28/05*
Stage II

*Final Product -6/29/05*
My Finished Magneton

Very, very cool!!!

I love it!!!

Hope ya finish it soon!

ooh very beautiful picture!!
i love the way you made the light hit the magneton :3
it looks very realistic!
and your lineart is very clean!!
:3 awesome art!
i cant wait to see it when it's done :3
~kura

Thats coming along great Shuko! The shading is perfect and the circular light effects. I really like this and I hope it is finished soon so that I can comment on the fullness of the picture ^_^

Keep it up!

Thanks for all the wonderful comments! I've got it nearly finished now. All I have left is a few details, and the background. :P Anyone have any ideas on what kind of background would go well with this? :( I'm kinda stumped here...

Stage II

That is one awesome Magneton. As for the background, an abandoned factory or something would be cool. Y'know, low lighting, a few busted machines spitting sparks, maybe a caved-in roof with the moonlight slipping in a few weak rays with dust everywhere. That sorta thing.
PS. How/Where do you get Flash? How mauch is it?

Iron Mankey said:

That is one awesome Magneton. As for the background, an abandoned factory or something would be cool. Y'know, low lighting, a few busted machines spitting sparks, maybe a caved-in roof with the moonlight slipping in a few weak rays with dust everywhere. That sorta thing.
PS. How/Where do you get Flash? How mauch is it?

Click to expand...

-_-; The problem with a cool setup like that is that I have to remember that Magneton's a Steely-type, and stuff like that would prolly be reflected off his surface. I wanna get this right... I wanna blow this guy's socks off... and maybe make people a little angry with themselves for not entering my contest, lol. *Evil Grin* I only had three people enter! *Cries*

Maybe I should do an attack of some kind in the background... Like a big thunderbolt or Zap Cannon or something... I need to keep the lighting in mind, tho... Wait a minnit! I think I've got it! I could do a Zap cannon with the ball of 'lectricity as the light source! That could work, right? :x Now all I hafta do is figure out how the heck I'm going to draw a ball of electricity, lol.

*Edit: I bought Flash from an online software vendor. -_-; I actually bought Macromedia Studio MX 2004 - Flash MX 2004 is part of the suite. You REALLY don't want to know how much it costs... >_< Trust me.

Studio MX is *Cough$900Cough*, and I think Flash by itself is somewhere around *Coughcough$300CoughHack* Lol.

Great Magneton! Amazing how you made this simple Pokemon look so real.

Shuko said:

I should do an attack of some kind in the background... Like a big thunderbolt or Zap Cannon or something... I need to keep the lighting in mind, tho... Wait a minnit! I think I've got it! I could do a Zap cannon with the ball of 'lectricity as the light source! That could work, right? :x Now all I hafta do is figure out how the heck I'm going to draw a ball of electricity, lol.

Click to expand...

I guess this'll work, but I have no knowledge of Flash, so can't do anything here... Still, I'll like to see the finished version soon :)

Yay! It's finished! You can find it at the top of the thread! XD

The picture is really cool~ I like the shading on him. Usually gradients look bad when people use them but yours came out exceptionally great in the way you use them. I also like how their still is the gradient effect on the shadow of the magnets. Great piece.

OMG! That Magneton ish perfecto! ^o^ The circlular lines, and the perfection in the shape and colouring is magnificent! =D I really like it Shuko! Excellent work! ^_~

So you decided to not do Zap Cannon?
Still, the shadows look extremly realistic, so I think it came out great!

Coolest- Magneton- Ever. Message- Too- Short.

Iron mankey I can give you flash I think *coughillegalcough* ive got it on cd

WoW! That must be the most beautiful thing I ever saw!

Impressive. A good use of the gradients and lighting effects.

Very nice, the lighting is sexy.