Chit-Chat: "L'art pour l'art" - DCC

[cuttlefishCuller]

wanting to build a LEGO model of Unova's Pokemon Center to a decent minifig scale. Getting slowed down by "how to roof" the darn thing. More out of uncertainty with "is the roof red or orange?" though.

With LEGO Arctic theme, its easy enough to get some orange slopes. Red slopes seem hard to get these days, Other than sloped DUPLO...

Don't surrender to Duplo for the sake of the red roofs. Use orange blocks if they're available to you and maybe consider changing it up if/when more red blocks come about. It's a noble thing you're attempting; but sometimes we need to make concessions for completion.


Also post pics when you're done!

 

[Abnegation]

Are Tags still a thing? I'm so out of the loop with graphics these days.

 

[Kyoe]

Don't give in to DUPLO, you're better than that, my friend! Orange would work perfectly, if you ask me.

I'll also second what cuttlefish said. Post pics when you're done. :D


So guys, I have recently found out that I am downright awful at drawing wyrms... I'll be featuring them in a game I'm developing as a cave dwelling neutral creature, and every bit of concept art I've drawn about them makes them look like they've been trampled by something...
Anybody have some techniques for texture with basic sketching pencils that they'd be willing to share?

 

[Fairy]

Don't give in to DUPLO, you're better than that, my friend! Orange would work perfectly, if you ask me.

I'll also second what cuttlefish said. Post pics when you're done. :D


So guys, I have recently found out that I am downright awful at drawing wyrms... I'll be featuring them in a game I'm developing as a cave dwelling neutral creature, and every bit of concept art I've drawn about them makes them look like they've been trampled by something...
Anybody have some techniques for texture with basic sketching pencils that they'd be willing to share?

Oh! I've got a small tutorial that may help you!

[QUOTE="Creating Texture" by Diane Wright]

Drawing Lessons: Creating Textures

So what is texture? We touch an object and can feel that it is smooth or rough, but how do we translate what we feel into what we see. The type of surface and the amount of texture determines the amount of light that is reflected off the surface.

• Hard surfaces – A hard, smooth surface such as metal or glass is highly reflective. This means that the light hits more of the surface and bounces off. This creates sharp, crisp edges and stronger contrasts of light and dark values.

• Soft surfaces – A soft surface such as cloth or leaves absorb the light, creating smooth transitions between highlights and shadows.

• Rough surfaces – If the surface is rough, the light hits less of the surface or hits it in less or sporadic areas. The reflected light is less, making softer variances in values. But the deeper the dips or crevices, the rougher the texture is. Rough surfaces like tree bark, have many small ridges that catch the light on the high ridge with a dark shadow behind the ridge, creating stronger variances.

​

By using the pencil techniques described in Article Two and with a little practice, discovering how to draw textures can become one of the most favorite parts of drawing. Here are some examples and steps on how to create common landscape object textures.

Clouds and Skies – Clouds appear soft and cottony. The sky behind is smooth. There are three steps to create smooth skies with clouds.

a) Lightly crosshatch with an HB pencil.
b) Blend smooth with the chamois.
c) Erase out the cloud formations with the white eraser
​

Grass and Weeds – Use a vertical up-down pencil stroke. With heavier pressure, start at the base of the grass blade then lessen the pressure as you reach the tip of the blade. This creates a tapered line. Work from the back to front, drawing the shadowed blades, leaving the blades in front lighter.
​

​

Water –Use a side-to-side rocking motion to create the impression of water. The flattened diamond shapes capture the reflection of objects in the water.
​

​

Trees and foliage – To create the illusion of tree leaves, use the pencil mark of scribbling to create short, random marks.
​

• The first layer identifies and shapes the leaf bundles. Draw in the branches that are not hidden by leaves. Then build additional layers, working from the darkest shadow areas to the lighter leaf areas. With each layer, add more definition and texture to the leaf bundles. Use the kneaded eraser to lift off highlights.

​

Weathered Wood – Draw in the details of the wood grain and knots with a 2B lead.
Then use the flat edge of a chisel point 2H pencil and burnish a smooth light value over the top.

• Additional details can be added.

• Use the kneaded eraser to lift off highlights.

​

Combining pencil techniques – Using a combination of pencil strokes, you can create a texture-rich drawing. Here is an example. Small circular strokes were used to create the stonework. Burnishing a layer over the wood grain details makes weathered wood. The bell used smooth gradient shading with highlights lifted out with a kneaded eraser.

More Drawing Tips

• Avoid drawing too light. Find the darkest area and establish your blacks. This allows you to use the full range of values from white to black.
• Work right to left if a lefty, left to right if right-handed.

• Work background to foreground; top to bottom.

• Start on the most detailed (focal point) area. All other areas can then be sketched with less detail.

[/QUOTE]

I hope this helps! This one definitely helped me when I was stuck with filling out a reptilian texture, so I'm sure it could at least send you in a good direction. Best of luck to you, Kyoe! :)

 

[Brivoo]

I wanted to make a series of drawings which I would title "The Deoxys Virus", which would basically be a roundabout way of saying it'd just be a bunch of Deoxys fusions with other 'mons. However, I found myself increasingly frustrated with the fact that, if the other pokémon isn't humanoid, it either turns out looking really stupid or just like a recolour.

 

[Circuit]

Are Tags still a thing? I'm so out of the loop with graphics these days.

I'm still making them, so I really hope so haha!

 

[Skip Class]

Tags are somewhat a thing I guess, but they've died down a whole lot over the last couple of years. I've just started getting back in it after a few years, but in comparison to past numbers it's pretty bare.

Also you lifesaver Fairy :DD I've been looking to get back into hand drawn sometime. Those tutorials look really helpful and I'll probably use them sometime down the line xD

Also I know it's an old topic - like 3 months, but still possible to post in the old Artists Journey thread? or is that thread done?

 

[Amaruuk]

Yeah it's totally still there. Just like right there. Go forth and tell thy story, you'd make a great addition to it for sure!

 

[SvelteDonut]

IDK if this is the right place to ask, but do y'all know anything about making Pokemon fan merch? Has anyone dealt with the legal implications of that?

 

[Fairy]

IDK if this is the right place to ask, but do y'all know anything about making Pokemon fan merch? Has anyone dealt with the legal implications of that?

As far as legality is concerned, I'm not sure. I know some people who make Pokemon merchandise (jewelry, plushes, etc) who do not have express written consent from Nintendo, however still make it clear that they do not own Nintendo nor any of its subsidiaries (which may be enough?). But when it comes to using Nintendo imagery for personal profits, I can only imagine it's not necessarily the most sound legal recourse to just go at it without doing any research, lest risk being served a cease and desist. Perhaps the platform you sell the product on would be able to give you more information? Maybe Etsy or Amazon has a clause that could help you

 

[Skip Class]

IDK if this is the right place to ask, but do y'all know anything about making Pokemon fan merch? Has anyone dealt with the legal implications of that?

Been looking a lot into this recently since a friend and I were thinking of holding up a stall for fanarch and fanmerch (mostly helping her with anime fanmerch) at our local con either next year or the year after.
What are you looking to make? T-shirts or something small as stickers and badges? Also where do you plan to sell them? Online or at a convention of some sort? Of course if you just want some fanmerch for youself it shouldn't really be that much of a problem.

Technically it isn't legal: " You cannot use copyrighted characters to produce your own fan-made items and sell them for profit unless you pay to license the character(s)" but people will still do it. I'm not 100% sure how exactly sure how strict exactly Nintendo is, but I know they have banned a pretty awesome project. I have heard companies like Disney and Marvel (I think?) are way stricter on the sort of thing. Obviously there is so many people making fanmerch it's not easy for a company to stop everyone of them all. "People tend to get away with it because selling fanart based on Pokemon helps generate more interest in the original franchise, sort of like 'free' advertising" it has been said many times.

When a company does sue, it'll be because the seller usually has a significant amount of the number of sales. Maybe you made a pokemon t-shirt for $20 or $30 and you sold 5000 of them or something. The company would more likely come at you than if you've only sold around 200.

I have heard other things like no mentioning it's Pokemon or that the pokemon in the merch is Pikachu can help as well as making your work look way far from the original to make them more "fanarty" will make it easier to get away with it, but I have no clue how that works for some people.

Legal: No.

Likely to get sued: Probably not any time soon.

 

[SvelteDonut]

Been looking a lot into this recently since a friend and I were thinking of holding up a stall for fanarch and fanmerch (mostly helping her with anime fanmerch) at our local con either next year or the year after.
What are you looking to make? T-shirts or something small as stickers and badges? Also where do you plan to sell them? Online or at a convention of some sort? Of course if you just want some fanmerch for youself it shouldn't really be that much of a problem.

Technically it isn't legal: " You cannot use copyrighted characters to produce your own fan-made items and sell them for profit unless you pay to license the character(s)" but people will still do it. I'm not 100% sure how exactly sure how strict exactly Nintendo is, but I know they have banned a pretty awesome project. I have heard companies like Disney and Marvel (I think?) are way stricter on the sort of thing. Obviously there is so many people making fanmerch it's not easy for a company to stop everyone of them all. "People tend to get away with it because selling fanart based on Pokemon helps generate more interest in the original franchise, sort of like 'free' advertising" it has been said many times.

When a company does sue, it'll be because the seller usually has a significant amount of the number of sales. Maybe you made a pokemon t-shirt for $20 or $30 and you sold 5000 of them or something. The company would more likely come at you than if you've only sold around 200.

I have heard other things like no mentioning it's Pokemon or that the pokemon in the merch is Pikachu can help as well as making your work look way far from the original to make them more "fanarty" will make it easier to get away with it, but I have no clue how that works for some people.

Legal: No.

Likely to get sued: Probably not any time soon.

Well that's definitely reassuring. I'll look into it, but it's not like I have anything to sell ATM.

 

[Foxrally]

Hi guys, I haven't frequented this section much since the semi-death of the Pixel Art section (RIP Pass the Sprite, you were a great thread <3), and I've read the rules - requests are not allowed. So general disclaimer - I AM NOT MAKING A DIRECT REQUEST.

I just want to know if there are any artists who are willing to draw a specific scene for a roleplay that is currently going on, Outbreak. The scene involves the death of a player character who just turned into a zombie. If anyone is interested, please don't hesitate to VM or PM me.

Again, if this violates the rules, I'm sorry. I did not see anything in the rules against this, but if I'm making a mistake here, I didn't intend to.

 

[Skip Class]

Hi guys, I haven't frequented this section much since the semi-death of the Pixel Art section (RIP Pass the Sprite, you were a great thread <3), and I've read the rules - requests are not allowed. So general disclaimer - I AM NOT MAKING A DIRECT REQUEST.

I just want to know if there are any artists who are willing to draw a specific scene for a roleplay that is currently going on, Outbreak. The scene involves the death of a player character who just turned into a zombie. If anyone is interested, please don't hesitate to VM or PM me.

Again, if this violates the rules, I'm sorry. I did not see anything in the rules against this, but if I'm making a mistake here, I didn't intend to.

Take a chillpill and relax! You haven't broken anything :p As said before you can leave small requests in the DCC and I'm pretty sure Fairy will agree that this is fine!

 

[Foxrally]

Take a chillpill and relax! You haven't broken anything :p As said before you can leave small requests in the DCC and I'm pretty sure Fairy will agree that this is fine!

Good to know XD I was just afraid I'd break the rules by requesting something.

 

[Prairie]

Hi there, everyone. I'm a newbie to this part of the forums, and I'm probably not worthy to be amongst all the great artists here please don't eat me. Someday I hope to be though! O:

But I was just wondering if you guys, experienced or not, (still) get frustrated when creating art, and if so, how do you handle it? I assume it gets less frustrating the better you get.

As an aspiring artist myself I find art to be pretty darn frustrating at points, and many times I just feel like giving up, but I try to force myself to keep going anyway, sometimes after a bit of a break. Still, it can be difficult resisting the temptation to just drop everything and go cry in a corner. :(

Anyway, hope I can get some tips! \o/

 

[Aquacorde]

Hi there, everyone. I'm a newbie to this part of the forums, and I'm probably not worthy to be amongst all the great artists here please don't eat me. Someday I hope to be though! O:

But I was just wondering if you guys, experienced or not, (still) get frustrated when creating art, and if so, how do you handle it? I assume it gets less frustrating the better you get.

As an aspiring artist myself I find art to be pretty darn frustrating at points, and many times I just feel like giving up, but I try to force myself to keep going anyway, sometimes after a bit of a break. Still, it can be difficult resisting the temptation to just drop everything and go cry in a corner. :(

Anyway, hope I can get some tips! \o/

idk how much help I can be because I'm not that proficient nor persistant of an artist ^^; but when I'm getting frustrated with something it's usually because I'm drawing very similar things over and over trying to get them to look better. So what I do is completely switch art style for a while or draw something entirely different. Like, go from anime-esque to Gravity Falls style characters or go from drawing people to animals or objects. So then it's a new thing to figure out and I don't feel like I'm stuck because creating something entirely new is better than what I had done before in that style/with that subject because that was nothing haha. Does that make sense?

 

[Prairie]

idk how much help I can be because I'm not that proficient nor persistant of an artist ^^; but when I'm getting frustrated with something it's usually because I'm drawing very similar things over and over trying to get them to look better. So what I do is completely switch art style for a while or draw something entirely different. Like, go from anime-esque to Gravity Falls style characters or go from drawing people to animals or objects. So then it's a new thing to figure out and I don't feel like I'm stuck because creating something entirely new is better than what I had done before in that style/with that subject because that was nothing haha. Does that make sense?

Oh, that's fine! Experienced or not it's always nice to hear how others handle these things. c:

So, what you're saying is that when you get frustrated with one drawing, you switch over to another to get your mind off it for a bit. That makes great sense! When you try something over and over without success, it's gonna get more frustrating each time. Sometimes it works, but most of the time it just gets worse, haha. .-.

Thanks for replying!

 

[Ice1]

Hey guys, is any of you making a big project you want to tell us about?

I'm currently working on a tileset (Yeah, gamedev art, the least exciting kind) for the game I'm working on, and I'm really liking how it looks, although it's really hard to commit to a style :/

Also, just gonna ask a question for no reason. What pokemon type do you guys think has the coolest aesthetic? Like, which type does the best show don't tell on which pokemon belong to it, and which type does it best. Maybe exclude fire, as just setting things of fire is a bit boring, haha.

 

[Aquacorde]

Hey guys, is any of you making a big project you want to tell us about?

I'm currently working on a tileset (Yeah, gamedev art, the least exciting kind) for the game I'm working on, and I'm really liking how it looks, although it's really hard to commit to a style :/

Also, just gonna ask a question for no reason. What pokemon type do you guys think has the coolest aesthetic? Like, which type does the best show don't tell on which pokemon belong to it, and which type does it best. Maybe exclude fire, as just setting things of fire is a bit boring, haha.

ehhh my only project is drawing practise :P i'm not a real artist lol

But I think Grass probably has the most obvious look to it. There's a lot of beautiful plant aesthetics in their designs and I mean. There's rarely a grass type that's not obviously grass?