BTS : Avatar Creations 2014

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Hi DTOM

I am so exited for a new contest as it will light a fire under me A$$
& I definitely need it to move on... I greatly appreciate your time & effort!

Cheers
Ektar

Hey, one of the avatar creation challenged here,
Could any of you more Ava-Creationally advanced humanoid life forms direct someone with the artistic capability comparable to neolithic cave art to a place where one could possibly learn just how the hell its done?

OK, I would like a new Avatar please.

I searched the web and found a few images but none were quite right.

I have always loved the concept in Chinese folk law of Dragons teaching humans but please, no cute Dragons, just the big impressive ones and gold colored if possible. Teaching a boy would be good or a whole class.

These are the ones I found that were close but not close enough.











Each one is nice but ....

See also www.abovetopsecret.com...



P

a reply to: EyesOpenMouthShut

LOL, neolithic cave art hey...

Practice and making lots and lots of mistakes is your best friend.

For starters you need a paint program. MS Paint is quaint, but it is pretty limited. GIMP is probably the best free graphics program out there, but honestly I found it way too hard to get used to. I myself use a combination of Paint Shop Pro 9 or Photoshop CS5, although there are many versions. It all comes down to how easy you find the interface and what the limitations of the programs are. Both are relatively cheap to buy these days.

Then just practice. Use Ctrl-Z a LOT, and stand back and see what the images you create looks like and translates. When I do an avatar, I usually have an idea in my head when someone makes a request of how it will all fit together, the kind of images I want to source to put it all together, and the types of colouring or themeing I want the product to look. Sometimes it's done out on a scrap of paper to fit the images together into one big background.

There's plenty more to it, but like everyone here, just having a love of artwork and an eye for what fits is a great start.

a reply to: 74Templar

That was some good advice and it just so happens that I've been fooling around with GIMP but i cant seem to make the layers work right. no idea what I'm doing there

a reply to: EyesOpenMouthShut

Yes they can! I was very fortunate to have BFFT take me under his wing in Dec 2013
& then everyone here has also helped me learn & I continue to learn.
I do not consider me self an artist (in music definitely yes) but a wanna be here...LOL!
I m so truly thankful! We work together & that's the magic ticket!

These guys are truly amazing & will be more than happy to help you in any way...
We are a team that helps each other...no egos. It's truly magical!

Cheers
Ektar

originally posted by: EyesOpenMouthShut
a reply to: 74Templar

That was some good advice and it just so happens that I've been fooling around with GIMP but i cant seem to make the layers work right. no idea what I'm doing there

Yeah i've always found gimp just a little user unfriendly to stick to it for too long. I started waaaay back in the PSP7 days, and sometimes still use it for simpler stuff. I mainly use 9 now, same format, just a whole host of new things that 7 doesn't have. CS5 is for when I really bring out the big guns, but I think it up to somewhere around the 9 or 10 mark now, but you're looking at a lot of $ for the latest versions.

Ebay is a good way to go if you want an earlier version, a lot of people sell off their older versions cheap when they upgrade. I got my Intuous 3 drawing pad that way, fairly cheap too.

It's a pity all this stuff is on the other end of the country atm, I relegated to a decades old laptop with paint until sometime next week when I return home.

But really, practice is all it takes. Once you've got all the peripherals in place, just click on everything and anything and see what the effect is. If it's no good, Ctrl-Z it and go back to where you were and start over. It's just that simple really.

a reply to: 74Templar

Yeah i've always found gimp just a little user unfriendly to stick to it for too long

Dude.. GIMP is where it is. I used to hate it... but once you get the hang of it, it's great.... and free.

a reply to: Zarniwoop

Hey Zarni! My 9 year old wants to learn Gimp because he's seen it used in stop motion film editing. I've managed to hold off on it for now... Not sure Id know how to start!!! Anyway, just stepping in to wave "hello."

AB

a reply to: AboveBoard

Well... Hello back to you, my friend

ETA: There are tons of sources for how-to's on GIMP out there. I've never looked into stop motion stuff, but it sound pretty cool... 9 year old getting into GIMP ??!?!?

...Gonna put me out of a job.

a reply to: Zarniwoop

Yeah, I get the basics of it, and for something that's a free download plus a pile of upgrades, it's a great program. I just didn't find it very user friendly personally.

Perhaps if there were no other option, I would have invested the time to learn to use it properly, but having been used to the other programs, perhaps I just couldn't bend my brain enough to learn 'another' program.

When I get home, I have promised to make myself to learn the animation programs properly, even if it breaks the ol noggin in the process lol.

End of the day, each program is at least 80% much a muchness of the others, it's just the time you invest to learn all the little bits of them that makes the difference in the end result.

a reply to: 74Templar

When I get home, I have promised to make myself to learn the animation programs properly, even if it breaks the ol noggin in the process lol.

hoooohhahahahah. Good luck...

It's really better to outsource these sort of things...

ETA: I mean... welcome to the club

I fail so hard with avatars. how do you get the darned thing to fully fill the space?

originally posted by: pheonix358
OK, I would like a new Avatar please.

I searched the web and found a few images but none were quite right.

I have always loved the concept in Chinese folk law of Dragons teaching humans but please, no cute Dragons, just the big impressive ones and gold colored if possible. Teaching a boy would be good or a whole class.

These are the ones I found that were close but not close enough.

Each one is nice but ....

See also www.abovetopsecret.com...
P

Proof of concept


Here's the dragon if you all want to play along


Cody

originally posted by: EyesOpenMouthShut
I fail so hard with avatars. how do you get the darned thing to fully fill the space?

Check page 1 of this thread for some fairly good detail. From there, if you still need help, let us know.

originally posted by: EyesOpenMouthShut
I fail so hard with avatars. how do you get the darned thing to fully fill the space?

Here you go
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Cody

a reply to: cody599

That was so easy it made me feel a bit dumb lol thanks
BFFT, Thanks. Im going to be reading for a long time now

a reply to: EyesOpenMouthShut

No Probs always a pleasure to help

I've resized you background image for you, it shouldn't repeat at the bottom now


Cody

ETA: Image DUH

a reply to: pheonix358

Oh,this is right down my alley.
Here are my takes on your avatar.







I love dragons, so this was a lot of fun for me.
Thank you.

I think im getting the hang of this avatar creation thing.
What do you guys think about the new one?