Character Portraits via SS

[Thatamos]

So, been playing this game for about 4 days now and have been liking it a ton. I mean I own all 3 Guild Wars games and they've just become mind-numbingly boring for me, so thankfully this is become an extremely amusing game. Well I felt like doing something with photoshop today so I messed around with my two characters in different angles and made some portraits out of them. Took me around 2 hours from start to finish (initially taking my screenshots (like 20 per char)) and I think I did pretty good. What do you all think?







P.S. - I marked myself as 5 or below for good measure XD

[rek]

These are very nice angles and i vote 9

[Thatamos]

This is sad, more people get critiques / comments from sigs than I'm getting on this picture.

[Knuckles]

They're nice angles and all, but what's ruining it for me, is the fact that you've chosen the two characters that EVERYONE uses. Nice pics though, I voted, but not showing up (Voted 9 btw )

It's sort of repetitive, not very artistic or creative, but nice angles. Hope you don't take this offensively

~Knuckles

[Thatamos]

What would you do to improve? Like I said, was just a quick 2 hour thing, and yeah the characters are kinda repetitive but it's the only two I liked XD Blame the lack of character customization.

So, what would you do?

[Rizla]

I love the first wizard pic. You gotta realize tho that most people in this community are going to respect a sig more than a ss, because an ss is just that, an ss - it really doesnt require a *ton* of skill to take a nice pic.

[Thatamos]

It's not like it's hard to make a sig in all honesty. And it's not like I haven't put any effort into my work in the past, just got bored. Might as well help me try to improve the visuals on it with suggestions.

[Rizla]

It's not like it's hard to make a sig in all honesty.

Not trying to be an instigator or anything I just think that claim is BS, recreate my current if it is not a challenge.

btw I love your shots, this just hit a heartchord when you said sigs are easy. You cant generalize such a broad spectrum.

[Thatamos]

Well it depends on how minimalistic you are.

For example -

http://thatamos.deviantart.com/art/project-war-45519579

That's a CD Cover I designed for personal gain. I used what I already made (this cd cover) for my sig with a simple template. I also didn't spend more than 10 minutes on text to decide the font I want, the color, and how I want it presented.


I think there are other works of art that are more important than a 400x100 image that pops up every time we divulge our ill-conceived opinions. Image's much like my Aurora or Eiffel Tower images.


I think subtle sigs are more powerful than sigs that are super-flashy. But that's entirely just my opinion.

Example -



The guy took a video of the video of MGS4. Who doesn't want to see that game at all times of the day anyway XD



Guy took a picture of CC3 (I think) and put it through a few filters and blam - got a great sig.



It's a small AK....ok. But the guy also made it himself in paint, so it rocks.




I DON'T GET IT Owwwww....my head Explain plse?

[-Evan]

The third ss looks pretty wierd... its like his head isn't connected to his body.. lol.

[fena]

I think I'm in love.
That picture is AWESOME. The colors, the lines. I haven't played Euro, but that's a Wizard or Warlock spell, is it not? It looks like text is floating around him, and to me (from a certain angle), it looks like it says SRFer, haha.

9.5/10. They honestly look fantastic, and I know how hard it is to try to get a good picture. Do us all a favor and submit some of your better ones to our Forum's screenshot gallery, alright?

Well it depends on how minimalistic you are.

For example -

http://thatamos.deviantart.com/art/project-war-45519579

That's a CD Cover I designed for personal gain. I used what I already made (this cd cover) for my sig with a simple template. I also didn't spend more than 10 minutes on text to decide the font I want, the color, and how I want it presented.


I think there are other works of art that are more important than a 400x100 image that pops up every time we divulge our ill-conceived opinions. Image's much like my Aurora or Eiffel Tower images.


I think subtle sigs are more powerful than sigs that are super-flashy. But that's entirely just my opinion.

Example -



The guy took a video of the video of MGS4. Who doesn't want to see that game at all times of the day anyway XD



Guy took a picture of CC3 (I think) and put it through a few filters and blam - got a great sig.



It's a small AK....ok. But the guy also made it himself in paint, so it rocks.




I DON'T GET IT Owwwww....my head Explain plse?

Your work looks great. However, I think you need to realize that most of the serious artists here at this part of the Forum, like Rizla, could recreate your work in a second. Don't take them as PS novices who are just playing around with what they don't understand. You should realize that there are people that do digital art for a living, and Sigs are just that - digital art, albeit in a smaller form. However, the more experienced artists of this Forum could very easily make a large wallpaper-size piece of artwork, or even bigger, that looks fantastic. Making Sigs on these Forums, as well as countless others, is just our medium - the way we choose to show our skills.
It's true that there are member members of this Forum, like me, who are beginners at Photoshop, and spend about 10-20 minutes a Sig. But for those like Rizla, 0l3n, and Snudge, making a good Sig is an honest effort, so please don't take it lightly, because what they roll out is amazing.

And what's not to get about Rizla's orange Sig? Damn, it's fuckin' amazing.

[Thatamos]

I'll be sure to do so (submit image to gallery) but don't try to insult me (I know it wasn't intended, no worries) and tell me they could recreate my photo's. Do you even understand how I took that shot for Eiffel Tower? Trust me, I put hundreds of hours into some of my images, specifically Eiffel Tower. The story behind that image is I, instead of taking the elevator, walked up the tower looking for a good picture. Think about how tall that thing is? I spent 3 days on that looking for the shot that just completely took me away and put me in a separate point of view, and that's what I got from that image.


You all may be awesome digital artists, but cmon mang, photography is the way to go!....assuming you intend to apply it entirely to photoshop XD

On a seperate note....as soon as I can, I'll try to take some more screenshots that are more battle oriented with monsters. Going to be hard getting a real nice shot with that.

[Rizla]

tell me they could recreate my photo's. Do you even understand how I took that shot for Eiffel Tower?

Fena was talking about the digital art you referenced, not traditional photography - and on that note, wtf are you talking about?

You all may be awesome digital artists, but cmon mang, photography is the way to go!....assuming you intend to apply it entirely to photoshop XD

I love photography, I dont know much about it but trust me I respect it as an artform and understand simply from my work with 3d lighting how hard the perfect shot can be to get. I simply ask that you observe the same degree of difficulty in digital manipulation/composition Just as someone can purchase a disposable camera for weekend camping trip shots, a person making a sig can get by with only what is necessary. You walk up the Eiffel tower, I challenge myself to apply everything I can, just in signature form

[Shadowman20818]

I think subtle sigs are more powerful than sigs that are super-flashy. But that's entirely just my opinion.

Lies!

As for photography, I took a couple classes in high school but never really got into it. I understand somewhat and I think that's why I never liked it and didn't continue it now. I'm doing 3-d rendering now, as for the screen shots, it's hard to critique in game photography because we get bombarded constantly by the same images over and over again. I would critique it, but I don't know enough about photography and can say no more than "It looks purtty" without sounding stupid.

[Thatamos]

Meh, I can't stand art classes. I say this from personal experience of about 1 week in a Computer Graphic 3 class and dropping it. I just can't stand people telling me in a downward tone that I should do this and this and not the way I think it should be done. Probably why I self-taught myself photoshop and photography.

[Shadowman20818]

spend about 10-20 minutes a Sig.

The luxury of time.

@ above
Well I like classes for the easy memorizing stuff, but more of it is comprehension of the more advanced concepts and employing them which I think can only be self-taught. If it is taught by someone else and all you do is memorize it, you'll be severely limited on where you take it, but if you remember how to do it, then you can go on and do it well.

Well that sounds like a coach's speech -.-

Also, my teachers are okay, but yeah, people who know more patronize without knowing it.

[Thatamos]

Well....shoot I need some more characters, but for some reason the Chinese characters don't appeal to my fighting preferences. What do you guys suggest? I have two open slots I can use. Do you guys figure there will be another expansion in the future?


QUESTIOn!!!

How does one person go about uploading an image to this site's screenshot gallery?

[Shadowman20818]

Click 'Screenshots' to your left and then submit at the bottom. Then you wait a couple weeks.

[Knuckles]

... tell me they could recreate my photo's. Do you even understand how I took that shot for Eiffel Tower? Trust me, I put hundreds of hours into some of my images, specifically Eiffel Tower. The story behind that image is I, instead of taking the elevator, walked up the tower looking for a good picture. Think about how tall that thing is? I spent 3 days on that looking for the shot that just completely took me away and put me in a separate point of view, and that's what I got from that image.

Don't mean to instigate some more... well, actually, I sort of do... I'm a photographer, and by no means a digital artist, but I try with photoshop. Just so you know, that Eiffel Tower shot is not the perfect shot. Recreating photos is easy, especially that Eiffel Tower one, assuming I can afford to fly myself to Paris... and that I have the right camera with me. If the day looks the same, clear weather... or vice-versa, I can get almost a replica of that shot. the rest is color filters, and masking. No doubt I won't be able to get all the exact same people, or the same cars, etc. etc..

But hell man, it's not hard to take a photo... The only thing that makes a shot perfect is personal taste... and that shot is definitely not perfect, however much time you may have spent on it (I'm looking with an objective point of view, not with personal biase or opinionism)

Digital Art requires not only the skill of an artist, and the imagination of it, but also knowledge of the program, and time spent. Getting a photo is nothing more than waiting for the type of weather, adjusting the position of yourself, and/or the thing you are taking a picture of. It may be an art in itself, but the two are nowhere near comparable.

Digital Art, and Digital Manipulation are beyond photography. It's what you do with the photograph after it is taken, like we use photos in our art, but we do so much in manipulating those photos to create something we want, that if I went out and got another shot of the eiffel tower, whether it be a better shot, or a worse shot. It does not matter which photo we use, because you will barely recognize it when a digital manipulator, or artist is finished with it.

Photography is below digital art. I'm sorry to say, but taking a photo requires less skill, and less time than digital art/manipulation. Maybe not ALL of the time, but the majority of it...

~Knuckles

[fena]

/popcorn
/nachos
/gummy bears
/cameras

*waiting for the heated debate that's bound to happen*

[Snudge]

Knuckles, please look at your own avatar. Think of the bunny.

Photographs may be easier to replicate the digital paintings, 3d textures, whataver, but it requires talent, and a good eye to see things form to that one shot. That one picture that everyone will like.

We just all do different things we're good at, and Thatamos' is photography. It is an form of art as well, and art belongs in the Artists Corner.

Please, let him be.

[Rizla]

/popcorn
/nachos
/gummy bears
/cameras

*waiting for the heated debate that's bound to happen*

/extra cheese for nachos
/beer

*pulls up a chair next to fena*

[Thatamos]

... tell me they could recreate my photo's. Do you even understand how I took that shot for Eiffel Tower? Trust me, I put hundreds of hours into some of my images, specifically Eiffel Tower. The story behind that image is I, instead of taking the elevator, walked up the tower looking for a good picture. Think about how tall that thing is? I spent 3 days on that looking for the shot that just completely took me away and put me in a separate point of view, and that's what I got from that image.

Don't mean to instigate some more... well, actually, I sort of do... I'm a photographer, and by no means a digital artist, but I try with photoshop. Just so you know, that Eiffel Tower shot is not the perfect shot. Recreating photos is easy, especially that Eiffel Tower one, assuming I can afford to fly myself to Paris... and that I have the right camera with me. If the day looks the same, clear weather... or vice-versa, I can get almost a replica of that shot. the rest is color filters, and masking. No doubt I won't be able to get all the exact same people, or the same cars, etc. etc..

But hell man, it's not hard to take a photo... The only thing that makes a shot perfect is personal taste... and that shot is definitely not perfect, however much time you may have spent on it (I'm looking with an objective point of view, not with personal biase or opinionism)

Digital Art requires not only the skill of an artist, and the imagination of it, but also knowledge of the program, and time spent. Getting a photo is nothing more than waiting for the type of weather, adjusting the position of yourself, and/or the thing you are taking a picture of. It may be an art in itself, but the two are nowhere near comparable.

Digital Art, and Digital Manipulation are beyond photography. It's what you do with the photograph after it is taken, like we use photos in our art, but we do so much in manipulating those photos to create something we want, that if I went out and got another shot of the eiffel tower, whether it be a better shot, or a worse shot. It does not matter which photo we use, because you will barely recognize it when a digital manipulator, or artist is finished with it.

Photography is below digital art. I'm sorry to say, but taking a photo requires less skill, and less time than digital art/manipulation. Maybe not ALL of the time, but the majority of it...

~Knuckles

You might have been able to recreate it, but now I sincerely doubt it since you think I used any kind of color filter

And I guess our views on Photography and Digital Art are entirely different. I think there's no line deciding what is above the other, since it is all art. Photography is as hard as you want to put effort into it. Do you even know at what point I took that shot, what the weather is, or what time of day it is? This may be your own opinion, but you sure parade it around as if it's fact, and that to me just shows your ignorance on the subject.

I say this coming from a digital artists standpoint too, especially since I've been doing nothing but digital art for about 4~5 years. Hell, some of the concepts I put together sparked an online game.

http://www.calibermod.com

EXP - http://thatamos.deviantart.com/art/Regent-51596745


Before you try not to sound like an instigator, you should probably choose your words better than "I don't mean to be an instigator...". This may be your opinion, and solely your opinion, but in no way did you make that a certainty to me. It seems more like you find Digital Art to be the highest realm of art, and that in itself is sad because you have the nerve to try and classify what is harder / better than the other. If you can do a rough guess as to how I took that photo of the Eiffel Tower, then by all means, lay it on me and I'll drop the subject of that photo if you get close.

Also, and I do know this to be fact, but it's not as ill-conceived as your last statement was. While digital art can be one of the hardest forms of art there is, there are things in photography that you can easily replicate using digital art, without any problems whatsoever. That I totally understand, as I've done that in the past a lot for Caliber. But at the same time, it's hard as hell to take shots that you can only make in digital art.

Clicky

I didn't wait 9 years for that shot, I took it on spur of the moment. That in itself is harder to get done right than putting it together in photoshop, this I know from experience. Photography isn't something to be spat on and looked at as if it's not a significant form of art, or isn't hard in itself.


And before you get into an e-rage (I know I would be in one), lets look back on what I've said.

In my opinion...
It's my opinion...

So in conclusion, these are my opinions.

Also, on that first paragraph. The right camera? I use a shabby $200 7.2 Sony. Not even a powershot. What could you possibly need that a "photographer" shouldn't have already?


On a side note, anyone try Bioshock yet? Holy crap this game is awesome!

[Knuckles]

... tell me they could recreate my photo's. Do you even understand how I took that shot for Eiffel Tower? Trust me, I put hundreds of hours into some of my images, specifically Eiffel Tower. The story behind that image is I, instead of taking the elevator, walked up the tower looking for a good picture. Think about how tall that thing is? I spent 3 days on that looking for the shot that just completely took me away and put me in a separate point of view, and that's what I got from that image.

Don't mean to instigate some more... well, actually, I sort of do... I'm a photographer, and by no means a digital artist, but I try with photoshop. Just so you know, that Eiffel Tower shot is not the perfect shot. Recreating photos is easy, especially that Eiffel Tower one, assuming I can afford to fly myself to Paris... and that I have the right camera with me. If the day looks the same, clear weather... or vice-versa, I can get almost a replica of that shot. the rest is color filters, and masking. No doubt I won't be able to get all the exact same people, or the same cars, etc. etc..

But hell man, it's not hard to take a photo... The only thing that makes a shot perfect is personal taste... and that shot is definitely not perfect, however much time you may have spent on it (I'm looking with an objective point of view, not with personal biase or opinionism)

Digital Art requires not only the skill of an artist, and the imagination of it, but also knowledge of the program, and time spent. Getting a photo is nothing more than waiting for the type of weather, adjusting the position of yourself, and/or the thing you are taking a picture of. It may be an art in itself, but the two are nowhere near comparable.

Digital Art, and Digital Manipulation are beyond photography. It's what you do with the photograph after it is taken, like we use photos in our art, but we do so much in manipulating those photos to create something we want, that if I went out and got another shot of the eiffel tower, whether it be a better shot, or a worse shot. It does not matter which photo we use, because you will barely recognize it when a digital manipulator, or artist is finished with it.

Photography is below digital art. I'm sorry to say, but taking a photo requires less skill, and less time than digital art/manipulation. Maybe not ALL of the time, but the majority of it...

~Knuckles

You might have been able to recreate it, but now I sincerely doubt it since you think I used any kind of color filter

And I guess our views on Photography and Digital Art are entirely different. I think there's no line deciding what is above the other, since it is all art. Photography is as hard as you want to put effort into it. Do you even know at what point I took that shot, what the weather is, or what time of day it is? This may be your own opinion, but you sure parade it around as if it's fact, and that to me just shows your ignorance on the subject.

I say this coming from a digital artists standpoint too, especially since I've been doing nothing but digital art for about 4~5 years. Hell, some of the concepts I put together sparked an online game.

http://www.calibermod.com

EXP - http://thatamos.deviantart.com/art/Regent-51596745


Before you try not to sound like an instigator, you should probably choose your words better than "I don't mean to be an instigator...". This may be your opinion, and solely your opinion, but in no way did you make that a certainty to me. It seems more like you find Digital Art to be the highest realm of art, and that in itself is sad because you have the nerve to try and classify what is harder / better than the other. If you can do a rough guess as to how I took that photo of the Eiffel Tower, then by all means, lay it on me and I'll drop the subject of that photo if you get close.

Also, and I do know this to be fact, but it's not as ill-conceived as your last statement was. While digital art can be one of the hardest forms of art there is, there are things in photography that you can easily replicate using digital art, without any problems whatsoever. That I totally understand, as I've done that in the past a lot for Caliber. But at the same time, it's hard as hell to take shots that you can only make in digital art.

Clicky

I didn't wait 9 years for that shot, I took it on spur of the moment. That in itself is harder to get done right than putting it together in photoshop, this I know from experience. Photography isn't something to be spat on and looked at as if it's not a significant form of art, or isn't hard in itself.


And before you get into an e-rage (I know I would be in one), lets look back on what I've said.

In my opinion...
It's my opinion...

So in conclusion, these are my opinions.

Also, on that first paragraph. The right camera? I use a shabby $200 7.2 Sony. Not even a powershot. What could you possibly need that a "photographer" shouldn't have already?


On a side note, anyone try Bioshock yet? Holy crap this game is awesome!

1. I don't think you used any color filters, but if I recreated the photo, it would be difficult to get the same colors as you had, so I would have to use them to replicate that photo.

2. I realize that now...

3. Personal Opinion (I find photography incredibly easy and fun, but digital art much more difficult)

4. Going up and down the Eiffel Tower during that certain time of day, finding the height to ground that you think looks good. But to get that certain look in the day, you have to wait for the weather, and the time of day to be what you want as well. If you tried for it, then yeah it can be hard to get, but as long as the weather is the same, I can go up until I find the distance that you used, and then to change what time of day it looks like, it's photoshop from there.

5. Nice stuff you've done for that game.

6. That's what I've done for 4 ~ 5 years, taking stuff on the spur of the moment.

7. I'm not spitting on photography. It is quite a large form of art, but I'm saying that to me, not necessarily some people, as some people may have a harder time with photography as they do with digital art. To me, digital art is harder, and therefore a higher form of art in my opinion.

8. I have 3 cameras, some of them make subtle differences when I take a photo. My older camera has a blemish that makes it blur lights and high contrast areas, so if I took a picture of a lamp in a pitch black area, the lamp has an eerie glow to it, whereas if I used my Nikon $700 camera, its a crystal clear shot. My sony $300 Cybershot takes pictures that are so close to replicating that which the human eye sees. It's all in different settings, and different effects that you're going for.

9. Bioshock is a wicked game, and when I get my xbox, that's one of the games I'm gonna get

~Knuckles
P.S. There may be some things said that don't turn out the way I want them to be said. Conversation Over.

[Thatamos]

Just get Bioshock for PC. There are.....special...ways of getting it now if you want, but I know it's released and ready to go on Steam.

[Snudge]

*gives up*

*grabs chair*

*Snatches nachos*