[Art] Tapewolf's Colouring - Sethir redone [2011/03/16]

[Gabi]

Wicked? Sure, but she still looks cute.

[Tapewolf]

Okay, since Keaton and I put a lot of effort into these and they basically got shrunk right down and stomped on by the text, and they weren't quite the right shape for the panels anyway, I've taken a leaf out of Amber's book and uploaded the backdrops to FA.  I'll add them to DA shortly as well for the benefit of people who don't want FA appearing on their logs.

These are the bottom three panels of Project Future page 83, for those who are interested:

Attack of the 'Cubi (panel 5):
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2925934
http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/Attack-of-the-Cubi-140586388

Preaching on a Soapbox (panel 6):
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2925955
http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/Preaching-on-a-Soapbox-140586100

Shooting the Messenger (panel 7 - contains blood):
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2925966
http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/Shooting-the-Messenger-140585801

There's also a couple of out-takes which people might find amusing:
http://www.project-future.org/pf83kent.png  (Dorcan visiting Kent)
http://www.project-future.org/pf83lsd.jpg  (Lucy in the skyyyy with diiamonds...)

EDIT:
The sea-wall picture I used as a reference was stolen from here:
http://kent-england.net/folkestone/beach.html
...the result of a google search for 'Sea Wall'

[WhiteFox]

Cool work all around. I like the dead messenger. He really looks... well, really dead looking.

There's also a couple of out-takes which people might find amusing:
http://www.project-future.org/pf83kent.png  (Dorcan visiting Kent)
http://www.project-future.org/pf83lsd.jpg  (Lucy in the skyyyy with diiamonds...)

(Tune: Puff the Magic Dragon)
Dorcan the cyborg cubi, lives by the hydroelectric-power-dam...
Okay, so maybe it doesn't scan that well.

Whenever I'm adding flat color to a B/W scan, I fill the background with some random color to see if I've missed any spots. They usually come out looking like that. 

[Tapewolf]

Cool work all around. I like the dead messenger. He really looks... well, really dead looking.

There's a story behind that.  It would strictly break the rules for me to tell it, but I'll ask Keaton if she's happy to mention it.

Whenever I'm adding flat color to a B/W scan, I fill the background with some random color to see if I've missed any spots. They usually come out looking like that. 

What I was actually doing was adding an overcast sky using a plasma cloud generator (since Jakob is wearing his trench).  That was before I removed the chroma component but I took a snapshot of it like that because it looked kind of amusing.
Eventually I decided that a blue sky with some cover looked more appealing.

[Sunblink]

There's a story behind that.  It would strictly break the rules for me to tell it, but I'll ask Keaton if she's happy to mention it.

Damn right I'd be happy to mention it!

Okay, storytime. Basically, I tried drawing the dead body when I was at school. When Algebra II was done and I was allowed to waste some time, my Algebra II teacher took one look at the panel I was slaving over and asked, "What are you drawing?"
"A dead body," I answered.
Mind you, this Algebra II teacher is actually very talented. She's an excellent artist. Once she saw that I was struggling with the leg's perspective and how the body was slumping, she walked over to the whiteboard in my room and doodled a crude outline of a slumped body for me to use as reference. ANNNNND THAT'S HOW THAT PANEL WAS BORN.

Did I mention that my teachers are generally really awesome people?

PS: Tape, thanks for getting all this colored. You know how I feel about the panels, but I'll say it again: great job.

[LionHeart]

Now that is the best kind of teacher.

[Tapewolf]

This is basically a holding page for Project Future but it took long enough to bring together and turned out nicely enough that I figured I'd upload a more detailed version.



Left to right the characters are Ashley, Niall, Azrael, Jakob, Daryil, Dorcan, Kipiru, Ren and Keaton.

Line art by Ren, inking, colour and composition by myself.

On FA (low res):
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3217379

On DA (high res)
http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/Project-Future-New-Year-2010-148982180

[Gabi]

Very nice! But where's Joshua? Is he spending New Year in a cell?

[Tapewolf]

Very nice! But where's Joshua? Is he spending New Year in a cell?

So it would seem, unfortunately.

[Sprocketsdance]

So very cute!      especially the three dancing

[Tapewolf]

Hmm, I've neglected this.  Here's a couple of things I've done recently, newest first:

Sethir



This is Sethir Clandover, a bounty hunter type who I'm currently RP'ing as in the 'Steam and Steel' RP, in a slightly modified form.  Thanks again to Ren for the lines, it was fun to colour.

DA/FA versions are here:
http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/Sethir-Clandover-158208613
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3600168

Dark Angel Cover

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3567866
http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/The-Dark-Angel-cover-157471466

...this is the cover of the new Project Future backstory, "The Dark Angel".  Lineart is by Spooks.


Dorcan's youth

See also Project Future p97, which these flashbacks are taken from.  What I'm presenting here are higher-res versions for those who are curious.

FA versions:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3283427 (flashback 1)
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3283425 (flashback 2 - rated mature for violence)
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3283421 (flashback 3)

DA versions:
http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/Dorcan-s-Flashback-Pt1-150715954
http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/Dorcan-s-Flashback-Pt2-150715841 (again, needs login)
http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/Dorcan-s-Flashback-Pt3-150715740

...and for those who can't or won't log in, here's a copy of panel 2:
http://www.project-future.org/stuff/things/DorcanFlashback_2-50.png

[Tapewolf]

This is a preview of an upcoming piece, "A Ride in the Woods" we'll probably use it as filler for Project Future, but I did want to do this for its own sake.

http://www.project-future.org/SN_scene.png

Now, there are two parts of this which I'm not happy with and would like some feedback or suggestions on.
Firstly, the tree trunks suck.  Any suggestions or tutorials for doing tree trunks that actually look kind of like trees and not some kind of wooden cliff-face?

Secondly, aside from where it borders the earth, the grass is too flat.  Any suggestions for fixing that?

[Gabi]

Wow! I love those textures! I don't quite understand the image, though. Is that an incomplete illusion/hiding spell or something?

[Tapewolf]

Wow! I love those textures! I don't quite understand the image, though. Is that an incomplete illusion/hiding spell or something?

I don't want to show the complete figures until the image is ready, but if they were removed it looked weird with the shadows, tracks etc.
Also, people would immediately go 'you haven't done that bit' where some of the grass is completely flat under the bikes.

[Tapewolf]

Okay, I was hoping for a little more feedback on the grass and trees, but hey, it wasn't up there that long.
Anyway, I think I may have cracked this now.  Here's the finished picture.



http://tapewolf.deviantart.com/art/A-Ride-in-the-Woods-165980277 [Higher res]
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3937624

I may have mentioned that there are a couple of hidden cast pages in my comic.  This may or may not be a coincidence.

Line art is by Ren, as per usual.  He did a good job designing the racing suits and the bikes.
The original image is 4500x3000 in case anyone wants a wallpaper for their 6-monitor setup.

[WhiteFox]

Forests, as far as I can make out, are mostly foliage with tree trunks in between. They rarely present a solid wall of trunks, or block all light (Unless you're in DEEP rainforest). If you want to add some depth, use overlapping layers of trunks and foliage.

A few decent ref pics, courtesy of Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brussels_Zonienwoud.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Biogradska_suma.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:0904_Pusz_Wkrzan_ZPL.JPG

[Tapewolf]

Forests, as far as I can make out, are mostly foliage with tree trunks in between. They rarely present a solid wall of trunks, or block all light (Unless you're in DEEP rainforest). If you want to add some depth, use overlapping layers of trunks and foliage.

Right.  Part of the problem, the reason I decided to try and do it by hewing the trees out of a solid block was because every time I tried to draw the trunks discretely, it looked terrible.  So I figured it was worth trying anything else.

This, out of interest, was my primary reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stj%C3%A4rnfall.jpg
...I guess the lighting on that shot is a bit poor.

A few decent ref pics, courtesy of Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brussels_Zonienwoud.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Biogradska_suma.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:0904_Pusz_Wkrzan_ZPL.JPG

I might try and revise it.  Out of everyone I asked privately, one person liked the trees and the others didn't have any suggestions.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I could see the problem, but, as you say, I didn't have any solutions.

I find it interesting that both participants are riding "crotch-rockets" rather than cruisers, and big ones at that - based on the helmets and the riders, you're looking at something big; even a 1200 cc isn't that large. But that's purely commentary. Other than that, it's pretty good.

[Tapewolf]

I find it interesting that both participants are riding "crotch-rockets" rather than cruisers, and big ones at that - based on the helmets and the riders, you're looking at something big; even a 1200 cc isn't that large. But that's purely commentary. Other than that, it's pretty good.

I don't see 'Cubi going for something that isn't at least slightly flashy 

But yes, it struck me early on that they are a bit oversized, Salomere's in particular.  I tried to frig it a bit with the perspective, but it was a bit too late to change the core design by that point.  I'm also a little irked about the rear wheel on Neremath's bike, but whatever.

FWIW, they were supposed to be nominally 1100cc, though since they're powered by aneutronic fusion, such comparisons are a little murky.
The rear wheel contains an outer-rotor induction motor with the stator in the hub.

This is a quick hack to improve the trees:
http://www.project-future.org/stuff/things/Sal_Nem_scene.png
...any comments?

[RJ]

This is a quick hack to improve the trees:
http://www.project-future.org/stuff/things/Sal_Nem_scene.png
...any comments?

They look great, although the contrast between the texture of the trees and the characters against them is a little weird to me.

[Tapewolf]

They look great, although the contrast between the texture of the trees and the characters against them is a little weird to me.

Yes, that had occurred to me in a nagging sort of way.  I might try simplifying the bark later on.
Good to see you around, by the way...

[GabrielsThoughts]

I do have to wonder why they've strapped their tails down with bungee cords. In theory, a dog can wag its tail in the back of a moving pickup truck whit out any problems. if it's a safety feature, the tale would likely be torn off or pinned down in an accident, and if safety is a concern then shouldn't they be waring muzzles or helmets so their tongues don't flop around?

[Tapewolf]

I do have to wonder why they've strapped their tails down with bungee cords. In theory, a dog can wag its tail in the back of a moving pickup truck whit out any problems.

True, but it's less likely to get sucked into the rear wheel in a pickup truck.

if it's a safety feature, the tale would likely be torn off or pinned down in an accident,

Unlikely - the tail is constrained vertically, not horizontally.  As mentioned, the purpose is to prevent it dropping into the wheel-well and getting mangled, so if the rider does come off the tail will simply be pulled out of the strapping, since it's only held in place by friction.

(For another artist's take on this, see: http://kaceym.deviantart.com/art/Midnight-Rendezvous-27530113 )

and if safety is a concern then shouldn't they be waring muzzles or helmets so their tongues don't flop around?

They've parked and are dismounting, hence the helmets are off.  But they are both in-shot if you look closely.

EDIT: One possibility I considered was an action shot of them actually riding, but I also wanted to be able to see their faces, and having them ride helmet-less was a big no-no.

[Turnsky]

I do have to wonder why they've strapped their tails down with bungee cords. In theory, a dog can wag its tail in the back of a moving pickup truck whit out any problems. if it's a safety feature, the tale would likely be torn off or pinned down in an accident, and if safety is a concern then shouldn't they be waring muzzles or helmets so their tongues don't flop around?

"do not stick hand into rotating appliance"

what a wonderful Occupational health and safety inspector you'd make. 

[Gabi]

I guess all the relevant comments have been made, so only the silly ones are left.

So... Oh, her tail is orange! I didn't know that. By the way, are her ears cut/reshaped or are they naturally that shape and size? I know that many people cut their doberman's ears, but they're usually bigger if left uncut.

And if you keep advertising the hidden cast pages they won't be hidden anymore.

[Tapewolf]

So... Oh, her tail is orange! I didn't know that. By the way, are her ears cut/reshaped or are they naturally that shape and size? I know that many people cut their doberman's ears, but they're usually bigger if left uncut.

Well, the tail is supposed to be brown/tan like her face, like Dorcan's is.
As for the ears, I should probably fix that.  I did notice it earlier on, but we had almost two weeks of 'What colour should her leathers be...?' and I guess I stopped noticing it.

[Keleth]

I do have to wonder why they've strapped their tails down with bungee cords. In theory, a dog can wag its tail in the back of a moving pickup truck whit out any problems. if it's a safety feature, the tale would likely be torn off or pinned down in an accident, and if safety is a concern then shouldn't they be waring muzzles or helmets so their tongues don't flop around?

You mean like the helmets they're holding in that picture? 

[Tapewolf]

By the way, are her ears cut/reshaped or are they naturally that shape and size? I know that many people cut their doberman's ears, but they're usually bigger if left uncut.

That should be fixed.

EDIT:

Damn, I meant to add this....



...I spent nearly two weeks trying in vain to pick the right colour for Salomere's leathers.  I'm still not 100% sure I got it right.

http://www.project-future.org/stuff/things/Salomere_colours.png [high res]

[GabrielsThoughts]

I do have to wonder why they've strapped their tails down with bungee cords. In theory, a dog can wag its tail in the back of a moving pickup truck whit out any problems. if it's a safety feature, the tale would likely be torn off or pinned down in an accident, and if safety is a concern then shouldn't they be waring muzzles or helmets so their tongues don't flop around?

"do not stick hand into rotating appliance"

what a wonderful Occupational health and safety inspector you'd make.  

If I was an engineer in a world where a rotating appliance could easily shred a limb like a a hand in an activated blender/garbage disposal  I'd have either designed protective casing for said appliance or made the device hover on a pocket of air, magic,  magnetic forces, etc.

If you want me to give you an ear full of snark feel free to continue wisecracking and I'll get back to you at my earliest convenience if ever. God bless you for your concern about what "I'm" doing, but  think TW would more appreciative of your undivided attention.


@tape I can't decide if I like blue, orange, or green.... perhaps if the flack jacket had a mixture of black and white padding.

[Turnsky]

If I was an engineer in a world where a rotating appliance could easily shred a limb like a a hand in an activated blender/garbage disposal  I'd have either designed protective casing for said appliance or made the device hover on a pocket of air, magic,  magnetic forces, etc.

yes, and that's why they still, to this day, advise people who work around belts, chains, wheels or anything that moves, regardless of guards, to not wear any loose fitting clothing, long hair (tied back or cut short), or anything loose that could still get caught.

For what it's worth, the elastic? simple, effective, and more importantly, cheap.

If you want me to give you an ear full of snark feel free to continue wisecracking and I'll get back to you at my earliest convenience if ever. God bless you for your concern about what "I'm" doing, but  think TW would more appreciative of your undivided attention.

oh i could, i really could, but you're not really worth my time these days, it seems that you're just baiting me a tad... You could've just ignored me, y'know.

as for Tape: really all i've said has been said, it seems, for what it's worth, You and Ren are making quite the duo lately.