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Honk, I was a clown. When I was a kid. I spoke in funny voices, and I liked when people laughed.

So, after this awkward introduction I just bought a decent mic. It's not perfect, but it does get the job done (samson portable mic, 60$) and been fiddling around in audicity for a lil while now. I've found that I might just have a voice for some more basic vocal work, but I am in DIRE need of training. Tutorials in all their glory, what I really really need is someone to help me out over skype or whatever. You know, like a session of sorts. In short; I need direct feedback, and some pointers when I do the error. You know like when you play golf, and this person holds your hips, grabs your hands, and helps you move correctly, whilst sniffing your hair, pulling you close.. *cough*

Also!

I am in need of some decent tutorials. And I don't mean editing tutorials, I mean proper voice acting tutorials. My voice is cracking up, I stumble on words, and my "S" is ridiculous, and I need some pointers before I actually start going live with it. Been smoking for about 10 years as well so it has left a serious mark, but I'm sure I'll find ways of recouping.

Lastly, how did YOU practice to become a voice actor? Anything you want to share, or just got a funny story about voice recording in general? Do share, I'm eager to get started with this rediscovered hobby of mine!

And merry christmas!

Hello fellow new grounders! After much consideration on where to put this, i felt this was the most fitting place. So there!

I have just (today) started my baby steps into flash programing that is spanning over a year. It is a in-depth one, full-time which I'm told is gonna lead to work, so i take it ill learn a lot, and hopefully fast. I have always wanted to create stuff with other people, but have yet to find a tool for my creativity, up until now.

To the point; I would very much like to find a couple of other people who, like me have just started their career, or just wanna find people to build a name with. Im looking for animators, other programmers and possible "mentors". Think of it like a study group, much like you do when taking art classes, but learning how to work with others on a larger project.

As stated, i am new, and it will take some time before i will do anything that will even resemble a game, but then again, having other people experience a similar trip could (to me) only improve the experience.

Other then that, this is me, trying to contribute.

Facts before reading: I dont care what your political view points are, and i dont care much for a discussion about "The US vs EU". Living in the EU i can honestly say we're pretty much one and the same.

So yeah, been having these weird fits, usually at nights where i just browse thrue random forums, reading whats on peoples mind. I've been on the Lulsec twitter, weird Illuminati youtube videos, rap news, news casts, posts and it just keeps going on and on. I dont know, but im under the illusion that patterns are emerging. Im at the bottom of the food chain, and i just keep seing how stuf that happens all over the world suddenly appear in my neighbourhood. Economic crisis my ass, we're on the verge of a shift in the way the world works. The western world is pretty much beginning its journey deeper into mental enslavement and assimilation, whilst the middle east is conforming to our ways, thinking it will actually make a damned difference.

Im beginning to feel the urge to do something, and yet i just sit on my hands, doing nothing. I try to look inside and feel some sort of way to help "the good cause" and yet i find only violence. I want to take up arms and rush at an enemy that does not exist. No one seems to know what they are doing, not me, not you, not the governments.

We dumb us down willingly with games, booze drugs and MTV and anyone who dares judge us is a fucking asshole who should stop trolling the interwebs with their conspiratorical bullcrap.

We have been exploiting the world for so long now, with no end in sight. The imperialistic system we installed after the 30 year war in Europe is still very much alive, and whats worse we actually think it will make any sort of difference. As the world seems to be spinning faster and faster around us, men of power is using the same weapons we once used to keep us down. So we plot against eachother, we find enemies all around us, we kill, we rob we rape to what fucking end? Symptoms of a sick system is treated with hate violence and plain ignorance. Is this all that we are? Have we really not come further than this?

Help me out guys, is there anyone who can help me make sense of all this? Does it really matter if i got all my facts straight? Do you care if i have personal experience of a fucked up system, or do you just care about what you have seen and know? Ofcourse you cannot relate with a poor man, if you have not been poor yourself, but does that give you the right to put people in power who will ultimately take my rights away? Do we really have no responsibility towards eachother?

Basically what im struggling with here is; Are we really so few who believe our viloent ways is caused by something, and that it could be treated?

If you managed to get this far, please i am in no way trying to force any conspiracy theory on you. Shit is going down all around us, i would even go as far to say its a fact. I am just asking for your humble opinion on all this, or just a pointer on how to get involved with people who feel the same. I know your out there, i just dont know where to turn.

Thank you.

Hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your husband, cause they're bombing everyone out here!

At 4/20/10 06:38 PM, Sekhem wrote: thanks man i was always wondering how to fix my old samsung mp3 player :)

Hehe repay me by spreading the word. ;P Seems like alot of people are / have been struggling with this. xD

Gotta say.. Im quite surprised over how good the quality is concidering it only cost me 50eu. :P

*gets coat*

Holy crap, i really didnt think so many people was struggling with this aswell O_o

You guys are very welcome <3

Hello thar NG!

Since im not really active on any forums i thought id just put this out there. I bought a Samsung Yp-S3 mp3 player some month ago and since then ive gone thrue hell trying to find aproper program to make it work. After practically flooding my comp with converter programs and spyware i came across emodio. Apparently this program was not stable on Vista before, and thus most forums will say that its useless for Vista users.

However it does indeed work! Just download it and pull the file over into your player, and its all set.

Seems like samsung finally realised that user friendly software is half the battle.. :/

Thought id put this up here should anyone struggle with this..

Ipod ftw? : /

(EmoDio isnt bundled with the mp3 player btw)

At 9/9/09 04:39 PM, J-qb wrote:

I like this. It shows how just a little more effort can make a piece really stand out a lot more.

Proof that im actually taking in what your saying! Now, ive just started with this, but i rekon this is gonna be my first real image made entirely on my tablet! Its also the first time EVER ive managed drawing, even if a scetch, that im not annoyed at something.

First time saying this; Work in progress! *^_^*

At 9/9/09 09:06 AM, J-qb wrote:

hmm, Well, one tutorial that really helped me was one I cant really find anymore... It was initially a drawing of a face, but it eventually became a mask.
a few of the big things would be:
-before any other colors, put in the background, or at least the background color... on a dark red background, a greyish-pink color will look like white.
-use Three basic shades for each color: dark, light and mid.
-put in the mid shades first.
-put in the darks and lights (these are shades of the same color, not black and white)
-add very deep shadows and highlights (black white)
- use alt+click in ps to quickly select different shades.
- use a custom brush... It takes some time to figure out, but it is worth the effort.

Im gonna try out the pointers you've provided and see what i can come up with. One pointer puzzles me though, and thats the brush. I have no past education in any drawing program (like it doesnt show >_>) and im using GIMP atm cause ps is waaay to messy for me atm. Do you mean like a texturing brush, or different shaped brushes, and if yes, to what purpose?

And btw, thanks alot for taking the time.. Most people just walk away. <3

Here's one colouring attempt i made some week ago. Better then expected, but still alot more to wish for..

It's a rough scetch so havent really worked with the lines, just the colouring. *^_^*

At 9/8/09 10:48 PM, meganinjo wrote: i really like where youre going with that, but wheres his nose? >.<

I knooow.. See when i was a kid i had a hell of a time trying drawing noses so i later developed a fear of drawing em.. However fret not! Ive started practising noses n stuff!

Heres another scetch thingy thing. I think i have improved a tad with the shading. And yeah, "she" has very manly features, but alas ive only just started to get the hang of the whole.. Drawing females.

Anyho, enjoy!

PS: She has a nose ;P

At 9/8/09 04:48 PM, J-qb wrote:

Its up to you of course, but I like to make full drawings (lineart,shading and color) so that I can have some variation... I tend to get bored doing only lineart etc..

Yeah it is getting a tad boring with all the shading and stuff, but i gotta learn to walk before i run. My goal is to be able to make full drawings but alas i have yet some things i need to figure out.. Such as texturing, and patience with using cours instead of shades (use bright red and shade with black).

Also if you know any nice tut's on inking that would be super! My hand is way to shaky to ink properly..

Also; Some other pic i made a lil while ago.

At 9/8/09 01:07 PM, J-qb wrote:

hmm, looks okay. His right shoulder seems to overlap his head, which cant be correct.
I cant really make out what he is holding/doing with his left hand...
Overall, this piece could use some colors, and the shading is quite sloppy (big brushes, no good solids)

second one: like the composition, sets a mood. again, it could use some color, and again its shaded quite sloppy.

First one; Ah yeah.. The thing hes holding.. i have no idea either.. more of a practise piece then anything..

Second one; Hmm, taking some time to think about it yeah, i think i see what you mean. I agree with colour, but so far im happy with keeping it in shades because im still learning how to keep a steady line and stuff, and as you can see, im still getting the hang of shading. ^^

Well ima give it a go.. Prolly will update sometimes soon for poops n giggles.. ^^

Thanks for the input!

And another knight. Quite poud of this one tbh.. Should i be? >_>

Thought id join the crowd and post some of my "work" here for all to comment on. If you have a comment dont worry about it, be brutally honest as long you are actually giving me critique, and not just saying "yo suxxors".

I have problems with making a picture from start to finnish so most of em are somewhat half arsed but it is what it is.. Please, enjoy :)

Ooh glad this got up and running again! Thought this was dead for sure ;P

Anyway heres a little contribution.. i think ive improved since last time ^^

But uhh.. its more like.. 15->35mins what with the detailed scouter and some face features ^^

What time it is.. Isnt it tea time yet? You ARE english arent you?

And maybe you shouldnt untie yourself just yet. Its quite a fall..

:awesome story btw *^_^*

At 5/30/09 10:15 PM, nats wrote: it looks like it was drawn really quick

Its shit and doodles :P

And yeah, you got a sweet style! ^^

At 5/17/09 08:10 PM, TheMason wrote:

Lots of interesting points.

Ill keep this short. :P

You have given me some very interesting points, and im gratefull you havent resorted to "y0r liek european y0 naow nathing". I checked your links, and i am quite chocked over the numbers. Also your story about your cops response time, and how a gun slinging society keep their peace by deterrence, made some impact on me.

Seeing how this topic is about gun control i wont go on about my other thoughts on this, because it would evolve into a completely different topic, and thus ill leave this at what it is.

I have however enjoyed this conversation. ^^

My opinion still stands though. ;)

Cheerio.

Uhm, i followed the link and it was a bunch of penises on youtube in a slideshow.. Was that right? :P

And yeah, its pretty clear in the art forum rules that you post a picture with your new post.

Also, its concidered polite here to not rely on links to outside sources. ;P

At 5/17/09 02:47 PM, StephanosGnomon wrote:
What a ridiculous argument.

If "your [sic] gonna kill someone" then what you eventually grab could be just about anything. You can kill a person with a can of soup and a tube sock. Hell, you can eat the soup for lunch and kill the person with just the sock. Sure, guns are pretty efficient at ending lives but it's wacky to try to suggest that's what every person with some sort of malicious intent is aiming to use, e.g. if I'M gonna kill someone I'm grabbing a garrote -- a lot less noise and a lot less mess. But anyway...

The topic isnt "how to kill a man". Its about gun control. And a gun is pretty efficient at taking someones life indeed. Its built for it.

One thing some of yall seem to ignore or maybe not even realize is that a gun can defend lives without even needing to be fired. Just seeing a gun or hearing it being cocked can bring an end to a confrontation. You really, really underestimate the deterrence factor. People aren't jumping at the chance to kill nor to be killed.

And if you had read my other post you'd see ive already explained my view on that. Im not underestimating it, im put off by the fact people think thats a good way for a society to work along. Instead of solving the problems, bring out more guns on the streets.

<insert Benjamin Franklin quote about the value of liberty versus the value of safety>

Im sorry but i have no idea what your talking about there so do post a link to what that is.

And on the notion that guns don't save lives... it's either really presumptuous or really dishonest. Still bodies are easy to count so I imagine that there's all sorts of statistics for gun-related deaths... but that doesn't mean it's a closed book on the matter. You don't know how many lives have been saved due of firearms. You couldn't even get a reliable statistic for that because there's no way to count the number of mouths fed through the use of hunting firearms nor could you tally-up all the "could have wound up dead" scenarios that were avoided due to the use or simple presence of a firearm.

So basically your not saying anything here. Its my statistics versus your statistics, wich brings us to different view points, and i can respect that.

People are never fond of getting their rights and privileges taken away because people other than themselves had acted irresponsibly with theirs. Imagine if you had a clean driving record but the government told you that you couldn't own a car because of all the accidents other people had caused. Imagine if the government made it illegal for ANYONE besides military/big industry to own automobiles and forced all civilians and private businesspersons to use mass rail transportation. Despite the ecological benefits that might bring, do you really think people would be leaping for the opportunity to change their lifestyle to something like that? To give up personal liberty for the promise of future safety?

When laws change (atleast in sweden) it doesnt effect those who once have been approved of something. Such as, if the gun laws change, your still keep your license, but if your to buy a new gun, you have to go thrue the new system. So i agree, thats only fair. Given is given.

What im concerned about is how EASY it is for you guys to get hold of guns, and how all your logic is twisted around guns, while you should be more concerned bout the social decent into violence. And this isnt me pointing a finger at the US, its happening here aswell, and to be frank, it frightens me. The US is a role model for many western countries, and your way of life will eventually spread over seas, and its proven ITS NOT WORKING.

This will also be my last post in this thread for a while to avoid a flame fest.

Also; Everything ive said here is in MY opinion. It all comes down to different raising, and circumstances.

At 5/17/09 03:34 AM, TheMason wrote:

1) Do you mean a revolver can only fire one bullet at a time...or can hold one bullet? If you mean it can fire one at a time you're correct. If you mean it can only hold one bullet at a time...you don't know what you're talking about. By definition a revolver can hold multiple bullets.
2) The vast majority of revolvers are pistols which are not really good for hunting...you really need a rifle.

Im talking about a plugged revolver wich can only carry 1 bullet, alternatively a gun made to purely contain one bullet. And for hunting its used to execute (dont know the correct term) animals that has either been hurt by a car, or shoot in the wrong area and thus suffering. As in go up close and put a bullet to its head.

Now, as for the whole business of using guns to 'kill'. Most of our gun violence is due to Ethno-Linguistic Factionalization (ELF) or basically how racially diverse we are coupled with two disctinct and competing gang cultures. Furthermore, instead of being surrounded by European countries we are bordered by a country that has lost control of its military and police to drug cartels and are funneling drugs, guns and humans across this very porous border.

The problem is not the availability of legally available firearms to the civilian population.

So the solution is more guns? Even if that is the answer, a law that would force people to take a course to use the gun would be a good idea. As in learn how to properly defend yourself with one.

There is no merit in this argument. It is an appeal to emotion. The truth is a firearm is used over a million times a year in the US for self-defense compared to only 16,000 firearm homicides. An even lower number is the amount of victims of sensationalized school shootings.

Have you guys even trie to reduce the numbers of firearms in the US? And how many of those self defenses could have been solved WITHOUT a damned gun. The only thing im hearing here is how you think guns are the only good way to protect yourself. And again, better laws, and most importantly, better education wouldnt hurt anyone.

So? Why is all of that necessary? Hunting is a skill that has to be engaged in to become proficient...only the very basics of which can be taught in a classroom or by a book.

Really now? As the author wrote before, people coming in with shot cows, horses and large dogs. 60% of the tests concists of knowing WHAT to shoot, and WHEN you can shoot it. You also learn gun safety, how to properly handle your gun (keeping it clean etc etc) and ofcourse you need to be a decent shot to be able to get passed. Why is this good? Reduce suffering for animals in general. I agree, while hunting you need to be hunting to become really good at it, but knowing the basics such as how not to kill livestock is a good idea.

We do have concealed carry permits have they have been proven to effectively reduce the rate of crime. In states that have concealed carry, crime rates have been shown to fall even when the national average is going up. The rise of which is usually fueled by the cities and states that have virtual gun bans such as New York City, Washington DC, Chicago and LA.

I havent seen the numbers so i cant really comment on that. If you do respond to this, please attach a link to it aswell. Thanks.

As for protection: over a million uses per year. And as for the emotive argument about solving problems "...without someone dying for it...": 2% of civilian defensive uses of firearms have resulted in injury...compared with 11% of police defensive uses of firearms.

So off 100% trying to defend themselves, only 2% managed to hit their target? Clarify please. :P

So hate to break it to you, but your knee-jerk idea that 'such weak laws' only increase the chances of people getting 'blown-away' is actually proven to be wrong by the facts.

I still dont believe more guns is the answer to the problem. So far you seem to fancy the idea of terror balance. Everyone walk around scared, thus no one dares to jump someone. Sure, im wavering. You have made some interesting points, but i still dont believe its the answer. Atleast i wouldnt fancy the idea walking around scared all the time.

We fight hard because we don't want to end up like Sweden. :)

I find this funny, because since when did US try to become like Sweden? And was this a attempt to insult me, or what? The problem here is that were both grown up in two very different systems, and thus our views are very different. Ive been tough solving a problem can be done without displays of power, or violence. While you have been taught power and violence is the answer. Thats all im hearing atleast..

But as for your emotive argument about saving ONE life. I'm looking at this from the perspective of public policy and what is good public policy decisions. See the government only has so much money, material and people to deal with problems. So they have to allocate these resources to do the most good.

"Allocate these resources". The government doesnt own the money in your country, the banks do.

Now things like education and other Socio-Economic factors are significantly more correlated with violent crime than the availability of guns. This means programs that increase education and affluence (such as economic development) do far more to save lives than gun control.

Then we agree on something.

However, laws (like gun control) that only deals with rare occurences (such as assault rifles used in crime) drain money away from programs that will make more of an impact and save more lives.

So your saying its better to let the weapon dealers keep the power? And my biggest concern isnt only the numbers of guns, but also there are no real control over who gets hold of one.

Therefore, you may save ONE life but actually cause the deaths of THREE or FOUR others and perpetuate the cycle of violence.

I havent seen the numbers your refering to, only them "false ones" that sais you have insanely lots of gun accidents and homicides compared to most other countries.

But hey, whatever makes you feel like you've done something (even if what you've done has been counter-productive).

Attempt to ridicule me?

When you run the numbers, European-style gun control (to include Canada) just isn't good public policy.

I want numbers. Show me yours ill show you mine mmkay? ^^

At 5/16/09 06:25 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote:

At 5/16/09 02:04 AM, Xemras wrote: So a soldier who kills his own men is a criminal, but when he kills civilians indigenous to the region he's stationed he's a hero?

Define "kill civilians"

It's a sticky situations overall and you should at least specify

Taking a gun, and fire at a unarmed person who just HAPPENS to live there.

Maybe thats the reason the dude went crasy? A mission turned out to be a extermination and he never really got over it and decided to execute som justice?

Hell do we know, they are not suposed to be down there anyway..

All the wars? Seriously what sort of question is that anyway.

WW1 and 2, Afrika, Vietnam, and the cold war, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq etc etc. its all just bullshit, none wanted it, yet our leaders managed to talk us into it likes lamb to the slaughter.

All it takes is a little spark, and the whole western world cries for blood.

Sickening..

At 5/9/09 08:09 AM, TheMason wrote: First of all, I know some may compare this to obtaining a driver's license. There is a fundamental difference between being able to drive and owning a gun. One is a priviledge while the other is a Constitutionally guaranteed civil right. Furthermore, driving a car is a far more dangerous activity than owning a gun.

The thing is, if your gonna kill someone you dont go grab your car, you go grab your gun. The main reason there should be license to have a gun is just because of that. If you wanna kill someone, just go buy a gun, and you'll have it within weeks, while in sweden our laws prevent it. For example, the type of activity you want to use a gun for dictates what type of gun you use. For hunting you usually only get a revolver wich can only have 1 bullet at a time.

So at this point, given that a complex and deadly machine such as a car does not require formal education...then I ask those who favor this...why should a simple machine that is responsible for only a fraction of accidental deaths be held to a higher standard than a car?

Yes! A car is a means of transportation, while a 9mm semi automatic gun is made purely to take human lives. Nothing more, nothing less. A kid using a gun at school are only using it for what its designed to do. Take human lives.

Specialized Training
Hunting
When I was in the seventh grade an entire week of our science class was dedicated to hunter's education (my teacher was also a certified Hunter's Safety instructor). In fact in order to buy a hunting license in Missouri you have to complete this course (it is like 7-14 hours). I have no problem with this. I don't know how many times some city-slicker has driven up to my local game check-in station to check-in a "deer" that turns out to be a cow, horse or a rather large dog.

Aww, you have to take a little test? In sweden you have to read 300-400 pages, and then take about 10 different tests leading up to a final test wich then permits you to hunt. After that you need to buy a weapon wich you then get a license for. You also need to have a special gun locker to be able to get the license. Thus canceling out anyone to just go grab a gun to put a cap in someone ass. Also, if you have any sort of history with drinking problems and or violence, your license is instantly withdrawn, and so is your hunting license. It takes about 6 month's, up to a year to get a hunting license. For the record i am a proud owner of a hunting license, and the stuff you learn is priceless.

Concealed Carry
I firmly believe that someone wanting a concealed carry permit should have to attend a class. They need to be instructed in the legal responsibilities, liabilities and permissions that come with their permit. They also need to learn some tactics. Currently, all that is required on the practical side is how to hit a target.

I find it sickening your even bringing this up. Why the hell does that even exist? What would be the main reason for carrying around a concealed gun? Protection? How many times do you think people have "protected" themselves, and it could have been solved without someone dying for it? The chanses of people getting blown away only increases with such weak laws against weapons.

And for the record, saying that "cars kills more anyway" is just twisted logic. If stronger laws would save the life of ONE person, wouldnt that be enough? Why do you guys fight so hard for it anyway? Its not saving life, its taking lives.

But as long you guys dont have to change your lifestyle its okay yeah?

At 5/12/09 01:27 AM, jagondudo wrote: IdentiC shame on you using pure white and worse the airbrush for highlights...i'll guess you ran out of time and not lazy :P

No, i ran out of patience. xD

About that, anyone know a nice tutorial for painting textures? ;P

This thread is kinda useless.. The US pretty much owns the weapon market in the world, and good partnership with other manufactors. For example a certain hand held missile designed to take out tanks are from the start a swedish invention (i think its switched out with another one now >_>).

So basically. US owns the weapon market. Lots of money and man power. Bases all over the world, and carriers.

I mean.. It would take NATO to match that, and US also happens to be head of NATO, so howeever you look at it, most countries are screwed anyway. -_-

US has followed a old saying to the letter. "If you want piece, arm for war" or something of with the same meaning. :P

NEXT UP; Island vs Russia!

HELLO!? Can you guys stop referring to Europe as one single nation?

There are 44 countries in Europe! And can you please be specific about if you mean the EU confederacy or Europe.

I mean even a big piece of Russia is part of Europe.

Refering to Europe is like refering to Asia.

Haha, it just got blammed!

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Alright i should explain myself. Some might have seen me around every now and then, and yes, i am quite new to the forums on newgrounds despite the fact ive been a member for years now. Ive come back after a major writing cramp wich lasted for years, and i invested in a WACOM tablet and downloaded GIMP and got started with drawing once more. Long story short i got faced with problems i hadnt faced before. Due to the fact i now can color and make my creations MORE then scetches, i can really feel my focus dropping. This often results in half arsed coloring, and / or simplifications wich drastically decreases the overall look on my work.

Ive been watching every tutorial ive come across on the interwebs, but alas, its like school all over again. This might be taken as senseless whining, but its not! I am confident there are more just like me out there!

What im looking for here is; How do YOU cope with dropping focus? Do you have any certain way to simplify the process of making details, and different textures on your drawings? Do you close your eyes and go "Woooooosh.. woooooosh" everytime the stress kicks in?

After a long session of drawing i often find myself chain smoking cause of it causes me alot of stress feeling im not getting were i wanna go. How do YOU cope with that?

After a while this results in me getting a major writing cramp and im scared shittless of that happening again. I dont know anyone else then myself who does alot of drawing were i live so i really have no one to turn to with this sort of problem so alas, im here, asking for any advice.

Keep in mind anything is helpfull. I also encourage people to post examples of how you "haxx" with certain aspects of a drawing.

I will start off with a example of a drawing i made, but just lost focus half way thrue.

(This can also be found in the "Draw a sniper thread")

This is everything i can muster at the moment. After drawing the main features of the overall character my focus drops so low i cant maintain the original feel, or detailing of my drawing. This was suposed to be a lush forrest..

So, again; Anything is helpfull here! Im not sure if i made everything all that clear with my intentions here, but ill be sure to check back every now and then to see whats up. ^^

Thanks <3INCOMMING WALL OF TEXT! TAKE COVER! *>_<*Incomming wall of text!

Man the things people come up with here xD

Loved the dude who made a CS level entire for this topic haha.

Awsum.