Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

At 7/31/12 09:51 AM, PMMurphy wrote: This is my philosophy and my philosophy only. I post everything i draw good or bad. If i draw something bad their are reasons for it, i may know them myself but someone might point out details. Even though something might not look as poslished as another, it still shows your technique ability and understanding of art. It is through the good AND bad that you develop as an artist, not just the good.

Alot of concepts in art if not practicing appropriately are hit and miss. So some artists might do like lets say 20 projects and only put 2 of them in a portfolio. By getting critiques on all your work constantly (even if its on websites) you begin to better understand how to narrow that hit and miss down so you don't have 18 pieces just laying around collecting dust, maybe in a few years it will become 15 pieces, or 10, or 5 etc etc.

Very wise words, I live by that philosophy in real life but for some reason on the interwebs it just feels more difficult to share my screw-ups. Anyway, I guess I'll stick my neck out and show my other stuff. As a proud art student I feel that I now must :P. If you (or anyone) are interested: My DA Profile. Feel free to tear anything apart (here or there), but keep date in mind.
Sadly, though I claim to be a digital artist, my traditional stuff is significantly better. :(

I agree with SAI and can attest to its user friendliness. It is definitely NOT a flashy program like Photoshop, so it also forces you to use more of your traditional art skills rather than relying on filters and such. Most people I know despite that still use a combination of Photoshop and SAI.

With that said I agree with Kaen - it's all a matter of what you're comfortable with. My friend only uses MS Paint and his work is just as good as mine. Of course, the more features there are in the program, the more advanced techniques you can make use of.
Anyway, to get to my main point... If you are more of a traditional artist I would definitely say try SAI. It feels much more natural than Photoshop and its brethren.

At 7/30/12 10:19 PM, leakyduck wrote: Its got sooooo much potential! I love the places that it can go but thats for you to explore i can't wait to see the next one and watch the improvement.

Oh my, I am flattered :) thanks for the inspiration! I hope I don't disappoint you.

@ PMMurphy - thanks for the observation about her head, I thought something might have been off but I can't really put my finger on it. I have admittedly only been doing body studies, no head/face studies (only a few for assignments). I have plenty more drawings but I'd rather not post them here as many are quite embarrassing and I'd like to kind of start fresh on Newgrounds :).
Also, thanks for the tip about putting the image in the thread - I saw others doing that but I wasn't sure how to do it myself. Do I need to upload it or can I just use a tag of some kind to embed the image?

Unbelievably hectic week but finally got some time to finish my next illustration...
I shaded this one and made some attempt at a background.
Alice Lola (July 30th)

At 7/30/12 04:53 AM, Tremulos wrote: I've never heard a cover that I liked more than the original. I think I just automatically like original songs better than covers, but if a band does do a cover, I definitely think they should put their own twist to it. Copying everything about the original is uninteresting and pretty much pointless.

I generally prefer heavy metal, especially black metal, but I'm also a Bible-believer, so most of the bands that I listen to do and believe things that sometimes directly contradict or even "threaten" what I believe in, both in their personal lives and in their lyrics. Listening to music is simply something that I intensely enjoy, and I don't think such differences in beliefs should hinder me from listening to the music that I most enjoy, especially since it is not directly prohibited by anything I've read in the Bible.

Covers: that's pretty much my mentality, it's pointless to recreate if nothing has changed. Unless you're just doing it for practice or something...
Behavior: wow, that's the pinnacle of all examples for this discussion. Major props to you for being so open minded. Also, sometimes even if the message in a song disgusts me (as is often the case with black metal) I will still listen to it if it just sounds good (as is rarely the case with black metal).

Dearest Newgrounds community:
I have two questions in this thread that I would like to know your opinion of.

Question 1:
My fiance and I have an ongoing argument about covers of old songs.
I say covering a song and putting your own twist on it is a tribute to the artist you are covering, and often times I like the covers more than the originals. It is a sign of respect to give your own artistic representation of the song.
My fiance says when a cover is made it should be as close to the original as possible, with maybe minor changes, and that covers can never be as good as the originals. You shouldn't put your own twist on it as it is a disrespect to the original artist.
Which side do you more agree with, and how do you feel in particular towards song covers?
The song we used as an example as Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" and Alien Ant Farm's cover of it.

-

Question 2:
When an artist or band does something you don't agree with, does it deter you from listening to their music?
For example: let's say you are particularly fond of puppies, and you are a Taylor Swift fan. One day Swift is in the news for running a puppy meat factory out of her basement. Would you continue to listen to her music? Why or why not?

My answer to question 2 is, yes I would. I don't care what the artist does with his or her life. I wouldn't buy her music any more as I wouldn't want to support puppy slaughterhouses but I wouldn't stop listening to the songs I already have, and if I could access the new music without supporting the artist I would listen to it. I can still enjoy someone's art even if I don't like them as a person.

At 7/23/12 09:20 PM, Ganon-Dorf wrote: This is why I started watching wrestling again a few months ago, because Raw is having it's 1000th episode tonight.
So far the original DX has made an entrance and it's fucking awesome.

Discuss.

Sorry... I only watch programs with good actors.
I stopped watching "WWE" when it was still WWF and I was less than half my current age.

At 7/22/12 12:55 PM, Fuzi0n wrote: I've used flash since the early 2000s back when it was Macromedia Flash.
I feel massively comftable using it to draw or edit images.

I know for a fact that Adobe Photoshop is better at creating and modifying images, the only problem is i have less than a few hours experience using it and i know it would take weeks or months for me to get the hang of it and be able to create something decent.

I'm just wondering how many of you use FLASH to create art or drawings and know any neat tricks that are useful at making images look good that photoshop could do but flash doesnt.

I used to do all of my vector art in Flash simply because it's faster to work with the line system than the pen tool in Illustrator. And I love being able to use the brush and all that.
I find that the trick to making incredible looking vector artwork is to use lots of gradients and lots of layers. Your gradients have to be carefully placed of course, but here is an example of what I'm talking about: http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs44/i/2009/177/4/8/Ford_Mustang_
Vector_Portrait_by_bobbyrock.jpg
That was drawn entirely in Flash.
Another trick I've learned over the years is to make extensive use of blurring. Take this image for example: http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/018/2/2/lament_of_the _highborne_by_mart_art-d4msb33.jpg
It was done in Illustrator, but it is still 100% vectors. You can easily see where the blur was placed.
The best tip I can give you for drawing in Flash is this: take your time. That's a given with art in general but using Flash instead of Photoshop kind of slows down the process so it can be easier to get frustrated with lack of progress.

tsukikomi

Narutard with poor spelling.

I don't know the story behind it but she got what she deserved. I'm a strong believer that violence creates more problems than it solves but in situations like these returning it is warranted.

At 7/19/12 03:23 PM, Ramatsu wrote:

At 7/19/12 03:04 PM, Chronamut wrote:

At 7/19/12 02:25 PM, Sockembop wrote:

At 7/19/12 02:10 PM, sweet21 wrote: Well. I guess you can call it 'Earnest.' the main problem being the face and the eyes which are not stylized.

How are the face and eyes not stylized and why would that be a problem?

he means that they are too simplistic - too boring.. too bland.. there is nothing about them.. not even proper SHADING that would make them stand out. Tbh there is nothing that pops out about the piece other than the fact that NOTHING stands out.

Don't be too harsh now, it's just the colors are flat with no depth what so ever. the background color seems to only have been thrown on there. and by the face i think they mean it is too generic.(Thee eyes are the soul) take some time out practicing different eyes and such. Also The coloring as well practice on making your colors more than one shade. Your anatomy isn't bad but you can always take some time out to do practices. These are the basics, the essentials to becoming a better artist, if you are devoted this should take no time at all :). Hard-work bud! hope this helps abit.

You're right, the background was just thrown on there - I apply a soft pastel background of some color I'm not going to be using while I do flats & shading so I don't miss any lines (white is just bad to work with in my opinion).
As I mentioned in my original post, anatomy is my primary concern at the moment with character design being the second. Thanks for the comment about the eyes, I had just kind of fallen into drawing the same eyes over and over again for simplicity.

@ Aigis - Thanks for catching that! I thought something looked wrong but I wasn't really sure. The leg is supposed to be straight with all of her weight shifted to one side, but I think I exaggerated the pose a little bit.

@ Shading comments - I was hoping I wouldn't get these considering what I said in my original post, but I guess even for simple concept drawings and practices I should at least add basic shading if I am going to post it here.

Hello,

I finally decided to start my own art thread here. Feedback and critique are very welcome. I'm an art student in college so I am used to serious critiques.

I don't have much art on my page yet but I hope to change that soon.

Anyway, here is a WIP of a redesign for one of my characters. Note that I am trying to improve my line art & basic anatomical skills so I'm not really bothering with shading or anything for the time being.
Alice Margaret (July 18th)

Thanks a bunch guys :)

At 7/18/12 10:17 PM, Sanch wrote: i know how to spell every single one of the words in this thread. you guys are dumb

Watch out guys. This one has his bigboy pants on.

Restaurant gets me sometimes too. Though when it matters enough to get spelling correct, google is usually just a click away, if spell check isn't even closer.

I pretty much stopped watching television 10 years ago so I don't remember many of the shows since 2000. But my fiance used to watch a lot of TV and so by default I was exposed to some of it, and I must say I've taken quite a liking to House. She also watched NCIS and Law & Order SVU, but I didn't appreciate them nearly as much.

At 7/14/12 08:13 PM, Ilssm wrote:

1. What major(s) are you interested in / did you complete and why?

I want to go into film, wether it be script writing, video editing, producing, directing, etc.

2. What major do you dislike the most or think is a pointless field of study, and why?

I haven't really thought about this much, so none comes to mind.

3. If you have a degree, do you do anything with it? If not, what would you like to do once you get your degree?

As impossible and cliche as this sounds, I'd like to start up my own independent film company. Writing, directing, and maybe, even acting in my own features/short films would be like a dream come true for me.

Follow your dreams to the fullest. Life isn't worth living if you aren't enjoying it. I hope you pursue that goal. Just don't be afraid to start out at the bottom :)

@Delirium - I suggest you take a look into what the career is actually like before going to college for it. If you plan on being a personal interpreter, you are pretty correct - it's a generally laid back job and can be a lot of fun. Nothing rough. However, if you are going to interpret for a government or anything not on the personal level, one mistake can cost you dearly. It is a VERY high stress job.

I see nothing wrong with Dollar Stores. If you are trying to save money, the store is serving its purpose. If you are filthy rich, spend your money at local stores instead to help your fellow community farmers/artisans/etc.

At 7/14/12 04:15 PM, tarahloveshentai wrote: Humanities, Woman Studies, Music, Historical Studies and Cultural Studies. Mostly because you can't do anything with those fields except be an "expert" on the subject or go into teaching and teach that. Music just seems like it all depends on what's popular and it's impossible to make it big which most musicians want.

Isn't humanities technically a division and not a major? Some degrees in that area I find to be very practical and applicable. Unless I'm missing something and it's an actual degree. To my knowledge creative writing is under the humanities division which is a field I considered going into after seeing all of the available opportunities.

At 7/14/12 04:15 PM, nat29 wrote:

At 7/14/12 04:01 PM, Zhonn wrote:

At 7/14/12 03:48 PM, nat29 wrote: http://www.loopdeloop.org/2012/01/nathanael-scott-cheese-dre ams/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zanZFMqG75o

Thanks!

No prob Bob.

Oh my god. This is genius. Why haven't I heard of this before?
Will defs be busting out the tablet after dinner.

At 7/14/12 03:48 PM, nat29 wrote: http://www.loopdeloop.org/2012/01/nathanael-scott-cheese-dre ams/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zanZFMqG75o

At 7/14/12 02:31 PM, i-am-ghey wrote: sigh... ten years later, everyone will have higher qualifications than me because i will probably just get a bachelor degree and go out to find a job.

No shame in that. Check out this chart of education vs. income according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website (bls.gov) :

Unemployment rate Education attained Median weekly earnings
in 2011 (Percent) in 2011 (Dollars)

2.5% Doctoral degree $1,551
2.4 Professional degree 1,665
3.6 Master's degree 1,263
4.9 Bachelor's degree 1,053
6.8 Associate degree 768
8.7 Some college, no degree 719
9.4 High-school diploma 638
14.1 Less than a high school diploma 451

On average a Bachelor's degree will earn you ~$15,000 more per year than an Associate, while a Master's will only (on average) net you $10,000 more per year. If you're going to stop anywhere, Bachelor's is a better choice (depending on your degree of course).

At 7/14/12 02:54 AM, DarkMatter wrote: All you need to know about me is that I'm an art major, and that if that weren't a major I wouldn't be in college.

I understand completely. :)

@Light - Props for pursuing something you are truly interested in. There seem to be a lot of interesting choices for history majors, but I would assume teaching is again the most common and accessible.

@Zippy - I considered minoring in English, so we could have been opposites. I think there is a large market out there for Art>English degrees but I am not so sure if art as a minor compliments an English major very well. Still, I admire studying something solely because you love it.

@e-lord - solid advice. Also, writing & literature is a fantastic degree to pursue. You are almost guaranteed to get a job since for a lot of them you don't even have to be in the same area to work. You can live in CA and get a job as a writer in NY.

At 7/14/12 11:31 AM, Suprememessage wrote: You need to come up with a plan based on the picture below.

You need to make a plan, but first, the rules:

You must pick 4 other survivors because surviving alone is extremely hard.
You only get one large gun per person
You need to go somewhere else you can't stay at the start position

Explain where you go, why, and what you do when you get there.

What kind of undead are we talking here? Some are slow due to decaying muscles, some are blind and rely on sound, etc. I'm just going to assume Dawn of the Dead zombies for simplicity.

I don't know many people on NG, so I'd just take the first four who looked capable and willing to help. Preferably one of each of the following:
- A. Someone with relevant combat experience (a soldier or martial artist)
- B. Someone with anatomical and medical knowledge (a nurse or doctor)
- C. Someone with mechanical skill (not just for cars or guns, wider variety is better)
- D. Someone with botanical knowledge (food supply will eventually run out... Foraging and gardening will prove useful)
Of course combat experience is useful for everyone, but I'd want at least one person who is a trained professional. Order listed is order of importance. I should note that I excel at none of the above mentioned fields but am instead average in all of them. I will be "Z".
Note: if possible I would choose all males to come with me. Not as a matter of sexism but because the psychology of having a female in the group brings out the competitive nature among men and is more likely to cause problems among other survivors. I would however not turn any survivor away.

General weapons: I'd want everyone to have at least one decent sized knife and a handgun.
Notable weapons:
A. - Standard close quarters combat gear that he is used to. If a soldier, preferably some kind of high capacity automatic weapon. (
B. - A silenced, scoped handgun for strategically removing threats and clearing a path of escape without attracting other undead.
C. - Shotgun. Mainly for defensive purposes.
D. - Shotgun. Mainly for defensive purposes.
Z. - Some kind of heavy blunt melee weapon. Preferably a staff or a hammer of some sort. Something I can use more reliably than a knife to keep close range threats away from everyone else. I am also terrible with guns.

Plan:
It looks like the zombies are spread out initially but that they would notice us and converge on our location, so expediency is key. I would immediately have my team exit through the rear (creating an exit if necessary) and make a run for the forest. Start out trying to conceal ourselves with silenced and melee weapons, but resorting to full force if necessary. If we make it to the forest safely, stop and tend to any wounds, make sure no one is bitten. The infected are shot or left behind with no exceptions.

Proceed north to the hospital. Gather survivors and assess the situation. The ultimate goal is to reach the mall because it is the most likely place to find survival supplies in the vicinity and reasonably easy to secure.
If necessary find reserve gas tanks in the basement or siphon the gas out of a vehicle in the vicinity and use it as a bomb to clear a path behind the hospital. Otherwise strategically execute threats and proceed as normal. Preferred route is north, as far away from the road as possible.

Once at the mall, if we are the first to arrive there, barricade all entrances, check for infection, and make an extremely thorough round of the perimeter to search for survivors and remove all threats. Once that's done, reinforce the barricades further. Try to find radios of some sort and establish a patrol system - three rest while two patrol the perimeter. Each patrol should have a radio and a third radio should stay with the resting group. After everyone's had a chance to recuperate, have one stay on the roof to keep a lookout for survivors and search the mall for usable supplies. Bring all items possible to one location on the upper floor if there is one and make note of all food locations (i.e. things that must stay refrigerated).

Finally, create a huge S.O.S. on the top of the building in case a rescue group is sent out.
After that it's just a matter of upkeep to make sure nothing gets in and trying to find a way to build a rooftop garden out of what we have in the mall. Perhaps try to find an extending ladder in the maintenance area to rescue incoming survivors.

At 7/14/12 02:02 AM, Razz wrote:

At 7/14/12 01:53 AM, Zhonn wrote: But I think my calling lies in education.

Teach high school kids for a couple years. You'll change your mind.

I'm well aware of the difficulties in 6-12 education (which is where I plan to start) and it is still something I would love to do. If I get one good student in every class who wants to learn about art and has fun doing it, I will be a happy teacher.

@Cootie: Very true, Business Admin is an extremely safe major. Business-anything is extremely safe due to the ever shifting and expanding nature of the economic world.

@C-ward: Criminal justice and accounting? How do you plan to combine those two into a single career? Or is accounting more for a backup option? My sister was a CJ major but switched to math education last year.

@mothballs: Long Island eh? I was born there. The artists at my college are very diverse but I can only think of one I'd call a metalhead. That's one thing I will admit I love about being an art student... You aren't surrounded by 30 people with identical clothing and personalities all day.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the most common areas of study in college as of 2009 are (in order): Business, Social sciences & history, Health/clinical sciences, education, and psychology.

I am curious to know a few things about you, current/prospective/graduated college students.

1. What major(s) are you interested in / did you complete and why?
2. What major do you dislike the most or think is a pointless field of study, and why?
3. If you have a degree, do you do anything with it? If not, what would you like to do once you get your degree?

I'll start the thread by answering my own questions.

1. I am a studio art major in the Bachelors of Fine Arts program at a state university. I'll be a second semester junior this autumn. In all honesty, I chose this major on a bit of a whim; I was originally going to go into computer science but I found that it bored me too much. I knew I wanted to do something related to video games, so I chose to pursue my artistic hobby. Ironically enough I ended up steering myself down the path of art education instead of animation or concept art.

2. This is going to sound silly, but I hate my own major. Or at least the Fine Arts program as a whole. Don't get me wrong - I love the coursework and the professors, it's the attitude of the student body that I hate. Since enrolling I've found myself mostly working alongside spineless, arrogant professional complainers. There are a few good students, but most of them can't take or give critique, think they are flawless, and never shut up about how "hard" the classwork is.

3. As I mentioned earlier, I actually want to be an art teacher now. I still some day would like to work for a decent sized company to produce a game, even if it's just one project. But I think my calling lies in education.

At 7/14/12 12:13 AM, slipknotfan33 wrote: Do you think the schooling system should be improved upon?

As was mentioned there are many systems of schooling.
Using my own personal experience, the systems I've been through do not need to be improved. The standards could be raised, but most of the problems I found stemmed from other sources - commonly parents and home life. Kids don't learn because they don't pay attention because their parents neglect them. It's not the school's job to raise their children... Or rather it shouldn't be. -_-

Sorry for double post, couldn't figure out how to edit and I left something out.
- It is extremely unlikely that you are pregnant, although there is a very slim possibility due to pre ejaculatory fluid. Note that the odds for this are comparable to winning the lottery due to low volume and lack of propulsion.
- Also, if you do take pregnancy tests do it in the morning right after you wake up and before you consume anything or use the bathroom.

At 7/14/12 12:18 AM, Katerr wrote: Okay so, I have been having problems with condoms in the past week. Let's just say I've already taken the Plan B pill twice this week and now just today the condom broke again and I really don't want to get another Plan B pill.. because they are freaken expensive and they're going to mess me up. He didn't ejaculate in me because we noticed it within 5 mins.. should I still get the pill.. what are my chances of being pregnant? Also.. I should be on my period right now.. but the pill probably messed that up. So I shouldn't be ovulating.

If your period is more than a week late go to the store and buy some home pregnancy tests. Use 2 or 3 of them as they can be inaccurate. You are right to not want to take another Plan B pill, just one can cause lots of physical abnormalities and they are meant as a last resort.
Advice for condoms breaking: don't buy the "super thin" crap, despite what people say it's less safe; also if sex lasts a long time, replace the condom with a new one - just like any material they wear down pretty easily. Better safe than sorry. Another thing to keep in mind is that statistically "normal" positions (one on top of the other) are less likely to cause the condom to rip or slip off. Finally, if there is a Planned Parenthood center in your vicinity you can usually get Plan B pills from them for free with some paperwork if you are young.
I don't know how old you are but you obviously didn't want to get pregnant so I hope you aren't. The world doesn't need another unready birth. Best wishes.

At 7/14/12 12:48 AM, DeliciousW wrote: Pornography is pornography. If anyone is degraded by it, it's the individuals in the pornography. Some pornography is degrading to the women in the videos, but some pornography portrays women as beautiful. It really depends on what kind of porn you watch, and what you get from it.

Words of wisdom. I think pornography is a cultural degradation as a whole but since every country with the means to produce it does it, it is largely ignored on a moral basis.

At 7/12/12 03:19 PM, Viper50 wrote:

At 7/12/12 02:35 PM, Eddmario wrote: Ugh, the intro sounds like a Dixie Chicks song...
Remix of one of the awesome songs from Fallout: New Vegas

i actually like that song
didn't think i would for some reason...but eh you learn something new everyday

Sleep - Dragonaut

When did people stop posting ratings? Anyway, 7.5/10 for your song. I liked it but it was a little boring for me, and if a song is boring it better at least be soothing.. Which this was not.

My song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQVeaIHWWck