@Late Ahhh ok I know Picross! That's cool. How do you like that Aseprite site? I'm going to add you as a friend on my Wii U so if you get a request today it's probably me.
https://hiddenlevel.bigcartel.com
Switch Friend Code: sw-4349-8419-7001 | My Nintendo: 16bitdave
@16bitdave: Picross is obviously much more recognizable name here since Nintendo uses it but I've been trying to avoid using it since I can't name my game with the word Picross in it since I believe Nintendo owns the name.
Aseprite is a nice program. It has all the tools I need and an user friendly interface. I don't like Gimp so I searched for a better tool to create assets for my games and Aseprite popped up. It's strictly for pixel art purposes, you can't really make traditional art with it but I have other programs for that. It was a free download back when I got it two years ago but I decided to donate $10 anyway since I liked the program. Now it seems to be $15 but I think it's a fair price. It's not a necessary tool for me but I rather use it than many other programs.
That tumblr has a lot of artistic tips, analyzations, references, and other good stuff for those looking interested in learning the finer points from people who make art. Granted, a lot of it is geared towards talking/anthropomorphic animals, but I was just browsing through the archive, and I'm seeing stuff that run the whole gambit of interests. There's still the main problem I have with Tumblr in general, that being how poorly organized it is - If you want something specific, you're probably better off looking elsewhere, unless you get lucky, or you're really dilligent.
But it's been doing a good job of sating my curiousity, and giving me some ideas I might use in the future. So I thought might be worth sharing with you guys.
Not sure if there's an actual 'Art Academy' thread, but even if so I assume it's long dead.
Anyway, I got back into it the other day and continued my run through the game's tutorials. I say "run". "Crawl" might be more accurate, as I've yet to develop the confidence or technique to draw with much speed or assuredness, but I'm generally happy with what's come out the other end.
Lillies (Charcoal)
Strawberry (Pastel)
Egg (Paint)
I think the strawberry came out well. The egg definitely still needs some work; some of the reflections are off, and I think the egg white needs some 'grounding'. And I think the lillies are the most emo thing I've ever drawn. And I'm pretty sure I've drawn things that were deliberately meant to be emo.
Anyway, it's a cracking little programme (egg puns!), even if actually producing anything on it takes (me) forever and is weirdly exhausting. Some of the lessons have some really insightful stuff in them. Or at least it sounds insightful. And they're always really charmingly narrated. It makes you want to do the next lesson, just to hear what Vince has to say on it.
@Maxz I haven't progressed very far in Art Academy Atelier, but I have done and enjoyed the Lilies lesson - quite simple technique and easy to follow, but produces a great result.
Your strawberry looks fantastic - well done! I haven't tried that one yet.
I wish Atelier had off-screen play - as far as I can establish, to follow a lesson you have to have the TV displaying the subject, which is why I've not got very far with it. Split screen or an easy gamepad display toggle would be good, but I think you can only toggle the TV display, not the gamepad.
@gcunit I definitely recommend giving it another shot. I left it untouched for several months after completing the tomato and apple. I got inspired to get back into it after returning from Japan and wanting to use the SD card functionality to paint a particular Kyoto scene I'd taken on my camera. That project itself turned out awfully (rather than 'vibrant', Kyoto's foliage ended up disturbingly radioactive), but it gave me a chance to take a few more of the lessons, and then I got back into the swing of things.
My school was particularly renowned for its Art Department, but all that really meant was that it did more wacky contemporary nonsense than anywhere else in the area. As such, I didn't learn much classical art theory beyond complementary colours (although I got quite good at making giant floating wombs out of bed linen and tents), so this definitely feels like it's filling an educational hole.
It's particularly useful as I've never had much technique beyond, "try to make the thing on the page look exactly like the target-object at all times", whereas the techniques taught in the game generally start more... generally, and then hone in on the detail as the lesson progresses.
I've always envied cartoonists (and other artists) who seem to be able to push forward with their works so confidently and purposefully (rather than getting caught up in every detail), and I feel the included lessons are a good way of building a bedrock of technique and developing a universal approach to drawing that should help the whole process become more fluid. That's important to me because although I more-or-less feel that 'I can draw', it's a long way from effortless, and I still stare at most blank canvases with an uneasy sense that I don't really know what I'm doing; like some sort of art-specific 'imposter syndrome'.
With regards to the lack of off-screen play, my guess it that the game wants you to practice drawing with the target and canvas in two locations, so you're looking up and down at two images and trying to make one look like the other (just like real drawing innit). If you could alternate between them on the gamepad, it'd be pretty easy to rapidly switch between the two and essentially trace over the original image rather than do it by eye. Or if you had both images on the gamepad simultaneously, you'd reduce the real estate for drawing pretty sharply. I suppose it'd still be bigger than the 3DS screen (and there are several AA games for that), but I feel it'd be a bit of a heavy penalty. I like the luxury of having enough screen to draw on that it doesn't feel cramped or awkward, and being able to literally stay aware of 'the bigger picture' at all times.
It's a bit hard for Wii U games, as they're always sacrificing one of the console's USPs for the sake of the other; either you have a game which takes advantage of two-screen gaming (but inevitably loses off-screen play), or you have off-screen play, but probably also a pretty standard single-screen game that could be played on almost any other console. For an art game, I personally think it's fair enough to focus on dividing the target and the canvas between gamepad and TV, especially given that the 3DS games provide the software in a genuinely portable capacity.
But yeah, if you find yourself with some time and access to the TV, I recommend giving it another go. The lessons get more interesting as you progress, and I feel I've learnt some pretty subtle but important stuff I never would have done without the game. I found the egg lesson's spiel on 'colour temperature' particularly interesting.
@Maxz Oh don't worry - I've definitely not given up on it. I love the series, but as a complete rookie, I do need to (a) have plenty of free TV time to dedicate to doing a lesson and (b) not feel tired, cos if I feel tired (work & kids) then I just don't have the mental energy for a lesson and need to play a game instead.
You guys had me at blood and semen.
What better way to celebrate than firing something out of the pipe?
@gcunit I totally get that. I think AA might be the hardest game on the Wii U, in terms of the concentration necessary and resulting fatigue. And the time taken to beat a level is pretty taxing too. It's no wonder a lot of people don't make it past the apple.
There was a Japanese calligraphy workshop at the library yesterday, which I'd got tickets for a few weeks earlier. I was quite looking forward to it, as I'd never really had access to an actual lesson/instruction, and hadn't had much experience with the proper equipment (calligraphy brush, mat, special paper, weight etc.). I'd done some practicing using a Pentel brushpen in a notebook, which had been very helpful and convenient, but hadn't had much experience of using an actual calligraphy brush on actual calligraphy paper.
Anyway, it was really fun, and after a long time getting used to using a proper brush (which is quite a different beast from the pen), I felt more comfortable and managed to create a few things I'm quite proud of:
Perhaps it's not 'art', but I like to think it is, and it's the certainly closest I've come to it in quite a while. It's definitely the first time I've put actual pen to actual paper in ages, as everything else I've done has been on a Wii U or a computer (and for some reason by computer tablet doesn't seem to be working, so it may be a while until I do another). There's something quite satisfying and sploshing actual ink around and trying not to get covered in it.
Anyway, this thread's been dormant for a while, so I hope other people have been up to something in the last month!
My art count for this year is currently close to zero but here's some pixel art from last year.
I created some Smash pixel art as I wanted to make my friends' favorite characters out of Hama beads and give them as presents. I added Agent J and Piper in the same picture so I don't need to upload as many pictures.
I created over 300 black and white pixel art images last year as a preparation for my 3rd attempt in making a Picross game. Turned out I didn't have time to make the game.
As a bonus, here are screenshots of my Picross game that I made a year ago. Some say games are art too.
This is a Nintendo-focused website, so here's a Nintendo-related piece of artwork I did recently! I recently got Breath of the Wild, and one of the first things I thought of was making a painting from it, and here's what I ended up with! I went for a soft, acrylic painting look, and I like how it turned out!
If you like this I have a ko-fi page, you can click on "gallery" there to see more of my work! And of course I can post more art here if people would be interested 'u' (tho this thread seems to move a little slowly hehe >w< )
Here is somethang I doodled not to0o0o long ago. I drew it on some big whiteboard, took a pic of it, and then used some app to add colors to it, ???, CANNED TOAST!
As a bonus, here is picture art, which I do sometimes I guess.
@roy130390 Thank you. It's always nice to get feedback.
I haven't really done anything new for few months but here's some more black and white pixel art. I hope I haven't shared these before.
@sugarpixel I really like your Zelda painting. I'm not good with colors so I wouldn't be able to do something like that. I don't even know the last time I colored one of my drawings. Though, the latest one I can find on my PC is from 2012. I also took a quick look at your art gallery. Nice drawings all around.
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