Enforcer84 Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 I can ad a me too here as well. Nato, Storn, and all involved, good show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Originally posted by Storn I would like to say though... if you are going to use one of my illos (like Thorn or whatever his name is) I would prefer that you use my color version (if there is one...some I did do in gray only). Not a knock against anyone's coloring, but well... every pic I do is my baby. It is simply proprietary emotion. Storn, baby, when I've used one of your pics for my game (never in a distributable format or online) I even put your name and website in a caption under it. And your color work and black and white work is really cool (I don't care for grayscale). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 AND!!! I would point out the Dream Pod 9 site does this with a lot of their color work - puts it up on their site with a fair use policy right on the page. Steve, add me to the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Count me in on the vote for color pics I know you trying to say you and us money steve and crew , but the essence of the Superhero FOUR COLOR . Please count me in . Thanks for the great games and memories . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Seeman Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Originally posted by Storn Oh... I wasn't offended at all. I just want a chance to show my color too. Ben, I'll take you up on that. Leave Thorn there.... I think that was colored just fine... I can get you all of Eurostar in color... that sound good? Bring it on, Storn. The more the merrier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storn Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 sent five down the pike.... I'll send more tonight or tomorrow (Have to convert from large publishable files) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 I've seen some of them already, looking good. ============= *Blinks* Okay, we now have Seeker circa 4th Edition. Wow, that guy is harder to kill than Jason! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Originally posted by Ben Seeman Bring it on, Storn. The more the merrier. YIPPEE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarron Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 HEY!!! I just saw Seeker! What's up with that? You guys shouldn't tease me. It's just cruel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nato Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Heh. I'ts an homage to everyone's favorite Australian Ninja. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Originally posted by Nato Heh. I'ts an homage to everyone's favorite Australian Ninja. Old school characters. Cool. Any plans to do the CKC Master Villains? Or the other Crowns of Krim, Oh Almighty Colormeister? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Another pesky question if I may, Nato. Do you do these by hand or use some type of image manipulation program? If you use a program, which one is it? Also, do you know of any online tutorials that can give instruction on how to colorize art such as you have done? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nato Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Sorry to take so long getting back to you Starlord. I plan on coloring most of the guys in CKC in time. And actually, a master villains WALLPAPER would be extremely cool. Maybe I'll work on that when I get some time. As far as coloring goes, I do it all in Photoshop - as do most comic colorists. Painter is also an option, especially if you want certain natural effects. Other programs you could use include PaintShop Pro, Corel PhotoPaint, and a free program called GIMP. Basically, any program that has support for layers will help you meet your goal. A brief synopsis of how the digital coloring process goes... 1) Scanning the artwork. Make sure you have it as clean as possible from stray pencil marks or smudges. As close to true black and white as you can get. Depending on the intended use of the artwork you will scan it at a certain resolution - usually referred to as DPI (dots per inch). Other tutorials can help you determine the best resolution to use. 2) Separating the line art. There are many ways to do this, but almost all of them include getting the line art to a separate layer and then coloring on a different layer. The easiest way for me is to use the multiply method. Multiply is a blending mode you can select that makes the lightest tones transparent and keeps the line in tact. The color layer is then set under the line layer and shows through under the line. Imagine drawing your lines on a sheet of acetate and then placing it on top of a paper that has color on it. There are more advanced applications of this method to be found in other tutorials, such as coloring the line to produce special effects. 3) Flat Coloring. Using a selection tool called the lasso or the magic wand, or the fill bucket, most colorists start by filling in areas with solid, flat colors. Those flat areas are then able to be selected easily for future steps 4) Rendering Shadows and Highlights. There are numerous methods or styles for this step. Some artists select a basic airbrush tool to apply shading and highlights. Others do strictly flat shading, also known as "cell shading" - similar in appearance to animation. Again others make selections or "cuts" with a lasso and then use the gradient to to transition from dark to light. Often the cuts overlap giving the shadows complexity and depth. Chris Stevens and many other professional comic coloring houes like Liquid use variations of this method.Many times all of the above techniques are combined. Oh, I've been using a lot of hard brushes with low transparency settings combined with gradients and airbrushing but that's a different story. That's pretty much the essence of the process there. Some things I recommend picking up... A graphic tablet, such as the Wacom Graphire or Intuos. http://www.wacom.com. This makes my life much easier, allowing me to color in a more natural manner. Don't know how anyone does any artwork digitally without one. Chris Stevens does his coloring via mouse. I'm not convinced that he isn't insane. "Digital Prepress for Comic Books" - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0967542308/qid=1050961512/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-8455802-6773629?v=glance&s=books&n=507846. Addresses a lot of the nitty gritty regarding comic production (not art instruction) and has a nice section on digital coloring. "Sketch" Magazine - http://www.bluelinepro.com/sketch.htm. Some nice art instruction specific to comics. Usually has a good article on coloring. Their online store has other books on digital coloring although I can't vouch for their quality. Adobe Photoshop LE - If you can't afford the expensive professional version, Photoshop LE has a lot of the features you would need for basic coloring. $100 bucks by itself, but often comes with a scanner for free. Links Comic Colorists Unite! Figma - Drawing Board Polykarbon Tutorials Atarctic Press Online Store Prosthetic Aesthetic Tutorial (NICE!) Learn some color theory! Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Originally posted by Nato Sorry to take so long getting back to you Starlord. snip Hope that helps! Wow. You didn't have to go to so much trouble, but its certainly appreciated. That should be a big help. Thanks bunches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Originally posted by Nato I plan on coloring most of the guys in CKC in time. And actually, a master villains WALLPAPER would be extremely cool. Maybe I'll work on that when I get some time. That would be awesome. I think including Kinetik in the Champions wallpaper would be neat, and coloring some more of the characters from CU and Champions as well, such as Talisman and Teleios. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fry Daddy Posted April 22, 2003 Report Share Posted April 22, 2003 I have scanned and colored some of the pics (I just have MS Paint so the grayscale stuff I can;t do anything with). They aren't the quality of Nato or Storn's but they are better than nothing. Nato or Storn: Is there something one could do with the paint program regarding the grayscale pics in the books? Just curious. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nato Posted April 22, 2003 Report Share Posted April 22, 2003 Greyscale is easily colored in Photoshop or any other program that uses layers and a similar blending mode to "Multiply." So MS Paint users are kinda outta luck there. With greyscale art on a separate layer set to multiply you can just color underneath it. The thing to keep in mind is the darker the grey, the less color will show through. So lighter greyscale images work best. You can also paint over the top of the greyscale layer if you need color to show on a dark area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryB Posted April 22, 2003 Report Share Posted April 22, 2003 Originally posted by Nato Greyscale is easily colored in Photoshop or any other program that uses layers and a similar blending mode to "Multiply." Oh my goodness! That's great! One of the problems I've had with the Character Templates that were put out by Hero Games a couple of years back was trying to color them in Paint Shop Pro. Now I know how to do it! Thanks, Nato! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nato Posted April 22, 2003 Report Share Posted April 22, 2003 Coolness, glad I could help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted April 22, 2003 Report Share Posted April 22, 2003 Can't believe I missed this when I made my request in the Hero System Discussion section. That'd be the Sideart Constitution Request. Oh well. That's what I get for posting at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Re: Colored Champions Pics Originally posted by Acroyear II This question is for Steve Long: Will Hero Games be offering those great new color pics of heroes and villains that are now appearing on this website (in the sidebars) as free downloads? I'm sure I'm not the only Champions fan who would love to download these great color pics. Any chance of this happening? Acroyear II These pics are being discussed in about 3-4 different threads, but did this specific question actually get answered somewhere? The full pics would be excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Not yet darnit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monolith Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Originally posted by Enforcer84 Not yet darnit. I do not think, at least at this point in time, that the official answer has changed from the last 2-3 times that Steve has answered the question about free artwork. I do remember one of the news updates saying something about Ben working on a gallery, but that might just have been in regard to the side pictures we are seeing here. In any event, the fact that Steve or Darren has not answered any of the questions posed on all the artwork threads seems strange by itself. Steve is usually pretty quick to give you a definitive "yes" or "no." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE PATRIOT Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Originally posted by Nato Greyscale is easily colored in Photoshop or any other program that uses layers and a similar blending mode to "Multiply." So MS Paint users are kinda outta luck there. With greyscale art on a separate layer set to multiply you can just color underneath it. The thing to keep in mind is the darker the grey, the less color will show through. So lighter greyscale images work best. You can also paint over the top of the greyscale layer if you need color to show on a dark area. NATO, as you can guess from other threads I've been basically teaching myself Photoshop. I started playing with the layers options and came up with this very technique you're talking about here. It's nice to know that I stumbled on a good method for coloring grey scaled artwork. I did one of Dr. Destroyer and the Armadillo drawings in CKC. I'm trying to find time to do the drawing of Dr. Destroyer from the FRED where his hand is touching keys from a holographic control panel. As much as I'm opposed to the grey scale artwork, once it's scanned into Photoshop and colored it does provide an interest texture to the colored artwork. About this drawing tablet for your mac (you have a Mac right?) which one do you suggest? Yes, I've been mousing it for all this time. Yikes! THE PATRIOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nato Posted April 24, 2003 Report Share Posted April 24, 2003 Hey Patriot. Glad it's working out for you. Maybe you'll even come around to wonderful world of greyscale in time. Heh. I'm a PC guy all the way. Mainly because of my gaming and hardware background. I like to build my own and stuff, which you can't really do with Macs. I've used Macs plenty but they're not my favorite thing to use, even for graphics. Plus, a high-end Pentium 4 with a nice 3D card like a GeForce 4 or a Radeon 97000 will easily hold it's own for graphics work. Whoops, I hope I didn't just spark a Mac vs. PC debate. Man, just about any model of tablet by Wacom will do you good. The Graphire is a budget tablet, but I've been able to do anything I wanted to with it. At less than $100 it's a great deal. The Intous is the next model up. I've used the 12x12 size in school but it was too big for my tastes. You really have to move your arm around on that thing. With a smaller tablet you can flick your wrist and move across the screen instantly. But seriously, they ALL work great if they're by Wacom. Can't vouch for other brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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