Cam ;; Jabberbird (advice loved!)

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Subeta Forums > Custom Clothing > Discussion

#1 :: February 1st, 2012 @ 3:14 AM

is a Billionaire

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This bird looks like a hybrid between two other birds! And how quaint, it talks! Actually, it sounds a lot like my sister...

A Hunger Games CW.

Whew, I'm a little nervous. I don't think I'm good enough for this fancy cw stuff at all.

Would anyone be interested in this kid? And, if not, please tell me what I should do to fix him. This is my first real attempt at a cw, and I'd love any advice!

I plan on giving him a bit more shading, as well as working on the right wing a bit more, but I wanted to see if anyone was at all interested. I don't wanna waste my time on an item only I like. XD

Last Edit by: User not found (1): CAMARO 2/01/12 - 3:22:35 am

#2 :: February 1st, 2012 @ 4:04 AM

The Doctor

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@camaro *fangirl screams* i wish i'd be able to use it. i don't think i would though. i dunno. but *fangirl screams*

☆˞

#3 :: February 1st, 2012 @ 4:31 AM

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@CAMARO
Oh my goodness, The Hunger Games.
I don't really know if I'll be able to use this though, OTL. ;___;

hope is infinite.
(many thanks to the veta lake zapper and for my forumset art!)

#4 :: February 1st, 2012 @ 4:34 AM

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@Hoar
Hee, yesk, Hunger Games indeed. ♥
Is it a design flaw? Would any changes help you or someone else wear it better? I'm trying to figure out how to patch it up. xD

#5 :: February 1st, 2012 @ 5:36 AM

is a Mirage

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@CAMARO
No, no, nothing like that; just that I don't really use companions all that much in a human avatar, as I'm often stumped with how to use them.

I hope you won't take any of what I'm saying in a negative light, I'll just try to give some feedback according to what may make it have less chances of being denied the first time you send it. I know it'll be odd to see me say these, as I can't apply them on my own work - I'm more of a theoretical person in general, rather than the kind who's able to apply everything in my own work. D":

The design itself is great! I'm not really sure what people who actually draw birds might say, they might have some thoughts about it, but I honestly have no clue for this case. The wings are rather good and you've nailed that part well, but the staff might ask for a little more "definition" when it comes to the feathers, like a very thin outline. Programs like PaintToolSAI have brush sizes as small as 0.5 pixels, so if that's what you're using, make the most out of it! Otherwise, Save a separate instance of the bird to enlarge and draw SOME outlines on the other feathers (the gray you chose is a bit too light in other monitors, even if my current setting actually shows the distinction.)

Another part I'm slightly concerned about is the body; the shaded spot on the bird's belly/underside is a bit too soft, and in general, it seems a bit pillow shaded (I know someone got denied for that very explicitly stated reason, but I do not mean it in Urban Dictionary's definition of "novitiate/beginner colouring", I meant it in the strictest and purest form of the term - it's shaded in such a fashion where areas closer to the outer outlines are shaded darker, progressively getting lighter as you get closer to the center of the image. Now I don't know how to shade a bird very accurately, but something is odd with the way the tail-flap is shaded - that's the only part which seems "pillow shaded", in my opinion.

Another thing that the staff loves to nitpick on would be "gray shading". I understand that the Jabberbird IS grey-ish in tone, but "gray shading" refers to the "values" of the colours used. It is possible to come up with shading which isn't too "gray" (i.e., more vibrant and defined) even with an object which is actually gray.

To clear what I'm referring to, I'll take this from bean's sticky:

Yes, it's a coloured thing, but the values for this particular image is a very grey spectrum.

I guess what I'm saying here is not to go up and down a straight, vertical line when looking for colours to shade your item with - try to pan for yellow and moving to the right instead of staying in the very edge of the extreme left of the spectrum when using a highlight, and maybe explore looking for a dark shade which has a small slant on blue. This is just an example though, there might be a better and less arbitrary way of doing it.

Another thing I could probably say (as I've seen also note this on a lot of people, and the staff seems to be more nitpicky about this aspect as well) is that shading has to follow the general light source of the human avatar base - that is, a light shining on the (mid)top-(extreme)left of the HA base, and almost the same size as the HA in itself. That being said, unless the feathers were really to be left dark-tipped, the shading can't be done from the left, as the light is there, unless for example, it's a part of the feathers which are obscured/blocked from the light source by the span-spine of the wing. o:

Sorry for the length and meandering althroughout this post!

And good luck. ♥

you are loved.
(many thanks to the veta lake zapper and for my forumset art!)

#6 :: February 1st, 2012 @ 5:41 AM

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@Hoar
Dude, seriously, thanks a ton. I read it through three times and I totally get what you're saying. I'm gonna try and fiddle with it tomorrow.
I understand completely about the pillow-shading. A lot of what I did was with opacity, so it was easier to change the colors constantly. But I see how doing so would make the colors almost too soft and not defined enough, creating that blurred effect that can make a picture look too unrefined.

And I wish I had SAI, but I have an old version of PS, which, combined with a trackpad, is not a great tool for drawing. But, I try. xD

Again, I really do appreciate it. And I feel bad because I feel like my reply should be long, too, but it's not. XD
/hug forever

#7 :: February 1st, 2012 @ 5:46 AM

is a Mirage

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@CAMARO
It's not a problem at all.

Glad you didn't go all "*raeg*" at me! xD
Take your time, I'll be more than happy to see the result whenever you have it ready though!

Hooooly crap, fellow trackpad user! *highfives* I know how tricky it is to have perfectly rendered lines with this.
I understand the entire dilemma on using opacity; the only thing about it is the fact that letting go of the stroke will basically make any stroke crossing through it still overlaying with the same opacity effect. There we go, you nailed the term correctly, Subeta loves to nitpick lately on items with blurrier shading, as they'll say that it's like the shading on "older items," and will direct you to a more recently released item of theirs.

You're doing quite well for someone with minimal tools though! :"D

And psshh naw, don't worry about it. /hugs and creyys forever

templars never die.
(many thanks to the veta lake zapper and for my forumset art!)

#8 :: February 6th, 2012 @ 11:19 PM

is a Time Lord

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Well
here's what I think

You're going to need to finish and put this up, missy, cause I want one.

<3

I think it's great so far! Much better than the hair I tried to make. >_<

#9 :: March 3rd, 2012 @ 7:58 PM

is a Mirage

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@CAMARO

Cute bird :3 I think it might need a little bit of work yet though. The wings look a little chopped off towards the body (not sure if the Hungry Games logo/reference is like that) and perhaps change the shading to a color rather than a grey. Lots of items get denied for the 'grey shading'. Otherwise, looks pretty good to me

.:*Pay It Forward*:. .:*Tumblr*:..:*CW Shop*:.

#10 :: March 6th, 2012 @ 3:43 PM

is a Billionaire

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@CelestialAngel
Thanks so much for the advice! I've been poking and prodding at it, but I do think adding a bit of color will help the shading come along.