That one is impressive
well chosen colours hereP.S:
here is a wallpaper for all those 16:9 1440x900 laptops
FfH2 Wallpaper
- Thread starter Kael
- Start date
That one is impressive
well chosen colours hereP.S:
here is a wallpaper for all those 16:9 1440x900 laptops
Broken Hawk
Emperor
The text is a nice touch. 
hexagonian
of the realm of Hexagonia
hexagonian
of the realm of Hexagonia
Broken Hawk
Emperor
I'm playing her right now and getting my butt kicked Maybe she doesn't like the idea of a guy taking on her character. 
hexagonian
of the realm of Hexagonia
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vorshlumpf
Emperor
I like how you have managed to put a hint of age-old wisdom in Os-Gabella's relatively young and beautiful face. At least, in my opinion that's what it looks like.
hexagonian
of the realm of Hexagonia
I'm using the original leader pics as my jumping off point.
At least to try to come up with something close, without blatantly copying them.
I will raise this question though...since my recent leader pics are falling in the realm of original art (as opposed to the ones in the game), is there any fan interest to start using my stuff as the actual ingame leader pic art? (Since one of the goals is to have all original artwork)
Just wondering...it would be Kael's call though.
Capria
At least to try to come up with something close, without blatantly copying them.
I will raise this question though...since my recent leader pics are falling in the realm of original art (as opposed to the ones in the game), is there any fan interest to start using my stuff as the actual ingame leader pic art? (Since one of the goals is to have all original artwork)
Just wondering...it would be Kael's call though.
Capria
Attachments
Kael
Deity
Personally, I dont favor using real life pictures of people in FfH. Id rather it looked more like a painting than a person. The problem is that there is no other photo quality work in the mod and the use of it in a single place is somewhat jarring and out of place.
Secondly the use of real people detracts from the fantasy aspect and always looks like larpers (live action role players) rather than real fantasy characters.
I think work can be done to make real backgrounds match the artistic theme, and you have some amazing examples of that. But not the people. For those I am more partial to works like seZ's Buboes and Epona/Belenus/Caerbulin wallpapers that match the games art design more closely.
Thats just my opinion, Im interested to hear others.
Secondly the use of real people detracts from the fantasy aspect and always looks like larpers (live action role players) rather than real fantasy characters.
I think work can be done to make real backgrounds match the artistic theme, and you have some amazing examples of that. But not the people. For those I am more partial to works like seZ's Buboes and Epona/Belenus/Caerbulin wallpapers that match the games art design more closely.
Thats just my opinion, Im interested to hear others.
So, you or your company owns the rights of your base images? or is there a regulation how much you have to alter an image until you can consider it not copyrighted any more?
Kael
Deity
Incidently, according to copywirght law, there is no amont of modification that will ever make a copywrighted work non-copywrighted.
hexagonian
of the realm of Hexagonia
I've had a lot of free time lately at work, so usually when that happens, I go on an art binge. It keeps me busy, and it allows me to finetune my photoshopping skills. When I work, about 50% of my job is photoshop-related.
If you have been following my work, you may note that my skills have progressed, because I'm doing a lot of experimenting.
At least, I think they have progressed.
I assemble my own compositions. I do depend on online images, as well as as images that I have inhouse at my job - as well as my own personal collection of created images to build these compositions. I will use multiple images (sometimes 6-8 separate images...sometimes only a small piece of an image too), layered to create a final image that is totally distinct from the originals.
A final picture of mine may contain a cliff from one pic, a rock from another pic, a tower from another pic, a building from another pic, and so on. A single building may be cobbled together from 2-3 pics, it may be darkened, color-altered, obscured by fog or clouds...the figures may include several body parts.
The question may still come up...is that original, or infringement?
In the strictest sense of the word, yes, it is infringement, as pointed out by Kael.
My thoughts on this...
When I studied art in college, one of the mediums we used and learned about was collage. (cutting apart and taking images out of magazines to merge them into a new, distinct image - you may have done this in elementary school...) In the world of art, it is considered a valid means of creation too. What I am doing now via photoshop is not any different.
Here is the crux though...I think that collage is accepted as legit mainly because elements within a collage are normally altered to the point where they are not recognizable from their original intent and use. And this is what I try to do with my creations - because every item that I do use is heavily altered in photoshop.
I want to emphasize that last statement.
We all agree that to create strictly 'original' artwork for ffh2 is a good goal, but it is also probably out of reach. I'd like to wait for the rest of the art team to provide me with leader and unit images, but I realize that they all have lives to live, real-life jobs to do, and there is a vast amount of work to be done in other areas of the game.
So I do what I can with the skills I have, for the enjoyment of the fanbase...
I could set up all my images with original landscapes/buildings/figures that I create in Photoshop completely from scratch (drawing all the images by hand), but it would take me months, if not years to do so.
Doing it via the 'collage method' takes me anywhere from 1/4 to 2 hours per image for most of them.
If you have been following my work, you may note that my skills have progressed, because I'm doing a lot of experimenting.
At least, I think they have progressed.
I'll repeat what I said in the video thread...
I assemble my own compositions. I do depend on online images, as well as as images that I have inhouse at my job - as well as my own personal collection of created images to build these compositions. I will use multiple images (sometimes 6-8 separate images...sometimes only a small piece of an image too), layered to create a final image that is totally distinct from the originals.
A final picture of mine may contain a cliff from one pic, a rock from another pic, a tower from another pic, a building from another pic, and so on. A single building may be cobbled together from 2-3 pics, it may be darkened, color-altered, obscured by fog or clouds...the figures may include several body parts.
The question may still come up...is that original, or infringement?
In the strictest sense of the word, yes, it is infringement, as pointed out by Kael.
My thoughts on this...
When I studied art in college, one of the mediums we used and learned about was collage. (cutting apart and taking images out of magazines to merge them into a new, distinct image - you may have done this in elementary school...) In the world of art, it is considered a valid means of creation too. What I am doing now via photoshop is not any different.
Here is the crux though...I think that collage is accepted as legit mainly because elements within a collage are normally altered to the point where they are not recognizable from their original intent and use. And this is what I try to do with my creations - because every item that I do use is heavily altered in photoshop.
I want to emphasize that last statement.
We all agree that to create strictly 'original' artwork for ffh2 is a good goal, but it is also probably out of reach. I'd like to wait for the rest of the art team to provide me with leader and unit images, but I realize that they all have lives to live, real-life jobs to do, and there is a vast amount of work to be done in other areas of the game.
So I do what I can with the skills I have, for the enjoyment of the fanbase...
I could set up all my images with original landscapes/buildings/figures that I create in Photoshop completely from scratch (drawing all the images by hand), but it would take me months, if not years to do so.
Doing it via the 'collage method' takes me anywhere from 1/4 to 2 hours per image for most of them.
ok, but thats not the point you wanted to replace it with original art, but with yours we would strictly speaking still not be copyright legal. In this case I prefer using the leaderheads everyone is used to (and to be true they are amazing as they are).
And suggest you spend your skills on the rest of the stuff which needs to be done anyway, like ice phase images or more elaborate wondermovies. my best friend after seeing the wondermovies for example told me i should do movies where you see thousands of slaves building the wonder and not only an abstract picture of something. well i said, thats not my part
So, you see, your skills could be needed elsewhere. I suggest not tackling leaderheads, but improving movies. because thats what i think you can do best. movies nobody else of the team can do that and it could add tons of atmosphere if improved.
Hope you don´t misunderstand me again
you wanted to replace it with original art, but with yours we would strictly speaking still not be copyright legal. In this case I prefer using the leaderheads everyone is used to (and to be true they are amazing as they are).And suggest you spend your skills on the rest of the stuff which needs to be done anyway, like ice phase images or more elaborate wondermovies. my best friend after seeing the wondermovies for example told me i should do movies where you see thousands of slaves building the wonder and not only an abstract picture of something. well i said, thats not my part
So, you see, your skills could be needed elsewhere. I suggest not tackling leaderheads, but improving movies. because thats what i think you can do best. movies
nobody else of the team can do that and it could add tons of atmosphere if improved. Hope you don´t misunderstand me again
marioflag
History Addict
I totally agree with this statement.
Personally i find the actual painting of leaderheads far superior even to 3d portraits or other art representation.The leader paintings give a lot more personality to them than other form of arts.I actually like a lot more these FfH2 leader paintings than the 3d leaderheads which are in vanilla.
I also agree that movie, wallpaper, units should match closely art design....it gives definitely more flavour.
Broken Hawk
Emperor
I like the smile on Capria's face. The background makes me think of a basilica.
I must admit I like the original leaderheads and they have grown on me. However, uniformity in style would be best in the long run. I'm not sure whether they should be like the the movie images or renderings of the in game units yet.
I must admit I like the original leaderheads and they have grown on me. However, uniformity in style would be best in the long run. I'm not sure whether they should be like the the movie images or renderings of the in game units yet.
hexagonian
of the realm of Hexagonia
Which is what I have been doing lately. But at this point of time, there is little info for me to go on. (Not that I can expect things to be fleshed out at this stage either)
I've already worked up base backgrounds for all of the planned 'Ice' videos.
So lately, I've been creating 'people' images. They do not have to be specific leaders either - (though I have been creating them for that possibility...thus they are being introduced that way in the desktops I post.) Since the leaderpics are established in everyone's minds, using my pics in other contexts should not be an issue.
As for the photo-realism approach, that is a minor issue, because creating them in a photo-realisic setup gives me a lot more flexibility to alter the style (through photoshop art filters) once the figure is finalized.
I am also trying to set up these 'people/leader' pics for the primary use of the videos.
However...The one issue I do see has to do with the possible planned usege of our current set of leaders in the videos...and I'm going to try to look at this from the viewpoint of the artist who originally created the art we use.
Remember this...every time every time we remove the current leaderhead pics from the original background, (and cutting it into an 'Ice' or desktop-intended background), or crop it, we may be further bastardizing the intent of the artist. This becomes especially messy if the figure used is instantly recognizable from it's original context. Please note the italicized bolded type because it is the main issue for me.
This is what I am trying to move away from for the 'Ice' stage.
To be honest, this is something that I did for the ffh2 videos...but in the same vein, using a ten-second clip of a copyrighted music track in ffh2 is the same exact thing. The track is being cut apart and used in a context that may not have been intended by the artist.
What I provided for the wondermovies was a simple solution to add some atmosphere that the game was lacking at that point in time - with the skillsets I have at my disposal....my best friend after seeing the wondermovies for example told me i should do movies where you see thousands of slaves building the wonder and not only an abstract picture of something. well i said, thats not my part
I hope you do not misunderstand me on the following statement...I'm not trying to offend with it, but to clarify where I stand.
Unfortunately, I'm not inclined to start learning to create straight animation through 3-d rendering (like the programs you use for your units), or a cell-by-cell rendering technique. I do not have the interest, or the programs themselves, or even the money to invest in those programs.
I provide artwork for the Mod mainly because I enjoy the programs I use (as well as it sharpens my skills for my actual job), as well as the process. For volunteer work of this nature, once it becomes work, then it's time to move on. And if you want to kick some money my way, then perhaps I will decide to explore 3-d rendering.
So it can be your part if you want to do it...and I am not going to stop you either. Or if anyone else has the talent or time, or desire (see if your friend would be willing to learn how to do it...), they can jump in and join the team and create those types of images.
I do not have a problem with the continued use of the existing artwork - (but some of the pics are also very pixelated/muddy).
I merely brought up the possibility if the team wanted to move into a different direction as the game continues to evolve. And if so, I would be willing to pursue it in the format that I am using for all the artwork I create for the team.
As games evolve, everything about them usually evolves, including artwork - and there is nothing wrong with that. (Look at the difference between civ3 and civ4.)
There still seems to be a lot of concern about copyright and infringement on your part, as you have brought this topic up multiple times (...third time's the charm I'm hoping...).ok, but thats not the point
Again, I hope you do not misunderstand me on the following statements...
Realize this...this issue of copyright legality crosses into everything I do for the team...So I really need to clarify what is expected from me by the ENTIRE team.
1. Understanding the team's desire to create 'totally' original artwork for the game and...
2. Giving full disclosure about how I create my artwork (see my last post)...
3. which may include images done through an online search...(do an online image search for anything and be amazed how many items come up - it's in the millions for many subjects)
4. and limited to photos that do not have a copyright tagline...
5. which does not include any existing game or fantasy artwork...
6. and if ANY image is used, it is heavily altered by me, to the point of non-recognition...
I am asking point blank...'Is my approach acceptable for the 'Ice' stage of the game?'
If so, great. I thoroughly enjoy what I am doing for the team.
And if so, I am also going to ask Sez very nicely not to continue bringing this particular issue up...
Today's offering...
Ljosalfar Huntress
or Thessa
Take your pick
Sept 5 EDIT 1..softened facial features
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Kael
Deity
Yes! Although I would love to be copywright legal on everything, there is absolutly no mandate that art has to be copywright legal for FfH2. Quality trumps copywright in my opinion. And we have a ton of copywrighted material in FfH2 that isn't goign anywhere anytime soon.
So don't stress copywrights Hex. As much as we might love to have FfH2 be all legal, it isn't going to happen anytime soon.
My concern is more with style. You do amazing work, but its all about finding a way to make everything seem consistent rather than having a mix of very cool work that clashes with each other. My favorite screens of yours continue to be the ones without leaders. We use the work of Brom, Justin Sweet and other fantasy masters for leaderheads and I dont think we can do justice to their work by remaking them. The result is bound to be dissapointing just because they are so good.
You are correct about the Ice slides, we have a ways to go before we have real specifics on them. I love that you are tweaking and working on concepts for them though, its all great stuff.
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