Which Elephant Should I Make Into An Icon?

[Blue Monkey]

Here are three possible images for an "elephant warfare" tech icon.

For convenience let's call them (left to right):
A. White Elephant
B. Elephants with Swords
C. Blue Mahout

All would need more work to be usable, especially at the small icon scale. I would replace some of the background figures in A with the ground colors to make the elephant stand out. In B the grass needs to be lightened up so the elephants, especially their swords, stand out. C needs some palette adjustment so that the mahout and elephant both read better at the smaller size.

Personally I like B as the most aggressively warlike. The image is of Kurukshetra, the climactic battle in the Mahabharata. I also realize that right now it's the one that reads the poorest of the three.

R8XFT especially (although others input is also valued): which one should I work on for the final icon? Each would take about the same amount of work to finish. I'm completely open-minded, even if the word is "find another image to work with". Feel free to post any comments as well.


Edit: Sorry about the typo in the poll. Also, I set it so everyone can vote more than once, since some of you may like a couple of them equally.

 

[Virote_Considon]

How about all of them? We all like variety!

 

[Blue Monkey]

How about all of them? We all like variety!

I may end up making all three of them, since the Blue Mahout would work for "Elephant Training" (maybe to go with the oft requested elephant worker ) and the White Elephant could become an icon for some tech related to royalty or public ceremony. But I want to know where to start, since R8XFT specifically requested an "Elephant Warfare" icon.

 

[NavyDawg]

Yeah, I voted for all three. You shouldn't have made it multiple choice. Now, get crackin'.

 

[Yoda Power]

Blue Mahout would make the best small icon I think.

 

[Spacer One]

I dont like the White elephant, because a "white elephant" is a term for "not worth the trouble it causes"...The middle on is a bit too murky...hard to see the details...

I really like the third (blue mahout)...so thats how I voted

BTW:BM, if this is what you meant in the tech Icon Submission thread, it is perfectly fine...lots of people do this

 

[The Last Conformist]

I can't say I like any of them, I'm afraid.

 

[Bjornlo]

What, no pink one??

 

[Blue Monkey]

@ everyone: thanks for all the comments so far.

BTW:BM, if this is what you meant in the tech Icon Submission thread, it is perfectly fine...lots of people do this

Yeah, this is what I meant; I guess I wasn't too clear.

I dont like the White elephant, because a "white elephant" is a term for "not worth the trouble it causes"

That expression comes out of a bit of Indian historical trivia. White elephants are sacred for various reasons. Buddha's birth, for example, had the appearance of a white elephant as a foreshadowing. So only Maharajahs were allowed to keep them.

White elephants required special homes that were actually more like elaborate temples, special diets, and a staff solely devoted to their care. Not to mention the expensive caparisons required for specific occasions that might come only once or twice in the elephants lifetime. So giving a white elephant as a gift to another ruler was a way of straining his treasury, so he would be less able to compete with you or go to war. Sort of a subversive arms race, like what the US under Reagan tried to do to the SU. (couldn't find a sad king smiley)

That's why I was thinking of something to do with rulership as a possible tech for that one. Maybe there could be a small wonder that gives lots of culture, and improves relations with other countries, but has a high per turn cost.

 

[Rob (R8XFT)]

I voted for the elephant with swords; though actually, there would be room for a couple of these; maybe the white elephant could represent the era one elephant warfare/elephant training and the elephant with swords could be an era two warfare icon.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Thanks to everyone who voted; and especially those who commented. I'll end up turning all three into tech icons. Swords first; then, following R8XFT's preferences (since they'll end up in his mod), Whitey, and Mahout last.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Here's an updated version of the icon for "Elephant Warfare". Because of the limitations of ImageShack it's in GIF format. The final version will, of course, be a PCX.

The main thing I did so far was shift the colors for the grass to lighter shades in order to highlight the swords the elephants are holding. I'm aware that it's still a little pixelated in those areas. Well, R8XFT, what do you think? Am I moving in the right direction? Anyone else care to comment?

Edit: One change I'm considering is making the grass "greener" as well as lighter. Also, should I work at making the pole for the pennant the rider is holding more visible? It kind of dropped out when I reduced the palette to 256.

 

[Rob (R8XFT)]

As I said in the AD thread, I think it looks great as it is. I don't think you need to do anything else with it.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Here's a "finished" version of Elephant Warfare with both large and small PCXs in the zip.

Download Elephant Warfare Tech Icon
I went ahead and added it to the db. But if anything (especially the small icon, which is posted for the first time) needs work please let me know.

 

[Rob (R8XFT)]

I went ahead and added it to the db.

Great!!

But if anything (especially the small icon, which is posted for the first time) needs work please let me know.

It looks superb, nothing needs any more work - you did a fine job!

 

[Blue Monkey]

Got inspired (avoiding doing dishes ) and cranked out the White Elephant icon. I decided to call it Elephant Domestication, since I want to call the one with the blue mahout Elephant Training.

Download Here.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Okay, okay... I really didn't want to do those dishes.
Here's the Elephant Training tech icon.

Download Here.

Now the quandry: which has the best chance of getting more than three votes in the June competition? And what can I do now to avoid those dishes?

 

[Blue Monkey]

Please post any further comments in my Tech Icon library thread. I'm asking Plotinus to close this one.

 

[Plotinus]

Moderator Action: Thread closed.