Honestly, this just comes down to us having vastly different definitions of what a simple pack is. After reading yours and Al's posts, I realize I might have misunderstood the meaning, but I think my interpretation is still perfectly valid. Simple shapes, large color fields, not too detailed, focus on shape, color, and stylization... that's what you all said, right?
No one brought it up during the last Showdown because everyone was already doing pixel art. No one challenged it. But just because no one brought it up doesn't mean it's not a valid question. I don't understand how my textures being made in a vector format, or at a higher resolution, somehow exclude them from the blanket definition of "simple." If you have any more to say that can explain this to me, please do. I honestly don't understand the distinction. I'm still putting in the effort, I still placed every line by hand, and I don't understand how you expect me to do any better with the vector format.
I'm not asking you to change the rules for me. I'm saying that you all are way too used to pixel art, and you're making up rules that don't have to be there. This challenge is NOT a palette challenge; it's a simple pack challenge. It's not about how well I stick to the palette. I was going to bring it up before, but that example you gave earlier on this page is extremely NOT what I'm talking about. That kind of thing goes very far against the spirit of this competition, and it's not what I want.
You don't have to leave, Taiine. I haven't opened some floodgate of AA "cheaters," and from the looks of what people have posted already, they're perfectly comfortable doing what they're doing. I don't expect anyone to follow my lead.
Actually it is also a pallet challenge.. What would be the whole point to offering a PALLET and then taking a PALLET top USE if you can just add in as many other colors as you need, or however made you set a program to use? Shoot I can tell illustrator to give me a really smooth edge, several pixels wide and it'll AA it that thick to blend it.
A few already said if higher res get AA they'll scrap what they have and go that path. So yeah, you get the advantage, and I 'bet' well seeing how I can see whom voting being a mod and all (have no choice in that fact sorry).. are the ones whom got the idea to follow you in the first place. Some are not part of this at all.
But the point of this is to make crisp clean simple textures, using the pallet you are given, and challenging yourself, working with the colors you have been given and find creative work arounds, perhaps using shades of colors you'd not think to use for some parts, like an ice blue for a highlight on gray stone, or purple in wood. I went through nearly every pallet to find colors I could try and work with, and its one with many shades to each color (lacking whites, @.x) to try and balance my brain going 'smooooth shaddingggg' with what the challenge is about.
But yeah if we want to throw that out the window, That would mean I can take this same pallet and start using my smooth brush again and paint them all.
So yeah.. no.. I'm out. You got your way, enjoy it. I'll continue my pack elsewhere, and tweak the pallet a bit to add in a few lighter blues for whites.
But I'm not doing any of that. I'm still making crisp, clean, simple textures, but in order for them to be that way, the edges have to be anti-aliased. I'm not doing any smooth shading or gradients or anything like that. This all started because I wanted to be able to anti-alias a sharp line between two solid colors. That's all I wanted to do. I'm still using the palette, I'm not adding to it, and I'll have to come up with ways to use the colors I'm given just like everyone else will. It's not like what I'm doing takes any less skill or effort than placing a single pixel, so I don't see how it's so daring of a request to make. Anti-aliasing in vector art is very different from anti-aliasing in pixel art; it's not very comparable. And frankly, it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
And literally ONE person has expressed any interest in doing anything similar to what I did, and I'm not entirely sure he was serious about that. I don't want to push you out, and I don't want you to feel like I'm taking over this competition and making it go my way. I apologize if I seemed a bit antagonistic.
Your not adding to it, the program you are using is adding to it.
The fact, making something look smooth and clean is a LOT harder in pixel then using vector. Where you are letting a program do it for you. Yeah I can make them curves to. I did in the example above. That grass was done in vector, three layers together and I didn't even have to think really on how it went I didn't even try to make it look good.. in fact it maked the grass edge darker then it should be by blending the green and shaded brown together.
vs the pixel lower scale one I did that I redid several times, and even started as a flat line across till I got a 'curve' and 'grassy like blades' that looked alright. Plus it ADDED COLORS to blend it all together... breaking the pallet. I didn't lay down the AA, the program did. I didn't have to think how it should look, or where the AA should go, or maybe what color the AA should be. No that was all done by calculating code in a program.
I'm a graphic designer. I've made more vector graphics, logos and banners, even whole website layouts then I can count. You'll have a far easier time making things look how you want when half the work isn't done by you, but by a program calculating the edges for you, calculating the AA for you.. You can change the whole look of something just by dragging around a control point. We'd have to erace a chunk and redo time and time again until we get it right.
Now before this gets flagged any more out of topic, thats that. I'm out. Enjoy what you have. I need sleep for work tomorrow anyho.
Back on topic, I have completed a new texture for my pack.
Vanilla CTM (without the "mod") anyone?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.
The roses are wilted, the violets are dead, the sugar bowl's empty, and so is your head.
After reading everyone's arguments, I find I have to agree with the argument in favor of allowing Vector-type work, as long as the main colors used conform to the chosen palette. A bit of AA here and there never killed anyone.
That said...Samohtj, the textures you posted on the previous page weren't really all that simple. NOT because they use AA, but because they lean too much towards "trying to look like a real vein of gold".
Your not adding to it, the program you are using is adding to it.
[...]
Why are you making this "because one way might be easier it's invalid" argument? Pixel art can take more time to create, sure. But that's just how it is. Are you saying the process now determines whether or not it's a simple pack? That's like saying 8x8 packs shouldn't be allowed because you don't have to deal with as many pixels at that res, making it "too easy".
The point of the challange is to make simple textures using a palette. Well, let's see:
1) The textures that Sam made easily qualify as simple
2) He is still clearly using colors from the palette. You can see the clusters of color clear as day, there's no extra "blending" going on.
The example you made from your grass side is not good. At that resolution, AA DOES add a lot more, and the lines you were using were much thinner than Sam's textures.
If this was supposed to be a pixel-art only challenge, maybe Peyton should have just said so and restricted max res to 32 or 64, because this is getting ridiculous.
Here's my palette, for those of you who want a REAL challenge. :3
Have fun, kiddies.
(For the record, this is not and was not intended to be a pixel art challenge. That's why I specified "any resolution" when I wrote the original thread)
That said...Samohtj, the textures you posted on the previous page weren't really all that simple. NOT because they use AA, but because they lean too much towards "trying to look like a real vein of gold".
??
I'm not sure what you're talking about. Could you quote the post you're referring to?
After reading everyone's arguments, I find I have to agree with the argument in favor of allowing Vector-type work, as long as the main colors used conform to the chosen palette. A bit of AA here and there never killed anyone.
That said...Samohtj, the textures you posted on the previous page weren't really all that simple. NOT because they use AA, but because they lean too much towards "trying to look like a real vein of gold".
@Goodlay: Awesome stuff, man! Keep it up.
Are you referring to Alvoria's post? I don't think Samohtj posted anything other than dirt and grass.
That said...Samohtj Alvoria, the textures you posted on the previous page weren't really all that simple. NOT because they use AA, but because they lean too much towards "trying to look like a real vein of gold".
Wait, sorry, I was looking at Alvoria's pics. Just ignore me, it's late where I am.
Fixed that for you.
But yea, I'm failing big time at making something that looks simple. I'm too in love with highlights and shadows. Seriously, I love the style I've created, but it's not right for this particular contest. I don't know. I might start over tomorrow. Maybe use a different palette and try a different theme.
Then again, the bit of drama we just had has kind of soured me to the whole thing so maybe I'll just keep working on this pack and pretend I was never a part of any of this. Not sure yet, and I'm too tired to make a rational decision right now. Seriously, ten minutes to midnight is NOT a good time to be making life choices.
WELL. After all that, I hope I haven't upset anyone. You guys are my friends, I didn't mean to cause trouble.
Anyway, I kept working a little bit on my entry. I've got stone and ores done. I tried to get the stone to randomize using the new model system, but I'm having a fair bit of difficulty getting it to work.
Here's my palette, for those of you who want a REAL challenge. :3
Have fun, kiddies.
Don't suppose you'd consider appending that with two or three shades or red (and maybe a shade or three of purple) would you? I'd love to make a Goth pack and none of the rest of the palettes have a good grayscale and a pure blood red.
WELL. After all that, I hope I haven't upset anyone. You guys are my friends, I didn't mean to cause trouble.
No worries. I don't think you were the one causing trouble in the first place. As much as I generally love Taiine's fiery spirit she was on the wrong side of this issue. There's no reason for a contest's rules to be exclusionary beyond necessity. More than anything else, the point of these contests is to have fun, after all.
its a bucket fill in-depth commentary on modern consumerism's over-exploitation of positive human emotion via minimalistic figures seated in a retro-aesthetic.
It's "jum bo dee es six tee for", NOT "jum bods six tee for" or "jum bo dee es six for". What the heck is a jumbod, anyway?
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Curse PremiumHonestly, this just comes down to us having vastly different definitions of what a simple pack is. After reading yours and Al's posts, I realize I might have misunderstood the meaning, but I think my interpretation is still perfectly valid. Simple shapes, large color fields, not too detailed, focus on shape, color, and stylization... that's what you all said, right?
No one brought it up during the last Showdown because everyone was already doing pixel art. No one challenged it. But just because no one brought it up doesn't mean it's not a valid question. I don't understand how my textures being made in a vector format, or at a higher resolution, somehow exclude them from the blanket definition of "simple." If you have any more to say that can explain this to me, please do. I honestly don't understand the distinction. I'm still putting in the effort, I still placed every line by hand, and I don't understand how you expect me to do any better with the vector format.
I'm not asking you to change the rules for me. I'm saying that you all are way too used to pixel art, and you're making up rules that don't have to be there. This challenge is NOT a palette challenge; it's a simple pack challenge. It's not about how well I stick to the palette. I was going to bring it up before, but that example you gave earlier on this page is extremely NOT what I'm talking about. That kind of thing goes very far against the spirit of this competition, and it's not what I want.
You don't have to leave, Taiine. I haven't opened some floodgate of AA "cheaters," and from the looks of what people have posted already, they're perfectly comfortable doing what they're doing. I don't expect anyone to follow my lead.
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Retired StaffA few already said if higher res get AA they'll scrap what they have and go that path. So yeah, you get the advantage, and I 'bet' well seeing how I can see whom voting being a mod and all (have no choice in that fact sorry).. are the ones whom got the idea to follow you in the first place. Some are not part of this at all.
I am not use to pixel art. INSAINLY FAR from it. But are you seeing me go "Hey as long as I am using the base colors of a pallet, can I use a soft brush to blend them together to shade?" No.. no I'm not.
Yes those are my drawings BTW to make a point. I'm not a pixel artist, I'm not use to pixel art.. I fail rather hard at it. Soft painted realism is my thing, and I managed it with a 16x pack of all things.
But the point of this is to make crisp clean simple textures, using the pallet you are given, and challenging yourself, working with the colors you have been given and find creative work arounds, perhaps using shades of colors you'd not think to use for some parts, like an ice blue for a highlight on gray stone, or purple in wood. I went through nearly every pallet to find colors I could try and work with, and its one with many shades to each color (lacking whites, @.x) to try and balance my brain going 'smooooth shaddingggg' with what the challenge is about.
But yeah if we want to throw that out the window, That would mean I can take this same pallet and start using my smooth brush again and paint them all.
So yeah.. no.. I'm out. You got your way, enjoy it. I'll continue my pack elsewhere, and tweak the pallet a bit to add in a few lighter blues for whites.
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Curse PremiumAnd literally ONE person has expressed any interest in doing anything similar to what I did, and I'm not entirely sure he was serious about that. I don't want to push you out, and I don't want you to feel like I'm taking over this competition and making it go my way. I apologize if I seemed a bit antagonistic.
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Retired StaffThe fact, making something look smooth and clean is a LOT harder in pixel then using vector. Where you are letting a program do it for you. Yeah I can make them curves to. I did in the example above. That grass was done in vector, three layers together and I didn't even have to think really on how it went I didn't even try to make it look good.. in fact it maked the grass edge darker then it should be by blending the green and shaded brown together.
vs the pixel lower scale one I did that I redid several times, and even started as a flat line across till I got a 'curve' and 'grassy like blades' that looked alright. Plus it ADDED COLORS to blend it all together... breaking the pallet. I didn't lay down the AA, the program did. I didn't have to think how it should look, or where the AA should go, or maybe what color the AA should be. No that was all done by calculating code in a program.
I'm a graphic designer. I've made more vector graphics, logos and banners, even whole website layouts then I can count. You'll have a far easier time making things look how you want when half the work isn't done by you, but by a program calculating the edges for you, calculating the AA for you.. You can change the whole look of something just by dragging around a control point. We'd have to erace a chunk and redo time and time again until we get it right.
Now before this gets flagged any more out of topic, thats that. I'm out. Enjoy what you have. I need sleep for work tomorrow anyho.
Vanilla CTM (without the "mod") anyone?
The roses are wilted, the violets are dead, the sugar bowl's empty, and so is your head.
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Retired StaffThat said...Samohtj, the textures you posted on the previous page weren't really all that simple. NOT because they use AA, but because they lean too much towards "trying to look like a real vein of gold".
@Goodlay: Awesome stuff, man! Keep it up.
Why are you making this "because one way might be easier it's invalid" argument? Pixel art can take more time to create, sure. But that's just how it is. Are you saying the process now determines whether or not it's a simple pack? That's like saying 8x8 packs shouldn't be allowed because you don't have to deal with as many pixels at that res, making it "too easy".
The point of the challange is to make simple textures using a palette. Well, let's see:
1) The textures that Sam made easily qualify as simple
2) He is still clearly using colors from the palette. You can see the clusters of color clear as day, there's no extra "blending" going on.
The example you made from your grass side is not good. At that resolution, AA DOES add a lot more, and the lines you were using were much thinner than Sam's textures.
If this was supposed to be a pixel-art only challenge, maybe Peyton should have just said so and restricted max res to 32 or 64, because this is getting ridiculous.
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Retired StaffHave fun, kiddies.
(For the record, this is not and was not intended to be a pixel art challenge. That's why I specified "any resolution" when I wrote the original thread)
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Curse Premium??
I'm not sure what you're talking about. Could you quote the post you're referring to?
Are you referring to Alvoria's post? I don't think Samohtj posted anything other than dirt and grass.
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Retired StaffWait, sorry, I was looking at Alvoria's pics. Just ignore me, it's late where I am.
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Retired StaffFixed that for you.
But yea, I'm failing big time at making something that looks simple. I'm too in love with highlights and shadows.
Then again, the bit of drama we just had has kind of soured me to the whole thing so maybe I'll just keep working on this pack and pretend I was never a part of any of this. Not sure yet, and I'm too tired to make a rational decision right now.
See you tomorrow dudes and dudettes!
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Curse PremiumAnyway, I kept working a little bit on my entry. I've got stone and ores done. I tried to get the stone to randomize using the new model system, but I'm having a fair bit of difficulty getting it to work.
I doubt it
Waterlilies! (And vines)
And Oak planks with random plank lengths
I'm starting to realize that it's a bit brutal to have only one green ramp...
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Retired StaffDon't suppose you'd consider appending that with two or three shades or red (and maybe a shade or three of purple) would you? I'd love to make a Goth pack and none of the rest of the palettes have a good grayscale and a pure blood red.
No worries. I don't think you were the one causing trouble in the first place. As much as I generally love Taiine's fiery spirit she was on the wrong side of this issue. There's no reason for a contest's rules to be exclusionary beyond necessity. More than anything else, the point of these contests is to have fun, after all.
Made using Peyton's palette.
GENERATION 20: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig and add 1 to the generation.
It's "jum bo dee es six tee for", NOT "jum bods six tee for" or "jum bo dee es six for". What the heck is a jumbod, anyway?