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Thread: Illustrator 1st Edition

  1. #1
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    Default Illustrator 1st Edition



    Introduction
    The Illustrator started as a dream for me. I dreamt that the Content Artists could have their own unofficial art publication in the Graphics Workshop. We started working on the publication, thinking it would only be a small unofficial one. Then Belisarius came into the picture and changed everything. The Illustrator was suddenly not a small publication covering the Graphics Workshop but also the POTW and VOTM. With this drastic change, things were chaotic for while, but we managed to steer it up.

    What you're looking at right now is the combined work of splendid artists on this site. We managed to create this publication in a matter of days, without any loss in quality or quantity, as you will see in the articles.

    LuckyLewis, Killerbee, Nanny de Bodemloze and abbews are covering the art competitions of this site, including the Picture of the Week, Unedited screenshot of the week, Video of the month and the Graphics Competition. You will be stunned by the art we have presented in these articles, and I also hope you get the urge to join any of these competitions.

    Louis Lux is here to showcase an artist of the community. This edition he showcases Legless Lannes, a regular in the Graphics Competition. It is an excellent article and I know you will enjoy it.

    We have a lot of art tutorials on this site and we got our writer KDK to showcase both the new and old ones. In this edition KDK is listing the absolute best signature tutorials on this site, so don't miss this opportunity to refine your skills!

    cedric37 is here to report on the Community driven Comic, created by Aanker. I'll let Cedric explain what it is in his excellent article.

    Last but not least is Maяcel with his Freebie of the month. This edition he has given us 6 high quality text styles for use in Photoshop. He also explains how to implement them! So don't forget to download these text styles, they are great.

    With that said, the dream has finally come true. We now have an art publication on TWC, made by the artists of the community.

    From me and the writers of the Illustrator, I hope you enjoy this issue. We also want to wish you the best of luck in the new year.

    This is abbews for the Illustrator, wishing you a happy new year.

    Illustrator 1st Edition Staff
    Abbews | Graphics Competition
    Cedric37 | The Community Driven Comic
    KDK | Tutorial Wrap Up
    Killerbee | POTW & UESW
    Louis Lux | The Artist Lounge
    LuckyLewis | POTW & UESW
    Maяcel | Freebie of the Month
    Nanny de Bodemloze | Video of the Month
    Table of Contents
    Introduction
    1. Competition Rundown
    2.
    The Artist Lounge
    3. Tutorial Wrap Up
    4. The Community Driven Comic
    5. Freebie of the Month
    6. Last Word



    1. Competition Rundown
    Click Here to View


    Competition Rundown

    Welcome to the summary of the POTW/UESW competitions here in the Illustrator! Killerbee and Luckylewis are here to provide the rundown on what our talented screenshooters have been up to this month!

    POTW 220 & UESW 123
    naxzul666 has triumphed the POTW 220 competition with a very cleverly manipulated screenshot from Napoleon:TW, showing a ship, slowly drifting towards its doom - or perhaps an unexpected victory. Another remarkable piece was Worm's entry, turning a calm landscape into a blizzard. Great to see some RTW entries, despite the game being almost 7(!) years old



    Meanwhile in UESW 123, General Brittanicus' massive battle and Von Koh's Roman charge triumphed the (numerous and fantastic) other entries, like Trashing Mad's Sci-Fi units and naxzul666's broken cavalry attack, to name a few. For the first in a long time, we have had a huge number of high-quality entries for the UESW competition, which is a great thing. Let's hope this evolution will continue.




    To see the competition results and submissions for this week, click here for the POTW and here for the UESW.

    POTW 221 & UESW 124
    theatroN has yet again won the POTW 221 competition with a Medieval Knights' charge, backed up with what seems like a nuclear explosion. Other entries that stood out were the General Brittanicus' Widescreen image, or this extremely remarkable Horse on fire (by naxzul666).




    In UESW 124, there was yet another tie in the UESW world. General Brittanicus' phalanx was not strong enough to completely defeat the opposition, and neither was Ltflak's glorious cavalry charge




    To see the competition results and submissions for this week, click here for the POTW and here for the UESW.

    POTW 222 & UESW 125

    POTW 222 was won by TheatroN, who demonstrated his ability to develop his well taken Napoleon screenshots through the usage of motion blur. The winning shot featured a group of cavalry under bombardment as they galloped with haste. Other entries included Halvar von Flake's barbarians lurking within the lush greens and Von koh's stones of inferno, clearly showing that despite the age of the game, RTW images still play a key part in the competitions.



    UESW 125 resulted in a victory for naxzul666. He ventured deep into a battle to display the chaos and thick smoke of the warfare that had engulfed a company of archers. Other entries included MorganH's annihilation of an artillery crew and Ltflak's Armada.



    To see the competition results and submissions for this week, click here for the POTW and here for the UESW.


    POTW 223 & UESW 126

    POTW 223 followed a Christmas theme and double points were on offer as a result. tone won the competition and his entry was a unique and rather amusing edited image from RS2. The Wardog had his best suit on for the upcoming battle, and he was clearly a hit with the voters. The competition was dominated by festive submissions, including General Brittanicus's Santa warriors and naq's freezing legionnaires.



    UESW 126, like it's big brother, also followed a Christmas theme, and rather rarely, points were on offer, double too! naxzul666 claimed victory with his army of snowmen, who marched forward under a certain old fellow's banner. This UESW competition also featured some creative Christmas themed images, including MorganH's Jingle bombs and theatroN's wintery cavalry.



    To see the competition results and submissions for this week, click here for the POTW and here for the UESW.





    Winning this month by a landslide was Ltflak's Alternate Battle of Trafalgar, who's deft use of movie audio clips really enhanced the immersion factor. Daniu's multiplayer and instruction video was a nice addition to the competition, with good voice-overs increasing dramatic tension without inundating the video with effects and gimmicks. This month's batch continues the trend of Hollywood-style "production company" intros for the artists themselves, placing a more professional stamp on their pieces. And finally, it was also encouraging to see so many video entries produced for mod promotion.



    Next month, we look forward to a Christmas theme to the competition...let's see some chestnuts roasting!

    Click here for the full competition results and entries.




    GC#100 [Battle]

    The winner of GC100 was Aanker with this astounding piece. It's a digital drawing depicting dwarves rallying before a big battle is about to commence. Aanker shows his skill with the tablet once more and the detail in the piece is quite fantastic.


    EVYATAR entered this piece to the competition. The stock used is a digital painting made for Empire Total War, if I recall correctly. EVYATAR did a good job intensifying the painting, he also added more action and improved colours.


    Another entry to this competition was Squeaks'. It's a sig with a very good message, good vs evil. But sadly the colours don't come together well, and that is sad because it could have been a really good sig.

    You can view the vote thread here.


    GC#101 [Architecture]

    The winner of the Architecture theme was Ishan with this animation of the Taj Mahal.
    Animation is something I find very tedious, but Ishan seems to have a lot of patience. Credit for that.


    Another entry was Voodo Chile's blueprint of the Arch of Constantine. I like the raw feel the drawing has.

    You can view the vote thread here.


    GC#102 [Christmas]
    This GC had a lot of beautiful entries but sadly three of them were disqualified for breaking the rules and the TOS.

    Click to view content: 

    The winner of this GC was Aanker with this amazing piece called "The battle of Christmas". Santa vs Snow Man, who would win? Yet again the details are fantastic, but Aanker could have improved his Santa General.

    Click to view content: 

    Another entry that caught my eye was Legless Lannes'. He has totally Christmasified this army orchestra to oblivion! Original concept, I like that.

    You can view the vote thread here.


    Current affairs in the GC
    Due to Christmas and the new year coming up, the Graphics Workshop isn't as active as it usually is.
    But that doesn't stop us, since we got a lot of interesting stuff going on.
    The "Sig of the Year" poll is coming to an end, if you hurry you can still vote here. The new theme this week is "Poster" and that should provide some amazing submissions, ranging from made up movie posters to music posters, I hope. Stay tuned for the next Illustrator edition for the latest Graphic Competition news, and visit the Graphics Workshop to get the news first hand!


    2. The Artist Lounge
    Click Here to View


    Presentation of a workshop/artist ~ Legless Lannes
    Legless Lannes, a regular on the Graphics Competition, started his gallery a bit over a year ago and during that time has shown a great evolution. His first works looked promising but they often had a lack of direction and expressiveness, he often overused or misused filters, a common mistake among beginners in photoshop. But in time and with sound advice he found his personal style and expression and showed a great amount of versatility, delving into Design, Screenshot making and logo making to name a few.



    The CD cover and T-shirt look different but are great graphic design examples, they both use illustrations in a smart and effective way and are perfectly complemented by the typography. They also share a comic undertone and attention to details that are always nice to see.


    0


    Here we have some examples of his logo making work. Nothing flashy but still effective. I would like to draw attention to the high contrast black and red backgrounds that have a great deal of texture, the overall feel is really dynamic.



    The screenshots made by Legless Lannes have a very distinctive look, they are made to look almost like paintings which most of us know is not an easy feat to do. All his screenshots in various wallpaper sizes can be seen here.



    These signatures best showcase his style, that I perceive as romantic, displaying strong emotions and having a dream like quality achieved through carefully placed brush strokes and low opacity overlay textures. The subjects in the signatures are often gazing into nothingness much like the Wanderer above the sea of fog, which he honored in his Surrealism GC entry.

    3. Tutorial Wrap Up
    Click Here to View



    Tutorial Wrap Up




    Managing Presets

    A great tip to help you managing your presets in Photoshop by Maяcel



    Basic/Advanced Photoshop Tutorial

    A great thread with multiple tutorials to help improving your skills in Photoshop by xHerzoGx. Here you can learn about how to edit pictures, screenshots, and also learn about some basics in Photoshop and you will learn how to create the effect you see below!



    Photoshop/After Effects

    Another great thread with multiple tutorials where you can learn about both After Effects, where you can learn how to make great videos and Photoshop, where you can learn how to edit screenshots, by theatroN



    Famiglia's Resources

    An awesome thread with multiple precision-cut renders for you to use by famiglia_ducale. These splendid renders can be used for example in signatures, mods and much more!

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Base 3D Model

    A great Resource for you modders out there. A great 3d base model by Killerbee for you to work on!

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 




    The Best Of: Signature Tutorials
    Do you like to make signatures? Well, you've come to the right place. It this months 'The Best of' we've put together a list of some of the coolest action packed signature tutorials we could find, teaching many cool techniques. Please take a moment to review some of our favorites.

    1. Ghost Recon Signature

    A tutorial that will teach you how to make an semi-advanced signature.



    2. Full Signature Tutorial (PS)

    Another great tutorial that will l teach you how to get a good flow and look into your signature.



    3. Basic Render Signature in Photoshop

    An awesome tutorial which will teach you the basics of how to get a cool-looking signature.



    4. Full Signature Techniques

    A great guide and tutorial that will teach you how to make a signature



    5. The Real Magic

    Another awesome tutorial that will teach you how to make a music-inspired signature


    6. Rocking Signature

    A great tutorial which will teach you how to make a cool rock-themed signature


    7. Rocking Signature

    A tutorial where you can learn how to make a sick tutorial





    4. The Community Driven Comic
    Click Here to View



    The Community Driven Comic
    Dear fellows, I would like to present to you, a fantastic event that everybody on TWC should have heard of.
    And now you get a chance to participate.



    "What the hell is it about ?!" you will ask.

    Okay, first it is a Comic, fantasy style for now. And further, it is driven by the Community.
    What does it mean? Well someone (maybe you) write the plot, and a drawer (that might be you, if you got any talent in drawing) will try to draw the scene that you imagined.

    I hereby proudly present you the STORY SO FAR:

    Spoiler for PAGE 1
    (Aanker)

    (cedric37)


    (.Mitch.)


    (Katsumoto)

    Spoiler for PAGE 2
    [/B]
    (cedric37)


    (.Mitch.)


    (Katsumoto)


    (cedric37)

    Spoiler for PAGE 3

    (Leonidas the Lion)


    Below you can find the rules (set by Aanker):

    RULES:

    - This is a community project that requires cooperation, not only between me and the participants, but also between the participants themselves. Keep that in mind when you design your strip/set of images: build on what others have done (that means not introducing a new character every time it is your turn), stay within the limits of the story established in the introducing 'pages' and don't put your successors in akward situations. Simply put: be nice.
    - Only when it is your turn may you submit a plot plan, spanning three or four images (although I can accept variations; a battle scene may require one, large image etc.).
    - No breaking of TWC rules.
    - Try to avoid political, religious or cultural allegories. I wouldn't enjoy drawing a scene that, between the lines, says 'Swedes are awful'.


    GUIDELINES:

    Submit your suggestion with the following structure (or something that resembles this structure):

    -General Description
    --Background (intentions, recommendations on what should follow etc.)
    --New Characters, if necessary, include their abbreviations
    -Script
    --Image 1
    ---Description of the scene
    ---Dialogue and event lines
    --Image 2
    ...

    You can read more here !


    5. Freebie of the Month
    Click Here to View



    Freebie of the MonthThis months freebie is a set of 6 Quality Text Styles for photoshop. This set features 3 different gold styles, a silver, bronze, and stone style.



    Download Here
    *zip file containing the text styles, and a sample .psd

    Installation & Usage


    Figure 1: 'Layers Panel'.

    If you are unsure how to install these text styles, view this tutorial. You need to install them in the style presets.

    Once installed, you should be able to apply them as layer style to any layer, advised is to add it to text, but there is nothing stopping you from experimenting with it for other purposes as well. The styles are named, and consist of 2 or 3 different ones that need to be used together. If you for example want to apply the 'Gold Light' style, you need to make your text layer, and duplicate it once so you have two. Now apply 'Gold Light 1/2' to the bottom layer, and 'Gold Light 2/2' to the one above that.

    If you are unsure how to apply these layer styles, this last paragraph is for you. There are many ways to apply a style, first you need to open up the 'Layer Style' dialog. To do this you can 1) Right-click the layer in the layers panel(see Fig. 1), and select 'Blending Options'. 2) Double-click on the space surrounding the layers name in the layers panel. 3) Select 'Blending Options' from the 'Layer>Layer Style' menu. in the Layer style dialog(see Fig. 2), go to styles(1), select the desired style(2), and press OK(3)


    Figure 2: 'Layer Style dialog'.

    6. Last Word
    I hope you are satisfied with our work in this edition, and that it has been for your pleasure. We will make an even better edition next month, I promise. Stay tuned for the next edition of the Illustrator and be prepared to be amazed. Until then, visit the art forums on the site and join our beloved competitions.

    I also want to personally thank Belisarius for making this dream come true.

    All people out there, take care during this celebration of the new year.

    Last edited by Squid; May 17, 2011 at 11:30 AM. Reason: fixed link
    DESARC92 / Product Design
    Once known as MarcelP | Product Designer | Under the Patronage of Legio
    Marcel's Modder's Resources | Tutorials | The Graphics Workshop

  2. #2
    abbews's Avatar The Screen Door Slams
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Great work guys

  3. #3
    KDK's Avatar Pro Rege Et Grege
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Yeah, great work!

  4. #4

    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Great work guys

  5. #5

    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Nice editing, wait for more...

  6. #6

    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Lookin' Good!

  7. #7
    Viking Prince's Avatar Horrible(ly cute)
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Now only aa few weeks before issue two. Seriously though, it is an impressive achiievement to have put together sucha polished first issue.
    Grandson of Silver Guard, son of Maverick, and father to Mr MM|Rebel6666|Beer Money |bastard stepfather to Ferrets54
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  8. #8
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Ah man, this is amazing. I love the freebies - text styles are just what I was looking for. Thanks a bunch guys, keep up the great work.

    P.S. The logo is fantastic!
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

  9. #9

    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Awesome work chaps !

  10. #10
    Lord of Lost Socks's Avatar Primicerius
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    That was legendary-wait for it-dary

    “The human eye is a wonderful device. With a little effort, it can fail to see even the most glaring injustice.”

  11. #11
    Campidoctor
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Awsome!!

  12. #12
    LuckyLewis's Avatar Loutre
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    awww Yeah.
    Muh signature is so out of date all muh pictures died.

  13. #13
    Finlander's Avatar ★Absolutely Fin-bulous★
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Stunning work! I am really waiting for the 2nd!


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  14. #14
    Von koh's Avatar Decanus
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Great TWC publication!

    My gallery Rep if you like.
    6 UESW victory.

  15. #15
    Katsumoto's Avatar Quae est infernum es
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord of Lost Socks View Post
    That was legendary-wait for it-dary
    Bit of a fail there, eh?
    "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."
    - John Adams, on the White House, in a letter to Abigail Adams (2 November 1800)

  16. #16
    MorganH.'s Avatar Finis adest rerum
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Loving it !!! Very Nice !!

  17. #17
    Nanny de Bodemloze's Avatar Treason is just dates
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Well done Marcel...very, very slick looking, this whole idea really hits the spot for TWC's artists.

  18. #18
    MasterBigAb's Avatar Valar Morghulis
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Fantastic I love it !!!

  19. #19
    EVYATAR's Avatar EvyatarNevoDesign
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Great work
    R.I.P Blackomur | The Shadow of Ishtar | Proud to be israeli
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  20. #20
    abbews's Avatar The Screen Door Slams
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    Default Re: Illustrator 1st Edition

    Took the liberty to move the thread to its dedicated forum

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