Art Contest

[Raiyuuni]

I've talked a bit with xpo yesterday about the picture/story project, and with that in mind, and how unclear I insist on being for this project, I'll try to get it all lined up here.

The Runolympics and their values.

Competition, teamwork, active collaboration. It's not gonna work, either laid out on words or on brush strokes. There is no way I can pull off a pure story, even with some minimal character development, with that approach without it being massive, a slow-paced experience overwhelmed with technicalities and, most of all, generic. Even more so because it's the first thought that would occur to one's mind - it's said aloud on Stark's post. A pure drawing? Forget it. I've read and watched a lot of tutorials, probably more than what would actually be of help, I've seen how much appropriate techniques for everything easily set the difference between final results (brush thickness, dynamism, perspective, and so on), and that's coming from the generic, black-and-white manga tutorials. I could keep details to a minimum, try to make it look authentic, like a photograph taken in "the decisive moment", such as a narrow finish. But they just won't look right, and they will also look generic, and even something Nin could easily replicate.

None of these are not feasible by any means or outright poor choices by themselves, but they will get us the 12 points just as easily as yet another banner would. Within the amount of time I can afford, I intend to take a project seriously for a change. So I present my master plan.

Minimized raw techniques, focus on the setting.

It should be a quiet moment, but moving for the characters in it. Something with several emotions being overlapped, such as a national anthem being sung. I'd add a couple of paragraphs or so to add to the effect, possibly written from a character's point of view. Here's its rough setting:

[EDIT START] (It takes place in an impossible world, a synthesis of dream and reality, and paradise for mankind, hence why it was known as Eden.) It represented liberation from sorrowful, dark times, and a slow return to humanity's original lifestyle, in a vast and beautiful world. Naturally, conflict would happen among... countries, factions, whatever; but opposing sides were most often brought together again through influence of their customs and spirituality. The Flower and the Flame were their symbols (almost sacred) of such stability, and competition was where both could be perceived best. Regarding the symbols, it is said that these two are treasures each and every one is confided with, and that they must cherish. The flame (it's supposed to be related to magic in the original story, but it's also a reference to the Olympic flame), represents passion, excitement, and happiness in general, and as such, it's unique, and it burns short and bright (ooh, shiny). The flower represents an individual and the legacy he carries, both in body and mind. The flower grows free where the sun can reach, but it can only enlighten one half of a planet at a time (there is a dark side inherent to everything, even in paradise). And it's to overcome darkness that the Flame must shine ever bright when Light is absent. [EDIT END]

For the picture itself, I'd draw three characters, with at least two of those being Runouw members, much like what Nan and Stark would often do on their projects. In the middle, probably the (sadly, generic) character, holding a flame flower (NOT A FIRE FLOWER). On the right side of the screen, Nan, and on the other, a girl member (Amp would be the evident choice, but I'm open to suggestions).

I could also for a series of subtle easter eggs, about stories that had something to do with companionship, but I'd rather avoid glaring references if possible (like a straw hat). Stuff like Nan wearing Shiina's scarf - it'd fit his cartoon self's attitude, but still keeping it within reason.

The great incognito is the background. A vague stadium setting is what comes first to mind.

Truth be told, though, I'm clueless about that. HALP

Last, but not least, the project's title, subject to change: The Flower and the Flame (ooh, unexpected) (It was supposed to resemble tales)

[Harmless]

Amp would work, but Magnen's also a good choice

The background could be Raymond. *shot*

Maybe a mountain blocking the sun or something? (also it seems I won't need to make a backup picture after all)

[Konradix]

About the two members. Since one of the themes is competition and conflict between nations, but are always brought together, maybe consider having the two members being from two different teams to show that. Maybe instead of Nan draw someone else (since there's not as many female members in the teams). It'd have to be someone recognisable, so Nin maybe (just looking at his avatar)?

As for the background... similar to what Harmless said, maybe some sort of Sunset or Sunrise. But I'd lean more towards sunset/the setting getting dark. The Flame Flower would light up the darkness.

[Raiyuuni]

I've considered having a set of generic characters on opposing teams, but that setting for a couple of Runouwians could work better than shipping them around.

Also, I needn't worry about them being unrecognizable. There's the photo album and Stark's card deck. Still, I'll see whether Nin would fit as well.

Lastly, I forgot to add a picture of Shiina, so here they are.

[Harmless]

Drawing inspiration (literally) from the StarK Runouw Deck would be pretty awesome.

[Doram]

Mountains in the background? Why not use, or at least take inspiration from, the Runouw Mountains....
Old Forum Header

[Harmless]

Ooh, thanks Doram!

[Raiyuuni]

I'm a bit short on time so I'll just paste this here.

<Xpo20>: Alright...
<Raiyuuni>: for the image itself, I think I'll work with approximately 2800x1600 (or something in between) and then shrink it down to 1366x768 or whatever
<Raiyuuni>: I think it'll be better to do detail like this
<Xpo20>: I, uh... Sounds good, even if I really don't know much about dimensions, haha
<Raiyuuni>: I intended it to be a wallpaper from the start
<Raiyuuni>: but still
<Xpo20>: Ah. That makes sense, then.
<Raiyuuni>: if we go for that stadium theme thing, I... don't think there'll be much space left for a mountain
<Raiyuuni>: although it WOULD make sense if they actually were on a mountain or something
<Raiyuuni>: maybe quickly sketch some extra cloaked characters
<Xpo20>: You could have a sign like "Runouw Mountain Stadium" or something like that around the stadium so people can tell?
<Raiyuuni>: nope.
<Raiyuuni>: Thing is, while I have experimented with backgrounds before, and got reasonable results with simply detail
<Xpo20>: Yeah, that probably wouldnt tell people what mountain you're thinking of... Idk, I guess the best option would be just do the stadium maybe?
<Raiyuuni>: I probably don't have the amount of skill/patience/time to deal with an intricate and/or crowded stadium
<Raiyuuni>: so I thought of ways to reduce the amount of detail I could focus on
<Raiyuuni>: Let me think of an example...
<Xpo20>: i mean, if you're still doing the storybook-esque thing, the people or stadium dont have to be as detailed, do they?
<Raiyuuni>: It's a single wallpaper image, with a really short story to accompany.
<Raiyuuni>: Anyway, I don't know how that would work, since I'd likely stick with 1-point perspective and not go overboard with how far it spans
<Xpo20>: Okay, so just have a smaller image with less focus on the background is what you're saying, I assume?
<Raiyuuni>: I never even considered drawing the entire characters, to be honest.
<Raiyuuni>: it just wouldn't work
<Raiyuuni>: but I do believe the lower... limit? of the image would be somewhere around one's ... waist, I presume.
<Xpo20>: alright, that sounds like it could work...
<Raiyuuni>: if I went for their being in the stadium, I wouldn't know for certain how massive would it be next to them
<Raiyuuni>: and I'd have to figure all of that out properly BEFORE thinking about adding a mountain
<Xpo20>: I mean, if you can't add a mountain, it doesn't really matter that much. Just think of the mountain as an extra thing if you manage to figure everything out and still have time.
<Raiyuuni>: it'd have to show in some moment, though
<Raiyuuni>: if I went for the sunset effect that Konradix suggsted
<Raiyuuni>: truth be told, I'll only know for certain if and when I start doing the sketches
<Raiyuuni>: here's the other setting I thought of
<Raiyuuni>: some rain (which would be yet another dangerous incognito, but I could try to replicate a good third-party reference) and slightly blur the background
<Xpo20>: Hm... Maybe you should post that idea in the thread. I'm not very good at visualizing all this, to be honest...
<Raiyuuni>: and have the characters be at the top of a hill or something, with more hills spreading around and fading away when at a distance
<Raiyuuni>: it might not work well along with the 1-point perspective, but if I make it resemble realistic stuff to an extent then it might work
<Raiyuuni>: well, I'll practice a bit and see if I can leave all the work to Saturday.
<Raiyuuni>: I can't use the computer right now, however
<Raiyuuni>: and here's one last thing I thought for the mountains
<Raiyuuni>: a concept that is actually from the original story
<Raiyuuni>: it wasn't exactly meant for mountains, but rather for a very turbulent sea
<Raiyuuni>: anyway, for some reason, that sea posed a great threat to nearby settlements, so they decided to "freeze" it with chemicals
<Raiyuuni>: so it turned into a vast field of... jelly
<Xpo20>: I see...
<Raiyuuni>: it may sound silly
<Raiyuuni>: but as it was intended to be translucent, it'd add nicely to the sunset effect

[Harmless]

So how's the art coming along?

[Raiyuuni]