RockmanPM Forums

Quickman · **Reply #150 on:** April 02, 2009, 07:21:53 AM

I'm using CS3, but yeah. They're in the Layers Pallet. The drop-down menu that usually says "Normal"? That's your Blending Modes. For colouring scanned images, I usually have my linework on the top layer with the Blending Mode set to "Multiply" and add my colour and shading layers underneath.

borockman · **Reply #151 on:** April 02, 2009, 07:38:32 AM

Oh, I knew I've used that one before! I just forgotten about it.

Could be useful for future works.

Dr. Wily II · **Reply #152 on:** April 02, 2009, 10:43:54 AM

Wow, she looks great, and that checkered shirt, man...
Looks so real.

Sniper X · **Reply #153 on:** April 02, 2009, 04:01:14 PM

Whoa, the checkered shirt looks so real and awesome!
I don't even start using Photoshop CS3. ._.

Shiki Tohno · **Reply #154 on:** April 03, 2009, 03:00:17 AM

Quickie, goddammit, you need to get your scarlet ass to making that digital coloring tutorial.

Quickman · **Reply #155 on:** April 29, 2009, 06:45:47 AM

Hrm... Last night I came across a few old stories I was working on. One of 'em was a ZX fic that I started on before ZX even was imported, so there are no doubt some glaring flaws in it concerning the characters and history. But what the hey, I started writing it and had a half-decent plot in mind. Then I lost interest about two or three pages in and forgot about it.

So, I'm gonna share the crap with you all!

Quote

Untitled ZX Fic.

   A warm breeze wafted through the open warehouse door, birds chirping outside. The region had recovered quite well over a very short amount of time since the Maverick and Elf Wars. It seemed too perfect, and too fast, as the growth and replenishment of flora and fauna was hurried along by the very technology that destroyed it centuries before. Immense towers loomed in the distance, keeping a vigil over the regions. No one was sure who exactly built the towers or how they work; the information was lost in the overgrowth of ruin cities in the Outer regions. One thing was for certain; the structures apparently aided nature’s return.
   When the first blade of green grass sprouted on the planet, it took millions of years for it to happen. Then another million years for trees to grow. This time, however, it only took roughly a hundred years. The dead wastelands breathed again with such speed that it was unnatural, according to scientists and geologists that have long studied the effects that Man has had on the Earth.
   Whatever the reasons or whatever the circumstances, life had begun again and the humans have repopulated with the help of the machines they built. And the Reploids gained an essence of humanity by implementing a set lifespan into the newer models. The humans are living longer with cybernetic implants and enhancements, while the Reploids sacrificed their durable and hardworking systems for parts that would degrade over time and allow them to die, just as the humans want them to. The lines between the two races have blurred, though the humans still needed something to separate flesh and blood from metal and circuits. All Reploids now bore a red triangle marking on their foreheads. The machines cannot be human, but the humans can be machines.
   While many have come to accept the Reploids as a race and allow them to meld into the population, there are still those that will have nothing to do with it. The Reploids were the cause of the dreaded wars centuries before, and there was no way in hell that history is going to repeat itself. The machines are tools built by the humans and are to be used by the humans, as is the mindset of the old-fashioned. Organized hate-groups have cropped up and public rallies were a familiar site. Reploid businesses have been attacked, and government officials have been slandered. A few were executed.
   Though, the activity of those groups have dwindled and all but subsided. The Serpent Company made sure of that. Being the largest Reploid-owned conglomerate gave them an edge over the humans. They controlled the commerce and the military, and kept the human hate-groups in check. Many humans and Reploids practically worshiped Serpent, as he was a great and generous man. He funded civic projects, he donated profits to charities, and he made lives better and easier. He was very warm to his admirers, a very open and kind-hearted individual who did not allow his position of power to go to his head like so many have done before.
   Not everything was as it seems, as one of the smaller shipping companies, Girouette Express, often transported rather unorthodox parcels for the Serpent Company. No questions were asked, as the packages were never opened. They were sent from one place to another as they are supposed to and the payment was collected. It was all business with Girouette, owner of the shipping company, and Serpent planned to keep it that way. He didn’t need some young upstart asking questions and nosing in business that’s not meant for his eyes.
* * * *

   A wayward candy wrapper bounced through the open door, pushed along by the summer breeze. Vent paused in the unloading of boxes off of one of the freighter trucks to wipe the sweat from his brow. It was a comfortable day, but after hours of carrying packages back and forth, the heat was starting to get to him. The wind was a welcome change from the dust inside the warehouse. Leaning heavily against the truck, Vent flapped his shirt, trying to cool himself off.
   “Take a break already, Vent.” Girouette looked up from his work. “You’ve been working yourself like a dog; you don’t need to rush things. The truck doesn’t leave until tonight, you have time to relax.” He glanced at the forms strewn about on the makeshift desk constructed from crates and boxes. “’Sides, Aile will be back with lunch soon. Take a break.”
   Vent shook his head between pants. “Nah, I’m fine. I’m almost finished anyway.” He started for another box.
   Girouette put the clipboard aside and stood, walking over and sitting on the box to prevent Vent from moving it. “Seriously, break time.” He crossed his arms. “You need to relax a little and pace yourself. It’s hot outside and you’re gonna work yourself to a coma if you keep this up. Get a drink and enjoy the breeze for a while. I’ll take over the unloading.” He smiled, pushing his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose and tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind his ear. “You’re alright, Vent and I admire your work ethic, but if you keep this up, you’re gonna make me look like a slave driver.” He laughed.
   Vent laughed as well, shrugging. “Yeah, you’re right. Fine, I’ll take a break.” He flapped his shirt again and walked over to the vending machine for a drink. “So… who’re these packages for anyway? What’s in ‘em?”
   “Haven’t the slightest.” Girouette shrugged, adjusting his glasses yet again and flipping through some forms on his clipboard. “I usually don’t ask it’s none of my business. As long as we get paid, then I really don’t care what we’re shipping.” He chewed on the end of his pen, and then wrote something down.
   Popping the tab on his can of soda, Vent took a long swallow. He ran his fingers through his spiky brown hair, his bangs wet with sweat. A smell caught his nose, rising from his soaked armpit. Ugh… I need a shower. That was one of the downfalls of working; stinking of sweat. Vent is a young human boy, unlike Girouette who was clearly marked as a Reploid. The red triangle on his forehead set him apart from Vent and Aile, another human girl. The two kids lost their families in Maverick attacks and Girouette took them in. He wasn’t much older than they were, appearance-wise, but his real age was unknown. He was constructed to look like an adolescent and he would remain trapped in eternal youth until his systems degraded from age.
   Though he may be a machine, there was one advantage Girouette had over Vent and Aile; he doesn’t stink when he sweats. If he sweats at all.
   Vent sighed, fanning himself and flapping his shirt to dry out his armpits. The sound of a motorcycle engine caught his ears and he turned to look, seeing Aile dismount the bike with an armload of take-out. “Finally! What took you so long?!”
   Aile put the bags on the stacked boxes and began to sort it. “Your finicky appetite, that’s what! I hadta go clean across town just to get your food!” She shook her head, handing a covered dish to Girouette and then tossing the wrapped sandwich to Vent who caught it with one hand. “Next time… just get Chinese or something. It’ll be easier on gas.”
   Vent snorted, unwrapping his sandwich and sitting on a box to eat. The shipping business consisted of a warehouse, three motorcycles and the occasional truck. There wasn’t much to it, not even a separate office for Girouette. He had a computer, a laptop which he would put on a stack of boxes, but for the most part, the inventory and customer information was written by hand. The Serpent Company paid them well, but not enough to actually move into a more professional building. Vent sighed, kicking the box on which he sat, seeing something odd dusting from the seams. “Hey, Giro?” He stood. “Something’s busted in this one.” He nodded to the box.
   Girouette adjusted his glasses and walked over, taking out his utility knife. “Probably dust, but I’ll check… Just say nothing to our client about this, we’re not supposed to open these.” Righting the package, he slid the blade across one of the lids, prying it off. A cloud of white powder rose up from inside.
   Vent covered his face, backing away as Aile came over. “Geez! Whatever was in there must’ve been pulverized!”
   “I don’t think so…” Girouette shook his head, waving his hand in front of him to clear the air. “It smells really weird.” Reaching into the box, he took out a few clear plastic bags, each packed full of a white powder. The bags dropped from his hands. “Oh [parasitic bomb].”
   “What? What’s in there?” Aile looked into the box. “It looks like—“
   “Drugs.” Girouette finished. “It’s fulla drugs! There must be at least—I dunno; ten-twenty pounds of crack in here!” He shot his gaze to the stack of parcels sitting beside the truck. “Bring me a coupla those boxes over there!”
   Aile nodded and retrieved a few. “We’re shipping drugs?! Who the hell’s the client?!”
   “Do they even know they’re shipping this crap?!” Vent was flabbergasted. “Are all the boxes fulla this stuff?”
   Ripping open another box, Girouette nodded. “Yep, here’s more. God damn, do you guys know how much trouble we could get in if we get caught trafficking this stuff?!” He shook his head and reached for his clipboard, flipping through the pages. “Oh man… some colleague of Serpent’s is shipping this…” Shaking his head again, he sat on an unopened box. “Get the packing tape and seal these buggers. I’ll have ‘em outta here this evening.”
   “Wait, what? But, shouldn’t we call the cops or something?!” Vent was stunned. “This can’t be legal!”
   Aile shook her head. “We should burn this stuff! Get rid of it!”
   “We can’t!” Girouette argued. “Look, this was assigned to us by Serpent himself and he tracks our progress reports! If this crap doesn’t get to where it’s going, we’re done! Finished! He’ll use some high-brow legal parlor trick to get it all to end in his favor while we’re tossed in jail for smuggling cocaine across the Inner Regions!” He sighed. “I know it doesn’t make any sense, but the less we say about this, the better. I’ll handle the shipment tonight. You two can have the rest of the day off if you want, I’ll handle this stuff.”
   Vent blinked. “Are you sure, Giro? If we gotta deliver it, me and Aile—“
   “No.” Girouette shook his head. “You two go home a while. I’ll deal with this.” He heaved a breathy grunt, shaking his head slowly. “Seriously, both of you go home.”
   Vent hesitated, but nodded and started for his motorcycle. Again, he paused. “Are you sure?”
   “Yes!” Girouette snapped. “Go home!”
   Vent nodded quickly and dashed for the door, Aile following. Once he was outside, his pace slowed and he put his hands in his pockets, sighing. “So… whatcha think we should do?”
   Aile shrugged. “I say we should call the cops. I don’t care who’s shipping this, they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.”
   “You’re right.” Vent nodded. “The thing is… Giro doesn’t want the cops involved, so we can’t just call ‘em. And if we do get the police; what if they think we’re the ones shipping it and we’re thrown in jail anyway?!”
   “Possession is nine-tenths of the law, we’d be toast.” Aile sighed. “I guess it’s a good thing that Giro’s handling this and not us. But still, I really don’t like this…”
   “Me neither. There’s not much we can do about it now…”
* * * *
   The evening had passed; Vent and Aile had long retired for the night. They lived in Girouette’s small, cramped one-room efficiency apartment. He had given up his bedroom for those two, moving out into his tiny living room to sleep on the sofa. The place was often a mess for it was intended to house only one person; Girouette. But things had changed when he “adopted” Vent and Aile.
   The locks clicked and keys jingled as the door opened, Girouette entering. Locking the deadbolts, he heaved a sigh and tossed his keys on the table, wandering over in the dark and flopping ungracefully on the couch. He did not bother to remove his glasses or even kick off his shoes; he was just too tired and mentally taxed. He closed his eyes and was about to fall asleep when he heard the bedroom door open.
   “Giro?” Aile asked in a quiet voice, padding up to the couch in her socks. “You awake?”
   Girouette gazed up at her, and then took off his glasses, setting them aside. “Barely. What’s up?”
   “Whatcha do with the shipment?”
   “I really don’t wanna talk about it right now…” He replied with a yawn. “It can wait ‘til the morning. Go back to sleep, we got alotta work to do tomorrow.”

Jericho · **Reply #156 on:** April 29, 2009, 07:02:06 AM

Leagues better than what actually happened.

Great job Quickie, you have a great talent for setting up the visuals and personality with your words.

Satoryu · **Reply #157 on:** April 29, 2009, 07:07:40 AM

that's some good crap. i really like it.

Protoman Blues · **Reply #158 on:** April 29, 2009, 07:08:26 AM

Told you they'd like it!

Quickman · **Reply #159 on:** April 29, 2009, 07:15:52 AM

Well, I still have the old plot in mind. Some day I should finish the story.

TeaOfJay · **Reply #160 on:** April 29, 2009, 08:01:09 AM

Wow, I really want to see how this goes.

You're a pretty good writer, leauges beyond what I could do if I wrote seriously like that.

Dr. Wily II · **Reply #161 on:** April 29, 2009, 01:27:17 PM

Wow... That is on ZX fic I really want to read more of...
Simply awesome.

Night · **Reply #162 on:** April 29, 2009, 01:35:34 PM

It's flour

Quickman · **Reply #163 on:** May 07, 2009, 08:43:48 AM

Not much tonight. Just tackling some headshots for character articles from CJ008. One of 'em I drew a couple nights ago.

This started out as a rough sketch just to get a pose and shading reference down. I had a stock photo of a girl and was referencing the shading as I thought the lighting was perfect. Then I just ended up finalizing the image. I employed a different technique in which I did all the shading first, then the actual colouring last. I was also playing with brushes, trying for a gritty look. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, even though I drew it kinda tiny.

I needed a new headshot for Cami's character article as I'm gonna work on getting that to Featured Article status.

This was more another exercise in skintones. Dareth has a round face, which I felt was perfect for practicing skintones. I also played with brushes again, giving his robe some texture. Now to correct the skintones on another image and draw another headshot...

And that's it. Aside from my boredom one day when I went for a hike.

Yeah.

Protoman Blues · **Reply #164 on:** May 07, 2009, 08:47:23 AM

Both of those drawings look spec-freakin-tacular. I really love what you did with the shading. Especially on Dareth's vest there.

Dr. Wily II · **Reply #165 on:** May 07, 2009, 08:53:51 AM

I seriously love your shading style Quickie.
Cami... You know.

Dareth looks great, and round.

And aww at the photo.

Quickman · **Reply #166 on:** May 07, 2009, 09:42:00 AM

Since I was thinking of it, I decided to redo the skintones on another image I did a while back.

Protoman Blues · **Reply #167 on:** May 07, 2009, 09:50:42 AM

HeHe, she looks familar....

borockman · **Reply #168 on:** May 07, 2009, 11:12:41 AM

Man, awesome clothes shading just like usual!

Quote from: Quickman on May 07, 2009, 09:42:00 AM

Since I was thinking of it, I decided to redo the skintones on another image I did a while back.

I just realized, goggles and glasses.

Quickman · **Reply #169 on:** May 07, 2009, 11:20:08 AM

Heh, well my pair of goggles did actually fit over my old glasses. So, why not have both?

Sniper X · **Reply #170 on:** May 07, 2009, 01:27:31 PM

Quote from: Quickman on May 07, 2009, 09:42:00 AM

Since I was thinking of it, I decided to redo the skintones on another image I did a while back.

Googles and glasses. Cool.

Dr. Wily II · **Reply #171 on:** May 07, 2009, 02:11:10 PM

Quote from: Quickman on May 07, 2009, 09:42:00 AM

Since I was thinking of it, I decided to redo the skintones on another image I did a while back.

Wow... This is really beautifully done...

Kit · **Reply #172 on:** May 07, 2009, 04:32:07 PM

Quote from: Quickman on May 07, 2009, 09:42:00 AM

Since I was thinking of it, I decided to redo the skintones on another image I did a while back.

Looks familiar...

Akira · **Reply #173 on:** May 07, 2009, 05:23:59 PM

Quote from: Quickman on May 07, 2009, 09:42:00 AM

Since I was thinking of it, I decided to redo the skintones on another image I did a while back.

WOW! awesome!

Good job Quickie!!

Quickman · **Reply #174 on:** May 08, 2009, 05:41:20 AM

Thanks. Roughly 22+ layers for the first pic, about 23+ for the second. The image in my sig still holds second place for 40+ layers, while an old art assignment of mine is in the lead with 82+ layers. Yay, loads of layers!

Anywho, I saw a 1951 Packard 300 sedan Ultramatic and I decided to take a pic of the hood ornament:

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