General Art Thread (a thread for general art)

[Reply #520 on:]

*Fanfare for the Common Man plays*

[Reply #521 on:]

I was merely giving an example of a situation in which that delusional happiness would be respectable to me... In its essence, he was killing himself... or rather that side sacrificially for his family.  He is lamblike though... that's why I like him... Also, he doesn't think before he acts, he says that himself in an episode where he and Ned go to Vegas....

But I've derailed this thread enough... may the next posts be about more artistic things.

[Reply #522 on:]

Uh, some more sarcastic Lord of the Rings Images I drew in the Copenhagen airport?  It is way Off Topic so I will not get into it, but I enjoyed LOTR and liked to spoof how the movies made Frodo more helpless than he was in the novels... though the movies were excellent. And I did love using the Icelandic desolate highlands  as the stand in for Mordor.

This is where Frodo and Sam hide out with a band of Orcs (in the book and deleted film scenes).  No one defined just what a band was, so I had to do some homage to Vaughn and blues bands and Santana here...


And this was a humor reaction on "The Way Up" part of the novel, done very wonderfully in the film- one of the best parts for me.  But the sick humor prevailed, hopefully in a semi respectful way...

[Reply #523 on:]

 

Originally posted by coldangel_1:
I would, but I'm not really a very good artist.

(Repeatedly smacks Coldy across the face)

Whenever I'm in a situation where I have a heard time changing something, I go back to square one and go a different direction from there instead of veering of the course you're currently stuck on. My advice, look back to your old stuff and work from there. Keep in mind however I know nothing about art. If this makes no sense and wouldn't work please disregard.

Dug up from the ancient tomb of the Cold one.

[Reply #524 on:]

 

Originally posted by FordMustang:
LOTR Humor

Bwahahaha - awesome! 

 

Originally posted by Frisco17:
  horrible thing

Ahhhh!! Burn it!! Send it back to hell!!

[Reply #525 on:]

Huh, you could do better foreshortening than I could back in the day.

 

Look Sam, I can see your house from here!

Hah, awesome. 

[Reply #526 on:]

 

Originally posted by Frisco17:
(Repeatedly smacks Coldy across the face)

Carefull there, friend:
Raising one's hand to the Cold One can represent a life-threatening situation... 

[Reply #527 on:]

 

Originally posted by SpaceCase:
 Raising one's hand to the Cold One can represent a life-threatening situation...   

Nah, I respect that.
Using bad grammar around me, however... THAT is dangerous. 


The saving of Springfield.
My favourite scene from The Simpsons Movie, because as everyone knows, I rather enjoy ridiculous over-the-top high-flying heroics.



On DevArt: http://coldangel1.deviantart.com/art/The-saving-of-Springfield-85999520

[Reply #528 on:]

Wow, that is amazing colds. I am so jealous of your drawing abilities.

[Reply #529 on:]

Excellent job as usual Mr Cold

[Reply #530 on:]

Wow, Cold One! You did capture the movie image really well!  That Simpsons movie image rocks!  I have to admit I like the movie though I am skeptical of the comic and series overal.  The movie kind of did go the Futurama path and evoke the idea of the epic "Let's save the world " idea.  It worked for the movie, but Futurama has always had that surreal "Save the world" theme, so I hope someday Futurama gets to show it always supported and even went beyond what the Simpsons (very good but more mainstream) supported...) I am not against the Simpsons, but I always felt Futurama had something wiser and funnier to offer the world- and sometimes (more than not) something to make us think about our placein the world) Go Futurama!

[Reply #531 on:]

Thanks gang.

'Stang - I agree. I've always found Futurama to be more enjoyable and pointed than The Simpsons, which I think has a lot to do with the Science Fiction component. Sci Fi can do so much more than grounded fiction based in contemporary reality. It can brave the final frontiers, visit strange new worlds; seek out new life, new civilizations. Boldly go where no Man has gone before.

It can explore humanity unbound by any situational constraints.

Isaac Asimov once said: "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinded critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."

[Reply #532 on:]

Silence! I concur.

As much as I love The Simpsons, Futurama is just vastly better. It's, in my opinion, the ultimate belending of high and low brow humor. You can have an obscure physics joke and then 30 seconds later Fry is getting repeatedly struck by lightning. Not the best example but it was the best I could do without having to think to much at 11PM and it gets the point across.

[Reply #533 on:]

I agree too. Futurama isn't just zany it's intellegent, both High and lo-brau humor a perfect blend. The Simpsons just doesn't have that.

[Reply #534 on:]

Also, spaceships.

[Reply #535 on:]

Yes spaceships make everything 22% more awesome.

[Reply #536 on:]

Also robots.

I guess.
Great pic(s) Coldy - I still haven't got round to seeing The Simpsons Movie - which is *probably* a bad thing I guess, but I love the pic all the same. But I sware, that Futurama pic is fantastic. Wish I could say the same for my earlier work. And I still don't think my forshortening is that good.

Gotta love the LOTR pics FordMustang, nice one 

[Reply #537 on:]

I just saw the Simpsons movie recently. If anything, the animation was spectacular, especially if you consider that none of it was CGI.

Like how you've captured that moment, coldy.

[Reply #538 on:]

Yes, I agree.  The animation was wonderful- I liked the way the characters cast shadows and the wonderful colors you can only get with computers.  It was also nice to see the landscapes- Springfield's terrain looked a lot like Oregon, even if it is supposed to be Vermont :-)  The Alaska animated sequences were amazing, too.

It is surprising that so many critics in the USA said the animation was not that good- I guess they are stuck on CGI.  I wonder if we will ever see Futurama given that rich, colorful detail someday- though the animation is good overall.

Nice Asimov quote, Coldy!  That sums up science fiction well. 

[Reply #539 on:]

The critics in the US are stupid they wouln't know good animation if it hit them in the face. Why does it matter if it is or isn't CGI it can be just as good animation without CGI.

[Reply #540 on:]

The key word there is critics. These are the people who sing the praises of every stupid show on TV and dump on the few good ones. Critics' opinions aren't any better or more valid than anybody else's, they just get payed to give them.

[Reply #541 on:]

I think it's hilarious that traditional shoestring 2-D Japanese animation has a far wider and larger fanbase than any of the 3-D Pixar crap.

[Reply #542 on:]

Eh, they're both pretty unimpressive.

(Waits to be savagely beaten by anime fans)

[Reply #543 on:]

Well,Bender'sFan 1221 and Coldy-  It was an evil day here in the USA (land of all work and no play) when animatiom studios like Disney and Dreamworks shut down their 2D studios.  I thought they were sacrificing their unique long term craft for short term bucks, but who am I to say since I am not rich? 

It's been sweet to me that 2D has clung on thanks to heroes like Miyazaki and the heroes on this site who supported Futurama 2-D animation.
I hope to see the 2-d stuff survive- there is a lot to offer. Movies like "Horton Gives a Who" are giving a nice shout out to 2D animation that I hope the powers that be will listen to.

[Reply #544 on:]

*savagely beats Frisco17*

[Reply #545 on:]

Savagely eats a cold Burger King Whopper...

3-dimensional animation has its merits, but I don't think I'll ever get over the use traditional cel animation.  What's nice is series that utilize the two seamlessly.. My two favorite being Futurama and Cowboy Bebop.

I think there's going to be a wider appeal for digital 2-dimensional animation... Adult Swim's flash based cartoons are a good example of this.  It's a really nice medium for devlopers... Cheaper, more efficient, easier to use with as good as if not better results...

[Reply #546 on:]

I don't see what people have against CGI. Sure, when it's badly used (I'm looking at you, Dreamworks!) then it's obviously a bad thing, but the medium itself isn't inherently bad. Take The Incredibles, for example. It was 3d. It didn't try and make a big deal out of it (unlike... say... that thing with Tom Hanks and the scary train - I'm looking at you Dreamworks!). The medium, as they are wont to say, wasn't the message.

Then there's Titan A.E. which mixed them very, very badly. There are times when cel animation isn't an appropriate medium either...

Incidentally, you might be surprised to learn that there was actually a great deal of 3d/cgi used in The Simpsons Movie. They disguised it very well; in that context it's only like the rotoscoping Disney used for some of the more complex objects in their animated films. The "giant mouse of Minsk" in An American Tail, for example. These days they'd have used disguised cgi to render that. Back then they used a puppet and drew over the top. 

[Reply #547 on:]

I have no problem with CGI unless it isn't used right or used badly. Like Arch has mentioed Dreamworks. I love when stuff can combine new and old semalessly like Futurama.

[Reply #548 on:]

I actually did figure there was cgi in the Simpsons Movie... I just couldn't remember any particular instances...  Anybody notice how that movie was just really the plots of a bunch of different Simpsons episodes sewn together?  Kinda makes you think sometimes, doesn't it?

[Reply #549 on:]

 

Originally posted by coldangel_1:
I think it's hilarious that traditional shoestring 2-D Japanese animation has a far wider and larger fanbase than any of the 3-D Pixar crap.

Oy! Pixar is surprisingly decent!

[Reply #550 on:]

I agree with you on Pixar!

I think  my main complaint is that studios assumed CGI was the moneymaker in the future because there was an initial excited reaction from audiences and because of the influences of video games on kids who would prefer this over 2D hand-drawn.  They still have not picked up on the fact 2-D animation was not doing well in the last years because it had bad scripts.  The good 2d animation is remembered because it also had great stories and music.  My brother, for example, hates animation, but he loves "Spirited Away" for its plot and character development and portrayal of Japanese folklore.

Studio like Dreamworks goof by stinting on the script, using stunt casting to get the grown up viewers to watch and following the Shrek model of irreverant comedy featuring cute animals who happen to look like famous movie stars.  I absolutely adore Pixar because they focus on the whole movie experience (music, good voices who really fit the characters, excellent plots) and they also seek to push the envelope with creating some amazing new things.  They also were strong supporters in getting Miyazaki's works released in the USA.

I do think 2D and CGI fit well together.  It was in the Simpsons movie and worked quite well.  Futurama makes it almost seamless.  One of my favorite movies (yup, I am a woman) , "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" really did excellent work with what the producers called "Tradigital" animation.  It is hard to see what is computer and what is hand drawn there (plus animating horses is supposed to be very hard).  I was sorry to see Dreamwords give up that concept for their current model.

@Archonix- that is very interesting about how Disney used a puppet in "An American Tail."  I know they were using rotoscoping even far back as Snow White in some scenes.

[Reply #551 on:]

Meh. There's only one CGI movie I really like, and that's
          Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

[Reply #552 on:]

Oh yes. I can't be the only one that nearly shat myself laughing at the Victory Theme ringtone...

[Reply #553 on:]

Arch - Did you note the scene I stole from AC in Blame it on the Brain? All the Planet Express crew help to fling Fry higher and higher in the air to confront Onespawn... same as the FF7 gang did for Cloud in AC to take down Bahamut Sin.
I love that part.

[Reply #554 on:]

Ahh, I thought it was familiar! That was an immensely cool scene.   

Great, now I want to watch advent children again. *starts digging through the collection*

[Reply #555 on:]

 

Originally posted by winna:
I actually did figure there was cgi in the Simpsons Movie... I just couldn't remember any particular instances...  Anybody notice how that movie was just really the plots of a bunch of different Simpsons episodes sewn together?  Kinda makes you think sometimes, doesn't it?

I sort of thought that was the point. You know, for comedy. 

[Reply #556 on:]

I thought it was for nostalgia. Especially when Homer and Bart finally ended up jumping the Springfield gorge - I love the surprised look on their faces after they land.

[Reply #557 on:]

I love the fact that the ambulance is still there. 

[Reply #558 on:]

 

I think there's going to be a wider appeal for digital 2-dimensional animation... Adult Swim's flash based cartoons are a good example of this. It's a really nice medium for devlopers... Cheaper, more efficient, easier to use with as good as if not better results...

2D is here to stay for a long while. The development costs for 3d are much higher and only really worth it for big budget films etc.

With 2D, you can get some cheap asian labour to do most of the work, 3D requires an expensive skilled workforce. There are not many people who are good at it. Last year my animation course only had one person who was really good at it. With the internet, flash is definitely the prime candidate, nothing can beat the interactivity.

[Reply #559 on:]

It's been awhile Zmithy... still heading up the leaderboards over at KoL?