Yo! My name is Rain.

3 years 2 months ago

"Howdy! ...I basically just clicked on your thread because I like the name Rain. And I wouldn't want anyone to be lonely. So there you go. Don't be lonely."
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GENDER WARS!!!

3 years 2 months ago

"

koi89

Is Gender Wars really an appropriate title for this?

Haha! Yes this title may have been a bit of misnomer. But I figure when you go for topic titles you gotta go for the shock and awe more than the accuracy... perhaps I should have titled this: "A Comparative Study of Modern Japanese Pop-Culture Within Gender Binaries"... or maybe I should have just gone with: "SEXXX!!"

fili13

ChiyoIshida

I know most anime fans through forums, and in most cases its the girls who rule the anime fandom. But in saying that, girls seem to latch on to a few anime where-as boys tend to view more.

I'd have to agree. Girls do tend to be bigger fans of anime (especially all those rabid fangirls). Its kinda the same with music also. You will see waaaay more girls screaming and crying for Backstreet Boys rather than guys doin the same thing for Tupac.

That's interesting... I think there has been a definite increase in the number of female fans... maybe even to the level of 50-50 (or near enough)... but you guys have both missed an important point... actually it's more like a word: "OTAKU."

How many female otaku do you know? And even if you do know a few, are they anywhere NEAR as bad as their male counterparts? Perhaps you do get your odd girl who likes the fanservice, but there are LEGIONS of guys... and they take it to new levels...

But perhaps that's just a matter of genetics and hormones, it has of course been put forth that on average guys have more sex drive then girls... or maybe it's because 100% of all girls could get laid if they really wanted to (not necessarily well... but still), whereas maybe only 90% of guys can without putting down money... and it's those remaining 10% that take otakuism to new heights... I don't know.

A lot of people have said it doesn't really matter... and they're right... but I started this thread because it was an interesting discussion, and not one I can really answer for certain. I guess what I'm most curious about is if most girls feel like they have a voice in anime... It feels so male-dominated sometimes, with so much objectification and fanservice that I often wonder what it's like for the women who work in the industry, the animators, the voice actresses, etc. How do they feel when there are all these men around them working very hard to show panties, or get some character's clothes ripped off? It makes companies like CLAMP make immediate sense to me.

I know there are female oriented series... shoujo... but I wonder if they are really just a drop in the bucket...?"
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First real wallpaper

3 years 2 months ago

"That definitely looks better! I like the orange. final comments:

1. The "Bring it on" is now lighter than the "because we girls"... so make them match. And capitalize "because".

2. The exclamation point dot is getting lost in the the tail of the word "rock" so, if you can, separate it just a little.

3. try reversing the shadows... so they're darker on the white parts of the wall, and lighter on the colored parts, it might look even better than it does now.

ok, s'all i got. good luck submitting."
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First real wallpaper

3 years 2 months ago

"Wow that really cleaned up the extractions! The colors are way better! I like the wall alot. I think it's great and you could submit it right now. If I had to give you some suggestions they would be:

1. The only extraction problems I can see is the aliasing on the left character's (Nami?) right leg. It's pretty jaggy. So is the shadow of it. A little bit on the other character's legs too, but it's not so bad.

2. The shadow's disappearing in the white is cool, but what does it look like if they don't? If the shadows just continued the whole way up? I think they would have to be lighter colored and softer on the white wall, since it's brighter and you don't want the shadows to look the same on such different surfaces. But give it a try, it might look neat.

3. Personally, I would pick another color than pink for the background...maybe blue? Orange? Try it out. You might like it better. (you'd probably have to change the text color too).

4. Text: the word "girls" is disappearing. It is hard to read. You should give that whole text a little shadow, to help it read better and separate it from the background better."
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My first wallpaper

3 years 2 months ago

"Personally I like the pink one better, it just seems the more emotional of the two colors. Green is peaceful and alive, not lonely.

The shading on the green one is better than the pink. Add that shading to the pink...

Either way, you still need more leaves, and the trunk needs to be faded out better instead of stopping, like ichigoxkiss said.

See my first comment for more details. Good luck! You're off to a really good start!"
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KOS-MOS wallpaper. (Update 3)

3 years 2 months ago

"You could upload this right now, and I am POSITIVE it would be accepted. It is an incredible wallpaper. But I still have a two more suggestions...

1. Make the planet even smaller... you don't want it to be a major object of attention (there is already so much going on), you just want to it complement the image and help add a little counterbalance. You might have to move it around a bit to get the composition right (try different positions with it in space).

2. Add a little variation to the color of the engine fire... some red or blue maybe.

that's all I hope it helps, and I hope you think the wallpaper is better. As always you don't have to do anything you don't want to... just offering advice (and everybody's is different). =)

"
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This is my wall :(

3 years 2 months ago

"Yeah... I'm pretty much in agreement with ichigoxkiss... I think he said what I said but more clearly.

The composition is off because it is like a see-saw back and forth beween the silhouette and the girl. Between left and right. The way to fix that is get rid of one of them (the silhouette), or move them closer together so they are overlapping. The girl is also hugging the right side of the image a little too closely, so moving her a little bit towards the center wouldn't hurt -- she should be at about one third line of the width of the image (rule of thirds).

So once you get rid of the silhouette, or move it, you are going to have all this negative space on the left side to fill... that's where the green lines come in... They are really cool, and looping them around the sunbeams is a great idea... so have fun with that. I hope that clears up my suggestions above...

The rest are just alternative ideas that might be fun to try: like changing the silhouhette to a butterfly, or making the silhouette out of the green lines, etc. Whatever you decide to do, the composition suggestions still apply.

Gambate!!"
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GENDER WARS!!!

3 years 2 months ago

"True... i guess why it's interesting to me is that their is so much ecchi stuff in anime. it seems like 80% of all anime has at least some sort of fan service or mild sexualization of the female characters. i just don't notice it going the other way so much..."
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GENDER WARS!!!

3 years 2 months ago

"So, my friend and I were having a discussion, and it basically came down to whether more guys liked anime than girls... kinda like video games... and I had to agree with him, that it seems to be like a 70-30 split, or maybe 60-40.

Browsing around AP.net I seem to encounter more guys than girls, but it's hard to tell... there are DEFINITELY more Wallpapers of female characters... but girls seem to like making wallpapers featuring females as much as guys do... Anime has always had more than its share of pretty girls... is that driving away female viewers or attracting them?"
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KOS-MOS wallpaper. (Update 3)

3 years 2 months ago

"Nice... that is definitely an improvement. See how the shadows really helped the text? I really like the sun in the corner! But I'm serious, you may want to add another planet somewhere in the background, small and dark... I just feel it would help put some gravity (haha) out there, and help counterbalance the image.

Also, the speed lines are gone, but now the ship is missing something... it needs a propulsion! Use a similar effect like the sun, on the back of the ship! Give it some rocket power!

Finally, your scratches were a good start... but they are too few, and too similar. Make them different. Every scratch was caused by something different, so they each have to be different themselves. Some should be dark, some should be light, some should be inbetween. THEY SHOULD NOT BE EVEN THICKNESSES all the time. They should start out thick and end in needle-point thinness. Use feathered brushes. I like the scratches you put in the valleys. Do more of that, maybe just in the valley. Try putting some small scratches on the letters =)

Great job so far!!"
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Devil May Cry Wallpaper (new version uploaded)

3 years 2 months ago

"Ok... it's hard to tell because the first one is so small, but I think it is the better of the two. But they have similar problems... I'll just treat them separately, but if I repeat myself it's deliberate, and if I don't, you may want to apply the comments back and forth.

WALLPAPER #1:
The paint splatters are really nice... but get a little (just a little) more crazy with them... they look deliberate. Put more black splotches (big ones) in -- and not necessarily round. It might even be fun to put one or two on the background image (and even invert them, so they become white splotches)... it's worth a try.

The border of the background is good, but it could be better... you'v chose to give Dante white, mist-like halos and highlights...why not make that the border too? Make his highlights become the border, and meld with it... (do not thing this has to be a big thick border, either... it can still be thin).

The background image needs to be moved up within the frame... right now the border cuts off too much. I want to see more of the background Dante's face and eyes, and less of the top of his head.

Your Text needs work... give it shadow... give it texture... give it idiosyncracies.

... Consider making Dante's white halo-ey highlights black instead... that would blend him better with the background and the picture as a whole. That, or make the whole background image, white-ish and misty too.

Your signature is too conspicuous.


WALLPAPER #2:
Your chains suck (although I couldn't do them)... use real ones instead.

Get more crazy with the ink spots.

Dial down the background image brightness of the second figure (the one fighting Dante). His face is way too bright, and the edge of it divides your whole picture like a razor. Maybe just get rid of him all together.

Again, your text is too boring. Too symmetrical, too straight, too perfect. Mess it up. Maybe use handwritten spotchy calligraphy style. Vary the size, the height, the shape etc. Give it a rawness.

And again about the signature.


Ok... hope that helps. You've got a great start on both."
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Wolfs Rain Paper

3 years 2 months ago

"Ok, looking good.

Wallpaper 1: Seperate them more so their fingers are just about to touch... like the famous painting of God and Adam by Michelangelo... you may have to make her more horizontal to make it work. And put them more in the center. The dark lense flair is weird, but cool... either soften it, move it, or get rid of it.

Wallpaper 2: Your rocks need more shading. Make your lines more like the artist's: blacker, heavier, more uneven. Lower the whole rock, give them more head room. And move the whole thing to the right, give them more elbow room too. And get some text in there... same color, brownish, yellowish, and desert like. Or make it like the little bit of text in the upper right corner."
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My first wallpaper

3 years 2 months ago

"Wow... great! I only have a couple suggestions.

1. Make the font shadow gray or black... and make it soft... right now it's too edgy, makes the eyes trip out. Also try reorienting the shadow to different positions... it might look better.

2. She has some funky artifacting near her right arm. You should clean it up.

3. Pretty much get rid of the top vine... Make the tree fade out in a more logical way, like descending right to left, or left to right... or add a trunk line all the way to the top. You might have to add your own bark detail.

4. More leaves!! Put some on the ground near the character and around or on top of the letters (possibly). And make the leaves more shades of pink and red.

5. You MIGHT want to consider adding a branch from the tree coming down from above."
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KOS-MOS wallpaper. (Update 3)

3 years 2 months ago

"It's looking good. I would:

1. Make the ship smaller.
2. And get rid of the speed lines, they look silly.
3. Also, it might be cool to make the ship coming out of the pictiure! Make it encroach onto the metal border.
4. Maybe give the moon a little moon of it's own out in the empty space on the right. Maybe a reddish or brownish one.
5. Try adding a texture layer to the 3D border. Add rust and scratches where appropriate. And give shadow to your letters, not just highlight. And add a different texture to the letters than the rest of the metal.
6. Use gradients on your white lines.
"
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This is my wall :(

3 years 2 months ago

"I really like the bright green! I think it's a great color scheme, but Mellykill is right, it makes the scan less important... BUT, all you gotta do is make the scan more stylish! Clean it up, fix the coloring, make it more cartoonish and vectored. Get rid of the shading on the skin, make all one color.

Other Suggestions:

1. Your composition is a little off... move everything to the left a little bit.
1a. The big version of her in black, is poorly placed... either move it more behind her, or get rid of it. OR, make it green too, and have it made out of the green designs.
2. More BUTTERFLIES!
2a. Or just make the big black version of her, a big black butterfly!
3. The cross bandaid on the girl's big version's cheek sucks... do it better or get rid of it.


OR: 4. Ignore everything I just said and maybe just get rid any picture or silhouette in the background at all! Use the green snakey lines to fill the negative space... have them looping behind and around the black sun beams... I think that might look REALLY COOL!"
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Critique greatly needed!

3 years 2 months ago

"Interesting, a mix of live-action cosplay and drawing. It needs a lot of work, but it's a good start.

ok, I'm just going to list the things I think you should change:

1. Move her more to the right, she's too centered right now.
2. Make her clothes, especially her pants, darker.
3. Don't cut off the trees in the back, take the trunks all the way to the top.
4. Soften her edges, blend her more.
5. Make the skin tone between her feet and her face match.
6. Don't let the leaves show through the bench... make your layers correct.
7. Make the back edge of the bench uneven... more natural like wood... like the front. it's too sharp right now.
8. Add more plants and animals to the background. Ferns, moss, vines, branches, bushes, bugs, beetles... make your forest alive.
9. More variation on the forest floor. Make the leaves different colors... reds, golds, browns, yellows... etc.

That's all I have right now. Good luck. =)"
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True friends dont excist

3 years 2 months ago

"Time for some quotes about friendship! YAY! I picked some that would apply in DRaCuMeL's case in particular.

"God save me from my friends - I can protect myself from my enemies."
-- Proverb 

This one is very nice. The only people who can really hurt you are the people you are close to. You know you aren't very good friends if it doesn't hurt when they do something mean.


"Friendship is constant in all other things save in the office and affairs of love. "
-- William Shakespeare 

Obviously, friendship comes mostly into crisis when love is involved. Thus the eternal triangle. Maybe part of the reason your friend betrayed you was because he likes the same girl you do... worth a thought.

In any case, we have to pick our friends carefully... that's the hard part... you'll never know who's your friend until you know you can hurt eachother... and that's where the real test begins... whether you can both stick by eachother even then... close friends will always hurt eachother, mostly in little ways when they don't even mean to... and sometimes in big ways when they do... but this can make your friendship stronger, because it will help you realize new things about eachother. People are constantly changing. We are not the same people we were 5 years ago... that makes friendships hard to maintain, but it also makes it always worth it... in part because it means you'll never be alone. And nobody wants to be alone, even if they think they do... (of course it's always good to take some breathers).

I'll end with this quote by William Blake:

"It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."

"
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Roger, Roger.

3 years 2 months ago

"Heylo everybody! I just want to say that this site is amazing, and I am happy to be a part of it (coerced as I might have been). The layout and design is fantastic! It's very intuitive, incredibly chique -- sleek like an otter. Not to mention how many talented artists there are on here. I've never made a wallpaper before, but just browsing around this place is very inspiring, so I may take a crack at something. If anyone has some advice about getting started it would be nice if you could reply.

On that note: I'm familiar with the term "vectoring" but I've never actually vectored anything before. I don't know how to do it, or what program to use... Illustrator? So additionally, if anyone has some good FAQs or guides they can direct me to I'd appreciate it.

This is gonna be great. Look at me, I'm blushing like a school girl.


-----------------------------------------24 HOURS LATER:----------------------------------------------

wow... I'm so sad. No one has said hello... *sniff* ...so much for warm greetings...




----------------------------------------1 WEEK LATER---------------------------------------------------

Yup... still no one has said hello... I'm beginning to think I'm not very important.
That's a new feeling..."
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Uh. I really just wanted scans :P

3 years 2 months ago

"I have a similar story... all I wanted was some Bleach scans... and suddenly I'm registering, picking out an avatar, and posting... this site is just too darn shwanky... *sigh* I feel so manipulated."
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