[NickDMax]

Week #13 Graphic Challenge



Brought to you by: </Dream.In.Code> Signature Of The Month Competition!

CHALLENGE:
Programmers spend much of their time with noses buried in lines of code but there are other aspects to program development! This week's challenge is to exercise your artistic side and explore the graphic design aspects of application, web, or game development!

IDEAS:

• Design an Icon set for your favorite application.
  
• Story Board User Interface for an Application or Web Site
  
• Story Board An Opening Cut Sequence to a Game
  
• Create a 2D Character
  
• Create a 3D Character Model
  
• Create a set of Textures/Tiles for a game map.
  
• Create a Personal Logo, Avatar, or Banner for yourself or another member.
  
• Create custom glyphs for a font based upon your favorite movie/game.
  
• Doodle a page of charactertures of DIC members
  
• Create some ASCII art: (¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º>

Whatever you do, try something new and/or challenging outside of your normal comfort zone.

And HAVE FUN!

FREE TOOLS TO GET STARTED:

• : The GIMP -- An image editor
  
• : InkScape -- A vector graphics editor
  
• : Blender -- 3D Modeling software

WHERE TO GO FOR HELP:

DIC Graphic Design Forum.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR DONE:
When you are done respond to this thread and attach what you have done (or a link) and tell us about the experiences.

What Tools did you use?
How long did it take?
What inspired you?

[LetMeFinclOut]

NICE!!

Have to say that I did not expect this one at all. This'll be a good change of pace and I'll definately have a go at it.

[X@MPP]

I just might enter this one

[NickDMax]

If you are like me you don't do a lot of graphic design and may need some help using some of the tools, here are some links to tutorials to help you get along:

InkScape:
Creating a folder icon in InkScape by VulcanDesign
InkScape Wiki tutorials
35 Tutorials to create amazing Vector Graphics using Inkscape

The GIMP
Weather text in THE GIMP by paperclipmuffin
GIMP: Melting Text by axel
GIMP : Flame Text by axel
Scottm 1: [GIMP] Animated text by Scottm
]The official gimp tutorials
More Gimp tutorials

Blender
(note: we don't seem to have any DIC Blender tutorials... hint hint)
Official Blender tutorials
53 Amazing Blender Tutorials

[Skaggles]

I use Paint.NET (it's free and a pretty good tool for creating basic stuff) for doing simple graphics for my applications. I'm terrible at graphics, though, and would be too embarrassed to post anything that I've done graphically. Heh.

[PennyBoki]

Ok here is what I did



Am planning to make it my official dic sig.

I used the GIMP, and it took me an hour and a half or so. It turns out I like this stuff I am feeling more confident about making banners and the other details on the websites I maintain.


NickDMax inspired me, also my sig needed attention

This post has been edited by PennyBoki: 29 March 2010 - 03:46 PM

[NickDMax]

@Skaggles -- Thanks for the link! I am always on the lookout for cool free tools . As for being embarrassed to post anything graphic -- well the point of the challenge is to experience new things. Maybe you will find something you are willing to share. I personally LOVE to play in Blender. I am HORRIBLE at it, but its modeling tool is so much fun that I am bound to post some amorphous blob that I think looks like my brother's head...

@PennyBoki -- Cool signature. Perhaps you could bring out the text a bit though?

[gabehabe]

I made this a few weeks before the challenge, but still thought I'd share. Any excuse to break out the TACOPIG.

It was actually my first attempt at anything like this, so I'm quite pleased with the outcome.


It was literally all drawn with the pen tool.

[X@MPP]

just something quick i made a little while back and yes i just now realize that the '/' is on the wrong side

ill work on something different soon

This post has been edited by X@MPP: 29 March 2010 - 04:04 PM

[Fuingurth]

I think I am going to do this one. Gotta brush up on some old skills though...

[programble]

Yay! ASCII ART! *opens text editor*

[Choscura]

This is an old one, so it might not count, but anyway- the buildings are free-drawn with a pen tool in photoshop CS3, the wall is a composite of various random things (pictures of old moldy plaster and rusting sheet metal, if I recall)- the spikes on top are one spike that I think was a bronze-age arrow I found. The moon is basically a circle with a gradient and a few filters. the vines are more pen tool/gradient/filters, and the bushes are a masked layer of green texture behind the wall layers.

I did this as a rather time-consuming storyboard animation/intro to a game I have in mind to make.

This post has been edited by Choscura: 29 March 2010 - 07:16 PM

[NickDMax]

I have really been meaning to learn me some InkScape, so following a tutorial I made this "button/signature" -- don't think I will use it, but its a start with the whole InkScape thing. -- Took me about 10 mins -- but I think you can get the process down to about a min per button once you have an idea what you want.



Now I can create a whole set of "shinny wax buttons" for my web page!

[Lemur]

Do WiP's count? It takes me in excess of 50-75 hours to get quality work done.

[NickDMax]

sure! Work in Progress is fine... everything I do is a work in progress (I don't really believe in "done"). Though, do try something new. If you are just doing the same old same old, well that is not a "challenge" now is it? Spend a little time outside of your comfort zone and try to have some fun learning and playing around with some new things -- but what you do is really up to you.