A YPP-related post.
Aug. 14th, 2006 11:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
napoleonherselfApparently I am, at least temporarily, now an avatar-maker for fellow YPP players. I have therefore made this post to direct people to; everyone else, feel free to ignore.
So, You've Decided To Ask Fenestra To Make You An Avatar
As a reminder of what my stuff looks like, you may want to click here, here, or here. My one-shot drawings tend to look a little better than ongoing things like comics, because it is easier to devote extra care to one thing than to keep devoting extra care to everything you do -- it stops being "extra" and starts being "oh my god why do I do this to myself". Regardless, don't ask for anything much fancier than all that, because chances are I just can't provide it.
Currently* the price is 10,000 poe for hearties, flaggies, crewmates, or anyone else I decide is deserving, paid on Hunter; 12,000 poe for all other customers, paid on Hunter; and 15,000 poe for anyone, paid on any1 other ocean. If you want very detailed shading/coloring, it will be 5k extra (fancy coloring that I add of my own volition is free). I can do fairly simple animation, but it will also cost 5k extra, because it requires me to work in two programs at once and that is annoying. Terribly complicated animation will be considered, but the price hike will be more severe.
What you get for your poe is one avatar, 150px by 150px or a reasonable variant thereof, plus a higher-res version of the art used. I prefer png, but anything animated will of course be gif, and you can ask for a different filetype if you really want it for some reason. You can also ask for an avatar in some other specific dimensions if you wish.
THINGS I NEED TO KNOW:
- What you look like in-game! Refer me to a portrait if you like, and if you have one. I'll need to know your piratey sex, your skin and hair color, and your hair style, along with any injuries you want represented AND the side they are on. I am not good at associating appearances with the little names that scroll up my screen, so reminders are good.
- Desired outfit. It can be something you can wear in the game, or, within reason, something else entirely. T-shirt with a talking green T-rex on it, and Hawaiian-print shorts? Sure, why not. Glittery thong? Not so much. Be sure to specify colors.
- Desired pose and props, if any. Feel free to be exceedingly detailed -- "standing, but somewhat slouched, and facing slightly to my right, left arm dangling at my side, holding a badly-dented blue/black falchion in my left hand, with my right hand stroking my chin thoughtfully and a confused expression on my face as I gaze off into the distance" works just as well as "holding a falchion and looking confused". It's just that if you have a specific mental image you want down on paper, you'll need to be specific in communicating it. If you want specific framing, ask for that too. If it just HAS to be a full-body shot in that 150px space, ask for it. If you want just a head and shoulders drawing, ask for it. Otherwise it'll probably be something cut vaguely at chest level. UNLESS you ask for a full-body shot that is cut down to be more avatar-friendly, I probably won't actually draw much more than what shows in the avatar.
- Desired setting, if any. I do not do terribly detailed backgrounds as a general rule, but I can make it look like you're in an inn, or on a ship, or in an islandy jungle. Or you can just be standing in a colored void. Totally up to you. Just tell me what kind of a "look" you're going for with your setting, and I'll see what I can do.
- Any text you want added, and where you'd like it in relation to the drawing, and what sort of color or font you'd want. I have a fairly large collection of fonts and chances are I can find something that evokes what you're going for. Or you can ask for a specific one and if it's freeware I will happily install it for use. I can text on vectors (i.e. have it go in a curve rather than just straight left-to-right), or have text that's animated (see specified animation pricing, above) or probably pretty much whatever you want. Also, I am a spelling freak, so you shouldn't have to worry about my misspelling whatever wacky thing you want your avatar to say.
- A description on how you think of your piratey self as being shaped when not represented by a tiny isometric doll. Is your pirate exceptionally tall or short? Scrawny, chunky, muscular2, average? For the ladies, big bust or small? What kind of a face shape should I be going for? Pointy chin? Square jaw? Thick eyebrows? High forehead? Big, shiny white teeth? And what about the nose? Large, small, pointed, rounded? Do you even WANT a nose and ears, or are you a purist? If you want ears, should they be especially big or small? Should they have earrings? The more of this you tell me, the closer I'll get to what you want. For instance, I picture Fenestra as having a somewhat squared jawline (but not so much as to make her look masculine) and a nose that's just a bit pointy. Her build is on the stocky side, with a bit more fat and more muscle than the Western female beauty ideal calls for, because, quite frankly, fuck dat shit, yo. Therefore when I draw her she comes out looking like this and this. I could have drawn her slender, willowy, and graceful; I could have drawn her looking more like a well-toned Amazoness; I could have drawn her voluptuously fat. However, none of those are how she looks like in my head.
- Finally, any special border or transparency you want. Don't specify, and you'll probably get just a simple 1 or 2 pixel border of some darkish color, around an ordinary, boring rectangle.
If you have actually read even half of all that, then kudos to you. ...dos. Now you can feel free to communicate your desired avatar in one of the following ways:
A) Comment it to this post. Include EVERYTHING you want from the list above, because if you don't specify something, I'll assume you don't care.
B) Email it to me at bork at napoleon dot xidus dot net. Again, include EVERYTHING you want.
C) Send a tell to me (Fenestra) in-game, with EVERYTHING you want included in the tell.
D) Send me a PM on The Eye's FLAG forum (NOT the official forums!), with, you guessed it, EVERYTHING you want included.
Make sure to include the pirate name you will be paying with, and the ocean you will be paying on. Payment will be required before the finished work is delivered, though if you want I can give you a watermarked and/or lo-fi preview right before you hand over your poe.
Unless you specify otherwise, I'll take the details you've given me, work up a pencil sketch, and show it to you. Then you can either ask for changes, or okay it, in which case it will be inked, scanned, and computer-colored in Paint Shop Pro. I'll probably ask for feedback on the coloring and other computery bits as well. If you don't specify anything re: coloring, then it'll just be flat-colored using my pre-existing palette of colors pulled from the game. I CANNOT guarantee turnaround, but most likely I will have a sketch done within 24 hours, and inking/coloring done within 24 hours after a final sketch is approved.
If you have any special requests not dealt with above, ask and we'll see what's what. I do, however, get to refuse any request for any reason.
How's that for long-winded, eh?
* Anyone who had talked to me about an avatar while the price was still 5k, still gets the 5k price. Everyone else gets the new price.
1. Yes, that includes Ice. I figure I can use teh poez eventually. But if it isn't obvious, I do greatly prefer payment on a dub ocean, or even Hunter specifically.
2. Keep in mind that I cannot do especially bulgy muscles. They wind up looking like tumors, and you probably don't want that.
So, You've Decided To Ask Fenestra To Make You An Avatar
As a reminder of what my stuff looks like, you may want to click here, here, or here. My one-shot drawings tend to look a little better than ongoing things like comics, because it is easier to devote extra care to one thing than to keep devoting extra care to everything you do -- it stops being "extra" and starts being "oh my god why do I do this to myself". Regardless, don't ask for anything much fancier than all that, because chances are I just can't provide it.
Currently* the price is 10,000 poe for hearties, flaggies, crewmates, or anyone else I decide is deserving, paid on Hunter; 12,000 poe for all other customers, paid on Hunter; and 15,000 poe for anyone, paid on any1 other ocean. If you want very detailed shading/coloring, it will be 5k extra (fancy coloring that I add of my own volition is free). I can do fairly simple animation, but it will also cost 5k extra, because it requires me to work in two programs at once and that is annoying. Terribly complicated animation will be considered, but the price hike will be more severe.
What you get for your poe is one avatar, 150px by 150px or a reasonable variant thereof, plus a higher-res version of the art used. I prefer png, but anything animated will of course be gif, and you can ask for a different filetype if you really want it for some reason. You can also ask for an avatar in some other specific dimensions if you wish.
THINGS I NEED TO KNOW:
- What you look like in-game! Refer me to a portrait if you like, and if you have one. I'll need to know your piratey sex, your skin and hair color, and your hair style, along with any injuries you want represented AND the side they are on. I am not good at associating appearances with the little names that scroll up my screen, so reminders are good.
- Desired outfit. It can be something you can wear in the game, or, within reason, something else entirely. T-shirt with a talking green T-rex on it, and Hawaiian-print shorts? Sure, why not. Glittery thong? Not so much. Be sure to specify colors.
- Desired pose and props, if any. Feel free to be exceedingly detailed -- "standing, but somewhat slouched, and facing slightly to my right, left arm dangling at my side, holding a badly-dented blue/black falchion in my left hand, with my right hand stroking my chin thoughtfully and a confused expression on my face as I gaze off into the distance" works just as well as "holding a falchion and looking confused". It's just that if you have a specific mental image you want down on paper, you'll need to be specific in communicating it. If you want specific framing, ask for that too. If it just HAS to be a full-body shot in that 150px space, ask for it. If you want just a head and shoulders drawing, ask for it. Otherwise it'll probably be something cut vaguely at chest level. UNLESS you ask for a full-body shot that is cut down to be more avatar-friendly, I probably won't actually draw much more than what shows in the avatar.
- Desired setting, if any. I do not do terribly detailed backgrounds as a general rule, but I can make it look like you're in an inn, or on a ship, or in an islandy jungle. Or you can just be standing in a colored void. Totally up to you. Just tell me what kind of a "look" you're going for with your setting, and I'll see what I can do.
- Any text you want added, and where you'd like it in relation to the drawing, and what sort of color or font you'd want. I have a fairly large collection of fonts and chances are I can find something that evokes what you're going for. Or you can ask for a specific one and if it's freeware I will happily install it for use. I can text on vectors (i.e. have it go in a curve rather than just straight left-to-right), or have text that's animated (see specified animation pricing, above) or probably pretty much whatever you want. Also, I am a spelling freak, so you shouldn't have to worry about my misspelling whatever wacky thing you want your avatar to say.
- A description on how you think of your piratey self as being shaped when not represented by a tiny isometric doll. Is your pirate exceptionally tall or short? Scrawny, chunky, muscular2, average? For the ladies, big bust or small? What kind of a face shape should I be going for? Pointy chin? Square jaw? Thick eyebrows? High forehead? Big, shiny white teeth? And what about the nose? Large, small, pointed, rounded? Do you even WANT a nose and ears, or are you a purist? If you want ears, should they be especially big or small? Should they have earrings? The more of this you tell me, the closer I'll get to what you want. For instance, I picture Fenestra as having a somewhat squared jawline (but not so much as to make her look masculine) and a nose that's just a bit pointy. Her build is on the stocky side, with a bit more fat and more muscle than the Western female beauty ideal calls for, because, quite frankly, fuck dat shit, yo. Therefore when I draw her she comes out looking like this and this. I could have drawn her slender, willowy, and graceful; I could have drawn her looking more like a well-toned Amazoness; I could have drawn her voluptuously fat. However, none of those are how she looks like in my head.
- Finally, any special border or transparency you want. Don't specify, and you'll probably get just a simple 1 or 2 pixel border of some darkish color, around an ordinary, boring rectangle.
If you have actually read even half of all that, then kudos to you. ...dos. Now you can feel free to communicate your desired avatar in one of the following ways:
A) Comment it to this post. Include EVERYTHING you want from the list above, because if you don't specify something, I'll assume you don't care.
B) Email it to me at bork at napoleon dot xidus dot net. Again, include EVERYTHING you want.
C) Send a tell to me (Fenestra) in-game, with EVERYTHING you want included in the tell.
D) Send me a PM on The Eye's FLAG forum (NOT the official forums!), with, you guessed it, EVERYTHING you want included.
Make sure to include the pirate name you will be paying with, and the ocean you will be paying on. Payment will be required before the finished work is delivered, though if you want I can give you a watermarked and/or lo-fi preview right before you hand over your poe.
Unless you specify otherwise, I'll take the details you've given me, work up a pencil sketch, and show it to you. Then you can either ask for changes, or okay it, in which case it will be inked, scanned, and computer-colored in Paint Shop Pro. I'll probably ask for feedback on the coloring and other computery bits as well. If you don't specify anything re: coloring, then it'll just be flat-colored using my pre-existing palette of colors pulled from the game. I CANNOT guarantee turnaround, but most likely I will have a sketch done within 24 hours, and inking/coloring done within 24 hours after a final sketch is approved.
If you have any special requests not dealt with above, ask and we'll see what's what. I do, however, get to refuse any request for any reason.
How's that for long-winded, eh?
* Anyone who had talked to me about an avatar while the price was still 5k, still gets the 5k price. Everyone else gets the new price.
1. Yes, that includes Ice. I figure I can use teh poez eventually. But if it isn't obvious, I do greatly prefer payment on a dub ocean, or even Hunter specifically.
2. Keep in mind that I cannot do especially bulgy muscles. They wind up looking like tumors, and you probably don't want that.
