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If you do 3D Modelling, you owe yourself to try this online 2D Image Editing Tool

 Okay, so, this has to be one of (one of) the most unplanned articles I've ever written for this blog, but I'm a little overexcited for this one (could also be the very large energy drink I've had - first one in a while also). Also this is a little hard to write, since I'm attempting to go into details without summarizing it. This is possibly my favourite AI graphics tool, and it's online at cleanup.pictures, and it is very, very versatile. Like, there's a lot it can do, but it can't do everything, and one skill you might need to have is the ability to pic out the right pictures for what you're trying to do. As for skill levels, it's fairly easy for beginners to use, but as you go on, you'll find yourself getting more use out of it and being able to do more than a beginner would. In order to discuss the uses cases for this tool, I have to crack a joke. See, Google must think I have very unique taste in women because I'm often looking up bald ...

Penultimate Fighting Style List Companion released

 I've released a companion to my Penultimate Fighting Style list that basically fills in the gaps of the list and helps define errors on the list. If you're interested check it out here .

How I got into (2D) Computer Graphics (Part 1)

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  It must have been late 2004 when I decided to finally buy myself a Wacom Graphire 2 - a graphics tablets that I had often dreamt of owning.There were about 3 or so versions of this tablet and this one didn't come with a mouse but had quite a cool software suite and I was fine with that. Previously, I had dabbled with CorelDraw at my job back when I used to fix PCs, and I'd even done a course learning the basics at my computer college that I didn't complete  because the college closed down, but this was my first time with my own PC and my own software - Photoshop Elements 2.0. And I seemed to be a natural at it - it certainly was fun. Soon though, I started hitting walls and had to look up tutorials online. That was when I discovered  layers - now that really set me free. I taught myself 3D graphics (a story for another time), then I joined a small (miniscule, really) photo studio and attempted to build a portfolio - I had even bought a flash drive after using an MP3 Pl...

Matching conflicting Skin Tones

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Okay, so, I previously did an article whereby I showed how to make a face from scratch  (my third most viewed article).  It wasn't the best quality work out there but I'd been trying for a while and I managed to do it, on my own and as a nice little proof of concept. What you didn't see, was that I had been trying to add those custom heads to other bodies (call me Dr. Frankenstein) and I was having a lot of trouble, mostly with matching conflicting skin tones. Then I found a way. How to do it Once you've erased the previous head and dragged the new head onto your body, match the colours as best you can and desaturate, all using curves. You don't have to get it 100% though, and obviously this works best if your body is lighter than your face. Then add a multiply layer. Duplicate this layer until the image gets really dark, then pull back the percentage of the last layer. It must be really dark. So much so that you can barely make out any details. When you get to that...

What my Collection is About

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Up until now I've been keeping fairly tight lipped about the idea for my collection but, as I am getting closer to minting the first part of my collection soon, the time has come to discuss especially the finer points of the collection, the collection as a whole, and how this all came about. Ok, so, I had written a guide on NFTs on this very blog, based on the fact that, as little as I knew, some people knew even less, and there is a lot of interest in this right now. Also, it needs be said, quite a few things I spoke about have since come to pass, like people becoming tired of pixel art. So, slowly, I started posting more on the Facebook forums, more on my blog and Facebook page, answering questions as best I could, and asking them. With that, I started getting people contacting. Some had legit businesses and portfolios and offered to pay my gas fees even! All this without even a preview of any artwork!! Anyway, fired up the PC, did some experimentation... then all of a ...

My NFT Collection (and why I probably won't sell it)

I decided I would create an NFT of real value, or what I perceive to be real value anyway. See, most of the stuff out there is meant to be resold rather than truly collected. So I thought I'd try to buck the trend (I'm not the only one by the way), and create something that I would look at and consider spending money on. What I also wanted to do, besides creating something a bit more utilitarian, was also to create a narrative through pictures. At heart I'm a nerd. I may not always be the first to hop on a new trend, but if feel there's value there, there's a big chance I'll stick around even after everyone else has left. Like, I was a gamer and I've collected comic books, but we're now going off topic here. Anyway, that gamer aspect as well as me being a 3D artist got me to thinking about the narrative aspect and design aspects I was just talking about. But before I discuss that more, let me list the features: Made by me, a person, not program...

I Made a Face from Scratch (Sort of)

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I made a face from scratch in Krita. Not quite though, I did have to bring in elements from other pictures to make it happen, but I now have something that I can bring into Blender and use for projection painting, or UV map in Anim8or but also I can see the outcome of what it may look like in the end. But before I discuss how I did it, I just want to discuss how weird this is. The image is mostly symmetrical, but I have added asymmetry in other areas, such as the cheeks. I find when you stare at the asymmetrical areas, the almost look symmetrical, and where you stare at the symmetrical areas, you start to find asymmetry. Also, in the end, although I'll probably still add a watermark, I wanted you to be able to see if you could play around with the image yourself. So I deleted most of the layers and hope to upload the base and eyelids for you to be able to start off with, if you want to do something similar. From the Base to the Eyes I started off with a picture of a bal...