h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hmm.... A little late to the boat but I'll say a little something anyways... I've been doing community art on and off since the site started and would like to offer to do something once in a while. The one 'project' a week is more than doable for me at the moment and I think this would be a great opportunity to expand from what I usually do.

i currently work in the graphics art industry for applejack art and I usually just do touch up work - nothing really original. I am mostly known for doing abstract works as I'm a colour sort of person, but I wouldn't be too hard pressed to do some "real" art.

Hi Sporky,

We do need people who can do art from scratch, and if you can manage that, that's great, thanks for volunteering!

To join this volunteer scheme there is an art test. This is because the standard of Edited Entries on h2g2 is very high, and we'd like the illustrations to match this.

I've picked two random Edited Entries using the Infinite Improbability Drive, and I'd like you to do a picture for each of them. You can look in the <./>GuideML-PictureLibrary</.> for the kind of graphics we've used in the past, use the entry for inspiration, and use the internet for research, but make sure that you follow the specifications that you can find on the <./>CommunityArtists-What</.> page. We also don't want to see photographs relied on heavily, or visible in the finished image, as we'd like to see your drawing style, not a photographic montage. We'd like to see all the images, although only the main one will be used, as these entries have already had their day on the Front Page.

Once they are done, let me know by Posting to this thread, and I'll give you the details to send them into us. If your pictures meet the Editorial standards then not only will you become a Community Artist, but your test pictures will be blobbed and added to the entries.

Your entries are:
A791246 - Size Matters: How big are molecules?
A462999 - Preparing to Walk in the Highlands of Scotland

Feel free to ask questions, and good luck.

NB: The same rules of copyright apply to images as to text. If you are in any doubt as to what this means, please ask.

Ooh! What lovely titles .

I'm intrigued by the size matters... the walking the highlands will take a bit longer I think

Copyright laws- don't get me started

(so says the person who works side by side with licensors)

A valuable addition to the team by the sound of it. If you pass muster of course.

http://sporkulious.digitalrice.com/molecules.html

The main images are fine but you should be able to stroke the paths in Photoshop with more antialising to avoid jaggies. We'll come back to that later when we talk about circles.

Your pictures are similar in style to a lot of the work in the Picture Library. You'll notice that they usually have no border and are free-standing on the background of the relevant colour. You'll need to make the backgrounds transparent.

The circular versions are usually crops rather than resizes although resizes, repositioning and even changes of background colour are sometimes done. See today's (Tuesday's) front page for an example of repositioning - I'll post the blob numbers later but I'm writing this offline. Also see B2496631and B2496635.

Likewise, the comms promos are usually crops but you can vary that to suit. See http://www.amytheant.co.uk/edited_guide/h2g2_worldcup.gif (a resize) and http://www.amytheant.co.uk/edited_guide/h2g2_drivinghabits.gif (a crop).

I'll have to come back to you about the circles. I normally use Painter because it's easier and I'll have to practise in Photoshop to make sure I get it right.

Amy

Yeah, what d'Elaphant said in the Atelier about circles. Do that.

I can't get that site to open.

Jimster uses photoshop, and he's often telling me how easy it is to make the circles look nice with it. If I remember when I get into work, I'll ask him to let you know how he does it.

He's told me a few times, but I wasn't really following it, as I don't use photoshop.

I can't get Sporky's website to open either .

But then it is about three in the morning over there - a favourite time for maintenance of servers.

Refresh please. I'm afraid I'm still having a bit of trouble with those darned edges.

I like the new circles. The border on the white one is nearly there. Has d'Elaphant seen them?

This is the reason why I do abstracts!

The border was hand-placed thus the sloppy look. I've tried doing an outside glow, and a stroke border and neither looked right at all. Of course, I usually don't use borders at all so that's probably why I feel out of my depth.

My Photoshop method is this:

(Well, actually my method is to avoid Photoshop and use Painter but that's not helpful)

1. Flatten your main image.
2. Draw a 90 pixel circular selection
3. Copy merged
4. Paste into a white 90 x 90 square and again into a goo 90 x 90 square.
5. Make a new layer on one of the squares. Make an 89 pixel circular selection and stroke it in black, one pixel wide using the Stroke command from the Edit Menu.
6. Flatten, save, sort out the transparency of the corners.

I really hope someone has a better method but that's mine.



Amy

oh, i thought you were referring to the large image. i got the circle one down I think...

The circular border appears to be missing from the goo version. Also, when I copy and paste a circular selection from the main image into a new image I seem to get much better anti-aliasing than you have even before the circular border is dropped on top. Have you compared yours with the circular pictures on the front page under high magnification?

The spheres are ok. If they were mine I'd tidy them up using an airbrush set to 1 pixel but I'm a fussy beggar.

I like the new goo background for the main goo image.

Amy

http://sporkulious.digitalrice.com/molecules.html
http://sporkulious.digitalrice.com/scott.html

Took me two weeks to do it but only two days actual work

There they are

Very nice! I like them, hurrah, you've passed.

I'll add you to the Community Artists scheme, and send the invitation to the egroup. As soon as you join, you'll receive another email which will tell you how to send the pictures to us so that we can blob them. Congratulations!

Congratulations Sporky!

Cheers!