solwyvern ► Vector Wallpapers

[Daniel E.]

Those Rainmeters are so moe, I think I gained a level just from looking at them.

Really looking forward to your site.

[LoweGear]

Originally Posted by solwyvern

You will need a program called a Rainmeter

-

Finished the Rainmeters^^
Well, I didn't literally 'make' it. Call it a 'Massive Editing' :P




Get Here: http://rapidshare.com/files/32560233...eterS.rar.html


I've worked on this for a week and a half, and I'm quite proud of it. ^__^

FEATURES:

• Featuring the art of Yuichiro ( http://kodama3.cool.ne.jp/ )
This Rainmeter contains his art , (which I enhanced and repaired slightly)



You can switch the Rainmeter images of Nanoha, Fate , Hayate respectively w/ a buttton.

• The frames for the Harddrive were vectored and modeled after the frames from Ar Tonelico 2's flash site. ( http://ar-tonelico.jp/at2/ )
• The frames for cpu were modeled after Nanoha StrikerS frames used in the show.

• Can display up to three HDDs AND opens them by pressing the spherical button for each respective HDD.

• Buttons to minimize both Comp stats and winamp stats were included.

• Volume for winamp, shuffle-repeat, and play-pause function included^^

• The list goes on and on...

That's about it. There might be a few bugs, but nothing too serious.

The images can easily be replaced w/ new ones, If you have one in mind just tell me. Just like this:



;===========

My next project is to start attempting to build my own website, so I can host all the things I make. Here's a preview:

Yes, you should be proud, because it's so AWESOME And a Yoko Rainmeter?! More win to you sir

[KiNA]

Originally Posted by solwyvern

The images can easily be replaced w/ new ones, If you have one in mind just tell me. Just like this:

Shamelessly demands Yoko then ...

[solwyvern]

Yoko Skin added to the meter, Nanoha StrikerS still included. Can change it with a button.

► http://rapidshare.com/files/32905813...ikerS.rar.html

It's not too hard changing the images on the Rainmeter as long as you have photoshop skills, that's more than enough.

Just make some pngs about the same size of the already existing ones and rename.

OR

edit the skin settings to the new filenames:

look for this section:

Originally Posted by GaoGaiGarNeo2007

My AntiVirus application picked up a virus from the file I download
I hope this is not a real virus...

Anyone else have this problem?

;=======================================

btw, thanks for the support guys.

[KiNA]

^__^ .. downloaded

[Icarus]

Hey, impressive stuff solwyvern. I have your Reinforce trace on my desktop at the moment.

As it turns out, I'm working on a trace of my own for practice and for something to do. You can see a preview of it here, currently work in progress (just adding detail and shading at the moment).



Just wanted to ask if you have any advice on colouring the lineart: is it better to go with all black lines, or tint the lineart depending on the surrounding colour (such as a dark tan for skin, grey for white clothing and so on). I'm really fussy about the lineart colour, which is stopping me from finishing off this damn trace. -_-;;

[solwyvern]

Excellent trace, and it's in Illustrator too.
Just so you know, I make my vectors in Adobe Photoshop CS2 - I've never made a succesful trace in Illustrator.
-
The lines look clean and sharp -no problems there.
However, the color choice is a bit off. It's almost always better not to base your colors off the original screencap.
Base your colors off a clean scan instead,


I don't recommend using black for all the outlines, as you mentioned, it is better to 'tint' the outlines depending on the color they enclose.

[guiltygearxt]

very sick vectors u have there

I need 2 learn how 2 vector myself 2, so u no where i should look up 4 starter tutorials? o.O

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by solwyvern

Excellent trace, and it's in Illustrator too.
Just so you know, I make my vectors in Adobe Photoshop CS2 - I've never made a succesful trace in Illustrator.

Thanks. ^_^

I've tried both Illustrator and Photoshop for tracing, and aside from the lack of bezier curve rubber-banding (which makes it easier to judge the placement of paths) I've found it considerably easier to trace in Illustrator. Probably because I don't have to go through the rigmarole of resetting the shape layer every time I want to add something. (So annoying when Photoshop keeps adding new shape layers every time you draw something.)

Your traces are a lot better though, very impressive stuff.

Originally Posted by solwyvern

The lines look clean and sharp -no problems there.
However, the color choice is a bit off. It's almost always better not to base your colors off the original screencap.

Yeah, I figured as much. Even when the trace was half finished the line colours looked a little off. I'll spend a bit of time tweaking the colours later.

Originally Posted by solwyvern

Base your colors off a clean scan instead,
I don't recommend using black for all the outlines, as you mentioned, it is better to 'tint' the outlines depending on the color they enclose.

Thanks for the tips, they'll come in handy.
Looking forward to seeing your future works.

[innominate]

Sol, I think I see some of your rozen maiden vectors on ferricorp. o_O. I think; but is that you?

@Icarus
That is nice!! I never knew how illustrator worked. Will probably never know.

[solwyvern]

Originally Posted by Icarus

Probably because I don't have to go through the rigmarole of resetting the shape layer every time I want to add something. (So annoying when Photoshop keeps adding new shape layers every time you draw something.)

That's what this is for:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost...8&postcount=19

It prevents photoshop from making several shape layers and keeps all the pen points in the same layer.

Originally Posted by innominate

Sol, I think I see some of your rozen maiden vectors on ferricorp. o_O. I think; but is that you?

Ferricorp is where I learned to vector, I posted some of my very first vectors there.
..but the lack of activity and the constant spamming caused me to stop participating.

You can still find my thread over there and see how I progressed:
http://www.ferricorp.com/public/foru...?t=321&start=0

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by innominate

@Icarus
That is nice!! I never knew how illustrator worked. Will probably never know.

Thanks. It's taking a while to finish though, as I like to tweak things a lot. -_-;;

Originally Posted by solwyvern

That's what this is for:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost...8&postcount=19

It prevents photoshop from making several shape layers and keeps all the pen points in the same layer.

Yeah, I'm aware of the quick fix method for keeping penpoints in one shape layer, but occasionally it resets itself without any warning. With Illustrator I can create multiple layers whenever I need and have complete control over the stacking order, but at the end of the day it depends on what you're used to using. ^_-

Speaking of which, I've almost finished the trace. I've popped up a v0.90 at imageshack here (just need to finish adding detail to the armbands; original screenshot is here):



If you don't mind, can I get a second opinion? Every time I look at the image I think there's something missing or wrong with it, but I cannot for the life of me find the problem. -_-;;

EDIT: Weird how the colours are bleached out when exported to PNG compared to the original colour-rich Illustrator file. -_-;;

[KiNA]

well... png-8 only allow 256 colors if I'm not mistaken .. save it under png24 >.<

[Kenji_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Icarus

Thanks. It's taking a while to finish though, as I like to tweak things a lot. -_-;;



Yeah, I'm aware of the quick fix method for keeping penpoints in one shape layer, but occasionally it resets itself without any warning. With Illustrator I can create multiple layers whenever I need and have complete control over the stacking order, but at the end of the day it depends on what you're used to using. ^_-

Speaking of which, I've almost finished the trace. I've popped up a v0.90 at imageshack here (just need to finish adding detail to the armbands; original screenshot is here):



If you don't mind, can I get a second opinion? Every time I look at the image I think there's something missing or wrong with it, but I cannot for the life of me find the problem. -_-;;

EDIT: Weird how the colours are bleached out when exported to PNG compared to the original colour-rich Illustrator file. -_-;;

nice vector u got there ^^
bu the colours are kinda..bright o.o

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Kira_Naruto

well... png-8 only allow 256 colors if I'm not mistaken .. save it under png24 >.<

That is under PNG-24. ;p

[solwyvern]

Originally Posted by Icarus

That is under PNG-24. ;p

If that is the case, then it is most likely your colors are still wrong...

Originally Posted by Icarus

EDIT: Weird how the colours are bleached out when exported to PNG compared to the original colour-rich Illustrator file. -_-;;

Screencap or it never happened^^

----------------------------------------

Here is the color pallete I have used for my Reinforce vector w/ hexadecimal values:



Hope it helps.
*Notice: Reinforce wears a blusih vest and skirt, while her inner clothing and gloves are greyish. And her hair is a more white-blue color.

Also, here is where we draw the line between Photoshop and Illustrator.

I have used blur, smudge, dodge & burn tools to blend the colors for the eyes and hair. I also made use of brushing to give her hair a 'glowing' effect.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by solwyvern

Screencap or it never happened^^

I'll go one better.

Exported Image

Screengrab

Original Illustrator File

I have a feeling I already know what's causing the bleaching: Save For Web. Every image I've exported out using Save For Web, no matter what it is, always gets bleached colours compared to flattening the original document and using the simple Save As.

Originally Posted by solwyvern

Here is the color pallete I have used for my Reinforce vector w/ hexadecimal values:
Hope it helps.
*Notice: Reinforce wears a blusih vest and skirt, while her inner clothing and gloves are greyish. And her hair is a more white-blue color.

Many thanks for that, that should be useful. I have a lot of images of Reinforce I, but they all have weird colours or lighting, making it difficult to get the right colour values. I'll try these colours and see if it makes an improvement to the trace.

Originally Posted by solwyvern

Also, here is where we draw the line between Photoshop and Illustrator.

I have used blur, smudge, dodge & burn tools to blend the colors for the eyes and hair. I also made use of brushing to give her hair a 'glowing' effect.

As for the issue of Photoshop v Illustrator, I'd rather not get too deep into the debate (I've had a lot of those already). Needless to say, you can export a completely rasterised version of the Illustrator file (complete with retained layer structure) to a Photoshop PSD, ready for retouching.

Both programs complement each other nicely I'd say. One is not better than the other. ^_-

Also, many thanks for your continued help and patience.

[innominate]

Sol, has it been your birthday any time recently cos I don't remember you being 20.
Pardon me if I'm anywhere off. happy belated

Oh I am such a stalker... ><

[solwyvern]

It was my Birthday 8 days ago.

[innominate]

Yeah I realised ^^.

Hmm what should I say now... Happy birthday? Belated that is. =D

Also... How long do you normally spend on one vector... I've absorbed 12 hours and I'm not even finished... T_T