AzureWolf

I would say, if you are going to go with the first one, you should have the duplicated image and nothing more. In other words, that pic at the far right doesn't fit. It might look better with just the two duplicated images. Even if you make the change, I still think the second is (and would be) better. Everything seems to snap together moreso in this one than in the first one, even if I hate the "drunken" art style of this series. In the end, they both are nice, but the second one seems like a better "character dedication" wallpaper than the first one. My only qualm is surprisingly the cropping of the two front images. I don't think you would even notice some of the small white spots if some of the other, more blatant white areas weren't ignored. I only started to notice the white stuff when I saw some on the gun and his jacket. These are just the opinion of someone who has only made two wallpapers, so keep that in mind. :sweat:

[quote]The two creatures are Silé (red) and Espe (blue/green.) They're sort of polar opposites; Silé is quiet (well, silent) and has to do with various depression-ish things. Espe is more innocent/naïve.[/quote] Did you create these characters? They're clever, and I like the yingyang symbolism (well, it's pretty literal). The texturing on the fins of the blue one is a nice feature. I think you could have emphasized the texture on the red one a little more. The coloring is good, but I like the contrast thing you have going more. The BG even contrasts with the characters that are in front of them. As for the Sakura one, she reminds me of some other character (aside from Sakura, of course). Really like the eyes. Everything from the hair down is actually well-done, but the eyes just stand out (in a good way). Did you create that BG by hand? That's a really nice feature and adds to the picture. What is that symbol you have on the three middle pictures, btw? You know, on the angel, yingyang, and winter girl. Is that your signature? If so, why isn't it on the other two pictures (the first and latest one)? EDIT: Bingo. The eyes reminded me of [url=http://fanart.theotaku.com/view.php?action=get_pic&pic_id=4257]this other pic[/url] that you made and used in your avi. In hindsight, though, I don't see the relation. :-/

Haha, it looks like he has food in his mouth and is enjoying it very much. The metal looks pretty authentic, and the hair and headband are really nice. My only complaint about the entire thing would probably by the angle of the headband, because it looks like that mask is covering his eye instead of the headband. It's nice. I bet ceramics is pretty hard, so it's probably one of the best jobs you could do.

I guess a "yes or no" answer is in order. Yes, all dungeon portals are restored when you leave the area, but whether or not they'll each contain "data bug trolls" depends on your level and luck (luck as in the actual attribute luck). Quite a few of the portals had treasure chests for me, so I didn't have any trouble getting through. You've probably gotten stronger by now, so no, you won't fight as many monsters as you did the first time through.

Ah yes, that... I don't know what else to say but to clean the infection out before starting, and don't waste time fighting anyone outside of the dungeon (just use a grunty). There's no trick to it. :-/ Fight in a random area and let the infection dissipate. Keep fighting until there is no more infection (all systems green - or was it blue?).

Are you talking about Ryoko Terrajima's invite? That sounds like the place. Also, "house trolls with data bugs," could you clarify that? O_O Just play through the stage like you would normally, and bring teammates since Ryoko won't be joining your party in that dungeon. Besides that, it's like any normal stage, although I guess it could be hard if you didn't bring anyone along...

[quote]2. On the last episond ofter sora was in a comma it shows a cell phone on the last episod before going into the credits....what does that mean? (You have to look good to see it)[/quote] *checks last episode* Where, I don't see a cell phone. And the chicks dig me, so me not looking good can't be the problem. You've given two locations to look, and I checked both: right after [spoiler]Sora goes into a coma[/spoiler], and just before the ending credits roll. Could you be a little more specific as to what happens just before you see this supposed phone (I did see a PSX controller, though). If you want to pursue #3, you'll have to play the video games (which you can play through in a rental's time). From what I can tell (and these are from some OUTBREAK spoilers), [spoiler]Morganna was an entity that Harald created to help mold "The World." When Harald didn't need Morganna anymore, he was going to delete her. However, before that time, Morganna became self-aware. She, like a living creature, tried to defy non-existence, even though she no longer had a purpose. Her will to live took to great extremities... She sees her purpose as... well, I think I answered your question, so I'll stop there.[/spoiler] ;) To put it simply, Morganna [spoiler]started out as a program and became something more sophisticated - too sophisticated for what she is. Hence, entity seems to define her better.[/spoiler] I highly recommend you (or anyone else) don't read that if you haven't played the games - well, there's really no reason to read it if you played the games either... So, yeah, I wasted my time.

That has to be your best cropping job ever. That's really good. If you could do that for all of your works, well... I think I said it before. The background is interesting, but I preferred some of your previous ones before. Nonetheless, within the actually aspect of creating art, you've improved more than this wallpaper says. Anyway, isn't there like a selection tool to use or something instead of the background eraser? You know, one where you can zoom-in and slowly outline the character? Or at least a "magic wand" that detects similar colors and selects them? Those are the tools I use (but I have PS): the magic wand to remove most of the background, and the lasso selection tool to manually select and remove the finer/similar parts of the background from the desired picture.

Books I like are written in this style. It makes them easier to read and understand because it's similar to how we think (or I think). Also, it makes it much easier to relate to the narrator. btw, is that supposed to be you who is the narrator? And is this story based on events in your life? I'm writing this stuff after reading it, of course. :shifty:

Whenever go to modify my posts, the title part acts all strange. When I do modify, the weirdness does have an affect on my post. What I do to take care of this problem is delete what I can of the title, and then re-enter the title with a second edit. Again, it's not a big deal, but it is a little annoying. Pic included to clarify my rantings.

Jubei, I [I]thought[/I] you said something about the manga before in the previoius Naruto thread (I think DBD or Lone Bebop made it). That's all. You might have, you might not have, but whatever you said, it wasn't as fanboyish as what you said in this thread. And, that's a spoiler, Jubei. I recommend covering that up for people who haven't seen Naruto.

[quote]I guess that I really didn?t write what I meant. I guess my main problem was that they ended up putting too much emphasis on the Soldats and seemed to place the bond between Marielle and Kirika on the backburner. I felt that the creators spent too much time trying to explain what the Soldats were and how they tied into the plot and didn?t devout enough time to the main question that the story poses: ?Will Marielle kill Karika??[/quote] Well, I agree with pbfrontmanvdp about what the main idea was, but I have to add, there wasn't much emphasis on Soldats at all: it was the entire concept of the pilgramage that dominated the entire series. Kirika and Mirielle's relationship never was hindered when they brought them in. In fact, I dare say the relationship between the two became more interesting when Chloe entered. Also, (spoiler is about "Will Mirielle kill Kirika?") [spoiler]there was really only one point where you could actually doubt whether Mirielle would kill Kirika, but the rest of the time (and even then), it was pretty obvious, don't you think? C'mon, you knew she couldn't kill her after all they've been through![/spoiler]

PNG?! Who is going to sit on their comp and wait for a PNG to load when their computer starts up? I have enough stuff slowing down my comp at the beginning already. So yeah, my first suggestion is to save it as a JPEG file so it's not so huge. My only other suggestion is personalize and improve it more by cropping those boxed pictures a little more and adding the same [B]type[/B] of effects as you did in the Kakashi one (don't use the same one, but ones that are similar). Also, I like the color/shading: that was a nice idea.

Most people just call it "Demon Naruto" when he's like that, even if it is [spoiler]a slight misnomer later[/spoiler]. What episode are you on, exactly? Seems weird to mention that out of the blue...

>_< You should have left a little note about your change of plans in your previous thread... The texture on the wood is very nice, but what is that stuff that's falling from the sky and following that knife on the floor? It looks weird - seems like it doesn't belong. Then again, I don't know what it is.

I think the perspective leaves it too uninteresting. It's great that you were trying a new angle to make the picture from, but keep that exploding thing (in the background) at the center of the picture (or rendering?). I would like to see the mass exit from that angle. Also, I'm not an artist, nevermind a CG one, so I don't know how hard it would be to had more texture onto the ships and... heads (?). I think it would still pay-off no matter how hard it is to do. Hope that helps.

[quote]I thought that the plot was good at first but it deteriorated towards the series finale?it almost seemed as though they were trying to make it more complex than it needed to be. Overall I thought it was a fun series to watch but I wish I hadn?t purchased it[/quote] How is that possible? You wished you hadn't bought it?! :twitch: Anyway, I'm interested as to how they were trying to make the series more complicated. They certainly didn't succeed, as Noir is the simplest, yet most elegant anime I've seen. As for the music, yeah, for some reason, they did have 2 CDs for the series, but the second one wasn't used until the second half of the series. I liked the killing music though. How could you get tired of that? I didn't get tired of the repetition, either. Isn't repeating the same music a trend within every anime? :therock: Can you name any series that doesn't recycle music? EDIT: Oh, and about Noir being a good first anime. Definately no. It just isn't American enough to be accepted easily by the cynical anime-hater. It certainly will not calm any stereotypes people have of anime either.

mystikal's back! I'm always floored by your work. Anyway, although this statement may sound negative (which it's not supposed to be), I think the worst part of the picture is the person in it. I really love the coloring and shading on the books and the background. The butterflies and those cool holder things before the black at the top and bottom are noble and exquisite. Even the character's shadow is noteworthy. However, the character's legs seem disproportionate, or those are some baggy pants. That's the only problem I see. The rest of this picture is truly a marvel to look at. Side-note: I think the blue gem looks more vivid than the green. When you look at both of them, the green one looks comparatively dull. Very clever and intriguing design, whatever those butterflies and holders are.

That banner is great the way it is, Evolved_Dragon. My only suggestion would be to breathe more color into the Sasuke picture. I also think that's not one of Sasuke's best pictures either (he looks really weird). If you decide to change the pic or keep it, make sure it has a little more color it in. Seems too dull next to the background as it is now.

I enjoy watching an anime in bulk. What I usually like to do is watch the opening, ending, and preview of every episode, which is really more than enough time to get the full effect of the episode, while not losing the general state that you are mentally in (i.e., the feeling and atmosphere given off by the episode you just watched). IMO, all anime series can be enjoyed by watching them in a marathon. However, there are some series that, as separate episodes, are worsened, or the desired effect is weakend. Those series are series where, while there is an overall beginning, climax, and resolution, individual episodes lack a sub-beginning, sub-climax, and sub-resolution. Naruto is a perfect example of a run-on anime series. The second genuine episode doesn't really end until episode 20, starting from around episode 5. If you took those 15 episodes, you do have a sub-story, but to span that much, you can't fully enjoy with just a weekly airing, as you'll experience with the later episodes of this fine series. Naruto, although great, certainly has no solid single episode, but makes an awesome [B]series[/B] nonetheless. Noir, on the other hand, is powerfully crafted. While almost every episode drives the general story forward, each episode can also stand on its own. New beginnings arise and new things develop. At the end, you are given a theme, a thought-provoking resolution, and all the while, maintaining and progressing the principle storyline. Shows like Noir can be watched bit by bit, down to an episode at a time, with no damage or loss to the entertainment/interest value. Shows like Naruto, unfortunately, lose too much when watched in such a fashion. I hope I made some sense, because I'm not reading this post over.

[quote]I agree about Victoria's character being the only one who goes thru a change- i just found her boring, and a lot like any other anime girl- girl goes thru transformation/goes on a journey and has to deal with the consequences- she seemed cliche to me.[/quote] I think this was quite a different transformation, one that was hindered by the lack of backstory given for Victoria. Nonetheless, it was a mental breakdown of ideals and ethics this girl had to go - we know enough about her to realize that much. Normally, you see one thing a person must mentally change (at most), but Victoria, her entire, [B]fundamental[/B] outlook was changed. We see her struggle through this complete inversion of life and be cool at the same time. How many anime girls do you know struggle mentally but use big guns at the same time, huh? :p C'mon, how could you hate her after she asks herself, [spoiler]"...And why am I holding my master's head?"[/spoiler]

I'll spoil it for you: the best part was the end, where the show stopped. All the characters had serious mental issues that made you wonder how such a "secure" and "well-developed" facility got these psychoes to run the Eva's in the first place. The ending had two major problems: [spoiler]Asuka and Shinji[/spoiler]. Neither should have been at the ending, it would have been so much better without.

[quote]About my art, I agree that alot of it is the same, but that's only because the three last pieces I've made have been with the same style. My work varies alot (you would see if I posted the link to my portfolio, but I'm currently cleaning it out), but yes, the last 3 banners I have posted have all been the same style (well, two were and another was majorly different) E D I T: And another thing is, just because someone's art has the same style most of the time, that doesn't mean every banner is the same and can't be given different critique. Most people have a certain style to their work, but each piece is unique and different and deserves to be critiqued just as much as any other piece.[/quote] I'm not trying to say that you lack diversity in your art, but when I've said everything I could about a particular style and can't come up with anything more (especially if I can't see anything wrong with similiar pieces), then I feel posting again on a different thread is pointless. I also know that every work has something of it's own. However, as Baron has stated, if you can't help the person in any way (because you can't even think of a way it could improve), then giving general kudos seems useless.

My philosophy at this forum (most of the time) is, "if you can't say anything helpful, why bother?" I saw that thread about the contest art you made, but there was no reason for anyone to reply. Why? Because it's the same thing as all your other pieces. That's not to say it's bad, but you already know what we think of your style, and if there's ultimately nothing new, we also have nothing new to say. Hope that helps. Again, it's not that your work is bad - no, I think it's really awesome (really cool stuff), but making too few variations doesn't give us enough to realize that you are doing something different.

What, exactly, is with your obsession with James and hentai (hopefully those two aren't related...)?! C'mon, do something more tasteful - please. S.EDIT: try making something that has nothing to do with what your previous "works" have had to do with.