Katana

[size=1][color=royalblue]Aaand I noticed that you were haunting the Art Studio right after I posted my blurb. =_=;; One more thing and I'll stop spamming the Underground thread. .>;;[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue](This has nothing to do with the past few posts.) So, it's been a solid day since the deadline for the entries, and there are some that have yet to be posted. What now? I mean, are we going to wait for them, or are they going to be booted out? I don't think it would be fair if people were given extra time, regardless of their excuse (with the exception of no internet). I have school and activities going on as well. I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm fed up with excuses for people not submitting their works. And yes White, I realize you're busy too. =) So yeah. I'm ready for the judging to start, regardless of if people have submitted their entries or not. We all got ours in on time; it's not fair to us to sit around and wait for others.[/color][/size]

[quote name='AzureWolf][COLOR=maroon']It's good to see them not spreading themselves out too thin and focusing on less, so the quality will be higher[/COLOR][/quote][size=1][color=royalblue]If just about every piece of fanart is accepted, how is that considered to be a "high quality" output? There's no selection process, and there's no turning away. I can't see how higher quality can come from the deletion of a section. [/rant] The members of SOAP and other article writers b****ed forever on this topic. When the articles closed and it was posted on the news page, it received more comments then the Art of Otaku contest winner. Art vs. writing. =) [/rant rant] [quote name='Fasteriskhead']Everyone prefers fanart, podcasts, quizzes, fanart, blogs, books on business concepts, and also fanart anyways. Maybe the articles section wouldn't have failed so badly if it had included pictures on the side, or (even better) animated gifs and high-speed flash animations, as I myself petitioned for many times. All those words are just too boring, you know?[/quote]Man, I love that you're apart of SOAP. =D The articles section, although gone on theOtaku, is technically not "gone gone". bellpickle set up a [url=http://community.livejournal.com/societyofsoap/]LiveJournal community[/url] for anybody who wants to join and/or watch. In the meantime, I'm working on an actual article website...I just need contributions. [strike]Stop being lazy you guys![/strike] I have yet to get over this. Whenever somebody blows it off, I get pissed. Ugh. *goes off muttering angerly*[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]And now it is time. All groan, for here is my...thing...>_>;; Me and Ezzy have polar opposite pictures. XD So it's sorta like, we're not screwed over if one doesn't like a particular style. =) ..I can't think; I am full of teh sickness. [center]+[url=http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3940/lightsoo2.jpg][b]OMFG FIREY SHINEY![/b][/url]+ [spoiler]'tis a link in case you can't see the picture. =3[/spoiler] [IMG]http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3940/lightsoo2.jpg[/IMG][/center] The original picture came from the second FLCL manga. It was Mamimi staring into her lighter's flame while lighting a death stick. -_-;; And to make it prettier, I colored and gradiented the hand. The symbol-fire-thing is up in the sky with the stars. As of note, blue is the hottest of a flame, and it also blends in with the background, so I went with that. =) Good luck to you both. This is going to be an interesting match.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]Woah...it took me a few minutes to get the whole "both team members win if one wins" thing. Sorry, I'm still recovering from my first day back at school. You know, I've got to say, I found it [i]hilarious[/i] that Ezekiel and I are on a team, considering that in the Handicap Battles, we went up against each other. =) That's been happening to me a lot recently... Well, let's see what I can...err...yeah.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]I'm not going to really go into the main arguments of the last few posts, though I will cite some things. [QUOTE=Delta][SIZE=1][COLOR=#d55555][list][*] Balancing raws by carefully positioning images ain't cheating.[*] Creating a sense of unity and logical flow from brushes ain't cheating. [*] Heck, even art majors will agree with me if I say that choosing [i]the[/i] right brush, digital or IRL, takes some skill.[/list][/color][/SIZE][/QUOTE] Design is a tricky, tricky thing. Even being able to put it into a working plan takes thought. Have you ever launced into a project (ie, the OBWT), in which you have no idea what you're doing? You find out just how hard it is to work with no plan. Back to the point: After you get some idea, if you chose the wrong brush, the plan is dead and the piece just isn't right. It takes a general skill level to choose the right things. [quote name='Retribution][size=1]Here's a great example. I don't consider Marcel Duchamp's [url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.pattern/MonaLisa.gif][B]L.H.O.O.Q[/B][/url'] "true" art. Rather, it was a joke, a statement he was making about society, but I don't consider him putting a mustache on the Mona Lisa having skill.[/size][/quote] It was a [i]joke[/i], alright? He just put a mustache on; he didn't do anything else. That's like taking a pencil and engraving your name on it. =P (DON'T ARGUE THE ANALOGY.) [quote name='Retri][size=1']My biggest problem with brushes is when artists rely on them to the point where they become a crutch instead of a tool. The majority of the time, that's what happens. Tell someone to make a piece without pre-made brushes, and their world crumbles apart.[/size][/quote] Here's the thing, though: I'd say the vast majorty of people who use pre-made brushes didn't even know about their existence for a long time. I know I didn't. You look at my works in the past, and they're made using Adobe's (and Jasc's, during my PSP days) brushes. I developed skill from that, and learned to be quite effcient with the limited sources that I had. It actually took me a while to be comfortable "installing" the brushes (I was a worried little child), since I was afraid I would have to do 'this and that and blah and plus and minus and square root', etc. You go to a newbie in graphic design, mention pre-made brushes, and I almost garuntee they're not to be aware of what you're talking about. [quote name='Retribution][size=1']No one will consider you a legitimate artist if you use pre-made brushes. If you're doing graphic design for fun and not looking to make any real improvement, then go ahead. If you're looking to improve, to better yourself, you're only hurting yourself.[/size][/quote] Funny how I want to be a graphic designer in a few years... You're giving me the impression that I'm ignorant about this whole thing, and I must assure you, I'm not. When I do go into professional graphic design, I will [b]not[/b] use somebody else's brush on my work, because, in all honesty, that would be illegal and not fair to the original creator. So why use brushes now? [i]"Never look a gift horse in the mouth."[/i] They're there for me to use, so why not use them? I look at each brush when I get a fresh pack and study it and the elements in it. [i]"What did the person do to make this?" "How can I do that?" "I'll experiment on Thursday."[/i], etc. Sooo...why do I not make my own brushes? I have a feeling that I don't quite have the talent to make them - yet. I've made brushes in the past, but they just don't turn out right. So while I'm trying to get better, I use pre-made brushes instead. You know, I've realized that I've never been complimented along the lines of, "Wow, I like those brushes." Now that I'm in high school, I've been displaying my talents wherever I can - designing playbills, making posters, advertising special events - and in the past year alone, I've had people compliment me on how well the pieces turned out. Did they ever say, "I love that background"? Nein. They like the piece as a [i]whole[/i], which, in all honesty, is what makes a great graphic. If there's only one good part, then [i]that's[/i] a handicap. Brushes are only one piece in the equation. Everything in that equation needs to look good and fit together, otherwise, you've just got a worthless piece on your hand. It takes skill to make a graphic, but it takes talent to make it all click.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]There seems to be a huge, underground debate over the use of pre-made brushes. Now this is the place to let out what you think [strike]instead of spamming the other threads[/strike] and let you decide. For those of you who don't know, whenever a person says "pre-made" brushes, they usually mean brushes that somebody has made for others to download and use in their works. These people don't mind the brushes being used on casual pieces, such as banners here at the OB, but if the brushes are used in a commercial piece, they do ask for compensation. I have talked to a few people who run brush and media resource sites, and they are always very friendly (and rather lenient). The main reason I contact them is to ask whether or not they feel comfortable with me using their brushes on an entry for a contest. In one instance, a webmistress responded, "I understand a prize is involved, but you're not making money off of it, so I don't mind at all." At any site for pre-made brushes, there is always a sort of disclaimer and terms of use page before you get to the actual brushes. These say that the brushes can be used on anything from school projects to website graphics (the latter of which, they always ask for a link back), but they do NOT want you using them on things that will get you money. And if you're confused on something, you can always e-mail them, like I have done on several occasions. With the major explanation out of the way, it's time to get into the heart of this discussion. What are your views on using pre-made brushes? Do you find that the person is disgraceful for using them, or do you love the brushes yourself? [i]Do you even care?[/i] You probably realize this by now - I use pre-made brushes, and I absolutely [i]love[/i] them. I'm the type of person who can make pretty graphics (I hope), but I have a really hard time sitting down and thinking of brushes. When I first found out about pre-made brushes, I was - let's face it - ecstatic. The things up for download were [i]way[/i] better than anything Adobe placed at my pre-disposal. I have only two brush/media resource sites that I visit, which are [url=http://www.themagic-box.net/indexx.php]The Magic Box[/url] and [url=http://hybrid-genesis.net/indexxx.html]Hybrid-Genesis[/url]. I prefer TMB out of the two, since the webmistress seems to be friendlier...anyways... Few people really knew that I used pre-made brushes before now. So what does that mean to you? Do you now look at my works in disgust, or has your perspective not changed at all? To me, a pre-made brush is just another tool for one to use. The people who make these brushes put a lot of time and effort into them, so when you use them, you're not only showing off your work, you're showing off theirs as well. How can you say that using a pre-made brush makes a piece less creative? It takes talent to make a decent graphic in the first place. And it takes more talent to make things look [i]right[/i] - it's what separates n00bs from graphic artists. If you haven't figured it out yet, my view on this is that using a pre-made brush made by somebody else doesn't demote your creativity at all. When you look at the graphic, you look at the piece as a [i]whole[/i], not as its separate elements. You can't assess the value of something by the value of its elements, because the end product can be greater or lesser than what you think. Instead, you need to view a piece as a whole, appreciate how everything flows together, and admire if that person has talent - Not by what brushes they use, but rather by the end product they create. ... Let the war begin. >_O[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]Ginger and Vincent parted ways on their floor, going down opposite paths. After a minute of walking, Ginger?s three-walled-cubicle was again seen. People walking either tripped on the fallen wall, raised eyebrows, or screeched to a halt. All had one thing in common though ? they?d look up and stare at the woman, who just stood there, shrugging. With a look off indifference, Ginger sat down at her desk, turned on her computer, and picked up the phone receiver next to the desk. She dialed the number for the reception desk. ?Hello ?? ?Yes Miss Carrigan, it?s you. What do you need this time?? Ginger laughed nervously. ?Oh c?mon now Nancy! Anyways, the left wall of my cubicle fell over, and the top of it broke off.? ??What?? ?My cubicle wall ?? ?I heard, it?s called sarcasm. Alright, well, I?ll get maintenance on it, though I wouldn?t expect anything to be fixed until you come in tomorrow morning.? ?Ugh?Fine, whatever. Thank you Nancy.? ?And don?t call me by my fist na ?? Ginger dropped the receiver, its plastic casing clattering loudly on the base. She sighed and looked at the clock on her computer?s screen. Not nearly enough time had passed?in fact, barely at all. ?Hmmm?? She proceeded to marathon through folders and documents, checking through articles and graphics, nodding at each one. Everything was in order for the project she was set to present at the end of the week. Stifling a yawn, Ginger leaned back in the chair, hanging her neck over the back. Several people passed by in the five minutes she remained this way, each giving her odd looks before staring at the fallen cubicle wall. ??I?m gonna go see Boris.? As she walked to his office, Ginger couldn?t help but recall something Alex had once managed to say. [i]?Office romances never work, Miss Carrigan??[/i] He had been so bold to make the comment when a group of workers had taken a break and were talking about romance gossip. Of course, after the comment, he hurriedly left in hushed silence. Upon arriving at his office, she noticed the door was ajar, the note from before taken down. She knocked before opening the door. ?Hey Boris. ?Good morning, my woman-friend.? ?Agh, shut it with the woman-friend crap?you know why I?m here.? ?Uh?toe ?? ?[b]No[/b], not toe rape. Sheesh.? Ginger smacked a hand to her forehead. ?I want a soda. The coffee machine?s busted up here.? ?You try the cafeteria?? ?They insist on that Folgers crap.? ?What do you like?? ?Chock Full of Nuts. It?s a coffee brand based in New York City?.extremely nummy. You?ve had it, haven?t you? Oh wait, no, you don?t drink coffee.? ?No, for I have my beloved tea!? Ginger rolled her eyes, opening the door to the mini fridge and taking out a can of Diet Coke with Lime. She cracked it open and took a swig. ?Gawd, I can?t believe I?m having it this early in the morning?? Boris stood up and re-opened the mini fridge, taking out a bottle of iced tea. He sat on a clear section of his desk while she leaned against the door, closing it. ?You getting taller?? he asked her randomly, sipping from his bottle. She gritted her teeth. ?No, I?m not?I?m eternally 5?4?. Or?in centimeters?165-and-a-half centimeters tall.? ?I?m 18 ?? Boris was cut off in mid-eighty. ?I [i]know[/i]. Shut [i]up[/i].? Ginger clenched her hand, crumpling the soda can slightly. ?Why are you as short as you are?? ?I got my mom?s genes over my dad?s. At least he?s six feet tall.? ?What about your siblings?? ?My oldest brother also got my mom?s genes, but he topped out at around 5?7?. My other brother?s adopted, and he?s six feet as well.? She groaned. ?I hate being a midget.? ?Aw, c?mon, you?re not a midget. You?re tall to meeee.? He grinned. She looked up. ??Thanks.? There came a knock on the door. Ginger rolled to a wall next to the door as it opened, revealing, in all his glory, Alex. ?Good morning Mister Willems. I?ve got the report ? oh. Hello Miss Carrigan.? Alex made a shifty glance between the two. ?HELLO Mister Ivey,? Boris greeted loudly, clapping him on the shoulder. ?What have you for me this fine day?? ?O-oh?Uh?It?s those pages you wanted.? ?Why thank you Ivey, I?ll take those now.? Boris spoke in a rather choppy manner as he plastered a grin to his face. He turned to Ginger. ?Miss Carrigan, I?m glad to hear you?re making progress on your project.? He nodded. With that, a slightly confused Alex and a soda-happy Ginger left Boris?s office.[/color][/size]

[QUOTE=White][color=#555555][FONT=Tahoma] I've submitted 4 entries and I get no quotes and I'm mentioned last on the list. Gee, thanks Katana. Way to make me feel special. ;___;[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE][size=1][color=royalblue] 1.) I have six entries. =) 2.) Well, I WOULD'VE put in that whole "And White enters gracefully" thing, but I didn't want to have a person's name in the quote. I preferred to have it to be a sort of annonymous. 3.) If you didn't notice, it was in alphabetical order, sheeesh. >__> [QUOTE][color=#555555][FONT=Tahoma]You can't do that. You have to wait until they actually post their piece. Otherwise we could just have posts ontop of posts of people claiming where the last piece linked is 5 pages back. >_>[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Uh, actually, I think we're all just lazy..I mean, when it happens, we'l put a stop to it, but for right now, I see no harm. =_=[/color][/size]

[QUOTE=Boo][size=1]Nice one, but the quote you used for me was a bit mean.

[size=1][color=royalblue]*counts on fingers* Two...three...five...seven... ... Oooh! The next one is number 50! I totally call it! Now I just gotta think of a way to commemorate correctly... [b]Edit:[/b] Well, it may be a squashed fly on the windshield of the graphics world, but eh, it's a commemoration. [url=http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/4030/50uz4.jpg]The OBGW? Like a nightlight?[/url] The piece is just some shiney brushes, "50" backwards, and a gradient. I went through the thread and picked out my faovirte quotes; ones I thought represented us and ones I thought represented the Worm. =) If I messed up on somebody's name (IE: "I'm no longer so-and-so") or if there's some spelling mistake, then I'll edit it. =3 Hm, I'm bored now.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue][b]#4[/b] [i]Artist, Bebopper, and theOtaku.[/i] Syk3 is my most logical guess. [strike]What, you thought I was serious last time?[/strike][/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]You can imagine my panic, right? Right? Please say you do... So...sorry to Aaryanna, I didn't mean to count you out or anything, but I know you understand because that's the way the internet works. (What? What?!) ...Ugh...I feel like an idiot...I need to go wallow with the comfort of a soda, [strike]even though I've had three today[/strike] even though I don't need one.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]I need to get Aiyanna back on the OtakuBoards... Haha, band geeks. Nice. Yes, I suppose I would call myself a band geek, since I seem to do a lot with my band. (Not only that, but me and my friends call ourselves band geeks all the time...) For concert band, I play oboe, [strike]only the best instrument ever[/strike], but for marching, I'm thrown on the drumline to play cymbals. >.O Back in middle school, I played marching bells. Because my district is relatively small, there aren't seperate bands, so when you sign up to take band, your thrown in for both marching and concert. It's annoying if you play a double reed instrument, since you either have to be a drum major, a flag girl, or learn another instrument. Since I'm short and would rather die than twirl a flag, I opted to learn bells during middle school, then was tossed over to cymbals for high school. Do I have a band? Not a chance; I'm not that cordinated. There are then the miscellaneous reasons somebody would suspect me of being a band geek. Me and my friends hang out in the music room during the morning study period (before classes start), and I was assigned (more like forced) to make the band website during this summer. Oh, and I was also voted to be the Historian of the band, due to my mad photography and Photoshop skillz. =) Part of what makes high school band so fun is our teacher, whom we call Struyker. He came into power last year, and everybody who wasn't a freshman was immensly relieved, since the previous director did absolutely nothing but bring the band down. Struyker's hyper and energetic (he's called himself 'ADD Boy') and young too. Not even a year after he came, he submitted a recording of us playing "I Want You Back" (marching band) to some people in New York...and thus, we were chosen to represent Illinois in the Nation's Day Parade (during Veteran's Day weekend) in New York City this November. [/shameless plug] Thus, we have to raised $60,000 to get there. o_o So I've been doing everything I can, going to carwashes (except one, I was half-sick and my mother forbade me). So yes. I am a band geek. =)[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]From the deep caverns came a fierce growl. It echoed throughout the walls, hitting the ears of all in range, stinging their brains and making them wince. Thunderous pounding came within a moment, and suddenly, the land was cast in death. "Damn am I hungry..." There were no footsteps in this area of the office, this corner of the prison. Ginger bolted up from her seat and edged to the cubicle's wall, placing her fingers up and over the top edge. She carefully hauled her short self up to see if there was any activity. As far as her eyesight went, there was nothing going on. "I must really be hungry...I feel like I'm going to vomit." The cubicle wall was starting to tip. "Oh...shit." With a [i]thunk[/i] and a crack, both wall and Ginger landed on the sunbaked floor and windowsill. She held on for dear life as the top snapped off from its concrete impact, her fingers scratched as they came down against the rough wall. "Nobody better had seen that." In a manner that had belonged to her since forever, Ginger stood up, brushed off some chips of cubicle wall and plaster, and straightened out her jacket. "Besides, if anybody asks, I can blame it on the interns. Fire-hydrant boy seems likely to do this sort of thing anyways." Because the wall had fallen right across a walking path, it was going to be impossible not to notice for, at most, an hour. "But they're going to blame me...my bag's here." Ginger shuffled backwards to her now-open cubicle, picked up her bag, and arranged everything to be the way it normally looked after she left. She punched the restart button on the computer before turning it off and heading towards the stairs. "Food time." On her way down, her stomach grumbled again, casting echoes in the solid concrete stairwell. She groaned. "Stupid muffin did crap for my hunger." Ginger had ravenous hunger in the mornings, and was never really able to skip breakfast. She always alotted time in the morning to eat at home, but occassionally she slept in and had to make a quick break for the bus. Upon entering the cafeteria, Ginger was smacked in the face by the ever-recongnizable smell of bacon, eggs, coffee, and Captain Crunch. It was a rather odd combination, but who cares, she was hungry. After paying for a hearty meal of an egg sandwich, coffee, and cereal, Ginger looked wildly around the cafeteria for a spot to eat. During her searches, she noticed an extremely apprehensive-looking Vincent. He ate his cereal in jerky motions, his eyes off in the distance, appearing to look at the juice dispenser. "Is it food poisoning again?" Ginger asked with a sigh, placing her tray in the spot acorss from him. He jumped. "I'msorryIswearIdidn'tdoit - thedoorswereeatingmyfeetand - oh, it's just you." "It's just me?" she sat down, her messenger bag still across her chest. "You should be graced and amazed by my sheer presence!" "...And...why is that?" "Nevermind, oh man-who-gets-his-feet-eaten-by-doors. Anyways, why are you staring the juice machine? It's full of whatever crap they try to pass off as Grade A." Vincent rolled his eyes. "My boss is over there; eating, having a good time." "And you're not?" "I wouldn't really call this 'a good time'...sort of the furthest thing from it, really." Ginger hardly paid attention as Vincent continued on about being late and nearly losing his job a few times before. She was more interested in the eggs themselves. "You ever realized the eggs look like diced-up pieces of Spongebob?" "...You even listening?" "Hell no. But I mean -" She stuck a fork in one piece and held it up. The egg mass jiggled for a moment. "- That isn't normal for an egg." "You should know better than to get the eggs. You get cereal." "I [i]did[/i] get cereal, foot-man. But eggs are good for you." "No no, eggs are only good for you when they come from a store from a farm, where they're actually laid by hens of organic status." Vincent leaned into the full comfort of the chair, what little there was, and folded his arms across his chest. "Through careful studying, I've deduced that the eggs here come from machines that contain chicken DNA. But through the cold metal comes loveless eggs. They therefore - hey, where are you going?" Ginger stood up with her tray and proceeded to dump it in the nearby garbage can, placing the plastic tray on top. She turned looked at the bossman before glancing at Vincent. "So...you gonna sit there until he moves?" "What, you want to help?" "I can disguise you. You wear the same crap everyday, so if they see you with something new -" She took off her messenger bag and handed it to him, "-Then they won't think it's you. Take off the tie and ka-pow! People have no idea who the hell you are." "Don't you think people know my face?" "No, not really." Vincent groaned, stood up, dumped his tray, and accepted the bag before removing his red tie and stuffing it in a pocket. "There, look! I can't even recongnize you!" "Did you even recongnize me before?" "Nope. Just by the clothes." "Ugh." The two walked to the stairwell, Vincent still tense, currently wishing he could see from the back of his head. But there came no reactions from bossman, assuming he was in the clear. When the door closed with a metallic [i]thud[/i] behind them, Vincent handed Ginger back her bag. "Sooo...thanks, Miss uh...Miss uh..um...I remember it, hang on..." "Name of a state..." "Don't ruin my fun! Uh...yeah! Miss Virginia. ...Haha. [i]C'mon Viriginia, don't let me wait[/i]." Ginger growled, tearing the bag from his hand. "Ugh, that stupid song. Ginger! Call me [i]Ginger[/i], okay?!" "Yeah yeah..."[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]That was random, weird, and yet...totally hilarious. I can somehow see this going on as a sort of high-school-theater-night sort of event, mainly due to the fact that, right off the bat, there were thater-esque lines. I think my favorite line was [i]Boris gives a bit of an annoyed look off to the left of the stage, knowing that it will be hard for Retribution to not tease the Kraken.[/i] We all know that Retri's a kraken fisher in his spare time, so he's used to teasing them. Poor RAR... [strike]The fact that your name says 'Boris' and not 'Boo' definetly tells me MSN Messenger.[/strike] I would've thought that even if you hadn't told me. =) I can't wait for more of these. Pardon my idiocy. >.O[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]I couldn't find my mp3 player for a while...then I realized it was still in my messenger pack. X3 Avenue Q - "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" Masaki Kurihara - "New School Term 2" L'arc~en~Cial - "Ready Steady Go" Frank Zappa - "Valley Girl" 403 - "Northern Lights" Avenue Q - "For Now" (I stayed on this song the whole way through...ah...) Utada Hikaru - "Simple and Clean" Yoko Kanno - "Waltz for Zizi" Frank Zappa - "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" (Single Version) Evanescene - "Everybody's Fool" The Pillows - "Pink" (A-6) Frank Zappa - "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" Kazuki Kuriyama - "Fukai Mori" (Symphonic Version) The Pillows - "Another Morning" Michiru Oshima, BEPA - "Brothers" Sooo...both my anime interests and American interests showed through...Huh. My mp3 player seemed to like Frank Zappa a lot. Poor dead Frank. My latest infatuation has been my Avenue Q soundtrack, so I was glad when two songs came on. =)[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]I think part of the challenge is that you need to make the piece [i]flow[/i] from one person to the next. Like the OBGW, you can't say what the other person does before or after you. Everyone has to accomodate everyone and make it seem like one long graphic. It's part of working together. =) I'm also confused with the whole "four days" thing. Some people count differently...trust me...and some of us live in totally different time zones. Boo's in the Netherlands, for example, and whenever it's 5:00pm for me, it's midnight for him. (I live in the central time zone.) My request would be for an exact date and an exact time - ie, August 13th at 11:00pm Eastern Time or something. (Midnight can also be tricky. X3) ...I need a soda...[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]I'm glad I watch TV. =) So I had lots of fun with this, just because I can. The main color scheme was grey and orange...dunno why, it just popped into my head and I went with it. I couldn't decide between a slightly textured background or just a navy one, so I made them both and have you pick which one you like better. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25734&stc=1[/img] First banner, navy background. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25735&stc=1[/img] Second banner, textured background. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25736&stc=1[/img] First avatar, navy background. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25737&stc=1[/img] Second avatar, textured background. These were fun to make, mainly 'cause I would be going, "Oooh, OUTER GLOW!" and the like. >_> If you would like anything changed, then just say the words. =3[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]Why doesn't Team Mongoose get a neat little diagonal overlay effect? In fact, we look like crap. ;_; You're such a meanie, White... ... Team Mongoose FTW! xD[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]*raises hand* Ah yes, Mr. DW...I've got a few questions. - What type of company is this? Is it an electronics company, which therefore has overseas stuff? I'm throwing this out since my dad works for a phone company that has projects in Taiwan and the like. They have posters and markings of where their towers are, etc. - When's payday? It's the happiest day for an employee. =) - How many floors are to this place? Hell, how many employees are there? I'm asking for...uh...well, to be honest, I'm asking for my own sake. >.O And thanks for taking the time to ask my stupid questions. =D[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]I can provide some music in the terms of weirdness. You need an oboe? I'm the gal you want. I've realized that many pieces composed for anime and video games contain the oboe, which makes me happy. =3 I also "play" marching cymbals, for whatever stupid use that may provide you... This is quite an interesting idea...but I just realized another problem: Sound equipment. It's difficult to record with a more classical instrument - basic things like trumpets and clarinets - on a microphone. Just a curiousity. =O[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]Once inside the elevator, Ginger broke out laughing. "They gonna get hit with the mob of -" She was cut off in her vocal thoughts when the doors [i]binged[/i] open. A group of large men stood there, and the short female darted through an opening between two of them. She waded her way down the hallway, making quick glances at posters and things of work progress. Outside of some cubicles, however, were sheets of computer paper for the Fantasy Football leagues. Ginger jerked to a halt in front of one of the papers, which read, "Boobs! Now that I've got your attention, sign up!" She smacked a hand to her face while reaching into her messenger bag with the other hand and pulling out a pencil. With a flourish, she scribbled down a quick, 'Your Mom' sign-up before performing a walk-run down the hall. In this neck of the woods, there was little activity going on in the early morning. ...Actually, there wasn't that much activity going on just yet in any place. Passing what seemed like hundreds of cubicles and offices, Ginger stopped yet again to read something of more interest to her. It was a sheet of paper, posted outside Boris's office, addressed to her. [i]"Ginger, you're running low on soda. Oh, and by the way, stop taking out my tea for your carbonated drinks. Fact: Not everyone in the Netherlands hates soda. So stop probing the question. How did we get on that topic to begin with? Wasn't it about Coke Zero and Pepsi Max? Why is it you ask me these questions? Wait, it's because you took German in high school. That's right. Yeap. Okay, well, I'm starting to ramble, so stock up or shut up."[/i] "When he says 'running low'...I'll go out and get some later." She had much more important things to get to, like making the coffee for her floor. She crossed her fingers, hoping the machine wasn't broken. In a rush to leave this morning, the short one had barely managed to grab the muffin while she spat toothpaste into the collection of floor plants. ...Five minutes later... "You...piece of..." With an angry rip of the soggy coffee filter, Ginger stormed out of the small corner niche and sulked to her cubicle. Angrily, she threw the chair out from the desk and collapsed into it, pounding her feet on the ground. The collection of soda cans in the bottom drawer rattled. It seemed like today was going to be a day of lazing around.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]Okay okay, I've GOT to work off of Epsilon's piece, for the mere fact that I haven't worked with shape transitioning before. =D [b]Later:[/b] I had this good post going before my internet just gave out on me... Even though I went into this with raging fire, I came out annoyed. I had several ideas for this piece; three were scrapped before coming up with this one. And even THEN, I'm not exactly thrilled with it. [url=http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4165/41uv4.jpg]Tuning out of the things that occured[/url] By the way, this piece marks the [b]forty-first[/b] Worm graphic. There are eight more to go before we reach the fifty mark. For that one, we need a commemoration, right? =) By the way, Epsilon, I really like how you incorperated the tool box of Photoshp and the screencaps into your piece. Snazzy. xD[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=royalblue]And it's time once again to humiliate myself with not even getting past one round. =D [spoiler]I got past one, but that was a dumb victory and you know it.[/spoiler] I'm a little nervous at the vhole "2v1" concept (none of the others, mind you), but hey, I'll go with it anyways. =3[/color][/size]