Sara

[color=#b0000b][size=1]I don't think I'm allowed to vote, but I'd like to add my comments to everyone! [b]Boo[/b], I really like yours. Plus, you get major props for getting something up and out there right away. I think the techy theme works well, because it's such a weird juxtaposition. The small additions of green and blue really make the butterfly pop, and you're also the only person who was able to do anything with the original colors of the butterfly. (I stared at them for the longest time before giving up and saying "Screw this; time for a color change.") Because you kept the original butterfly and added your mark mostly to that, your butterfly is by far the most intricate. Originally I thought that the rest of the black background needed something?maybe some more techy fairy dust like the stuff that's scattered across the butterfly?but it also works as is. If I had done your piece, I probably [i]would[/i] have scattered more techy fairy dust around, if only to bring the rest of the image "in" a little bit. Right now the whole thing seems kind of weirdly balanced. [b]Jigglyness[/b]?I can't even remember what your first one looked like anymore, but I like this one a [i]lot[/i] better. It looks much more ...I'm not sure of the word I'm looking for. Professional? Corporate? Something. The background is very solid. I think the "moments that take your breath away" saying is also a very good choice for a butterfly piece, but I'm not sure about the way your did it. The wording seems clumsier than I'm used to ("Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away"), which bothers me when I read it. (I think "amount" is only to be used with indefinite plurals: you would have an [i]amount[/i] of money, but a [i]number[/i] of coins. Does that make sense? Anyway, nitpicking.) Also, your small white serif font seems really out of place in the rest of the piece. Unless you really know what you're doing and have chosen a [i]specific[/i] serif font for a [i]specific[/i] reason, default text in in graphics should probably by sans serif. It's simpler and easier to read. Oh, and one other thing: My first impression of the black butterfly is that it's a shadow, or that it's been "cut out" of the rest of the graphic. And that's pretty cool, but it gets all thrown off when I see that there's a drop shadow behind the black butterfly. Kind of disorienting. I don't know if "silhouette" or "cut out" [i]was[/i] what you were going for or not, of course, but that's something to think about. If I had done your piece, I think I would have not had the butterfly be full black, but have it be a butterfly-shaped section of much darker brushing (kind of like your bottom corner, but darker). [b]Sakurasuka[/b]: Before you admitted it was a typo, I thought you'd written "you" intentionally because of the way the song is sung. I thought it was pretty cute. (Actually, I still do, and I don't hold it against you, heh. I recently typo'd "rescued" as [i]rescused[/i] and then sent the imageoff to be voted on by two thousand people, so I know what those mistakes can be like. Oops. Anyway!) Again, I don't remember exactly what your other piece looked like, but I remember thinking "Oh, I like this one better" when you first put the second graphic up. So, whatever changes you made...good job! Heh. Like the astute observers before me, I must say?your piece is pink! But that's okay. I like that you brought in some more butterflies, and the flowers you have there look pretty cool. The problem that I end up seeing with your piece is that not only is it one color, it uses very simple shapes. Together, those two things end up saying "We cannot hold your attention!" And that's too bad. Since the two contributing factors are "simple shapes" and "one color," that problem could be fixed by changing either one of those. Going back to your original concept and working with two colors?say, pink and a sort of tangy blue, or pink and orange?would add a lot of interest to your piece. Alternatively (and I think this is what I would have done with your piece), finding more intricate shapes would help a lot. [url=http://www.oberonplace.com/draw/paintscripts/alink2/pxsubflower.gif]Something like this[/url], which isn't purely a silhouette (or even technically a flower, but bear with me) would have broken up the large spaces of "just pink" or "just white." I also don't know what kind of fonts you were working from, but your typography is also something I would have changed. Instead of using italics for contrast, I probably would have used two different fonts (rather like Jigglyness did): a simpler, smaller one for most of the text, and then a fancy-pants flamboyant one for the [i]Samurai[/i]. [b]Sara[/b]! Like I said, my design was inspired by [i]The Perks of Being a Wallflower[/i], so [url=http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=the%20perks%20of%20being%20a%20wallflower]this[/url] is where that garish green color comes from. The copy is also a quote from the book (and Retri's right, the placement of 'and in that moment' is kind of jarring. I don't know if it's the placement itself or the fact that after I went through and kerned the letters in the words, I forgot to reposition the words themselves in relation to one another. Oh, well.) My design, like sakurasuka's, was originally one color, but pretty soon into the process I realised that it was just too much of that green color. The pink was added to the butterfly and the border. I'm still not sure what I think about that. On the one had, I like how it kind of holds things together, but on the other hand, the piece loses a lot of the effect of the [i]white letters spilling onto the white border and disappearing off the page[/i], which was something I really liked. With the pink border holding things in, there's nowhere to spill. I'm not sure how I would fix that. Probably if I were to do it again, I would play around with the pink border and try having it fade to white in different places. If it looked alright, I might keep it that way.[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]It's a really good jumping board if you're interested in a topic and want to start to learn more about it.[/size][/color]

[quote name='White][color=#555555][FONT=Tahoma]My character can be found [url=http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1981/ralphienq7.jpg]here[/url]. His name is Ralphie the Demented Bird-Guy. Basically he's an adult retard whom thinks he is a bird. Basically you can change a everything, just make sure to make him look like an idiot, he has to have strapon beaks/wings and the one thick thing of hair on his head.[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote][color=#b0000b][size=1]I am claiming Ralphie. Catch ya on the proverbial side of flip. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25791&stc=1[/img] Uh...I don't really have any more characters on the computer, so you get my Illustration Friday [b]Running Guy[/b] [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25790&stc=1[/img] Be creative? [/size][/color]

[center][color=#b0000b][size=1]Inspired not by freedom, but by [i]The Perks of Being a Wallflower[/i]. [URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8647/wallflowermr7.png[/IMG][/URL][/size][/color][/center]

[center][color=#b0000b][size=1]I'll second (or third?) [b]Ewan McGregor[/b]. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25785&stc=1[/img] Not only was he utterly molestable in Moulin Rouge (to quote Lunox, because it deserves quoting: [i]He's hot, sexy, and pretty [b]and[/b] he can act, sing, and dance.[/i]), but there aren't many men who can pull of the skirt look and a.) not look the utter fool, and b.) still be drool-worthy. And in a dark horse candidate, I'll throw in [b]Jonathan Taylor Thomas[/b] as [b]Not a Skinny Smirking Teen Idol[/b] in [b]8 Simple Rules[/b]. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25788&stc=1[/img] I never understood the obsession that my classmates had with this guy ten years ago, but gosh. Some time out of the spotlight, some extra weight, dark-rimmed glasses, and hey: He makes a cute geek! Who knew? [b]Sean Biggerstaff[/b] as [b]Oliver Wood[/b] in [b]Harry Potter[/b] [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25787&stc=1[/img] Because, well, yeah. He had, what? Thirty seconds of screen time? That was pretty much unacceptable. Very cute, and ridiculously awesome accent, too. And while we on the topic of Harry Potter, I'll also throw [b]Emma Watson[/b] into the mix. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25786&stc=1[/img] She's young, but quite the lovely lass. I hope she continues to get work after the HP films are complete. [/size][/color][/center]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]So, has anyone ever had a "best" barfing experience?[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1][center]================================================================ [b]DO NOT POST ANIME CHARACTERS[/b] There have been [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=53232]plenty[/url] [url=[url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=53232]of[/url] [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=53232]threads[/url] in which you may discuss your favorite anime characters. This is not one of them. ================================================================ [size=2][b]Welcome to the Harem of Celebrity Lust![/b][/size][/center] In this thread, we discuss those persons of fame or fortune whom we find attractive. You can refer to the actor, or the character whom he or she plays; it doesn't matter. Images are welcome. A short paragraph on your object of desire is required. Animated characters are okay, but again, this ain't the place for anime. [b]Please DO NOT POST images greater than 500 pixels in width![/b] There are many free sites such as flickr and imageshack that will be more than happy to host and thumbnail your images for you! [center]======= [size=2][b]Scott Cohen[/b] as [b]Wolf[/b] in [b]The Tenth Kingdom[/b].[/size] [URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/6439/2244896638a1aa86473met6.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Wolf is sexy. Crazy? Yes. Cannibalistic? Quite possibly. Unerringly good? Unfortunately not. But sexy? Well, you really can't argue against that. He's very funny, too, and his twin obsesssions of "food" and "attractive female character" crack me up. "I don't know whether to love her...or eat her!" ======= [size=2][b]Anthony Perkins[/b] as [b]Norman Bates[/b] in [b]Psycho[/b][/size] [URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/9391/224489664589b296386mft0.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Again, I am the first to admit?this guy is far from perfect! His hobbies are a little unsettling. Yes, the in-law situation would be a little, um, creepy. And I understand than any attempt at a relationship would only end in... [i]tears[/i]. But aside from some minor character flaws, Norman is a real charmer. Not only is he attractive, but he's so [i]ernest[/i]. Not to mention sweet and polite: "I could get you some sandwiches and milk!" ======= [size=2][b]Christopher Eccleston[/b] as [b]The Doctor[/b] in [b]Doctor Who?[/b][/size] [URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/7929/10171lu6.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Smart. Intense. Funny. Sarcastic. Mysterious. Tall. Experienced. Witty. Dangerous. Adreneline-drunk. Travels through time and space. Breaks and enters. Saves the world. [b][i]Dances[/i][/b]. [/center] Be still, my heart.[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]The articles site has been discontinued.[/size][/color]

[quote name='Red 6][COLOR=Sienna']As a way to make this post less completely useless, what do people where you live generally call carbonated beverages? Where I'm from we usually refer to them as soft drinks. The name 'pop' and 'soda' sounds wierd to me, actually. Like something they would have said back in the 80's or something. [/COLOR][/quote][color=#b0000b][size=1]My evil linguistic side was secretly hoping that someone else would steer the topic in this direction. =] I grew up calling it soda, but where I go to school now (Twin Cities), it's called pop. Once in a while, I'll catch myself calling it pop, much to my dismay. I do call the little things that you use to open a can "pop tabs," though. Much easier (and onomatopoeic!) than "soda can tabs." (US chart attached...)[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]John, your crappy signature is stretching out my page! :p I don't drink soda often. If I go out to eat, I'll get myself one, but other than that I stick to water and milk, or sometimes juice. When I'm at the cafeteria at school, I'll sometimes spike my juice with some soda. (Orange juice with a shot of Sprite is tingly and delicious.) As far as sodas go, my favorite has got to be Squirt. You can taste the grapefruit! It is delicious. YUM. I'm also a fan of cream soda, but it's gotta be bottled stuff. It's just not the same out of a can. Oh, you know what else is good? Jones has already been mentioned, but I'm a big fan of [url=http://www.izze.com/]Izze.[/url] They have a grapefruit soda, too, and it is to die for. Plus it's healthy or something. YUM. As far as the worst soda goes, the Worst Soda Ever was [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbitz_(soft_drink)]Orbitz[/url], pants down. I can't believe that's not an option on the poll.[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1][quote name='Lunox][color=dimgray'] Appreciation means you like parts of the culture (such as its forms of entertainment), and appropriation comes when the fans unwittingly adopt everything about the country as good. [/color][/quote]Thanks, Lunox. I agree with you here, and I think this point is a large part of the reason this article caught my attention so much in the first place. I've been part of the theOtaku community for gosh-only-knows how long now, and there have always been aspects of it that didn't sit very well with me. Read some of the comments on theOtaku's main page and you [i]will[/i] find posts like "But I love everything Japanese!!

[color=#b0000b][SIZE=1][B]What year did you graduate from High School?[/B] 2004. [B]What "clique" did you belong to?[/B] I refered to them as the drama crew. I didn't meet all of them through drama (I met several in that "friend of a friend" sort of way), but most of my friends were in the drama program at one point or another. During my junior and senior years, I also hung out with a group of college students from a local campus. [B]Do you still remember your friends, do you still keep in touch?[/B] Yeah, we hang out, though it's getting harder every year now that everyone goes to different schools. Several of my friends are graduating from college this spring, and who knows what'll happen then. [B]What state/province/country did you graduate from?[/B] Wisconsin. [B]Do you remember your high school enemy?[/B] Ha ha, yeah. I don't know if she even realised how much I dislike her. We had a lot of classes together (pretty much by default; it was a small school), and she just struck me as a really mean person. Everyone seemed to think she was really smart/nice/sweet/likable, but she was constantly cutting people down, gossiping, and playing cruel jokes on people. There just seems to be a huge comprehension gap for me when someone can talk about "giving" and "helping others" and "volunteering" during homeroom, and viciously cut down another girl in the locker room during next period P.E. [b]Word to the Wise[/b]: If you want to know what a girl is really like, listen to her talk in the locker room. Sheesh.[/SIZE][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Please read the article, take a deep breath, and calm the **** down before you post, mmkay? The quote below is from a blog called Reappropriate. It's about cultural appropriation: specifically, the appropriation of East-Asian culture by white western kids. My question is: what do you think about it? Do you think Jenn (the original poster) is overreacting? Do you feel attacked? Do you recognise that some people really [i]are[/i] nuts for all things "exotically Japanese?" Does it kind of creep you out? Where do you think the line should be drawn (or is drawn) between appreciation and appropriation? [quote=Jenn of Reappropriate][size=1]What is it with young White Americans who can't seem to get enough of the culture of the East? What is the appeal of the ninja, the anime, the manga, the geisha, the karate, the tae kwon do, the teas, the ceremonies, the lion dance, the yakuza, the curry and the chopsticks? Why can't the "otaku" get it? There's nothing cool about sticking a "-chan" or "-kun" after every name. You don't get a cookie for writing "yaoi" fanfiction or perusing the Japanese comic books at Borders instead of the American ones. Sorry, kids, DBZ just isn't that good. And you know, it wouldn't even be so bad if the kids doing the taking and bastardizing were able to defend their actions in the court of me-about-to-kick-your-***. I'd love it if the next White boy wielding homemade tonfa and worshipping Bruce Lee's Jeet Kun Do fighting style were able to address accusations of Asiaphilia. I'd even be okay with the Asiaphile if they knew about Vincent Chin, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and Japanese Interment. I'd love to have a conversation with the Asiaphile about his (re)birth after watching Full Metal Jacket. But, no. The Asiaphile doesn't understand the politics or consequences of his fetish. He knows all about the Meiji Restoration and has memorized the Art of War by heart, but actually defends Hiroshima and Nagasaki (200,000+ killed in a brutal act of terrorism, but to the Asiaphile, it was a necessary act to defend the people who [i]really[/i] matter). He knows nothing about the Asian American movement even though he organizes endless anime, sushi and karaoke nights at his college campus. He doesn't even see his interest as a fetish, he sees it as his God-given right to take and take and reappropriate my culture because he feels denied somehow that his mixed-up part-Greek, part-English, all-European-American, totally of the Caucasian Persuasion *** doesn't have a native tongue that's quite as "different" or an American culture that involves bladed weaponry. [/size][/quote]If you are interested in reading more (including [i]lots[/i] of comments on the original post), [url=http://www.reappropriate.com/2006/04/im-mad-as-hell-and-im-not-going-to.html]the full article may be found here.[/url] [/color][/size]

[size=1][color=#b0000b]There are other programs out there. Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics program. And [url=http://delineate.sourceforge.net/]Delineate[/url] can convert stuff to vector, though I couldn't tell you the best way to do it. I haven't used it very much.[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]This is how you'd do this with Illustrator. Draw the letters. Just scribble them. You don't need to worry about blending any lines together. I scribbled this in photoshop. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25765&stc=1[/img] Copy this and paste it into Illustrator. Hit "livetrace." [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25766&stc=1[/img] Under the "object" menu, scroll down to the livetrace options. Choose "expand." Your logo will suddenly have lots of colored lines marking different paths. Change the path color and fill color to your liking. I made the fill white and the paths pink. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25767&stc=1[/img] And then I messed with it some more. I set the main outline's stroke to two, and changed the fill color to another pink color. [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25768&stc=1[/img] Taa-daa. The actual shape of your letters, how close they are, how much they run together, etc., all depends on how you draw them. The ones you posted look like the guy got mad in math class and just scribbled back and forth a lot as he was writing. Experiment with different ways of drawing your letters; the process is gonna be the same every time. [/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]1.) Draw messy letters. 2.) Import messy letters to Illustrator. 3.) Livetrace. 4.) Choose stroke color. Set stroke to 2. 5.) Choose fill color. 6.) Select all. 7.) Copy and paste into Photoshop. 8.) In a layer behind your pasted object, go wild with splatter brushes.[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]On that note, as an early heads-up (if this is still going by then), please don't count on me to do [i]anything[/i] over Labor Day weekend. I'm moving back up to school, which will be a fun, hectic, and possibly netless time. I'll be pretty swamped with unpacking, settling in, buying textbooks, etc., and definitely won't have time for this.[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]I click on the links of people I know/like, to see what they're up to. Or if something is appropriately intriguing. It's neat when several people suddenly have blurbs for the same thing. It makes me want to know what's up.[/size][/color]

[size=1][color=#b0000b][b]This is an example of [i]why[/i] so many people find "White Nationalism" offensive:[/b] [url=http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:nBwgEbdwuwwJ:www.unh.edu/residential-life/diversity/aw_article17.pdf]The White Privilege Checklist[/url]. Please click and read! It's actually kind of fun to go through, and it's good food for thought. [b]Edit[/b]: Boba Fett gave me a heads up that the link I posted isn't working anymore. I found another version of the checklist and changed the link above. [/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Man, what a rip-off. :p You should have heard us go on about how much we envied the people who were given teh building image. "But at least we're up against someone else with the giant floating mug of beer," we said. "That's something!" we said... Haha. Good work, everyone.[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]My university has student job postings. Most of the coolest jobs I've seen are work-study only (which I do not qualify for). Oh, well. If you work with people your age, you'll probably meet people you like. If you work with stuffy university adults, you'll probably have a lot of down time. If your school has campus job listings, I would browse through those until you find something that interests you. Even if you don't get that job, you'll have an idea of what you want to look for.[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Jiggly, check your private messages. I sent you the current image. (If you want the PSD file, give me your email address.) KW, if you see this thread before the first round is over, get the image from Jigglyness.[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Yeah, we're kinda...stuck. Keyblade Wielder hasn't been online since the eleventh.[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1][quote name='Raiyuu][FONT=Trebuchet MS][b]Thread closed.[/b'][/font][/quote]You missed. =] Anyway, on topic (for at least a little while), the userbases overlap quite a bit, since both sites are offshoots of theOtaku.com. I have a myO account, although it hasn't been used very much recently. I'm kind of a slacker that way. When myOtaku started back whenever it did (Okay, I checked?July 2003), it seemed like almost all of the new bloggers were members of OtakuBoards. That changed really fast, though. myO is quite the beast now: 400,000 registered members to OB's 25,000. Incidently, people who keep their myO and OB accounts connected (not everyone does) do have their myO linked in their postbit. But, if you're viewing someone's site, and you'd like to see if they have an OtakuBoards account, there is also a way to do that. If the accounts are connected, their sidebar will have a link to their OB profile. [url=http://www.myotaku.com/users/sara/]My page is an example[/url]. (My profile is still linked as the word "Lore," which was one of my old usernames here.) So that's another slice of information for you. =][/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Bring some bug spray and some snacks. Shower stuff. Swimsuit. A towel. Shorts, tshirts, and a pair of jeans and a warm sweatshirt. A flashlight is [i]always[/i] a good idea. Your teachers will probably give you a checklist before you go, actually. They'll probably feed you in the mess hall, so it's not like you need to bring your own provisions, but if you can, you should probably bring some snacks. They're good for hanging out with people at night in the cabins after the canteen is closed. On that note, you might want to bring a little spending money. Camps often have a canteen/giftshop/supplystore where you can buy things you might have forgotten. Or snacks. Or a camp logo tshirt, if you're into that sort of thing. [/color][/size]