Sara

[size=1][color=#b0000b][quote name='silver_blade']He calls the people in his book Dragon Riders for goodness' sake.[/quote]Well, they do...ride...[i]dragons[/i]. :p I wasn't really impressed with this book. It entertained me while I was reading it, but, well... It seemed like a fantasy book written by, well... a kid. A patchwork of "well, I know this can happen in a story, because I've seen it before... and I know this can happen, so I'll add that..." In defense of the guy, it isn't necessarily that he ripped off LeGuin. The idea of your "true name" granting power over you is an old one, and a "true language" is a natural extension with that (and honestly something I've toyed with in the past, having not yet read any of the EarthSea books.) But that being said, I don't know how close the usage of the language is to EarthSea. But yeah, it's not a completely new idea. (My main contact with a magical "true language" was in the [i]So You Want To Be A Wizard[/i] series, incidently.) The language itself honestly isn't impressive. I know conlangers who devote months and years to their languages, and I don't know what effort Paolini put into his, but if I needed a quick fix for a mystical language, I probably would have come up with the same things. His language is extremely Germanic, and nearly all of the phrases in [i]Eragon[/i] look like stuff I've translated in one of my historical German classes.[quote name='Sara][size=1]The magic "ancient language" in Eragon is pretty darn Germanic, too. "[i]Gath un reisa du rakr![/i]" and "[i]Du grind huildr![/i]" both look like things I might have had to translate in my History of the German Language class last semester. (Some meanings are right on, too. Eragon's [i]gata[/i] means "path." In Swedish, it means "street." [i]Welden[/i] (forest) is very close to German's [i]Wald[/i]. [i]Theirra[/i] means "their," which isn't quite as much of a giveaway as [i]knifr[/i] meaning "knife." [i]Eka[/i] means "I," which looks bizarre unless you're familiar with Old German's many baffling versions of "Ich." [i]Stenr[/i] is "stone," [i]wyrda[/i'] is "fate," and I think you get the picture.) A couple other words almost scream "ICELANDIC!" at me.[/size][/quote][/color][/size]

[quote name='sakurasuka][size=1']Yes, but that would generally mean double-posting. I say delete the old post and make a new one? That would notify of new posts, without double-posting.[/size][/quote][color=#b0000b][size=1]Yeah, double posting was basically what I was trying to avoid, but having all of the original "I claim this" posts deleted would be a little awkward, since conversation seems to stem from them. (Of course, we could just use the "common sense" rule, but not everyone has the same idea of that, either.) This set-up works with fewer people, but it looks like we've got an as-yet unknown number of people who want to play. I'm a little out of my depth. =] But yeah, naturally, if you edited a post with the finished product, of course it's okay to update/bump the thread saying that you have edited your original post and the floor is now open. I was a little surprised when a couple people didn't do that. Basically, I chose this set-up because it 1.) links the two versions of each character together, and 2.) makes sure that everyone who posts their own character to be drawn has already participated. The list is a good idea, but I don't have time to update my original post every time a new character is posted (if I did, I probably would have posted more often already, though I'm trying to sit out since there are people who haven't gotten a turn yet.) Example of a partial list: [strike][b]Ezekial's[/b] Baeybel by [b]The Boss[/b] [b]The Boss's[/b] The Fighter by [b]Delta[/b][/strike] [b]Delta's[/b] Beach Chick by [b]sakurasuka[/b]. Ideas, guys? [b]Edit[/b]:[QUOTE=Keyblade Wielder][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][FONT=Tahoma]Yes! Finally I get to post in this thread! XD Sakurasuka, I know you haven't posted your character yet, but I guess I shall be the one to claim it when you do put it up, so I guess I'll be waiting! =D[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Holy smokes. Keyblade, I'm sorry, but I don't think we can handle premature claiming. That just opens up a whole new world of confusion. You need to wait and try to jump in after a new character has been posted. I hope that's what you meant.[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]It isn't an inherent problem with pronunciation, it's just what people are used to hearing, I think. You can't pronounce things correctly if you don't hear them correctly. That sounds a little silly, but it's true. Not all languages have the same sets of common sounds, so when a speaker of English comes across an unusual sound (or a sound in an unusual place), they'll simply approximate it with the closest English equivalent. I know this was an issue for a lot of people in my early German classes. No one was used to hearing or saying the [x] sound in [i]ich[/i], so they'd just go with the closest thing they knew-- [k]. They couldn't figure out the difference by listening, so they couldn't replicate the sound when speaking. Incidently, if anyone is trying to improve their accent in anything, I highly recommend learning the International Phonetic Alphabet. It will help you make distinctions between similar sounds.[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Okay, clarification: [b]sakurasuka[/b] is the artist currently drawing [b]delta[/b]'s character. I was hoping the "quote the character and then post your own version" would keep the thread from becoming too confused, but I guess it didn't work as well as I had expected. [b][size=3]If you decided not to draw a character, or if you posted an image out-of-turn, please edit your post to remove the image.[/size][/b] It's fine to keep it as a thumbnail/record, but having loose images around will really mess with everyone's ability to follow what is going on. If anyone has a better idea for organisation, please let me know. I'm open to suggestions. :p[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]The teaser trailer before x3 [url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=QgHL18g18v4&search=snakes%20on%20a%20plane]cracked me up[/url].[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]I really don't have much to contribute to this, I guess, except I think that this thread has the most occurences of the word "pseudointellectual" that I've ever seen, and the word-density alone makes it all seem really pretentious. I think it's important to know all you can, about everything you can. When you don't know something, the best thing you can do is say "I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out." That's how you learn things. [QUOTE=Stark][SIZE=1]Does being a void of useless knowledge count? Because, if so, I am most definently a Pseudointellectual. I mean, no one really cares about the variety of bananas. I just happened to find that my favorite topic to ramble on about during my little stint in the local grocery store. Thank you Popular Science! I owe my sanity to you![/SIZE][/QUOTE]I would also like to add that the month that article came out, I had no less than four of my friends speak to me [i]at great length[/i] about the imminent extinction of bananas. So I think Pop Sci's karma has about evened out--it might have saved your sanity, but it just about destroyed mine. :)[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]I wish I were your derivative... so I could lie tangent to your curves. ;)[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Wow, congratulations Ezekial. Looks like you're going to win this hands-down. =] [quote name='Kune']As for sara...I'm sorry but I think anyone matched up against this would have had a hard time, but, it sort of feels like you just gave up completly. Not that the concept is bad, but it looks like this took you under a minute to do. It's simply just a box over a stock image with font. I think you could have at least put a little bit more of the creativity effort into it. [/quote]I could just as easily say that Ezekial's is "simply a bunch of circle-tool shapes with font," but I would not, because it seems like a mean thing to say to someone. I actually did spend a lot of time on this, and I'm a little hurt by the assumption that I didn't. I specifically chose this image and scanned it from my copy of the book, and spent a good chunk of time recoloring it so that it matched the required colors. (The actual book version is much greener than the recent advertisements for the movie would lead you to believe.) I wanted a sort of greeting-card/stationery look ("The overall piece reminds me of general purpose stationary cards you get that are blank inside. And in that respect I think it?s perfectly done as I could easily imagine finding this at a store." --Thank you, indifference! That's exactly what I was going for.), so the lightness was indeed intentional. It's too bad that more people don't like it, but that's okay. It's just a matter of style and taste. =] The (admittedly old... I need to load Classic in order to use it) program I was using doesn't recognise any new fonts that I download, so the text was a process in and of itself--type a word, take a screenshot, copy the screenshot, paste into a new document, resize, transfer to the handicap window, resize and reposition, select "text," switch layers, delete text from the white layer. Repeat. The letters were also outlined by hand, because the program only has a "stroke" option for unsimplified text layers. I realise that there are definitely easier and quicker ways to do all of that, but they were not available to me. But yeah, it's not a big deal really, but please don't assume that I didn't make an effort here.[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]It looks great. My only comments would be that the edge of the red spade seems a little too close to the edge there...it would feel more natural if it weren't cropped so closely. And be careful with fonts like that, because the spacing can go really wonky. Your type looks pretty good, but the elipsis at the end is a little awkward. I would like to see it spaced out more. And the "on" seems kind of unbalanced, because it's so much closer to "flip" than it is to anything on the other side. But yeah, other than those things (which I only mention because it's something you can work with next time), it looks good. Oh, and something I just thought of. As something specific to this graphic, it would have been kind of cool to do an animation of blinking circles around the border of the piece--flashing lights, if you wanted to take the casino/cards theme any further. [/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]I wish there were more [i]Firefly[/i] for me to watch. I think That 70's show had a pretty good run. And I liked the way it ended, with the license plate and everything. Heh.[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1][center][img]http://otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25517&stc=1[/img][/center] And here's mine. I started with the right colors, but I honestly don't know if some of them got mangled during the process. Oh, well.[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Oh, I hate you! I was going to claim him as soon as I finished this God-cursed handicap image. :p[/size][/color]

[quote name='Delta][COLOR=#35425E][SIZE=1]+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+That'd lower the saturation values (fading it to white and all). But hmm, it's fine with me. If it looks good, it's gonna show in the votes, yeah?[/SIZE'][/COLOR][/quote][color=#b0000b][size=1]Maybe my grasp of saturation is different than yours. To me, saturated means all the color is there--unsaturated means that you end up with grey. You have have a "fully saturated" nearly-white color if the lightness is set high enough. Anyway, I guess it's not an issue after all.[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Computer programs do [i]not[/i] magically fix your coloring. It takes time to learn and develop a working technique on the computer, just as it does with pencils, paints, and markers.[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]I need clarification: Can we use lighter values of those colors (going into white) if the saturation is still set to 100?[/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]Forest, please edit your post so it includes the character that you are drawing. It's important to the organisation of this thread. =][/size][/color]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]I'm surprised by all the controversy that is surrounding the book/movie/phenomenon. I remember the book being really popular (and I understand why--it's an exciting mystery that's all about conspiracy theory), but I don't remember the Church being up in arms until the movie was in the works. It's funny that the Church is making a deal about telling their members not to see the movie, because that winds up being free advertising for the movie, anyway. It's possible that many people within the Church will avoid the movie because of it, but many more people outside the Church will go to see it, if only to learn what the controversy is about. (And when they do, the fact that the Church is protesting the film will make them more inclined to believe what is presented in the story.) And that's completely aside from the private "He stole the idea from me!" controversies that have popped up surrounding Dan Brown.[/color][/size]

[quote name='Ezekiel][SIZE=1']Ah-ha, I finally got it! Hope you don't mind, Sara, if I change PicoByte into a more mature looking guy? My style sort of lends itself to serious rather than cute, sadly.[/SIZE][/quote][color=#b0000b][size=1]Nope, that's fine. In fact, it's the point of the game. ;) [b]Edit:[/b] EEE! He is adorable! Thank you! I'll pass on this one and let someone else have go. ;)[/color][/size]

[QUOTE=r2vq]xD This thread is so popular. I've been trying to stealth claim/quote a character for a few days now. Darn you Sara, Dodeca, etc. for beating me to it! xP[/QUOTE][color=#b0000b][size=1]Your signature just [i]broke my mind[/i]. Anyway, I updated my post with my version of Agra, so PicoByte is now up for grabs. P.S. Lunox, your picture of Yana is one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. I love it. Thank you![/color][/size]

[QUOTE=Dodeca] [SIZE=1][I][B]To Draw: Agra[/B], even though I haven't completed the design myself yet in terms of full colouring and shading. She'd always keep the same hairstyle [ish], along with a bangle-of-sorts on each wrist and the oddly-styled jacket [which includes the collar and the arm-fasteners]. Also, her eyes would've be blue-green if I'd actually coloured them.[/I][/SIZE] [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25495[/img][/QUOTE][color=#b0000b][size=1]I got this one. Catcha on the flip side. :) Edit: Oh dear lord. I should have scanned this [i]before[/i] I tried to color it. It looked so much cooler in one-color green pencil. Here's my Agra: [img] http://otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=25498&stc=1[/img] [b]To Draw[/b]: My character PicoByte. Shaggy orange hair, sort of a clean Apple Computer look. (His arms and feet would normally be attached to his body, I think, but perhaps not.)[/size][/color]

[quote name='Lunox][color=dimgray] Awesome idea. :'] I don't usually color any of my drawings (haven't taught myself well enough v_v), so I hope that's not a problem.[/color][/quote][color=#b0000b][size=1]It's not a problem at all. I hope people participate. This can be a lot of fun.[/size][/color]

[quote name='Up4anime']I tried it not knowing what it was suppossed to do.Isnt it just supposed to make water blood or something?[/quote][color=#b0000b][size=1]Congratulations! You just tried to summon [i][url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/bloodymary.asp]an angry spirit who wants to claw your face off[/url][/i]. Mayhap you should investigate your occult rituals more thoroughly before attempting them, mm?[/color][/size]

[color=#b0000b][size=1]But in all seriousness, don't you think vengeful spirits have better things to do than wait around inside of bathroom mirrors? ...and even if they [i]didn't[/i], why on earth would you want to lure one out?[/size][/color]

[size=1][color=#b0000b][quote][size=1][color=#b0000b][center][b]Bloody Mary[/b][/center] [b]Ingredients:[/b] 1 1/2 oz Vodka 3 ea Drops tabasco sauce 3 oz Tomato juice 1 x Pepper; to taste 1 ea Lemon; juiced 1 x Salt; to taste 1/2 ts Worcestershire sauce [b]Preparation:[/b] Shake with ice and strain into old-fashioned glass over ice cubes. A wedge of lime may be added. [b]Serves:[/b] 1[/color][/size][/quote] Works like a charm.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=#b0000b][b]In this thread, we draw pictures of other people's original characters[/b]. [b]Step One:[/b] See the most recent character that has been posted in this thread. [b]Step Two:[/b] Post in the thread, "claiming" that character by quoting the image. [b]Step Three:[/b] Within twenty-four hours of posting, draw your own version of that character. [b]Step Four:[/b] Edit your original post. "Quote" the source image in your post, and show your own version of the character. [b]Step Five:[/b] Upload an image of one of your original characters as an attachment to your post. Include any character information you think would help the artist. (Magic amulets that the character ALWAYS wears, a color that the character would NEVER wear, a hairstyle that the character ALWAYS has, etc.) If the person who claimed the character does not post within twenty-four hours, the image opens up to anyone who wants to draw it. If no one posts within forty-eight hours, anyone may upload their own image to have someone draw. ----- Example: [quote][b]Aura[/b], a character created by [b]Soliel[/b] for [i]The Legionnaires[/i]: [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=24295[/img][/quote] My version of Aura: [img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=24317[/img] ------ [size=3][b]To Draw[/b]: My character [b]Yanamaria[/b]. She's a porcelain doll, but feel free to draw her with or without the broken face. That floopy hair look is her trademark.[/size] [/color][/size]