GlorDamar

That is much better. Please do a few more for me to see.

Oh, yeah, I'll do the edit thing... that's a good idea. After I do that I'll let you know and you can nuke the old one.

Yeah, let's keep it one topic. That other one is still in use because we're still looking for people, and I think it works as the catch-all for the guild. Is there a way to make the new post with the info in the correct format the new first post?

You didn't need to, there already was one. I just wanted to post the info here so people could find it in the main topic

@ Dexter - Angfaust is right. You need to work a bit more on your proportions. The overall shape of the body elements is pretty good, but the arm is a little long and the legs are way too short. It's better work, but you've still got some more work to do.

I'm a little conflicted about the alliance "bug" thing. Personally I think it's highly unfair that as a member of an alliance/guild I can attack someone every 8 minutes, but they have to wait an hour between attacks. I used this to great advantage toward the end of the heads contest, but it was too late to catch up and I didn't really have enough time to devote to it. I like having the advantage, but that said, I think only Alliance vs Alliance attacks should take 1 hour, or should even be reduced to something like 30 minutes or something. Alliance vs non-alliance combat should have the 8 minute timer. I HATE Glai's idea that alliance members should have to wait 1 hour between attacks on everyone. That could be okay for MP5 when you don't have any higher level to advance for, but I'm MP4 and I can tell you that an hour between attacks would be an awful drag on advancement. I do think the alliance vs alliance combat needs a longer limit than 8 minutes because of the ability for alliance members to be able to attack across MP levels. If I were MP3 in a guild and some MP5 decided they wanted to pick on me every 8 minutes, I'd be pretty pissed. It seems that the whole system is in a state of significant development/refinement, so I'm pretty sure all of this will get better, but it cetainly doesn't work quite right the way it is.

Another one for Pacific Time (West Coast USA)

I've selected the first two Summoners. Welcome Morrel and Blackthorn. There are two slots still open that I'll fill in time. I would like all of you that have applied but not yet been accepted to keep working and posting your drawings. You all show excellent potential and I think with some practice any one of you would be good enough to fill the remaining slots. Some advice: Archnov and Angfaust, you both have similar problems. Your close, but your work needs more refinement and you need to work on observing things around you a bit more. I think maybe part of the problem is that your people look slightly awkward, like they're not quite moving right, and maybe your perspective is off a bit. Things look a little flat. You've both presented some pieces that are close, but you're inconsistent. Take a look at one of my previous posts where I list influences and take a look at books by and about those people. You can probably find them or order them through your local library and save yourself the expense of buying them. Dexter, your shading and linework is pretty nice, but your proportions on the wizard are waaay off. His arms are different lengths and his shoulders are impossibly narrow. Also, he looks like a paper cutout. You need to find a way to add some depth. As I said, you all show potential and I'd like to encourage you to keep drawing and keep submitting. I love the effort and I appreciate the hard work. Thank you to everyone that's applied so far and to any others who are interested in submitting, please do so.

Much better. I like what I see. Morrel's right, you could do with a little tweaking here and there, but I think we can use you. Welcome to the Summoners.

Where does Khal find these guys? Does self-righteousness one of the prerequisites to join the Necrovion alliance, or is that part of the indoctrination?

lol. That's one HUGE scorpion. Or the dead guy had a really really small head.

Actually, that wouldn't be all bad. They wouldn't get to hide behind their little walls then.

That's a good idea stormrunner. I propose that as soon as the heads contest is over we all congregate at the house of liquid dust and do what we can to summon the shades. In the mean time, keep the theories coming.

Hired. How long did it take you to create this? I see some of the things you may be talking about when you say it's not perfect, but as an avatar it will look fantastic. Don't worry about minor imperfections in these. If we start doing more of the game artworks, you'll need to work through things that you're not satisfied with because they'll show more, but avatars are, to a great degree, about production. You're certainly talented enough. If you can produce 10 or so like this in a month, I think that would be sufficient, but the demand for your avatars will be high.

Here Glaistig, fanart of your very own. I hope you like it...

It's not a bad idea... What can we do to cause a change. I don't think heat will do it this time... what else can we do?

I believe you are correct about the spiral being cut by the cross and its relation to the windmill. Unfortunately, at this time, there is no way to enter the house of liquid dust or access the windmill. That being said, I have camped out at the house of liquid dust for many days, and I would be willing to do so again. I will join you when I can.

No, it's not too late. I haven't actually chosen anyone yet. I'd like to see your stuff in the format I described in another post... JPG, 200 dpi, etc. I'd also like to see some of your pencil stuff with less blending of the shading and without the heavy outlines. You have a fair amount of potential from what I see, but I need to see more.

Alright, I will try to be as honest as possible. This is hard for me because I appreciate all the work you've all gone to to submit your work and I don't like being harsh or overly critical, so (for everyone who submits) do not take any of my criticism as anything but constructive. I want to help and I really want people that are talented and willing to work to help out the game. Please know that I certainly do not mean to be discouraging and I hope none of you take it that way. Looking at the catfish, the shading is pretty good, but it looks to me like you're drawing what you imagine you see rather than what you really see. The tail looks wrong and the fins seem too rounded. The best drawing advice I can give is to really focus on SEEING. You have to look at things closely and draw what you really see. Even if you're cartooning, it's best to know what the real thing looks like in order to distill it correctly. Also, if you're interested in some of my stylistic influences, check out Design Drawing by Francis D. K. Ching. He was one of my professors in college and one of the most talented freehand artists I've ever encountered. He mostly addresses Architectural drawing, but the principles that he writes about apply to the broader field of drawing as well. I've also been influenced by two editorial cartoonists, Pat Oliphant of the United Press Syndicate and David Horsey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Even though they mostly use pen and ink, their ability to distill a subject is incredible.

What I submit are pencil drawing scans at 200 dpi with a resolution ratio of 3 units wide by 5 units tall (roughly, including white space.) I send them as jpegs and someone else (Manu?) adjusts them for game placement. It's best to send them at a higher resolution and a larger size than will be used in game so that they can be adjusted without pixelizing. Keep in mind that some of these avatars, if used by RPCs, may be used in actual game screens. Examples of this are Wodin Ulr and the Knator Commander.

Bravo. Your work is fantastic. I'm very impressed. I will attempt to locate you soon.

The hardness is the same, but I prefer the mechanical because the line weight remains more or less constant. With a standard pencil, the weight of your lines increases as the pencil gets dull. You don't get the sharpness to your lines and hatches that you do with a mechanical pencil unless you keep it constantly sharpened.

I use a 0.5 mechanical pencil with HB leads. I sometimes supplement that with a woodless pencil of the same hardness. I use a kneaded rubber eraser when I need to erase and I typically draw on a Strathmore drawing pad. I can look up the weight and other characteristics later if you want those. Also, some of my drawings are done on typical 20 lb bond printer paper. The paper doesn't have a lot of effect on it, although I prefer the heavier texture on the drawing pad as the printer paper has a slicker surface and doesn't hold the graphite as well.

I suppose I should post some of the stuff I've done to give a better idea what I'm looking for. Here are some of the Avatar drawings I've come up with. Not all of these were accepted, but you may recognize a few. This is one I sent in when I was applying to work on the game. Here are a few from my first group of Avatar Submittals Here's that Unicorn so many of the ladies of MD have requested And here's couple from my latest group of submittals. I don't know that either of these were used. I hope that helps.

Not too bad. I can see what you mean about your scanner. The drawing looks like some of the lines faded and it produced some pixelly artifacts in the shading. The shape is good. The blended shading isn't quite the technique I'm looking for, but it's not bad. Do you have more I can see?