#SE4 Speaker #2 - D. E. Gervais Topic : Graphics and Graphic Tools Questions

[tesco samoa]

Time July 2nd 17:00 hours Pacific Time. 8 pm Eastern Time.
Guest D.E. Gervais
Topic : Graphics and Graphic Tools.

Hi this thread will be used to post questions for Mr. Gervais to answer ahead of time. An abbridged Version of this thread will be posted with the minutes from the session on #se4 on the gamesnet irc server.

Those who cannot make it please post your questions here.

This thread will also be used for any follow up to the session on #se4.

Please do not ask away about SF or SEV... As these will be future topics that will be dicussed when the programs are released and will not get Mr. Gervais or the other members of the community in trouble with Aaron.

But you can ask away about the tools used for creating 2-d and 3-d graphics.

Questions about SEIV graphics in general.

We will be having a future topic on how to create planets etc... On a topic called Modding the Universe. Natually Mr. Gervais will be invited back to that topic with other guest speakers. As it will be a panel dicussion.... ( a hint at something coming up )

So ask away.

As this will be a great time to learn some stuff about graphics.

I wish to take this time to thank Mr. Gervais for his time and all the work he has done for the community.

Take care all.

Tesco.

[Will]

Should be interesting... I've been meaning to get some tips on improving my rather limited 2D/3D artistry skills.

[Stone Mill]

Questions:

1. Do you start with a canned set of tasks / filters when creating avatars, that you use in order; (i.e., blur, resize, sharpen)... are there effects that you use most often?

2. I see you often use .gifs; I was taught that .jpgs were better for photo/picture art. What is your opinion on these graphics formats?

Thanks to tesco for arranging these sessions...
and to David Gervais in advance!

[ June 26, 2003, 00:51: Message edited by: Stone Mill ]

[David E. Gervais]

Originally posted by Stone Mill:
Questions:

1. Do you start with a canned set of tasks / filters when creating avatars, that you use in order; (i.e., blur, resize, sharpen)... are there effects that you use most often?

2. I see you often use .gifs; I was taught that .jpgs were better for photo/picture art. What is your opinion on these graphics formats?

A1: This pic will tell you exactly how I make my avatars from images I find on the net,.. (using my favorite art program, ArtGem)



A2: When dealing with avatars here at the intel forums I'm limited to .gif and .jpg as the accepted file formats. jpeg's are a 'loss compression' format, and although in many cases very good with 'pictures' it tends to fuzz out compared to the original .bmp format that I usually work with. It has been my experience that a gif with an 'optimized' palette is much better for the small pic size of the avatars. (48x48) the avatars are able to retain most if not all of their 'sharpness' when saved.

I hope this answeres your questions to your satisfaction.

Cheers!

[Stone Mill]

Wow! Awesome response!

Many thanks...

[Taz-in-Space]

David, what did you use for the animated gif's?

Also how did you make that cool sunken look for my avatar?

[ June 26, 2003, 05:04: Message edited by: Taz-in-Space ]

[David E. Gervais]

Originally posted by Taz-in-Space:
David, what did you use for the animated gif's?

Also how did you make that cool sunken look for my avatar?

A1: I use Gif Movie Gear v2.6 to create the final animations. GMG has the ability to load what it calls a gif filmstrip, (an elongated gif with all the frames placed side by side vertically or horizontally.) I do all the work in ArtGem and then save a strip then simply import it and play with the timing and of course optimize the anim to make a smaller gif.

This is what a small 4 frame Filmstrip looks like,..



A2: Simple, draw a 48x48 black frame, fill with a gradiant, add noise, smooth it out, add a band of shadow to the upper left of the box, add something interesting to the box, brighten the lower right edges of the box, and Lastly add that familliar highlight to the upper left corner. Voila!

..and here is a visual aid to show you the process,..



[ June 26, 2003, 12:35: Message edited by: David E. Gervais ]

[Rojero]

I would like to do one on myself where can i get that program:P

[David E. Gervais]

Originally posted by Rojero:
I would like to do one on myself where can i get that program:P

Which program? If you mean ArtGem, unfortunately it's no longer available.

If you mean Gif Movie Gear, you can find it and many other 'animation' programs here,..

Gif Animation Software

Cheers!

[David E. Gervais]

FYI: I'll have a message from Aaron to post during my Chat session Wednesday. I'll also post the message here after the chat. It's about SF, SE4 and SE5.

Cheers!