BACKGROUND BLITZ YO HO HO and a Bottle of Rum (WINNERS)

Grok · Tue 28/06/2016 21:14:49

It's a pirates life for me...

Make a background fit for a pirate game;

it could be the gun deck of the pirate ship,
the cave where the booty is to be buried,
the tavern where you recrute your crew
or any other scene you would find in a pirates game.

To be finished by July 21th 2016 (Time for entries has ended)

Will be judged on
CONCEPT
PLAYABILITY
ARTISTIC EXECUTION

and mainly on size of bribe to the Governor of Skull Island

Voting until 31th july. Post with list of entries further down.

SinSin · Tue 28/06/2016 22:37:30

I'm so in !!!!

Danvzare · Wed 29/06/2016 13:57:41

Would a carnival be fitting?

Grok · Wed 29/06/2016 18:02:44

@SinSin
Welcome aboard, matey.

@Danvzare
A carnival ye say. Arrr, how be you thinking now, matey?

CaesarCub · Wed 29/06/2016 18:58:10

This looks like fun.
Here is my attempt:

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/HyeEpPc.png[/imgzoom]

gameboy · Wed 29/06/2016 19:18:42

That's a very nice background, CaesarCub.

I like the theme, I hope I can find the time to participate.

DBoyWheeler · Wed 29/06/2016 22:52:22

Well, thought I'd try my hand at this... at the very least, give me a bit of practice for doing backgrounds digitally without having to pencil first.

Here's my attempt at it. Basically on the beach at night, near a derelict barque--perhaps the hero/heroine would encounter a ghost pirate within?

Mandle · Thu 30/06/2016 00:56:01

Absolutely gorgeous and slick BG there Caesercub!!!

And: DBoyWheeler...I'm loving the simple, cartoony style! I would love to play that game!

DBoyWheeler · Thu 30/06/2016 02:56:12

Quote from: Mandle on Thu 30/06/2016 00:56:01
And: DBoyWheeler...I'm loving the simple, cartoony style! I would love to play that game!

Thanks. Again, at the very least, this gives me practice on how to do backgrounds completely digitally, instead of having to pencil them out first.

Grok · Thu 30/06/2016 05:30:28

Well, shiver me timbers. Two excellent backgrounds already

Nice job CaesarCub and DBoyWheeler.

@gameboy
Lots of time left. Just do it

Blondbraid · Sat 02/07/2016 23:53:33

I like those pictures, CaesarCub's sunset has some lovely colors and DBoyWheeler have a nice dream-like contrast between sea and sky.

Thought I could use some practice in drawing and might as well give it a go:

While I was originally going for something baroque, it feels like it turned out rather Gothic, but nevertheless I hope the it gets some of that colonial 17th century mentality across.

Mandle · Sun 03/07/2016 00:04:44

Hehehe...somebody has been using Phrenology to "prove" the substandard I.Q. of the natives I see... It was a great excuse to justify slavery when "science" could "prove" they ranked above animals but below European humans in intelligence.

I also love the "crocodile tears" in the painting, and the poor fellow's skull in the collection.

I want to play the game where this is the bad-guy's office, and I get to play a wiley native getting the better of him!

sketchess · Sun 03/07/2016 11:29:50

Love the atmosphere your painting transmits, @Blondbraid.
A taste of a rotten soul salted with arrogance and conceit, wunderful.

My humble self sneaks around this theme, not knowing yet, from which side to catch it.

Could use an exercise on my new tools, too thought. Could be a nice amusement in my vacation now.
Wondering what @SinSin will come up with. Tihi.

Blondbraid · Sun 03/07/2016 11:38:16

Quote from: Mandle on Sun 03/07/2016 00:04:44
Hehehe...somebody has been using Phrenology to "prove" the substandard I.Q. of the natives I see... It was a great excuse to justify slavery when "science" could "prove" they ranked above animals but below European humans in intelligence.
I also love the "crocodile tears" in the painting, and the poor fellow's skull in the collection.
I want to play the game where this is the bad-guy's office, and I get to play a wiley native getting the better of him!

Quote from: sketchess on Sun 03/07/2016 11:29:50
Love the atmosphere your painting transmits, @Blondbraid.
A taste of a rotten soul salted with arrogance and conceit, wunderful.

Thanks!

I really wanted to see if I could depict a characters mindset through the environment, and create a stark contrast to the typical stuff in pirate stories.

The colonialism angle is rather underexplored in pirate and adventure stories, and I wanted to hint at the pretty dark stuff behind all the tropical colors and gleeful treasure-hunting,
and the cabinet of curiosities is meant to reflect that spirit, as well as offering some food for thought on some of the tropes in stories about "civilized" men exploring "savage" and "exotic" lands.

Spoiler

I even played with the thought of having a dead native instead of the crocodile in the painting!

[close]

sketchess · Tue 05/07/2016 16:01:43

Huuumh. How do I get these GIMP brushes set up properly?
If there is a possibility that all bushes are not changing to the same size, I didn't see it. Do I really have to adjust it every time, no matter I change to a different brush with different size? It's annoying.

What a pity that the new shiny gems are not made for my little system. Would have loved it to try them out. *Sigh.

EDIT:
Wuh huuuh huh. Never mind. Found a solution, finally.

Grok · Wed 06/07/2016 16:42:29

@Blondbraid
Very nice. Lot of lovely details.

@sketchess
So now that you got your brushes sorted out you are at hard work with a background?

GIMP has a bit of a learning curve to it. There are so many options and it can be hard to figure out how to use them.
I only use a small part of all the options it offers myself, and I have used GIMP for quite some years by now.

sketchess · Thu 07/07/2016 12:53:48

Well yeah. Some sort of.

Merely, it took me 3 days to set up the environment a bit more user friendly and to get all my palettes in. But still I am not very happy with it. I think, I will never become a total fan of GIMP. Without my graphic tablet, I wouldn't use it. My favorites were always Photoshop and Corel. I hope, I will find a running version one day. Till than I got stuck.

I have a small chance to actually finish a competition background. Would be the first one ever.

Riaise · Thu 07/07/2016 15:52:44

I've been wanting to practise pixel art, so I thought this would be a good opportunity. Here's my attempt:

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/VQXNmOg.png[/imgzoom]
Come and visit the Black Market to stock up on pirate supplies, before refuelling yourself in the Kraken Arms tavern!

And here's a bonus animated version (5 frames):
[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/YYGs9wQ.gif[/imgzoom]

Grok · Thu 07/07/2016 16:54:11

@Riaise
Very nice. Everything a pirate could wish for in one market place.

@sketchess
It took me quite awhile to get comfortable with Gimp. Hang in there.
If you want something simple that is very smooth to draw in, I would recommend FireAlpaca. I use that a lot to start off an image and then go to GIMP for effects.

sketchess · Thu 07/07/2016 21:09:48

@Grok That looks interesting. I keep an eye on it.
After the loss of my little gems and before GIMP, I was working with 'Paint' and 'Falcon' mostly. If I had my own 64er system, I could already use my two software packages, I've got with my tablet. Well, at least I can try them out on the one of my brother.

Whoo ya! I remember how to get a straight line working.

I agree, every step is an apprentice's due.