Loopysue commented:Ring patterns seem to be extremely useful. There are lots of them in the various collections we have. I will do a version with bars, and one with the centre left in. In fact I've done that last one already...
I can see that one ending up on a temple floor somewhere, with gem-set stars carved into its surface thanks to that handy grid pattern ;D
I'm planning to do a wide sweep around the colour circle, which should mean about 20 crystals in the end. Its just going to take a while...
I'm thinking of re-thinking the colour scheme just a bit where the rest of it is concerned (not the crystals). I've got not just one green version of everything else, but two of them. Maybe an orangeish colour would work better than that very pale green?
I think I community resource would be great. I am still working on putting buildings together and a wall. Some of these textures I would like to incorporate into the "style" when complete, and it would of course be available to everyone in the community.
Funnily enough, Remy, I was thinking about that last night. The trouble is that I've only done varicolour apples and oranges in those fruit tree symbols I made for the Atlas before now, and I'm not entirely sure I really got them totally right to my own satisfaction.
The flowering shrubs work ok, but the colour does seem a bit washed out on those fruit trees some of the time.
I will have a think about this - maybe do a bit of experimenting while a few more are rendered out
Since is is a photorealistic type symbol, the varicolor will probably not be quite as nice as when used in more hand-drawn stuff, so I don't think it would replace you rendering out a couple of nice ones in different colors, but I still think it could look quite nice, and the additional color options that makes possible also makes up for it. You might want to render a light greyscale one for best varicolor results.
Posted By: LoopysueSo that's just the way varicolour looks
Varicolor is done by mixing the colors of the symbol with another color, so in most cases it will never be quite as good as making the symbol in those colors from the get-go. It can get very close however, but that requires a lot of care when making both the varicolor version of the base symbol, as well as the varicolor mask. You can make nice photorealistic varicolors too, but that needs even more care.
Here is a very quick varicolor conversion of your crystal. Note that since I had to use your original color image, it is not as nice as it could have been,a nd I only spent 5 minutes on this, could have gotten a better result by tweaking things more. I still think the result is acceptable, even though this version is far from your original one in quality. It is especially noticable that it is much less vibrant.
Still, with one hour for each render, I think you can make a quite nice varicolor version in that time.
And now I see something I hadn't thought of before...
Its not so much the white in the symbol that's the problem, its the grey and black which makes it look 'dull'
So applying that understanding to things it would probably look pretty good if I simply turned all the black in the var image transparent, doubled the opacity of that image, then (EDIT: left the main image full colour, but removed all the white)?
Of course, I'd have to get it just right, so that there weren't any bits that ended up being totally transparent where they weren't meant to be transparent...
I'm just going to have to down tools now and have a play :P
Yea, the base image used for the varicolor symbol needs to be quite light for the varicolor to look best. When working with your image, I converted it to greyscale, and then lightened it up quite a bit (which also ruined the contrast between some of the sides, so that is my bad, not a varicolor issue). You will need to do some tweaking to make this look as good as possible though.
And while I know all the technical stuff, I am not good with colors or image manipulation.
This is all fascinating. I've never been fond of most varicolor symbols because they always look washed out and never as vibrant as the original. Except in cases like solid roofs and such, but things like trees and mountains never look very good with varicolor, in my opinion. Now I understand the technology behind varicolor and can see why and how it works. As I've said, I'm not very tech savvy but I like learning how things work, even if I can't do it myself!
Well here's my first swipe at it. One thing I've noticed is that varicolour symbols always have a 'best colour' where they look ok, and range wildly in quality depending on how bright the chosen colour is.
I can make these quite easily, but I think it would be nice to have a full set of full colour crystals as well
Even if the varicolor symbols don't end up looking quite as good as the rendered ones, remember that people mostly won't be looking at the symbols that closely in the map. Even if they are not quite as good, as the rendered ones, they may serve to get a lot of nice variation for maps that don't use super-close zooms.
Posted By: MonsenEven if the varicolor symbols don't end up looking quite as good as the rendered ones, remember that people mostly won't be looking at the symbols that closely in the map. Even if they are not quite as good, as the rendered ones, they may serve to get a lot of nice variation for maps that don't use super-close zooms.
Oh, I understand. I was just giving my own personal opinion. Depending on the map type and size, symbols aren't always closely visible.
But I also agree with Sue about doing a full range of actual colored crystal symbols.
Posted By: ahawk1972I think I community resource would be great. I am still working on putting buildings together and a wall. Some of these textures I would like to incorporate into the "style" when complete, and it would of course be available to everyone in the community.
Oops, I missed this comment at the bottom of the last page...
Ahawk, I am honoured that you would like to use my textures, and you are welcome to use them in your own maps, but I do not allow redistribution of my artwork, so I'm afraid you can't add my textures to a pack of your own work for others to download.
All these textures and symbols here on this thread and at the Guild will shortly be available in the upcoming community pack that I have heard from a reliable source is about to become a reality. Hopefully my fills and symbols will appear alongside your own beautiful fills and symbols
Comments
I'm working on some classic spiky crystals right now, but they may be a while. Rendering them out is a nightmare! LOL!
CGBlack is right - it does look amazing. I'm also really pleased to see that they will work with other style sets
Please can you say whatever you think. Is it too complicated? Will it go with any of the styles?
[Image_10520]
It looks a lot better than I thought it would.
So... how many different colours would you like?
Each crystal takes an hour to render, but I think I can get away with a slightly lower res and cut it to half an hour
Thanks, Sue. Really, anything you graciously provide us is appreciated...so any colors you can manage would be fantastic!
That's beautiful, Lorelei
I will probably work on the crystals slowly over a couple of weeks - one or two a day. I want to have a full set of colours as well, so no worries
I'm planning to do a wide sweep around the colour circle, which should mean about 20 crystals in the end. Its just going to take a while...
I'm thinking of re-thinking the colour scheme just a bit where the rest of it is concerned (not the crystals). I've got not just one green version of everything else, but two of them. Maybe an orangeish colour would work better than that very pale green?
The flowering shrubs work ok, but the colour does seem a bit washed out on those fruit trees some of the time.
I will have a think about this - maybe do a bit of experimenting while a few more are rendered out
So that's just the way varicolour looks, and not necessarily anything I did wrong?
I understand now, and agree - not best suited to photorealistic styles
But I will still try it out - maybe for a subset of more pastel coloured crystals...
(I have some serious revision to do, since I've forgotten most of the method in the last year)
Still, with one hour for each render, I think you can make a quite nice varicolor version in that time.
Its not so much the white in the symbol that's the problem, its the grey and black which makes it look 'dull'
So applying that understanding to things it would probably look pretty good if I simply turned all the black in the var image transparent, doubled the opacity of that image, then (EDIT: left the main image full colour, but removed all the white)?
Of course, I'd have to get it just right, so that there weren't any bits that ended up being totally transparent where they weren't meant to be transparent...
I'm just going to have to down tools now and have a play :P
Thanks Remy
And while I know all the technical stuff, I am not good with colors or image manipulation.
I've completely forgotten the method, and I'm busily re-reading the section in the Tome :P
I can make these quite easily, but I think it would be nice to have a full set of full colour crystals as well
I'll carry on doing a varicolour version for the better crystal shapes I come up with
But I also agree with Sue about doing a full range of actual colored crystal symbols.
Ahawk, I am honoured that you would like to use my textures, and you are welcome to use them in your own maps, but I do not allow redistribution of my artwork, so I'm afraid you can't add my textures to a pack of your own work for others to download.
All these textures and symbols here on this thread and at the Guild will shortly be available in the upcoming community pack that I have heard from a reliable source is about to become a reality. Hopefully my fills and symbols will appear alongside your own beautiful fills and symbols