MA NAH MA DOGPILE LOL!

[beandelphiki]

My commentary on House fandom's elicia8 wank:


I knew that she was a huge fake all along. I mean, I gave her the benefit of the doubt...but I just had that sinking feeling, you know? I haven't been commenting to her journal lately because my workplace is trying to kill me I was really starting to feel manipulated, and I didn't like it.

I don't know why other people didn't notice it, too...it was really obvious that she was just Photoshopping screencaps.

For example:

The charcoal portrait of House is clearly a fake.

To prove it, I'll do the same thing.

Here's a screencap from the pilot episode:



And here's the same cap, put through Photoshop's "chalk and charcoal" filter. Note that the realism here is because I spent several minutes adjusting the sliders to get the maximum amount of detail:



...See how easy that is? I'm sure I could do an even better job with a program more advanced than Photoshop.

Also, the "scribblism" portraits?

TOTALLY a Photoshop filter. I'll post my examples of how that can be done just as soon as I figure out which filter it is.



IN CONCLUSION, 'tis a puzzlement how people don't think things through these days. I say they didn't get enough Sesame Street as kids.

On that note, have some Sesame Street!

Comments

[siegeengine.livejournal.com]

oh, that is so sad! :(
I mean, the pictures are still cool, I just don't see why anyone would try to pass them off as... well, ok, I guess I could figure that one out.

Still, sad. :(

[siegeengine.livejournal.com]

oh, nice detective work, btw. ;)

[beandelphiki.livejournal.com]

Thanks. All fandom HAS is our own honesty, you know? In a way. I mean, we don't get PAID.

The best part of fandom is the true INTEGRITY of the people producing unauthorized derivative work with someone else's characters. Where are we if we don't protect that??

I spent several minutes of my time giving uneducated feedback on her work, and I really feel used now.

[teyla]

Ahahahahaha I can't stop laughing. I almost missed my bus this morning because of this wank. I couldn't stop reading it!

For the record: even if you trace and then "only" shade with a pencil without adding color or any stylistic variations, it's still fucking hard work. I know. I tried.

I quite distinctly remember a post on Licia's journal where she explicitly stated: DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRACE!

Ahaha. Seriously, House fandom. Could you be any more wanky?

Not commenting on the whole photoshop theory, because that one is just too ridiculous.

[beandelphiki.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I didn't start until 3 pm, because I DEFINITELY would have been late for work if I'd started in the morning as I usually do. (I was just covering a shift for someone sick. Tuesday was supposed to be my day off, boo.) My mom got SO pissed at me this morning because she wanted to check her email, and I'm in photoshop doing THAT.

LOL. Couldn't resist.

Not commenting on the whole photoshop theory, because that one is just too ridiculous.

You know, I really wish I'd seen the posts where they explained exactly how that's supposed to work. I'd like to know exactly what their theory IS.

[teyla]

There was no real theory. There was just a lot of omg how terrible and jesus I am shocked and amazed, and then there were a couple of images with Licia's pics laid over some screenshots.

There are some links to salvaged "evidence" in the wank report on my journal here.

[theclamsman.livejournal.com]

Um.

I've been using Photoshop for...oh, since 1991.

There is no Photoshop filter that will allow you to create something like that. None.

(And yes, I read the threads of the wank you linked to...)

It's possible that she could've used the photo as a base and traced over it IN Photoshop if she has a Wacom (but even with a Wacom it's difficult to reproduce varying pencil strokes (!!!) unless you're really, really highly advanced), but no "advanced program" (WTF are you House crackheads on, anyway, to wank about something like this?) will automatically create all of that. There has to be some hand working involved.

Also, where's the sin in using reference photos for tracing? Do you know how hard it is to actually trace accurately? I don't think non-artists actually do know that tracing IS a hard thing to do if you don't know what you're doing (it takes skill to be able to reproduce the full range of blacks to whites and know what bases to use for colors as well, especially with photographs); part of that proof can be found in the really BAD tattoo artists like the one asshole who did my right arm. He bragged about having an MFA from some art school and I gavce him a very clean line drawing to trace and fuck--if you'd seen his tracing, you would've thought that he was retarded or something. COULD NOT TRACE FOR SHIT. I should've gone running at that point, but I regretfully didn't.

The truth is, lots of the artists, including Drew Struzan, who've done hyper-realistic drawings of actors for posters, trace. Some do not. But tracing isn't a vile sin anyway, and I really wish people would stop stigmatizing it, including the artists who lie and say they don't trace...and I expect that from what the wank is saying, this House artist is saying that she didn't trace? If she did say so, then she's a dumbass and should've just owned up to the basework, or not said anything about her methods to begin with. Either way, some of her end products that I've seen look rather nice.

The example "scribbling" thing you give above is a very, very poor example, bean. It looks nothing like the charcoal drawing she did. You're insulting my intelligence and skill as an artist and I'm disappointed in you.

Also?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elicia8/592608571/in/set-72157600123466519/

That's clearly a drawing. The eyes are off.

I did this drawing eons ago and ebayed it to some X-Men fan. Who wants to tell me that it's a Photoshop filter?

[beandelphiki.livejournal.com]

(Breaking character to say:)

OOH YAY YOU COMMENTED! I wasn't actually expecting you to see this, but I'm thrilled that you did. Because I've never met ANYONE else with your talent for Photoshop; so if you say it can't be done, then that's it. It can't be done. Seriously, thank you for that.

As for the rest...

1) I agree that tracing IS hard. I know because I stink at it. I always seem to connect the wrong lines in the wrong places or something. I'd almost rather draw, and I absolutely can't draw.

2) She has, in fact, referred to tracing on multiple occasions. She wrote a tutorial once in which she said it was perfectly fine to trace, especially the first few times you draw someone in order to get to know their faces. She's also recommended to other artists who are having trouble getting what they want to try "tracing landmarks" and see if that helps them learn the proportions of the people they're trying to draw.

I'm not sure if she's ever actually said that her drawings are totally freehand. I think this could be a miscommunication/misunderstanding on the parts of the wankers.

3) I'm pretty sure the drawing you linked is the one she did after she BADLY injured her hand, and it was still healing. She was terribly upset over it. :P

It's still a million times better than anything I could come up with.

4) Kickass work, btw. I honestly don't think I knew that you draw.

[theclamsman.livejournal.com]

Re #4) LOL are you kidding me? Art is my life. :O "Real" drawing is a bit passé for me at this time because most of the crap I have to do (the stuff I get paid for) is mostly technical crap that I sketch up on paper and then translate to the computer. I do love to traditionally draw, though, so I always keep a sketchbook handy. The above drawing of Wolverine was done years ago when the first movie came out and when I couldn't think of any other way to make some quick cash (I'd no knowledge of any free freelancing places online...had I know that contests existed or whatever, I would've started back then D:).

My art teacher in high school called me the human photocopy machine, because I can basically just translate whatever into a drawing...but I'm not the greatest. I know that. Personally, I believe that I suck some major donkey at perspective, so I would suck at designing buildings and crap... XD! But I'm really good at portraiture/organic items. Oh, and I suck major ass at oil painting, too. I have no patience for it. But give me some colored pencils...mmm. Next up I would love to learn how to use gradient meshes expertly so that I can make photorealistic vector drawings like the crazy modern masters (Yukio Miyamoto, Takashi Morisaki, Bert Monroy) I've seen.

I do plan on illustrating up a children's book sometime soon. I have so many projects going on at once and some new debt to cover (Poot's medical bills/the loan Chelle took out) that I can't find the time to relax and just do it. But yes...drawing has always been my life.

As for the wankers, ZOMG SOMEONE TRACED WILSON??!! NO WAI. :O