Topic awaiting preservation: Rambling on the Boogie sig. Observations and questions

My online and computer time has been very restricted of late, so, knowing that I had a couple of days playtime I locked myself into PS and IR and this is the result.

I realise that it is too big for a regular sig as it stands, but I plan to do more work on it.
Actually, the main lesson I took out of this session is the need for planning when making a sig. The more complicated the sig, the more there is a need for careful planning. This is of course true for any artwork
Next time I will create some actions and measure the degree of rotation with the distance I want to move each fragment so that it looks less like the bodge job it does now.
If anyone is interested I have just started making a page for my sigs here. There are only about ten there now but I plan to add more so the load time will increase.
Feeling a bit dizzy, must go and eat, but I want to talk more about making sigs so I'll be back In an hour or so so see you then

There was a discussion here a while back I think it was Jung (the sigginator himself ) who posed the question. Something about the percived dwindling participation in the Big Sig contests and/or the validity of the ***WARNING*** BIG SIG APPROACHING forum itself. I was not around a computer long enough to compose a reply back then but these are my thoughts.

Making a decent sig for these gorgeous forums really got me into Photoshop. By this I mean I was already totally infatuated with my preciousss PS, toyed with it for hours on end, but the advice, encouragement and shear persistance of some inmates dragging me through techniques pointing me back to tutorials I thought I knew, totally opened up a new world for me. Really got me inside into mmmmmmmm Photoshop ~drool~
~vacant pause while photoshop daydreams swaying in time to "You go to my head"
Where were we? Ah yes, the format of the sig form itself is a great teacher. Where I would feel too intimidated to attempt to create a large digital image from scratch, a signature image felt more comfortable.
Once drawn into making sigs, the skills and techniques learned in the process have served me well in all kinds of digital art.
Now it may well be that the Big Sig forum is percived as the "bastard child" of the Asylum, that it should be incorporated back into the Photoshop mmmmmmmm Photoshop forum from whence I believe it came. I am not too sure, but I've surely loved it while it has been here.


[doh]The question I would like to ask is does anyone have any pointers on animated smoke? No not those kind of pointers I want to try making an animated smoking sig not smoking cig Techniques, mini tutes even is what I am looking for. Have I tried myself? Well yes, will I post up the results? They are not worth posting, trust me.[/doh]

(Edited by Tao on 07-07-2005 02:28)

Tao, I love the animation. Excellent work. As far as the sig forum goes, I echo your sentiments exactly. I know I mainly hang out in philosilly forum nowadays polluting the forum with my political rants, but I have been giving thought lately to getting back in the game. It has been far too long since I opened Photoshop for the purpose of fun rather than work, and I guess that is part of the problem. It has become to me synonymous with work and the deadline mentality rather than the original reason I got into it.

As far as a smoking cigs go, you will definately need a lighter or matches, but if you don't do it, you probably shouldn't start. Very bad habit, and one of the few I have not been able to quit.

Perhaps I will try to take part in this month's contest. I always feel bad hiding down in philosilly and seeing how few people actually participte these days.


Ramasax
www.AmericanSerf.us

Tao, check out this site, I usually find tutorials I need from them...
EDIT: http://www.good-tutorials.com/search.php?q=smoke&submit.x=0&submit.y=0) I guess it would help to actually post the link...

Sigs is what caused me to stay here, I forget exactly how I found the Asylum, but I know the sigs forum has kept me coming back for years now... I remember posting my first sig, and that you all hated it



(Edited by Ensellitis on 07-07-2005 05:05)

Thanks for the links Ensellitis I did do a google for a good tutorial but I did not see this collection. It looks like I have been through a lot of them already, but each one tends to give a good hint or tip so it is very worthwhile.
This is what I'm thinking of doing.
The actual smoke must be a repeating pattern, rising upwards (natch) and I think fading and spreading as it rises. So I must have the smoke loop on a seperate layer with perhaps a gradiated mask towards the top. I'm also thinking Liquify is going to come into play here too.
I forgot to add earlier that I started the animated version above while I was "away" using my laptop, which is why the colour is not quite what I intended, and why the animation relies so heavily on Actions.
Tao
[doh] Forgetful me. Thanks for the comments Ramasax, the sig forum has missed you too I don't often go down the philosilly forums, but I have been there this week. You made some excellent points about the erosion of freedoms and rights that I as an Englander found facinating to read thanks.[/doh]

(Edited by Tao on 07-07-2005 12:43)

Someone here has a 'smoking' sig. It's a cigar as I recall... I remember finding a 'face' (unintentional) in the smoke as it curled up. It was very cool...but damned if I can remember who??

quote:

---

NoJive said:

Someone here has a 'smoking' sig. It's a cigar as I
recall... I remember finding a 'face' (unintentional) in the smoke as
it curled up. It was very cool...but damned if I can remember who??

---

eyezaer?

___________________
Emps

The Emperor dot org | Justice for Pat Richard | FAQs: Emperor | Site Reviews | Reception Room

if I went 'round saying I was an Emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!

Yes!!!! =) Give the man a 'Cigar' !! ThangQ Emps. http://cerebralboy.com/syggage/index.php3

(Edited by NoJive on 07-07-2005 23:40)

quote:

---

NoJive said:

Yes!!!! =) Give the man a 'Cigar' !! ThangQ Emps. http://cerebralboy.com/syggage/index.php3

---

Glad to help - I suspect we also have a copy stashed away in the FAQ.

___________________
Emps

The Emperor dot org | Justice for Pat Richard | FAQs: Emperor | Site Reviews | Reception Room

if I went 'round saying I was an Emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!

Wow! I think that animation looks amazing! Nicely done Tao

I just don't have the patience for stuff like that.

--Amerasu--

Thanks for the heads up chaps
Looked though a few tuts, scratched head, decided that I should just "PFL" and see what happens. I know I have spent far too much time looking to see how other people might be doing it and the last four hours or so experimenting with how I imagine the animation should work.
This is my first attempt at *cough* smoking sigs, it's not the finished product yet, but in the doing of it, I have learned a bit more.
If I get time tonight I'll try to improve the quality.

Thoughts/comments/crits or big slices of cake gleefully received.

Maybe make the smoke lighter in color? It's a bit tough to see right now.

And sorry, but I just ate the last slice of cake.

___________________________
Suho: www.liminality.org | Cell 270 | Sig Rotator | the Fellowship of Sup

Crumbs, no cake Fair do's, it still needs more work for a cake reward.
played a bit more with the mask over the smoke layer, I think it may be a tad more visible.

The filesize is a tad smaller too (whoops, two "tads")

Yup, that is more visible. I'll have to get to baking that cake.

quote:

---

Tao said:

whoops, two "tads"

---

Well, you know what they say: two tads are bette than one. Or something like that. Maybe.

___________________________
Suho: www.liminality.org | Cell 270 | Sig Rotator | the Fellowship of Sup

I'm off again on walkabout for the best part of a week, so I'll update any image progression when I get back.
One thing that has been puzzling me is, I remember somewhere in IR there was a function to save a .gif animation discarding any unused layers/frames/colours? to save on filesize. I'm sure it was there but now I can't find it. Was I dreaming?
Big love to all you sig sig sputnicks out there.
Tao

mmmmmm.... cigars..... excellent Tao, I would put a fat feather on the topper of the smoke to fade it out... also (according to some very general laws of physics) it should get wider as it goes up. Although, looking at it... i really like the billowing shape you have now.

So um... Just a fader deal maybe? Dunno about IR, that program is on crack.

Nicely done Tao.
My only suggestion is that the smoke may be a tad (tad) thin, more like steam. Definately on the right track.

Thanks for the comments eyezaer and docilebob I agree with your suggestions. I'm going to try thicker smoke, as what I have now does look a bit like steam. I'll also try that fat feather at the top after I redo the broadness of the smoke.
While I'm doing this I'm going to concentrate on the smoke mask. I think a good mask is key to the effect of billowing smoke.
It was originally your cigar sig that got me thinking about about this effect eyezaer
At first I wanted flames at the bottom and smoke at the top, but that would make for a very large filesize.
~fires up Photoshop~

As I was doing the tao fire sig, I discovered I'd forgotten how to do it
I got this far,

I saved it and opened it up again in IR, imported it into PS, and used the magic wand tool to select/del the #2b0404 in each layer, then take it back across to IR. This is all I got

,,funky but not what I wanted. I guess I'm missing a vital ticked box or something I'm sure I've done this before. Ah well, there y'are
[doh]funky linkage[/doh]

(Edited by Tao on 07-21-2005 00:59)

The plan is to make this flag again and write down the steps I take as I take them, so hopefully I will finish the Flag Animation Tutorial by the end of the weekend.

Has anyone made a PDF using Photoshop CS? I'm asking because I'm thinking of making a copy of the tut' in PDF format. I have made a couple of trial runs which look ok but the total filesize is a lot bigger than the same in say HTML or even Word. Also the text in the PDF does not appear to be selectable for C n P.

Boogie Boogie...

I love that flag sig... Very sweet.

Peace,

Thanks jung 'tis appreciated.
What happened to the weekend? There I was making all sorts of promises about what I will do over the weekend, and it has nearly gone.
I don't think I will be able to complete the tut tonight and I'm away again tomorrow for a while so it will have to wait. I'm sure you will all cope with the disappointment, sorry.

[doh]delinquent fingers[/doh]

(Edited by Tao on 09-05-2005 00:27)

I've been playing in PS CS, MMMmmmm Photoshop,,,
so I thought I'd try to make a tutorial in PDF form. This is the first "final" draft that I've been working on all night so please tell me what you think.
Tutorials don't come easy to me, I find that I'm a little too disorganized for it to flow naturally.

The Boogie flag^^ is the final result. Here is the PDF to dissect. Also, just because it is the season of mellow fruitfulness in the mist here is the rar(ed) PSD too.
I'm a bit too tired to write anymore now so see y'all later, or leave a message in my cell.

Ah yes, I made an Action to help with the process here it is If anyone tries either, please let me know how you found it.
Tao

Tao: Very cool mon. You've managed to capture the billowing of the fabric very well. Having spent years flying kites with 'sky-garbage' attached I know these things. =)
When you next tackle something similar consider the wind a 'ribbon' and use the pen tool to bend/curve the wind as you wish.

The only other observation... in a wind that stiff, the staff itself would be flexing.

Haven't checked out the tutorial yet but maybe the GN would be interested.
Anyway... great work. =)

Thanks NoJive, I like the suggestion, I'll keep that in mind for the next time. I'm still hoping someone will look at the PDF tutorial to see if they can follow it. I am too close to it to get any proper perspective at this point in time.
:::Tao:::