Hawks

True. I was going to remove that as Wikipedia told me it can open SVG (oddly then they're wrong or there's something up with my copy of GIMP as I can't open them) because I also had that bit under filetypes. If you have pros/cons of any graphics program I'd like to hear them, I've just been thinking of really general ones.

Reserved for proofed/final copy.

I'm developing a list of programs, their pros/cons, costs, etc. for newcomers who want to get into graphic art. The only programs I have extensive experience with are Paint and GIMP, so if you use/used another program, please help by offering your opinion of those programs. When I've gathered most of the information, I'll edit up the finalized post. Also I will be adding ANY program that has anything to do with graphics (I'll add a second section for art in general) So yes, I must sadly include the awful ones as well... (so people know what they've got? any justifiable reason?) *To show the great programs from the bad, I've added a rating. So if you post about a program, rate it on a scale of five, 0 being awful, 5 being amazing.* Content: Intro/format of entries Either a short dictionary area or Refer to Lb's Dictionary if you don't know some of these. Alphabetized list of programs Actual program 'reviews' The entries will follow this format, if you have something else I should add, please tell me: Program Name: The Gallery's User Rating: Type: (Raster/Vector [for non-graphics, point of the program]) Website: Cost: Newest (Stable) Version: Best for: Uses these file formats: Pros: Cons: Review: Current Graphics Program List: GIMP Paint Adobe PhotoShop Adobe PhotoShop Elements Adobe Illustrator InkScape Paint.NET Paint Shop Pro Corel Other Art Programs: Apophysis Blender 3D Terragen 3D Studio Max Maya InDesign Cinema 4D Vue Adobe After Effects Final Cut Pro iMovie Windows Movie Maker Video-Editing: Sony Vegas Adobe Premire Windows Movie Maker [spoiler=The GIMP (The GNU Image Manipulation Program)] Program Name: The GIMP (The GNU Image Manipulation Program) The Gallery's User Rating: Type: Raster Website: http://www.gimp.org Cost: Free Newest (Stable) Version: GIMP 2.6.7 Best for: All-around Uses these file formats: .xcf (native), .psd, opens most raster graphics files (.png, .jpg, etc.), opens .svg (but not .eps) Pros: -Free -Good for beginners (since it's free and has a resemblance to PS) -Many tutorials -Easy to expand your brushes, fonts, and patterns -Newest version can also use most PS brushes -Opens most file formats -Open source, so there are many plugins and add-ons for it -Works well on PC; both Linux and Windows Cons: -May start up slowly on slower/older computers -Not designed for Mac and can only be used on OS X Review: [spoiler=Adobe Photoshop] Program Name: Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop, PS The Gallery's User Rating: Type: Raster Website: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/compare/ Cost: $699 US Newest (Stable) Version: Photoshop CS4 Best for: All-around Uses these file formats: .psd (native), most raster graphics files, most vector graphics files. Pros: -Powerful graphics editor that works with other Adobe products -Can be purchased as a suite of programs -Industry standard -Works well on both Mac and Windows -Many tutorials -Easy to add fonts, brushes, and patterns -Has a detailed brush options dialog and more layer options than GIMP Cons: -Rather expensive Review: [spoiler=Paint] Program Name: Microsoft Paint, MSPaint, Paint The Gallery's User Rating: Type: Raster Website: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/mspaint_overview.mspx?mfr=true Cost: Included with all Windows OS Newest (Stable) Version: N/A Best for: Pixels Uses these file formats: .bmp (native), .png, .jpg, gif, .tiff. Older versions may not have drop down 'Save as...' options; you must add the .xxx to the end of the file name, and may have restrictions on which file types can be opened/saved. Pros: -If you use Windows, you have it -Easy to use tools -Quick to learn -Great for traditional pixelling Cons: -Limited in your file saving options; can't adjust quality -Does not lend itself to 'serious' graphics editing Review: [spoiler=Paint.NET] Program Name: Paint.NET The Gallery's User Rating: Type: Raster Website: http://www.getpaint.NET Cost: Free Newest (Stable) Version: Paint.NET v3.5.2 Best for: All-around Uses these file formats: Pros: Cons: -This program only runs on newer Windows-based OS (including XP, Vista, and 7) Review: [spoiler=Blender 3D]Program Name: Blender 3D The Gallery's User Rating: 9.5 Type: 3D Website: http://blender.org Cost: Free/Open source Newest (Stable) Version: 2.49 Best for: Animation, modeling, games, compositing, video editing, CAD. Uses these file formats: .blend (Also imports many different types of files, including 3d models and mocap, many different video formats, many different raster graphics formats) Pros: Free, open source program that is directly comparable in features to proprietary software such as Maya, Modo, Houdini and in many areas, 3DS Max. The interface of the unstable version as of this writing, 2.5, is incredible and extremely usable, although some people find Blender confusing at first you will find that its interface is incredibly flexible and makes all the sense in the world. The pace of development is insane, and so far the features added in each release have been quite groundbreaking with no sign of stopping. Cons: The stable interface (2.49 as of this writing) is inconsistent in many areas, and there are some big features missing from the stable version like smoke simulation, more advanced NURBS, global illumination/pathtracing/indirect lighting, advanced particle simulation such as SPH particles, good hair simulation, volumetrics, ngons, and a lot of other stuff that is being implemented in the unstable version. Review: Although the stable version lacks many features (See above), it is an excellent 3D program, the only open source graphics program I know of that is comparable to its proprietary counterparts. The interface certainly takes a different approach to what most people are used to, (Its interface is the antithesis of the GIMP) but it so happens that this approach is far better, if you ask me, than even what we normally use. It has many features that people are willing to pay a lot for, such as fluid and cloth simulation. [spoiler=Final Cut Pro] Program Name: Final Cut Pro The Gallery's User Rating: 8 Type: professional video editing software Website: http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/ Cost: $999.99 (Final Cut Studio) Newest (Stable) Version: Final Cut Pro 7 Best for: editing short & feature length films Pros: Very popular video editing software among the media industry making it a great tool to learn if you ever want to get into the industry Cons: Expensive, Mac only Review: I use Final Cut Pro for my work editing footage to be place on the internet and for what I use it for on a daily bases I wouldn't recommend using Final Cut Pro unless your creating high quality works like a short film for a school project or something in that nature. For most your home videos you are better off using a simpler product like Final Cut Express which is about $700 cheaper or iMovie or some other inexpensive video editing software, but if you are editing or making a feature length or short film this software is for you. [spoiler=iMovie] Program Name: iMovie The Gallery's User Rating: 9 Type: basic video editing software Website: http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/ Cost: Free with Apple computer Newest (Stable) Version: iMovie '09 Best for: editing home videos & small projects Pros: simple, easy to use, free, upload directly to youtube Cons: Mac only Review: Very easy software to use, great for home videos or projects that need basic editing. All around great for simple projects. [spoiler=3D Studio Max] Program Name: 3D Studio Max: The Gallery's User Rating: 9.5 Type: 3D Website: http://usa.autodesk.com Cost: $3,900 Newest (Stable) Version: 3D Studio Max 2010 Best for: Modeling, animation, 3D. Uses these file formats: .mdl , .3ds , .obj Pros: Industry standard for most 3D work Cons: Interface can be daunting, although improved in 2010 [spoiler=Terragen] Program Name: Terragen The Gallery's User Rating: 9 Type: 3D (landscape) Website: www.planetside.co.uk Cost: free for basic, $50 for Terragen, $500+ for Terragen 2 Newest (Stable) Version: Terragen 2 Best for: Landscape design Uses these file formats: .ter , .srf , .atm , .tgo , .tgd Pros: Easy to create high quality landscapes and animations, cheaper (relatively) compared to other 3D alternatives) Cons: Is very procedural based so may not always be able to get pin point perfection

I know you said you probably aren't doing weapons but if you have some vague ideas I'd love to take a shot at it anyway.

I suggest my annoying ideas that don't work anywhere... BUT: 1) Write something similar to the 'Community Spotlight' for TET a while ago. That essentially gives info on the Gallery, interviews some members, maybe features some art, or a tut/vid of how someone makes art. I made up a 'skeleton/template' for Falador and would be willing to make up one for the Gallery, if you'd like to help fill it. Then we just need admin support and a global announcement... Which is my second idea. 2) See above.

-Question: Do we really need the 'Test your sig' thread anymore? When you change your sig, it displays it exactly how it will look on the forum... I've wondered that since we upgraded to the old 'new' (phbb3?) boards because they gave a preview, and these boards do essentially the same. And http://forum.tip.it/topic/34888-searching-for-an-image-artist-look-here/ this thread should either be updated or replaced. When I joined ~3 years ago, this thread was out of date, now it's rather more so. And at one point I was on it, now I'm not (maybe I asked to be taken off, idk). Anyway, that's what I think. And a program list, kind of like this would be useful. I could put it together, if those who have used the other programs want to give pros/cons of them (any of them, I'll just compile the lists into entries) Program Name: The GIMP (The GNU Image Manipulation Program) Website: http://www.gimp.org Cost: Free Etc. Etc. I'll make a topic to be stickied when it's done.

Dragostea din tei by O-Zone AKA 'The Numa Numa Song'.

I wouldn't buy it on principal. I'm sick of all these iThings. (Look on Twitter... It's funny in a childish way.) To me practicality is also very low on the list with this thing. If I wanted a touchscreen I'd buy a legit tablet not some oversized iphone.

3/3. I had to think about the bread one for a moment, and it occurred to me that... Meh, my thought process: What about tortillas? You don't put eggs in them. Do they count as bread? Hmm. If it's wrong I'm arguing that point... Then find a recipe... So I assumed that the general opinion of the public was that yes, bread requires eggs. Then I thought and decided that it being TIF and also that the general public is stupid, that the answer's probably no. That video you posted was disturbing Archi.

C-SPAN actually was filing a Freedom of the Press request about that. Which is funny because they're in the slightly liberal category (and should therefore be biased towards Obama... One assumes they're trying to get their ratings up.) Obama also made some sort of statement banning Fox from the White House; I'm not sure how long that lasted or if it's still happening. I have also decided that if I am ever elected to the Senate/House I shall stand up and read the full text of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. BECAUSE I CAN! And it's more entertaining and useful than any other crap that ends up in there. And being a person who generally likes FOX I must say Glenn Beck disturbs me.

I think I have that book around here somewhere. My dad does this stuff for a living, we probably have 100 books about different languages. I've done bits with HTML (like a working text site with pics), I believe that what I learned is horrendously out of standard so yeah. Fiddled with VB (5 I believe) until I somehow killed the interface I was using and it never came back (I think because the HD died...) I have a book about learning BlitzBasic to code games with only it didn't come with the compiler and I'm too cheap to pay the $10 for it. (I was going to make a topic, but I guess I'll just ask here) What language should I learn? I want to at least be able to make games that would run on a graphing calculator (so assembly or C I believe) or design a simple RPG game, maybe eventually design an open-source d20 game master app or summat. I plan on taking my school's programming (and network/repair) class next year, I think they teach some form of C and possibly Java.

^ Love that BLEEPING SPLENDID bit. I really like the scorpion king one. I'm not much for the whole Avatar thing (still haven't seen the movie) but it is very well done (I can't say that I like it because for some reason I don't really but it is probably the best of them.). I saw the wips of the Queen painting and agree with the above that her face is a bit odd; to me it's also too squareish. I like Follow Your Heart, if you look at it for a bit, I like the cartoony faces, the roundness makes sense. Methinks if more of us posted random art assignments (most of which are probably rather good) we could get more responses and activity. Plus there has to be a bunch of us taking art classes atm.

Google Obama's most recent approval rating. It's down to (if you estimate on the high side) 57%. And at least 65% of Americans don't want this healthcare crap. Honestly. I saw this on Fox the other day (they were using CNN or MSNBC's stats) and laughed, because it's the people who are biased towards him who are saying this. (Proof: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34451672/ns/politics-white_house/ ) And to above. The Dems could have shoved anything they wanted to through Congress. And they wouldn't have read it either. Obama said he wanted 'transparency' in his presidency; no closed-door meetings, all legislature posted online for 48-72 prior to the vote. What is there now? Closed-door meetings with NO GOP whatsoever and bills that NO ONE has read.

Just have a thought about things that are already open-source; you'd let those be posted, or snippets of them, right (obviously not the whole source code, that'd be pointless and long)? If they fiddled with GIMP's code and found something interesting they could post it, yes?

Methinks that a more random contest (not just sigs) would be cool, with each week being a different style of art. So digipainting, traditional art, rl painting, different types of photography, art in styles of different artists (Monet or Calder or da Vinci would be neat), freestyle... I'm painting shoes right now. Or rather painting on shoes. When they're done I shall show them to the world.

I like shoes. Mebbe NoFuns can make us a Chuck Taylor?

Any particular reason? (Just want to know so I can think about it and maybe change it)

Thanks to above various posters who read it. I will add you in as supporters eventually. I'm kind of working on bonuses atm, specific ideas would be really helpful. and would be interested in ideas for making quests non-linear, if you have specific ones, especially members' quests PM me or post it. :thumbsup:

In my experience in coloring things you never use the burn or dodge tools, just tints/shades of the color you want. I tend to use the smudge tool a lot when I color stuff. It looks quite good though.

@ bballer and quelmotz: Thanks for the support! @quelmotz: I have been thinking about bonuses for 'classes', but I feel it would change the dynamics of the game too much; I always hated the skill point limitations in D&D (that non-class skills cost 2 points/level instead of 1). I'll think about how that could work with minimal problems to those who just want to level everything... @oXMutilateXo: You obviously didn't read the suggestion. If you had read it, you would know that I addressed RPing worlds by having a whole section on how they could better serve roleplayers, especially since there's already one.

That's odd because I wrote a whole paper about artificial sweeteners and never once read (except for sucralose) that they have a laxative effect. I know there's an amino acid deficiency where people can't digest aspartame/phenylalanine, have you looked into that, Ouchy? I figure if it's going to kill me, it's going to kill me and there's not much I can do about it. My dad's been drinking Diet Coke for years and isn't dead so... How does drinking diet pop make you gain weight? Mah favorite sports-type drink: Powerade Zero. Tastes amazing, no carbs, no calories.

Well. I'll start off with a list of things I want to accomplish and some detail-type things along with that. 1. Get mah license. Shan't be hard, as long as I pass my test. So that's to be done in February. 2. Be more active in Falador and TET. I need ideas for both. If you have something you think would make an awesome event or an awesome RP, PM me. 3. Get a job. (See below) 4. Not get seriously injured. 5. I guess that's pretty much it. Regarding a job. This is what I'd like to do: Sell polymer clay charms and such artsy-fartsy type stuff online, through Etsy or summat like that. 2 problems. I'm not 18, and I don't know how to ask my parents about being able to do this, nor to set up an additional PayPal account to pay for the listings. I've developed a good list of things I could sell, based on things I've seen on Etsy and DA. I did manage to talk to my mom about that, and she noted that most of the things on my list are copyrighted (mainly by Nintendo... :P) Obviously, I don't want the feds coming after me for selling some little knockoff Super Mushroom charms. So of my list there's like two things I could pull off as not copyrighted: tetrominoes (which still are pretty much Nintendo's) and jester hats. So in preparing to post this, I've come up with another idea, that can't really be copyrighted by anyone as it's so proliferate. Medieval/Fantasy style weaponry armor, items, in the form of keychains, charms, smallish statue type things, etc. (Essentially things from RuneScape and D&D) Regarding commissions: I'd rather not do that, at least not through DA. If I can arrange it through some other site, or Etsy, that would be okay though. I'm also slowly working on getting some experience with making chainmail so I can sell that too. Has anyone had experience with this kind of thing or any recommendations on where I can get information? Advice on where to buy bulk materials is good too...

^ Triscuits have 42g carb/serving if I remember correctly... Wheat Thins have something like 21g, and I'm unsure of fat content, although I think Wheat Thins also have less fat. (A Triscuit serving size may also be less than Wheat Thins... Lemme check.) Meh. I dunno where I got 42 from, but they do have more carbs in a smaller serving: http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/triscuit-baked-whole-wheat-wafers-original-flavor-3872.htm - 7 Triscuits, 22g carbs, 5g fat, 140cal http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/nabisco/original-wheat-thins - 16 Wheat Thins, 22g carbs, 6g fat, 140cal Peanut butter is a relatively healthy and cheap way to get protein and filling food.

Wie lange sollen wir noch warten - Sportfreunde Stiller German song names are so fun.

What I would really like to know is why there is a large misconception that diet pop and/or all artificial sweeteners are bad for you. Do you think this is true, and why? And also why everyone thinks 'health drinks' (like Vitamin Water, Propel, general flavored water type things) are good for you. I'll wait a bit before I add my opinion. But this is for general discussion of what to drink, I guess. We definitely know that if you stop drinking sugared pop, it helps you lose weight.