Object of the Fortnight - Discussion thread.

[LionsDragon]

3 hours ago, Pixey said:

I vote for @LionsDragon to pick the theme and then we can get this on the road again

 

2 hours ago, DrewDale said:

I vote for @LionsDragon to be the host. I'm sick to the back teeth of this comp before it even gets going again. 

 

*facepalm* I vote I learn to keep my big mouth shut.

 

 

[Pixey]

Thank you again @MJW - I used the Shape Maker to draw the shape of the tennis racquet, and thus used it as a 'stencil' to go back and forth and make the gradients.  The 'plugs' were just rounded ovals and maneuvered into place.

 

 

I'm really sorry that @DrewDale is upset and I can't really blame him.  It is a fact that we already have dwindling entries in our competitions.  I once suggested that the winner of a comp, sits the next one out, in order to give others a chance - but it wasn't agreed upon.

 

I am in touch with both @DrewDale and @LionsDragon to see how to go forward with this OOTF.

 

EDIT:  We are back on track and @DrewDale with start another thread

 

 

[MJW]

Thank you very much, welshblue! If I can find time, I'll think about writing a tut for it. It's actually mostly just various applications of the Texture Shader and Texture Merger, but I think it might be useful to explain the procedures step by step, since the Texture Merger is such a complex and confusing plugin.

 

The feature I think turned out best is the ferrule (the metal part that holds the eraser). It actually wasn't too complicated. I made a rectangle of the correct size, then added the little notches in the profile to make the ridges. I duplicated the layer and flipped in both vertically, then horizontally, to make the notches on each side and both ends:

I then ran the Texture Object Rounder. I think I ran a few iterations of the Texture Smoother to smooth it out, then used rectangular selections to trim the very ends a tiny bit (followed by Transparent  to Transparent Black).   I generated a vertical grid, blurred it slightly, and mapped it horizontally in onto the center of the rounded ferrule. I made a texture map consisting of three white-on-black blurred dots, then used the Texture Merger to subtract them to produce the indentations on each end. The shading was done using the Texture Shader in Reflection Map mode.

 

The off-angle view was produced using my beta plugin, Texture View Skewer. That's a plugin I would love to make into a released plugin, but can't quite figure out how to make it work the way I'd like it to work.

 

(I actually made the ferrule slightly too long, and resized in the final shaded image using Move Selected Pixels. Very kludgy! I intend to fix it in original height maps, but was afraid I might not get around to it before the submission deadline.)

[dipstick]

That is one seriously real looking pencil MJW. I would imagine it would fool most people.

[Pixey]

I concur - what a fabulous pencil and I've always wished that @MJW would do more tutorials, as his plugins are fantastic.  I play with them all the time, but I'm sure I don't know half of their potential

[MJW]

@welshblue, to use the Texture View Skewer:

 

Before running the Texture Shader on a height map:

 

Duplicate the height map layer (to save it for later use).

Run the Texture Shader on the top layer.

Copy the unshaded height map to the clipboard.

Run the Texture View Skewer on the shaded image, making sure the Use Clipboard for Texture Map option is selected.

 

For computational reasons, the Texture View Skewer always moves the viewpoint to the left. If, as is commonly the case, you want the viewpoint to be downward, then before copying the height map to the clipboard, rotate the entire image clockwise, and after running the Texture View Skewer, rotate it back counterclockwise.

 

If you have multiple shaded layers, copy the merged shaded image into the clipboard, then paste it into a new layer or image.

Disable the shaded layers, and enable the height map layers.

Copy the merged height-map image into the clipboard.

Run the Texture View Skewer on the merged shaded image.

(The point being, you need to run the View Skewer on the merged shaded image, using the merged height maps.)

 

I always run Transparent to Transparent Black before running any plugin that might be affected by the height of transparent pixels.

 

The biggest problem with the Texture View Skewer is that it doesn't foreshorten or perspectively converge the skewed image, so that has to be done as a post-processing step. I'm trying to come up with a method to combine that into the plugin.

 

(The current the Texture View Skewer is something of a hack, but I've used it a lot.)

[Pixey]

Someone just PM'd me to say that my red shoe looked too perfect to have been made in PDN and accused me of using a Stock Image.  I could not add the .xaml of the shoe I outlined in my PM back to them, so I am adding it here for them to see that I outlined a red shoe from a picture - found on the web - and made the shape in Shape Maker and then I colored it myself.

 

I attach the PDN for the proof:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4wust7y6sktqvdl/2nd before flatten.pdn?dl=0

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dkhz3bp4fdm2s24/RED SHOE.xaml?dl=0

 

I hope this settles this

 

 

 

 

[lynxster4]

Jeez!  We all know what an accomplished artist you are @Pixey and you would never...

 

Guess what?  I made a ShapeMaker shoe outline, too.  Don't see how a shoe could be made any other way... (you just 'colored' your better)  

[Pixey]

46 minutes ago, welshblue said:

Maybe post a link to the image so that the OP can see that there's just an outline and no similarity to the stock image ?

 

Hoops.  And jumping through them ...

 

But it IS similar to the stock image - that's why the OP complained thinking it was stock   I made it exactly like it in PDN.  Is that not allowed?   That's why I've attached the PDN with all my layers.

 

I take the meaning of "No Stock allowed" to mean that you don't just copy and paste an image.  Am I wrong?  If so I will remove the entry as I "imitated" the shoe in PDN.

 

P.S.  Also, in case anyone thought I used stock for the Tennis Racquet, here is the PDN:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zcj5p8k9islajb5/before flatten.pdn?dl=0

[Seerose]

 Dear @Pixey! What a bloody potato. You do not need something like that.  

[Woodsy]

@Pixey please don't pull your entry! If you're the only person that has used a stock image as an example I'll eat your shoe. 

 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2018 by Woodsy

[toe_head2001]

I clarified this point in the past:

 

On 4/4/2017 at 3:29 PM, toe_head2001 said:

You can use any image for reference, just don't use it in your image. That is to say, re-create it using paint.net; no copy & paste.

Ref: https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/110796-object-of-the-fortnight-–-discussion-thread/?do=findComment&comment=529401

 

As far I as I know, the rules haven't changed.

[Pixey]

Thank you @toe_head2001 That's exactly how I made it .... I re-created the shoe in PDN.  (Sorry I'm out of Reps right now.)

[Pixey]

@welshblue - I guess @lynxster4 would be the one to answer this ............... but I'd say GO for it  ..... shoes are shoes and not many entries so far.  My 2cents

[lynxster4]

As long as the boot has a high heel on it!  

[barbieq25]

I've heard this before...there is a reason Pixey was voted Queen of Paint.NET. Pixey's work really is that good. I've seen very few artists who can create a realistic image without a reference image. Have you seen the amount of layers that she used? My guess is that some had even been merged. 

 

The way Pixey has worked is very valid & I work that way too sometimes. It is a fabulous shoe & image. I enjoyed looking at the different layers & marvelled at her skill. Well done Pixey!

 

 

Edited March 28, 2018 by barbieq25
Fixed typo.

[barbieq25]

Out of rep points but yep, agree. I remember the PMs too. We are of an age where we appreciated the time it takes to craft things & not into instant gratification.

 

I wore red patent leather shoes (NOT stilettos - too old for that) & matching handbag to my son's wedding. I'd love Pixey's shoe though  

[DrewDale]

With only 3 days to go, only 3 entries by 2 members in the High heel OOTF. Any thoughts on extending it by another week ? 

[Pixey]

No, I don't think extending it another week would bring in anymore entries   Thanks @DrewDale

[DrewDale]

23 hours ago, Pixey said:

No, I don't think extending it another week would bring in anymore entries   Thanks @DrewDale

OK. I will close is on the due by date. Shame there is so few participants. 

[Maximilian]

I believe I can submit an entry if I am given one more week, although I suppose it's too late for asking an extension.

[MJW]

The OOTF rules forbid the use of photographs. Does that extend to using equirectangular photographs as reflection maps? I can understand why it might, but on the other hand, the image isn't of the the object, itself, just the surrounding environment.

[DrewDale]

Thoughts / opinion on OOTF. 
Once again a very low turnout for entries, should the comp be ended due to lack of interest ? or should there be a more flexible rules set up to make it easier for members to take part ? For example, using photos as @MJW mentions above ⬆️ or even using an image to create an object ? 

 

All suggestions welcome, only two people entering a comp that has 2 weeks to create and submit an entry is not much of a competition IMO. 

Edited April 29, 2018 by DrewDale

[Woodsy]

The reason I stopped competing is because it looked like photos were being used for some entries. IMO.

I can't and won't compete against photos.

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Woodsy

[MJW]

I don't think the comp should be ended. Even though the last two themes attracted few entries, the "Pencil" theme before that had ten entries, and the recent "Umbrella" theme had eight.

 

I certainly don't think photos should be used as the objects, themselves. I was just asking if photos can be used for producing reflections on objects. I'd be happy to live by whatever the rule is. Maybe the best rule is a clear-cut, no photos as part of the final image.

 

I'm not sure which entries Woodsy is saying used photos, or what specifically is meant by "using" photos. Pixey's shoe entry used a photo in the sense that a photographic image was traced over to produce the shape of the object and its highlights, but I think that's entirely within the rules. I will say, though, that I prefer themes that don't depend largely on tracing, and I suspect they attract more entrees. For instance, for the pencil theme I used photos (and actual pencils) only to get the proportions, since pencils are quite geometric, so they can be produced more or less from scratch. Objects as complex and non-symmetric as tennis rackets and shoes pretty much require a trace-and-color approach, which while technically challenging, isn't, to me, as interesting. (BTW, I thought "Radio" was a fine theme; I had some good ideas.)

I don't know why the "Cherry" theme hasn't gotten more entries. Maybe cherries are just too similar to apples, so there's a bit of been-there-done-that. I was working on an entry, but ran out of time.