Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: maddafinga on April 03, 2013, 08:34:47 PM

Title: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 03, 2013, 08:34:47 PM
So if a guy has been away from the game for a couple of years, how tough an adjustment is it for him to come back?

Should I expect to entirely suck for a few months again? 

Will my SA and gunnery be garbage for a year or so? 

Just curious. 

I'm drinking some fine single malt tonight, and hoping to get in the game tomorrow, maybe.

Is there some trick to getting my old name back in the game?

Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: SPKmes on April 03, 2013, 08:44:39 PM
Don't know...never been gone that long

Yes you should...I will be more than happy to help you feel that way for the first few weeks back

Hope so ...see above...this won't work in my favour if it isn't

that's perfectly human

have some of that tomorrow before you get on...as this will also help me with the two questions answered above

I haven't seen anyone with your old name and it has been a while so it should be released...just check with the office if it isn't

 :D :D :D :D     :cheers:


Welcome back Madda ..... Been building/crafting any more good stuff since you left?
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: Dragon Tamer on April 03, 2013, 08:50:04 PM
I was away for about a year playing some other games. When I came back, I picked up on my skills in about a week and actually gained a lot of new skills in that same week. So I don't think it will be too long before you get your skills back.
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 03, 2013, 08:50:48 PM
Don't know...never been gone that long

Yes you should...I will be more than happy to help you feel that way for the first few weeks back

Hope so ...see above...this won't work in my favour if it isn't

that's perfectly human

have some of that tomorrow before you get on...as this will also help me with the two questions answered above

I haven't seen anyone with your old name and it has been a while so it should be released...just check with the office if it isn't

 :D :D :D :D     :cheers:


Welcome back Madda ..... Been building/crafting any more good stuff since you left?

Heya man, worked on a very few drawing projects, but that's about it for artwork.  I've started restoring and honing vintage straight razors, and that's taken up a lot of my time as of late, but it's cool and a fun use of my hands.  

For Christmas I got a digital drawing pad, so I've just got software for that and have very recently been trying to learn the software and get a feel for using it instead of drawing right on the paper.  It's different for sure, but still very fun.  

Great to hear from you again!
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: Soulyss on April 03, 2013, 09:09:05 PM
Madda!

Great to see you'll be back in the skies soon :)
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 03, 2013, 09:10:56 PM
Madda!

Great to see you'll be back in the skies soon :)


Hell I'll be glad to get back up! 

I'm glad to see that there will be some familiar names still up.

Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: Changeup on April 03, 2013, 09:25:46 PM
I've been back for 7 months and still suck.  Wait....I sucked before I left!

Welcome back old friend.  We can do some DA work.  You'll be back at it in no time.  I will alert Dodger to your intentions unless he's already felt a disturbance in the force.
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: Soulyss on April 03, 2013, 09:34:21 PM
Hell I'll be glad to get back up! 

I'm glad to see that there will be some familiar names still up.




Yes... ever so brief moments when I'm up rather than at the bottom of a smoking crater. :)
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 03, 2013, 09:45:02 PM
Lots of old friends still about!!

Changeup, what are you doing wearing Muppet colors man?

Soullyss, great to see you, but you're too modest. 
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: greens on April 03, 2013, 10:22:36 PM
hey madda, glad u relapsed. i hope to relapse someday but life is hard right now
keepin my chin up
<S> greens
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 03, 2013, 11:16:44 PM
hey madda, glad u relapsed. i hope to relapse someday but life is hard right now
keepin my chin up
<S> greens

Hang in there man! 

Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: Changeup on April 03, 2013, 11:32:02 PM
Lots of old friends still about!!

Changeup, what are you doing wearing Muppet colors man?

Soullyss, great to see you, but you're too modest. 

The Pigs kicked me out and the Muppets needed a janitor for Sunbat and Grizz's shared urinal.  Kappa said I'd get promoted to file clerk sometime in 2016 if I continued to fly "bait" for the squad.  Bighorn calls me his little work-in-progress.  WINNING.
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 03, 2013, 11:54:05 PM
Ha!!
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: kilz on April 04, 2013, 09:27:12 AM
WB Marfa
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: --)SF---- on April 04, 2013, 03:09:22 PM
I remember you!     :cheers:
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: kappa on April 04, 2013, 04:21:53 PM
Hey madda 8)

The Pigs kicked me out and the Muppets needed a janitor for Sunbat and Grizz's shared urinal.  Kappa said I'd get promoted to file clerk sometime in 2016 if I continued to fly "bait" for the squad.  Bighorn calls me his little work-in-progress.  WINNING.

lmao
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: The Fugitive on April 04, 2013, 04:27:47 PM
Welcome back Madda!

I'm in the same boat with the drawing pad and learning photoshop on the side. Post some of your work !
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: ink on April 04, 2013, 04:32:34 PM
Tablets are great, you will love it madda, you should look for "GIMP Painter"....it is GIMP but with added brushes that will pick up and mix colors that are already painted, very much like a paint brush.
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: RumbleB on April 04, 2013, 05:20:48 PM
I just watched some of my old films as I'd forgotten what I actually used to do besides being stupid. Just watch a few films of old... unless you were pretty bad, then ask someone good for films. lol.  well, competent good. depending on how you like to play. there's also idiot good, which is what I regarded myself as. I've no plans for anything and most of the time I get away with being stupid (from watching my own films) because I know how to deal with the fallout of my idiocy and land kills. Also if you're idiot good ou always zig when they think you're gonna zag. If you're competent good you don't need to zig or zag because you'll be doing things right... "but if you do things right will anyone notice you've done anything at all?"
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: TOMCAT21 on April 04, 2013, 05:58:06 PM
WB
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 05, 2013, 08:15:06 AM
Thanks gentlemen.  Ink I just downloaded that yesterday,but I haven't really played around with it much yet. I've never messed with digital stuff before, so using this software is totally new to me.  I have a long way to go I'm afraid. 



Got up in the air for a bit last night.  My gunnery is awful now, and my ability to map all the planes in the air around me in my mind and track them instinctively is seriously degraded.  But I'm hoping it'll come back to me.


Fugitive, I don't have anything good to post yet, soon as I do though, I shall.

Hopefully I won't get accused of altering photographs and posting them as drawings again  :P
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: ink on April 05, 2013, 05:23:48 PM
Thanks gentlemen.  Ink I just downloaded that yesterday,but I haven't really played around with it much yet. I've never messed with digital stuff before, so using this software is totally new to me.  I have a long way to go I'm afraid.  



Got up in the air for a bit last night.  My gunnery is awful now, and my ability to map all the planes in the air around me in my mind and track them instinctively is seriously degraded.  But I'm hoping it'll come back to me.


Fugitive, I don't have anything good to post yet, soon as I do though, I shall.

Hopefully I won't get accused of altering photographs and posting them as drawings again  :P


.....did you get "GIMP" or "GIMP Painter" very similar but GIMP wont have the mixing brush.
ive got lots of time in GIMP......if you find yourself stuck or need any help at all, shoot me a PM :aok

the tablet at first will be extremely touchy, very difficult to do a smooth line, with time you will get used to it...

with the GIMP painter you can literally take it and use it as pencil...airbrush....water color....chalk....pastels....

any medium.....

learn to use the layers, you have a "layer tree" on the right side....layers are your friend  :aok  once selected that will be the layer you are working on....

if you have something selected you cant do anything else anywhere except in the selected area,(at first this drove me nuts, I would have something selected forget and try to work elsewhere and nothing :bhead)

have fun with it it is a great tool :aok

edit

a good thing to remember, you can select... say a color, on one layer go to another layer and work in that same selected area...well thats the only area you can work on...the select tool over rides the layer....think I am explaining that right :headscratch:
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 05, 2013, 08:08:01 PM
.....did you get "GIMP" or "GIMP Painter" very similar but GIMP wont have the mixing brush.
ive got lots of time in GIMP......if you find yourself stuck or need any help at all, shoot me a PM :aok

the tablet at first will be extremely touchy, very difficult to do a smooth line, with time you will get used to it...

with the GIMP painter you can literally take it and use it as pencil...airbrush....water color....chalk....pastels....

any medium.....

learn to use the layers, you have a "layer tree" on the right side....layers are your friend  :aok  once selected that will be the layer you are working on....

if you have something selected you cant do anything else anywhere except in the selected area,(at first this drove me nuts, I would have something selected forget and try to work elsewhere and nothing :bhead)

have fun with it it is a great tool :aok

edit

a good thing to remember, you can select... say a color, on one layer go to another layer and work in that same selected area...well thats the only area you can work on...the select tool over rides the layer....think I am explaining that right :headscratch:

I've got both actually.  I've been practicing with the software that came with the tablet.  I can work the hand eye part of it just fine, I just need to play with the software enough to start to know what I'm doing with it.  That software is pretty daunting to me actually.  But I'll keep messing with it and get it down.  I may well be hitting  you up for tips man, thanks!

Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: ink on April 05, 2013, 08:35:48 PM
I've got both actually.  I've been practicing with the software that came with the tablet.  I can work the hand eye part of it just fine, I just need to play with the software enough to start to know what I'm doing with it.  That software is pretty daunting to me actually.  But I'll keep messing with it and get it down.  I may well be hitting  you up for tips man, thanks!



cool beans, for someone like me who did not grow up on computers, (I got my first one when I was about 35) but grew up using a pencil, I found it quite amazing how precise and accurate, the tablet is...and much easier to use, no eraser :D

the hardest part for me was getting used to NOT looking at my hand or pencil while drawing, not that I do look at them while drawing.... but they are in view so it was strange looking at monitor and drawing on the tablet :rofl
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: The Fugitive on April 05, 2013, 09:10:46 PM
I've got both actually.  I've been practicing with the software that came with the tablet.  I can work the hand eye part of it just fine, I just need to play with the software enough to start to know what I'm doing with it.  That software is pretty daunting to me actually.  But I'll keep messing with it and get it down.  I may well be hitting  you up for tips man, thanks!



What software are you working with?

Some of them certainly can get you lost pretty quickly. I'll spend 20 minutes working on an effect/texture and find out later that a few clicks would have done the same job in less than a minute. I prefer to work it out myself and do the drawing/painting myself, but some of those short cuts are pretty nice. 
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 05, 2013, 10:06:09 PM
What software are you working with?

Some of them certainly can get you lost pretty quickly. I'll spend 20 minutes working on an effect/texture and find out later that a few clicks would have done the same job in less than a minute. I prefer to work it out myself and do the drawing/painting myself, but some of those short cuts are pretty nice. 

It came with artrage studio and autodesk sketchbook express.  I got internet this week and based on some advice from people I downloaded: Inkscape, Artweaver, Mypaint, and tons of extra custom brushes for it, gimp and gimp painter and some extra brush packs for gimp painter as well.   

I don't know any of the shortcuts.  Mostly I've been drawing pictures on the pad using pencil and then coloring using the different airbrush tools.  I have an awful lot to learn.  I'm only starting to look at tutorials and read about stuff, much less try it.  It's a bit daunting if I'm honest, pencil and paper is simple.  This isn't, but it's so much more versatile that I want to learn it. 
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: The Fugitive on April 06, 2013, 10:46:46 AM
I just found Inkscape myself, but haven't had time to play with it with my new job and all. I messed with a couple of the others as well when I was looking to find the "one" program I was going to use. There is some much to learn from each program that unless I did it full time there was no way I was going to get any good at any of them. While I liked autodesk the best of the cheaper ones I tried I just couldn't get away from Photoshop. My wife surprised me for Christmas and bought the program for me and I've been stuck in that one ever since.

"Daunting" is a very small word to describe it! LOL!!! I still get mixed up between "styles" as much as techniques. One minute I'm thinking along the lines of cartoon sketch drawings, the next I'm thinking along the lines of oil paintings! It's all available in those programs and easy to switch from one to the other.

While I'm no "artist" like INK is HERE (http://joesdrawingadventures.blogspot.com/) are a few drawing I did when I had some time. Most of them are things I tried to draw up in an hour or so after work. Hopefully I can get back into it soon.... although spring is here and there is all that yard work I have to do.

Keep me posted, I love to see how others progress and maybe I can learn from your "adventure" as well as my own.   
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 06, 2013, 11:19:13 AM
I just found Inkscape myself, but haven't had time to play with it with my new job and all. I messed with a couple of the others as well when I was looking to find the "one" program I was going to use. There is some much to learn from each program that unless I did it full time there was no way I was going to get any good at any of them. While I liked autodesk the best of the cheaper ones I tried I just couldn't get away from Photoshop. My wife surprised me for Christmas and bought the program for me and I've been stuck in that one ever since.

"Daunting" is a very small word to describe it! LOL!!! I still get mixed up between "styles" as much as techniques. One minute I'm thinking along the lines of cartoon sketch drawings, the next I'm thinking along the lines of oil paintings! It's all available in those programs and easy to switch from one to the other.

While I'm no "artist" like INK is HERE (http://joesdrawingadventures.blogspot.com/) are a few drawing I did when I had some time. Most of them are things I tried to draw up in an hour or so after work. Hopefully I can get back into it soon.... although spring is here and there is all that yard work I have to do.

Keep me posted, I love to see how others progress and maybe I can learn from your "adventure" as well as my own.  

I will.  All I have so far are some sketches I've roughed out with the pencil tool on the pad and a couple I've used with the airbrush tool.  They were from before I had internet and so before I had anything except the software that came with it.  I'll post those up here in a sec.  They're nothing too impressive really I'm afraid, but it's a start eh...


I believe all of these were done in artrage, except the spider clown, and I just knocked it out in like five minutes in autodesk sketch for a friend of mine who is afraid of spiders, and clowns. :)

(http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad341/maddafinga_photos/spiderclown.jpg)

This one is a really quick and rough sketch, and a bit of the airbrush tool color laid over the top, not very successfully I might add...
(http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad341/maddafinga_photos/bruce.jpg)

This one is sketched out and this is where I started learning to use layers as masks, (I still need a lot of work at that)  and building up layers of airbrush to try and get the colors I was wanting.  Still not great...
(http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad341/maddafinga_photos/bruce2.jpg)

This one was just messing around with the metallic paints , hot rod flames.  Kinda crappy if I'm honest..
(http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad341/maddafinga_photos/flames.jpg)

This one was one that I started of my now ex girlfriend.  It still needs a lot of work, very preliminary and raw. 
(http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad341/maddafinga_photos/chelle1.jpg)

That's all I've got so far. 

I hooked up my flight gear and now I need to get a usb hub so that I can draw without having to unplug and recalibrate my rig every time. 
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: ink on April 06, 2013, 04:02:57 PM
GIMP painter smokes em all :D

done in a couple hours

(http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w246/fieldsofink/ARTWORK/My_Greatwhite.jpg)
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: maddafinga on April 06, 2013, 04:58:04 PM
That's awesome man, I've just got to start playing with it enough to be able to use it effectively.  I like that pic btw, really nice. 
Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: ink on April 06, 2013, 05:13:11 PM
That's awesome man, I've just got to start playing with it enough to be able to use it effectively.  I like that pic btw, really nice. 


thanx



some tips for GIMP...the layers have a...damn cant think of the name....filters.... :headscratch:

you can change how the layer effects the overall piece by changing that, there is a drop down menu (in the layer section) and a large list of filters.

also say you want to darken up or make a color more bold, instead of messing with the saturation/brightness create a duplicate layer....and merge them together....

also merging layers has to be done in a certain order to get the filters to work properly...unless both layers have the same filter if you try to merge a layer down and say the top layer is set to "burn" and the one below it is set to "normal" you will lose the "burn" effect unless you go to the second layer from the bottom and merge them down that way, then the filters will stay put.

a good thing to do is save the project as a GIMP file and then merge the layers to save as a BMP...JPEG....ECT ECT

this sway if you need to change anything you still have all the layers separate and can easily go back and mess with that one thing that bugs ya

remember "CTRLZ"(undo) is your friend,  in the beginning I used that shortcut more then any :rofl



Title: Re: Coming back
Post by: The Fugitive on April 06, 2013, 05:23:01 PM
I find that is the best way to learn it, just keep messing with it. You can see improvement on each picture you posted. Like I said, INK is an artist, great job on the shark INK.

I tend to draw in blacks and greys, then use layers to add color. Then come back and add the highlights.

Check this site out http://www.youtube.com/user/idrawgirls this guy has lots of tutorials on line for free. Many can be applied to GIMP as well as Photoshop.