Goonhub
12-02-2019, 09:25 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-03-2019, 12:19 AM by Studenterhue. Edited 2 times in total.
Edit Reason: Came up with a better choice of words for the saber sprite section
)
So, while the contest is still open (?), it's time for me to procrastinate on, like, a lot of stuff, by offering more criticism & compliments. Flaborized is the only one to have submitted an entry since my last post here, so I'll talk about the record sleeves and gang stuff separately.
Record Sleeves
I looked at the first sleeve, and for a second, I thought the left side was some hellish landscape, while the right side was a serene field with a monolith. (Thinking something roughly like 2600's Autumn 2019 issue cover.) Then I looked again and realized it was just a mop, a mess, and a janitor in galoshes. And because it includes only those three elements, plus some text, I think it really captures the Zen janitor mindset, the feeling that the only things in the world are messes and one's will to clean them.
So, anyways, the mop and bloodstain look nice, and I like the way the shading on the galoshes adds a bit of perspective, but the light grey splotches on the janitor jumpsuit look like stains to me. I don't know if the light grey's too bright or if the grey around it is too dark, but I'm leaning towards the former.
Now, the flash on the second sleeve is real good. Not only does it look pretty close to the real thing, but I love how the bulb is bigger than normal and how the flash is angled a certain way specifically to call attention to that. Together, they really emphasize the "flash" aspect of a flash.
I love how the text does a similar thing; just as a flash is a bright light that's really intense at the beginning, but then becomes dimmer, the letters are really big at the beginning, but then become smaller--good touch. However, I've mixed feelings about the dot in the exclamation point that extends into a white line; I get it has similar purpose to the shrinking letters, but I dunno, it just looks really weird to me. Personally, it looked weirder when I tried to remove it, for it looked as if the flash was impinging upon the text, so maybe keep it?
In fact, the fact that these two pieces have a sort of "feel" or "mood" is real good and helps it stand out--it's a whole another level of art that's different from representing things. (Dunno if it's below beyond or above beyond representation, but this debate's been going on for like centuries, especially so in 20th, and there're probably like hundreds of people who have way better answers on it than me.)
Gang Items
Ever since it was released, I always thought the blade of the throwing knife looked like a gem, and after a brief attempt at editing it, I think it's because the blade is a little too short. Everything else about it is fine though.
Ratstick and nunchucks look fine, they definitely succeed at looking like a bat with barbed wire/spikes around it and two blunt-ish rods attached together via a chain, which looks a bit thick, but it works. (Helps that unlike with SaccharineChampion's ICP album, there's a lot more space for more chain links, so that it can look more like a real chain.) Not much else I can say about them, aside from maybe add some shading on some of the links to help them stand out.
The faux c-saber looks....familiar--and in a good way. I like how it's a somewhat different design from the c-saber, but not too different, and I love how its blade is slimmer than the c-saber's to reflect how the faux version has lower damage than the real thing. All this differentiation is good; it fits the faux c-saber's "c-saber, but not quite as powerful" role.
I have similar thoughts about the discount katana. I admire how the shading on the blade and hilt are not as drastic as they are on the real katana sprite and how both the sword and its sheath are smaller than the real steel. Similar to the faux c-saber, these really help cement the thing's "katana, but weaker" status.
Speaking of the sheath, I like how it looks on its own, but what's with the sword in sheath sprite? The area around the pommel of the sword while it's in the sheath looks a fair bit different from the area around pommel when it's unsheathed.
As a general note, I like the overall feel of these items. They look like decent, average-grade weapons that you might find in a legitimate shop, rather than shiny mall ninja knickknacks or high-tech spy gear, which suits their general status as "good as or better than what you might get on the station, but not has good as the ones traitors can get" weapons for gang members.
Record Sleeves
I looked at the first sleeve, and for a second, I thought the left side was some hellish landscape, while the right side was a serene field with a monolith. (Thinking something roughly like 2600's Autumn 2019 issue cover.) Then I looked again and realized it was just a mop, a mess, and a janitor in galoshes. And because it includes only those three elements, plus some text, I think it really captures the Zen janitor mindset, the feeling that the only things in the world are messes and one's will to clean them.
So, anyways, the mop and bloodstain look nice, and I like the way the shading on the galoshes adds a bit of perspective, but the light grey splotches on the janitor jumpsuit look like stains to me. I don't know if the light grey's too bright or if the grey around it is too dark, but I'm leaning towards the former.
Now, the flash on the second sleeve is real good. Not only does it look pretty close to the real thing, but I love how the bulb is bigger than normal and how the flash is angled a certain way specifically to call attention to that. Together, they really emphasize the "flash" aspect of a flash.
I love how the text does a similar thing; just as a flash is a bright light that's really intense at the beginning, but then becomes dimmer, the letters are really big at the beginning, but then become smaller--good touch. However, I've mixed feelings about the dot in the exclamation point that extends into a white line; I get it has similar purpose to the shrinking letters, but I dunno, it just looks really weird to me. Personally, it looked weirder when I tried to remove it, for it looked as if the flash was impinging upon the text, so maybe keep it?
In fact, the fact that these two pieces have a sort of "feel" or "mood" is real good and helps it stand out--it's a whole another level of art that's different from representing things. (Dunno if it's below beyond or above beyond representation, but this debate's been going on for like centuries, especially so in 20th, and there're probably like hundreds of people who have way better answers on it than me.)
Gang Items
Ever since it was released, I always thought the blade of the throwing knife looked like a gem, and after a brief attempt at editing it, I think it's because the blade is a little too short. Everything else about it is fine though.
Ratstick and nunchucks look fine, they definitely succeed at looking like a bat with barbed wire/spikes around it and two blunt-ish rods attached together via a chain, which looks a bit thick, but it works. (Helps that unlike with SaccharineChampion's ICP album, there's a lot more space for more chain links, so that it can look more like a real chain.) Not much else I can say about them, aside from maybe add some shading on some of the links to help them stand out.
The faux c-saber looks....familiar--and in a good way. I like how it's a somewhat different design from the c-saber, but not too different, and I love how its blade is slimmer than the c-saber's to reflect how the faux version has lower damage than the real thing. All this differentiation is good; it fits the faux c-saber's "c-saber, but not quite as powerful" role.
I have similar thoughts about the discount katana. I admire how the shading on the blade and hilt are not as drastic as they are on the real katana sprite and how both the sword and its sheath are smaller than the real steel. Similar to the faux c-saber, these really help cement the thing's "katana, but weaker" status.
Speaking of the sheath, I like how it looks on its own, but what's with the sword in sheath sprite? The area around the pommel of the sword while it's in the sheath looks a fair bit different from the area around pommel when it's unsheathed.
As a general note, I like the overall feel of these items. They look like decent, average-grade weapons that you might find in a legitimate shop, rather than shiny mall ninja knickknacks or high-tech spy gear, which suits their general status as "good as or better than what you might get on the station, but not has good as the ones traitors can get" weapons for gang members.