 November 8, 2007 - 9:35pm | So I skinned one of CCR's Assault Scouts, created a folder in the ships section, and attached the image. But I'm not sure how to show a preview like CCR and Woot have done. I see the inset image or link hotlinks, and I uploaded the image using insert image, but I'm not sure how to call it up. I'm just not very familiar with this software.  |
 November 8, 2007 - 9:55pm |  use this to insert an image. can be from the Internet or from your PC. to upload click this  a new window pulls up to UPLOAD images.once the images are uploaded, click on the name of the image, you will see the image in the window below the names. CLICK the image to add it to the previous window to insert into your post. clear as mud. |
November 9, 2007 - 4:36am | Ok, got it. Thanks for the info. I thought it was uploading to some url on the sf.us server, I just didn't know how to get it. ;) |
November 10, 2007 - 3:46am | Uploaded another Fighter. Decided to take this type a slightly different direction. |
November 10, 2007 - 9:26am | Getting a liiiittle carried away with that last one. ;) Though it's cool for making it look like it was made from organic components. Particularly horn and scales. |
November 10, 2007 - 11:44am | Heh, wasn't exactly thinking organic components, but I can see where you might get that impression, especially compared to the more sterile first two. The "scales" are actually heat-tiles like you might find on the underbelly of a modern day re-entry vehicle (with a little extra texture.) I started off thinking that I was going to make that 3rd one more like a steath-fighter, but that was looking boring. So I decided to bring in some earthen tones and give it more texture. It just looked like a model that would get more atmospheric combat that the first two. In the end, it was a complete departure from the smooth, black, angular look a steath fighter would have had. I'll probably make at least one more in this style then switch to something else. Are any of those fighters specifically "Sathar" fighters? I haven't looked at my Knight Hawks stuff in a very long time. |
November 10, 2007 - 12:12pm | Are any of those fighters specifically "Sathar" fighters? I haven't looked at my Knight Hawks stuff in a very long time. http://starfrontiers.us/node/1464 Shadow Shack has serveral. These are in the Star Frontiersman #7 |
November 10, 2007 - 9:27pm | His ships, while often having more detail that the chits CCR does, would be harder to skin and tweak (Principally because his resolution doesn't scale well and his linework will not provide good containment of fills and textures.) Guess I'll wait for the CCR versions. |
November 15, 2007 - 1:20am | New Fighter. New Style. Probably going to do the Corvette in a similiar style.  |
November 15, 2007 - 2:11pm | [glossy eyes] uwwwww [/glossy eyes] I really like that one. |
 November 23, 2007 - 10:37pm | These are great! Are you building these from the chits I make or from the larger images from which I built the chits? I can make larger versions if you need 'em. 3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
November 24, 2007 - 7:10am | I'm building them from the chits in the chit sheet you have uploaded. Since those are vector images, they scale very well. I generally start with a 1200 dpi version of your chit... though I'm experimenting with 2400dpi on the one I'm working on now... only problem is I was just about finished before realizing that it was probably a sathar ship and I had a whole other style in mind for their ships. What ships on your chit sheet are Sathar ships? And what larger images did you build your chits from? I'm not sure more detail would make my versions much better as I'm trying to make them pretty to look at, but not overly complicated. Each is really just an experiment on my part. |
November 25, 2007 - 6:33pm | I'm building them from the chits in the chit sheet you have uploaded. Since those are vector images, they scale very well. The only one I modelled after a Sathar chit from Knight Hawks is the one that looks like this. Some detail work gets lost in the scaling (sometimes intentionally, since the fine detail work will scale poorly and make an area just... white). I draw these in Microsoft Word using line draw tools.I generally start with a 1200 dpi version of your chit... though I'm experimenting with 2400dpi on the one I'm working on now... only problem is I was just about finished before realizing that it was probably a sathar ship and I had a whole other style in mind for their ships. What ships on your chit sheet are Sathar ships? And what larger images did you build your chits from? I'm not sure more detail would make my versions much better as I'm trying to make them pretty to look at, but not overly complicated. Each is really just an experiment on my part. 3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
November 25, 2007 - 10:32pm | Hmmm, I do like that larger drawing. Nifty. Probably not too much detail in that for me to use. How many models like that do you have? Do you have a version without the gridded background? One of the reasons the chits you did work so well is because they actually have transparent backgrounds when opened in Photoshop. That is the fighter I was working on last... not sure if I'm just going to redo it. |
November 26, 2007 - 12:37pm | Hmmm, I do like that larger drawing. Nifty. Probably not too much detail in that for me to use. How many models like that do you have? Do you have a version without the gridded background? One of the reasons the chits you did work so well is because they actually have transparent backgrounds when opened in Photoshop. Well maybe you should just keep doing what you're doing since they turn out so well. I can remove the grid, of course. I put the grid there simply because I like how it looks in print in the pages of the StarFronteirsman. If you're opening the vectored image in Photoshop, that works best. Basically, all the images in chit form that I've done have a larger counterpart, though some aren't any more detailed than the ones you've seen. I havne't tried opening these in photoshop. In fact, I didn't know you could open a PDF file in photoshop. Makes sense... both from Adobe. I'm going to try that tonight and see how things work :)That is the fighter I was working on last... not sure if I'm just going to redo it. I don't have a single document that has all these larger images. If you look in the pages of the StarFrontiersman, you'll see a lot of vectored art I've done for the 'zine over the months. Mostly equipment. The ships are sorta a new thing for me, but I think they're coming out pretty nicely. I do like your colored ships though... and your ships would be hands-down the best solution for online-Knight Hawks-play, if the Knight Hawks Online project would ever continue :) 3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
November 26, 2007 - 6:40pm | Well, if you could release versions without the background that would be really cool. For SFMAN I understand you'll want to format them so that they look better. But, if I get advance copies of new stuff, I might be able to color some for the issues too. I can see lots of other applications for being able to have the larger ships too. Imagine, for example, having a fight in a hangar filled with fighters or other ships. Or a fight on a planet after landing a ship and disembarking. Using a VTT and proportionally sized character-to-ship tokens would make for a great battle-map to fight on. For that, the larger ships would be nice (plus, I could squeeze in more detail using them.) You should also continue to use vector drawn images. Much better for scaling and you're really building a nice style there. |
November 26, 2007 - 7:49pm | Yeah I like the vectored images for that very reason. At first I did some in photoshop and I thought they looked really good... but once I ported the created jpegs into word then printed the entire document to a PDF... it lost all sorts of detail and when printed it got fuzzy and you could see compression blocks (you know - the odd jaggies). Doing it this way with all linedraw tools makes for a sharp image. I kinda like the images being B&W for the most part. And to be honest I continue working on them all the way up until the release time, sometimes just using placeholder blocks at first and only really doing all the illustrating in the last couple days. Hard to give advance copies that way... But here's an idea. Each issue gets released then a dozen or so requests come in to make changes to the issue. Usually it's to fix a typo or omission or add a table title or something. I'm just about ready to make a new PDF version of Issue 7 with all the issues fixed. Maybe this second printing can have some of the images colored? I dont' know... maybe you only like coloring the ships? 3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
November 26, 2007 - 8:21pm | Here.... see if you can do anything impressive with some of these (I have a feeling you can). This is a PDF file that is 3 pages of just the line art I did for issue 7 (minus maps). Maybe the magazine could be made far more impressive with your touch!! I'm always looking for a way to make things yet more professional. Maybe instead of the grid background, some other fairly neutral yet industrial-looking background could be used? It would add filesize to the webzine, but I'm more interested in quality than anything else. 3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
November 26, 2007 - 9:10pm | I kinda like the images being B&W for the most part. And to be honest I continue working on them all the way up until the release time, sometimes just using placeholder blocks at first and only really doing all the illustrating in the last couple days. Hard to give advance copies that way... Understood. I think that changing most of the images from the B&W images to color would probably be a mistake anyway. The vector images will always looks cleaner in a PDF, even if it doesn't look quite as cool in a printed version. I wouldn't be able to do many anyway, so keeping a uniform look would be more desirable than a random spot of color. Though, the occasional "featured" piece that had a color version might be a reasonable change of pace. I dont' know... maybe you only like coloring the ships? Not so much interested in doing anything just for the sake of print, so much as I was for the sake of play. When I get more ships done I'll get them out there for other online RPG players. Most will likely use the pieces generically in whatever sci-fi type games they play... but it might also gather some SF converts. Ya never know. |
November 26, 2007 - 9:15pm | Here.... see if you can do anything impressive with some of these Using those ships will be more fun than using the chits. Thanks. Maybe instead of the grid background, some other fairly neutral yet industrial-looking background could be used? It would add filesize to the webzine, but I'm more interested in quality than anything else. I think the grid looks fine... It just made it hard to use in photoshop because the ship was flattened on the background. |
November 26, 2007 - 9:27pm | Btw, do any of these ships have Make and Model names? Would be nice to name them something more specific. |
November 27, 2007 - 12:09am | Btw, do any of these ships have Make and Model names? They're in Issue 7... each has a model name. Starting on page 61.Would be nice to name them something more specific. 3. We wear sungoggles during the day. Not because the sun affects our
vision, but when you're cool like us the sun shines all the time. |
