Gaplus - gaplus(EvilDindon_01-21-2009)

[EvilDindon]

My new WIP (60 %) for this namco classic (in the request list, it's galaga3, the clone)

Vectorizsed the logo (but I still have to boost the red a little, as it's a bit faded)

Still have to clean up the insect art.

Want to add somethin' on the right to fill this empty space, but have no idea.

Any suggestions ?

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2787/gaplusfl2.jpg

[RetroBorg]

Well what a coincidence I was just working on Gaplus.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7715/gaplus640x480tm3.jpg

Your logo looks way better than mine and I like your planet.

I got two other alien insects thingies, the bigger one hovers and the smaller one rain floats.

You've obviously played around with the colours of the big insect it's more vibrant than mine.

[EvilDindon]

Incredible !
Almost the same setup !
Aren't we twins ?

I want to let you achieve yours, and I'll stop mine, as you cut off more insects than me.

Here is the png of the vectorised logo I made : feel free to use it (and resize it at 400 for the wheel) :

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7113/gapluswz3.png

I suggest to boost the contrast a little.

Cheers,

Mike.

[EvilDindon]

Just notice that you like the planet background.

You can use it too :

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/2897/gaplusxe0.png

[neonnets]

Nice work guys! I to was working on it. but Evil you've nailed it.

[bent98]

Wow this was a favorite of mine.

I hope Body Double is making progress on Pleaids my other favorite.

[Dazz]

This is what's so great about this forum and getting community input on themes... I know that people just want to post themes they created and not have this interaction, but I think this kind of interaction is very important to the quality of HyperSpin and its themes.

Excellent collaboration going on here guys!

[RetroBorg]

Incredible !
Almost the same setup !
Aren't we twins ?

I want to let you achieve yours, and I'll stop mine, as you cut off more insects than me.

Here is the png of the vectorised logo I made : feel free to use it (and resize it at 400 for the wheel) :

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7113/gapluswz3.png

I suggest to boost the contrast a little.

Cheers,

Mike.

You're too kind Mike.

Thanks for the logo and planet, we'll have too put this one down as a combined theme.

Hey neonnets, you seriously working on Gaplus too or just mucking around?

If serious, have you got a picture of what you had going on?

[neonnets]

No biggie, I have about 2 hours in cutouts and border layout. I like yalls direction though. I have nothing close to match. I was working on a border to match the marque but was'nt feeling it. You guys have it under control. :)

[manipars]

What a coincidence that the three of you where working on this theme at the same time. hehe this is why I always announce my themes a year early just when they are at 10%WIP status =). But with all kidding aside I'm definitely looking forward to the finished product/theme. The cooperation on this excellent community is beyond great. Keep up the good work. Cheers

[RetroBorg]

Thanks again Mike for your logo, I must learn to vectorise as it looks heaps better than mine. How long did it take to vectorise it?

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7281/gaplus640x480uc4.jpg

I moved the planet to the left so it didn't clash with the alpha wheel overlay.

Brightened up the bugs.

Namco logo is part of background as I used up all the artwork spots.

Animation is:

Video spins in from right (rotate -360).

Title comes up from bottom and squeezes.

Big bug on right comes in from right and hovers.

Medium bug on left comes up from bottom and hovers.

Smaller bug rain floats from top.

Let us know what you think.

[RetroBorg]

Just looking at the photo I need to move the video a little higher.

[EvilDindon]

Nice !

For the logo I used "vector magic desktop" (after cleaning a bit the source bitmap). I only vectorised the shape (kept the red and white, and removed the blue inside)

Then i exported the result to a 750 wide png.

I then apply the gradient fill to this png (on a layer behind the shaped logo) in my raster program (corel draw).

[EvilDindon]

Hey RB, I suggest you put a white namco logo on the upper left corner (and remove the red)

[RetroBorg]

Hey RB, I suggest you put a white namco logo on the upper left corner (and remove the red)

No problems, yeah it looks weird with the other 1984, Namco just above it.

[RetroBorg]

Nice !

For the logo I used "vector magic desktop" (after cleaning a bit the source bitmap). I only vectorised the shape (kept the red and white, and removed the blue inside)

Then i exported the result to a 750 wide png.

I then apply the gradient fill to this png (on a layer behind the shaped logo) in my raster program (corel draw).

Clever.

[EvilDindon]

I moved the planet to the left so it didn't clash with the alpha wheel overlay.


I don't have these problems as I use a centered and vertical wheel with a .15 alpha (almost invisble)
I've got another suggestion when looking your snap :

The small bugs raining should overlap the main logo and not passing under it.

I think the big insect's wing must overlap the main logo too (but it's a personnal taste)

[RetroBorg]

I've got another suggestion when looking your snap :

The small bugs raining should overlap the main logo and not passing under it.

I think the big insect's wing must overlap the main logo too (but it's a personnal taste)

Yeah I think you're right, I'll make the changes.

[neonnets]

Retro,
I see just a bit of the cut outs on the bugs or that just the screenshot?

[The Loafer]

I apologize for my non-theme related comment, but I had to add to the compliments above. This theme certainly looks great, but what's most impressive to me are the non-ego's on display, a refreshing change from what we sometimes see too much on the net. Good people, take a bow.

[RetroBorg]

Retro,
I see just a bit of the cut outs on the bugs or that just the screenshot?

Yeah I needed to work on the bugs especially the one on the left.

There's a lot of pressure on me for this theme because I know Evil and yourself would have done a great job, so I need to keep the standard high.

Does this look better?

I've extended his left wing and left leg so I can fully display him now.

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/2557/bugjf3.png

[neonnets]

Retro,
You got it. Nice work. I know how much fun that bit is.

[RetroBorg]

Cleaned up bug on right, fixed missing claw part and missing wing part.

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/8592/bug1rl5.png

[RetroBorg]

Changes:

Tidied up bugs.

Moved and changed colour of Namco logo.

Swapped the artwork layers around.

Brightened the planet so it stands out more.

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/4365/gaplus640x480wz9.jpg

Looking for some more feedback.

[neonnets]

Looking good. A little off topic but how and what PS tool do you use to cut obects out? I've attached a screenshot of how I do it. Ya'll do the same?
(I'll do this with the image around 400-500% magnify)

http://www.neonnetworks.com/hyper/screenshot.jpg

[RetroBorg]

I originally cut it out with lasso tool and cleaned it up with just the eraser.

Your method looks interesting I might give it a go next time.

[Propaganda]

Wow that is some nice work!

[EvilDindon]

Very clean work Retroborg (as usual)

Thanx a lot for this fantastic theme.

When looking the latest screen, i realise that my suggestion for the namco logo (upper left corner) is not very good : it makes the theme a lil' unbalanced regarding the text stuff.

Maybe put him on the bottom right (above the "press start" HS text), no matter if it's covered up a bit by the big insect.

[RetroBorg]

Very clean work Retroborg (as usual)

Thanx a lot for this fantastic theme.

When looking the latest screen, i realise that my suggestion for the namco logo (upper left corner) is not very good : it makes the theme a lil' unbalanced regarding the text stuff.

Maybe put him on the bottom right (above the "press start" HS text), no matter if it's covered up a bit by the big insect.

I'll have to finalise theme tomorrow as I unfortunately have to go to work now.

[EvilDindon]

Looking good. A little off topic but how and what PS tool do you use to cut obects out? I've attached a screenshot of how I do it. Ya'll do the same?
(I'll do this with the image around 400-500% magnify)


When the object stands out well on an opposite colored background, I usually begin the cut out with the magic wand (corel paint shop pro X2) with the brightness or color method, depends on what is it more appropriate to the picture. I play with the tolerance too.

I finish "manually" with the eraser at 90-95 % hardness. I began with a quite big eraser and reuce it for magnified finitions.

Neon : what is that tool on Adobe CS3 ? The result looks very good.

[neonnets]

Evil,
I call it the "Line tool" It's really nice for straight lines on text logos and still works well on curves. It takes a little practice. I'm not sure if Corel has the same tool. I have CorelDraw and Trace installed but always uncheck the Paint install. :(

I think with the erase tool its hard to keep a clean/sharp edge but maybe I need more practice with it.

(Make sure Anti-alias is checked and change line px size as needed in tight spots)

Skin the cat that-away! :)

[RetroBorg]

Very clean work Retroborg (as usual)

Thanx a lot for this fantastic theme.

When looking the latest screen, i realise that my suggestion for the namco logo (upper left corner) is not very good : it makes the theme a lil' unbalanced regarding the text stuff.

Maybe put him on the bottom right (above the "press start" HS text), no matter if it's covered up a bit by the big insect.

Okay how about this?

Or do you think it should be a little higher?

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9616/gaplus640x480iz0.jpg

[EvilDindon]

It surely looks better now.

But yeah, maybe a notch higher would be fine.

Last thing about my logo : I noticed that the top red and white curves are not linear : the curve is not smooth.

I just noticed it. Actually, the top of the logo (from the marquee) was covered by a bug leg. So I erased it and traced the missing part of the logo, but the result is not perfect.

Maybe you can adjust it yourself before uploading ? (we have to be perfectionnist, now that the overall level of artists around here is very high)

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/3613/image2gh0.png (http://imageshack.us)

[RetroBorg]

It surely looks better now.

But yeah, maybe a notch higher would be fine.

Last thing about my logo : I noticed that the top red and white curves are not linear : the curve is not smooth.

I just noticed it. Actually, the top of the logo (from the marquee) was covered by a bug leg. So I erased it and traced the missing part of the logo, but the result is not perfect.

Maybe you can adjust it yourself before uploading ? (we have to be perfectionnist, now that the overall level of artists around here is very high)

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/3613/image2gh0.png (http://imageshack.us)

Can you zoom in closer I can't quite see it. :laugh:

I'll see what I can do but I don't think you can notice it at the size it's going to be.

[EvilDindon]

If it's OK for you, then go like that, it's really a small imperfection. It's me, I begin to be (too ?) perfectionnist.

[RetroBorg]

If it's OK for you, then go like that, it's really a small imperfection. It's me, I begin to be (too ?) perfectionnist.

I have had a play around with it, hopefully I have improved it.

[EvilDindon]

I have had a play around with it, hopefully I have improved it.

Cool !

I think you are good for an upload now.

[RetroBorg]

Will upload tomorrow.

[EvilDindon]

Hey RB, you know what, when looking all the thread, I think I'll prefer your first mockup regarding the title size : I definitly think now that the one I gave you is a bit too big.

It looks like a hat on top of the video.

You should maybe reduce it a bit to make it just a tad wider than the video ?

[RetroBorg]

Hey RB, you know what, when looking all the thread, I think I'll prefer your first mockup regarding the title size : I definitly think now that the one I gave you is a bit too big.

It looks like a hat on top of the video.

You should maybe reduce it a bit to make it just a tad wider than the video ?

Yup, tomorrow morning I'll put it all together again and play around with the logo size, put up some pictures and if it all looks okay upload the theme.

[RetroBorg]

I'm to go have a look at the new animations before releasing this, just in case there is something new there to enhance the theme.

[redtapemedia]

I'm to go have a look at the new animations before releasing this, just in case there is something new there to enhance the theme.

Can't it be updated at a later date? I'd like to get my hands on this theme now, it looks good. :)

[EvilDindon]

Hi retro.

Have you got time to finalize the theme ?

[RetroBorg]

Hey RB, you know what, when looking all the thread, I think I'll prefer your first mockup regarding the title size : I definitly think now that the one I gave you is a bit too big.

It looks like a hat on top of the video.

You should maybe reduce it a bit to make it just a tad wider than the video ?

Reduced logo:

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5479/gaplus640x480gg8.jpg

Previous logo size:

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9616/gaplus640x480iz0.jpg

People let me know which one I should upload.

[EvilDindon]

I'm not sure ...

Finally, maybe I prefer the big one, cause it fills the top of the screen, which seems a lil' blank with the smallest one.

Dunno.

If you go for the first one, maybe put the left bug higher to fill the empty space above.

[RetroBorg]

I'm not sure ...

Finally, maybe I prefer the big one, cause it fills the top of the screen, which seems a lil' blank with the smallest one.


I'm leaning that way too.

What do other people think?

[BadBoyBill]

I lean toward the bigger logo one

[RetroBorg]

Uploaded larger logo version.