Flamegrape
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quote:
Originally posted by geekgirl101:
Sorry to sound rude, but maybe one shaped like a ginormous penis? [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
My dear, it is [b]required[/b] that it look like a penis! It’s got to look like something that Xev would take to immediately. Something that would so embarassingly look like a cock that it would even make Stanley Tweedle blush and make Kai raise an eyebrow!
Heeheeheeheehee…
It was bad enough that they aired that Dolf Lundgren Rambo-ripoff movie. That movie had no sci-fi in it at all. Not even horror. Unless you count the fact that the movie itself was a horror.
I still can’t beleive it. There has to have been some kind of mistake. But if it really is true, then it’s certain now. The SciFi Channel hates all of sci-fi fandom.
[img]images/smiles/icon_mad.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_mad.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_mad.gif[/img]WHAT?
Please tell me you’re kidding. [i]Braveheart[/i] has nothing to do with science-fiction in the slightest!
[img]images/smiles/icon_mad.gif[/img]But that’s in the comic books. Has anything in the novels or comic books shown up in any movies? (I don’t know, I haven’t read any of them.)
[i]Farscape[/i] is not on the SciFi Channel right now. They are going to finish the season in Feb. or whatever. After that, I’m not watching the SciFi Channel ever again. After the cancellation of [i]Farscape[/i], it is absolutely clear that they don’t give a damn about sci-fi fans.
Rick is right, Sad. Digital media is destroying the entertainment industry as we know. But I think it’s a GOOD thing. The entire music, movie, and television industry is in the process of being reinvented. And trying to make the square peg of the current system fit into the round hole of the new media of the digital information age is complete bollocks.
quote:
Originally posted by Trini_T:
LESS THAN 30 HOURS!!!! Anyone even playing around with the idea of attending next years Dragon Con should purchase their tickets NOW!
After 4:00 p.m. est tomarrow the price goes up! I would imagine it wouldn’t be too difficult to sell them off to someone later if you end up not being able to go. Some of us paid $75.OO per ticket last year…right now they’re at $40.00!!!!! [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] T_T
You should announce that on all the other bulletin boards as a separate thread! If I hadn’t read this thread today, I would have forgotten. I know I should have bought my membership back in September, but you know how it goes.
To help advertise the party to [i]Lexx[/i] fans, I’ve created this banner ad:
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/xenia/banner_xeniaparty.gif[/img]
All [i]Lexx[/i] fans are encouraged to put this ad somewhere on their own fanpages. Especially those who have Xev/Xenia fanpages.
You can download the .GIF picture file and place it on your page and link to the RSVP page yourself. Or, you insert this HTML code:
[url=http://www.flamegrape.com/xenia/banner_ad_html.htm]http://www.flamegrape.com/xenia/banner_ad_html.htm[/url]If you place the .GIF file on your website manually, remember that the RSVP webpage is:
[url=http://www.flamegrape.com/xenia/]http://www.flamegrape.com/xenia/[/url]Thanxx.
[img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]Tony, it would be great if you added this banner ad to the rotation:
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_xeniaparty.gif[/img]
Be sure to link it to:
[url=http://www.flamegrape.com/xenia/]http://www.flamegrape.com/xenia/[/url]Thanxx.
quote:
Originally posted by Dragula:
I cant really see how you mean by “the game is geared toward men´´90% of the people who play computer/console games is male…
So there aint no market for games with nude men….
That’s a shame because there are more female computer users than ever. But the people who are making computer games were raised in the old school thought of making games for men. The female market is starving. Starving to death, I theorize. There’s about one game that is monstrously popular with women and that’s [i]The Sims[/i]. I read a computer games magazine every month and there are endless articles about games that are almost always geared towards men. Then I turn the page and read the sales charts and what has [b]always[/b] been at the top of the charts for the last several years? [i]The Sims[/i] and it’s add-on packs, that’s what.
So I have to disagree with your assessment that 90% of the people playing videogames are women. Although I can’t back it up, I’d say it is more along the lines of 50/50. So that means there is a vast, huge, amazingly underdeveloped market for computer games that appeal to women.
Ummm…
Far be it for me to be artisticly critical, but…
Isn’t it a little awkward to have MMM on the banner when he is not going to be there? It looks like a few of the other cast members are going to be there, but not MMM. I’m just imagining the parade with these celeberties there watching or possibly marching in the parade itself. To me, as a fan, seeing MMM on that banner would seem really strange.
I vote for a banner that doesn’t have any people on it. Just have the [i]Lexx[/i] logo, the Divine Order symbol, the Lexx itself, a space background, maybe Fire & Water, etc. Maybe His Shadow would be good, but I think that would be the only “person” that might look good on the banner.
Are you guys locked into this design? I wasn’t aware of any banner being made for the parade. I just found out about it right now, reading this post.
[img]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/6302670306.01.MZZZZZZZ.gif[/img]
Have you ever seen [i]Mindwalk[/i]? It was a very interesting movie. I remember the scientist describing electrons as “clouds of probability.”Beware, because this movie is the bane of people who can’t stand intelligent movies. No car chases, gunfights, vampires, or techno music soundtrack. Just people talking.
quote:
Originally posted by mandara k:
Uh, oh another Canadian Goose; ewww. Bad foul, bad bad bad.
You mean, “bad fowl!”
It’s a cute story. I kind of like it.
[img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]But I bumped the rules thread as a reminder to ask permission before using other users’ names in your stories. The issue is that other users might get offended and start flame wars, etc.
Please continue your story! But don’t get too carried away. (Boy, I kind of sound like a wet blanket!)
[img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]Now I’m inspired to go out and rent [i]Zardoz[/i]…
Thanxx, Mothbreeder. You have in your little scrap of a Cluster-sliced brain the wisdom of the ages.
(j/k) [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]Anyway, I’m locking this thread because it’s getting a little too big. I’ll start another thread when I actually complete the project. Which will be very soon!
[img]images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]quote:
Originally posted by Aleck:
Yeah, they are annoying, ain’t they? Well, it was a good idea on paper, it was just really lacking in execution.
–Aleck
No soup for you! Come back one year!
I got to meet him at DragonCon several years ago. He was so very nice to me and all the other fans! It’s sad that he passed on.
[img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]I understand that they wanted to use all the actors from the tv show in the movie. But they just couldn’t figure out how to fit in Billy Mumy and Jonathan Harris. I know that Aleck certainly disagrees, but I actually enjoyed the [i]Lost In Space[/i] movie. But please, out of respect, we can talk about how much it sucked in another thread.
[img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]quote:
Originally posted by SadGeezer:
…there are more fans in the US than in Britain.
I really, really, really doubt that. Every time I bring up the subject of [i]Red Dwarf[/i], I have to explain everything about the show. And then I get funny looks. No one around where I live knows about anything other than church and football. Anything else is considered a waste of time.
[i]Red Dwarf[/i] is rarely played on television in the USA. If it is played, it’s aired on “public television” that hardly anybody watches.
It took nearly twenty years and [i]A Fish Called Wanda[/i] before Monty Python received wide public acceptance.
[img]images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]quote:
Originally posted by Evil_Lister:
Im waiting for Sci-Fi to create a TV Series out of Dune, jerk the producers around by switching its timeslot, use it as a tie in for a newer moronic tv series while watching its ratings drop like a stone through a wet paper bag, and then, and only then cancel the series and buy the rights to the re-runs super cheap to air them until the end of time during the morning hours.
[b][i]DITTO.[/i][/b]
[img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]Alice Krige will play the part of Lady Jessica. Now [b]that[/b] will be very cool!
What am I talking about! I vowed I would never watch SciFi Channel again! Oh well, looks like I’m waiting for the DVD.
[img]images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]“Llyod,” a representative of Xenia’s posted this over at Lexx.Com:
quote:
Originally posted by Lloyd:
[i]Thanks from Xenia[/i]Xenia wants to thank all of her fans that attended the sci-fi show in Detroit this past weekend. Several hundred fans came by her table to talk to her, take photos and get her autograph. This was her first convention and she really enjoyed meeting and talking with her fans. Keep an eye on [url=http://www.xeniaseeberg.biz.]www.xeniaseeberg.biz.[/url] We will be posting some photos from the convention on her site and we will be announcing some new convention dates.
[img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
quote:
Originally posted by thefrey:
Ummm, for my future information, what exactly is causing them to look all dotty and spotty now? Is this a filer you are fond of? Or did you lower the resolution?
Which “dotty and spotty” look do you prefer?
GIF version:
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_buffy.gif[/img]JPEG version:
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_buffy.jpg[/img]The JPEG version looks nicer, but is twice the file size. The GIF version is smaller, loads quicker, and uses a color palette that permits it to look exactly the same on all computers and webbrowsers. Both versions are “dotty and spotty” because of methods of compression. The original bitmap version is 82.3KB in size, which is much too large for a banner. The JPEG I presented above uses some compression and lowers it down to 30.7KB. The GIF version is even smaller, 15.1KB. Smaller file size and hardware compatibility are paramount issues.
The image’s file size could be made even smaller with a different JPEG compression setting:
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_buffy-b.jpg[/img]
But as you can see, it’s worse than the GIF image.When deciding which image format to use on a webpage, two important things need to be considered. If your image is text or some sort of diagram, use GIF. If the image is a picture or photograph, use JPEG. In the case of banner ads, the text content is the most important element in the image. This was a factor in why I chose to use the GIF format. I also chose to use GIF because I knew that they would be more visualy compatible with the animated GIFs used in other ads.
Neither JPEG or GIF formats look perfect. PNG, a more recently invented file format, is a sort of combination of the two. But PNG has yet to gain widespread acceptance among all webbrowsers. (Or has it? I haven’t investigated lately.)
Probably the best file format is SWF, or Flash animation format. But that requires considerably more time, effort and skill. I would like to make banners that use this format when I have more time in the future.
quote:
Originally posted by FX:
[qb] Besides, the yummy oxygen-rich blood that I’m sure vampires prefer is the darker kind.oxygen rich blood, such as from the arteries, is bright red and usually pulsatile…oxygen depleted blood, such as from the jugular veins,is dark and usually nonpulsatile [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
[/QB]
Oops, I got that backwards. No big deal. I was just trying to make a joke.
quote:
Originally posted by FX:
why is true red a no-no in banners? because it tends to give the illusion of floating forward from the screen?
Colors on the computer screen are expressed as a combination of red, green, and blue light. These three values are given a value between 0 and 255. A shade of red with RGB values of 255,0,0 is too bright and is generally not comfortable for the eyes. Also, if transferred to video, the problem is highlighted with hot pixels creating a sparkling effect. If you ever watch a sci-fi show with cheap CGI effects on an old television with poor cable service, you’ll know what I mean. In those instances, the bright pixels actually distort the image on the screen.
Also, color theory dictates that warm colors advance, cool colors receed. Having such a bright shade of red is much too hot. And that’s why the lettering in theFrey’s version of the banner ad seemed to “float.” Therefore, if red is used for a background, then it is best to use a cool tint of red. But since we’re talking about the blood-theme of vampires in this case, we can’t use a shade of red that is Valentine’s Day pink-white. This creates a problem because in order for text to be clearly visible on a webpage, there must be a clear contrast between the background color and foregraound text. Since warm colors advance and cool colors receed, it’s best to use lighter-tinted colors in the background and darker-tinted colors for the text in order to make the page easier to read. It is also the reason why books have white pages with black text and not the other way around. So a solution I used was the dark shade of red for the background and the skin-tone lettering in the foreground text, “SadGeezer’s Guide to”. Next to it is the text, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which uses near-white lettering on a mostly black background. To help “glue” the foreground and backgrounds together, I used drop-shadows behind each feild of text.
quote:
Originally posted by thefrey:
But…, But…. it faded into a beautiful deep ruby that perfectly matched her dress. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] ‘Sides, I liked it. [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
Your red color gradation ranges from RGB values of 249,0,0 to 56,0,0. Buffy’s dress has an average RGB value of 184,23,39. The shade of red on the far left side with the value of 249,0,0 set’s off a warning in Adobe Photoshop telling me, “Warning: out of gamut for printing.” Not only is it too bright for comfortable viewing on computer monitors and television video, but it is not suitable for printing. For further explaination, I’ll just quote the Photoshop documentation:
quote:
No device in a publishing system is capable of reproducing the full range of colors viewable to the human eye. Each device operates within a specific color space, which can produce a certain range, or gamut, of colors.
The RGB (red, green, blue) and CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color modes represent two main categories of color spaces. The gamuts of the RGB and CMYK spaces are very different; while the RGB gamut is generally larger (that is, capable of representing more colors) than CMYK, some CMYK colors still fall outside the RGB gamut. (See Color gamuts (Photoshop) for an illustration.) In addition, different devices produce slightly different gamuts within the same color mode. For example, a variety of RGB spaces can exist among scanners and monitors, and a variety of CMYK spaces can exist among printing presses.
Because of these varying color spaces, colors can shift in appearance as you transfer documents between different devices. Color variations can result from different image sources (scanners and software produce art using different color spaces), differences in the way software applications define color, differences in print media (newsprint paper reproduces a smaller gamut than magazine-quality paper), and other natural variations, such as manufacturing differences in monitors or monitor age.
Therefore, it is best to use colors that are suitable for printing. Although it may be unlikely that people will print out pages from SadGeezer.Com, it is certainly possible. So the banner ads need to look good on paper as well as on the screen. The 217 colors used in the universal web palette takes this into account. (GIF images can have a maximum of 256 colors.) So the banner adds will look essentially the same on everyone’s monitor and color printer, no matter what kind of computer, operation system, or printer is used.
As far as the color of Buffy’s dress goes, I didn’t really notice it. I was distracted by the red-orange thingy in the background of the photo. The thingy served no purpose, so I rubbed it out with black and blended that area in with the new gradation I implemented which ranged from 171,23,26 to 0,0,0 (black). Although I wasn’t thinking about it at all, the shade of red that I used is, in fact, closer to the shade of Buffy’s dress than the shades that you used. And I’m certain that the people who photographed Sarah were concious of the shade of her dress and the lighting and how it would affect the printing of the photograph. The same things were going through the minds of the people who published it the photo too. The fact that the photograph’s publishers and I arrived upon a similar shade of red is just coincidence because we were probably thinking of the same issues.
Also, it’s worth noting that the red gradation that you used contained no green or blue. Strange as it may sound, all colors are made of combinations of a few raw colors. In the case of painting, it’s red, yellow, and blue. Printers use the CMYK model for technical reasons (cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K, in order to not confuse it with blue). But physicists know that color is expressed as a combination of red, green, and blue light. Hence the reason why the RGB model was used for color television and the subsequent advent of digital computer monitors.
Wouldn’t it be cool if computer and television monitors in the future used the red-yellow-blue model of color theory? Instead of generating light, the monitors would reflect it. Artists, who have been using pigments for untold thousands of years, would be much more comfortable with the digital medium if this were the case.
[ 29-10-2002: Message edited by: Flamegrape ]
The different versions of the Xev videogame model:
Xev, season 2.
Xev, season 2, Red team.
Xev, season 2, Blue team.
Xev, season 3.
Xev, season 3, Red team.
Xev, season 3, Blueteam.
Xev, season 4.
Xev, season 4, Red team.
Xev, season 4, Blue team.That’s nine different versions. But I was also thinking of making more variations of each version. Perhaps have her costume colored white with black trim, or vice-versa. How about a color-desaturated “Divine Assassin Xev?” Or maybe a “Xenia” version with pretty designs on her clothes?
Here’s Xev with the season 4 hair style…
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/xev_render_28oct02a.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/xev_render_28oct02b.jpg[/img]
…well, sort of. I think it needs a bit more work. (Try to ignore the dark shading on the edges.) But I was suprised how quickly I’ve been able to hash it out.[ 28-10-2002: Message edited by: Flamegrape ]
That reminds me. [i]Enterprise[/i] is not playing on any TV station where I live. So I don’t know if the second season is any good.
[img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]Here’s one for Farscape:
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_farscape.gif[/img]
[img]images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]
Cat, I mean no offence whatsoever. But I think I can create a new banner for your [b]Cat’s Lexx Links[/b] website that would be far more attractive than the one you have right now.
[img]images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]Here are brushed-up new versions of two of theFrey’s banners.
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_DeadGuyLexxForum.gif[/img]
I cleaned this up by smoothing out the gradients and adding a light dropshadow.[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_buffy.gif[/img]
I cleaned the gradient on this banner too. The original version used a the brightest shade of red which is a no-no! (lol) Besides, the yummy oxygen-rich blood that I’m sure vampires prefer is the darker kind. Also added drop-shadows and used different colors and arrangement for the letters.Just for the sake of arguement, what are the two sides of the coin? Freedom of speech versus good taste? I’m not sure what you mean.
theFrey agreed with me and the thread was deleted. Fatguy and Logan have been trying to argue that there is the issue of freedom of speech at stake. This prompted me to answer with a stern statement that it will not be tolerated, read the rules, end of story.
What if someone like Brian Downey happened to read that crap posted on our nice, friendly bulletin board? What would he think of us for permitting it? I don’t know how likely it is, but it’s worth considering.
You can replace the old “SadHOO” banner with this one:
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_sadHOO1.gif[/img]
[img]images/smiles/icon_confused.gif[/img]Note to Sad:
You need to replace the LEXX and Hitchhiker’s Guide banners with the updated versions above.[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/fg_xevpicarchive_banner.gif[/img]
[img]images/smiles/icon_confused.gif[/img]These are done:
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_h2g2-1.gif[/img]
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_reddwarf1.gif[/img]
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_aeonflux1.gif[/img]
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_b5-1.gif[/img]
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_lexx1.gif[/img]
[img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]
Maybe animation in the future. For now, I think that fast-loading gifs are the best idea.
BTW, exactly why does SadGeezer.Com take so long to load? To me, it doesn’t seem like there’s a problem with the graphics. What else is going on?
Sad, don’t use the Lexx banner I just posted yet. I want to work on it and some others. In particular, I want to use different fonts.
Also, theFrey, what fonts did you use for your banners? They look good, but I want to work on them, shift some colors, and convert them to an optimal file size and format. Also, do you have links to the images that you used for each banner?
[ 26-10-2002: Message edited by: Flamegrape ]
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/sg_banner_lexx1.gif[/img]
Here’s one, I think I’ll make another featuring the Lexx crew.
[ 26-10-2002: Message edited by: Flamegrape ]
That’s fine, Logan. I appreciate your tongue-in-cheek take on things. But I just wanted to make it absolutely positively crystal-clear that there is no room for debate on the issue of porn and gore at SadWriters. I’m sorry I had to lay down the law in a possibly heavy-handed way. But this is a very serious issue.
And BTW, all this talk about fan fiction has inspired me to continue the story that I started a long time ago. When I post it, I’ll fully expect you guys to critically rip it to sheds. Just don’t use naughty words!
[img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img][b][i]There is no way that I, or any of the other moderators, will tolerate stories depicting senseless, graphic, and misogynistic violence.[/i][/b]
[img]images/smiles/icon_mad.gif[/img]I recommend renting Andy Warhol’s movie, [i]Sleep[/i]. (I think that’s the title.) It’s a film of a guy sleeping. That’s it. Slightly more interesting than watching paint dry.
