Messages

Happy birthday JBurger!!

Thanks Dual!

*here's a free copy of Gemini Rue!*

Thank you, Matti, Ben, and Dualnames! I appreciate it.

The May 2010 Issue of Game Developer magazine has a 1 page write up on Boryokudan Rue.

Courtesy of Edmundo: http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/6773/brgamedeveloperarticle.jpg

Happy birthday! (Keep up the pickiness!) 

Thanks for the birthday wishes, but I'm not 21!

(My current age will remain a secret) 

Happy birthday Vince!!

Oh wow, thanks! I wasn't expecting that but it's surely appreciated!

Live-action re-enactment of Garfield cartoon, showing exactly how hilarious Garfield is:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yELOiYgR2aI

[What is the golden ratio, and how does one use it in composition?]

2 Questions:

What is the golden ratio, and how does one use it in composition?
All I know about the golden ratio is that it is equal to 1.61803399 and it can be used in composition to achieve certain results. The only real info I've picked up on it is here.

So, how often should you apply the golden ratio to a picture, what uses does it have, and should you always put the focal point on it?

What elements can be used to strengthen a composition?
Off the top of my head, I can only guess
- Perspective: lead the eye to the focal point. What if you dont have/know what your focal point is?
- Lighting: Draw the eye to the focal point with darkness and brightness.
- Golden Ratio? Put objects in certain places on the backdrop?
- Foreground Elements/Overlapping objects: Create depth in the picture.

If you know what Bioshock is, you have to watch this:

Bioshock Halloween: http://youtube.com/watch?v=YEqZkglTVYE

[Light beams]

I have some technical/artistical questions about certain aspects of drawing, and if anyone has the answers for me, that'd be great.

Lighting:
Light beams - When to, and when not to use them.

I've frequently been experimenting in lighting in a lot of the backgrounds I draw, and particularly with concentrated light sources. Sometimes I use "light beams" that come from an opening to create a dramatic effect, but I really have no idea about the technical aspect of when they really exist, and when to use them.

E.g.
Case 1:
This one was made for the background blitz awhile ago. I'd seen similiar pictures with light beams in a similiar enviroment, so I just copied the idea. I don't know if this really exists in nature though.

Case 2:
This was a sketch I made a little while back. It's supposed to be a run down room on a second story with one window on the side. I originally used a very strong beam of light coming from the window but I toned it down so now you can't tell too much that the beam exists, or if it's just lighting on the walls.

So my question is, when is it ok to use strong light beams? Or should you even use them at all?

Bounce light
So I've been reading about this thing called bounce light that causes the opposite side of an object to illuminate with another color. I guess this would generally be the color of the opposing light source. In outdoor scenes, should there always be a bounce light then? And would this be a blue bounce light?
Most backgrounds in A Tale of Two Kingdoms have blue bounce light on outdoor objects like trees (sorry, I couldn't find a good screenshot at the moment). Is this correct to do from an technical perspective?

General lighting
(Without having any professional knowledge) My guess is to light all objects with a hue of color from the light sources and a lesser hue from the bounce light. Would that always be a brightish yellow white for the front lighting and a blueish bounce light for outdoor scenes?

I thought these were pretty funny.

John Petrucci Psycho Execises:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hywld4xFHiM&mode=related&search=
http://youtube.com/watch?v=evTTHS9hwvU
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_pJ1ccnC1GI&mode=related&search=
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SKMYeXkYcgs&mode=related&search=