Thief Review

A quick review on Thief by Dalai Dama in collaboration with ChikasGamersPR,

Digital Coloring Part 1

By. Silent J

  Greetings grasshoppers. This tutorial is going to be a little long so I’ll divide it in two parts. This one will show you how to prepare your Photoshop file. It doesn’t sound very exiting, but it’s a very important step before you get to work. I hope you saved the drawing from the last tutorial, because you’ll be using it in these two tutorials. Things that you will need today:

1.      A computer (PC or Mac, your choice)

2.      A scanner

3.      And a Wacom tablet.

  There are different kinds of Wacom tablets you can use, each with different features and prices. If you can spare the change, the Cintiq is available for around $2,499. If your change consists more of pennies, you can get a Bamboo from about $85 to $100. (The link is a bit higher than that price range but it’s not difficult to scour eBay for a good deal.) If you’re out of pennies, then you can use a regular mouse but bear in mind that the same results won’t be the same.

4.      Oh, and Adobe Photoshop.

 

Step one: Scan your work

   

  Make sure to scan your art at a resolution of at least 300 dpi. I can’t really go to detail on how to scan cause all scanners are different, so you’ll have to play with it on your own to find out how it works.

Step two: Make a new file

  For those not too familiar with Photoshop, go to File>New. Next, put the size that you want. I personally use 11”x17”, the standard size for comic books. The resolution, as always, should be 300 dpi. If you're going to print it, the color mode should be CMYK, but, if you just want to keep it digital or to upload on a website like deviantArt, go for RGB.

 

  After that, place your art on the file by clicking File>Place and choose your art.

Once you’re done with that, place the art however you want. The art might not look dark enough, so to fix that, go to Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast. There, play with the sliding bars until you make it as dark as you want.. If you need to clean up the art, use the brush tool with white.

Step Three: Separate line art from background

  It’s easier said than done. But first, merge down the line art layer with the background layer just to make sure that the art is the same size as the file. To merge the layers, right click (Control+click on PC, Command+click on Mac) on the art layer, and click the merge down option.

 Next, double click the background layer, and when the window appears press Okay to unlock it. The padlock icon on the layer disappears and the layer changes to "Layer 0".

  Next, go to Select>All, then Edit>Cut. Then go to the Channel window and make a new layer (the layer should look black). In this channel layer, click Edit>Paste to put the art.

  Here comes the tricky part though, because we want to select only the line art but it won't work by clicking Select. What you’ll have to do is put the cursor on top of the channel thumbnail (small square on the layer that looks like the art), then push and hold control (command on Mac). The cursor should change to a hand with a square on top . 

 Without letting go of control or command click the channel thumbnail. If done right you selected all the space around the line art. 

  With this selection, we then go back to the layer window and make a new layer. Go to Select>Inverse, then using the color black, go to Edit>Fill. When the window pops out click Okay, and you should have your line art background free. Make sure to fill layer 0 with white.

  Finally, be sure to save this file because in part 2 we get started with the fun part.

Temper is Twitching 1: VGCW

By. Temper

Wrestling is a passion of mine, sure I’m well aware its staged and more of a soap opera than an actual fight, but I don’t really watch it for that. I watch because I like the personalities and the abilities of those men and women who put on the wrestling shows week in week out. But this channel I’m going to tell you about isn’t about “real” wrestling. The channel takes the concepts of promotions like WWE, TNA, ROH and puts a spin on it. What spin is that you ask? Instead of actual wrestlers, we get to watch video game characters duke it out.

VGCW or Video Game Championship Wrestling is not a new concept as creator Bazza readily admits. Bazza credits the idea to someone else by the name of Anthraxo who originally just streamed a royal rumble followed by a title match. Bazza had other ideas. VGCW is like any other wrestling tv show complete with matches, a developing story, rivalries between wrestlers (for titles or not). Through the last year and a half wrestlers have undergone changes, the sets, storylines, even use of post production aids have come into play during streams. Wrestlers range from Valve head Gabe Newell, Ganondorf, Guile, Mr. Satan (Hercule of DBZ), and even Barret Wallace of Final Fantasy VII.   

  Bazza used WWE’13 last year and has recently upgraded to WWE 2K14. Both games are full of bugs and pretty mediocre AI programming, and since Bazza doesn’t actually play the game these bugs and glitches are just as much part of the show as the wrestling and plot sections. Dubbed #THQuality by the fans (the now defunct THQ published WWE’13) and now renamed #2KQuality is mentioned any time a bug or something just out of the ordinary happens on screen when there is wrestling going on. But its all part of the fun. VGCW isn’t just shaped by Bazza, it is also shaped by the fans. Everything from jokes, entrances, fan art, comics, and even wrestlers can be suggested by fans and if it meets approval or over all adoptions by other fans its in.

   VGCW in and of itself is a parody of your usual wrestling show, so you get things like bumbling General Managers, mystery persons terrorizing wrestlers backstage, angles involving people getting run over, and hostile takeovers by evil wrestler factions. Weekly shows, and a “Pay Per View” event, it is all there. But fans love it so much that some prefer it to the real life promotions. Me personally I like the wrestlers, the entrances and the angles, everybody on VGCW gets a fair shot be they fan favorites, newcomers, or hated villains (something the WWE is lacking).

  VGCW isn't the only show on the channel. With the popularity of the main program Bazza and his crew saw the need to expand the brand Bazza’s channel now boasts four VGCW related show. The main show VGCW headed by Bazza, WVGCW (Women’s VGCW) the VGCW women’s division headed by Bryn, VGCW At Home (a Sims 3 house full of VGCW characters) heade by TheTOH and Extreme Dude Bro Wrestling, the non canon developmental show headed by JohnDudeBro. VGCW as a brand boast a wiki (VGCW.net) and an extensive google doc that has links for every show and the match card for those shows.

   So whether you are a wrestling fan, a fan of satire/parody or just curious about how putting video game characters and personalities into a wrestling game and pitting them against each other has garnered such a big audience, I recommend you check out VGCW at www.twitch/tv/bazza87