Well, I suggested that, but it was declined. The reason was because thier are 13
year old members. But, have you ever taken a peak at the "unknown
ecchi" section? Last time I looked at the female section, it seemed to do
some rule bending as well... Confusing, but I wont complain...
This is a call out to all my friends, here at minitokyo, and all other's who are
interested.
As some of you may have learned (or maybe not), I have had a good amount of
pictures deleted from my gallery, because they were deamed "too sexy"
for this site. I don't mind at all, in fact, when I found out that one of my
pictures breached the rules, I submited my gallery to a Mod, and they edited out
the pics that were against the rules.
Of course, this presents a problem for me, in the submissions department, since
I tend to lean towards an older audience. I guess, if I was going to pic a
direction fo my art to fallow, it would be a cross between the brutal 16th
century samurai manga, "Blade of the immortal", and the artist,
Masamune Shirow. Though, I am starting to reach out and draw more
"conservative" artwork, such as the general type of art found
here.
So, what I am trying to say, is that I have found an alternate site to submit my
art on, in which more mature content is allowed. If anyone is interested, they
can go to deviantART, and look up RoninDude: http://ronindude.deviantart.com/
That is a link to my userpage, so, check it out, if your interested!
DeviantART (missleading name, I'd say) is an artists community, much like this
one, but it fallows all sorts of art, from anime to photography, writing to
sculpture, and so much more.
Though I must say that what appealed to me was the fact that the policy there
allows that nudity be portrayed, as long as it is artful, and not vulgar, or in
anyway pornographic. There are some who find beauty in the natural human body,
and it has been part of artistic culture since the dawn of humankind.
Though nudity is a small part of my overall artistic tastes, I like being free
enough to submit anything that I could care to have crituqued. After all, this
is why any artist submits thier work, to have it critiqued, no?
So, to rap this up, I will say that I will still be an active member, here, in
Minitokyo, since there are so many good artists here that I want to keep track
of.
My thanks goes to my all those who liked my work enough to add me to they're
friends list, and for being such inspiring artists, yourselves:
Cannibal
Frozenwilderness
Billyzekid
Outofphase
Jormungand
Ultimaweapon86
GaiJiN
Lei-137
Samanosuke89
Evanrued
Diaphanus
Chisana
Rinn
Larynx
Itchy
Anime4life
Well, I gave Keltosh My Gallery link, because there are most likely more
inapropriate images, therein. If any other Mods wanna judge it, here it is: http://ronindude.minitokyo.net/gallery/
I wanna post all of my drawings, but some of it is of a mature content (battle
violence and partial nudity, but not together!). Most of it, actually. I guess
my aproatch is something like a cross between the manga, "Blade of the
immortal", and some of Shirow's, less disturbing work. That's what I am
going for, anyways. I mostly reach for an older audience.
I understand now that minitokyo has some rather young members that frequent the
galleries, and I don't want to be responsible for posting inapropriate material.
But I do draw these things, and want to share them for critique. So far,
Minitokyo is the best site for a good, well rounded critique, that I have found.
I can and have prospered much from the helpful comments of the many members
here.
However, now I have a dilema, since I can't (and wont) post anything that
contains too much gore, ecchi content, or even detail in curtain areas of the
body. These things I draw often, and the detail on the human figure, both male
and female, will undoubtedly get more vivid as I get better. This causes a
conflict in me, since most everything in anime/manga (or the entertainment
field) has at least a little bit of sex appeal, weather in the characters'
costumes, or little things that they say or do. This is simple marketing, and a
ploy to attract the natural part of the human being. So, I will have to limit
myself a bit, especially where it applies to detailing curtain parts of my
pictures, like breasts and such.
i hope that this doesn't come accross as compaining, I am more than willing to
conform to the rules. I just wanted to explain myself, and ask if anyone knows
of any sites that allow "R rated" subject matter, so that I can get
revues, and continue to grow as an artist. By "R rated", I do not mean
pornography, or hentai, by any means, but just stuff that interests a mature
audience.
I hope I explained this well...
So in short, I have learned about posting here:
*that I must draw breasts that are rounded off, with no nipples, even
under clothing (mostly due to the fact I find it impossible not to over
enphisize *blush*).
*that I should probably stay away from panty-shots, knowing my
preference to over detail *double blush*.
So, there's my gallery, have at me, and be fierce! *ouch*
I am an artist of sorts (or, rather, trying), and I have been posting my
pictures for a couple of weeks. I have recently posted a picture of a character,
that just got deleted for being inapropriate. She was fully clothed, and had no
skin showing on the inapropriate areas, such as the genitals and nipples, and
her pose or actions weren't even slightly sexual. However, she was suffering
from cold weather effects, in the chest,
I am willing to change this, I just wanted to clarify if the cold weather
effects are against the rules. I wish I could show the picture in this thread,
but I don't wanna break the rules.
It could also be because of the fact that she is just a line drawing, and there
is no shading to differentiate between different areas. Maybe it looks like she
is nude (though it doesn't to me)... her clothes are form fitting.
I have another picture that is rather riske, here: http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/74452/
or another: http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/75010/
These are my more popular pictures, and my oldest submissions, and I realize
that posting them here may leave them open to deletion, but I am willing to do
what it takes to be a helpful member.
There are lots of pictures posted in this site that are rather riske, even
though there is no nudity, and lots of female scans that suffer from the cold
weather effects. Some are even posted by the Mods, and this makes for confusion,
on my end.
Manji in "Blade of the immortal" manga. I like his manly atitude, and
his general outlook on things. In real life it would be Musashi Myomoto, the
legendary master swordsman. He is my idol.
Hmmm, didn't know, I was just curious about seeing how many people have posted
pictures, and I didn't wanna go through the userpages, one by one. I can't think
of an easier way, and I didn't know that there was a thread already about this
subject. But if it's closed, than new pictures wouldn't be on it, and again, I
just wanted to see how many people had posted pics.
I don't think it's such a bad idea, this thread should be like a collage of
pictures. It's not like anyone has to post!
I actually don't have any recent pics of myself, except the one I posted above,
and others of myself fighting, but in those, my face is covered by a helmet
I just thought it'd be neat to know who in Minitokyo has posted a picture, and
if so, it be cool to post it here, so everyone who checks this thread can see it
quickly!
Just saw your sword, Cannibal, it looks strong. I like the traditional look it
has. It'd make a cool signature img, don't you think? Maybe you should use it.
Just a thought
Come on, let's see some more faces! XP
Great to see you bring this to light, hope that someone up there here's this, I
have recently discovered alot of edited posts in my guestbook, and it would've
been great, if I had been notified. Heh heh, your post was one of them,
outofphase.
If you want a guide, Here: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/
This is a great site for finding out how to make and understand japanese armor.
It is an online guide. Of course, when I made my armor, I didn't have internet,
and I lived in a grainery in wisconsin. I referanced my armor from the movie,
" The last samurai". Remember Tom Cruise's red armor, that he wore in
the last battle? well, I saw the movie, and decided that I had to have that
armor, so I endevored to make it. I just watched the movie, freezed the frames
with close ups of the armor, and made extensive notes and plans. I even counted
the laces and rows, to make sure everything was exact.
I then researched a very large book I have, that is called, "A glossery of
the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor" By George Cameron
Stone. This book is a massive encyclopedia of all weapons ever used up to the
2nd world war. Of course, some places are more fleshed out than others, and it
seems that the author had a large interest in japanese weapon and armor craft.
This was a great help.
The materials I used for it are black plastic berrels, nylon cord (white), steel
pop rivits, and sheet steel, for the buckles and decorative marks, here and
there.
What's that? Plastic, you say? Well, did you know, that ABS plastic and laquered
leather look identical? And the plastic is very tuff, and much more shock
absorbant than leather, or even steel. If we were using real swords, then I'd be
in trouble, but since we just use sticks, it is optimum.
I spent alot of time rounding off the edges, and smoothing out the cuts,
drilling holes and rounding them out as well. I even fashioned my own buckles,
out of steel.The most time consuming part was all the lacing! Hours and hours of
lacing... The only thing that I'd like to do with it now is rim the edges in
steel, though I don't know how to do this, yet.
I am so proud of it, that I have built a stand and set it up in my room, next to
my bed. Heh, some people think it's creapy, but it's my second skin, so it don't
bother me! Besides, it fits with all the weapons I have covering the walls!
I made this armor, to use in my sparring group, or in SCA fighter practice and
events. It took me over 100 hours of labor (not counting the time spent redoing
mistakes), and is my current pride and joy. I just wanted to see what people
thought of it.
I posted this on another forum of mine: http://forum.minitokyo.net/showthread/12488/
But I thought I,d make a forum post, just for it.
See, apart from being an artist, my other great passion is armor craft, and
weapons sparring. If your interested in talking about your own sparring
experience, please, visit the link I posted above, I'd be glad to talk! There
are lots of people that have posted some interesting stuff about thier own
experiences, join in, by all means! Or if you want to ask me anything about my
armor, or if you have any armor pics from your own arsensal,(if you have one)
just post here, I'd be much ablidged to answer any questions, or to see your own
battle gear!
If you want a guide, Here: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/
This is a great site for finding out how to make and understand japanese armor.
It is an online guide. Of course, when I made my armor, I didn't have internet,
and I lived in a grainery in wisconsin. I referanced my armor from the movie,
" The last samurai". Remember Tom Cruise's red armor, that he wore in
the last battle? well, I saw the movie, and decided that I had to have that
armor, so I endevored to make it. I just watched the movie, freezed the frames
with close ups of the armor, and made extensive notes and plans. I even counted
the laces and rows, to make sure everything was exact.
I then researched a very large book I have, that is called, "A glossery of
the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor" By George Cameron
Stone. This book is a massive encyclopedia of all weapons ever used up to the
2nd world war. Of course, some places are more fleshed out than others, and it
seems that the author had a large interest in japanese weapon and armor craft.
This was a great help.
The materials I used for it are black plastic berrels, nylon cord (white), steel
pop rivits, and sheet steel, for the buckles and decorative marks, here and
there.
What's that? Plastic, you say? Well, did you know, that ABS plastic and laquered
leather look identical? And the plastic is very tuff, and much more shock
absorbant than leather, or even steel. If we were using real swords, then I'd be
in trouble, but since we just use sticks, it is optimum.
I spent alot of time rounding off the edges, and smoothing out the cuts,
drilling holes and rounding them out as well. I even fashioned my own buckles,
out of steel.The most time consuming part was all the lacing! Hours and hours of
lacing... The only thing that I'd like to do with it now is rim the edges in
steel, though I don't know how to do this, yet.
I am so proud of it, that I have built a stand and set it up in my room, next to
my bed. Heh, some people think it's creapy, but it's my second skin, so it don't
bother me! Besides, it fits with all the weapons I have covering the walls!
Here is a pic of me in the suit of samurai armor that I made. It is battle
worthy, as that is what I made it for.
If your interested, my brother made a site that shows some of our fighting while
we were in Wisconsin.
Just go in and explore. In the "Meet the cast" section, I'm Ray. I'm
not sure if he's got any pics of me fighting in my Japanese armor, yet.My
brother is a rather jovial fellow, enjoys europian styles.
Here's the link: http://www.geocities.com/brandoncornwell/
Well If you like the site, post in his guest book, it'd make him happy.
PS: I just checked, there aren't any pics of me fighting in my Japanese armor,
or many others of me either... I guess he didn't wanna show me woopin' him, he
he
Still, check it out, eh?
Song blade, I before I say anything, I will re-iterate that I am not a trainer,
nor have I ever had any formal training. With that said, I will say that I have
always studied from history books to try and find the truest way of
swordsmanship, none of this whirly twirly hollywood crap you'd see on tv. Real
swordsmanship, as I have come to understand, is much like a boxing match in it's
appearance, the only real beauty found is in it's brutality. The object is to
take this sharp metal impliment of death and destroy your enemy's body with it.
If you wish to learn about the forms and techniques, I would direct you to the
book, "Go Rin No Sho" or in english, "The book of five
rings", by Myomoto Musashi. It's were I started, and it's the best way to
begin, in my view on the matter.
Past that, just get the feel for the wieght of the bokken (or sword) by swinging
the thing around. You may feel silly, at first, but if you train diligently, and
study, you will get the hang of it.
If you are interested in sparring, but not in injuries, you can start out using
some "Boffers", with a buddy. A "Boffer" is a PVC plastic
pipe with padding wrapped around it. They can be pretty elaborate, as I have
seen, taking on the apearance a sword (a big foofy sword!). Still, I only used
them for about 3 months, then I switched indefinately to wooden weapons. I just
find that the "clack" of wood on wood is more satisfying than the
"boing" of padded boffers.
These padded swords wont afford you much reality in learning swordsmanship, but
what they can do is teach you to deal with fast paced action that's right in you
face. Not a good idea to start wackin' eachother with wood, right off the bat,
because someone's gonna get seriously hurt. When you get familiar with the
action, and become more controled in you actions, you can make the transition to
wood alot safer.
Of course, you could always get a shinai (bamboo practice sword), and though
expensive, it is safer than wood, and rigid enough to deal realistically. the
only problem I have with the shinai is that it is too light. You don't get the
real speed of battle.
Of course, as you can see, I take a rather spiritual aproatch at swordsmanship,
and I make no claim of being a master. I am always looking for new sparring
partners, as often as I can, because this broadens my skill. I am also, always
willing to learn new things, myself, and very much interested in anything anyone
with skill has to say on the matter! This is my passion.
Still, with all this said, you may wish to only do it as a form of exercise,
which to that I say: "Great, more power to ya'!" It's a lot of fun,
and preforming Kata can be great for clearing your mind, I know that when I am
doing them, and I finish, I feel extremely whole and together. Very Zen.
Awesome, sais and tonfa? Bo sounds cool too, I would like to try those out as
well... I guess that applies to all ancient weapons, for me!
Yeah, collect em' all
To, Sicaria: Well the SCA is an organization that started in the US, and is now
spread through out the world, in some places, that deals in the accurate
recreation of ancient midieval history. I am not familiar with any part of it
other than thier fighter's group. though, I do know that they deal in ALL things
midieval, from artisans to breweries, clothing making, dances, cooking,
archery, etc... As far as the fighting goes, there is fencing, combat archery,
and heavy combat. there may be more, depending were you,re at. I am familiar
with the heavy combat, though I am not a member, because I move too much.
Fallowing family around the country... Ergh....
Anyways, the heavy combat is as fallows:
There is a minimum armor requirement, since the combat is full force and
bone breaking at times, so to prevent such injuries, you must wair at least a
gorget (Neck guard), kidney protection(like a weight belt), a steel helm (with
many requirements), elbow and knee armor (not just pads), hand and wrist
protection (like a guantlet), and a cup (for the groin, he he). Women must wair
chest protection, as well, and every fighter must be 18 or older.
If you have all of this, then, you are still in a heap of trouble,because these
folk are in it for the realism, and your gonna get some bumps. One member once
told me that the idea for hitting was, " If this stick of rattan was a real
sword, I've got to hit you hard enough so that it would cleave your helm or
armor." If you don't do this, no one's gonna except your blow, and your
gonna hafta' hit em' harder! Though that group was known for it's heavy
fighters...
Of course, most of them have a good idea of how different types of armor deal
with blows, and they wont deal excessive force, which is kindly, though I
wouldn't expect it. Just come prepaired, and ready to learn. They really are a
kind bunch, and are eager to meet new fighters. On your first day, someone will
go some slow rounds with you, make sure you can deal with it in a very light
form. Those of you who are use to backyard fighting will no doubt be used to
this fluid but light-contact way of fighting, assuming you don't kill you
sparring partners durring a match...
After a month or so, after you have got to know the group, you can ask to join
up and get your fighter's card, and just go to the next event and complete the
fighter's test. If you hve anymore detailed questions, just look up the site
http://www.sca.org/
Oh, and if we were using real weapons, and not rattan sticks, it would be the
real deal. That's how simmilar it is. Just go to the sight, figure out when
practice is, and go, see for yourself. That's assuming that they are in your
area, I didn't look to see were you were from, Sicaria...
To pano4th: Thanks for the compliments, man, I'll post a link to my brother's
site that has a full picture of me in my suit, when I get the site adress from
him. I kinda forgot to bookmark it...Argh! Or, you can go to my user page here
in Minitokyo, an see part of it in my photo on the left side of the screen. I
love making armor, almost more than drawing! Thanks again!
My user page, for advertisement puposes : http://ronindude.minitokyo.net/
See, in Corel9, color masks are helpful, because it masks off everything but the
selected color, so you can only effect that color with your paint tools. Since I
start off by filling in with base colors, the actual coloring process takes a
very short time. I really don't have any experience with any programs, except
Corel9, and I'm new to that as well!
How's the lasso work? never used it...
I am an artist, and I work with Corel9 to CG and color my work. I am new to the
whole CGing thing, and I would apreciate any helpful tips on the matter. I'll
post a link to my gallery, and a list of my procedure that I currently use. This
is so that you can better understand how I get my results, and maybe help me
find a better way:
My process:
I draw, and ink, then scan the picture.
Then, I change the color mode to 1 bit black and white, to make it easier to
fill in with color,
Then, I change it back to RGB true color mode, and fill in the apropriate
colors.
Once done, I Use color masks to creat proper shading and effects, with the
airbrush paint tool.
When I am done with this, I then make a black colormask to fix up the
linework, so it blends better with the pictures colors in the apropriate areas
(Just learned this).
After all of this, I add a slight blend to remove the jaggy lines.
My gallery: http://ronindude.minitokyo.net/gallery/
If you have any suggestions, or techniques, I would apreciate them. For one,
I would like to skip the inking stage, because it makes my lines too bold. But
if I do, the lines fade away when I change the color mode to 1 bit black and
white. I dont know any other way to do this.
Thanks, in advance!
Awesome, JianRyuki, wish I had been so fortunate! Sure, I have always swung
swords around, as long as I can remember, but didn't get serious untill I was
16. Been doin' it for about 5 years, now, but still, I never had any formal
teachings. I just stick to the history books. The closest thing to training I
have had would have to be from the folk at the SCA, because they deal with as
close to real melee combat as you can legally get now adays. Learned to
"Throw a rap" and to properly use a shield, from them, as well as some
greatsword and polearm mineuvers. Also just dealing with heavy hitting foes in
great numbers can temper your resolve in a bout. Seeing a 200 lbs armored
gorilla charging after you with a stick and a shield the size of a wall, can
really get your neck hairs raised. " Oh, my, you look energetic, Mr.
Gorilla, don't you!" Still, its fun, when you can get a shot off, and that
200 lbs gorilla drops like a sack of shite. Great sportsmen, those folk, never
met one yet that didn't prove his honor.
Wha-? Spatula...? ........ What the hell? lol
Well well, it seems alot of people are destroying furniture and lights and such.
Maybe this is a sign to spar outside... Heh heh, oh well... LOL
Sicaria, I,ve been wanting fence with sabers, since they sound more versitile
than an epee or foil. all I have is a foil set, and occasionally I can get
someone to duel with, though most of my sparring partners lean more towards the
wooden sword and armor stuff, as generally I do. Though I like to learn just
about anything!
About fighting inside, well it's dangerous, but hey, if you want to get well
rounded as a swordsman, I suppose you should practice in all places and
situations.
Once, awhile back, I decided to do some practice on an oak log that hung out
from a hill. It bounced around like a diving board, since it was only anchored
on one side, but since it was only about 4 feet off the ground, it wasn't all
that dangerous. I used to dance back and forth on it, swinging my sword in
realitive strikes. Anyways, one morning, I decided to go out, like usual, but
one thing was different. the seasons were changing to winter, and the morning
due and frost was covering the mossy log. Though I had done this many times
before, I had failed to notice the frost, and, well, you can guess what
happened. I fell, landed on my shin, heh, heh. once on the ground, I vividly
remember darting strieght up, and looking at the log. Of course, I had failed to
observe the state of the slippery log before, and laughed at my foolishness. I
decided it didn't help to learn to fight on logs, or stilts or whatever
hollywood had lead me to beleive, and that those things really didn't teach me
any more about footwork any more than practicing on solid ground would have.
But I will say, if you want to better your foot work, practice on stony ground,
sandy ground, marshy ground, or even in knee deep water. I have only had
sufficient practice on stony and icy ground (from the stony hills of the
redwoods in northern Califnia, my homeland, to the frozen fields of ice in
northern Wisconsin). It is also very interesting to fight in thick woodlands,
were the saplings are dense and tall. Woe to the fellow who chooses a greatsword
on that day, heh heh heh...
Go for it, Stealthfirestarter, you'll never know if you don't try. I personally
would like to learn more on the art of hand to hand, myself, but I suppose
that's another topic...
Fencers are people too! Heh heh, I have found great enjoyment from fencing, and
for all intensive purposes, it verymuch counts as swordsmanship! Though I like
to broaden out and learn all kinds of styles.
A foil is used mostly as a stabbing weapon, while a katana impliments slashing
more often than stabbing (though of course not limmited to slashing).
A shield and sword style tends to fall ito its own catagory, since it implies
the use of different footing (Reversed, so your shield is in front).
A greatsword relies alot on the hips, and the ballance of a fighter, he has to
make sure he uses sufficient force without going off ballance and over extending
himself.
A long sword is easier for the opponent to take control of than the short
sword, as a person can use the leverage of thier opponents longsword against
them. For example, in a sword lock, when both the fighters are sword to sword,
pressing for a dominant stance, the greatsword becomes encombersomb to its
wielder, and the shortswordsman can dance about and bend it to his will. Thus,
the greatsword is a weapon for the battle field, and best used when your enemies
are engaging others. Catch them off guard. Sounds dishonorable, but guess who
would have gone home to see his family at battles end!
With that note,it is interesting to see how battle tactics and honor seemed to
become seperate issues during times of dyer war. Like the revolutionary war, for
example. Gorrilla warfare was frowned apon, since it was policy for a man of
honor to stand in line and take the bullets in civil battle.
But who won the war?
Same for the ninja and the samurai. The ninja were not thought highly of, but
the samurai (who were honor zealots) still employed them, regardless of thier
own strict honor code, which demanded forthrightness, among other things.
So to go back to weapons and theyre usefulness, I believe that different
situations call for different "weapons". A battle is won in every
aspect, or not at all. Musashi Myomoto, the famed japanese swordsman, was
undefeated his entire life. This was because he used his entire world as a
weapon. every movement, every word, rock and wind, the spirit of his oponent, of
his own, everything. This is something to espire to, I think...
lol
Sorry *chuckle*
Well, I suggested that, but it was declined. The reason was because thier are 13 year old members. But, have you ever taken a peak at the "unknown ecchi" section? Last time I looked at the female section, it seemed to do some rule bending as well... Confusing, but I wont complain...
Example: http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/15436/
;)
This is a call out to all my friends, here at minitokyo, and all other's who are interested.
As some of you may have learned (or maybe not), I have had a good amount of pictures deleted from my gallery, because they were deamed "too sexy" for this site. I don't mind at all, in fact, when I found out that one of my pictures breached the rules, I submited my gallery to a Mod, and they edited out the pics that were against the rules.
Of course, this presents a problem for me, in the submissions department, since I tend to lean towards an older audience. I guess, if I was going to pic a direction fo my art to fallow, it would be a cross between the brutal 16th century samurai manga, "Blade of the immortal", and the artist, Masamune Shirow. Though, I am starting to reach out and draw more "conservative" artwork, such as the general type of art found here.
So, what I am trying to say, is that I have found an alternate site to submit my art on, in which more mature content is allowed. If anyone is interested, they can go to deviantART, and look up RoninDude: http://ronindude.deviantart.com/
That is a link to my userpage, so, check it out, if your interested!
DeviantART (missleading name, I'd say) is an artists community, much like this one, but it fallows all sorts of art, from anime to photography, writing to sculpture, and so much more.
Though I must say that what appealed to me was the fact that the policy there allows that nudity be portrayed, as long as it is artful, and not vulgar, or in anyway pornographic. There are some who find beauty in the natural human body, and it has been part of artistic culture since the dawn of humankind.
Though nudity is a small part of my overall artistic tastes, I like being free enough to submit anything that I could care to have crituqued. After all, this is why any artist submits thier work, to have it critiqued, no?
So, to rap this up, I will say that I will still be an active member, here, in Minitokyo, since there are so many good artists here that I want to keep track of.
My thanks goes to my all those who liked my work enough to add me to they're friends list, and for being such inspiring artists, yourselves:
Cannibal
Frozenwilderness
Billyzekid
Outofphase
Jormungand
Ultimaweapon86
GaiJiN
Lei-137
Samanosuke89
Evanrued
Diaphanus
Chisana
Rinn
Larynx
Itchy
Anime4life
Thanks again, and see ya around!
Well, I gave Keltosh My Gallery link, because there are most likely more inapropriate images, therein. If any other Mods wanna judge it, here it is: http://ronindude.minitokyo.net/gallery/
I wanna post all of my drawings, but some of it is of a mature content (battle violence and partial nudity, but not together!). Most of it, actually. I guess my aproatch is something like a cross between the manga, "Blade of the immortal", and some of Shirow's, less disturbing work. That's what I am going for, anyways. I mostly reach for an older audience.
I understand now that minitokyo has some rather young members that frequent the galleries, and I don't want to be responsible for posting inapropriate material. But I do draw these things, and want to share them for critique. So far, Minitokyo is the best site for a good, well rounded critique, that I have found. I can and have prospered much from the helpful comments of the many members here.
However, now I have a dilema, since I can't (and wont) post anything that contains too much gore, ecchi content, or even detail in curtain areas of the body. These things I draw often, and the detail on the human figure, both male and female, will undoubtedly get more vivid as I get better. This causes a conflict in me, since most everything in anime/manga (or the entertainment field) has at least a little bit of sex appeal, weather in the characters' costumes, or little things that they say or do. This is simple marketing, and a ploy to attract the natural part of the human being. So, I will have to limit myself a bit, especially where it applies to detailing curtain parts of my pictures, like breasts and such.
i hope that this doesn't come accross as compaining, I am more than willing to conform to the rules. I just wanted to explain myself, and ask if anyone knows of any sites that allow "R rated" subject matter, so that I can get revues, and continue to grow as an artist. By "R rated", I do not mean pornography, or hentai, by any means, but just stuff that interests a mature audience.
I hope I explained this well...
So in short, I have learned about posting here:
*that I must draw breasts that are rounded off, with no nipples, even under clothing (mostly due to the fact I find it impossible not to over enphisize *blush*).
*that I should probably stay away from panty-shots, knowing my preference to over detail *double blush*.
So, there's my gallery, have at me, and be fierce! *ouch*
I am an artist of sorts (or, rather, trying), and I have been posting my pictures for a couple of weeks. I have recently posted a picture of a character, that just got deleted for being inapropriate. She was fully clothed, and had no skin showing on the inapropriate areas, such as the genitals and nipples, and her pose or actions weren't even slightly sexual. However, she was suffering from cold weather effects, in the chest,
I am willing to change this, I just wanted to clarify if the cold weather effects are against the rules. I wish I could show the picture in this thread, but I don't wanna break the rules.
It could also be because of the fact that she is just a line drawing, and there is no shading to differentiate between different areas. Maybe it looks like she is nude (though it doesn't to me)... her clothes are form fitting.
I have another picture that is rather riske, here: http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/74452/
or another: http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/75010/
These are my more popular pictures, and my oldest submissions, and I realize that posting them here may leave them open to deletion, but I am willing to do what it takes to be a helpful member.
There are lots of pictures posted in this site that are rather riske, even though there is no nudity, and lots of female scans that suffer from the cold weather effects. Some are even posted by the Mods, and this makes for confusion, on my end.
Thanks for anyone who can answer my question.
Manji in "Blade of the immortal" manga. I like his manly atitude, and his general outlook on things. In real life it would be Musashi Myomoto, the legendary master swordsman. He is my idol.
Hmmm, didn't know, I was just curious about seeing how many people have posted pictures, and I didn't wanna go through the userpages, one by one. I can't think of an easier way, and I didn't know that there was a thread already about this subject. But if it's closed, than new pictures wouldn't be on it, and again, I just wanted to see how many people had posted pics.
I don't think it's such a bad idea, this thread should be like a collage of pictures. It's not like anyone has to post!
I actually don't have any recent pics of myself, except the one I posted above, and others of myself fighting, but in those, my face is covered by a helmet
XP
I just thought it'd be neat to know who in Minitokyo has posted a picture, and if so, it be cool to post it here, so everyone who checks this thread can see it quickly!
Just saw your sword, Cannibal, it looks strong. I like the traditional look it has. It'd make a cool signature img, don't you think? Maybe you should use it. Just a thought
Come on, let's see some more faces!
Great to see you bring this to light, hope that someone up there here's this, I have recently discovered alot of edited posts in my guestbook, and it would've been great, if I had been notified. Heh heh, your post was one of them, outofphase.
Do you post your picture, here?
Come on, let's see your face!
If you want a guide, Here: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/
This is a great site for finding out how to make and understand japanese armor. It is an online guide. Of course, when I made my armor, I didn't have internet, and I lived in a grainery in wisconsin. I referanced my armor from the movie, " The last samurai". Remember Tom Cruise's red armor, that he wore in the last battle? well, I saw the movie, and decided that I had to have that armor, so I endevored to make it. I just watched the movie, freezed the frames with close ups of the armor, and made extensive notes and plans. I even counted the laces and rows, to make sure everything was exact.
I then researched a very large book I have, that is called, "A glossery of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor" By George Cameron Stone. This book is a massive encyclopedia of all weapons ever used up to the 2nd world war. Of course, some places are more fleshed out than others, and it seems that the author had a large interest in japanese weapon and armor craft. This was a great help.
The materials I used for it are black plastic berrels, nylon cord (white), steel pop rivits, and sheet steel, for the buckles and decorative marks, here and there.
What's that? Plastic, you say? Well, did you know, that ABS plastic and laquered leather look identical? And the plastic is very tuff, and much more shock absorbant than leather, or even steel. If we were using real swords, then I'd be in trouble, but since we just use sticks, it is optimum.
I spent alot of time rounding off the edges, and smoothing out the cuts, drilling holes and rounding them out as well. I even fashioned my own buckles, out of steel.The most time consuming part was all the lacing! Hours and hours of lacing... The only thing that I'd like to do with it now is rim the edges in steel, though I don't know how to do this, yet.
I am so proud of it, that I have built a stand and set it up in my room, next to my bed. Heh, some people think it's creapy, but it's my second skin, so it don't bother me! Besides, it fits with all the weapons I have covering the walls!
I made this armor, to use in my sparring group, or in SCA fighter practice and events. It took me over 100 hours of labor (not counting the time spent redoing mistakes), and is my current pride and joy. I just wanted to see what people thought of it.
I posted this on another forum of mine: http://forum.minitokyo.net/showthread/12488/
But I thought I,d make a forum post, just for it.
See, apart from being an artist, my other great passion is armor craft, and weapons sparring. If your interested in talking about your own sparring experience, please, visit the link I posted above, I'd be glad to talk! There are lots of people that have posted some interesting stuff about thier own experiences, join in, by all means! Or if you want to ask me anything about my armor, or if you have any armor pics from your own arsensal,(if you have one) just post here, I'd be much ablidged to answer any questions, or to see your own battle gear!
If you want a guide, Here: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/katchu/
This is a great site for finding out how to make and understand japanese armor. It is an online guide. Of course, when I made my armor, I didn't have internet, and I lived in a grainery in wisconsin. I referanced my armor from the movie, " The last samurai". Remember Tom Cruise's red armor, that he wore in the last battle? well, I saw the movie, and decided that I had to have that armor, so I endevored to make it. I just watched the movie, freezed the frames with close ups of the armor, and made extensive notes and plans. I even counted the laces and rows, to make sure everything was exact.
I then researched a very large book I have, that is called, "A glossery of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor" By George Cameron Stone. This book is a massive encyclopedia of all weapons ever used up to the 2nd world war. Of course, some places are more fleshed out than others, and it seems that the author had a large interest in japanese weapon and armor craft. This was a great help.
The materials I used for it are black plastic berrels, nylon cord (white), steel pop rivits, and sheet steel, for the buckles and decorative marks, here and there.
What's that? Plastic, you say? Well, did you know, that ABS plastic and laquered leather look identical? And the plastic is very tuff, and much more shock absorbant than leather, or even steel. If we were using real swords, then I'd be in trouble, but since we just use sticks, it is optimum.
I spent alot of time rounding off the edges, and smoothing out the cuts, drilling holes and rounding them out as well. I even fashioned my own buckles, out of steel.The most time consuming part was all the lacing! Hours and hours of lacing... The only thing that I'd like to do with it now is rim the edges in steel, though I don't know how to do this, yet.
I am so proud of it, that I have built a stand and set it up in my room, next to my bed. Heh, some people think it's creapy, but it's my second skin, so it don't bother me! Besides, it fits with all the weapons I have covering the walls!
Here is a pic of me in the suit of samurai armor that I made. It is battle worthy, as that is what I made it for.
If your interested, my brother made a site that shows some of our fighting while we were in Wisconsin.
Just go in and explore. In the "Meet the cast" section, I'm Ray. I'm not sure if he's got any pics of me fighting in my Japanese armor, yet.My brother is a rather jovial fellow, enjoys europian styles.
Here's the link: http://www.geocities.com/brandoncornwell/
Well If you like the site, post in his guest book, it'd make him happy.
PS: I just checked, there aren't any pics of me fighting in my Japanese armor, or many others of me either... I guess he didn't wanna show me woopin' him, he he
Still, check it out, eh?
Song blade, I before I say anything, I will re-iterate that I am not a trainer, nor have I ever had any formal training. With that said, I will say that I have always studied from history books to try and find the truest way of swordsmanship, none of this whirly twirly hollywood crap you'd see on tv. Real swordsmanship, as I have come to understand, is much like a boxing match in it's appearance, the only real beauty found is in it's brutality. The object is to take this sharp metal impliment of death and destroy your enemy's body with it.
If you wish to learn about the forms and techniques, I would direct you to the book, "Go Rin No Sho" or in english, "The book of five rings", by Myomoto Musashi. It's were I started, and it's the best way to begin, in my view on the matter.
Past that, just get the feel for the wieght of the bokken (or sword) by swinging the thing around. You may feel silly, at first, but if you train diligently, and study, you will get the hang of it.
If you are interested in sparring, but not in injuries, you can start out using some "Boffers", with a buddy. A "Boffer" is a PVC plastic pipe with padding wrapped around it. They can be pretty elaborate, as I have seen, taking on the apearance a sword (a big foofy sword!). Still, I only used them for about 3 months, then I switched indefinately to wooden weapons. I just find that the "clack" of wood on wood is more satisfying than the "boing" of padded boffers.
These padded swords wont afford you much reality in learning swordsmanship, but what they can do is teach you to deal with fast paced action that's right in you face. Not a good idea to start wackin' eachother with wood, right off the bat, because someone's gonna get seriously hurt. When you get familiar with the action, and become more controled in you actions, you can make the transition to wood alot safer.
Of course, you could always get a shinai (bamboo practice sword), and though expensive, it is safer than wood, and rigid enough to deal realistically. the only problem I have with the shinai is that it is too light. You don't get the real speed of battle.
Of course, as you can see, I take a rather spiritual aproatch at swordsmanship, and I make no claim of being a master. I am always looking for new sparring partners, as often as I can, because this broadens my skill. I am also, always willing to learn new things, myself, and very much interested in anything anyone with skill has to say on the matter! This is my passion.
Still, with all this said, you may wish to only do it as a form of exercise, which to that I say: "Great, more power to ya'!" It's a lot of fun, and preforming Kata can be great for clearing your mind, I know that when I am doing them, and I finish, I feel extremely whole and together. Very Zen.
Awesome, sais and tonfa? Bo sounds cool too, I would like to try those out as well... I guess that applies to all ancient weapons, for me!
Yeah, collect em' all
To, Sicaria: Well the SCA is an organization that started in the US, and is now spread through out the world, in some places, that deals in the accurate recreation of ancient midieval history. I am not familiar with any part of it other than thier fighter's group. though, I do know that they deal in ALL things midieval, from artisans to breweries, clothing making, dances, cooking, archery, etc... As far as the fighting goes, there is fencing, combat archery, and heavy combat. there may be more, depending were you,re at. I am familiar with the heavy combat, though I am not a member, because I move too much. Fallowing family around the country... Ergh....
Anyways, the heavy combat is as fallows:
There is a minimum armor requirement, since the combat is full force and bone breaking at times, so to prevent such injuries, you must wair at least a gorget (Neck guard), kidney protection(like a weight belt), a steel helm (with many requirements), elbow and knee armor (not just pads), hand and wrist protection (like a guantlet), and a cup (for the groin, he he). Women must wair chest protection, as well, and every fighter must be 18 or older.
If you have all of this, then, you are still in a heap of trouble,because these folk are in it for the realism, and your gonna get some bumps. One member once told me that the idea for hitting was, " If this stick of rattan was a real sword, I've got to hit you hard enough so that it would cleave your helm or armor." If you don't do this, no one's gonna except your blow, and your gonna hafta' hit em' harder! Though that group was known for it's heavy fighters...
Of course, most of them have a good idea of how different types of armor deal with blows, and they wont deal excessive force, which is kindly, though I wouldn't expect it. Just come prepaired, and ready to learn. They really are a kind bunch, and are eager to meet new fighters. On your first day, someone will go some slow rounds with you, make sure you can deal with it in a very light form. Those of you who are use to backyard fighting will no doubt be used to this fluid but light-contact way of fighting, assuming you don't kill you sparring partners durring a match...
After a month or so, after you have got to know the group, you can ask to join up and get your fighter's card, and just go to the next event and complete the fighter's test. If you hve anymore detailed questions, just look up the site http://www.sca.org/
Oh, and if we were using real weapons, and not rattan sticks, it would be the real deal. That's how simmilar it is. Just go to the sight, figure out when practice is, and go, see for yourself. That's assuming that they are in your area, I didn't look to see were you were from, Sicaria...
To pano4th: Thanks for the compliments, man, I'll post a link to my brother's site that has a full picture of me in my suit, when I get the site adress from him. I kinda forgot to bookmark it...Argh! Or, you can go to my user page here in Minitokyo, an see part of it in my photo on the left side of the screen. I love making armor, almost more than drawing! Thanks again!
: http://ronindude.minitokyo.net/
My user page, for advertisement puposes
See, in Corel9, color masks are helpful, because it masks off everything but the selected color, so you can only effect that color with your paint tools. Since I start off by filling in with base colors, the actual coloring process takes a very short time. I really don't have any experience with any programs, except Corel9, and I'm new to that as well!
How's the lasso work? never used it...
I am an artist, and I work with Corel9 to CG and color my work. I am new to the whole CGing thing, and I would apreciate any helpful tips on the matter. I'll post a link to my gallery, and a list of my procedure that I currently use. This is so that you can better understand how I get my results, and maybe help me find a better way:
My process:
I draw, and ink, then scan the picture.
Then, I change the color mode to 1 bit black and white, to make it easier to fill in with color,
Then, I change it back to RGB true color mode, and fill in the apropriate colors.
Once done, I Use color masks to creat proper shading and effects, with the airbrush paint tool.
When I am done with this, I then make a black colormask to fix up the linework, so it blends better with the pictures colors in the apropriate areas (Just learned this).
After all of this, I add a slight blend to remove the jaggy lines.
My gallery: http://ronindude.minitokyo.net/gallery/
If you have any suggestions, or techniques, I would apreciate them. For one, I would like to skip the inking stage, because it makes my lines too bold. But if I do, the lines fade away when I change the color mode to 1 bit black and white. I dont know any other way to do this.
Thanks, in advance!
Awesome, JianRyuki, wish I had been so fortunate! Sure, I have always swung swords around, as long as I can remember, but didn't get serious untill I was 16. Been doin' it for about 5 years, now, but still, I never had any formal teachings. I just stick to the history books. The closest thing to training I have had would have to be from the folk at the SCA, because they deal with as close to real melee combat as you can legally get now adays. Learned to "Throw a rap" and to properly use a shield, from them, as well as some greatsword and polearm mineuvers. Also just dealing with heavy hitting foes in great numbers can temper your resolve in a bout. Seeing a 200 lbs armored gorilla charging after you with a stick and a shield the size of a wall, can really get your neck hairs raised. " Oh, my, you look energetic, Mr. Gorilla, don't you!" Still, its fun, when you can get a shot off, and that 200 lbs gorilla drops like a sack of shite. Great sportsmen, those folk, never met one yet that didn't prove his honor.
Wha-? Spatula...? ........ What the hell? lol
Well well, it seems alot of people are destroying furniture and lights and such. Maybe this is a sign to spar outside... Heh heh, oh well... LOL
Sicaria, I,ve been wanting fence with sabers, since they sound more versitile than an epee or foil. all I have is a foil set, and occasionally I can get someone to duel with, though most of my sparring partners lean more towards the wooden sword and armor stuff, as generally I do. Though I like to learn just about anything!
About fighting inside, well it's dangerous, but hey, if you want to get well rounded as a swordsman, I suppose you should practice in all places and situations.
Once, awhile back, I decided to do some practice on an oak log that hung out from a hill. It bounced around like a diving board, since it was only anchored on one side, but since it was only about 4 feet off the ground, it wasn't all that dangerous. I used to dance back and forth on it, swinging my sword in realitive strikes. Anyways, one morning, I decided to go out, like usual, but one thing was different. the seasons were changing to winter, and the morning due and frost was covering the mossy log. Though I had done this many times before, I had failed to notice the frost, and, well, you can guess what happened. I fell, landed on my shin, heh, heh. once on the ground, I vividly remember darting strieght up, and looking at the log. Of course, I had failed to observe the state of the slippery log before, and laughed at my foolishness. I decided it didn't help to learn to fight on logs, or stilts or whatever hollywood had lead me to beleive, and that those things really didn't teach me any more about footwork any more than practicing on solid ground would have.
But I will say, if you want to better your foot work, practice on stony ground, sandy ground, marshy ground, or even in knee deep water. I have only had sufficient practice on stony and icy ground (from the stony hills of the redwoods in northern Califnia, my homeland, to the frozen fields of ice in northern Wisconsin). It is also very interesting to fight in thick woodlands, were the saplings are dense and tall. Woe to the fellow who chooses a greatsword on that day, heh heh heh...
Go for it, Stealthfirestarter, you'll never know if you don't try. I personally would like to learn more on the art of hand to hand, myself, but I suppose that's another topic...
Fencers are people too! Heh heh, I have found great enjoyment from fencing, and for all intensive purposes, it verymuch counts as swordsmanship! Though I like to broaden out and learn all kinds of styles.
A foil is used mostly as a stabbing weapon, while a katana impliments slashing more often than stabbing (though of course not limmited to slashing).
A shield and sword style tends to fall ito its own catagory, since it implies the use of different footing (Reversed, so your shield is in front).
A greatsword relies alot on the hips, and the ballance of a fighter, he has to make sure he uses sufficient force without going off ballance and over extending himself.
A long sword is easier for the opponent to take control of than the short sword, as a person can use the leverage of thier opponents longsword against them. For example, in a sword lock, when both the fighters are sword to sword, pressing for a dominant stance, the greatsword becomes encombersomb to its wielder, and the shortswordsman can dance about and bend it to his will. Thus, the greatsword is a weapon for the battle field, and best used when your enemies are engaging others. Catch them off guard. Sounds dishonorable, but guess who would have gone home to see his family at battles end!
With that note,it is interesting to see how battle tactics and honor seemed to become seperate issues during times of dyer war. Like the revolutionary war, for example. Gorrilla warfare was frowned apon, since it was policy for a man of honor to stand in line and take the bullets in civil battle.
But who won the war?
Same for the ninja and the samurai. The ninja were not thought highly of, but the samurai (who were honor zealots) still employed them, regardless of thier own strict honor code, which demanded forthrightness, among other things.
So to go back to weapons and theyre usefulness, I believe that different situations call for different "weapons". A battle is won in every aspect, or not at all. Musashi Myomoto, the famed japanese swordsman, was undefeated his entire life. This was because he used his entire world as a weapon. every movement, every word, rock and wind, the spirit of his oponent, of his own, everything. This is something to espire to, I think...