The Artwork for Tournaments Thread

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Fat Zracknel

Anyone who wants to use this is more than welcome to! The photoshop file should be a bigger size than it needs to be so that it scales down well. Use it if it appeals to you!

I'll go right ahead and use it then.



I believe I'm done. Feel free to object.

also had to redo Steelix because I realised 1) its head didn't look right and 2) THE HAT IS OBLIGATORY

Originally Posted by Fat Zracknel

Simply put, I think we have to be very careful when we choose pokemon that are going to visually represent a tournament on the site.

I really don't want to see any of us get flamed or accused of not understanding our audience :(

Quoting this again because even though versaility is encouraged, we can't let our own preferences cloud our judgement regarding what we'll fature in the art. Part of the reason why I PM'd umby was that I had little to no information about what pokémon who could be expected to be shown in the banner, or to be more precise, what pokémon who would be likely to appear during the tournament.

We can't really let our own preferences run loose when we make art for the tournaments, as those images will visually represent what the tournament will be contain. We don't necessarily need to pick THE greatest threats from the tier, generation or group the tournament will target, but as long as they're decent picks which have a chance to perform well, then there should be no bigger issue with it.

[Furosuto]

Well I took your advice to heart and sharpened the shadows a bit, made the background a bit better, and got rid of the pokeball in the middle (it really wasn't doing anything). I also added a nice background to it.

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I agree with what bummer said. While we all have pokemon that look good, it all comes down to what represents the tourney. If it's about a certain pokemon (like my banner), then you can't just not put that pokemon in, since it won't be as symbolic as the others. Of course, maybe adding some diversity is good, but at least make the pokemon ones that are used often enough in that tier for people to recognize them.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Fat Furosuto

Well I took your advice to heart and sharpened the shadows a bit, made the background a bit better, and got rid of the pokeball in the middle (it really wasn't doing anything). I also added a nice background to it.

Looks much better now! The only thing that could use a change now is the placement of the text. Ideally, to aciheve some symmetry, it should be placed in the middle of the image, either above them (like last time) or below them. However, since they're already pointing their fingers towards the middle, would it be difficult to increase the space between them and put the text there? And lastly, it could be white instead of black, since the image as a whole isn't particularly dark.

Good job with the improvements thus far!

[Eagle4]

Tried a go at the Pass The Trash Logo. The basis behind my idea was that the Pokeballs are the trash, and are being traded, hence pass the trash. I also tried the writing, but that is subject to change if people want an alternative, new font which wasn't designed by me.


I also did an alternative:


Not sure which one I like more...


EDIT: Aaargh, realised the bottom arrow isn't identical to the top, need to change that when I have time.

[RitterCat]

WIP for the offstat tourney

drawing a skinny machamp and a buff alakazam is so fun haha

[Bummer]

That's only a sketch and I'm already laughing.

Originally Posted by Fat Eagle4

Tried a go at the Pass The Trash Logo. The basis behind my idea was that the Pokeballs are the trash, and are being traded, hence pass the trash. I also tried the writing, but that is subject to change if people want an alternative, new font which wasn't designed by me.

Well it's more that the content are the trash, but beaten up balls varries over that trait as well.Out of the two of 'em, I like this version better, as the blue color is better at depicting movement than black.

I had a small idea about Muk and Garbodor being switched, or a Grimer looking out from its cover as it's being served on a platter. I don't really have time to make another banner right now though.

[elcheeso]

Guess I should post my second WIP for the Goodfellas tourny even though it's totally outclassed. Hoping to do each gens 'mons in their respective colouring style, but I'm not sure if it'll work out.

[Zracknel*]

Originally Posted by Fat elcheeso

Guess I should post my second WIP for the Goodfellas tourny even though it's totally outclassed.

We spoke about this briefly on irc, but if the "judging committee" (or whomever helps me decide) feels like there are multiple pieces that are strong enough, it is possible for more than one piece to be selected to represent a tournament. I'll mess with the OP to make this clearer, but we're not going to be turning away good work.

Tournaments might utilize different artwork in different rounds, or multiple pieces of art in each post. It depends on the tournament and what kind of pieces are submitted.

You're obviously free to choose whether or not to follow through with anything you start, but you need not necessarily be discouraged if you're feeling outclassed!

~~~~~

Also gonna give the first ever
DEADLINE UPDATE!

the deadlines for both Pass the Trash II and The Tournament of Goodfellas (our current most urgent projects) are very fast approaching!

Pass the Trash is currently the more urgent of the two projects, since the sign-up thread will go up when this tournament is finished (which could be as soon as one day, though possibly as long as one week from now)

The Tournament of Goodfellas will also be going up soon! As soon as this tournament (which is in its final round) completes, we'll be out of time. The remaining time could be --unfortunately-- anywhere from one day to two weeks.

If you'd like to make an artwork submission for either of these two tournaments, please consider this your last call!

Lots of awesome stuff going on in this thread, imo :) So happy to see these submissions, WIPs, and critiques!

[elcheeso]

Woo deadlines. Anyway, again, posting what I have so far... and I think the rest will be going to Bummer because opting to take a high priority project when I work with all the speed and agility of a pet rock was a bad idea. Anywho...



And the raw files for Bummer.

PNG
PSD

[Eagle4]

I am loving Bummer's and elcheeso's submissions, but to me they look a little non-logo...ish? I think they're more artwork than logos, due to size, simplicity, etc. Maybe that's just me.

[elcheeso]

Originally Posted by Fat Eagle4

I am loving Bummer's and elcheeso's submissions, but to me they look a little non-logo...ish? I think they're more artwork than logos, due to size, simplicity, etc. Maybe that's just me.

Yeah (in my case anyway), but that technically is allowed. It's in the OP here:

Originally Posted by Fat Zracknel

- You might know me as that guy who does logos. You do NOT need to do logos to help (but they are certainly welcome).

- You do not need to be a typography ace to help. You do not need to use typography or lettering AT ALL. Cool images are more than enough. If a tournament absolutely needs some cool typography to go on top of an image you've made and typography is not your thing, I'll probably do it. Images are way more important.

Luckily too, because if this was a logo-only thing I wouldn't be able to work on anything seeing as I'm fucking incompetent when it comes to graphic design. I don't even think I could make text work in my picture even if I wanted to.

Anyway, that isn't actually what I was originally going to post about, ha. Furosuto, I realise this is going to sound pretty pedantic, but I noticed on your latest picture that the smudges that were present in the original pic haven't been removed, so I went and circled most of the ones I found to help you see them (they're fairly hard to see in the most recent pics but that's mostly just due to the size being reduced + bg being added). I hope this helps!

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[Furosuto]

Thanks elcheeso! I'll remove the smudges as soon as I can. I reduced the size of the image because it needed to become banner size, and it helped make everything look neater. But I'll get rid of those if I can.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Fat Eagle4

I am loving Bummer's and elcheeso's submissions, but to me they look a little non-logo...ish? I think they're more artwork than logos, due to size, simplicity, etc. Maybe that's just me.

As cheeso said, we aren't required to make logos, so banners are allowed as well. I did consider making it a logo version, or certainly something without the box frame, but given the theme of it, I wanted to put them into a dark setting which worked with their clothing, so thus I went with a banner.

also here's my extra work on cheeso's image:

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And another version with the logo on the table:

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[Juicy Fruit]

My final entry for Goodfellas.




Edit: Also a WIP for my entry for the No Weather Ubers tournament. Kyogre is feeling pretty down on his chips after the devastating news.

[Eagle4]

O.K, made a few changes, but since the quality of art is amazing in this thread, it's pointless to continue with this logo. I think I'm done for this logo anyway. Feel free to leave feedback.



- Edited the "Pass" to look better
- Added the 2 (Roman Numeral), with shading
-Fixed the arrow below "Trash"

Alternate Version:




If anybody likes the concept of my art feel free to edit/redo mine as so the quality of the art increases.

[Zracknel*]

Hey all,

first, we have a new tournament in the listing!

Tournament Name: Black/White 2 Walkthrough Tournament
Hosts: RBG
Project Priority: Normal (due date: Oct 5th)
Format: Special (see below)
Tournament Rules: This is a walkthrough tournament: each round will restrict competitors to only using items and pokemon that are available at a certain point in the game. Each round the restrictions will change as the competitors progress, mimicking a play-through the main game of black/white 2.
Art Direction: None Specified

Please note that this tournament-- unlike most we will see in this thread-- has a concrete due date. The sign-ups for this tournament will occur two days before the North American release of B/W 2.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

To reply to some posts (or, ok, to reply to every piece of work submitted so far):

Originally Posted by Fat Solace

Pass the Trash II WIP

I like the direction you're starting out on here. I think JuicyFruit's feedback makes a good point-- maybe there's some way to have the logo read better as an exchange (or specifically to show that the pokeballs are being swapped) maybe either with arrows or another visual effect.

I love to dress up typography so I'm hoping you'll give that a try, but otherwise I'm hoping you're still willing to work on this! haha

Originally Posted by Fat Bummer

Goodfellas banner

I love this :)

Originally Posted by Fat Furosuto

Forgotten Year WIP

I think you're moving in a good direction, Furosuto. I'll echo Bummer's critique that I think you might be able to work out a better solution with the typography. If you can manage that, I think you'll be in a better place with things. Super cool that you've taken the initiative to work with your piece based on feedback so far :)

Originally Posted by Fat Rittercat

Offstat Tournament WIP

I'm a big fan of your concept on this, ritter :)) It communicates very effectively what the tournament is about in a clear, humorous way. I think it'll turn out great if you work it through to completion!

Originally Posted by Fat Elcheeso & Bummer

Goodfellas Collab

Awesome teamwork :)) I dig both the concept as well as where this ended up (and putting the typography in the empty space on the table is a really nice touch imo). Cool stuff, guys!

Originally Posted by Fat Eagle4

I am loving Bummer's and elcheeso's submissions, but to me they look a little non-logo...ish? I think they're more artwork than logos, due to size, simplicity, etc. Maybe that's just me.

As others have responded, non-logo artwork (whether it be more banner-like or a more traditional digital art piece) is both acceptable and encouraged! I put the disclaimer in the OP because I tend to do logo stuff and wanted to make sure nobody felt restricted to that sort of thing, haha.

Originally Posted by Fat Juicy Fruit

Goodfellas Submission

I think this is pretty cool. If you have the time and it's convenient, I might suggest ironing out a few of the details in your submission (just a quick clean up of some of the rougher edges/shapes). I might also center the typography and maybe shrink it a bit, but that's up to you! Glad to see your submission :)

Originally Posted by Fat Juicy Fruit

NO-Weather Ubers WIP

I really dig your concept here :) I think you could strengthen this piece by exploring some options in lighting/shading-- I like the shadows you've got going on so far-- maybe consider adding some to kyogre and/or breaking up some of the large blocks of color in the background(such as the back walls)? I'm really not sure; just tossing out some ideas.

Originally Posted by Fat Eagle4

O.K, made a few changes, but since the quality of art is amazing in this thread, it's pointless to continue with this logo.

Ooof, sorry to hear you're feeling this way.

I wouldn't trash your idea tbh-- even if you are working in a very basic or pixel-based program, I still think you could bring this piece to a really good place.

What I like most so far is your "shading" on the roman numeral "II". I think if you cranked that effect up several notches and made it more extreme-- adding more "thickness" to the elements of your logo-- it could do a lot by the way of visual appeal.

If you added an effect like this, I might then consider giving some extra outlines to some of your shapes-- again, it might just be a helpful shortcut towards making the piece look more polished. It might also get a bit busy though, so exercise some discretion if you take this route.

Since we don't have a lot of time left, I might just suggest turning the pokeballs into regular, un-crumpled pokeballs-- adding either highlights or shadows or both to them if you felt comfortable.

Finally, I would revise your letter "R" in trash to look more like a traditional capital R, with a diagonal "leg" instead of what you've got going now. I think that moving the typography towards looking more regular will allow added effect/details you might add look better. It'll also read easier and look a little more cohesive. It might be a different story if more of your letters were less traditional, but I would suggest you try giving this fix a shot.

I definitely think your piece go could go somewhere, so I wouldn't give up just yet! You are welcome to work with these suggestions or not, though-- it's up to you.

~~~~~~~~~~

Also, the tournament preceding Pass the Trash II has concluded! That means we're really on a crunch for completing artwork for this tournament! Just saying!!!

Edit: The signups are now up...

[Furosuto]

Thanks for the critique everyone! I cleaned up the image as much as I could. Hope it's better. :D

I can't really put the title in the middle due to some technical difficulties.... but I have two samples of the piece, one with it above, and one below. Which one looks better guys?

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[Oglemi*]

I like the text way better at the top

[Kythro]

I want to help but I don't understand any of the format stuff.

~has zero experience with competitive battling~

[Zracknel*]

Originally Posted by Fat Kythro

I want to help but I don't understand any of the format stuff.

~has zero experience with competitive battling~

Any of the format stuff? Just ask questions and we'll help you out!

Even if you don't have any experience battling competitively, you really only need a small bit of background info to get rolling doing artwork for tournaments.

Every month, like this month, Antar compiles Smogons' battle server statistics and spells out what pokemon are used in each tier, and in what frequency. If you're not sure what Smogon's tiers are or what they mean, look no further. If artwork is meant to depict a tournament for a specific tier, it's hard to go wrong just using pokemon that are highly represented in that tier :) But that's also why you should feel free to post WIPs or even just type out and share your ideas before starting!

If you'd like to brush up on competitive battling stuff, Smogon's battling articles (Black and White articles in this link) are fairly numerous but could be helpful in filling in some background info about competitive battling, common play styles, and smogon itself. It's a lot, though, so no need to drink from the fire hose, etc...

Also feel free to discuss stuff or pitch ideas or WIPs in realtime in #smeargle on irc! If you need help with that please check out the site's IRC tutorial. Feel free to stop by and chat!

We are a mostly approachable bunch so please don't hold back if you'd like to help out!

Haha, hope this was helpful and not overly fluffy.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news!

mostwanted messaged me on IRC and asked me to add his tournament (which is currently in progress) to our assignment list! So feel free to take on this project if you're feeling up to helping out a tournament that's already underway!

Tournament Name: #Pokemon Tournament
Hosts: mostwanted
Project Priority: Tournament is Currently in Progress (Round 1)
Format: BW OU
Tournament Rules: Prior to this tournament, visitors to smogon's #pokemon IRC channel created a pool of 24 teams to be used for the competition. Each round, competitors in this tournament are given a choice between two teams randomly selected from the pool to use. The options available to them are public, as are the options of their opponents. Competitors are highly encouraged to use the #pokemon channel to discuss and prepare for battle, so IRC plays a crucial role in this tournament.
Art Direction: None Specified

[Bummer]

A deadline so short that it was up before we even got it. I call foul play!

also



Two sets of balls based on the two random teams they're given. I might show a computer above/behind the top to further imply the importance of IRC in this tournament.

Edit: Here goes.
Edit2: Changed the color of the tourney name to dark blue as well. One color less to think about!

[Zracknel*]

woahhhhhhh

Bummer, I always knew you were a pretty swede guy, but

Artwork up a mere 5 hours after seeing my post?

And a logo, even??

Be still, my beating heart...


Sincerely though, awesome stuff :)

[Eagle4]

Sorry to dissapoint you Zracknel, but I'm throwing in the towel. I believe there's no point in continuing with my work, when Bummer or another more accomplished artist will do a much better job anyway. I feel incapable of completing this project as this art isn't my forte. My art is more abstract and less rigid than the target set for these pieces of art. Therefore, sorry again, but I simply cannot create this logo to a high-enough standard.

[Bummer]

It should be noted that I've take time off work this week, so the extra free time is why I could be more active in this thread. Otherwise, my time is limited, and the same can be said about all other artists here, so whatever less experienced users can pitch in for the site to use is still welcome.

[Younii]

Here is a try for Pass the try 2 ! Hope you'll enjoy.

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