CAP 4 - Art Submissions

[Birkal*]

A final art submission consists of two things: a main design and supporting material. A main design is the only required element of a final art submission; supporting material is optional. Note that all material in both the main design and supporting material must be your own. Using another piece of art for inspiration is allowed, but blatant plagiarism will result in warnings or bans depending on the severity.

Newcomers can go to the smeargle's studio resource thread for tutorials, tricks and tips on art.

Main Design

The main design is intended to follow the same general posing and layout as the "Official Art" for existing in-game Pokemon. The main design is the definitive design for a given Pokemon and should be suitable for display in the CAP PokeDex section of the CAP Website and any other CAP propaganda where a picture of the Pokemon is needed. The comparison to 'Official Pokemon Art' is only applicable to the basic content of the main design; it does not imply any standards or guidelines regarding artistic style or rendering technique.

The following rules of content must be followed for the main design:

• It must consist of a single Pokemon on a plain white background with no parts of the Pokemon cut off by the canvas.
• No props, action effects, move effects, or additional objects can be rendered on or around the Pokemon. If a prop is part of the Pokemon's basic design (ie. Conkeldurr's pillars), then it is acceptable.
• Any 2D digital or scanned traditional drawing may be used. It must be in full color. 3D media and photos are not allowed.
• It must have a distinguishable outline on the entire subject in contrast to the background. No part of the design can be blurred into the background or blended into the background in any way.
• The maximum allowed size is 640x640 and the minimum allowed size of 320x320.
• It must be in a compressed digital format such as .png or .jpg.

The rules for main designs will be strictly enforced. Do not make comparisons to in-game Pokemon designs or to past CAP designs to determine if your design is in compliance with these rules. Some in-game Pokemon designs and past CAP designs do not conform with the current CAP art submission rules, and emulating those designs is not an acceptable excuse for breaking the strict interpretation of the current rules.

Supporting Material

While the rules for the main design are somewhat rigid, there are almost no rules when it comes to supporting material. Action scenes, movement studies, interaction with other Pokemon, animations, sculptures, and cartoon strips are all allowed. Virtually any supporting material you can think of is allowed, though keep it tasteful. Non-art supporting material is also allowed. This includes detailed descriptions of the art, background data, stories, etc. All supporting art and information must be related to the main design in some way. This rule is intended to prevent artists from posting unrelated art in an effort to gain more attention or promote other designs or artworks.

Final Submission Post

All artists must make a final submission post in order to be considered for the art poll. The post must be titled "Final Submission". The post should have the Main Design at the top, and supporting material (if applicable) below it. All supporting art must be included as links or as linked thumbnails no larger than 150x150. Do not include full images of supporting art in the final submission. Only make one (1) final submission post. Artists are welcome to work on multiple designs and get feedback from the community, but only one design can be submitted for final consideration. If you wish to alter any aspect of your final submission, then edit your post. Do not make a new one, even if you delete your original post. Any deleting and reposting will be treated as bumping and is subject to moderation.

General Posting Rules

• Artists can post any work-in-progress (WIP) artwork in order to solicit feedback or to help develop ideas. WIP artwork does not need to conform to the standards of a Main Design. It can be in any medium or stage of completion, but it must be related to an original art design by the poster.
• Do not spam the thread with excessive amounts of artwork over a short period of time. Apparently, some artists think they will improve their chances in the poll if they overload the submission thread with their artwork. Doing so will result in your posts being moderated.
• Do not post inconsequential "updates" to previously posted art. Only if you have made a significant change and have not posted art recently can you post an update in the thread.
• No post can contain more than 800x800 pixels of included art, and no single picture can be larger than 640x640. Past those limits, artists should post links to the additional art or use linking thumbnails. Each thumbnail can be no larger than 150x150. Any number of thumbnails can be included in a post, even if it passes the limit. All art must be in a compressed digital format.
• Do not post to state your intended design. Such posts are a weak attempt to "reserve" an idea, and serve no constructive purpose.
• Do not post images to serve as inspiration for artists or attempt to commission an artist in the thread to do your idea. This isn't an idea thread. It's fine for artists to post their own inspiration as supporting material.
• No bumping or begging, especially for feedback. If your design is any good, people will comment on it. If your design gets no feedback, then your design is not very good. Consider the silence to be your feedback.
• Do not declare any artwork as "the winner" or say that anything "is clearly going to win". It's fine to post praise or support for an artwork, but don't make a statement indicating the results of a poll that has not been conducted. Such posts are insulting to all the other competing artists.
• Do not post that a design does or does not "look like a Pokemon/Digimon". Such comments are unable to be substantiated or refuted. There is no artistic style guide for Pokemon, so don't act like you know what a Pokemon should look like. If you like or dislike a design, that's fine, just say that.
• Do not ask when this thread will close. CAP threads do not follow a set timetable. If you want to know the overall sequence of events in a CAP then go to the CAP website and read the process guide.
• Do not post questions asking for help in making art. This isn't a tutorial thread.

Art Polls

All art polls will contain the main design and, if applicable, a link below it titled "Supporting Material". This will link to the artists final submission post. If the final submission contains no significant supporting material, then no link will be included in the poll below the main design. Art submissions for the art poll will be selected in a manner to be determined by the topic leader. There is no process for overturning the topic leader's decision. If you are not comfortable with this stipulation, then do not make an art submission. Do not post any complaints here or in later threads.

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Below is CAP 4 so far:

Concept

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Originally Posted by Fat capefeather

Name: Risky Business
(formerly "Living On the Edge")

General Description: This Pokémon is very risky to play, but very rewarding if played correctly.

Justification: Many of the Pokémon that are successful in OU are relatively easy to play or have great "safe" options (e.g. U-turn). Yet, many other Pokémon look very powerful, but are less successful than they could be because of some large risks involved (e.g. Hydreigon), and some aren't successful at all (e.g. Honchkrow). This self-balancing concept intends to explore what it takes for a risky Pokémon to be successful, and how much inherent risk a Pokémon can get away with. It should be emphasized that this concept is NOT about luck management, but rather, it is about what the user can afford to do given his/her opponent's options, and vice versa.

Questions To Be Answered:

• What is the relationship between risk and potential consequences, both positive and negative?
• What kinds of inherently risky tactics are successful in the OU metagame?
• Do risky Pokémon need some form of safe options (e.g. switch-ins) to be successful in OU, or can it get away with having few really safe options?
• How does Substitute, a well-known "safe" move with nearly universal distribution, impact how this Pokémon is built and played?
• How do existing Pokémon use and deal with risky situations?
• Can risky Pokémon be played well in the early game, or are they better off put into action later on?
• How do different playstyles interact with risky situations?

Typing: Bug / Psychic
Abilities: Weak Armour / Illusion / No Guard
Base Stats: 110 HP / 120 Atk / 99 Def / 117 SpA / 60 SpD / 94 Spe

[bugmaniacbob]

Well, I was going to put a caveat on dragonflies if this CAP turned out to be Bug/Dragon, but it seems that isn't necessary any more. Huh.

Oh well. Everybody go out, have fun, and draw to your hearts' content. I will be watching with bated breath. I should point out here that I will be slating every legal entry, irrespective of artistic flair or what not, so you have no excuse to not take part.

Me? No, I think I'll sit this one out. I want to see the brilliance that CAP is famous for. Do keep in mind the likely stat spread or build this CAP will have (I won't presume to mention it here, but likely as not you can discuss the subject on #cap)

To horse!

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CURRENT ART GALLERY (as of 10/10/12)

123ericn

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akela

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Amarquez

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amelt

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aragornbird

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Asylum_Rhapsody

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Base Speed

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Birkal

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BlueConcept

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Bummer

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Calad

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CBMeadow

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Cartoons!

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Cheeseball504

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Chomz

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Cretacerus

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CyzirVisheen

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D4rk3r

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DarkLatias92

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Demist

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Doran Dragon

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DougJustDoug

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DugoutCanoe

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Empoleon Guru

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Flummoxen

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Furosuto

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GuyInCorner

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Heroes and Cons

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ikasu

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itsme

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JesusJudd

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JojoX3

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Juicy

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Juicy Fruit

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Kadew

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KoA

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Lawrence III

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Leethoof

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Lord Jesseus

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Mafeking

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Mari

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Matezoide

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Mos_Quitoxe

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Nastyjungle

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NeLLY979

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noobiess

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nov

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Orivexes

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paintseagull

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Pokethan

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PuffinHour

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Quanyails

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RabidChipmunk

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Rocket Grunt

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rockspet

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Salamachine

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Shelmet

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Stagnant

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SoIheardyoulikeSENTRET

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Steampowered

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Teravolt

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The Reptile

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Thunderbuckets

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Tin

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ToxicPhox

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WPS

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XDaylon

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Yilx

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YourFavoriteEgyptian

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Zee-V70

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BMB's obligatory Topic Leader footnote gimmick - My Top 15 Arthropods

#11 The Ladybird

Originally Posted by Fat Fascinating Fact

It is a ladybird, not a ladybug.

Seriously, who came up with "ladybug"?

LADYBIRD

[Yilx]

Starting off with mine!



A moth-mantis hybrid and a runic scorpion.

I'll probably go with the scorpion, though.

[Birkal*]

Did a rough draft of an idea I've been bouncing around for a few days. Definitely some stuff I need to fix, but you get the general idea of it.



~magical cockroach~

Any feedback on the design is appreciated! Might continue with this general design; might go somewhere else. I'm not sure yet.

EDIT: paintseagull suggested I make the moustache into mandibles; I'll be putzing around with that for future drafts!

[Calad]

Here is my design.
The Clairvoyant
A simple bug. It has a tail that resembles a crystal ball. Its six arms are positioned as Hindu gods' arms.

[Quanyails]

I'm not too sure how this design came about, but it's a fortune-teller-based mosquito. The design has subtle draws from crystal balls, dowsing forks, and simple fortune-telling designs (those swirls, lol).

Psychic is a hard type to design, as there doesn't seem to be a standard aspect that Psychic-types share (contrast the Abra, Solosis, and Ralts lines). On the other hands, Bug-types are bugs, so that's not too difficult to determine.

I came up with the ideas of an insect-like alien or a gypsy moth a good portion of the way through creating this drawing; those ideas are free to be used or to be used as inspiration, since I didn't want to redirect my drawing suddenly. Say so if you'd like. :)

(I also have a version with translucent eyes, but I don't like that one too much.)

[Arkeis]

A Scarab Beetle seems appropriate. Being Ancient Egyptian gives it a sort of mystical vibe.

Still working on the colors and patterns.

[Classical]

Quanyilas:I really like this design, but maybe poof up the hair a little bit and change the antennae to come upward from the hair. Right now I feel like the hair isn't coming across well.

[fryfrey]

Originally Posted by Fat Yilx

Starting off with mine!

http://puu.sh/17U22

A moth-mantis hybrid and a runic scorpion.

I'll probably go with the scorpion, though.

I'd go with the moth mantis. It looks more mystical and mysterious, like a Psychic should. The design of the scorpion confuses me though, what are those two shield-like things on its two front arms?

[Oglemi*]

Yilx I love your moth design and I would encourage you to pursue that design first. The scorpion is definitely more unique, even right away in the thread, but it just doesn't seem to flow as well as your moth design. Can't wait to see how they come out though!

aragornbird I love your scarab beetle design already. I'd highly encourage you to stay away from the purple/pink hues and keep with your blue/gold scheme that you have in that WIP. It really sets it apart imo.

[CBMeadow]

Edited to include shaded version, the previous version is here http://i.imgur.com/41UHE.png

The main questions I have about this are: Is the idea solid for the typing, and is the colour scheme appropriate for a Bug/Psychic? And the obvious potential flaws in drawing, of course.

It's based on a glowworm with some inspiration from the praying mantis. The feather's supposed to be a prop- like Farfetch'd's leek- so hopefully it works, but I can remove it if it doesn't fit the rules.



It's kinda going for the 'otherworldly' look.


Commentary and critique, take with rather large grain of salt:

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shstakvchlvr- I like your idea and its execution and pose- and as you can see, I like the idea of a praying mantis for this concept. :3 It looks a tad, realistic though, I suppose?

aragornbird- I really like this concept! Egypt was very associated with both typings and the outlandish colours for both types fit very well. I have a soft spot for Pokemon whose colours do not fit their typings. I actually don't have too much to say here, apart from that it might need a little more detail. Even as it is though, the patterns are fine, so that isn't necessary.

Quanyails- Aaah, I like this one. Excellent idea, excellent portrayal of idea. Both typings I feel are represented well, and I like how it is very hunched over- that detail fits both ideas behind it (mosquito and fortuneteller). Also not much in the way of critique to say here.

Calad- Also like this one- simple and appealing to the eye. I see both typings represented well in this. I like the Hindu parallels; a more out-there concept to undertake! I wouldn't have thought of it.

Birkal- Sir Cricket of sorts. I like the style you have going, and the idea. What's that he's holding? It looks like a magician's wand to me. I like the mustache mandible idea as well- definitely try that out. The main thing is the Psychic typing- may be just me, but it isn't super clear. It might just be me, though.

Yilx- I prefer the moth mantis. The other one looks a little too Fighting-type in my eyes. As for the moth mantis itself, there really isn't too much to say about it by way of critique- it looks like it'll be a good concept to pursue, so please do! :3

[fryfrey]

More constructive criticism! :D

Birkal: I like the whole magician thing you were going for, but the outfit seems out of place and tacked on a bit. If you can make the suit and cape seem like part of the Pokemon, then I think it will look really good.

Calad: My favorite art so far. The designs on the wings are just the perfect touch of psychic-ness, I love the fortune teller look you were going for, and the Hindu reference is subtle, yet nice. Personifies Bug/Psychic perfectly.

Quanyails: I like the art, but it doesn't say PSYCHIC. It looks like a Poison/Bug type. Experiment with a few different colors and see how it looks.

aragornbird: I like the Scarab beetle/Egypt thing! But other than that I cant think of much more to say about it. :T (Looks great though!)

CBMeadowNice, but no shading on it confuses me regarding depth perception. also the spots look like screws that work for the arms and body segments. I'd like to see what it looks like without them.

[GRs Cousin]

Time for some criticism with the entries I find the most impressionable.

Yilx - As with others, I agree that the mystic moth should be your design of choice. It looks really nice and better portrays Psychic-typing than most of the entries so far. Experiment more with it, such as to see if you can give it a more physically-able appearance that maintains its elegance. If the final stat distributions end up favoring physical moves, it'd be harder to imagine this thing actually hurting things with those swofty arms.

Birkal - It's a charming concept, but there's a few issues with it. First, the Psychic-typing doesn't seem very well portrayed. Maybe if it had a more elaborate body design it would have that, but otherwise the suit seems too tacked on. The wand itself, if it looked more natural and less like a prop, could show improvement. Additionally, Kricketune, another Bug-type with a mustache, somewhat steals the originality of your concept having a mustache. Try seeing how it looks without the facial hair.

Quanyails - That's really good, actually. Might I suggest seeing the different possibilities with different color schemes? It has the right "old hag fortune teller" thing down perfectly for a bug, but something just seems... Incomplete. The proboscis looks just right for looking like a long nose, however, which I think is brilliantly simple yet clever in the design. Experiment with that the most, with different thicknesses and colors.

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I'll also try drawing up this concept myself, but I wouldn't mind (read: encourage) someone to try it themselves. A hive mind should already be a given for an incredibly intelligent insect, but why not turn that up to eleven and make it a Superorganism instead?

Edit: I created a rough sketch on loose-leaf paper. Here's an idea of what I'm getting at:

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http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...g?t=1348444073

This actually takes inspiration from a large number of things. The upper body comes from a praying mantis, which at first makes it seem like another generic "Ohoho, it's a praying mantis because it's part Psychic!" entry. However, deviating from this is a durable "hive" body, what is sort of a chrysalis with vital organs inside, including the Pokemon's brain. This hive actually houses many smaller units that share a mental network with this main hive. They provide and fight for it in exchange for shelter, nourishment, and leadership, perishing should the main unit die.

Additionally, I made (rather hard to see) markings and appendages that take tradition after the Hindu Gods, of which were multiarmed and powerful. Its eyes are blind, it has no mouth, and its upper arms are usually positioned to block out sound, altogether references the Three Monkeys in a natural design. The main unit is under a constant "enlightenment" regimen due to being a living extension of the main hive below, aware of itself but at the mercy of its own struggles to survive with an evolutionarily weak core. Should it be without its hive-minded units, it has minimal chance of survival.

I'm sure this Pokemon would some interesting move options as well. Attack Order and Heal Order, excellent moves otherwise only sensible on Vespiquen, would be an expected part of its movepool. Its lower body could be a nice bag of tricks with moves like Stockpile and Clear Smog, while the smaller units could reach utilities like multi-strike moves, Screening, nearly any Bug-type move, and more.

[Furosuto]

Here's a WIP sketch I did of my CAP pokemon



Basically it's a worm bug hybrid. I noticed that the world of pokemon lacks worms really, and this is what came to mind. It doesn't have any eyes on it's head, but the orbs that line it's back are like it's eyesight, hence the eyes in the orbs.

[Mos-Quitoxe]

Right, here's where you guys help out a poor ole artist and tell him what to do!

Which one of these three adorable arthropods should I flesh out? Magical Sciencefly, Alien Tripod Harvestman, or Giraffe Beetle Lamp?

[CyzirVisheen]

Posting a small sketch, but will be waiting for a few polls before hammering out a serious design

[Darklatias92]

Ok, this is my first submission in a CAP Art Submission, so if there is something amiss in my art warn me.

Here is my project:



It is a mix between a butterfly/moth and a helicopter. The color design of the wings should be obvious. I'll put the coloring in a later post.

[Espeon65]

Originally Posted by Fat Mos-Quitoxe

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31563939/Psybugster.png

I like the bottom left one, I believe it's the Giraffe Beetle Lamp. The magical sciencefly is to science-y for pokemon, and the other one is too leg-y, lol. Plus, the giraffe thingy is adorable XD.

[sax king]

CyzirVisheen, it looks like Psychic Heracross, I love it

[Calad]

I made a new design.
This time I made a worm that has a cocoon that resembles a UFO.
It communicates through psychic waves which are emitted from its antennas.

I called it The UFO Cocoon.

[akela]

I wanted to be more involved in CAP. Might as well get involved in all of it.
Draft 1, no shading.

[Orivexes]

Here's an idea I had, drawn quickly and extremely poorly and without reference (ew), but I wanted to stake the idea.



Jewel Wasp Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_cockroach_wasp
In short, the jewel wasp is this super nasty wasp that likes to mind control cockroaches to provide a suitable food source for its grubs! I think that the idea of an aggressive matron wasp with a very specific habit and precise aim would make for an interesting risky gamble pokemon. Plus, they're full of awesome colors.

I'm pushing for more of a fairy design to make it a bit more psychic-based, and I like the idea of one of these things guarding its young with either special or physical attacks.

Any ideas/variations/if you wanna draw it better yourself would be appreciated!

[DougJustDoug**]

I've been thinking of expressing Bug typing more along the lines of something like Shuckle, which is hard to peg to any particular kind of insect, but looks "bug-like" to me nonetheless.

So I've been working on a "bookworm" design:



I've got a few other ideas too, but this was the first one that inspired me to do a sketch. It will need some more detail, but I don't plan to overload it. I want this to be simple and cute, but still look fully evolved. This sketch gives you the basic idea. Not sure if I'll pursue this further, but it has a few elements that could be fun to finish. Integrating the book cover with a nifty pattern, or maybe have cover shapes inspired by Unown based on IV's. Also the feather quill is begging for a backstory.

Comments welcome, and we'll see where this goes...

Here's a rough sketch of one of my initial ideas. It's based on a psychiatrist/psychologist administering a Rorschach test. The bug's body is the psychiatrist/psychologist, and so I've tied to make its eyes look like thick glasses and it's antennae look like thin hair. I also crossed its legs and tried to pose its arms in that stereotypical pensive yet somehow condescending psychiatrist/psychologist pose. The wings are very roughly drawn, and I know they're pretty badly asymmetrical, but this is just the initial rough concept. The wings will be dark, though I don't know that I'll go for full-on black. I'll probably go for light brown or something equally subdued for the body.

[Stagnant]

Thats a brilliant design doug.