[Superlong-FMP] Special Graphic Cards ("Cutie Dividers" Followup) · 6:43am Oct 13th, 2015
Not too terribly long ago, I explained a few of the graphical whatsits that you can see in Fullmetal Pony. While that blog did go into some detail for the common "cutie dividers" that separate scenes, it did leave out the images on the other end of the spectrum - title cards such as the one above.
I've been cresting an inspirational wave when it comes to the story (I've already drafted the next two - TWO - chapter segments, woo~), which prompted me to work a little more on these cards. Not much, mind you, but enough to add one to the selection and round the count to four. It's also enough to talk me into making another one of these long-winded blog posts that detail my exploits with a slightly-busted software. AND YOU LIKE THAT, DON'T YOU?
Like I said, I have four to talk about, including the one topping this blog. Lemme get right down to it, yeah? Be aware that unlike the scene dividers, which I've resized for goodness' sake, the following graphics are kept full-size unless scaled down due to site restraints. You may still click on the images to see them in their splendor.
-The one that started it all! Since the story's imagery is largely inspired by Agrodaemon's video (still love this thing...), it was an easy choice to build off of what he crafted. Now, of course he's to thank for the hard work, and I can't claim any of the animating talent that he has. All I did was run with an idea planted in me by his video. And oh boy, this one took a ton of effort.
I started by simply watching his video a few times and choosing a frame that I thought would work the best. After about half an hour of picking and choosing, I went with the flying-out shot of Twi' and Shine in the desert atop a Xingese Alkahestry array. It signified a well-developed stage of their journey, but the open space surrounding them implied a ways to go yet. Plus, such open space was the perfect foundation on which to place the different pieces I gathered, including screencaps from earlier in the same video. The close-up shots of Twilight and Shining are examples of this.
Setting the pieces was simple enough. What took a bunch of time was cleaning them. I possess no large knowledge of photo manipulation, so my process was largely just cutting the fat and blurring the lines where I went too deep. I got as close to the edge of the characters as I dared, and simply (but not easily) erased what was beyond that edge. Doing this for Twilight went quicker, because the shot of her was against sunlight at high-noon. Shining was longer to complete, due to his shot being at sunset and his natural white coat blending with the glow. Of course, by this time I had placed a black midground to separate the characters from the shot in the desert.
Then, as I was adding in glowing effects and blurs, I came across a major problem. For some reason which I have yet to explain, my software - paint.net - crashed immediately after saving the project. The result of that crash was the inability to load the project file. By this time I had already gone through several versions of what I wanted, but without the project file itself, I wasn't able to manipulate individual components any more. Even attempts to use GIMP were ineffective, and the project was incomplete. This is what I was left with at the time. You can spot several differences between it and the final version above.
Left with no choice, I had to pick up where I left off, this time without the benefit of controlling each piece and effect. Thankfully, the rest of what I needed to do was easy enough to accomplish, and the final result rests in my folder as a "Cover Recover".
At first, I had wanted to ask Agrodaemon for a new shot of Shining Armor, one that showed him inside the armor you see in the castle hijinks episode. That idea was scrapped when the project crash occurred, since I could no longer guarantee a faithful melding between shots. Thankfully, I had been working on an alternative: casting part of Shining Armor's body into shadow to imply his state of being. It's just enough to get the job done, so I was happy with it!
-This is the second one I worked on. Using the same basic idea as the first one, I took a screencap from the video and added in a few pieces. Truth be told, this image was meant to serve as an alternative title card (and still could, if my projections for story length hold true), but I preferred the extra flair and color of the first to the toned-down feeling of this one. Not to imply that this one is bad, of course!
Compared to others, this one was really easy to work on. And you can tell why - the majority of work done was simply tacking on marks and symbols above the lettering. One thing that I wanted to do was apply a "phantom shadow" effect to the marks, which I finally did accomplish in a card further down. At the time I was over-thinking the process, and when it didn't work after an hour of mucking around in GIMP, I settled for what you see here. Over time, it's grown on me, and I can't see it having the shadow effect.
-This is one that spawned entirely by accident! Well, mostly by accident. I had wanted to show off what characters Whiteout, Winter Frost, and Frigid Drift looked like since day one. By extension, I wanted to maintain the art style presented by Agro's video, which normally would mean learning Source Film Maker...a task I've never given myself enough time to do. I don't even have the software installed! So how did these three come into existence?
Through a simple google search.
This little application solved my dilemma, but was certainly still tough to learn. Regardless, it gave me the tools I needed to move forward, and each character alone took upwards of an hour to get right. You'll notice how the one in the middle - Whiteout - is the only one with a cutie mark. This is simply because I still have yet to figure out what marks that the other two should have. For that matter, I don't really know what talents the other two have. It wasn't a pressing need for the narrative, and likely won't be for a while yet. So Whiteout remains marked, while Frost and Drift are cursed to be blank-flanks until I call on them again.
As for the background there? I cheated. There's a special effect in paint.net known as Mandelbrot Fractal, which pretty much took care of my intended color scheme and looked way cooler than I could hope to accomplish. All I really had to do was overlay a shadow effect to make the white less intense and to imply a border. So that's that.
Finally, putting the image of the carved glyph on Whiteout's fetlocks was fun. I had to take the project file from his cutie mark, remove the gradients, and morph the result until it fit his leg. I admit it's not perfect, but it's close enough as to make no matter. I considered doing the same to Winter Frost, applying the circle to the gems on her anklets, but decided that one pony was enough. Besides, the jewelry and the scarf are enough for her own good. For all you know, those accessories are covering up some hidden truths...
-Finally, we come to the last of the current special cards, which I only made a couple hours ago! Remember me mentioning that "phantom shadow" effect from the alternative title card? Well, here they are.
Out of all the specialized cards, this one was by far the quickest. Mainly because I gave myself a much smaller canvas and didn't have to worry about borders. This one is transparent. Using the same basic idea as the first two, I gathered the pieces I wanted and set them up. The cutie marks were quick. The FMA symbols - the Flamel and the blood rune - took a little longer only because I had to experiment with different blurring effects. This time, I got the rotation and scaling down well, so once I figured out one, I quickly did the same to the other.
As you can plainly see, this one is a "To Be Continued" hanger that will go at the end of every final chapter segment. It's already in use - I went into Finding Rest a while ago and replaced the graphic there with this one. Getting the text was a quick affair, though I wish it were the show-accurate font instead of a close copy. Still, like the issue with Shining Armor in the main title card, I settled when I couldn't select, and it still looks good.
And that's that!
For the time being, that wraps up the facts and stories behind the graphics I currently have for Fullmetal Pony. There will definitely be more of the dividers as I move forward, but these specialized cards are ones of which I can't guarantee more. They tend to follow a wave of inspiration, lead into experimentation, and result in larger project files than the dividers. Plus, these ones need to have broader uses than just splitting up a scene, so creative freedom is a factor I need to keep in mind.
Still, they've all been fun to work on (despite the crash). And if I get an idea for more that result in something cool, well then, that'll be a thing that happens. So until then, here they all are.
Oh, before I sign out, a quick update for you all: chapter one is already drafted beyond the halfway point (approx. 4200 words and rising), and so far is segmented into two parts. I expect no more than four parts altogether, but am aiming for three. The first part is already sent to Spirit Seer for her to scrutinize, so you can expect more adventures soon.
~Leo
