The City Project

[Dev Brown]

Hey folks,

About a year ago, I had a little photoshop project running I called The City Project.

http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/

I'm thinking of running a third (C) series of wallpapers, introducing Lorne, Caldwell, etc.

You guys like it??

Grtz,
Dev

[Angelica Constantine]

Well, considering I am the Graphics person here on the forum....Now, I have someone trying to take my job...LOL XDXDXD I am joking about you trying to take my job.

No, really they are not bad. Not bad at all.

I would do things a wee bit diffrently but, hey tis not my projects.

I like them. They are really good. :w1

[Dev Brown]

Thanks (and I got the joke ;))

what would you do differently??? Just out of curiousity :)

I'm gonna start the new series this afternoon.

[Angelica Constantine]

Well, I would not make the people so transperent. ie:you can see the water through their faces. Can't see some of the faces that well. Little less transparent I think they will be good to go. :D

I am tired so brain power at a minimum at the moment. Tis 5:36 am here. LOL XD

I will look at them again after I get up later and I will give you more info. OK?

[Dev Brown]

OK, cool

[Anissa T]

Very well one. I don't mind the transparent stuff per se. What I would look at though is where it interfers. Like it's hard to see Sheps face because of the light in the background or Rodneys shirt because the blue water blends a bit with the blue part of his jacket.

JMHO though.........If you feel strongly the way they are, leave them.

They are very good though.

[Dev Brown]

Thanks!

I'm gonna leave these the way they are, but I'll take your tips for the C series.

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/SheppardCv2.jpg

The first image in the C series :)
UPDATE: VERSION 2

Changes:
V1: Eased up on the glows and shadows a bit, changed Shep's title to Lt-Colonel, added the two F-302's, added my name to the credits in the low left corner.
V2: Changed Lt.-Colonel to Lt-Col.

Next up: Maj. Evan Lorne

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/LorneCv1.jpg

Second C series image (version 1 though, there's sure as hell gonna be a v2)

Changes:
All new Evan Lorne wallpaper, although I don't like it at all. Problem is I could only find a shot of Lorne facing left. Might make a screenshot of my own to get the correct shot.

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/CaldwellC.jpg

Changes:
All new Steven Caldwell wallpaper and I'm quite please myself. Tried to add the Daedalus in the skies, but that didn't go well, might come in Cv2 or D series.

[Anissa T]

I still think the back ground sky is too light for their skintone, but other than that looking good.

Oh, don't know how accurate your trying to make it, but since we are talking US Airforce. LT.-Colonel is actually Lt. Col if your gonna abbreviate. If not you could spell both words out.

US Armed Forces Ranking system (http://www.krikkit.dk/projects/specops/ranksystem.html)

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/CarterCs.jpg

New Cs version of my Sam Carter wallpaper, inserted link instead of picture, cause I thought....well admins see for yourself and tell me if I could just insert the picture.

Changes:
Couldn't find a good pic of Sam in uniform, but I kinda liked this one (guess what the 's' stands for :p). Of course there's gonna be a serious wallpaper.

[Dev Brown]

I still think the back ground sky is too light for their skintone, but other than that looking good.

Oh, don't know how accurate your trying to make it, but since we are talking US Airforce. LT.-Colonel is actually Lt. Col if your gonna abbreviate. If not you could spell both words out.

US Armed Forces Ranking system (http://www.krikkit.dk/projects/specops/ranksystem.html)

Guess that's just personal, cause I kinda like it :)

And thanks for the ranks stuff, might change it, might not.

[Dev Brown]

UPDATE: changed the Lt-Colonel on Shep to Lt-Col. (that's as far as I'm gonna go), see #8 post.

[Andrew]

I Think thats a great Idea!!

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/DanielC.jpg

Season 10 Daniel Jackson is now a The City Project wallpaper.

Changes:
New pic of Daniel.

[brymstone]

Very good so far, Dev! I too would make a few changes though. I'd flip horizontally the cast renders in Carter Cs, Jack, Sam, Daniel and Ronon B. Also, the logo text for Caldwell's above is very cool! I think it'd make a great replacement logo/text for Lorne Cv1.

What graphics program(s) do you use? I might be able to throw you some useful tips. I use Adobe Flash/Photoshop CS3.

[Dev Brown]

Wow, thanks.
I use Adobe Photoshop 8 (CS1), might get the CS3 version sometime soon.


the logo text for Caldwell's above is very cool! I think it'd make a great replacement logo/text for Lorne Cv1.
Do you mean the STARGATE ATLANTIS <character name>?
Cause, the "Stargate Atlantis" part was part of the original picture I took and editted (and I'm not good enough to replicate that on the other side :p). Gonna get a better shot of Lorne for Cv2.

Again thanks alot,
So what are horizontal cast renders?

[brymstone]

Horizontal cast renders: Renders are cutouts that you "File > Place" into your work area. In your instance, they're renders of the SG cast. Flipping them horizontally is to make them face the other way. So if CarterC is leaning to the right, flipping her will make her lean to the left. To do it, make sure your render is on it's own layer. Then select the layer, and goto Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal.

Hope it helps :)

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/CarterCsv2.jpg

Brym, you're a genius, you know that?
This is indeed way better, thanks man.

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/ONeillC.jpg

Jack C version

Changes:
Just 'flipped the horizontal cast renders' :D

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/LorneCv2.jpg

Lorne Cv2

Changes:
Thanks to Brym I could finnaly make a good Lorne wallpaper. Flipped the original Lorne image so he could be on the left and applied some blending effects.

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/DanielBv2.jpg

Daniel Bv2

Changes:
Took Bryms advice and flipped the renders, my first thought was 'lean back' :p

[Dev Brown]

Owh, and I tried flipping Carter B but that didn't work out.
Also tried that on Ronon B, but that made him loose the macho stance and made his face look weird.

[Dev Brown]

My two latest additions to The City Project.

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/KellerCv1.jpg

Keller Cv1

Changes:
All new Jennifer Keller/Jewel Staite wallpaper (transluctent version).

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/KellerCv2.jpg

Keller Cv2

Changes:
All new Jennifer Keller/Jewel Staite wallpaper (solid version).

These took me like forever to make (almost 3 hours). Reason was I had to costum adapt the image of JS (more then usual)
This is the original.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/14.jpg
Now compare her left shoulder and the top of her head with my version :).

[Anissa T]

I find it very amusing that you have all the men in their uniforms, but you put up the sex pot pics of the "women". Not that they are bad. I actually find AT rathing sexy. I was just commenting on that pic the other day. Just amused that you would do that.....LOL....wink, wink.

[Dev Brown]

I've got the women in uniform aswell (Carter B, Teyla A....and Keller Cv3 is coming up) :p
And for the AT one, I was looking for a shot of her in SGA uniform, but I couldn't find a good picture and I liked this one alot ;), there's gonna be another Carter one as soon as I find a good picture.

But if you have a request for one of the guys, just send me a picture.

[Robin K]

Nicely done.

[Anissa T]

Well, I don't know. I've seen the "women of Stargate" calender. Can't rightly recall seeing "the men of Stargate" calendar. Hmmm....wonder why that is.

Don't suppose I'll be finding a pic of Shanks or Anderson in some short shorts and a ripped t shirt anytime soon.....LOL!

[Robin K]

Excellent point, NF...however, fans have been asking since the first "Women of Sci-fi" calendar came out when we'll see a "Men of Sci-fi" calendar. The standard response is, 'we're working on it'. Not very darned hard they're not! *sigh of indignation*

[brymstone]

Dev, I had no idea you were actually cutting them yourself. Quality job mate! Some tips for blending your renders:

Instead of lowering the opacity of the renders themselves, apply different effects to the edges of the renders. Such as the Blur, Sharpen and Smudge tools. Firstly, right click on your render layer, and duplicate it. Lock the original, so you can fall back on it in case of mistakes.

[Angelica Constantine]

Good advice Brym.

And your doing a great job Dev. Keep it up. :w1

[Dev Brown]

Thanks for the tip Brym, I'll try that in the next one (gonna be Keller in uniform).

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/KellerCv3.jpg

New, uniformed, Keller wallpaper.

Changes:
New pic of Keller, experimented with the smudge and blur tool.

[brymstone]

great job. little bit heavy on the smudging, but it's a learning process ;) try altering the opacity of the smudge or blur if you think it's too much or not enough. one of the last things i normally check before saving and exporting, is that my text layer is the uppermost layer - if i'm not adding a border layer.

now the render is more visible, it's a great improvement. keep it up!

[Dev Brown]

Thanks,
And could you help me with something? What does the gradient tool actually do (see my gradient Atlantis topic)?

[brymstone]

Gradients are transitions of one colour to another. Some look absolutely horrible. But others can look amazing! You can download free gradients. But I personally have alot more fun creating my own custom gradient for each project. I'll check out that topic now.

[Dev Brown]

Okay, cool...but how do you use the gradient tool (I know how to cover entire layers in a gradient, but how does the tool work?)

[brymstone]

You can use them to create your own colour scheme for a render if you don't like the original colours, or use them on text or buttons.

At the bottom of the Layers panel, is the "ƒx" button. Click that and select Gradient Overlay... - and adjust accordingly :)

[Dev Brown]

And what about the tool (in CS1 on it's next to the eraser tool I think)?

[brymstone]

not sure, can you screenshot that section? cs3 is the first version of photoshop i've used. before that, i always designed with flash.

[Dev Brown]

Yeah, sure but right now I'm on a laptop w/out photoshop so can't take a screen, check your PM inbox tomorrow ;) (or maybe this evening, but don't think so....gonna watch the Euro Cup Holland vs Roemia)

[cb49747]

ok,

I love the one of carter but that's just me. Not sure why, but just can't stop looking it.

[Dev Brown]

hehe, than you must truly be Jack O'Neill :D

[brymstone]

you can hit print screen and paste it into microsoft paint. then crop it down to just the toolbox area. paint can export as .jpg.

[Dev Brown]

I know, Brym, but how can I take the screen if I don´t have Photoshop on the laptop ;)

Just send you the image, I´m back on my desktop.

[brymstone]

lol, how did i miss you saying that :D anyway, message received. hope you find my contribution helpful :)

[Dev Brown]

:D

Very nice Brym, I just rePM'd you.

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/SheppardCv3.jpg

Sheppard Cv3

Changes:
Brym gave me some more tips I experimented with and this is the result.
The F302's and Shep are now dual layered and I trimmed the edges of the F302s with the blur tool.

[Dev Brown]

For the new D series of wallpapers, I dropped all the special effects (brightness, transluctency, etc) and stuck to the basics hope you like it:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/BeckettD.jpg

Beckett D

Changes
Didn't use any special effects (outer glow, etc) and just used Blur tool and sharpen tool.

[Anissa T]

Love the Carson one.

[Robin K]

I really like the one with Shep and the F302's.

[Angelica Constantine]

I loved the Carson one as well. I like with out all the fancy stuff. Thats why when I make stuff..no fancy stuff are in it.
But of course that is just my preference.
Simple yet efficient is the way I do things.

By the way Carson is on my Desktop. hehe. XD

:cb1

[Dev Brown]

I really like the one with Shep and the F302's.

Yaj, thanks Robin.!

And Ange/NF I started an entire serie of no-fancy stuff wallpapers :D (Carson's the first one)

[brymstone]

great job mate! try that duplicate layer trick. helps to make the original renders look more blended in.

btw, you should post your renders on www.planetrenders.net. i'd imagine they'd be well received there.

[Dev Brown]

Thanks man.

The new Carson is actually dual layered.

I'll look into that site this afternoon, working on my fanfic now.

[colonel Mitchell]

i like the shep and oneill ones

[Dev Brown]

Thanks man! Do you prefer the transluctent ones or the solid version?

[colonel Mitchell]

solid

[Dev Brown]

darn, am I the only one who prefers the transluctent series???????

[colonel Mitchell]

well i like both but i would perfer the solid ones

[Dev Brown]

ok, man scool

[Anissa T]

darn, am I the only one who prefers the transluctent series???????

It's not that I don't like the translucent. But, visually, it's "harder" (not hard) for me to see the character. Easier on the eyes so to speak. Of course, I have old people eyes.....LOL. Thus, my preference for the solid. It is not to say that the work isn't great. I think they look wonderful......

[Dev Brown]

Thanks NF,
I suppose me young eyes just love complex paterns that tire grown ups :p

[colonel Mitchell]

haha good one

[Anissa T]

LOL

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/CaldwellD.jpg

Caldwell D

Changes:
What does it look like I've changed....?

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/DexD.jpg

Ronon D

Changes:
Solid Ronon, but he got to keep his outer & inner glow.

[brymstone]

You stopped using your "Wallpaper by..." footer?

[Dev Brown]

owh, darn thanks.

I only started useing it in the C series and the new version of Ronon is just the old Ronon (B) solified, so it didn't have the footer.

Thanks man, I'll change it in a sec.

[colonel Mitchell]

what footer?

[Dev Brown]

see in the bottom right corner? there's text: sky map by sjonnie1, atlantis mesh by sjonnie2 and wallpaper by moi.

I forgot to add the 'wallpaper by moi' bit

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/WeirD-1.jpg

Weir D

Dude, this is my best solid one yet...(well I think it is), but I still prefer the Cv3 Shep.

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/HammondofTexasD.jpg

Hammond D

I think it's brilliant how Bra'tac call Hammond 'Hammond of Texas'

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/ONeillD.jpg

O'Neill D

Dedicated to all those RDA fans out there (esoecially he onse with 'old' eyes).

[Anissa T]

Ha..ha..ha...

I like them all. But, did you mean to spell Elizabeth's name that way?

[Dev Brown]

o shoot

[brymstone]

@The Weir wallpaper: It could use a bit more blending around her edges. But you've definately improved, Dev. I think the Hammond (of Texas :D) one is your best blend yet. Nice one!

[Dev Brown]

Thanks, Brym!

[Angelica Constantine]

I think they all look Excellent 'cept the spelling of Elizabeth. And does not need and more blending as far as I concerned, but that is personal preference.

:w1

[Dev Brown]

I corrected that spelling error just now, and also added the footers I forgot.

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/SheppardCv3AB.jpg

I know, I've got to much spare time....

[colonel Mitchell]

hard to read the name but nice job man

[Dev Brown]

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll83/pyro114/The%20City%20Project/SheppardDv1.jpg

Sheppard Skateboard
Nothing serious, 5 min work.

[Angelica Constantine]

*chuckles* thats cute. Looks like he's surfing with all his clothes on...

[Dev Brown]

Really?

[Angelica Constantine]

Yeah...with a wee board...XDXDXD

[brymstone]

i had the same thought :D

[colonel Mitchell]

dude thats freakin awesome i like it and it looks like hes skate boarding to me
is he on the phone?

[Orca15]

Dev, you area genious!!! I love that last one with the skatebaord!!!! of course... we all know I love that picture.... lol.
\/what I'm doing\/
:drool::drool::drool::drool:

[colonel Mitchell]

wow orca no need to drool

[Orca15]

can't help it... it's the skateboard and the phone.... sorry...

[Angelica Constantine]

Orca...do not worry...Drool buckets are always supplied if you do not bring your own. *hands drool bucket and towel to Orca* XDXDXD

[Dev Brown]

is he on the phone?

Yeah he is.

[Orca15]

wow, thanks Angelica....
*takes drool bucket from Angelica*

[Angelica Constantine]

Hehe your welcome. XD

[colonel Mitchell]

i said no drooling!!

[Angelica Constantine]

Tough...XDXDXD Tis what we do. :D

[Robin K]

There are several 'drool worthy' men in the Stargate universe. *searches for extra drool buckets, just in case*

[Orca15]

hey..... girls will drool.....

[Angelica Constantine]

There are several 'drool worthy' men in the Stargate universe. *searches for extra drool buckets, just in case*

*waves hand to get Robins attention* I bought some the other day at the Dollar store Robin no worries there. XDXDXD

[colonel Mitchell]

hey..... girls will drool.....

yeah well girls are weird

[Angelica Constantine]

Yeah well, guys are pretty weird too in their own way.

[brymstone]

who'd wanna be normal anyway?

[Angelica Constantine]

Exactly

[Robin K]

*waves hand to get Robins attention* I bought some the other day at the Dollar store Robin no worries there. XDXDXD

Whew! That's good! We certainly seem to use a lot of them! :thanx::thanx::thanx:

[Robin K]

who'd wanna be normal anyway?

Normal...I've always wondered...just WHO decides what/who is normal? If you ask me, those of us here in the forum who have a true love for Stargate SG-1 and/or Stargate Atlantis are the only 'normal' people around. But then, that's solely my opinion! *grin*

[Angelica Constantine]

Normal...I've always wondered...just WHO decides what/who is normal? If you ask me, those of us here in the forum who have a true love for Stargate SG-1 and/or Stargate Atlantis are the only 'normal' people around. But then, that's solely my opinion! *grin*

I share that opinion. Well, said...Kudos http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/AngelicaConstantine/Icons/thanx.gif

[Robin K]

I share that opinion. Well, said...Kudos http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/AngelicaConstantine/Icons/thanx.gif


Thank you! *takes a proper bow*

hehe your welcome. http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/AngelicaConstantine/Icons/yes.gif

[Orca15]

I share Robins opinion as well.

[brymstone]

me three :D

[colonel Mitchell]

dido

[Robin K]

(Psst...cM...it's actually 'ditto'...and thanks! :wink:)

[Angelica Constantine]

*chuckles* Robin...Aye.

[colonel Mitchell]

(Psst...cM...it's actually 'ditto'...and thanks! :wink:)

thanks