Bead Sprites by Xstatic

[metroplex2k7]

I love the Link picture. You do such a good job when it comes to coloring and shading. Good Luck to you at the art show.

[xstatic]

So I finished my first piece intended for the art show... I am by no means any good at landscape or anything of that nature, so this project was incredibly difficult for me. Don't hate me 'cause it might suck. Luckily the next number coming is WAY more my style and visually stimulating for me.... XP Bed time now plzkthx!

[cristiaso]

Everytime I see your big pieces I am in awe!! We, as artists, can be so hard on ourselves...so trust me when I tell you that it is incredible!!!

[metroplex2k7]

I give that a 10!!! It is awesome! I have to know, what program do you use to blow up the photo? Do you use a digital camera to take the picture? What is the pixel count on it?

[PaperRockScisorz]

WOW! That really is amazing. I <3 it!!

Stop being mean to yourself!!

[Doctor Octoroc]

NEME *shakes fist* SIS!!!

[Darlaa]

wow! beautiful sprite/picture!

[OneChordWonder]

I know I'm a bit late on this, but that Megaman duo is amazing. All of your stuff is, really.

[xstatic]

Everytime I see your big pieces I am in awe!! We, as artists, can be so hard on ourselves...so trust me when I tell you that it is incredible!!!

:3 Thanks. It's true. I'm my own worst critic. I always feel inferior to those around me.

I give that a 10!!! It is awesome! I have to know, what program do you use to blow up the photo? Do you use a digital camera to take the picture? What is the pixel count on it?

I didn't blow up the photo... I shrunk it...a lot. Here's the original image...

So I just went of this image and minimized.

WOW! That really is amazing. I <3 it!!

Stop being mean to yourself!!

I sorry.

NEME *shakes fist* SIS!!!

omg - I caught up on my Hero's last night. We're friends now. So it's all good. ;D

wow! beautiful sprite/picture!

I know I'm a bit late on this, but that Megaman duo is amazing. All of your stuff is, really.

:3 *blushieface* Thanks everyone. <3 <3

[PaperRockScisorz]

Clearly you're not good at following instructions in other sections, soo I'm going to have to semi-spoil the surprise and ask you to please CLICK THIS!!!!!!!

kthnxbai! <3

[xstatic]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwww!!!! OMG speechless much?

[PaperRockScisorz]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwww!!!! OMG speechless much?

Well since that's how your pieces make us feel, it was only appropriate.

[metroplex2k7]

You shrink it?! Why is everyone keeping this such a big secret, all I want to know is how to take a picture (let's say a screenshot from Transformers the movie (the animated one)) and blow it up so I can bead it. I just want to know how you do a picture like the one you did, or your wedding photo.

[PaperRockScisorz]

You shrink it?! Why is everyone keeping this such a big secret, all I want to know is how to take a picture (let's say a screenshot from Transformers the movie (the animated one)) and blow it up so I can bead it. I just want to know how you do a picture like the one you did, or your wedding photo.

You don't blow it up, you shrink it. If you took a screenshot from a movie there would be a ridiculously large quantity of pixels in the shot, so you have to shrink it (which will distort the image as you can see by comparing the picture X took of the bridge and the beaded piece). So take whatever image you want and open it in paint. Then go to image>resize/skew and enter 50%/50% in the resize horizontal/vertical boxes (leave skew alone). You can go to image>attributes at any time to see how many pixels (and therefore how many beads) long and wide the design will be. So you just keep repeating the 50/50 process until you get to the desired number of pixels. Then you'll probably have to use a different program to do some retouching/recoloring because, like I said before, it will get distorted.

There's no easy way to do it, and I believe Serena told us what she did for the portrait in her thread, so everyone was "keeping it a secret" because it's already been explained.

I hope that helps. I've never done it before, but that's the most elementary way I can think to do it.

[xstatic]

yeah there is no great secret behind it. I'm sorry if you thought that I or anyone else was holding back information from you. :( I wasn't at all. I'm just really bad at tutorials and lengthy responses. I'm really not technical about this stuff at all. I don't take HALF the steps that most the other beaders take. I don't recolor, I don't count pixels, I don't anything. I shrink, and change the colors to 256... I play with contrast to make the final image as appealing as I can before beading. I do all retouch and recolor by eye. I change the final picture usually several times by eye. I added elements to the bridge picture that I could not get on my own with the shrinking of the image, but only after I had beaded the entire thing, stood way far away from it, over analyzed it, picked at it, stood over it on a chair, etc. It's not something I can teach...it's just something I do. I'm a full time artist, I went to school for art, I make my living off of art. I don't expect everyone to be able to do what I do, but I can just give what little advice I know how to give.

[Doctor Octoroc]

I understand what Metro way saying - blowing up the pixels! Honest mistake.

My process is different, but that's because I've been hand-pixeling since I was a wee lad. But no matter what your process (be it hand pixeling, custom palette or simply loading it into a program like the one that comes with Photo Pearls), the first step is always to reduce the size of the image. You don't have to do it PRS's way, I don't think. You should be able to resize it to 10% or 20% or whatever percent you want on the first shot. If you do multiple resizes, you will lose more of the original visual information in the image. Basically, the way that most paint programs resize, is they take the average of a number of pixels and gives the area a new color, 1x1 pixel. For example, if you resize your image to 25%, then the new image will contain one pixel for every sixteen pixels (4x4) in the original image. So it finds the average color value of those 16 pixels and applies that value to the new single pixel. If you resize once to 50% then again to 50% of the 50% (in other words, 25% of the original image size) then you've taken that average value twice, and the final result is a less acurate representation of the original image. The only reason I mention this is because when it comes time to touch it up, it will be more difficult with the multiple resizes, since the final resize will have a less acurate layout.

I hope I didn't just confuse the shit out of you...maybe I'll make a tutorial on this sometime.

[metroplex2k7]

Look, I am a man, according to Hardee's, I can barely open a can of biscuits. So, I just didn't understand what you guys were saying. But between the last 3 posts, it added up like an equation, to an understandable conclusion. So thanks to the 3 of you for clearing it up.

[HighlyFlammableMan]

Well...that's it...I have to quit now.

I don't even have any words...

...

I don't know how many other spriters you sacrificed to the dark gods to gain your talent, but it was worth it.

[xstatic]

HFM - NO QUITTING! K?

omg - finished the last realistic pic for the art show! Good thing too as the deadline is TODAY.



OMG I looooove this one 'cause the snake is all "HAI THAR GUYS! SUP?!"

[suikerpanda]

Holy crap that's so cool!