Graphics Worm Q & A, Plus More Info

[Luke Skywalker]

Greetings,

Okay so since I didn't state things all too clearly in my introduction post, I thought I would put up a post where not only do I hope to more succinctly state what this Graphics Worm is and what the project is, but also to allow you guys the opportunity to ask any question you may have. First, let me try to explain this as best as I can...

What: For our Artist Celebration here on Supernatural.tv, I decided that it would be a cool idea for as many of the artists on the board as possible to participate in making a Graphics Worm. Simply put, a graphics worm is a series of images blended together horizontally; where each person involved makes a piece of the worm. Looking at the example I just linked provides a very good idea of what a graphics worm is and what it looks like as an end product.

How: Each person who signed-up here will be making a piece of the worm. Each piece will be 700x500 pixels. However, the unique aspect of a graphics worm is that not only does each person make a piece of the worm, each person is also responsible for blending the piece before theirs into their own, so that the worm flows together. Again, looking at the example I linked earlier, you can see (as indicated on the bottom) where each person's respective piece begins and ends, however looking at the piece as a whole it is sometimes very hard to tell when one person's piece ends and the next one begins. This is why the blending aspect of a graphics worm is so vital, and so complicated. In order for this to work smoothly, this is what we're going to do:

1) Starting with the first person on the sign-ups list (which is me) we'll start making the worm. Once I finish my part of the worm, I'm going to send it on to the next person on the list, which is Cinca.

2) Cinca will not only have to make her own unique piece of the worm, but she'll also have to blend my piece in with hers so that side-by-side it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins (just like in the example linked).

3) Once Cinca has finished her piece, she puts her piece and my piece together, and then passes it on to the next person on the list. (Note: To link pieces together, simply create a new image that is 500 pixels high, and the appropriate length will be 700 pixels times the number of people before you, including yourself. So for Cinca, for example, the image she sends on to the next person in line should be 1400x500 pixels.)

4) The maximum deadline to make your piece is one week (or seven days). However, here is no minimum deadline. That is to say, that if you finish your piece in under a week, then you can send it on to the next person in line.

5) If you run into a conflict with the timing and cannot make your piece of the worm in the week you are assigned, then please PM me or post something in the sign-ups thread saying that you can't do it. In which case we will move on to the next person in line. Then, we will come back to the skipped individual when they are available to make their piece.

When: It starts now! I have until Sunday, May 30th to make my piece and send it along to Cinca. Though the process may sound confusing as stated above, I'll be doing my best to keep the sign-ups thread updated with who's currently making their piece, when their deadline is, and so on.

Updating: I know some people are kind of waiting to see how this all plays out before they actually join in, which is fine, however the way I have things set up right now no-one gets to see the progress of the worm until they get to make their piece. Though this gives us all some suspense as to what the final product will turn out as, it's not helpful for those that would like to see a little progress before the decided to take part. Therefore, I would like the 4th person (who is currently SMACKTHETRUTH ?!) to send me their finished piece of the worm along with sending it on to the next person in line. I'll be posting this as an example of how things are going for those who are curious. If enough people join, I may add further updates, but as it stands one should be enough.

Taking Part: Though originally I wanted sign-ups to close before beginning, I realized that, that idea was kind of stupid. I really want any one and everyone to get the opportunity to take part. Thus, there is no longer any hard deadline. If you see this, you can probably still join in! The only time I'm going to not allow someone to join in is if we are on the last person making their piece of the worm. However, any time before then, any artist is welcome to join! Just go over the Sign-ups thread linked previously and say that you'd like to join in on the project, and I'll add your name to the list!

Keeping Touch: I'd also ask that each person please send me a PM saying when they've passed the worm on to the next person. This way I can keep the list updated with who's done and the deadlines.

Hosting: After the first leg of our Graphics Worm project, we discovered a little problem, however it's easily fixed. Because the Worm is going to be extremely huge, you cannot host the worm on a photobucket account since photobucket automatically resizes images. Thus, you'll have to host on an imageshack account. However, I know that not everyone has an imageshack account, therefore I got permission from Yoda for us to use the staff one. You are allowed to host the completed worm (the worm after you have added your piece) on the staff account and then pass it on to the next person.

Staff Imageshack Account
Username: SNtv
Password: LastIconMaker
Make sure the option to "Do Not Resize" is selected under Upload Options/Resizing before hosting.

Content: All content within the worm must follow board rules concerning images. However, anything else is allowed. This does not have to be Supernatural based. You are allowed to use whatever you would like in the making of your piece of the worm, so long as it follows board rules. Even traditional artists may take part. Though a bit trickier, I'm allowing you guys the opportunity to take part because after all, this is an Artist Celebration, and I don't want any artist to feel left out.

The Purpose: The purpose of this is to HAVE FUN! This isn't a challenge, and it's definitely not required. I've been apart of this fanart community for 5 years now, and every time I get down about making graphics, and I come back here, the responses and energy of this community get me going again! I wanted this to be my way of saying "Thank You!", and also to express how incredibly awesome you all are at fanart! When this is all done, I'll be adding this in as a special feature to the Newsletter (which is coming back), that way we can show off how incredibly talented this community is to hundreds of other Supernatural fans!

Okay, that's all I have for you. I know it's an incredible amount of information to take in, but I hope to give you guys time to take it all in and work it out. Which brings us to the second purpose of this thread.

If you have any questions or concerns about the graphics worm project, any at all, this is the thread to post those questions. Please, don't be afraid to ask anything that you're not sure about. There are probably a few others that have the same question(s) and I may not have all the bugs worked out with this because this is my first time running something like this; so by asking questions you are probably helping a lot of people out. This also goes for any questions concerning what to do or if you need any help during the project. I'll be happy the help out in any way possible. Hopefully after the first couple of people go, the process should get smoother and it should make much more since.

Thanks,
Luke Skywalker

This post has been edited by Luke Skywalker on Jun 4 2010, 10:43 PM

[Luke Skywalker]

Make sure to read the new information under "Hosting" in the above information because we ran into a little trouble after the first leg of the project and it is very important that everyone understands this error.

[Dean's_Gal]

I want to know we would have to PM the PNG, do you think that would make it harder? Would be easier if evrone is ok with it to email so we get the PSD file, but now I just realised why as not everyone uses the same programme.... never mind

[Taylor93duh]

Is there Anyway we can Look at the Worm Before it gets to us So we can Start Thinking up Ideas?? Just Wondering.....

[Luke Skywalker]

Short answer is no, Taylor, but here's why. The reason why it's hard for you to be able to see the worm before you get it is because the person before you is going to add their piece and then send it on to you, so even if I did update the thread with the worm's progress after every person, you would know just as much about the worms progress as everyone else at that moment. Does that make sense?

I guess you can already be thinking up some ideas, but I wouldn't suggest it because you never know what the person before you is going to leave you as a transition. Which is kind of the point of a graphics worm, making the artist think on their feet a little bit. Everyone gets a week to complete their piece, which should be more than enough time to think up a creative idea for you piece.

I do plan to post a kind of update of the worm for everyone to see after SMACKTHETRUTH ?! finishes her piece. That way people can kind of see how it's going and also get a better idea of what's being done.

Hope that answers your question Taylor.

[Taylor93duh]

Sorry fpt the late Reply but yeah Thxs That Helps And yea it makes Since!

[dreamalittledreamofsam]

I forget if this has been mentioned or not, but this *can* be any subject-i.e. music, tv, movies, actors, etc., right?

second question: I know its good to leave space for the next person, but do you need to use up the rest of your space?...

This post has been edited by dreamalittledreamofsam on Jul 4 2010, 12:33 AM

[Luke Skywalker]

No problem, Taylor. I hope you join us for the celebration.

@ DALDOS - Yes, your piece can be anything that you want. There is no restrictions in terms of genre or anything of that sort. The only image rules you have to follow are the ones for the board as a whole.

And no, you can't build over on someone else's piece to make a better transition for yours. The reason why I suggest leaving a small space is to leave a good transition, however you don't have to leave a space at all. I just kind of suggested that so that transitions would be easier for everyone. If you don't want to leave a space for the next person, just make sure that whatever edge you give them is somewhat easy to transition out of. Does that make sense? If you look at the example I linked, they don't always leave a space, some people leave a stripped pattern or something else easy to work off of, then the next person just continues with the pattern, or morphs the pattern into their piece. It's really kind of complicated to explain, but that's part of the challenge of the worm, is the transition. The short answer to your question is, no, you do not use the space they left you.