Ohmygod... 3,200 objects!

[Clements]

Frank its really stunning! Kind of reminds me the style used in 50's magazine ads (if it was, she'd have a cigarette in her mouth). I bet she was modeled after a hitch-hiker you picked in your bus. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

The VW idea is a THUMBS UP. For that matter, XARA could do the very thing Ross brought up to begin with ... cover a public transit bus in a few target cities (like San Francisco, LA, Vancouver BC, etc) whose route is in the downtown area.

Risto's right about the blends of the skin; the work in the neck caught my eye.

[AjIsCoool]

Big Frank i think the Hair is really attractive, i wish i can play with it ( i mean the brush, of course) Lovely work.

[caraman1]

We'll have to start calling you "Really Big Frank" if you keep this up! Your VW bus is one of my all time favorites and this is especially good too!

Dennis

<a href=http://www.djart.com>DJArt & Design Design</a>

[Big Frank]

Actually, the hair was far more difficult than the skin tones, but here's an idea of how the neck was done...

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Big Frank was

[Soquili]

Hi Big Frank,

Great drawing!! The skin tones are superb! Could you please tell us how you did the hair? I've been experimenting with Christine's Hair_Brush, but can't come anywhere near the quaility image you've created.

Soquili [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Egg Bramhill]

The drawing is truely A1. I'm with Ross...paint your wagon!
Egg

[bcdeb]

I was so taken with it that all I can say Frank is you have good taste :-)

[Big Frank]

This was not easy, hence my questions in the Xara forum. However, I didn't get any responses satisfactory for my purposes so I had to work on this myself from scratch. You cannot use a custom brush because human hair (unless you're a skinhead [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] ) is by its very nature infinitely variable in both size and colour. So here's how I did it, painstaking work but a good result nevertheless. If anybody has any methods that would improve upon it, please let us know...

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Big Frank was

[Ross Macintosh]

I'm glad Frank likes the vintage VW bus w/ supergraphic-wrap idea. Now if we can just get Xara Ltd. to see the value in it.

Wrapping a large city bus costs big bucks - I once heard something like $35,000 but I don't know if that includes the bus company's charges which would be significant. I'm pretty sure such costs are out of reach for Xara Ltd. and their advertizing budget.

If instead they bought an old VW bus they could lend it to Frank. He is perhaps the perfect recipient in that he has the VW knowledge to keep it running and he is now clearly a Xara god!

Wrapping the cute little VW bus with inkjet-printed self-adhesive bus wrap probably wouldn't cost all that much. It would be a mobile billboard. They don't put the graphics over the front window but they do cover the side windows with perforated vinyl (that would allow Frank to see out). Wrapping with a large graphic like Frank's model would be stunning. It would clearly get much attention (for Xara) wherever Frank drove it.

Heck, I think the idea is good enough to start a little business. An entrepreneur like Charles Moir (Xara founder) could have a whole fleet of such cute buses on the street. Chuck could sell the "space" to others, saving part of the time (say a month a year) for his own companies. If enough VW buses aren't available, do it with new Beetles or some other "cute" vehicles. The finance charges on a new vehicle could easily be offset by selling the advertising space. He could probably make a deal with a courier company or some other business that would keep the vehicles on the street as much as possible.

My little brain is overflowing with ideas...
I need a beer to slow down the synapses!

Regards, Ross

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>

[Soquili]

Thanks Big Frank, your techique for the hair works very well in your drawing. I'll experiment to see if I can get similar results for the drawing I'm working on.

Soquili [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]