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Thread: Super Blade Pro

  1. #1
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    Default Super Blade Pro

    The wing was a vector drawing in Xara, and made into a gray PNG for SBP. SBP is a bitmap plugin and the coloring and textureing comes from environments. It has a limitation on the amount of shaping when doing large images, but it works fine here.

    I normally color the cells in E3, however the cells were done in SBP with a lead environment. In SBP, I can do both the cells and matrix. The matrix is too complex for E3.

    I did a matrix fill in Xara with an image of the wing, and used AutoFX Gel for shaping. Gel is a bitmap plugin as well.

    So, with SBP the colors and textures come from environment images.

    In addition, I use Mezzoforce Ice on the cells, and maybe Gel for post shaping.

    Rich
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2
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    Default Re: Super Blade Pro

    Rich,

    Very nifty effect. I like it a lot.

    Just a couple of questions/comments/requests:

    1. Is this a similar technique to the one you used, to great effect, I might add, on your sea turtle image?

    2. Pertaining to your explanation of what you did to get the effect... SAY WHAT??? I can usually follow along with most of the posts and happenings here on TG but you've totally lost me on this one. If it is not too much to ask could you please provide a different explanation of what you did to achieve this result.

    3. Will you also post a raster image of the wire frame that you used? I've got a mental image already but would like to compare it to what you started off with.

    Thanks for taking the time to share this. I'm thinking of trying whatever you did on a project I've had in mind.

    Cheers,
    Harry
    Last edited by HayTay; 17 September 2008 at 03:40 AM.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Super Blade Pro

    That is incredible!
    JOHN -XaReg (FB) XaReg (DB - ignore prompt to register)
    Windows 10 [Anniversary] pro Intel Pentium CPU G630 @ 2.70Ghz RAM: 4 GB; 64-bit x64

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Super Blade Pro

    Harry,

    The wing drawings were traced in Xara. I drew the cells and the outline of the wings. Then adding shapes and breaking shapes to get the matrix drawing.

    For SBP or Gel, I need PNGs. For E3, the drawings get exported to EPS or AI format.

    The turtle was colored in E3 with reflection maps. Several programs use reflection maps. These are also called environments. SBP uses images as environments, but are only used for color. E3 applys a map to a vector object instead of an image. It can give shaping due to the design of the map. Texture is applied from a texture image. I have several thousand maps for coloring. An aspect of E3 is that it can use transparent images as maps. Something very unique. It only appears on screen when a texture is applied. You can export out without texture applied and see the effect. Just somewhat difficult to work with. Bezels are done with rings. A map with a transparent center. The color flows from the shape. The glass turtle had a map made from an image of crystal.

    Rich
    Attached Files Attached Files

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Super Blade Pro

    Rich,

    Thanks, it's starting to sink in. A little more help with the TLAs (Two & Three Letter Acronyms) and I'll be on my way. After doing a little homework via Google and some of your other posts, I discovered that SBP is a plug-in from FlamingPear called Super Blade Pro. I tracked down Gel and it appears to be the AutoFX's DreamSuite Gel Series. I take it E3 is another Photoshop and/or Paint Shop Pro compatible plug-in?

    I've downloaded and installed the plug-in demos and will play around with them a bit this evening.

    Expanding my horizons,
    Harry

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Super Blade Pro

    E3 is creature house expression 3 [the fore runner of microsoft expression who took the creature house product over - not the same thing]

    still available free here:

    http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...ression3_3.exe
    -------------------------------
    Nothing lasts forever...

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Super Blade Pro

    A view of the Red Dragon with the wing image filled back into the drawing. The filled drawings were exported to PNG, and corrected in Photoshop. You can load a selection from the transparency, and just paint the portions needing correction. The two images were shaped in Gel, and recombined into the wing. Gel (AutoFX) plugins don't run in Xara. The body was map filled in Expression 3.2, and texturized with Mezzoforce Ice 1.03. 1.03 is no longer available, however, there is a free lite version that will do 1000 pixel images. I don't know in E3.3 is still available from Microsoft as a free download.

    Rich
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  8. #8
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    Default Re: Super Blade Pro

    Rich, you are incredible. Looking at these drawings, I assume you are also very patient!
    Keith
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    There are 10 types of people in this world .... Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Super Blade Pro

    Yes they are wonderful
    -------------------------------
    Nothing lasts forever...

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Super Blade Pro

    Wing color from a small image clone painted in Painter, and refilled into a drawing in Xara. The cells were run though Mezzoforce Ice 1.03 from Xara. The body was a map filled Xara drawing, and Iced for texture. Sort of improving resolution in a different way.

    Rich
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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