"soooo... what brings you on this fine day to the EAC?"
















    ONE OF THE RARE OPPORTUNITIES
    for me to write a long-ass description.
    SO READ THIS. THIS TOOK TIME TO TYPE :[




0 1 .  S Y N O P S I S _

    So in a fit of momentary delusion,
    my dad decided to get me the Wacom Cintiq.
    This baby's a 17" tablet, a screen that's actually drawn on.
    And trust me. This thing is beyond addictive.
    It's like all I do everyday now. Paint, eat, sleep. Gaining 9000 lbs a day.

    I'm still getting the hang of this, and have been speed-painting/doodling for 2 days,
    before I've decided to challenge my limited skills with something more elaborate.
    And Crush, this 150-year-old turtle from Pixar's "Finding Nemo" seemed as good a choice as any.
    Because I love the character, and because of the various interesting textures he has on him.

    This may not be as emotive as my other [serious] submissions,
    but it's just to share where I'm currently at, and to recieve criticism, so I can better my skills,
    before I start working on more personal projects [which I've had in mind for like forever].
    I believe in polishing and enhancing skill to an acceptable point before utilising it for deeper expressions.



0 2 .  D E T A I L S _

    This was a slow, almost-painful, but incredibly enjoyable process.
    I had the wallpaper for side-by-side reference, but chose my own colour palette.
    I wanted it to look real, ie. highly detailed, but still retain the feel of a drawing.
    What I didn't want is to have it look like trying to make a 100% copy.
    For example I purposely made Crush to not look like the original but be instantly recognisable :]
    Dory and Marlin were done in a different style to add a somewhat alternate dynamic.
    And I gave up on doing the duck-shit muck on Crush's fin coz I was starting to lose interest :[

    This was all painted freehand in Photoshop CS, with a few layer mask adjustments and tweakings.
    I prefer Photoshop to Painter, just because it feels more challenging, hence maximising the satisfaction :P
    I aim to work faster :[    But I get carried away with the tiniest, unnoticable details.

    And I tried keeping to the step process, which means erasing everything and starting over once in a while;
    but that kinda went to hell because I didn't strictly follow that. I couldn't be as insane as, say, erasing the head,
    and starting from top to bottom. I'd go mad. So I did it in segments. For example, I'd do half of a fin,
    then erase it and start over and finish the fin, then erase that and do it over from start to finish.
    It really stretches my patience to the limit, but I believe it helps to learn and improve faster.
    Another reason why this took so long is because I wanted it to look as clean and finished as possible.



      • Tools: Wacom Cintiq 17", Adobe Photoshop CS

      • Resolution: 3000x2000 px [original size]

      • Layers: 26

      • Time input:  day 01 - 11.0 hrs
                           day 02 - 13.5 hrs
                           day 03 - 04.5 hrs
                           day 04 - 07.0 hrs
                           day 05 - 08.0 hrs
                           day 06 - 12.0 hrs
                           day 07 - 05.5 hrs
                           day 08 - 03.0 hrs
                           day 09 - 04.5 hrs
                           [TOTAL] - 69.0 hrs

      • Closeups:    closeup 01
                           closeup 02
                           closeup 03
                           closeup 04

      • Progress: work-in-progress [WIP] images

      • Bubbles brush: provided by `Myangelofmusic

      • Consultants: *adonihs, `blackzer0, ~digitalalchemy. `musicinmyhead, `niteangel, @rapidograph

      • Special thanks: ~crump3t, ~eclipsic, ~MexMarco, ~--joao--, `Myangelofmusic, `newklear, *soultown

      • Copyright: Pixar Animation Studios




0 3.  E X T R A    S P E C I A L    T H A N K S _

    I've always given credit to the people who've helped but never mentioned why.
    SO HERE COMES MY OSCAR SPEECH -



      • *adonihs, for your overall guidance and inspiration, and all the awesome tips :] *massages your elbow with a mop*;

      • `blackzer0, for advice on further improvement of everything, and for being so caring in everything I do;

      • ~crump3t, for being so encouraging with your comments, and always showing an interest in my work;

      • ~digitalalchemy, for your incredible eye, and amazing crit, mostly on stuff I wouldn't have noticed if otherwise;

      • ~eclipsic, for being so patient with me while I paint :P, and wanting to see WIPs even when you're sick;

      • `musicinmyhead, for suggesting the step process [... :[ I hate it actually] and advice on the wrinkles and colours;

      • `Myangelofmusic, for being so sweet, beautiful and considerate as always, and for the awesome bubble brushes;

      • `newklear, for taking the time to point out how to perfect the edges, and being so kind with your criticisms;

      • `niteangel, for being so helpful, though :P I didn't make all the changes you suggested this time, but thanks; and

      • @rapidograph, for advice on the "cookie crumbs" on his head, shadings/highlights, bubbles, and keyboard shortcuts.




    Thanks, guys. Couldn't have done it without you <3




And to end things with a bang,

        _____
      ( O__< )
   </______ \>
     |_______|
   <\______ />
            v



me as a turtle :[





Thanks for looking.