Aesthetic Issue 4
Greetings, on another issue of Aesthetic. Not much new happened this issue; hence the little change.
First off, I received alot of messages regarding to me being biased. Biased? Hell yeah. Towards regurgitation of another person's style. When I see a LD! logo, it really pisses me off; not only are you showing no imagination, but destroying the little integrity the style has left.
On to another issue. Some of you people mentioned about desalvo's rating; you complained about his negativity. I thought about this, and realized, "what kind of review magazine do you want?". Do you want one, where it just sits all cozy and happy, complementing on every piece of artwork? If you noticed, desalvo's reviews don't simply say "SUCKS SHIT" or "I HATE THIS"; there's usually an explanation, like "the eye is too big" or "why are you using this same old style?"; he does justify his rating - whether or not you may agree with it is another issue.
I was approached by at least 3 people, on reviewing. Where are they now? If you wish to help review (provided that you have at least one year of drawing the medium), simply contact me through E-mail.
Also, many thanks to L5 for the Aesthetic logo - I'm sorry I couldn't use it, due to my limited coding skills.
---
The Green Hornet / Aesthetic Editor
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After last month's tirade, a few people asked me just how I go about reviewing the month's packs. To reiterate: my grading is based on an equal rating of creativity, originality, and technical execution. Each are worth 1/3 a grade out of ten. In my book, there are three loose arenas that most ANSI can be grouped into; comic rips, non-comic rips, and fonts. Comic rips automatically lose most of the creativity and originality grade; most of the time, all of it. Especially if the picture's been done before. Your BCR (B.asic C.omic R.ip), the kind of drably shaded, average outlined work is what most ANSI released falls into. Bad Karma was an excellent BCR artist. It's nothing fancy, just a ripped idea, standard shading. These will usually receive a mark from 2-3. Sometimes more, sometimes less. The ACR (A.dvanced C.omic R.ip, thanks Ron!) is a more sophisticated form of the BCR; some form of advanced or innovative technique/layout/design may have been used. Somms's later work is an example (again, thanks Ron.) Non-comic rips include the slovenly '100% original' labelled stuff, along with original cartoons. ANSI copied from photographs/newspapers/etc. fall into the general comic rip category. In the non-comic rip category, the creativity and orignality grade come into play. These gradings are self explanatory; if the ANSI is an original, but is still basically a BCR (or ACR, for that matter) the marks will be low. Obviously, the first thing I think of when viewing an ANSI is: 'Have I seen this style/picture/layout/etc. before?' And the second thing: 'Does the ANSI have a point?' Which brings me to the category rated the lowest most of the time; fonts. Block copied, cheap gradient applied, shade dolloped fonts are automatically going to receive a mark of less than 0.5. There's zero creativity involved, zero originality, and little to no technical skill. When grading fonts, the first thing I look for (as with most ANSI) is creativity and originality; does the style of the font work with the letters/board name?
If something I see is a particularly slovenly display of style/ picture/idea stealing, I will usually refuse to grade it. Lately, I have tended to simply give these pieces a mark of 0.0, or in the rare case, a negative grade. This reflects the particular mood I was in when the piece was reviewed.
The things I despise the most in ANSI: block copied fonts, 'remixed' work, logo/small scale 'collies' (such a moronic word for a moronic concept; separate files for 2 or 3 logos, a header, a menu, whatever. I guess the ego feeds off of releasing every block of color one shades. <shrug>), releasing 23 line matrixes/menus (see 'collie' explanation), uncreative shading, etc. I can go on for pages and pages.
To anyone wondering just who I am, I'm an ANSI artist and former member of Legacy, Gothic, and Nation. Currently, I'm a member of Dark Illustrated, and have been drawing ANSI and VGA off and on since late 1992. No, this list doesn't make me 'qualified'; it shows where I've been, where I am, and where my particular influences/opinions/etc. come from.
Remember folks, reviews/grading/marking/etc., is for the most part, purely subjective. What I may like, you may not like; the reverse is also true. The one thing to remember and stick by is not to draw for a board, or a trade, or money; draw simply for art's sake. Make it come from inside. Art without emotion is nothing but the fluff you see on a cereal box;
sterile, mass produced garbage.
Until next month.
---
desalvo AKA Forlorn Extender
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[1mwriters [0m: Carnifex
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[10Cdesalvo AKA Forlorn Extender (NO CAPITALIZATION on the 'd[A
[67C')
[1m* [0mContributors are always welcomed.
[1m- [0mAs of August 19th, 1996.
[0m[255D
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Session Start: Sun Aug 18 17:43:03 1996
* Logging #aesthetic to: [#aesthet.log]
<pOd_> =)
> Thanks for doing this man, I'll keep it brief.
<pOd_> oh n/p.. its up to you.. I got time
> Alright. For those who don't know, your name stands for Prince of Darkness.
> Tee hee.
<pOd_> err Death
<pOd_> lotsa people mix it up..
> You've always been a courier right? Have you ever tried to draw..?
<pOd_> hmm well I have never really couriered lots.. I did a bit in acid .. and ice.. in ice I kinda ran Canada's courier department.. it was
bigger back then.. because the inet wasn't around..
> Nod.
> I've heard that you have/did have a big directory full of numbers of various artists..?
> 'Cause I remember you and someone calling Stef (Ravage Bias)
> :)
<pOd_> well I have a list I have collected through the years... it is not bad.. nothing extensive.. like radmans... yeah.. it was me and Asian Knight who called him.
> Can you quickly give a brief overview of your scene 'career'?
> Groups..?
<pOd_> well lets see..
<pOd_> I started in the scene in about 92. or so.. I tried to draw.. and found out.. I didn't have the patience.. =)..
> Grin.
<pOd_> in 93.. I was in local groups.. pretending to think I could draw =)... then in early 94 .. I hooked up with some friends who were in ice <pOd_> Mascot, Cid Vicious, and Banana Basher were all from my ac <pOd_> after a while they got me a couriering position in ice.. which was hrmm 0394.. I think
<pOd_> I didn't really like it... but I met some cool people.. ie inquisitor of ice...
<pOd_> then from there.. I went to nation where. I went from courier to Canadian co-ordinator
<pOd_> I had fun in nation.. I would have to say .. it was one of my best times in the scene..
> Grin. Alot of ex-Nation members say the same thing.
<pOd_> I kinda dropped out.. cause I moved outta my house.. and I had no computers and stuff..
<pOd_> yeah.. nation was alot of fun..
> From Nation..? Freelance courier?
<pOd_> hehehe
<pOd_> freelance courier =)..
> Or.. Integrity, right?
<pOd_> no I just quit the scene for about 8 months
<pOd_> no I never joined int
> You didn't? Weren't they all located in your AC?
*** Tgh has quit IRC (Operation timed out)
<pOd_> yeah... but they were all kinda new to me.. the only person in the group that had remotely been around as long as I had .. was gd
> Ah.
> So what do you do nowadays..? Just float around on the channels? Or
are you part of this Legend 'ressurection'?
<pOd_> I decided I would join up with acid.. it was ok for a while.. .. then one day outta the blue Deeply_d msg'd me on irc wanting me to join this new group he was starting
<pOd_> oh.. I am part of the rebirth of legend..
<pOd_> the pack is looking very nice.. I am sure most will enjoy it...
> I never really heard the entire story, but what happened between DD and Somms?
> It involved a network card..?
> Or some sort?
> :)
<pOd_> no.. a controller card...
<pOd_> dd needed one to get his computer working.. and somms sent him one..
<pOd_> and dd ups and leaves legend..
<pOd_> but.. blah.. me and dd get along.. it is all in the past..
> Nod. Is DD part of the new legend..?
<pOd_> it's just the ansi scene.. =)
<pOd_> no he isn't.. he is still in ice as far as I know..
> Anything you'd like to get off your chest, in regards to the 'scene'?
<pOd_> heh.. a few things..
<pOd_> I don't like to point fingers... but we have had alot of flak from
certain people.. about the new legend..
<pOd_> I would just like to say.. grow up.. this is the ansi scene... not your life..
<pOd_> hm I think thats about it
> Alright, thanks, man. Well put.
<pOd_> thanx..
> I'll see you later, man.
<pOd_> =)
<pOd_> lates
*** pOd_ (vandalah@van-pm-0501.direct.ca) has left #aesthetic
Session Close: Sun Aug 18 18:08:14 1996
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Dark Illustrated July 1996 Pack ˙vd˙
"The Originals of the Originators"
4THDS-23.DRK (6.5) Not quite as good as last month's Black Apple ANSI. The grey thing popping out should not have been blended in; it looks like part of the green guy.
(4.5) Not too bad.
4THDS-24.DRK (2.0) Blast from the past. Obvious but forgiveable problems.
(2.2) 'Toon'.
AGT77-01.DRK (6.7) Simple, effective, someone died?!
(5.7) Nice touch at bottom.
CORIN-04.DRK (6.0) Could have drawn a *little* bit more of the head to smooth things along. An interesting perspective. Agreed on the font.
(7.1) Good idea - facial expressions would have spicened things.
DKARN-01.DRK (1.2) Proportions. Shading. Detail. Garbage.
(0.2) Ditto.
DKARN-02.DRK (---) I refuse to grade such trash. Is the reminder that it's 'oldschool' supposed to justify its inclusion in the pack? Retro to a point is cool, but this is ridiculous. Obvious proportion problems, totally flat and uncreative shading. This guy couldn't do VGA, can't do ANSI. Crawl in a hole and die.
(0.5) My eyes.
EPOXY-01.DRK (0.0) WHAT IS IT?! Michael Jordan's head? Modified Calvin? I'd refuse to give it a grade, but this isn't even ANSI. The rant is silly and out of place; what is the point of this thing?
(5.2) Nice face.
HENFR-01.DRK (4.7) Nicely drawn. Way too much writing on the bottom. The font is forgiveable.
(7.3) Wicked shading.
LOGOS-01.DRK (1.0) Blah. I've seen them all before.
(2.1) Logos.
LOGOS-02.DRK (0.8) Ditto. Worse on the shading.
(1.1) Lord Jazz style logos.
LOGOS-03.DRK (0.1) Vomit. Lose the menu, .7 increase.
(3.2) Raffaello's logo was good.
LOGOS-04.DRK (0.0) What is the point of four logo files for such shitty work? paste them all in one long mother and leave it be...
(1.2) My eyes.
MRAGE-01.DRK (0.4) Why do people insist on releasing such cruddy small scale work, then plaster messages to the effect of 'don't use this!' all over it?! Don't release it! Be secure in your artistic talent for once!
(3.2) Detailed.
MULTI-06.DRK (0.5) Is that blue topped thing supposed to be human? Where's the face? God I'm sick of menus/headers/blah. If you're this desperate for artwork, pull an Acid and release 6 semi-quality pieces, not this piss-on trash.
(1.1) Matrix.
MULTI-07.DRK (1.9) Can Wator draw only the same Chromatik wannabe characters? What is he doing in Dark? Another thought; why did TGH put his name on this?!
(---)
MULTI-08.DRK (8.0) Count on Ron and Loc to come up with something memorable. A beautifully done face; reminds me of an ex-girlfriend. Teeth could use work, but they're well done in the scale used.
(---)
MULTI-09.DRK (2.0) Wannabe Toon Goon.
(5.2) Could have been better if body was incorporated.
NRCSS-01.DRK (2.9) Is that cat from Sailor Moon? Please...
(4.1) Not too bad.
SHNYA-01.DRK (3.0) Something that actually has a point when it says 'don't rip this 23 liner...'. Acceptable. Sloppy.
(3.1) Sloppy. Good idea, though.
SKYP!-02.DRK (0.1) Headers, logons, small scale trash. Please. I thought Dark didn't release such garbage; who do they think they are, iCE?
(0.8) Crap.
SKYP!-03.DRK (---) Who gives a fuck who you are, who you were, and what you did. My most lasting memory from you is on the old Fed Net, begging for affils. This totally slovenly wannabe Acid newsletter is disgusting. Not worthy of a grade.
(---) Letter?
WARPY-01.DRK (0.1) Shitty logo after shitty logo. Does this guy think he's funny, trying to pull the sexual favors act? Get a new schtick, dumbass. Nobody gives a fuck who you're sucking. Get a life too, while you're at it.
(1.5) My eyes.
WARPY-02.DRK (1.2) Ok. It's supposed to be a broom in a bucket. Right. Beyond the atrocious color combos; that's supposed to be a font? Unreadable can be taken to an extreme, but it sounds more like a cop-out to me.
(2.5) Good idea; poor choice of colours.
desalvo's informal overall comment: It seems Dark decided to be like iCE this month; cruddy combos, lots of collections/stat screens, and the brief flash of brilliance. Is this because of the mergers, new members, or what? I, for one, hope it does not continue. A low quality pack, both in material and presentation. Dark's worst pack ever; the VGA doesn't manage to save it.
¯
‹∞‹ ‹˛ ‹‹‹ ∞∞‹˛‹ ‹‹‹‹‹ ∞∞‹˛‹ ‹‹∞‹
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iCE July 1996 disk 1 of 3
CC-RUST1.ICE (2.7) The idea is OK, but the outlining, shading, and font blow. It's butt ugly to boot. Maybe this can all be attributed to style, but maybe you should have used iCE Color...
(3.7) Ugh. Poor choice of colours.
CU-HAV .ICE (4.4) Proportions! Detail on the second guy is atrocious! Basic Cold 'N' Ugly shading! Quasar did it better 2 years ago!
(6.9) Pretty good.
CU-HAV2 .ICE (1.1) Oh god. Here come the stat screens.
(2.4) Matrix.
CU-LV2 .ICE (0.9) Bleg. Lacks definition.
(1.5) Matrix.
CU-OS .ICE (3.5) Yawn. This ANSI would have been amazing in 1993. Total lack of character on the bottom guy. The font is basic, but forgiveable.
(4.8) Top guy's head is too perpendicular; even a slight tilt of the head will create a subtle interest.
DD-SBACK.ICE (3.7) Yawn. How many people have done this picture before? The detail is admirable, but the shading is off in places, so are the proportions; where's her nose?! Her hand?! I still like the Leper Messiah version better. Didn't you start this last year?! When I had your university account?! (8.2) Very well done. Detailed.
EQ-FFG02.ICE (5.5) The font is alright. The picture, not. It seems he decided to choose shading over drawn in detail; this pic reminds me of the first cartoon thing I did for my iCE app in 1992. More outlining and definition next time!
(4.0) Ack. Proportions. The hand is too small; measure your hand against your own head - it covers the most of your face. Hair lacks detail as well.
GM-PHU .ICE (4.5) I remember this guy! He had did that killer Goofy in '94! Top 5 in Iridium #2, if I remember correctly. Well, this piece is a departure from that crisp Jed-like style, but it's that shaded toon crap every moron is pumping out these days... stick to the old style, it was your own.
(5.2) Logo at top is good; rest is regurgitated scene 'toon'.
IV-APT5 .ICE (3.0) ATROCIOUS color combo. It looks blocky and unfinished, in that old Final Descendant ANSI style... more shading and definition next time, please.
(2.6) My eyes. Highlighting is alright - but when it is used throughout the entire subject, it detracts the whole subject from the rest.
JU-TWS1 .ICE (---) God, it's the Aphex Twin wannabe again. I refuse to grade such a slobbering attempt at someone else's style. Why don't you just change your alias to Aphex Twin; the real one's dropped it, dontchca know? Next.
(8.4) Wow. I liked this one, despite it's obvious style.
KA-WHY .ICE (5.5) A nice small scale Wolverine. Long neck?
(6.6) Nicely done.
LM-LV1 .ICE (3.8) I don't care what kind of animal this is, either the mouth is too small, or the eye is too big. It's just a god awful color combo... the shading is totally flat.
(4.2) Little consistency in regards to style; some parts are sharp, while others are blocky.
LM-LV2 .ICE (0.0) Matrix.
(1.1) Matrix.
LM-SD1 .ICE (3.2) A crappy toon. The perspective of this picture is totally off; if the left ear can't fit all the way in the picture, don't draw the picture... the entire picture is flat.
(2.8) More effort needed.
PA-EVIL1.ICE (3.0) Yawn. Didn't someone else draw the exact same picture in the exact same scale last month?! Please..
(5.2) Mediocre. Alot of scene cliche techniques, though.
PA-PROP1.ICE (3.9) What the fuck is this supposed to be, blue brains and dentures?! Have a point to surrealism, don't be a Dali wannabe...
(2.1) Matrix.
PA-RUST2.ICE (6.7) Nice. She's a mite tall, but the 36Cs and legs are great. Work on the font, and add some eyes next time. Everyone needs eyes.
(8.8) Wow. Excellent. I admire the amount of detail you put into the background. Kudos.
SG-LV1 .ICE (4.5) Yawn. Spawn. Can't really make out the hand. Splash some light cyan on next time.
(6.2) Decent.
SG-MB1 .ICE (5.0) Sorry, the "carrot" looks more like a vibrator. What's with using a carrot for a board named banana?
(4.2) 'Toon'.
TE-CHAO1.ICE (3.5) Yawn. Your BCR (B.asic C.omic R.ip). Awful work on the teeth and eyes. The hair looks like one greasy mass...
(3.7) Sigh. Pitt.
TG-DG1 .ICE (3.0) Long, ugly, and gaudy for no good reason. It's obvious the picture was rushed; the bottom guy experienced a serious lack of staying power. The top guy; has TG been studying old 1993 Acid Updates and Crewel Blade ANSIs? He's got that basic shaded symmetric crap down to a T. I won't talk about the middle guy... was this supposed to be the amazing ANSI he hyped last month? Please...
(2.1) Jesus Christ. Why do people insist on doing these mammoth pictures, when so little detailed is incorporated? I'd rather see a 80 line ANSI, with great detail, than a 280 liner with repetitive, monotnous, shading.
TG-SANC2.ICE (4.7) Better than the previous ANSI.
(7.9) Nicely done.
TH-CODEX.ICE (3.7) A nice amount of detail. Loss of marks for the stupid writing on the bottom.
(5.2) Highlights contrast the rest of the picture too greatly.
TH-RUST .ICE (0.8) Stat screen. Again a loss of marks for the stupid writing on the bottom.
(4.4) Anime matrix.
US-HELLT.ICE (1.2) A boring, uncreative, shitty Spawn. Shitty angle, shitty shading, shitty font. What's with the stupid Evil Empire garbage on the bottom? I guess we know who's jumped on the RATM bandwagon this month... get a life.
(0.5) ... Spawn.
US-LL1 .ICE (3.2) Another BCR.
(5.2) Not too bad.
US-RSOMA.ICE (4.0) Ew. Proportions. Proportions. The picture is a nice pick, but more could have been drawn. People want more than heads.
(6.3) ...
US-RUST .ICE (3.7) I get it, Fire and Ice. Ha ha. The girl with the blue hair has an eye problem. The shading is flat in places. Proportion problems are rampant.
(5.2) Too much highlights.
desalvo's informal overall pack comment: An improvement from the stat screen filled garbage of last month's pack, but I still wonder where all those people on the memberlist are.
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BIZ-CARE.ANS (2.2) The Carebear is admirable, but the idea is moronic. Get a life; try to change some better things in the world than the 'scene'. Or are you too much of a weakling to stand up to anyone?
(4.5) Not bad.
BIZ-CS3 .ANS (0.1) Crappy PD logos.
(2.4) Same 'wavy' type logos.
DN-ACET .ANS (2.7) The Batman is alright, but is that supposed to be Dare- Devil? Stacked heads seldom work, but these two don't flow at all. The chunky style goes wrong on the red part.
(5.2) Decent.
DN-CL#01.ANS (0.5) Lots of undershaded, under-detailed, over-crappy work. What's with the PD-type stuff?! People want faces! Work on your pack quality control, releasing it twice doesn't
help!
(4.2) Interfaces.
DN-COL#0.ANS (---) Since reviewing it twice wouldn't help either.
(---) Why was this released again - unless something is different..?
FR-APOC1.ANS (2.0) Misproportioned. Awful, hideous teeth. Overall, just a really crooked ANSI. Tilt your monitor to one side next time, and draw it straight.
(4.2) Interface.
FR-COLLY.ANS (0.1) Crappy logos. Crappy logos I've seen before.
(0.5) Okay. Is this the formula for a logo? Block lettering, and a contrasting splatter of goop for the background..? Every logo had this.
GK-GAMMA.ANS (3.0) Well, he gets marks for originality and creativity, but the execution BLOWS. More time and effort next time.
(2.4) Little effort - something I could do in 20 secs flat. GK-PULSE.ANS (1.0) A moronic imitation of Iodine's Somms type thing from last
month. Like we couldn't tell.
(2.3) Not too bad.
GR-COL01.ANS (0.0) Crap. Headers, moronic logos. At least he has the notion to know his style is ripped. Or his schtick, I should say.
(0.1) Headers.
GR-ILLN1.ANS (0.1) Crappy logo. Go away. Professional modifications my ass. Anyone who pays to have a BBS modified should have their mouth used as a toilet. Die.
(0.0) Sigh. LD imitator.
GR-MALFS.ANS (0.1) A crappy Lord Jazz rip. The last line is totally out of place; if you don't want anyone to use it, then why release it, you fucking idiot?! Just steal some old LD ANSIs and alter the header, you'd get more attention that way!
(2.5) Cool face.
HAL-H2P2.ANS (0.0) Moron. I've seen enough of this shitty lettered crap to last a lifetime. Now trying writing a 'tutorial' to get a legion of Halaster followers?! Bury your ego, it's bringing down your art. And your logos have always been shitty.
(---) Tutorial.
HAL-WE12.ANS (0.5) Blah. More moronic, recycled idea logos.
(6.2) Some of this stuff is pretty good.
ID-PIDEA.ANS (6.5) Now this is a logo. The basic idea's been done before, but the execution is excellent.
(7.1) Iodine comes through. Good job.
ID-RGCY2.ANS (5.5) What langauge is that logo in?! The girl is stellar, the background forgiveable. Short, simple, succint. Exactly what ANSI should be.
(6.8) Good. I'm not a big fan of 'toon/realism cross-overs', though.
ID-SNKE2.ANS (1.0) Ugh. Semi-shaded garbage.
(5.7) Neat logo.
MA-JIZZ1.ANS (2.3) A stupid logo, a stupid ANSI. How many times have I seen that picture before? Ten? Fifteen? The shading is way off and lacking in places; proportions, alright. Study some old Bad Karma ANSIs.
(4.5) Didn't Snake Grunger release this in the last iCE pack?
MS-VCIDE.ANS (0.0) Cruddy, idea stolen, shittily executed piece of crap.
(0.1) Put some effort - it would show in your work. NXT-ECL .ANS (0.1) The same old Unsane crap. Draw some other kind of un- rounded, non-gradient font for a change. What's with the stupid double alias? Fuck off...
(1.5) Same ol' font.
TSK-EASE.ANS (0.2) Whatever. Stupid logo.
(0.0) Lord Jazz style font.
TSK-SHIT.ANS (0.0) See TSK-EASE.ANS. Add semi-shaded garbage.
(1.2) 'Toonish' style.
UNS-7WN .ANS (0.0) Same old bullshit.
(0.4) Same ol' font.
UNS-ASP1.ANS (0.0) Same old bullshit.
(0.3) Same ol' font.
UNS-FIRE.ANS (0.0) Same old bullshit.
(0.2) Same ol' font.
UNS-FRE3.ANS (0.0) Same old bullshit.
(0.1) Same ol' font.
UNS-LBL .ANS (0.0) Same old bullshit.
(0.0) Same ol' font. Notice the declining marks..?
UNS-PP1 .ANS (0.0) Same old bullshit. Why don't you just stop drawing, make a library of all the letters you've drawn, and cut and paste them (altering color gradients, of course) and use that for making logos? What would the difference be? Negative marks for creativity and originality; zero for execution. No style. No life.
(0.0) Sigh.
US-CDI .ANS (-10) Alright, you get the first ever negative mark. The writing is longer than the piece of shit logo for chrissakes! Who the fuck CARES who you are, who you're greeting, or when you did the piece of crap logo?! Sit on a tack, it'll deflate the head stuck in your ass!
(3.4) Mediocre logo.
US-SUPER.ANS (1.9) Use some bright color, it really does make shading. No depth, no impact, no field. Crap logo.
(3.4) Too mcuh shading - destroys shapes.
US-TT .ANS (5.4) Oooh, better than Dr. Tongue's iCE Color version of years back. Nice background, a font that works with the picture. A slightly above average BCR. (B.asic C.omic R.ip). Too bad it had to be wasted on such a cruddy board and shit artist sysop.
(---) Already graded in Apathy pack.
V9-GMINT.ANS (2.9) The outlining is wrong in places, but it's your BCR.
(3.4) Wow. Coroded lips.
desalvo's informal overall pack comment: What can I say. Unsane takes the cake as the shittiest artist in the scene.
¯
The August 1996 ACiD Productions Acquisition
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" bringing the art scene to it's knees "
CT-XBIN .XB (1.1) Bah. Is that ANSI (oops, I mean *XBIN*) or is it RIP? This XB thing is fucking pathetic. It looks so 1989-era demo-ish it's not funny. Draw this in any other format, and it's just a shit logo. Well, it still is a shit logo; it's just a jazzed up shit logo.
(5.3) Neat logo.
GD-SPYDR.ANS (2.3) What a fucking insult to the name Grateful Dead; I bet the fucker hasn't even heard a note of Dead music. And even if he has, he's probably a TouchHead. Obvious proportion, shading, color problems; little effort displayed. That, or lots of effort with little talent. The font is a pathetic block copied/color altered mess.
(3.4) Not bad. Font is terrible, though.
IF-HLPB .ANS (3.2) Yeah yeah, you want to be Lord Jazz in greyscale. Get a life. The shading is totally, utterly off; what happened to using white? Are you afraid? Or did you draw it normally and then color convert it? Pah.
(7.6) Good job. Is this Lord Jazz?
IF-TAWTL.ANS (1.0) See IF-HLPB.ANS. Extreme loss of marks for uncreativity; it's basically the same fucking picture as the last shitty one. Put your little comic CHIX away and draw some real women. I'm sorry, I forgot you're only 12. Steal your daddy's Playboy.
(7.1) Nicely done. Why'd you change your alias?
SM-WHARF.ANS (4.0) Well, this one looks half decent. I can't place the style, but I've seen it before. Laugh to the tongue in cheek credit giving; kudos. Some proportion and shading problems; that cigarette is ATROCIOUS. It needs detail. It begs for detail.
(5.3) Hmm. Good comic rip, I guess.
T1-XBIN .XB (0.0) Big deal. Fire up iCE-Color. Draw a simple, shitty outline. Use that magic XBIN! name. Gets released. Such a crappy, cruddy cop out; this could have been released as normal ANSI, and it would have looked better. That's trendiness for ya.
(---) XB file.
UN-ACID .XB (0.0) Bringing the art scene to its knees my ass. That's right, 0.0 you get; the font's been done before, the color scheme is pathetic; it's just dolloped here and there with some lame-ass font makeover. Get a real font.
(0.2) Same ol' font.
UN-ACID2.XB (0.1) You get a sliver of a mark for making it look demo-ish. I saw this style in the Busmatka (whatever it was called) intro FC did 4 years ago. Yawn.
(1.2) ...
US-ROCK .ANS (2.9) My god. Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse. The face is fucked, the idiot spent more time ogling and shading the breasts than the rest of the body, the proportions are slightly off; the look is totally PD. Where is ACiD quality control?
(3.4) Why do people put so little effort into hair? Hair can't be simply done by sporatically jabbing the F4 block.
US-XBIN .XB (0.0) Gag. Your basic blocky, cruddy font with useless, pasted on embellishments. This can partially be attributed to the relative 'newness' of this format, but then again, this shouldn't have been released.
(1.4) ...
desalvo's overall pack comment: It seems the slogan of this month's pack is as lame and inappropriate as ever. I didn't think ACiD could top is pathetic 6 ANSI output of last month, but here they did, this time with only 5 (five) pieces, all shittier than anything done last month. Just where are all those people on the memberlist; are they holding up Rad Man's ego, or is it just me? Even this whole XBIN thing is moronic; the whole 'anonymity' of the idea is moot since iCE came up with it over 2 years ago. Just another way to draw VGA without really drawing VGA; remember something called .RIP? Once people realize just how sad this new thing is, they'll get off the trendy little bandwagon and draw some real ANSI. Hopefully. The VGA, as usual, was the regular airbrushy fluff we come to expect from ACiD. Yawn.
¯
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CA-CARNA.CIA (2.0) Semi-shaded toon garbage. Why do people draw this shit? It's ugly, disproportionate, and the font is so JED wannabe I'm going to puke. Pah.
(1.2) Ugh. Simple 'scene toon'.
CA-KAOZ .CIA (1.3) See CA-CARNA.CIA. As a math teacher once wrote on a friend's test, 'WHAT IS THE POINT?' Where is the quality control in this shitty group?!
(0.3) Ditto.
FIL-MOZ .CIA (2.5) Bah. Spend less time on drawing the info file and more time on quality pics. Logon menu bullshit, although the idea of drawing a fly is an alright one. The color selection and eye detail, however, is horrible.
(4.2) Good detail in eye region.
NA-CDIMT.CIA (2.0) Yeah, a bunny like he always draws. Yawn. See CIAPAK33.
(4.5) Interface.
NA-HELLT.CIA (3.3) From that awesome B&W Cerebrus in CIAPAK33 to this piece of trash?! You take the monochrome novelty to a point, but when it starts to detract from the overall artwork; pah. The shading is totally wrong on the face, neck, hand, everywhere. His head looks trapezoidal; the gradient is too contrived and perfect; less extreme colors next time. I know this anime junk is supposed to be oddly shaped, but his hand is bigger than his head; give me a break. The misproportioned letters ruins the font. More effort, please.
(5.2) Decent anime - face is too blocky, though.
NA-MIRAG.CIA (5.0) Yawn. Again, this sort of semi-shaded leaning towards the side of shaded bullshit; studying Cyber-X ACiD period work, with your JED colored glasses on? I can understand the length of the beard, but is this guy the hunchhead of Notre Dame? The upper part of his head is a good 24 lines too long; atrocious proportions. Extra marks for making the picture *somewhat* relevant to the board.
(6.2) I like this one.
SD%23LNR.CIA (1.7) Complete and utter garbage. The opening line says it all: 'coming up next is a shitty 23-liner....' Well, I guess you can grade your own artwork. A piece of purple ASCII infested crap. The second head isn't too bad, but the stupid disclaimer line drips with egotistical vanity: 'this one is for immortal legend only!' Then why the fuck release it, moron?! Desperate to have stuff in such a cruddy pack, are we? You people make me sick.
(0.0) RIP of 'TT-ICE6.ICE'.
Grin. Don't try to rip one off Tempus Thales - especially my favorite - "So who's chewing up the competition?" If you deny this, e-mail me and I'll send you the original. Pathetic.
SD%BURNS.CIA (2.5) Tracer did a scaled down type of that font four years ago. Again the moronic 'claim to fame' disclaimer ruins the ANSI: '... started this one as another manga rip... now about 90% by me...' Please. Get a life, stop trying to take credit for someone else's idea.
(1.4) I hate these pictures where the subject is staring at you; it's redundant and monotnous.
SD^MATX .CIA (1.7) What is it supposed to be. A flying slug with a large eyeball with a hand coming out of its back?! Please.
(0.2) I'm still trying to de-cipher the picture..
US-DING .CIA (0.0) God, another Aphex Twin wannabe. This time Late ACiD/ early Gothic period. At least it's not as bad as some of the previous months' releases; but it's a complete and utter slovenly RIP nonetheless. Top CiA font; been there, seen that. Crude outlines, minimalist gradients/shading; been there, seen that. Font: total Aphex iCE-era ripoff. If you're going to copy someone's style, do it right; forget the stacked heads/one side drawn only bullshit. We all know you can't draw full faces with proper proportions, so you're not fooling anyone. Get a real style, fuckface.
(0.3) Hey, Greg. Didn't know you joined CIA. So how's EA going?
US-RUST .CIA (3.5) Please. If you're going to draw a female, draw a REAL one for chrissakes; this cartoon jack-off crap is both lame and boring. Correct the shading on the face; the light source highlighting is off on the cheeks/top part of arm. I'll mention one last thing about the 'rock hard titties': they're so hard they're floating on her chest, right? Or does she have built in underwire support, which robbed her of her right to a nipple?! Huh?! Lose the nit-picking credit taking next time; a simple joint production header is more than sufficient. Deflate your egos, children.
(4.5) Font is eye-catching.
VT-CIA .CIA (2.5) What the fuck is this supposed to be? Did you draw the ANSI, then take a fork to your monitor, poking holes everywhere? This ain't swiss cheese... Get a real style, and a real font next time; this block copied crap is real old. Real old.
(0.4) Damn. Trigger happy with the staple gun, eh?
desalvo's informal overall pack comment: As soon as I saw the shitty ASCII .DIZ I knew I was in for trouble. And this stupid thing known as CiA(iCE)Draw: get a real Draw program. Most people know that iCE had the whole .IDF thing going over two years ago; it's part of their viewer, their memberlisting, etc. Only a total idiot would go to the trouble to alter the ASCII palette to use the function effectively; and that just isn't the whole point of ANSI in the first place; to do more with less. Ten or fifteen characters (that one actually uses in a pic/font; most of the time, more like seven), 15 colors, your imagination. CiA(iCE)Draw is not extending the boundaries of ANSI; no, it's trying to create a class in bridging the gap between 80x25 resolution and higher resolution (640x350 and up.) Master Ken tried to do it with his 'double' idea, iCE tried do it with thier 'draw', the list goes on. Forget it. Go code your viewer.
And what happened to the shittiest writers in the scene?! It seems CiA is turning into ACiD; a memberlist full of people that do shit. When your information files look better than 90% of the art in your pack; you're in trouble. Real trouble.
¯
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AX-ALC1 .ANS (0.1) Why is this joker doing a Dark logo? Keep your shitty stuff to your own group! Never have I seen such regurgitated crap; a separate file for two measly logos. Pah. Spare me and skip a month next time.
(2.1) Cliche logos.
BW-COLLY.ANS (0.0) 'I feel really bad because only 25% of the scene likes toons...' Only 25% of the scene likes the stupid, semi- shaded crap you and other morons are releasing nowadays, dumbass. Go study some old JED and G-Man ANSIs. This 'colly' is so pathetically PD it's not funny. Lose the schtick and learn how to draw.
(0.1) Something with little effort.
BW-DOINK.ANS (2.2) A cruddy 'toon'. The point of the ANSI is not lost on me, however, this kind of immaturity is tiresome. Get a life. If you're going to do it, do it right; draw his cock and give him the top of his head back. I'm sure he loves hair.
(3.4) Nothing spectacular.
BW-TGC .ANS (1.3) Yawn. Crappy toon. I'm sure this guy doesn't know how to shade - the outline is fair, but the colors horrid. No concept of proper gradients.
(5.4) Not too bad, albeit cliche techniques.
BW-TRANC.ANS (3.0) Well. It's supposed to be messed up. Or is that just an excuse to explain such a piece of shit? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and take the former as an explanation. Try some a shroom or some LSD next time; it works much better.
(0.1) Ugh. Elite writing. ie. j3w, l3wk.
BW-VOMIT.ANS (3.0) Well, I'll use the cheesy, cop-out description and say
'yeah, at least he got the vomit part right'. It's not drawn half bad, except this guy has no conception of anything remotely artistic; the yellow stuff on the top 'Apathy' is coming from nowhere, which makes for something very choppy and irritating to the eye. The rest; bah, the same crap BW seems to always draw; lose the beer gut.
(2.1) Picture matches the advertisement - astounding.
MD-COLLY.ANS (4.3) FINALLY! A 'colly' that actually deserves the name! Not just two cruddy logos pasted together! Some of this stuff isn't half bad; it's the other third of fluff that lowers the grade. Lose the long writing on the top, it's stupid. Don't have much to say my ass. And get a better alias; suuuuuure you're not a ninny... draw something more dark and depressing.
(6.4) Decent stuff here. Very detailed. Good job.
MT-DVOC1.ANS (2.7) Enh. I've seen the picture and style before. The one The Evolutionary Shadow did 3 years ago is five times less detailed, but more striking. Your BCR (B.asic C.omic R.ip)
(5.2) ... Nice font.
MT-MINI3.ANS (0.0) Anything that starts with 'another stack o crap' or anything to that effect, from now on, receives a zero grade. No exceptions. Have some faith in your art for chrissakes; here's my credit card number (9045212321) go buy yourself some self-esteem. Yet another blatant display of egotistical dick-waving; the better pic of the lot is ruined by the 'dis shit is for ryoga ONLY!' Note the flashing letters! Like I'll say a million times, WHY RELEASE IT THEN, DUMBASS?! Can you not release every block of ANSI you draw?! Who gives a fuck, you're a shitty artist with no style anyway!
(4.3) Cliche stuff.
MT-REMIX.ANS (---) I refuse to grade such a piece of trash. Now I know for *sure* how desperate this fucker is to release stuff; the 'anniversary' pack deserves better. First, objectively: the proportions are off, his eye is too small, the sweat shaded poorly, and overall, the shading is rather blocky. Subjectively: Incubus did the exact same pic ten times better 2 years ago. Better shading, better scale, just plain better; this cheap imitation doesn't have a tenth of the worried/scared look and overall artistic impact of Inky's copy or even the Liefeld (or Lee? I can't remember) original. And he's even had time to go back and redo it.. The lame writing on the bottom, (or should I say, ass covering) just goes to amplify the lameness of this re-release. My respect for you and your group is gone.
(---) Re-release.
MT-WORD .ANS (0.0) Not meant to be rated, but it gets a zero anyway. This piece of shit is a two minute 'M' with a mass e-mail slapped on it. If you're going to release things publicly, at least give them a public point. Dumbass.
(---) Lord Jazz goop.
PC-ELDOR.ANS (5.0) Enh, not bad. Yes, I see the '100% original', but I wonder how many times you peeked at ten different comics/RPG books to draw this. Riiiight. The proportions aren't half bad, but since when did P-Chan do this kind of small scale (ie: Integrity) type crap?! Imititate Terminator2 and do it right!
(4.5) Contour lines are too rough; should be smoothened out, via lighter shades or the simple removal of key parts.
PC-GAMMA.ANS (3.2) Yawn. It's a cross between Chapel and that cartoony guy with a big red dot in his face whose name I can't remember right about now. Lose the stupid credits; if doesn't start with US, we can figure out who drew it. Another ego wanking dumbass. What is the point of the eyes? They completely ruin the flow of the picture. Forgiven on the font.
(4.1) Messy work.
PRM-COL1.ANS (0.0) Since when is a re-release the right thing to do at any time?! Dumb fuck. But that's what you get from a dual grouper. Three of the crappiest logo's I've ever seen. Reminescent of the crap in the forgettable fifth issue of Psychosis.
(2.1) First graffiti logo isn't too bad.
SP-APA1 .ANS (0.1) I'm frustrated by your fucking pathetic logos (and spelling, to boot.) Didn't you do the exact same letter style in the Acid Update? Get a life. 0.1 for the color combo.
(0.5) Cliche.
TI-DV1 .ANS (3.5) Laugh. Anyone who thinks they can depend on ANSI to provide them with any kind of *decent* money is smoking some stuff I want. It'd be easier and faster to panhandle for the cash you'd get. As for the ANSI, it's another BCR; her breasts are as big as her head (well... that's forgiveable) but the hair is just *wrong*. Her eyes could use some more 'impact' too; they look too demon-dog like. Forgot to draw her top lip?
(6.2) Decent. Too many highlighted splotches, however.
TS-ABX0 .ANS (3.0) Not bad. Not quite block copied, but I like the color choices.
(0.1) ...
TS-PNII0.ANS (2.7) Agreed it's colorful, but it's *too* colorful; it's so busy to the eye, it's distracting. Call some pirate boards, you've got PD on the brain.
(3.4) MY EYES...
TS-ST0 .ANS (1.9) Huh? What is this? If it were actually drawn and shaded well, I could understand the messed up nature. Study some Stile ANSIs.
(2.1) ...
TS-TOM4 .ANS (5.5) I like this ANSI, although it is around 60 lines too long. It has a primitive, basic quality which suits it well; at least one pic in the lot works artistically. More ANSI prowess needed - however, this will undoubtedly come with more practice in the medium. Thumbs up.
(3.1) Very sloppy.
TS-UR0 .ANS (3.3) This doesn't work as well as the last one; this one makes it obvious that he can't really draw. Draw more next time! The font, as with most pics, is a tragedy.
(2.1) Ugh.
US-DOOT .ANS (0.1) A font. A font that's been done before. It took two people to draw this?! Christ, I guess it just goes to show you how stupid some people are.
(0.0) Cliche logo.
US-TT .ANS (5.4) Oooh, better than Dr. Tongue's iCE Color version of years back. Nice background, a font that works with the picture. A slightly above average BCR. Too bad it had to be wasted on such a cruddy board and shit artist sysop.
(7.1) Wow. Makes more sense in VGA mode.
US-YEAR1.ANS (3.9) Blah. A stacked head melange of good and bad stuff. A mega production that actually made sense would be better a year from now; why not just let each artist have his own part and release separately? You'd pad your pack way more, and that way, you wouldn't have to re-release your ANSIs. Snicker. We rule alot my ass.
(2.1) Little flow in picture.
desalvo's informal overall pack comment: Average fluff from the people that sit in the back of the 'scene' room. An interesting mix of good and bad artists in this bunch; reminescent of Tribe, only without Shihear. Misfit was a better artist when he was Saint Sinner. Lose the VGA section.
