A tale of souls and swords, eternally retold...

[VILARCANE]

Very nice slide show .... nice music once again ... and no playback problems for me even on full screen.
very nice!

...hey, are you going to enter that pygmy for lust in the sin challenge? :)

maybe maybe not, can't keep track of all those challenges...is it yours ?
page bump

New Slideshow : Beauty and the Beasts
Follow the link, kick back and (hopefully) enjoy :
http://snack.to/pzulv5l3

Queen Hilde and Indian Hilde use exact same colors as (respectively) Hilde P2 (Swan) & Hilde P1 (Full armour), but Cyber Cop will hopefully be accepted as well, provided Hilde only appeared in SCIV (hence not that many costumes, and mostly armour variations in 4)

Teaser pictures (spoiler tab if you prefer to be surprised) / first spoiler is a bogus (bug !)

Spoiler

CyberCop Hilde

Pygmy

King Kong

Queen Hilde

Champ Kong :

Indian Hilde :

Zaïus (Planet of the Apes)

Tale of souls and swords has been streamlined as well to make it shorter and more punchy ;o)[/IMG][/IMG][/FONT][/IMG][/FONT][/FONT]

 

[Matty82]

Your still one of the best creators here! you really know how to work those accessories in new and creative ways
I really loved the slideshow with the music it really adds something.
Big kudos on your Gorilla it looks amazing! I'm glad I could plant a seed ;)

 

[chobek]

maybe maybe not, can't keep track of all those challenges...is it yours ?
page bump

yeah ... I felt a little weird posting it since there were so many now, but I have been sitting on the idea for a while ......I was waiting for the Four horsmen thread to hit about page 4 ... I didn't want to truncate the run of that ... and it isn't a contest so it doesn't step on any other toes either. (I hope)
:)

 

[VILARCANE]

yeah ... I felt a little weird posting it since there were so many now, but I have been sitting on the idea for a while ......I was waiting for the Four horsmen thread to hit about page 4 ... I didn't want to truncate the run of that ... and it isn't a contest so it doesn't step on any other toes either. (I hope)
:)

uh ok, i might give it a shot then, the gorillas are a bit angry too, so i could post them for wrath...but Gatsu's looks even angrier...
But my Pygmy is just showing off like all Pygmies do, he is not really horny, you know ;o)
I need to find something new for you, just need to find the time...all those slideshows almost cost me my marriage (just kidding)

 

[chobek]

...? yeah...not sure maybe you just attract weird fans :)

 

[ThePascuzzi]

snip

It seems he thinks he can post his CaS in any thread.

 

[VILARCANE]

Endgame slideshow :
New gorillas and other surprises...new techniques, new special equipment findings, a whole night creating, shooting, editing and all

http://snack.to/punqrsqf

Considering the drought of comments compared to other threads, the time put into doing those, and the overall bitter taste it leaves me with, i consider quitting all together.
Except from a few faithful followers, i see newcomers post regularly in other threads, i try as much as possible to give other support, yet i get not much in return...not even when i am promised something it seems...am i expecting too much, maybe, but considering the effort put into my CAS collection, it seems unfair in a way, sadly. But that is life, it is only a forum after all.

Enjoy !

 

[WindupSkeleton]

!

It is unfair, and I do completely sympathise, but on the flipside, when you spend too much time asking people for comments, it kind of puts them off.

I get a lot of PMs from people saying "Hey, come comment on my things. Come into my thread and tell me what you think." and it get's a bit frustrating. Maybe I did go into their thread and didn't bother commenting? At the end of the day, if you're going to make and keep running a CaS thread, you're doing it for your reasons. If people don't comment anymore, then there might be a reason for that.

For one thing, this is a big thread now. It might be wise to link to each CaS in the first page, and keep regular track of updates there - People don't have lots of time to browse, and you've got a LOT of characters. The slideshows are nice, but they go on for quite a while, time which people may not have. People get disinterested and move on to the next thing. Honestly, you're better off with doing one highly-solid design every so often, then loads of variants at once.

Regarding "what was promised", you know full well you'll get those reviews, but you also know full well how snowed under I am from a lot of life-things. Moving, looking for a new job, and recently family stresses mean I don't have as much time to give you a proper, in depth look. I could post some shoddy, half written uncaring script, but the time you put into things makes me feel that wouldn't be correct. Which reminds me, you should post some Hildegaru pics for me so I can get a much better look at her eh?

All in all, it is sad that you put so much effort into it, for so little reward, but look at the quality, not quantity, of comments. Even some of the greats, like Matty, Chobek and ThePascuzzi have commented on your work. That's worth more than a handful of CaSuals with less idea of the mechanisms involved.

Ultimately, people are either disinterested by your designs, or don't appreciate the work involved.

Now, you know I'm a fan of course, so I'll still be here. As I'm sure many others will too. so just sit back and do the things you enjoy.

I'm going to watch this slideshow now, so hopefully when it's done I'll be more inspired.

 

[Fliptop]

Right that's me gone through all of them. The music is very nice, although I can see why it might not be to everyone's tastes.

Beauty and the Beasts has some nice very nice shots. The gorillas and orangutans are look very cool in game and are a good example of taking something (Matty's monkey face) and doing your own thing with it. The pygmy was an unexpected choice but looks very nice, as well. I think the choice of body dimensions helps a lot with it. Elf Queen Hilde, I'm not overly fond of. I think the crown (which is a bastard to work with) throws it off a bit, I prefer your samurai version of her to this one. Robo-Hilde's nice but with all the birdy motifs flying (HA!) around the ant-like helmet looks a bit out of place. A really nice concept, though. I really like the Hilde with the Plumes acting like a halo behind her head. That's a really nice, striking effect. As a slideshow it might be worth grouping all the monkeys together and all the Hilde's together. It can be a little bit jarring to suddenly jump from cyber-cop to monkeys and back again. That's just my thoughts, though.

Online Symphony has some really nice and quirky characters. Teeria's here looking very creepy and the close of her sad face is really well done. Strong theme and nice touch with the snake tongue. Your flamboyant alien is certainly very creative and unique with her Lite Brite thong (that is supposed a thong, right?). Totally bizarre and batshit insane. Whatever you were smoking when you made that was definitely worth the potential jail sentence. The moustachio'd Leixia looks great with Teeria and is very whimsical. The wand is the icing on the cake. Pegasus Hilde's also nice (did I read that was Le Bello's?). Simple but stylish. Again though, jumping back and forth between different characters and back again can be a bit jarring. A small thing but those are my thoughts.

A Tale of Souls and Swords sort of recaps your earlier work. I never noticed Harley Quinn before, though. She looks great. However the jewel in all of this is the close up of Hilde near the end with that orangey light effect. That is stunning.

All in all, a really nice way to show off all your characters at once. I know you've got them in your sig but it might be worth putting the links to them in your OP so new people can get caught up quickly.

 

[WindupSkeleton]

Pegasus Hilde's also nice (did I read that was Le Bello's?). Simple but stylish.

Why yes! And also, thank you very much.

I'd love to agree with most of this, but I've must've missed this Beauty and the Beasts Slideshow o_0 Oh my.

Watched the latest one though. I must say, I'm not a huge fan of the monkeys, though the boxers brought a little smile to my face, and I didn't understand most of the others. They were cool but I didn't know what they were. My bad?

 

[VILARCANE]

It is unfair, and I do completely sympathise, but on the flipside, when you spend too much time asking people for comments, it kind of puts them off.
i agree

For one hing, this is a big thread now. It might be wise to link to each CaS in the first page, and keep regular track of updates there - People don't have lots of time to browse, and you've got a LOT of characters. The slideshows are nice, but they go on for quite a while, time which people may not have. People get disinterested and move on to the next thing. Honestly, you're better off with doing one highly-solid design every so often, then loads of variants at once.
again, agreed, 33 pages, well, nuff said...

Regarding "what was promised", you know full well you'll get those reviews, but you also know full well how snowed under I am from a lot of life-things. Moving, looking for a new job, and recently family stresses mean I don't have as much time to give you a proper, in depth look. I could post some shoddy, half written uncaring script, but the time you put into things makes me feel that wouldn't be correct. Which reminds me, you should post some Hildegaru pics for me so I can get a much better look at her eh?
it wasn't actually targetted at you specifically, i know you got other stuff on your plate

All in all, it is sad that you put so much effort into it, for so little reward, but look at the quality, not quantity, of comments. Even some of the greats, like Matty, Chobek and ThePascuzzi have commented on your work. That's worth more than a handful of CaSuals with less idea of the mechanisms involved.
I sure value those of the 3 you name, plus a few others, very highly, it is just sometimes i want a conversation going, maybe i should write design notes (if you don't get what a CAS means sometimes, cf your other post)

Ultimately, people are either disinterested by your designs, or don't appreciate the work involved.

Now, you know I'm a fan of course, so I'll still be here. As I'm sure many others will too. so just sit back and do the things you enjoy.

I'm going to watch this slideshow now, so hopefully when it's done I'll be more inspired.

 

[VILARCANE]

Why yes! And also, thank you very much.

I'd love to agree with most of this, but I've must've missed this Beauty and the Beasts Slideshow o_0 Oh my.

Watched the latest one though. I must say, I'm not a huge fan of the monkeys, though the boxers brought a little smile to my face, and I didn't understand most of the others. They were cool but I didn't know what they were. My bad?

hohum, a pirate gorilla smoking called C-Ape-Tain G for instance.
You should find them names, you are so very good at it ;o)

 

[VILARCANE]

Right that's me gone through all of them. The music is very nice, although I can see why it might not be to everyone's tastes.

Beauty and the Beasts has some nice very nice shots. The gorillas and orangutans are look very cool in game and are a good example of taking something (Matty's monkey face) and doing your own thing with it. The pygmy was an unexpected choice but looks very nice, as well. I think the choice of body dimensions helps a lot with it.
He is very small in-game, with a high-pitched pygmy voice.
Elf Queen Hilde, I'm not overly fond of. I think the crown (which is a bastard to work with) throws it off a bit, I prefer your samurai version of her to this one.
Agree it is better, but i wanted to make a nice looking Queen
Robo-Hilde's nice but with all the birdy motifs flying (HA!) around the ant-like helmet looks a bit out of place.
Yeah, that is why i did a full grown robocop version all in grey and black like the male original.
A really nice concept, though. I really like the Hilde with the Plumes acting like a halo behind her head. That's a really nice, striking effect.
Experimenting, i did at least three version of her.
As a slideshow it might be worth grouping all the monkeys together and all the Hilde's together. It can be a little bit jarring to suddenly jump from cyber-cop to monkeys and back again. That's just my thoughts, though.
Understood, i wanted to keep this mixed, but that is not a good choice if it disturbs the viewers emotion (Le Bello seems to agree)

Online Symphony has some really nice and quirky characters. Teeria's here looking very creepy and the close of her sad face is really well done. Strong theme and nice touch with the snake tongue.
Just like Hildegaru, one of my finest in female CAS (which i don't do often)
Your flamboyant alien is certainly very creative and unique with her Lite Brite thong (that is supposed a thong, right?). Totally bizarre and batshit insane. Can you be more specific, not sure i get which part of which one you are talking about ?Whatever you were smoking when you made that was definitely worth the potential jail sentence.
I do not need to be on drugs to do some crazy stuff, as opposed to Gastu or Chobek (just kidding ;o)
The moustachio'd Leixia looks great with Teeria and is very whimsical. The right word indeed, whimsical, i love this word.
The wand is the icing on the cake. Shazaaaam !
Pegasus Hilde's also nice (did I read that was Le Bello's?). Simple but stylish. Again though, jumping back and forth between different characters and back again can be a bit jarring. Yep, Le Bello's finest, and a very chevaleresque CAS (private joke) with a helmet that is not easy to make look good on a CAS. A small thing but those are my thoughts.
Ok, i get it, i worked a lot on streamling the slideshows with less pics, but i need to categorize, got it

A Tale of Souls and Swords sort of recaps your earlier work. I never noticed Harley Quinn before, though. She looks great. Yep, i even beat Le Bello's Dampierre with her, which is something quite exceptional considering how good he is with him. However the jewel in all of this is the close up of Hilde near the end with that orangey light effect. That is stunning. I need to post more pics of Hildegaru then, since Le Bello requests...

All in all, a really nice way to show off all your characters at once. I know you've got them in your sig but it might be worth putting the links to them in your OP (OP?) so new people can get caught up quickly.

Many thanks for the review !

 

[ghostface]

Considering the drought of comments compared to other threads, the time put into doing those, and the overall bitter taste it leaves me with, i consider quitting all together.
Except from a few faithful followers, i see newcomers post regularly in other threads, i try as much as possible to give other support, yet i get not much in return...not even when i am promised something it seems...am i expecting too much, maybe, but considering the effort put into my CAS collection, it seems unfair in a way, sadly. But that is life, it is only a forum after all.

I think that would be quite a shame. I'm pretty much only a lurker, but I can say that you are probably my favorite CaS creator on this forum. I've browsed through all of your pages more than once, partly for inspiration and partly just to ogle.

 

[VILARCANE]

I think that would be quite a shame. I'm pretty much only a lurker, but I can say that you are probably my favorite CaS creator on this forum. I've browsed through all of your pages more than once, partly for inspiration and partly just to ogle.

Nice to hear...i fancy being some people favourite CAS creator...that might sound stupid considering the number of hits and replies on this thread, i should know i struck a cord with more than one 8wayrunners...but it is good to drop by and let me know, it helps, believe me...

It also helps when Pocky Yoshi chose not destroy my CAS during our last session, and let me win a few fights and get a few win stances...it was good for me, as much as for him, and i enjoyed it (even with a little lag)...
This CAS creation thing, it is all about sharing emotions, hence the musical slideshows...but i reckon i gotta post a few pics here and there, it just feels a bit stale without the music now ;o(

Anyways, thanks ghosface...

King Kong :

It took a lot of research to actually do the gorilla nose, i wanted it to have depth and large nostrils, so i experimented and found out the sun sticker's eyes are the best to produce that kind of effect.
The tobacco pipe is an apple with pattern 1 to do the burnt out effect on top of the pipe, and a horn for the rest...

Another nice find on the orc squad is the the pirate DLC trousers work fine with scale pattern (minimum size) to create a nice scale mail without the not so good looking glossy and distracting look...for the tusks, i used a set of horns repositioned to create the illusion of 4 teeth, instead of 2, making them work fine with the heart/mouth was a chore, to say the least...

Orc General :

Orc Elite :

This one is supposed to be a Briareos from Ghost in the Shell (with alternate color camo theme) :

If you have any questions, feel free to ask...

 

[ThePascuzzi]

Considering the drought of comments compared to other threads, the time put into doing those, and the overall bitter taste it leaves me with, i consider quitting all together.

Except from a few faithful followers, i see newcomers post regularly in other threads, i try as much as possible to give other support, yet i get not much in return...not even when i am promised something it seems...am i expecting too much, maybe, but considering the effort put into my CAS collection, it seems unfair in a way, sadly. But that is life, it is only a forum after all.

Yeah, I'm seeing a lack of activity in my threads, too. I'm not too sure what's going on. For the contest, I hope it's just because people are waiting for the DLC on the 19th to come out and not because I dropped the judge hammer a little too hard and confused everyone. Even in my main thread, I'd have expected more feedback by now, but whatever. It's not like we'll never get feedback ever again.

I'm sorry if I don't comment often. Most of the time, it's because I really try to weigh my words to make sure I get across what I want to say as effectively as possible. Earlier today, I had this really exhaustive and long-winded response ready to post, but I figured it was just too much and I should come back later and post something more concise. Basically, I agree with Le_Bello's post (and I'm honored to be mentioned within the same context as Matty82 and chobek; I honestly believe their work is of a significantly higher caliber than mine). I also had something about your slideshows, but that doesn't need to be said, anymore. The point was just that you have such a diverse viewerbase that if you do both pictures and slideshows, you'll keep more of your viewers' interest.

Since we're both complaining about lack of feedback, I suppose I should also leave feedback about your latest batch.

- I knew that as soon as people saw Matty82's Flying Monkey, people were going to take the idea behind the simian nose and mouth and play around with it themselves. However, I like the twists you've put on the idea. Your style seems to be more Orangutan, in shape, and it translates surprisingly well to Orcish CaS.

- I especially appreciate that you explained your research with the Simian nose and mouth a little bit. I wouldn't have known to use the sun face sticker for the nostrils. When you showcase your CaS, you usually tend to emphasize the artistic aspects of them, but I usually look for special details and the author's explanation behind them, so I'm happy that you did that this time. If you keep pointing out details like that, I will be much more inclined to leave comments.

- The character diversity among your Orcish and Simian CaS is a nice touch. You have some barbarians, a shaman, a scholar...I got a laugh out of those two boxing monkeys. Their characters are all very well expressed through the choice of parts.

Anyway, it seems your more dedicated fans have finally come out in support, so I hope that tells you not to quit posting. It would be a shame to lose one of the better CaS makers on 8WR.

 

[VILARCANE]

Thanks, I think you have a point and i will try and give some more behind the scenes details in the future, as well as produce a few teaser shots along with the slideshows for those who want to take the time to watch.
You guys' empathy certainly helped a lot ;o)

PS : i don't see yourCAS thread link in the sig, and while i wanted to have a look, i can't seem to find it, or are you talking distant world ?

 

[chobek]

Happy Fathers Day!

I saw the new slide show, very nice as always .... but don't give up on the still pic. I think they offer two different types of viewing experience.
I look at your pics when I want to understand the construction of the character... and the slideshow is an emotional experience where narrative seems dominant ... and a lot of that atmosphere is created by the music.... so in some ways I get a better idea about the hows and whys of your creations from the pics. It seems like the slideshows tell me about the emotional swelling you might feel while fighting.... and that is great to capture... but I find it more difficult to discern what you have done with the CAS that way.

... About getting more views ... I have said my piece about that before ...but I understand ..... Traffic has been slow in general... and it is Father's Day weekend .... people could be occupied ... People are moving on to new games....???
Doesn't really matter... I hope you post because you enjoy it.Don't get discouraged.

One suggestion though...the structure of your thread is vast and tangled... you have more pages than most with large areas of text. That text is often very inside ... to the point that there are sometimes 2 or 3 page long personal conversations about how your fights have gone with specif other players. I think it is fun reading, but looking back at it I think if someone were new here they might feel like they were missing something, and on the outside of an established group... or not want to skim through it to get to the important parts.

...Keep this thread unchanged ... but...

Maybe you should start a second thread ... like a Vilarcane gallery. Keep it very clean with just pics critiques and new slideshows. You could use the fresh start to group things into categories so your different themes could be emphasized.
Maybe even ask specific questions you want about new creations,( How does this face make you feel?).Or post two options and ask ,straight forward , do you like option A or do you like option B. I think directing the audience could offer you the focus you desire, and allow the audience to view the things you have done in a cleaner environment.

What ever you do do I like your new stuff...

 

[TopGun080587]

I just saw the new slideshows. Well, I love the RoboHilde, she looks really cool and kickass :D That QueenHilde is nice too, she looks beautiful, elegant.. and kickass. lol Next.. the Orangutans are all awesome! my favorite is the boxer one, he reminds me of the legendary Indonesian boxer, Muhammad Ali. I don't why, but somehow this orangutan boxer really looks like him. Maybe because they both are sharing the same country.. or maybe I'm just being delusional. lol

And.. I think you stole my idea about making that Papua guy (the people from the Papua race in Indonesia), cuz I originally wanted to make him, but somehow I couldn't execute the idea right, so I backed up and make another creation instead. So yeah, I guess I should thank you for helping me doing the job. lol :P

 

[VILARCANE]

Thanks Chobek and TopGun, those two messages made my father's day even better.
I really appreciate the review and thread tips from Chobek and the review from TopGun...i will sure keep that in mind, i have actually many ideas on how to make things fresh, but somehow, it would make me sad to start another thread, i dunno...but i understand what you mean, and your insight is very valuable, since you are in my top 3 other CAS creators out there.

Oh and TopGun, you know what, i thought of something with me unconsciously stealing your pygmy idea...
Actually, the blood gush i loved from your avatar CAS is very similar to something i did a long time ago on my medusa...a very early CAS, but already quite gnarly...and sexy ? You naughy little thief, you deserve some spanking all right ;o) (just kidding of course, steal away, and you probably did not need me to think of that yourself)

Make a nice Papua then, and post it here if you want, my thread isn't locked to others' CAS efforts

A bientôt !