MTG Salvation

I think that that is our biggest drawback. All our "knowledge" is not easily discoverable/accessible. We share as much as we can (I know I try to), but most of that is either hidden here in this thread somewhere, in the Tutorial thread (which is out of date in some places), or in our heads. I honestly don't know what I need to share as I have no clue who needs/wants what. Hell, I don't even remember what I've shared. So I tend to just drop walls-o-text all over the place, brain dumping as much as I can. It'd be nice if we had something like the 3d tutorial thread, but where a bunch of us (or all of us) can just share AS MUCH INFO in a post specifically full of our info/tips/junk within the thread. What makes something like that rather difficult is that there is so much that any one of us to easily fill a PAGE of just data. I dunno. Just spit balling some ideas. Would be cool tho. I would definitely be interested in seeing some you guy's tricks of the trade. As well as some who are starting out can see some of the more "established" artist's tricks. Would love for a large transfer of knowledge to occur. Whether it is possible or not is yet to be seen.

We almost need something set up like a wiki page with a table of contents of the broad areas and then each area fine tuned from there.

Perhaps each you could post a new topic, then each of us could share our knowledge and any images on that subject for you to collect and organize.

Maybe?

I would definitely be interested in imparting knowledge on the specific style I do. Let me know what you guys decide to do. Guessing we should get Andrew (Shazaam) in on this if possible since he started the thread.

Just an idea but since many of us have a very specific style or "thing" we do with our art maybe the tutorial could highlight some of our pieces and give some pointers on creating the desired effect.

@stilledsilence That is a great idea!

@Ed So are you going to spearhead this endeavor? I'll lend whatever help I can.

Edit: Need your input guys, I'm working on the Staticaster and for the most part she's pretty simple. But I'd like your input on the static burst. Would you layer it at all? Maybe cut it from a foil or blank white card?

OMG what have I done?! Its odd (well not really) that it seems there is excitement in the "voices" here. I don't know how we are gonna do it, but wiki style would be kinda cool. I was actually going to start writing (typing) all my thoughts/tricks/tips/ideas in the blog section and just start putting links in my siggy for easy access. It'd be nice to have it all in one single place with easy access. I'd also like it in a place that will not get lost or disappear due to non-upkeep. I may have to go through the tutorial thread and grab all the data that is mildly to moderately pertinent. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think the mods will mind if we discuss this type of stuff here. IF they do, then we can just create a thread for the spit-balling of the Alter wiki/database/idea pot. My other idea was that this can be more than just a 3d alter wiki. I've done painted alters as well and I have just about as much knowledge on both subjects. We definitely need to figure the layout out. I mean, we all have similar tools, but it would be best for the tools of anyone who wants to share to be shared. I probably use some items that you guys don't and vice versa. god... I'm babbling. I guess I'm excited about this. I'll try to find all I have on the subject in my files.


@mendi: I'm at a loss for that one. I recall you bring it up, and I said something, but I don't remember what it was. In any case, the swirly stuff is just too thin and long to make it not bend or keep from tearing. But if I had the PERFECT skill, I would trace that design out. I don't think I am capable, but feel free to prove me wrong on it not being able to be done. Cutting it from a foil would be kinda cool. But I babble, pay me no heed. "GET OFF MY LAWN!" *throws spoon at the window while cackling madly*

@Mendi: I have run into this problem before. You can alleviate it in one of two ways. First would be to cut out the pieces thicker than they actually are in order to prevent tearing. Then color match and paint those pieces before adding them to the alter. Second idea would be to peel the foil layer off a copy of the staticaster and then try to cut it. The latter will be more difficult and stills leaves a chance of tearing. I personally try to stay away from images that have those kinds of elements or smoke/fog/splashing water because it is very dfficlt to make it look good in 3D.

@EdPhoenix88: Ha! That gobbo is great. I like all the little pieces. The blend of the red to blue is really good. As for the painting of rear layers, I always think I should, but I don't because I already spend too much time on these.

As a side note, I'd left a couple of my abacuses at a buddy's card shop. One sold (yay store credit!) and I got 2 commissions. Thassa, God of the Sea and Xenagos, God of Revels, but not like you think.

Yeah, I don't recall when the idea was given to me. I do know though that it was not me, but a friend of mine who came up with it. That led me to the EWits that I started (and have yet to finish). The cardboard is not like the normal MTG card paper. It's not made up of the 2 layers stuck together. Since I plan on starting on these soon, I'll try to remember to upload pictures.

While it can be done rather well, I'm not too fond of the wheel style life counter. Not because they look bad or anything. I just like to fit my counters into the same type of box. My card boxes. The wheels have to stick out a bit so that you can turn them, thus restricting the type of container you can hold them in. Essentially it is a personal preference. Also, 1-9 on a budget shouldn't be too hard. It's that 0. If you can't find anything, let me know. I'll try to see what I have and snail mail you a letter with some cards in it (not in the US, i know). I'm sure I have the easy numbers (0,1,2,3,4,5... maybe 6).

9 = ???
8 = ulamog's crusher
7 = ???

@EdPhoenix88: hahaha... such genius! a 9 is just an upside-down 6.... If you want to talk about using a rare like that... I have a vengevine border in one of the green cards that I made. Its in there, you just can't see it. I kinda thought it would be funny to do.

Now on to some pertures!!

A few posts ago I said something about taking pictures of the insides of a Filler card. If not, then oh well. But here is an image.

My most recent project. 3d dice box. It was fun. First time trying anything like this.

Nice, tiny work there Panda. The dice box concept is interesting for sure. How many cards deep is that thing? What I like about it is that Godo doesn't look too sunk in. What kind of plastic did you use for the box "cover"? The handles are a nice touch.

Thank you. I didn't really pay attention to how many cards I used, maybe 30 to 40 deep. I used the plastic from a hard sleeve card protector.

Hey guys I just started making 3D cards and life counters for myself and friends. This was my very first attempt, its a Flamekin Brawler with foil flames and borders. What do you think?

I also made a Rhox War Monk as a graduation present for my friend. I even made the coins float!

@Broncia: Welcome to the boards! Both of your pieces are really good for being your first. Of your 2 pieces, I like the Brawler a bit more. It just has more depth. You can add more depth to the art by adding in filler cards between the layers of art. Overall, both are really good pieces and I would definitely like to see more out of you. Foils are tricky to work with since they require a bit more pressure to cut. I would suggest practicing with a straight edge on random cards (filler). Your Rhox has cleaner straight lines than your Brawler. I would assume that the Rhox was made after the Brawler as well. Did you happen to use sharpies on your edging? It seems you have a bit of bleeding on the Rhox, which is not obvious in your Brawler. Having a bit of depth also helps that. When working on a brighter card (artwise) be weary of using black as your edge color as it really stands out. I love it when you guys(gals?) have floating pieces in your art. It makes the pieces pop when done right. As you did with your Rhox. Keep at it, as I can see you knack for this.

@Ed: OMG werdz!! Overall, I think you are right, being concise is best. Also, 3 hours, really?! Hell, I can't get the cutting done in 3 hours. Well, the cutting yes, maybe not all the gluing and layering. The fastest I've gone is 2 in a 10 hour day. I usually don't spend less than 10 hours working on these.

So, I started on Xenagos on monday. And have glued most of Thassa. So I thought I'd show some progress shots. I had planned on getting them done by this Thursday. But due to outside influences, I have to tack on 7 more days. Only Thassa in this posting. I'll edit my post later with Xen Shots.

@Ed: *shrug* I think in terms of the time needed LOTS of factors come into play. Complexity, skill, details, layers, layering, and continuous time spent on the project. So, 2-8 hours MIGHT be the magic number. Eventually I'll start working on an "index" of the knowledge we've spit out over the past 45 pages (and in other places). Though, currently I have other things to deal with first. Though, I still want to start putting my thoughts/tips/advice into the blog system here. Yeah, for these I'm trying to make them look good as they were commissioned by the owner of my LGS. So it seems that I'm on the right path with Thassa then.

Since I forgot to update my images yesterday, I guess I can do it now. I spent most of the night edging all the pieces and cutting all the foreground elements on Xen. I've also been reinforcing Thassa's back side with glue (I should show how the back of my cards tend to look) to make sure all those little bits don't move when I start applying pressure to them. I only have 2 more full Xen's to work with too, so hopefully I don't need too many more small parts. I won't be able to work much on this tonight (if even at all). I don't work on alters over the weekends so I plan on getting a lot done tomorrow. Hopefully.

Also, the magnifying lamp is SOOOO great. Gone are the days of being hunched over my cutting mat. I've been sitting straight up and slightly leaning forward. I also don't have to remove my spectacles to get "that close" to the art. Which is a bonus as I always lose them when they are not on my face. I also used to have to have like 2 lamps on the work area to make it bright enough to see the artwork and not have too many shadows when cutting. Now just the one is needed. It has a bigger footprint but it is totally worth it.

@Ed: I sent you a lengthy PM pertaining to your post. But for everyone else, here is the condensed version:

I've had commissions not get to any point due to the requesting party being in a non-US country. Shipping overseas can get really expensive (relative to the cost of the commission). I don't get many over seas commission requests tho. When it comes to being low balled like that, you could offer that they trade you some stuff to even the cost out. I think Shazaam used to get booths at tournaments or whatever (I'm not sure though). Though, his work is really high end (he got to cut up a few painted Klug works). What most people don't get is that this is our ART. Its not something you can just toss a couple of bucks at and not expect us to be offended. If someone did that do me, I would probably do something I would regret later. Outside of my 2 recent commissions, I've been in a 4-5 month lull. In the mean time, I've been making some premade stock to show off my work (well, crappier work). Actually seeing your work (if you only work by commissions) will sometimes get people to bite. Maybe it won't work, maybe it will. But it has worked for me.

Also, I like how your disks don't stick out too far from the edge of the card. I'm curious as to what is holding them in place. I take it the wheels spin fine? looks good so far.

@stilledsilence: Everytime I see that Kaalia.... I want it. Still can't get over those wings. It's always fun to see when any of you guys (gals?) get recognizied. I rather enjoy my solitude, thank you very much.

While I'm here, I took a picture of the back of Thassa. It is a bit hard to see, but you can see all the "reinforcing" I had to do to make sure she doesn't break.

@ed I think I tend to be a more expensive artist to get a life counter from. I used to be really cheap when I first started because my alters were not that detailed and not that great. But my husband kept telling me that if I am selling them, if has to be worth my time. So I break up my estimate, with how much my time and materials (blades,glue, filler cards) costs and then I add the cost of the cards that the person wants to 3d. I've set a base price for my time and materials and then it goes up from there depending on how much detail is needed. Not everyone will be okay with the price, but remember that you are a artist and many people will try to get a nice art piece for next to nothing. Think about how many hours it's going to take you. Mine normally take 2-3 hours from start to finish. I charge a certain amount per hour and if I don't finished within the hours that I estimated that it will take me to finish, then I started getting paid less per hour. Hope this helps.

@Ed: That looks nice. Very thin too. One of the problems I find with the abacus: thickness. You NEED a certain thickness to fit the beads and such. With a spin counter, you just need minimal layering. I may try my hand at this.

So, last night I finished Thassa. Xenagos was finished the night before, but I wanted to wait to post them together. Tell me what you guys think about the split mana text box on Xenagos. Both of these will be delivered to their owner tomorrow. I'm actually a bit excited. The owner is my LGS owner, a guy I met when I was first starting out playing MtG ~17 years ago (god I'm old).

Love both of them. Love the detail! As far as the split text box, I wonder how it would look if you tried to wrap them into each other. Like use a little bit of the fire and tree that is cut off and wrap them into each other. I think I'm going to try that tonight. On my split text boxes, I did the diagonal cut, and it it really hard to match up next to each other. Your way seems to be better, but i think it would look awesome if it blended better.

Well about the split text box. I would just reject the idea from anyone else. This guy I met a LONG time ago and when I first walked into his store (before I knew it was his) he greeted me like it hadn't been years. So, I told him I would try to make it not look like *****. I think I succeeded. Though, I will probably never do it again. I wanted to mix two of my tricks together on the split text box (cuttin cards and peeling foils off the cardboard), push the envelope a little bit. The peeling didn't come off clean, but it was so minimal that it looks flat enough. It is also cut slightly bigger than the text box so that the other 3 sides are held by the cardboard above it. Nifty trick, btw.

Re: Staticaster, manged to get the "static" cut out, I went a little thicker than the art was and removed most of the ink with acetone. The rest I will paint over.

@29 - Ha! I knew you would like a magnifying lamp, it makes thing SOOOOOO much easier! Xen and Thas are looking sick, but really I would expect no less. Congrats on the promotion as well!

@Ed - I like the Goblin, and don't worry you aren't the only one to notice little things after you have finished an alter. At least you can fix it...well by now you have probably already fixed it. Also kudos for trying to keep the wheel counters as hidden as possible, how much longer til we can see the final piece?

@Panda - I like the Dice Box idea, was that a commission or just an idea? No one has ever approached me for one, but it would be fun to try!

@Bronica - First, welcome! Nice to see some new blood! Second, LOVE the Rhox, that is one I have always wanted to attempt! Your brawler is a little rough, but a great first attempt. Make sure your blades are sharp. If you plan to make this a hobby, buy them in bulk and save yourself some money. Lastly, may I ask where you derived your username from?

@mendi- it was a commission. I had an idea in my head for awhile on how to execute it and when someone asked for one, I got to finally try out my idea.

Man I forgot about this forum, a lot has happened since i only posted here.

All of you guys are just incredible, feels intimidating to post anything now, but sure has it inspired me.

I have started again and it has been so long that i have forgotten all the tricks, so doing some warm up pieces.

Again all of you are just incredible.

Quote from steeltendril »

Man I forgot about this forum, a lot has happened since i only posted here.

All of you guys are just incredible, feels intimidating to post anything now, but sure has it inspired me.

I have started again and it has been so long that i have forgotten all the tricks, so doing some warm up pieces.

Again all of you are just incredible.

We've been keeping it as active as possible. There are a few bits of nuggets in the thread since you last posted (last year some time?). You've only missed 16 pages or so of stuff. That's easy to catch up.

Please, don't feel intimidated by us or our work. We are one big happy family. If you have questions or want opinions, feel free to ask. I'm pretty sure we would all have similar but different answers in some cases. Which will help you grow a bit more. My goal is for our works to be inspiring for others to try their hand at this. There aren't many of us, so growing the community would be fantastic.

I actually had to scroll through your posts to see who you are (work-wise). When I came across your work, I immediately knew. Your pack insert test pieces stuck in my mind when I first saw them. Glad to have you back. I can't wait to see more of your work.