Spiral Knights - Roots of a story

Roots of a story

11 replies [Last post]

Tue, 12/01/2015 - 00:17

Liminori

Hello, I'm Liminori. If you've not seen me around, I'm just a person who spends time occasionally in the Treasure Vault, because I gave up on playing SK long ago.
Long past are the days where I would come home, excited to figure out how to post my next move in the many RP's the Treasure Vault had to offer.
Which is why, I'm woefully aware, this is in the wrong forum.
Why? Because I wanted to put this where the people I knew, or didn't, could see it.
And so, I've come to the main point.
The problem, unrelated to SK, and it's roleplays and projects, of Art.
Art, which I could easily put in the correct category by making art and saying it's for SK, and then bombard the viewers with the problem after the art itself.
I'm not too great at Digital Art.
Don't stop me, and say that I'm wrong. Don't say 'Oh, I could never do something that good!'
And, worst of all, never say 'Oh my, how spectacular/pretty/intriguing.'
Don't get me wrong, my art isn't bad, but I don't like it.
GIMP is a great tool... if you have the patience and or a drawing tablet.
I find myself wanting to do big projects; full out stories with detailed characters, worlds, even small little plot design- things that will make people gasp, laugh, and cry. I look at what I have to offer, and get disgusted with myself.
I get it, I'm kinda a slacker- I should just get out there, and start trying, Right? I shouldn't put myself so far down, Right?
I'm only lazy because I feel like I'll lose out on my time alone, my time to do what I want.

But, of course, I can only go so far.
Thanks for looking at my rant to myself, yet pointed to everyone.

You are the future.

Tue, 12/01/2015 - 00:32

Midnight-Dj

le answer

What art style should I employ, from now on?
A. Spend a year trying to do digital art on Gimp?
Don't know what Gimp is, but if it is anything like sketch pad, only invest into it if you are committed, I personally failed at sketchpad.

B. Pixel Art?
Too common, even Fehzor can make them, heck, EVEN Thinslayer can make them.

C. Real Pen, Pencil, and Paper Drawings?
Son, allow me to teach you the ways...

D. Or forgo art, and just write everything?
Judging from your past record with writing, maybe not?

E. A mix of all of the above?
No reason not to get a mix, drawings could get stale from time to time.

Would a webcomic be too far of a first stretch, or should that be a goal?
B. No
Well, depending on how long it is.

Should my first project be SK related?
B.No
Try something new for once, I'd tried to make SK comic once, no success there.

Tue, 12/01/2015 - 17:07

Hexlash

Hey Limi (^w^)

Limi (that's my new nickname for you - accept it.) this generation is figuratively defined by slackers and procrastinators - don't think you're alone in your struggles (if you did). To be frank, I don't exactly recall the last time that I saw art created by you.

Artstyle?
A) Unless you're devoted or have a drawing tablet, probably not the best option, no matter the time you put into it. Otherwise (I don't know GIMP that well, but for digital art in general) it's a powerful tool.

B) Pixel art is, I suppose, easy to do, but very hard to master. You have to have an eye for detail, and if you ever get good, it's easy to get better, simply by drawing things with more pixels and higher resolution.

C) Great option for expanding your skills, because it's super simple and easy to just doodle while you're waiting and then spend some time actually trying to produce something good. However drawing traditionally is limited mostly by your available tools, pencil darkness (HB), paper type, paints, markers, pencil crayons.

D) Writing is very different than art, but keep in mind that they're both art forms. If you plan to create something like a comic, you need to combine them both. Writing creatively and creating imagery with words is also different than devising a good plot. Also, writing has become 'pretty common' around these parts, so that's something to keep in mind.

E) I personally think you should work traditionally until you're comfortable with your capabilities (which to be honest, I don't think any one can feel). While you're practising your skills, you could totally develop a plot so you have it down when you do begin work on it.
If you wanted to get creative, a pixel art comic would be pretty interesting. If you wanted to get more serious about producing art, investing in a drawing tablet would be the best option, as - in the long run - the cost would be lesser than replenishing traditional art supplies.

Webcomic?
Well, my friend, let me tell you a little something about ambition. Having such an awesome goal, and visualizing the outcome is glorious, and as I'm sure you're well of, an amazing feeling. It's hope, and we all love hope.

However, you have to step back and be realistic. Diving in head first never ends well. I don't know how you're planning to produce this comic, but if it's on a release schedule every unit of time, and you're starting sometime soon, it's not going to work out. You'll most likely lose motivation, because the task will become so daunting.

Have a plot ready before you even begin creating any drawings. Be very comfortable with your drawing abilities, and give yourself realistic expectations. If you spend too much time trying to be perfect, it'll never end up working either.

SK related?
Sure! The greatest benefit I see is that by going off of pre-existing material, you relieve a massive creative burden off your shoulders. You don't waste time considering what characters should look like, or what would be happening. Everything is there for you to utilize: art, lore and all that. You can learn the vital skill of copying, which is foundational to everything in life. One cannot learn if they do not copy. If you say copying is cheating, I'd like to see you invent a new way of walking. By drawing SK things, you'll be better off creating new material.

AND FINALLY:
KING ARTHUR, KING OF THE BRITS.
I SEEK THE HOLY GRAIL.
(he doesn't actually answer this one, but) BLUE! Wait... NO-AIIIYYYYYYY!
What do you mean? European or African?
(something like that)

Wed, 12/02/2015 - 01:00

Liminori

Heh...

Hey, thanks for the feedback. . .
I'll take it under advisement.

Wed, 12/02/2015 - 10:10

Corporal-Shade

I'm a Wizard

@Midnight-DJ - I can make pixel art D:
Though, I hardly shade any of my art. Hmm...

Thu, 12/17/2015 - 21:43

Liminori

Questions, questions, questions...

|Filename000_heartstones>
Heartstones are an interesting, enticing, and damning thing.
They are physical manifestations of one's inner strength and psyche; mind and soul.
Generally, heartstones appearances reflect their owner's personality, health, and emotions.
As an example, a heartstone that is not clear or transparent is someone who doesn't show themselves to others at all costs.
When broken, the owner of the heartstone will lose their positive thoughts and will to live.
Only after a very costly and difficult process can heartstones be put back together, and is one of few factors most are put out of their misery.
As such, heartstones are gaurded preciously, lest they be used for ransom and threats.
On the flip side, a long lived tradition imposes the owner to give their heartstone to their spouse.
Heartstones can be used to cast magical spells, at the cost of one's life force, which takes as much effort as it would to do such physically.
Because of this, it is a BAD IDEA to do impossible or large scale spells, such as moving a mountain or reviving the dead.
However, it is possible to do bigger spells by Linking with other heartstones by making them touch one another, by the owner's choice.
Doing so without the owner there to agree to it causes a black mark on the skin, and, vise versa, a white one when they do agree.
Often times, groups will all link with their leader, rather than everyone in their group. (It is a better plan to Link with everyone*)
*It is possible to give your life force to someone else via heartstone or Linking.
Mages are often treated with disrespect, in the eyes of the commoners, they're "playing with their lifeline".
Those born without Heartstones are rare, and as such considered the heroes of the world- because they cannot suffer heartbreak.
Heartbreak is caused by the physical destruction of heartstones, or powerful emotions.
|Extra_notes>
The queen is slowly dying of third level heartbreak, and the king is desparate to find a way to cure it.
The world does not take place in SK lore.
The main character is not from the native world.
English* is the ancient language
*language up for debate
---
What do you think?
I'd like some feedback, as all this took a while to form in my head.
And maybe some suggestions for alternatives to 'Heartstone'. Basic or not, it sounds a bit cheesy.
Further suggestions are welcome, like sicknesses, creatures, monsters, and such.
I know enchantments sounds simple, but when you have 9000 or so people focusing all their magical abilities into something, it's bound to be either amazingly powerful/handy, or nigh unusable from instability.

Thu, 12/17/2015 - 22:29

Hexlash

Why not 9001?

Dude, that sounds super cool! I could get behind that lore. Shame it doesn't really fit into the TV at all... maybe leave a shadow copy and move it to gremlin chatter? I don't know, seems safer in here =P

Better names? I usually rely on my homeboy Latin.
Corinus (amalgamation of Cor (heart) and crystal (crystallinus))
Coraxum (Cor and saxum (stone))
Animile (Anima (soul) and Monile(jewel))

I love this lore, haha. I can totally imagine a story all about human condition and how the physical representation of human character can influence someone who doesn't have this aspect to subsequently discover universal truths about human struggles.

I do hope you take this somewhere!

Fri, 12/18/2015 - 00:56

Thinslayer

Dang. Wow.

Second backer here. What do you plan to do with this lore?

Fri, 12/18/2015 - 17:08

Liminori

Unfortunately...

That's all I have, at the moment.
It's not 9001, because. . . Wait a minute, canonically, it should be over 8000, as seen in the original versions of DBZ.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with this lore, besides building upon it.
I do have a few ideas, I could start up a roleplaying thread, completely unprepared.
I could also do the same story using a webcomic; Though I'm not all too confident in my abilities to draw.
(I mean, I can't even draw feet!)
I could also pitch the lore up to someone with better storytelling capabilities, and hope that I got what I wanted out of it.
(But, that's very unlikely, and might lead to even quicker ruin than some of my longer lasting RP's)

Currently, I'd be the one with the short stick: only able to do so much.
On the flip side, if I wanted to work on any of this, I now have all winter break to do it!
Hm, where to begin...
I rather quite like fantasy type settings, not because of the leeway you get in your writing, but because it's practically imagination fuel.
Hell, I even have a webcomic that I wanted to do involving an AI gaining the full blown intelligence of a human, but no memory,
in a game similar to The World (Dot Hack) or Sword Art Online.

I can think up amazing roots for stories, given enough time, but who says I can actually make them come to life?

Fri, 12/18/2015 - 19:19

Thinslayer

@Liminori

Who says I can actually make them come to life?

I do. So there. ^_^

Thu, 12/31/2015 - 15:43

#10

Liminori

yarg

Apparently editing the forum doesn't bump it.

Wed, 01/20/2016 - 21:05

#11

Liminori

Clashing plans

Thank you, everyone who voted!
It appears that as a whole, Medieval has won the contest for the time period setting!
Honestly, this is a bit relieving with magic and all so yeah i guess there was no point but oh well neh

So, I've been toying around with some ideas in the background (I've been working on it, I swear!) but I've ran straight into a problem.
Now, first is the Main Character. This more or less means that I have to make an un-roleplayable story, unless I do some shenanigans with the plot, such as forcing the role of MC on someone, or just having the MC always three steps ahead of the party.
Next is the MC themself.
Gender? Not now, that might throw things off.
First is the idea that the MC is from another(our) world, therefore has no Heart-Stone.
Second is the idea that the MC is a powerful magic user who spoiler and also has a dual secret secret, but is actually spoiler and spoiler generally a badass.
Third is the idea that the MC has no heartstone, but controls magic anyway.
Fourth is that the MC from another world is actually the Second idea.
Fifth is that One and Two are separate characters, and that one is (After a quick poll) the MC.
Sixth is the roleplayer idea. One of us is the MC, and we have to work with that.

Personally, I'm interested in idea 2, 4, and 5. (Roleplaying is great, but I'm notorious for procrastinating ideas to death.)

Next is theme/story skeleton
Popular ideas:
Magic School^
Reclaim the World/Rebuilding humanity*^
The End of the World*^
Dystopian Collapse*
Murder Mystery*
Escape Mystery*
Murder/Escape Mystery*
Insane Plot Twist [Theories, Madness, and Shrodinger's Cat???? That can't be right...]*
Or Something Else You'd Like To See Like A Love Story Or Something*^
*/^easily combinable if need be

I have no true opinion on this, unfortunately.

Since this is still the very base building blocks of the story, I am free to suggestions!
this probably belongs in the gremlin chatter by now er so stuff and things

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Roots of a story