deleted in protest to really poor moderation

i was the michigan amateur chess champion when i was 22...does that count?

i was the michigan amateur chess champion when i was 22...does that count?

No :)

Sure, I have quite a bit online:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/KRIGBERT/oki2.png
- Photoshop fun

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/KRIGBERT/ikkegale2.jpg
- Christmas present for my stepmum

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/KRIGBERT/DAWG.jpg
- Same for my little sister

And I also have a deviantart gallery, probably at http://krigbert.deviantart.com/ It's been a while since I used it, though.

A'ight. Not as good as those other guy's, but mine's an evil dude...so it's cooler. :p
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/Hapsburg/LordYoshiro.png
Lord Yoshiro. Emperor of Hell, King of the Demons. Crazy chaotic samurai demon about 10 meters tall. From a story I partially wrote.

I have some photography that I believe is pretty damn good. Not the best out there, but still good. Here are some links (because links are easier on the site's servers and dial-up users like me):

Self pics:
I Blend In (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/27232726/)
Leo Passion, Scorpio Intensity (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25913098/)

Architecture:
Complied (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/26150143/)
Still (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25404801/) — Yay for freedom of expression.
Almost Within Reach (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22946144/)

Outdoors:
This is How It Feels (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/27232347/)
Herbst (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/26112608/)
To Where the Wild Grows (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/26112229/)
We Weren't Careful (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/26072054/)
What Now? (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25301062/)
This Way (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25300873/)
At the Railroad (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22834956/)
Forgotten (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22719006/)
Beaming Down on You Harsh (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22370611/)

Photojournalism:
Fair Sun (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22783648/)
Fair Flying (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22783841/)
Fair Excitement (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/27753287/)
Taken Along for the Ride (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22946440/)
Here It Comes (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22946318/)
She Wakes (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22477621/)

its funny, when I came to this thread I was listening to my bob dylan playlist and "when I paint my masterpiece" came on.

mspaint ftw! :D

that chainskirt must have taken you ages.

Hm, maybe I have some photos online as well. I'm not as experienced as Athel I think, though.

http://static.flickr.com/48/129886653_97beda095a_m.jpg

did this in painter and photoshop.


http://static.flickr.com/37/123041957_b4ec06bc43_m.jpg

some cariacature work.

http://static.flickr.com/34/72713065_c04da79154_m.jpg

Hand drawn, photoshop colored.

There is a lot of good stuff in photo contest and poetry thread.

mspaint ftw! :D
It's all I have. :D

that chainskirt must have taken you ages.
Not really. Copy-paste, touch up the edges here and there... ;)

http://static.flickr.com/48/129886653_97beda095a_m.jpg

did this in painter and photoshop.


http://static.flickr.com/37/123041957_b4ec06bc43_m.jpg

some cariacature work.

http://static.flickr.com/34/72713065_c04da79154_m.jpg

Hand drawn, photoshop colored.

very impressive

There is a lot of good stuff in photo contest and poetry thread.- There is such a thread? Could you bump it, please?

did this in painter and photoshop.

some cariacature work.

Hand drawn, photoshop colored.- This is so absoulutely not my style at all, but it seems skillfully done, I'll give you that :p

http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/6356/highcontrast6fu.jpg

Its my eye... a little creative photography and light editing in photoshop

Playing with curves a little bit yielded:

http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/188/wicked2ny.jpg

- There is such a thread? Could you bump it, please?



They are both stickies on top of this subforum.

Some amateur photoshop work:

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/9381/planet9dj.jpg



http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/519/circle5cg.jpg

Athelwulf, I love your photos! Some of them are terrific! What program do you use to edit them?

More: More:


http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/2231/wavy1fk.jpg


http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/5723/circle24ci.jpg

Okay, to counter-balance all the artsy stuff, I’ll post a sciencey picture.

This is a developing pectoral fin bud of a zebrafish embryo stained with rhodamine phalloidin that binds to actin. In simpler terms, this is a pectoral fin bud in a developing fish embryo that has been stained with a red fluorescent dye that shows the long muscle fibers growing out with the fin bud.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/bubblepics/finbud.jpg

This is a schematic diagram of what you're looking at....

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/bubblepics/finbudschematic.jpg

Here is an old masterpiece I made in the renaissance of my life:

http://www.*******************/gifs/images/gif21.gif

Here are some photos I found on my work PC. All taken with a basic compact zoom digital camera. I'd be interested in any honest opinion on whether these look good to anyone besides me.
http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Hideaway1.JPG http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Hideaway2.JPG http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/HeronReflection.jpg

http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/AndrewTear.JPG http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/AndrewTearDetail.JPG http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Bee.JPG

I'll have to wait for Dr. Lou Natic's posts on this one. Keep 'em coming.

I think this might be the second drawing I've done since the age of 10 or so, so you are free to laugh, but be understanding. :D

[Path]
http://piparmetra.net/pagrabs/path_4_small.jpg

I think this might be the second drawing I've done since the age of 10 or so, so you are free to laugh, but be understanding. :D

[Path]
http://piparmetra.net/pagrabs/path_4_small.jpg
I like it... it's 'dark' and yet 'light', I think it will sell for thousands.

Here are some photos I found on my work PC. All taken with a basic compact zoom digital camera. I'd be interested in any honest opinion on whether these look good to anyone besides me.
http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Hideaway1.JPG

I think the one of the face in the bushes is good, the others are good too, but if you are looking for arty good etc, then the leafyface one does it for me :) 'Tree nymph'

I like it... it's 'dark' and yet 'light', I think it will sell for thousands.

I don't know about that, but thanks for the compliment. :D
At any case, I'll redraw it after exams on a clean paper and with fewer earsing marks.

I don't know about that, but thanks for the compliment. :D
At any case, I'll redraw it after exams on a clean paper and with fewer earsing marks.

You must NOT redraw it, it retains its best meaning and potential for 'interpretation' in it's raw form. Things never work out the second time round.

Well, I'll redraw it and then we'll compare both versions here.
I don't plan to throw away the first version anyway, but I see things that should be improved.
Little things that can be corrected on the actual piece, but the paper has gotten a bit ummm uneven.

This makes me feel happy.
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/sad.png

This makes me feel happy.
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/sad.png

child with head on fire crying.hmmmmmmmmmmm

This is an accurate depiction of a child after they took his playstation away and made him see paintings in a museum.

http://sciforums.*******************/2006/vomit.png

Well as you asked.. Here's some photos:

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/1948987

I can post more if anyone cares :D

I case you were wondering what they made the child eat before they took it to the museum to see some lovely painting: spinach. His favourite food.
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/spinach.png

heh, I already improved it a bit, won't notice the difference! :D

spurious - hilarious

Here's something I whipped up a few years ago in about 5 minutes flat, using poster paints on a piece of A4. I totally wasn't thinking about what I was doing and just let the :m: do its work in a moment of mad inspiration. If you look carefully in the top centre-right, you will see a human face.

Wait, that didn't happen. I'll try again below.

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/4294/spiritszoom2ex.th.jpg (http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=spiritszoom2ex.jpg)

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/3285/spiritszoom58ui.th.jpg (http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=spiritszoom58ui.jpg)

The second pic is a zoom in of the first, with a little rendering in photoshop. If you look in the top left corner you can see something like a little Russian or Chinese doll and elsewhere there are little caricature faces. I called the painting Spirits, because it seems to be full of them.

Here is a child expressing himself and communicating with other people. Lovely.
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/internet.gif

Here is a transcript of what he wrote:
"POoopN00b! Bring mi h0mew0rk tom0roow or I make you eet Dogp00 again. L0ser!"

A little layering with Gimp. The idea of the picture changes.

http://piparmetra.net/pagrabs/path_9_dark.jpg

The antithesis to the first guy I posted.
Kytoro Minamyoto. Seii Taishogun. Farmer. Family man. Savior of All Life in the universe...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/Hapsburg/KyotoroMinamyoto.png
...wearing his powerful White Diamond Armor, a holy samurai armor that gives the wearer (Kyotoro) all of the powers of the original (and long dead) god of light (the storyline has a massive pantheon).

`
Odd little thing I cobbled up with Photoshop.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j84/KilljoyAusfB/UnholyAlliance.jpg

Bit of a ludicrous story behind it involving a forum troll at another location calling him/her-self "ninja turtle"... best one goes no further into it, though, lest a novella come to be written...
;)

I like the cat, and a cat in a hat too, it's all good :)

I was digging today through my archives and found this pic made way back in 2002 when I was messing with Vue d'Esprit software
-------

http://piparmetra.net/pagrabs/after.jpg

Well as you asked.. Here's some photos:

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/1948987

I can post more if anyone cares :D

They're all very good, but I absolutely love the third one, the Sky Line. Gorgeous.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b26/crazy_fun/45copy.jpg

A work in process. I thought I'd share. If you have any critique, I welcome it, but be aware I'm a novice artist, with no natural talent lol.

I <3 sargentlard
you are awesome beyond my rudimentary vocabulary

http://static.flickr.com/55/127801134_cfe690a796.jpg

First time painting a furry animal...Oil on ampersand board. Not done, obviously.

http://static.flickr.com/38/123043277_d4f4020335.jpg

My professor was giving a lecture so I started to draw him.

http://static.flickr.com/41/89577603_41e7dc5f69.jpg

Quick portrait of a friend. Done in ball point pen.

I just started to get more into photography. I don't own a camera though-- Im using my parent's shitty 6 year-old camera. Hopefully I'll get a camera with adjustable shutter speeds and a macro lens by mid June. :D Here's a link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93157645@N00/

man i can never draw as good as that, im completely useless at art

I just started to get more into photography. I don't own a camera though-- Im using my parent's shitty 6 year-old camera. Hopefully I'll get a camera with adjustable shutter speeds and a macro lens by mid June. :D Here's a link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93157645@N00/

your b&ws needs more contrast, otherwise nice.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b26/crazy_fun/45copy.jpg

A work in process. I thought I'd share. If you have any critique, I welcome it, but be aware I'm a novice artist, with no natural talent lol.

I think it's lovely and if its freehand then you could illustrate for childrens books

http://static.flickr.com/55/127801134_cfe690a796.jpg

.

very nice

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b26/crazy_fun/45copy.jpg

A work in process. I thought I'd share. If you have any critique, I welcome it, but be aware I'm a novice artist, with no natural talent lol.- Here's a tip: do not learn to draw by following animé tutorials. Go sign yourself up for a nice course where you draw quick coal scetches of naked people - trust me, quick drawings of reality are the best way to learn. Also start casually doing quick scetches by clothed people you see around you.

http://static.flickr.com/38/123043277_d4f4020335.jpg - I love it :D Is that a carricature, or does your lecturer really have that caracteristic an appereance?

- Here's a tip: do not learn to draw by following animé tutorials. Go sign yourself up for a nice course where you draw quick coal scetches of naked people - trust me, quick drawings of reality are the best way to learn. Also start casually doing quick scetches by clothed people you see around you.



Exactly. Anime tutorials teach you how to draw anime style, not HOW to draw. Those are something you look at after you've studied or have basic knowledge and skill with human anatomy and feel the need to infuse a simplistic drawing style into your work.

Lot of budding artist make the mistake of copying anime style.

- I love it :D Is that a carricature, or does your lecturer really have that caracteristic an appereance?

Yeah, it is a cariacature. His face is an excellent face to draw and exaggerate....kindal ike Jay Leno and Bill Murry

Exactly. Anime tutorials teach you how to draw anime style, not HOW to draw. Those are something you look at after you've studied or have basic knowledge and skill with human anatomy and feel the need to infuse a simplistic drawing style into your work.

Lot of budding artist make the mistake of copying anime style.

I think you may be presuming here that Crazy doesn't have this natural ability to draw already. I myself do not like the style (anime) of drawing but can see the natural talent and beauty in the colours and the use of colours. Hence 'lovely'.

The colours are pretty and all, but there is no such thing as a "natural ability to draw" - sure you can have an eye for beauty and a good mindset, but making realistic drawings is something you can only do with the right kinds of practice - and then, anyone can do it.

The colours are pretty and all, but there is no such thing as a "natural ability to draw" - sure you can have an eye for beauty and a good mindset, but making realistic drawings is something you can only do with the right kinds of practice - and then, anyone can do it.


what utter rubbish

I was not taught to draw as a child but I had natural ability and I know many more with this natural ability and NEVER a lesson.

I think you may be presuming here that Crazy doesn't have this natural ability to draw already. I myself do not like the style (anime) of drawing but can see the natural talent and beauty in the colours and the use of colours. Hence 'lovely'.

That still doesn't take away the fact that Crazy is trying to walk before crawl.

Every form of simplified drawing style comes from understanding art on its very basic levels. Crazy may have a sense of certain thing but he/she yet doesn't understand the basics.

All these good anime artists, cartoonists and caricaturists can draw true life in a beautiful manner therefore helping their style of incresingly simplifying their figures and environments. Crazy is going the opposite path.

btw, I prefer modern art.
imo, if one needs something to be realistic, then use a photo camera

what utter rubbish

I was not taught to draw as a child but I had natural ability and I know many more with this natural ability and NEVER a lesson.

This is hard to believe.

I never had the amazing natural ability to draw. I learned everything through practice. I know many artists and none of them prove to be an exception.

I would like to see examples if its possible.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/Hapsburg/RhenishCGUInfantrymanBattleoftheRhi.png
Took me long while to draw, then color with Camo.
Central Galactic Union Infantry Private of the 122nd Regiment, 4th Rhenish Corps, 8th Army of Germany; as seen at the Battle of the Rhine, specifically at the June 23rd Defense of Aachen.

This is hard to believe.

I never had the amazing natural ability to draw. I learned everything through practice. I know many artists and none of them prove to be an exception.

I would like to see examples if its possible.

no problemo, but they will have to be scans of photos so picture quality won't be good, the samples I shall provide will be ones done as a child....hence photos ...watch this space..hehe I even have a photo of me as a teen (age 15) with a few pics I drew on my bedroom wall as the back drop, not exactly Rembrant, but not bad and not taught......coming soon to the sciforum talent drop in 'Art by ToR.........' oh and no laughing at very dodgy 80's hair doo!

I am really surprised you don't acknowledge natural artistic ability? It's no different to natural music ability. All my family can draw, I think it's genetic and hereditry.

That still doesn't take away the fact that Crazy is trying to walk before crawl.

Every form of simplified drawing style comes from understanding art on its very basic levels. Crazy may have a sense of certain thing but he/she yet doesn't understand the basics.

All these good anime artists, cartoonists and caricaturists can draw true life in a beautiful manner therefore helping their style of incresingly simplifying their figures and environments. Crazy is going the opposite path.

crazy is only 15 and I think her pic is the best on here so far, so she clearly has some talent! I'd like to see more of your stuff Crazy, thats in a different style.

This is a realistic drawing I made from ToR when I was 36.

http://sciforums.*******************/2006/realistic.png

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/Hapsburg/RhenishCGUInfantrymanBattleoftheRhi.png
Took me long while to draw, then color with Camo.
Central Galactic Union Infantry Private of the 122nd Regiment, 4th Rhenish Corps, 8th Army of Germany; as seen at the Battle of the Rhine, specifically at the June 23rd Defense of Aachen.
Why would it need a helmet? It seems that the hole armor is good enough, helmet only adds coolness, nothing practical.

This is a realistic drawing I made from ToR when I was 36.

http://sciforums.*******************/2006/realistic.png

lol, very realistic...no need to ask what your inspiration was!

Your legs.

Your legs.
yeh...... now if Freud was looking at this peice he'd have noted the absence of genitals ..... :bugeye:

myself, I also note the absence of .........well everything!

I drew your spirit! It isn't wearing anything.

I guess if you want photorealism then you can have it:

Here is a drawing of ToR. A realistic drawing by a 36 year old.

http://sciforums.*******************/2006/realistic2.png

I guess if you want photorealism then you can have it:

Here is a drawing of ToR. A realistic drawing by a 36 year old.

http://sciforums.*******************/2006/realistic2.png

wots with the bat wing hippy dress? I would not be seen in bat wings!!!!

wots with the bat wing hippy dress? I would not be seen in bat wings!!!!

You are forcing my drawing hand. I didn't want to resort to this, but you made me.

A semi-photorealistic interpretation of ToR dedicated in honour of Gustav.
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/realistic3.png

Here is one inspired by Spuriousmonkey's "Drawing of ToR, a realistic drawing by a 36 year old"

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i131/path2/Ode2SM.jpg

I call it, Ode to a Drawing of ToR, a realistic drawing by a 36 year old.

Here is one inspired by Spuriousmonkey's "Drawing of ToR, a realistic drawing by a 36 year old"

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i131/path2/Ode2SM.jpg

I call it, Ode to a Drawing of ToR, a realistic drawing by a 36 year old.

You are forcing my drawing hand. I didn't want to resort to this, but you made me.

A semi-photorealistic interpretation of ToR dedicated in honour of Gustav.
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/realistic3.png

LOL :D

VERY realistic!!!

Here are some doodles I doodled while going through a doodling phase when I was 36 going on 26


http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/8160/comelarge1yw.th.png (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=comelarge1yw.png)

No one in particular, but a suggestive mouth

http://img324.imageshack.us/img324/9636/camplarge6op.th.png (http://img324.imageshack.us/my.php?image=camplarge6op.png)

This was based on a guy I knew who was a baker and also a breadhead... he was also very camp

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/7569/cosslarge3vk.th.png (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cosslarge3vk.png)

This was based on what I looked like at 26

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/7964/stonedlarge6mu.th.png (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=stonedlarge6mu.png)

The whole picture

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/1923/humanconditionlargemedium7it.th.png (http://img330.imageshack.us/my.php?image=humanconditionlargemedium7it.png)

Ah, now this was done one Xmas eve during my transition to Xtianhood, closely watched by my Xtian mentor and best mate Nick Beggs who I associated with the Xmas turkey. Yes, I was stoned... I was always stoned :m:

what utter rubbish

I was not taught to draw as a child but I had natural ability and I know many more with this natural ability and NEVER a lesson.- It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with lessons, it has to do with proper practice.

I am really surprised you don't acknowledge natural artistic ability? It's no different to natural music ability.- No child has ever been born who could "fluently" play a musical instrument without the right kind of practice either :p

- It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with lessons, it has to do with proper practice.

- No child has ever been born who could "fluently" play a musical instrument without the right kind of practice either :p

define proper practice, u said no such thing as natural talent, there is such a thing! end of

I never practiced I could just draw

just like I can write upside down, backwards, mirror u name it right hand left hand, no practice required, I just can
I can read any which way too

Natural talent I never denied, natural ability I'm more sceptical to. And note that I'm not talking about motorics or "having an eye for beauty" here - I'm talking about ability to realistic drawing (which is the best basis of simplifications of reality, such as carricatures or animé-style stuff)

Drawing realistical images of the real world requires non-conceptual thinking - in other words "you must unlearn what you have learn". To illustrate, someone without this practice looks at an eye, lets this impression go through the whole process of conseptualization in his head and ends up drawing a symbol of "eye" using a certain method, e.g. an almond shaped thing with a dot in the middle.

Seeing that before aquiring some kind of language, no one has any ability to draw whatsoever (as far as I know, that is) - this trap is pretty much unavvoidable.

An experienced and skilled artist, on the other hand, will not draw a symbol, but will simply draw what she sees directly without conceptualizing.

I like pete's picture of the bee and spurious' "spirit of Tor". I think he captured her essence.

Natural talent I never denied, natural ability I'm more sceptical to. And note that I'm not talking about motorics or "having an eye for beauty" here - I'm talking about ability to realistic drawing (which is the best basis of simplifications of reality, such as carricatures or animé-style stuff)

Drawing realistical images of the real world requires non-conceptual thinking - in other words "you must unlearn what you have learn". To illustrate, someone without this practice looks at an eye, lets this impression go through the whole process of conseptualization in his head and ends up drawing a symbol of "eye" using a certain method, e.g. an almond shaped thing with a dot in the middle.

Seeing that before aquiring some kind of language, no one has any ability to draw whatsoever (as far as I know, that is) - this trap is pretty much unavvoidable.

An experienced and skilled artist, on the other hand, will not draw a symbol, but will simply draw what she sees directly without conceptualizing.

I understand what u are saying, I'll try to scan some of my childhood pics tomoz see what u think. Meanwhile my gran could sketch very realistic images from memory, no teaching and no practice, she was just damn good!
I cannot do this.

My talent lies in copying, I can copy identically almost. I consider if I can draw this' _' and this 'o', then I can copy anything as every image consists of lines and curves. I break the image down to its smallest parts and then I begin, where to me it is logical to begin. For example if I am copying a face...portrait, I will (unlike whatever u were taught) begin with the first circle...the pupils of the eyes and work outwards from there, thinking always in terms of curves and lines, as for shading, well I worked always in pastels, charcoal or pencils (some oil crayon) very flexible.

You ask me to sketch from my mind, I can do lovely surreal, I can see pictures on blank paper and I trace around them..weird but thats the way it is. I cannot however draw upon command a realistic looking horse etc from imagination and memory alone, but my gran could! It would be free hand sketch beautiful artistry.

So there are differences in ability.

Anyway I'll try post some old pics and u can see if the talent is natural or non existant at that age.

Myself, I also think lessonss can lose some of the individuality of the artist as all students are taught the same method of drawing.

You are forcing my drawing hand. I didn't want to resort to this, but you made me.

A semi-photorealistic interpretation of ToR dedicated in honour of Gustav.
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/realistic3.png

Nah, her tits are much smaller and hang lower on her body, while her waste is thicker and her hips narrower.

Ahahahahaaha!

I was actually thinking of 'Muslim' when I drew that.

http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html

The freeware version is fun.

Why would it need a helmet? It seems that the whole armor is good enough, helmet only adds coolness, nothing practical.
So? Humans aren't necisarilly always practical. Aesthetics have played a large part in past armor designs. Why should that change in the future?

In the vein of CGU-related art...another thing I did:
His Supreme Excellency, Dictator-Sovereign and Chancellor of the Union, Maximilian Ludwig Karl Ruprecht von Compton-Wittelsbach-Habsburg-Hohenzollern.
Legal Autocrat of the Central Galactic Union. Head of Government, Head of State, President of the National Legislature, etc. in addition to many regal titles.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/Hapsburg/DictatorandFhrerMaximilianI.png
Yes, I realize I ripped off the SS uniforms for CGU government and military wear, but that is to emphasize an allegory to the point that even the most historically retarded dumbass will be able to get it. :D

Ahahahahaaha!


what you laughing about? Banana man

That banana was almost too small, so I had to enlarge it. You know, to keep these forums kid friendly ;)

I'm laughing at (Q) wandering all the way out of the religion forum to insult you. How childish. He should grow up and find God or something.

That banana was almost too small, so I had to enlarge it. You know, to keep these forums kid friendly ;)

I'm laughing at (Q) wandering all the way out of the religion forum to insult you. How childish. He should grow up and find God or something.

He found God a long time ago, but because God didn't bless him in the way he blessed you ;) he has 'issues' with the 'big' man upstairs.
Actually I am now thinking Q is a girl.

Myself, I also think lessonss can lose some of the individuality of the artist as all students are taught the same method of drawing.- Again, good art lessons don't teach you "methods". That's why I reccomended quickly drawing naked people with coal - it's a great way of learning and very efficient.

So? Humans aren't necisarilly always practical. Aesthetics have played a large part in past armor designs. Why should that change in the future?

In the vein of CGU-related art...another thing I did:
His Supreme Excellency, Dictator-Sovereign and Chancellor of the Union, Maximilian Ludwig Karl Ruprecht von Compton-Wittelsbach-Habsburg-Hohenzollern.
Legal Autocrat of the Central Galactic Union. Head of Government, Head of State, President of the National Legislature, etc. in addition to many regal titles.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/Hapsburg/DictatorandFhrerMaximilianI.png
Yes, I realize I ripped off the SS uniforms for CGU government and military wear, but that is to emphasize an allegory to the point that even the most historically retarded dumbass will be able to get it. :D- Hey, some of these are quite good. You should consider investing in a Vacom tablet and use the version of painter that comes with it or the program Bowser linked to.

what you laughing about? Banana man


That wasn't all you said, but don't worry your secret's safe with me BTW you're just my size :drool: :cool:

Actually I am now thinking Q is a girl.

Is that your deduction, simply because I described you correctly? And by doing so, Roman claims I insulted you, which is an insult itself, don't ya think?

I was forced to adjust the realistic drawing in light of the new information.

http://sciforums.*******************/2006/realistic4.png

Maybe adding a green butterfly dress wouldn't be a bad idea at this point.

Wow....I missed a lot since I posted my picture. Didn't realize it would spark such discussion. I'm trying to draw anime style not for wish to use it as an art, but for fun since I enjoy anime, and I find the style useful when doing school projects (quick drawings that don't look terrible (as opposed to tbe blobs or stick people others resort to)).
About the walking crawling thing...its more I'm trying to walk and crawl at the same time. More try and walk then crawl I admit. I do practice trying to do realistic art(by looking at things and drawing them). I'm working on getting better (a long process as it takes time which I don't usually have).
As for natural ability and such, I agree with you ToR. I have a friend who has always been absolutly fantastic at art, with the abilty to draw whatever she wants pretty much without instruction or reference. And I mean she draws "real" art, not anime(though she can do that as well). She still takes art and such, but the natural ability was there to start with. It comes easily to her. As for me I have to try hard to make a picture come out the way I want it to, and I try and practice, and notice how shadows end such work in real life to try and teach myself.
But for now I'm still practicing non-anime drawing...as in this picture:
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b26/crazy_fun/wgiek.jpg
It's not done. It's the first where I've tried drawing a face(with refrence)...the nose is hell to do...it's a horror along with the lips, but it's a try.

Thanks ToR for the compliment on my picture! I don't know about childrens books, but your support is awsome. To answer your question it was sketched on paper and then coloured on the computer. This is something I coloured free hand though:
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b26/crazy_fun/wngs.jpg
I took away the rest of the picture because it was rather...how might I say...terrible lol.

my drawings are crap
so are my photographs
but seing people make fun of my draiwings hurts my feelings
so make fun of this... i took it for a friend who wanted something like that to put on his website

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/1746/c1jx.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Excellent Evil.

It looks like a bisexual Sith that is staring me right in the face in a way that makes me very uncomfortable.
:p

that's kind of what we were going for, except the bisexual part :p
i think adrogenous would be more like it

Spurious, why do I enjoy your posts so much?

I was forced to adjust the realistic drawing in light of the new information.

http://sciforums.*******************/2006/realistic4.png

Maybe adding a green butterfly dress wouldn't be a bad idea at this point.

The only hair I have is on my head ;)

(Note: the absence of denial re testicles)

Hey guys, seeing as no music has been posted i figured i would throw in a few songs if anyone is interested. So far the artwork is super!
Ok now i admit that the sound quality is definately lacking because we didn't have a mixer. But it is just me (guitar) and my drummer so it's not that messy.

http://www.myspace.com/thoughtmystomachsick

There are alot of changes and improvisations in these songs, so if you are going to listen to them, please don't just put it as background music. It's the sort of music that you need to pay a bit of attention to if you want to appreciate it. Sorry ;P

Keep up the good artwork guys!

that's kind of what we were going for, except the bisexual part :p
i think adrogenous would be more like it
The eyelashes are too long. Looks like a woman, even though it's a guy.

those are my eyes, hapsburg

my drawings are crap
so are my photographs
but seing people make fun of my draiwings hurts my feelings
so make fun of this... i took it for a friend who wanted something like that to put on his website

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/1746/c1jx.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

prrrrr

:D :D :D

those are my eyes, hapsburg
Thy point being?

my point being they are not a man's

my point being they are not a man's

yup

Hey anyone has a suggestion on what I should draw?

Interesting discussion on drawing talent and ability.
I seem to have a bit of talent, but I think it's more a talent for seeing rather than a talent for drawing... or perhaps they're the same thing. I find that practice is all important. There may be individuals out there who can produce realistic drawings the first time they try, but not me!

Here's an example. This is our budgerigar Joey. I've included my practice sketches of Joey's head, which is what I found hardest to "see", and hence draw. I think that the bad practice sketches show what my brain sees, and it's by seeing what is wrong with those that I discover what my eye sees.

http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/JoeySmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Joey.jpg)

Interesting discussion on drawing talent and ability.
I seem to have a bit of talent, but I think it's more a talent for seeing rather than a talent for drawing... or perhaps they're the same thing. I find that practice is all important. There may be individuals out there who can produce realistic drawings the first time they try, but not me!

Here's an example. This is our budgerigar Joey. I've included my practice sketches of Joey's head, which is what I found hardest to "see", and hence draw. I think that the bad practice sketches show what my brain sees, and it's by seeing what is wrong with those that I discover what my eye sees.

http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/JoeySmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Joey.jpg)

nice parrot drawings. Umm...i think you made the lobe of the parrot to big...

You could be right. I need more practice!
Here are some partly drawn faces, done candidly during a staff meeting:
http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/MelissaSmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Melissa.jpg) http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/MichaelLaneSmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/MichaelLane.jpg) http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/MarkTranterSmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/MarkTranter.jpg)

The first one is best for capturing a likeness, but the others aren't too shabby either.

You could be right. I need more practice!
Here are some partly drawn faces, done candidly during a staff meeting:


you know I tried to do that once...draw face pictures of students in my class...it looked very nice...but they became so tense about it...so I stopped the practice.

More:
http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/GabrielleSmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Gabrielle.jpg) http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/AndrewFaceSmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/AndrewFace.jpg) http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/MichaelBeanbagSmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/MichaelBeanbag.jpg)

These aren't great likenesses. The last is perhaps best - it's my son watching TV.
That's about my whole portfolio!

These aren't great likenesses. The last is perhaps best - it's my son watching TV.
That's about my whole portfolio!

the last has a small x there....make it work.

Thanks. Fixed now.

the beanbag looks like an alien spaceship. :p

my point being they are not a man's
You're a chick?
Oh. Didn't know that, see.

very good sketches here, all of them, nice to see the different styles . Pete You do have some natural abilty, if you did this without training! They are very good, especially the old geezers face. crazy you have some ability so keep at it. Dragon interesting and individual style...what do you want to draw? Me, I'll try scan some old pics today.

:D :D :D

New Pic of Maximilian. Bigger.
In this one, he's younger, maybe 40 or so. It's a couple years the beginning of the Zaaroft War, around 6291. He still has a full head of hair, and it's darker. His uniform is still in the "monarchial" state look. Getting closer to the "militaristic dictator" look, though. Also, he still has that cold, yet gentle look in his eyes. The eyes of a man that loves all of humanity yet at the same time, loathes any xenoforms; a benevolent lawgiver on one hand and brutal vindicator on the other.
http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/9788/dictatorandfhrermaximilian1jj.png
Note: I based it off a state portrait of Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

yo Hapsburg I wish we could combine your drawings of generals and warriors with my space environments...to make it look like this is a general of the space colony. What do you say do you want to do that?

Hey anyone has a suggestion on what I should draw?
a conclusion?

a conclusion?

oh come on, don be like that. Tell me if you want me to draw something in pencil for you. A flower perhaps or bunch of stars or whatever you wish.

Pete You do have some natural abilty, if you did this without training!
Not completely without training... just what I remember from grade 8 art class (twenty years ago!), plus reading bits of books here and there. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain gave me the basic insight about how to properly see, I think.

I found a couple more.

The dragonfly is from life. the perspective of its wings isn't quite right. It was difficult to draw because it was moving, and I think I projected too much of my idea of how a dragonfly's wings look, rather than what they really do look like.

The chrysalis is the only one I've drawn completely from memory/imagination. The stick is kind of stylised, despite my efforts at making it appear natural, and the chrysalis itself is a bit cartoonish, but overall I'm quite pleased with the result.

I've given away all my other sketches... most of my practice is with impromptu sketches on the back of a business card or in a notebook, and those I usually give to my model when I'm done.

http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/DragonflySmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Dragonfly.jpg) http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/ChrysalisSmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/Chrysalis.jpg)

The dragonfly is from life. http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/DragonflySmall.jpg
Pete is that a dead or alive dragonfly?...cause its missing an eye.

Hi draqon, it was alive at the time... which made it tricky to draw, because it wouldn't sit still for me!

You have an interesting style. I like the way you fill the canvas with detail. Do you have any colored drawings? I think your work could be quite striking with some adventurous use of color.

Another snapshot. This one was taken through the window of a bus in Hong Kong on Friday (I'm back in Oz now). The street was busyish, and this guy is just taking time out on a step. The bus stopped in the right place, the crowd parted at the right time, and *snap*.

Cool.

http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/TimeOutInHongKongSmall.jpg (http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/TimeOutInHongKong.jpg)

Another snapshot.

I dont get it...another snapshot?...where are all other snapshots from before?...All I saw from u are drawings...

Anyways cant that guy sue you for violating his personal rights? you took a picture of him...and he never agreed...or is that not a case in Honk Kong?

These are pics I drew over 20yrs ago, in my early teens age 13-16, pic quality very poor as a scan of an old photo and pics in photo is only 1.5 inches high, so can't see colours in either photo or scanned image, but you should get the idea.

http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copyofleahsdrawings0jj.jpg
girl pastels

http://img316.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copy2ofleahsdrawings8vp.jpg
TROLL reading newspaper
oil crayons

The last time I did portraits was 1997, James Dean and Adam Ant, lovely pics but no photo's and can't find the originals.

These are pics I drew over 20yrs ago, in my early teens age 13-16, pic quality very poor as a scan of an old photo and pics in photo is only 1.5 inches high, so can't see colours in either photo or scanned image, but you should get the idea.

http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copyofleahsdrawings0jj.jpg
girl pastels

http://img316.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copy2ofleahsdrawings8vp.jpg
TROLL reading newspaper
oil crayons

The last time I did portraits was 1997, James Dean and Adam Ant, lovely pics but no photo's and can't find the originals.

yes...im not as gifted as you...my pictures lack 3d...

yes...im not as gifted as you...my pictures lack 3d...

I like your style its very original, you should add colour

I like your style its very original, you should add colour

Colour is nice. Here is a colourful picture that I drew when I was 36.

http://sciforums.*******************/2006/vomit1.png

It's a picture of 'red wine vomit with kernels of corn to make it more colourful'. A vomit on the streets of helsinki is also known as a 'seagull pancake'.




(because they end up on the streets in the early mornings after a night's out drinking and seagulls eat them breakfast.)

I also drew a picture of an early morning beer vomit, but it isn't as colourful as the red wine one and hence not so artistic.
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/vomit2.png

Colour is nice. Here is a colourful picture that I drew when I was 36. It's a picture of 'red wine vomit with kernels of corn to make it more colourful'. A vomit on the streets of helsinki is also known as a 'seagull pancake'. (because they end up on the streets in the early mornings after a night's out drinking and seagulls eat them breakfast.)
I also drew a picture of an early morning beer vomit, but it isn't as colourful as the red wine one and hence not so artistic.

where are you going with this? Are you trying to insult the art presented here, with the shit you did a second ago on paint, that took you 2 minutes or so to draw?

where are you going with this? Are you trying to insult the art presented here, with the shit you did a second ago on paint, that took you 2 minutes or so to draw?

Dragon, he's just being funny, no offence intended promise ;) Note the naked arty pics of moi, no offence, just humour.

Dragon, he's just being funny, no offence intended promise ;) Note the naked arty pics of moi, no offence, just humour.

yeah...my blood boils so fast...

I painted most of my paintings within 10 minutes (when I was still a painter wannabee). The canvas size didn't matter much. 3x1.5 meters could be done in 10 minutes as easily as 20x40 cm. Why would speed be an issue in art?


(And it is done with illustrator, not MSpaint. Within 1 minute. Actually putting it on the internet has cost me more time than to make it.)

Does it matter if I make a doodle on a napkin or on a computer?

I painted most of my paintings within 10 minutes (when I was still a painter wannabee). The canvas size didn't matter much. 3x1.5 meters could be done in 10 minutes as easily as 20x40 cm. Why would speed be an issue in art?


(And it is done with illustrator, not MSpaint. Within 1 minute. Actually putting it on the internet has cost me more time than to make it.)

Does it matter if I make a doodle on a napkin or on a computer?

why don't you post that pic showing the self portrait you did for Dragon to see your true artistic talent? ;) It was good and this is the forum for it.

spuriousmonkey: generally when I look at someones art...I look at how much detail is given to the picture, how pleasing it is to the eye, how accurate thoughts are portrayed... Your pigeon stuff only answers one of those: accurate thoughts are portrayed. Thus if I felt for a person respect he/she should have given their soul to the picture they drew...that is pleasing and has detail to it. Something that is not utterly repulsive.

i see no point in painting anything anymore... because... i can just imagine it... though it might be fun to have a wacom tablet thing.

c7ityi: the point of drawing is to let other people see your drawings and thus tell you what they feel about your drawings, thus what they tell you reflects on the soul you have, since the soul is expressed through drawings. What they tell might greatly help you in understanding yourself and dealing with your inner and outer problems.

why don't you post that pic showing the self portrait you did for Dragon to see your true artistic talent? ;) It was good and this is the forum for it.

It's crap. I did all my work before the electronic era. So I never took pictures. And after I left Art school I dumped most in the dumpster. Couldn't be bothered to take it all home. Some pieces still circulate amongst friends and relatives but they are usually exactly the pieces I do not like.

It's much more difficult to make a proper simple line than produce something with detail. See Picasso. The master of the line/gesture. It takes years of fulltime drawing and painting before you can put a good line down. And talent. And ambition.

Picasso...Picasso...that looser...draws bunch of lines...calls it a fancy name and it sells for millions. What a trickster just like that other guy...what was his name...the one who drew the long legs of an elephant or bunch of clocks pictured as though they were liquid...what a looser.

picasso painted nice...
but when he became famous...
he got bored at nice paintings...
so he started painting ugly things...

i see no point in painting anything anymore... because... the most beautiful things can't be painted...

here then...I like my vomit better.
http://sciforums.*******************/IMG_0767.jpg

hey I remember seeing this...when i first came to sciforums...you also had a picture of urself u stood beside a door and said you had something to do with the military...

superb

Nice use of color spurious, were you feeling angry at the time?

Yes, i went through the obligatory 'angry at the world' phase.

spurious: you dont look angry to me there in that picture. Rather it is a face of an individual who has struggled through many mischiefs through life and has now regrets of some of the actions that he has not done, actually you look kind of sad there.

His eyes are close together don't you think? >< lol :)

I just drew a picture of my hand. Let me share this masterpiece with you:
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/Untitled-3.png

well the picture of your hand has the same response as the picture of bird shit you drew.

I never drew a picture of bird shit.

Some science art-work:
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/science-art.png

Copyright: spuriousmonkey

I never drew a picture of bird shit.

oh im sorry...bird vomit.

I never drew a picture of bird vomit.

Some science art-work:
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/science-art.png

Copyright: spuriousmonkey

mitochondria?

I just drew a picture of my hand. Let me share this masterpiece with you:
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/Untitled-3.png

lol

you're improving (despite the double vision ;) )

I never drew a picture of bird vomit.

...right...beer vomit. i got attention problems.

Hey, relativity, those are quite nice drawings! Especially the guy in the chair :) sad to say, I'm kind of surprised.

Not completely without training... just what I remember from grade 8 art class (twenty years ago!), plus reading bits of books here and there. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain gave me the basic insight about how to properly see, I think.- Ding! Betty Edwards' books are pretty much what I'm talking about, only I'm trying to translate it to philosophical terms :p

I don't know if I can call it art because it is work related but this is a still for a 3D animation proposal I did.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i131/path2/KINOTEST2.jpg

I just drew a picture of my hand. Let me share this masterpiece with you:
http://sciforums.*******************/2006/Untitled-3.png

You can admit that its a picture of your wanker

It's too big for that (the drawing that is)

I dont get it...another snapshot?...where are all other snapshots from before?...All I saw from u are drawings...
Earlier in the thread, here (http://www.sciforums.com/showpost.php?p=1045219) and here (http://www.sciforums.com/showpost.php?p=1045222).

Anyways cant that guy sue you for violating his personal rights? you took a picture of him...and he never agreed...
I'm sure he could, if: i) he knew about it, ii) he could be bothered, and iii) we don't settle out of court if he ever contacts me.

It's a chance I'm willing to take for a photo like that.

ToR, I like your work. The pastel girl is interesting... is she drawn from a model, a photo, a mirror (?), or from imagination?

Do you think that your portraits have improved with practice?

I'm really impressed with the talent displayed in this thread, particularly the wide range of styles. Hats off to all who shared!

I think my favourite so far is sargentlard's caricature of his professor:
http://static.flickr.com/38/123043277_d4f4020335.jpg
or maybe this amazing piece:
http://static.flickr.com/34/72713065_c04da79154_m.jpg
Beautiful!

I also really like the work of Varda, I don't know, and Doubtless_Wonder. Others too... but they're the ones that stand out for me.

And now for something completely different... a disembodied goat head with braces eating a radioactive baby!

http://home.teegee.com.au/byrnes/Pete/forumImages/BabyEatingGoat.gif

But is it art?

I Havent really drawn a human face in detail...maybe that is what I should concentrate on.

http://static.flickr.com/49/129868770_07eb021bc9.jpg

A photo I took because I got bored of watching tv.

http://static.flickr.com/47/129874892_e686d7d191.jpg

A house in my neighborhood. I liked the creepy imagery of it.

http://static.flickr.com/34/114336752_05f0ce5566.jpg

View from my class.

http://static.flickr.com/42/89577600_4cf175d464_o.jpg

A classmate's quick portrait.

http://static.flickr.com/18/89576799_162db47da1.jpg

Did I post this already?...if not, this is a cariacature I did off the top of my head.

http://static.flickr.com/29/52306596_3c9afe28a1.jpg

A pencil prep of the painting I posted earlier.

My pics pete, the idea of her was taken from a pic in a magazine but it doesn't look like the pic, the man was taken from a pic in a book. I did improve with age, but sadly don't have the last pics to demonstrate.
Meanwhile lovely pics again here, excellent. Lovely photos too, here is one my boyfriend took of a firework exploding, it's my favourite pic. I call it the 'origin of life'. :)
http://img54.imageshack.us/my.php?image=firework511059yi.jpg

A few photos:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/pitssa.0.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/KRIGBERT/wkamel.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/alexweb.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/vindusjopping.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/grad.jpg

A few photos:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/pitssa.0.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/KRIGBERT/wkamel.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/alexweb.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/vindusjopping.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/grad.jpg

that hardly looks like art...just bunch of fotos from middle east, nice ones, but not artistic. Or am I blind?

that hardly looks like art...just bunch of fotos from middle east, nice ones, but not artistic. Or am I blind?

Anything can be art. It's all in the eyes of the beholder. :)

- N

How sad is this art.
<img src="http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/8141/manface8ci.jpg">

A few photos:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/pitssa.0.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/KRIGBERT/wkamel.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/alexweb.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/vindusjopping.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/grad.jpg


The first 2 are quite nice. Especially the colors in the first one.

Photo I took that I like:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b26/crazy_fun/leaves.jpg
Night time, took a picture of the leaves overhead.

How is this art again? These pictures fit more into Picture Thread Mark III than here.

i lit a candle to take this, so i guess it it kind of artistic, although it completely failed because i couldnt get the focus to be where i wanted

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9283/a1pg.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

took one of the candle while at it... slightly tilted, but oh well

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/4719/a5nz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

took one of the candle while at it... slightly tilted, but oh well

Don't worry, everyone adores the Leaning Tower of Pisa. ;)

- N

Now, some of the enemies of the CGU.
The Holy Guard, chosen from amongst the most pious and powerful of Djurri warriors, the Holy Guard is tasked with guarding the Lord Emperor and other important Zaaroft leaders. They are some of the most dangerous foes the CGU has yet encountered.
Here's a basic one in Holy Guard Armor, wielding an (unignited) energy lance.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/Hapsburg/ZaaroftHolyGuard.png
Cool armor, eh?
To note: the Djurri average at around 3.6 meters to 4.1 meters tall and weigh some 650 kilograms. The Holy Guard are the biggest of the Djurri, a subspecies of the Zaaroft.

It's pretty damn easy to straighten that candle up in PS, if you'd like.

that hardly looks like art...just bunch of fotos from middle east, nice ones, but not artistic. Or am I blind?- Why wouldn't it be art? :confused:

How sad is this art.
<img src="http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/8141/manface8ci.jpg">- Hey, it's 3D :l Is it a portrait?

The first 2 are quite nice. Especially the colors in the first one.- There was a sandstorm, it really was that orange outside! :eek:

http://theverybest.com/personal/dogwood.jpg

http://theverybest.com/personal/dogwood.jpg

Beautiful.

Thanks. Right outside my front door.

A few photos:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/pitssa.0.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/KRIGBERT/wkamel.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/alexweb.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/vindusjopping.jpg
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/grad.jpg

I was more taken with the Alex Web (http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/alexweb.jpg) photo than the other ones. It is closer to art than the other ones are. At least with this one I could have some things to say about it or interprete from it.

I was more taken with the Alex Web (http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/alexweb.jpg) photo than the other ones. It is closer to art than the other ones are. At least with this one I could have some things to say about it or interprete from it.- I could bs about each and every one of them. Watch me go:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5989/851/1600/pitssa.0.jpg
"Pittsa" the window proclaims in a hopeless attempt of seeming an elegant and cultivated actor in the new anglophone global economy. The salesman stands stounchly behind his cashregister gazing out in the distance. The nausiating colours underlining the uneasy look of the main character in the image - disturbing us and reminding us of the plague of the western world. Our existential angst.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/KRIGBERT/wkamel.jpg
Taken from above, the photo of the camel effectively communicates our percieved superiority and very real dominance of the animal kingdom. it's face crammed in to a horrible but beautiful contraption, the camel's eyes are covered in shadow, hidin whether or not the camel is wild with fear or calmly resigned to it's fate.

Want me to continue? :D this is art, after all. It's a kind of poetry imo.

No writing yet?
Here's a chapter from a book I am working on that I think can stand alone as a short story.
Any feedback would be welcome.
------------------------------------------------------
Angel

I was sitting in on criminal court proceedings, as I often did. Sheriff's officers spend their days parading the most despicable, opportunistic parasites and predators that society has to offer and the pariahs they make their living defending. JoAnn was the worst of her ilk. Someone should round up all the lawyers in the world and throw them into the ocean with accountants chained to their necks to weigh them down.

JoAnn stood before the court wearing an ill-fitting, forty-dollar JC Penny suit over a bright blue shirt that had an elaborately tied, six-loop bow sewed permanently in place just below her chin. Her azure eye shadow and indigo, leather stilettos rounded out the ensemble. She didn't look like a lawyer. She looked like a run down bar fly there to face charges for her third DUI in an attempt to throw herself on the mercy of the court because she needed her license to drive back and forth to work or she couldn't afford to feed her daughter. The whiskey made her look twenty years older than her thirty-five. A steady diet of Whiskey, coffee and not much more will wear a person down. She was soft and flabby all over -a nicotine-stained bag of soggy dough. There isn't much that is less appealing than a thin woman with a double chin and tits down to her knees. When she turned just so, a cigarette hole burned into her shirt just above the left breast would peer out from behind her thin twill jacket and draw attention to her tired old bra. Her thinning hair was held in place by a generous application of Aqua Net. Her hairstyle hadn't changed since her senior year high school picture -it was outdated even then.

Every day after work she would go to the usual lawyer's bar to rub elbows and hope to find a rich lawyer to rub other body parts with. Her favorite drink when people were around was a White Russian. If she was with a man when she ordered her drink she would make a crass, woefully unfunny comment about it to the waitress while glaring at him, "I like my drinks like my men. White, strong, straight up and coming all night!" When she laughed it sounded like the wet, phlegmy cough of an old wino. If she were with a black man, she'd order a Black Russian. When she wanted to appear cultured, she would drink White Zinfandel. She stank of cigarettes, liquor and cheap perfume. One of her clients sold bottles of knock-off perfume on the street corner with labels that said things such as, "If you like Eternity, you'll LOVE Infiniti." She was a "Coco by Chanel" woman, herself. She bathed in that crap.

I followed her home a couple of times to see where she lived. It was a fairly typical eight-family apartment building off Tremont Ave in the Bronx. Her building was on the corner, so I could see when the lights in her apartment on the top floor went on and off.

Sirens going off night and day, bums sleeping in alleys, clutching their bottles in place of the woman that left so many years ago, young punks standing on street corners selling drugs... It was a real shit-hole neighborhood, but the rent was cheap. More importantly it was where most of her clientele lived. She practiced law in the neighborhoods occupied by the dregs of society, and had good reason for doing so. She knew the dealers, whores and their pimps. She had a direct line to all the neighborhood dirt. If Mr. Johnson hit his wife, she was the first to know.

She knew all the cops too. She knew what their weaknesses were, which of them were cheating on their wives and with whom. She knew which cops were drunks and which ones were on the take, and took full advantage of the information. If you were a cop in JoAnn's jurisdiction you were either a rookie trying to earn your stripes, a crappy cop that was shelved there by the brass to rot away slowly or a dirty cop that chose to be there because that's where all the opportunity was. Whichever you were, you were bound to fuck up often -misfiled search warrants, improperly handled evidence, protocol failures... the list goes on and on- and JoAnn was bound to spot it. That was her magic. That was why, aside from all her faults, JoAnn was actually a damned successful lawyer. She measured her success by how many scumbags she kept on the street, not how much money she had. After all, most of her clients were ghetto poor.

So I watched her again, as I had quite a few times before, practicing her craft. The piece of filth she was defending this time was Jerry Spolinsky. Jerry was a tall stocky Pole who made his living repossessing cars for a shady car dealer on Tremont. He purposely made a lot of noise when repossessing a car in hopes that the owner would come out and confront him. He always carried a switchblade, a .32 semi-automatic and assorted other weapons -most of them illegal. His weapon of choice, however, was his Blackjack. A Blackjack is basically a series of three or four nested heavy springs that collapse into each other like the antenna on the back of a portable radio, with a heavy weight at the end. When closed, it's about eight inches long and fits into a pocket. With a flip of the wrist it extends to almost thirty inches long. The springs on a good Blackjack are firm enough to cause some serious damage if wielded by the right arm, but they are pliable enough to not break any bones. Jerry lovingly referred to his Blackjack as his Nigger-Be-Good.

Jerry was a regular client of JoAnn's.

This day, Jerry was standing trial for molesting a fourteen-year-old girl, Jenny Carter, on the subway. As Jenny sat on the witness stand recalling what happened that night, I watched Jerry. I had a clear view of him from the first row behind the Prosecutor's table. He was slung low in the defendant's chair with his right arm hanging over the backrest, bent at the elbow as if it was keeping his greasy body from sliding down to the floor. JoAnn dressed him up in a cheap dark blue suit with no tie. He looked like that slick appliance salesman whose store keeps changing names following going out of business sales and bankruptcy proceedings.

"People want to know that you’re the type of man who would wear a suit," she would explain, "but you don't want them to think you are rich, or some Mafia greaseball. You want them to relate to you. Most of them are regular working stiffs. Rich people never get stuck serving jury duty. Rich people are the bosses that are refusing to pay these poor saps for the day."

Some old wives tales are bullshit, pure and simple, but some speak to the collective wisdom of generations of mothers. "If you make that face long enough, it will stick." Jerry's face was permanently plastered with an expression that told the world that he knows he is a real piece of shit, but there's nothing you can do about it, asshole.

It was JoAnn's turn up to bat, and boy did she shine that day! She called her first witness -a respectable decorated police detective from a neighboring precinct. Lieutenant Forrest testified that Jerry couldn't have been on that train that night because he was at a bar in Brooklyn with him at the time. Their night out was padded by at least three hours on each end of the incident. "It was simply impossible for Jerry to have been on the train with that girl!" What the jury was not aware of, is that Lieutenant Forrest was having an affair with JoAnn at the time. I know this because, by stroke of sheer luck, I followed JoAnn home the night that Jenny was accosted. More accurately, I followed JoAnn and Lieutenant Forrest to her house.

JoAnn proceeded to pull one magic rabbit out of her ass after another. By the end of the testimony she had the jury questioning Jenny's honesty, chastity and intentions. Was she just covering herself after a lewd tryst on the subway? Was she ashamed of her actions and wanted someone to point her finger at to her disappointed parents? Was she a predatory lolita in schoolgirl's clothing? Was it a case of misdirected anger at her uncle who used to touch her when she was five? Of course none of this was her fault - the Freudian quack who JoAnn once defended in a malpractice suit involving a suicidal teen-aged patient he had an affair with testified to that effect. She had Jenny asking the same questions of herself.

JoAnn was all smiles when she walked down the courthouse steps and made her standard right turn towards the lawyer's bar.

I followed.

After one White Russian, two Black Russians and six highballs of Whiskey she finally stumbled through the door towards the subway home.

I followed.

It took her about twenty minutes to find her way to the subway station, negotiate her way down the steps and out to the platform. She stopped for a minute or two to curse at a homeless man sleeping on the platform after she tripped over his legs. I boarded the train one car behind her and off we rumbled to our rendezvous. I made sure to exit the train before her. She was drunk and half-asleep, but a woman like that is constantly suspicious and I didn't want to catch her eye. I walked briskly to the opposite corner of her apartment building and sat on the stoop of the Bodega. I sat slouched with an empty bottle of Tokay that I picked up on my way dangling precariously from my fingers.

I waited.

It took her a good minute of fumbling with her keys, but she finally made it through the front door. I was prepared to wait a long while for someone to leave the building allowing me to sneak in through the closing door behind them, but I got lucky. Not more than ten-minutes later, a girl of about twelve came rushing out the front door of the apartment building with schoolbooks clutched tightly to her chest. I leapt to my feet as I watched her scurry down the street and I raced to catch the door before it clicked shut.

The inside of the building smelled of curry, rice & beans and wet paint. These buildings always smell of wet paint. It doesn't matter if no one had painted since the late seventies; they always smell of wet paint. The basement door was unlocked. The basement was damp and musty and apparently a rat or some other small animal had died down there in the recent past. The odor turned my stomach. I waited in my dungeon, inhaling mold, dust and the stench of rotting flesh for about two hours until I finally couldn't take it anymore. "As drunk as she was, she has GOT to be passed out by now!"

It was late enough that people weren't milling about in the halls, but early enough for the building to still be filled with the sounds of Salsa music, the banging pots and pans, Mr. Johnson shouting at his wife and the late news turned up loud enough to drown-out the Salsa playing in 3B. Perfect! I walked casually up to the fourth floor without passing a soul and came face to face with JoAnn's front door.

First I looked at the small gap between the door and the jamb -she forgot to lock the dead bolt, but the chain was engaged. I pulled a clever little device out of my pocket that I bought at the spy-store on Fifth Avenue. You place this little brass tube -a telescope of sorts- up to the lens of the fisheye peephole in the door and you can clearly see the inside of the apartment. The small light over the sink was on and I looked around my narrow field of view hoping to spot her passed out somewhere. From my vantage point, I couldn't see the bed, but the apartment was still. The clothes she had been wearing were piled on the floor in a heap at the end of the sofa. I decided that I was at a greater risk standing in the hall peering into her apartment than I was if I entered and she was still awake. She was fall-down drunk, after all, how much of a challenge could she really be? I took a last look down one end of the empty hallway and then the other as I tried the doorknob. It was locked. I removed another clever little device from my pocket -this one of my own making. It was the thin flexible blade of a metal cake-decorating spatula fashioned into a jimmy of sorts by way of a few notches cut out of each edge. I used it in the same way one might use a credit card to slide between the door and jamb and dislodge the bolt, but it was much more effective. Once I had the door opened as wide as the chain would allow, I used a bent screwdriver to pry the chain anchor loose from the doorframe and I was in. I closed the door behind me and turned the latch on the dead bolt.

No sooner than I turned around, JoAnn was upon me with a baseball bat at full swing about to connect with my left temple. I ducked a bit, tilted my head to the right and took a glancing blow to the top of my head. I grabbed her right wrist with my left hand and used her own momentum to spin her around. Before she even realized what had happened, I had her right arm wrapped around her neck with my body pressed against hers and the knife I pulled from my belt sheath was at her throat.

"Drop the bat and keep your mouth shut." I whispered.

"What are you going to do with me?" she pleaded.

I spoke more slowly and determined, "Keep your mouth shut."

Her left arm fell limp at her side and she dropped the bat.

"On your knees."

She slowly dropped to her knees as I lowered myself with her. I rested most of the weight of my body on my shins that were on her ankles, pinning her legs in place.

"Shhhhhhh. I'm going to let go of your arm. Do not move."

She let her other arm drop and rest at her side. I took a handful of her hair at the base of her neck in my left hand and pulled her head back.

"What are you doi-" my knife cut deeply into her trachea.

The slit was clear across her throat. Her head was loose like a door hinge. She let out a guttural moan that gargled its way up her throat as her lungs decompressed with the rest of the word that managed to escape. I let go of the clump of hair and let her body fall. The floor was covered in blood in seconds.

Just as I heard JoAnn's body drop to the floor with a dull "thud", I heard another sound. A soft whimper escaped from the openings between the slats that shrouded the closet doors. I wanted to believe it was a puppy, but I knew better. No amount of wishing could convince me that it wasn't a child hiding in that closet. JoAnn must have heard me fiddling with the door and rushed her child into hiding for protection. All the signs that had eluded me before now stood out in glaring clarity with a spot light shining on them. The sink in the dirty little kitchenette was filled with child-sized plates with images of Spider Man and cups with spill-proof lids - sippy cups. The videotape collection had Disney titles scattered about. The floor around the area in front of the television was littered with crayons, coloring books and dollar store toys. As I walked closer to the hovel that Mother had convinced her baby would be a safe hiding place, the whimpering sounds grew quieter, muffled by a tiny trembling hand. They were quieter, but higher-pitched than before. The whimpers were being squeezed out through a tight grip of childish resolve to remain quiet like Momma said. The child's ability to squelch these whimpers was not as resolute as the force of terror pushing them out. My heart sunk to my feet and I started to weep when I opened the door. He couldn't have been more than three years old, and must have seen the whole wretched scene from behind the thin wood slats of his cell. He sat huddled under a pile of clothing, hoping he wouldn't be seen. Hoping to please his Momma by not being heard. Tears ran in torrents down his cheeks and over his hand that was desperately trying to silence his cries in vain.

To my amazement, the child reached for me. My mind reeled, "Is he trying to attack me and exact revenge upon me for taking his mother away? Is this a desperate bid to garner pity from this murderous madman before him in an attempt to save his own life?" He wasn't conniving or executing some quickly hatched plan for vengeance. His young innocent mind couldn't fathom such devices. He was trembling in fear and confused. His mother lay dead on the floor and his need to be comforted by someone, anyone, kicked into overdrive. I was the only person around and he naively reached for me -the demon that just viciously slew his mother before his eyes. I lifted him into my arms and collapsed to the floor holding him. We cried in each other's arms amid my pathetic apologies. I kept saying over and over again, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I am so sorry." I wasn't so much pleading for his forgiveness, but attempting to display my empathy for this poor hapless victim of my wrath and apologizing to the world and whatever forces inhabit it in general. I rocked back and forth trying to comfort him and myself.

"What have I done?" I just kept repeating it to myself, "What have I done?" I don't know what answer I was expecting. What could possibly soothe me at this point? My whole world and everything I had believed and fought for and against crumbled around me and blended together in a heap of confusion and self-hatred. A million questions, "What have I done? Who have I become? What am I trying to do?" swirled around the festering trash heap that was now my life and world. In my mind I tried to justify to this broken child why his mother had to die. I could validate it to myself before I heard his whimper call to me from the closet, but what now?

I had told myself time and again that I wasn't doing this to punish the evil. It wasn't retribution, or revenge in any sense of the word. I was doing it to save the innocents of the world from the evil ones. So, how could I now tell an innocent child that I killed his mother and caused him immeasurable pain and vicious suffering that will haunt him for the rest of his tortured life? What could possibly excuse that for him? How could I have not seen before that I was causing just as much pain by my actions meant to relieve the innocent from suffering? "'Humans have an uncanny ability to lie to themselves and justify any action that suits their needs.' Those are the words that I mailed to that reporter, aren't they? What made me so damned arrogant to think I was immune to it? Am I not human?"

Somewhere in my questions, the madness of my burning mind and the surreal scene I thrust myself into, I came to a sad conclusion. There is nothing that anyone can do to keep the pure and innocent souls on Earth from suffering. It is an impossible task to undertake. If you allow evil to continue, the innocents suffer. If you destroy the evil people, the innocents STILL suffer. Earth, I concluded, is Hell. We are born into Hell, and if we can face all the evils and demons in the world and still come out as pure and clean as we came in, we have succeeded. We all enter this world innocent. The few Angels among us that leave the world innocent are rewarded with entrance into Heaven, whatever that may be. This is what all the religions in the world seem to say, in their own way, and they are all right. "The answer," say the wise men, "is not to change the world, but to keep the world from changing you." By killing this Angel's mother before him as I did, I stripped away his innocence in one action, like scalding the flesh off his body all at once. In this moment, I embodied all the evil in the world. I was not acting as an Angel for Heaven and warrior for innocence, as I had once believed. All this time, I had been acting as an agent of Hell. I was a Demon. There was only one thing I could do to fix this. I had to make it right. I had to... I had to send this suffering Angel to Heaven before it was too late for him.

I took a deep breath, held it, kissed the Angel on his forehead, closed my eyes and twisted his head swiftly and firmly until I heard a snap. The sound was barely audible - like a chicken leg being twisted off its cooked damp carcass. The sound, however, burned itself into my mind and echoed resoundingly throughout my soul. It felt like my spine was breaking along with his tender little neck. His body fell limp in my lap and I immediately ran to the dirty kitchenette sink filled with his dishes and puked. I didn't want to look, but I had to. Just as I did after my first killing, I had to make sure I could hold this in my mind and accept that it was me that did this. I had to understand and remember. I had to know that this was me. I stood for a moment attempting to take it all in.

The Angel's body lay in a pathetic twisted heap on the floor of the filthy apartment just a few feet from his mother's nude, bloody body. The words "grizzly", "massacre", "depraved" and "viscous" flashed into my mind in newspaper headlines. I thought of all the stories I had read in papers and seen on the nightly news that made my blood boil. I thought of all the times that I quietly wished I could be locked in a room with the cowardly perpetrators of such acts. Images of crying family members flooded my mind.

This is the rest of your life, Jack. Accept it, deal with it and come to terms with it, or get out now. This is your moment of truth. This is your turning point. The next step you take becomes the point of no return. Own it, Jack, it's yours to keep now.

The sight of the spreading pool of JoAnn's blood on the floor jolted me back out of my mind with a realization that I had to leave soon. The floorboards in her apartment were dry and had many gaps in them. There was the distinct possibility of the downstairs neighbors being startled by blood dripping into their living room.

As I stepped over her body on the way to the door I suddenly felt a sting of what I could only describe as remorse over not getting the opportunity to eviscerate Jerry Spolinsky. "I have a different mission now," I had to remind myself, "I am an Agent of mercy." I walked out to the hallway and officially adopted my new moniker as I closed the door on that part of my life. My mind began to drift, "I wonder if the court records would reveal Jenny Carter's home address."

Not really art, but...
My bookcase was getting full, so I had an idea to store my uni books elsewhere.
This is the result:
http://piparmetra.net/pagrabs/plaukti1.jpg
http://piparmetra.net/pagrabs/plaukti2.jpg

After one White Russian, two Black Russians

:D yeah...two black russians...guess how many black folks are in russia currently? under 5,000 for sure. In fact in moscow I have only seen two black people in all my 4 visits to there for duration of 3 months. And guess what there are no black russians in russia, only immigrants.

so it is a drink.... :bugeye:

ooh its a drink? what sort of fagot's idea was it to call something white and black russian? racist's idea...

ooh its a drink? what sort of fagot's idea was it to call something white and black russian? racist's idea...

Because one is white and one is black...with vodka.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~draqon/sciforums/chaos.JPG

Pieces of memory this I call.

Here is a small short story I began, but haven't finished. Let me know what you think. If it sucks, just be honest. I don't profess to be a writer, but just sat down one day and started writing this.


“Wake Up Slaves” A voice yelled in the distance. The loud thunderous voice should have been enough to wake me up, but it was the subtle brushing of the chains against the wall that awoke my senses. ‘Is this reality?’ I thought as I tugged the cuffs on my wrist away from the wall. The darkness of room began to fade into a dim grey. I could make out the shadows of other cages like mine hanging above an abyss of blackness. I could hear murmurs and whispers, even some directed to me, but I never had felt so alone. A faint whisper from behind me was asking what had happened that I was brought to this place. Hard pressed to remember, I grunted back, “Is this real? Or Am I dead?”
A not so reassuring voice whispered back, “It will all come to you.”

I began to close my eyes and try to figure out what had happened that brought me to such an undesirable place. It then became very clear that I had no clear answer, thought, or conclusion. It was all a blur as if I had been born all over again and had none of my own thoughts. The only thing that was clear to me so far was that I was a slave, or so it seemed. I don’t remember selling myself though and I surely don’t remember being sold. I am owned by no one I thought to myself. This is some sort of mistake.
“FEEDING TIME” a guard yelled from a faint yellow glint toward the door. I couldn’t help but speak out how faint and hungry I felt, but a quick shot from my rear didn’t help provide any hope as the mentioning of the feeding was to the creature in the abyss and not us. I quickly realized what they were feeding it. I’m not much for fantasy…The Abyss…Scary Creature… Seems like an elaborate scare tactic if you ask me, I thought.

The minutes soon turned to hours as I waited. I waited with no anticipation or much thought as to what I would be awaiting. My death? It happens to everyone, why should where or when make a difference. Death is all around us everyday. Why is that when the cells of my body die daily, that it is no big deal, but death to me as a whole is? Is the small part that my cells play not as valuable as say my heart? This train of thought quickly took over all my other thoughts.

Death:

Adjusting myself in the cage was no easy matter, but I was able to twist enough to somewhat see the shadow of the naysayer behind me. “Sir, what do you know of Death?” I spoke gently to him.
The old man brought his head up to look back at the shadow of me. He began to speak,”
Right now, all that I can see is your shadow, You are neither living nor dead to me. So what good are you?”
I didn’t know this old man would be so direct and I felt the need to defend myself, even though he was probably not finished in his vein of thought. “Are you kidding me, you hardly know me, but you hear my voice, so of course I am alive. You see my shadow, hear the chains, my voice. You know nothing of my character. How can you ponder my goodness by whether I am dead or alive?”
“Fair enough” The old man said “Let us just say that if you are dead, you have no ability to do anything good. Whether you can fathom the idea of doing good, well maybe, but to actually do good is not possible.” My facial gesture couldn’t give away that I thought he was wrong, but before I could speak he continued. “The afterlife. The glorious afterlife. Heaven, where demons fear to tread and Hell, where angels fear to tread. Though neither have any problems with treading on the earth. Though I would speak more on that, I am growing a bit strained…” After a long pause, he began again, “Oh yes, the afterlife. In my earlier days, I regarded a dying flower. I watched it for several weeks and each week it died more and more until there was nothing left. When it had finally died away, I tried to smell it and it wasn’t pleasing. The bees no longer clung to it. It is an amazing thing to watch the next year as it grows up and flowers once again. Do you know why it is important where you die?”
I waited a moment to see if the question was rhetorical and seeing that it wasn’t I began to respond, “Well, we are all going to die someday. I’m not too sure where I die is as important as How. I don’t care where as long as it won’t hurt.”

“Don’t you think where you die is connected directly with how you die? Take for instance, that same lively flower in the spring. It will stay in that same place all it’s “life” rooted into the ground living and dying on natural order. Now suppose, I pulled it out of the ground and threw it onto the road. Every second from then on would be a slow and painful death. Where it died had a direct impact on how…and when.”

“So are you saying that if I knew how I was going to die, than I would have a greater chance of knowing when and where because of the connection? Or if I knew where I was going to die, I would have a greater chance of knowing how and when? This all sounds like rubbish to me.”

“Indeed, it may all be.”

If nothing else, the conversation was interesting and sort of “out of the ordinary”. A nice illusion to mask the current situation.

Puzzle:

It seemed like an eternity, but finally, I saw the door crack open and hints of yellow light flooded in. I heard someone flip a breaker and my cage started moving closer and closer to the light. It was feeling like many say they feel as they were dying. Seeing themselves drawn closer to the light through a tunnel. That is the feeling I had. When it finally rested, I was near the door. The guard opened the cage, and took the chains from my wrists. “Come with me” he ordered. If I had the strength I would have pushed the guard back and made a run for it, but I instead, followed his orders. The conversation I had earlier with the old man was coming back to me now. I felt an intense reality that I knew how I was going to die…and when…and where…but I had no idea why. A winding staircase took us down a silo shaped room. Near what seemed like the bottom, I was lead into a small room and seated. Everything was black again. The chair was icy cold sending shivers across my back. Anticipation, Anxiety, Fear overwhelmed me. The short wait seemed to drag on for days as if I were one number away from hitting the jackpot. The door slammed shut and I was again alone..
To Be Cont’d

Edit: This edit is for Dragon
<img src="http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8157/p12yf.jpg">

I kind of thought this thread was about art since it is titled "SCI FORUM GALLERY"...and not short stories...even though short stories are art too...