Boxing class got cut short for me tonight as I was dropped by the worst muscle cramp I've ever experienced. My calf just clinched up and I sat down and grabbed my toes and pulled them back to try and stretch out my gastrocnemius. I had worked out at the gym about an hour before boxing class and while I did drink some water at dinner about 30 minutes before, apparently it wasn't enough. I do sweat a lot and I do lose a lot of fluids quickly. I also have really tight calf muscles and a history of tendinitis in my right achiles. I really should know better.
Before I cramped up, I worked on some more fundamentals and details in my boxing.
Relax - Still need to relax, trying to hard to move around and still too tense. Remember to breathe.
Reach with the Hook - I like to think my hook is pretty good because I keep it tight and compact. I just need to reach out a little more because my opponent isn't always going to be in close.
Small steps - I try too hard to step around and cut corners when I move after a combination. I think I'm overemphasizing the footwork because I know how important it is. But going along with the idea of being relaxed, I don't need to make large arduous steps, just make small steps.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Stick Art Part 2
*Note: I know my blog isn't quite big enough to handle the size of the templates so it cuts off a little of the image's right side. But you can see the full image by clicking on the image.
*Note: Also, ignore the red "Text Ecthing Sample Area" on the templates. That's just part of the template and won't actually show up on the art. I probably should have deleted those from these test examples but oh well.
So I went ahead and made a few arcade stick templates, just some rough drafts. Most of these were wallpaper arts before I touched them so they were simple stretch to fit the arcade stick template jobs. I blacked out the buttons on the template to get a better idea of how the buttons will affect the art (since I don't have clear semitsu buttons). The Sengoku Basara and the Fooly Cooly templates were really the only ones where I had to do any extensive Photoshopping but I'm surprised and actually somewhat proud of how they came out. Anyway, tell me what you think.
Final Fantasy Tactics - This one came out really well and this might be a shoe in. The characters fill up the left side nicely and the empty space to the right in the art is okay because the buttons take up most of the space anyway.
Fooly Cooly - This one was really popular from the few friends I asked, almost everyone liked the clean look of Naota with guitar. I knew the art wasn't big enough to stretch so I had to figure out a way to put it in the space to the left and figure out what I was going to put in the background. I found another FLCL wallpaper online, grayscaled it, and threw it in the back with some transparency so that it didn't steal the emphasis of the Naota image. I think it fits nicely. The only problem with this template is the lack of color but that's sort of the point?
Gundam Seed - The Strike Gundam is pretty cool looking and I love the shading style of this artwork. The only thing that worries me about this one is the quality of the image to begin with isn't high enough and so upon closer inspection the art looks grainy. As such I'm not sure how well it'd turn out if printed.
Sengoku Basara Face Off - This one turned out bette than I thought. I think the purple really adds a lot of color to the template. The art style is really pretty as well. The only thing is that because Mitsunari is in the foreground, it emphasizes him more than Ieyasu and yet Ieyasu is my favorite character in the game. I guess it's okay because the art is awesome and you can still see Ieyasu's upper body for the most part.
Sengoku Basara Ieyasu - This is the first of multiple Sengoku Basara templates I made based on Ieyasu. This is also the first of the few templates where I had to do some extensive Photoshopping. I've become the master of the magic/quick wand tool. The template is somewhat busy and colorful but it fits with the tone of the video game, which if you've never played it is a very over the top hyperbolic action packed representation of Japan's fuedal history. I've got Ieyasu's character art in the left space. I have his clan logo on both sides of the control panel. I really liked the art on the left side that features the four main characters so I placed in the back and created a sidebar of sorts out of it. I got the idea of using a screenshot from the game to fill up the space on the right. I felt like something was needed to help transition the two images so I have the word Basara scrolling down the middle between the stick and the buttons. I also have the Sengoku Basara logo on the bottom right.
Sengoku Basara Tokugawa - This is the second variation of the previous template. What's different about this one is I added another larger image of Ieyasu, this one of his back, behind the first image on the left side, creating this cool back to back overshadowing effect. I'm contemplating putting this second Ieyasu in the other template as well. The only problem with this is that it covers the background sidebar and you can no longer see Ieyasu or even really make out the image all that well. The screen shot on the right is also different. What I like about this one over the other one is that the colors seem to mesh better, with the yellow and orange and gold.
Vagrant Strory - Finally there's the art work from VS. I really love this piece. Riot luckily fits right in between the location of the joystick and the buttons. Merlose however was not so fortunate but you can still see her face and legs and part of her torso so it's alright. I'm not sure if it's the image or the way it's drawn but it's a little grainy upon inspection so I'm a little worried how it'll print but I really really like this artwork.
So there you have it, those are the rough drafts of the templates I'm thinking of printing off for my joystick. All of them are pretty cool IMO. The only ones I'm not wild about is the Hajime no Ippo (surprisingly despite it being my favorite anime), KH2 (too empty looking) and the Gundam (a little too grainey). I love the FLCL one but it's a little monotone in color. Tactics looks great but the right side is a little empty looking but maybe that's fine. VS looks great but I'm a little worried about the graininess of the image. Magna Carta looks great. I also absolutely love the Sengoku Basara templates but I'm not sure which of the three I like the best. Chances are I'll probably end up printing off a few and swapping out the art from time to time on my stick. Top Three?
*Note: Also, ignore the red "Text Ecthing Sample Area" on the templates. That's just part of the template and won't actually show up on the art. I probably should have deleted those from these test examples but oh well.
So I went ahead and made a few arcade stick templates, just some rough drafts. Most of these were wallpaper arts before I touched them so they were simple stretch to fit the arcade stick template jobs. I blacked out the buttons on the template to get a better idea of how the buttons will affect the art (since I don't have clear semitsu buttons). The Sengoku Basara and the Fooly Cooly templates were really the only ones where I had to do any extensive Photoshopping but I'm surprised and actually somewhat proud of how they came out. Anyway, tell me what you think.
Fooly Cooly - This one was really popular from the few friends I asked, almost everyone liked the clean look of Naota with guitar. I knew the art wasn't big enough to stretch so I had to figure out a way to put it in the space to the left and figure out what I was going to put in the background. I found another FLCL wallpaper online, grayscaled it, and threw it in the back with some transparency so that it didn't steal the emphasis of the Naota image. I think it fits nicely. The only problem with this template is the lack of color but that's sort of the point?
Gundam Seed - The Strike Gundam is pretty cool looking and I love the shading style of this artwork. The only thing that worries me about this one is the quality of the image to begin with isn't high enough and so upon closer inspection the art looks grainy. As such I'm not sure how well it'd turn out if printed.
Hajime Ippo - For the most part I like how much space Ippo fills up on this template. His head is slightly obscured but I think it adds a little drama and emphasizes his eyes and stare. The dark brown in the background is a little boring as far as colors go, maybe if I feel like it I'll change the color.
Kingdom Hearts 2 - This one didn't turn out as great as I had hoped. I wanted to make it a minimal design, it's meant to be a white template design to emphasize the art but somehow it feels like it's missing something. Also I'm not happy with the blending of the orange sky to white. Maybe if I added a bit of transparency on the border?
Magna Carta - Despite the body of the artwork being covered up by the buttons, the image is large enough that it works imo. You can still clearly see the artwork. I think having their faces unobstructed is the key to it. The left space is a little awkward though because it's basically just her legs...not that I mind.
Sengoku Basara Ieyasu - This is the first of multiple Sengoku Basara templates I made based on Ieyasu. This is also the first of the few templates where I had to do some extensive Photoshopping. I've become the master of the magic/quick wand tool. The template is somewhat busy and colorful but it fits with the tone of the video game, which if you've never played it is a very over the top hyperbolic action packed representation of Japan's fuedal history. I've got Ieyasu's character art in the left space. I have his clan logo on both sides of the control panel. I really liked the art on the left side that features the four main characters so I placed in the back and created a sidebar of sorts out of it. I got the idea of using a screenshot from the game to fill up the space on the right. I felt like something was needed to help transition the two images so I have the word Basara scrolling down the middle between the stick and the buttons. I also have the Sengoku Basara logo on the bottom right.
Vagrant Strory - Finally there's the art work from VS. I really love this piece. Riot luckily fits right in between the location of the joystick and the buttons. Merlose however was not so fortunate but you can still see her face and legs and part of her torso so it's alright. I'm not sure if it's the image or the way it's drawn but it's a little grainy upon inspection so I'm a little worried how it'll print but I really really like this artwork.
So there you have it, those are the rough drafts of the templates I'm thinking of printing off for my joystick. All of them are pretty cool IMO. The only ones I'm not wild about is the Hajime no Ippo (surprisingly despite it being my favorite anime), KH2 (too empty looking) and the Gundam (a little too grainey). I love the FLCL one but it's a little monotone in color. Tactics looks great but the right side is a little empty looking but maybe that's fine. VS looks great but I'm a little worried about the graininess of the image. Magna Carta looks great. I also absolutely love the Sengoku Basara templates but I'm not sure which of the three I like the best. Chances are I'll probably end up printing off a few and swapping out the art from time to time on my stick. Top Three?
Friday, March 4, 2011
Stick Art
So I finally got my new fancy arcade stick and I'm looking to changing out the art work on it to my own custom art (which I've stolen from the internet for the most part haha). Help me decide which art to use, tell me which ones you like. I'll probably make a few templates in photoshop and then decide on a few that I want to finalize and print out.
Final Fantasy Tactics - One of my favorite games, I love to art style and the promotional art they produced for the PSP port they released a while back is one of my favorite pieces. I actually own a poster of the art.
Fooly Cooly - As crazy as the anime is, this particular scene is probably the most memorable despite how simple it is.
Personally, I'm thinking Sengoku Basara, Magna Carta, Ippo, Vagrant Story/FFT are my favorites so far.
Final Fantasy Tactics - One of my favorite games, I love to art style and the promotional art they produced for the PSP port they released a while back is one of my favorite pieces. I actually own a poster of the art.
Gundam Seed - Giant robots are just cool and this wallpaper in particular is really stylish.
Hajime no Ippo - One of my favorite animes I love Ippo and boxing.
Sengoku Basara 3 - I probably won't use this art in particular but I love the video game Sengoku Basara, the new main character Ieyasu Tokugawa (the guy in gold) is one of the coolest characters I've seen in a video game in a long time. I could definitely see my joystick sporting a Ieyasu themed artwork.
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep - BbS was awesome and Terra is another new favorite character design that I like.
Kingdom Hearts 2- This is another neat piece of artwork, it's very simple and clean (pun intended).
Captain America - One of my favorite marvel characters of all time. Perfect for Marvel vs Capcom 3.
Vagrant Story - A spin off of Final Fantasy Tactics, the artwork is done by the same artist. This is definitely a favorite.
Magna Carta - Artwork is done by Hyung Tae-Kim, arguably my favorite artist. His artwork and character design is rather unique. Plus he's representing Korea.
Devil May Cry 3 - Another one of my favorite video games, I might not pick this particular DMC artwork but Dante's one cool character worthy of being placed on my stick.
Personally, I'm thinking Sengoku Basara, Magna Carta, Ippo, Vagrant Story/FFT are my favorites so far.
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