Spellbound and Designs

Textures are no more

2010-03-03T00:16:00.001-08:00

Sorry for those few people (1 or 2 I think xD) who used the textures I posted, but I won't be providing free textures anymore for various reasons that I don't care to discuss atm.

I was thinking of closing down the blog, but then again, i'll eventually make another one, so I thought I'd just keep this one going and do something with it xD

Stargate Universe: The Revolution is Sci-Fi?

2009-11-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

Be Warned, Spoilers ahead

Six episodes down the line, the last one, ‘Life’ has had me thinking a great deal. Up until now, the sci-fi genre has been focusing on aliens and space battles and technology, and the Stargate franchise has long been an advocate of the type, but its most recent endeavour, Stargate Universe, has gone down a rather different road.

From the pilot episode till the last aired one, Stargate Universe has had a different focus which comes as unexpected, to say the least. As it begins we are treated to an enormous spaceship, the stowaways, and a theme of survival. If you are familiar with the previous Stargates, you would expect the protagonists to come across some amazing technology and formidable alien enemies. But there is little if none of this. Instead, the series take an unprecedented turn as the focus lands on the people themselves, their lives, their past, their personalities, and how they manage in the circumstances they are in, billions of light-years away from home. Stargate Universe is definitely darker and much more personal than the previous ones, as we learn more and more about the lives of each of the characters, from the young lieutenant Matthew Scott’s religious life, Eli Wallace’s mother’s HIV, the Colonel Young’s marital problems, and more recently, sexuality concerns, as is introduced by Camille and her partner Sharon (who she visits via someone else’s body thanks to Alteran technology) and the fact that Camille’s parents didn’t appear overly thrilled to hear from their daughter, and the latter’s reluctance to go see them. This last item shows how deep this focus is going to run, and how much more believable and realistic the people are. Once the resident alien (there has to be one or it isn’t Stargate ;) makes his/her appearance, and the main foes are revealed, it will be perfect. Character development will not only remain, but the action that is to come, the plots, will become factors that will help shape these personalities even further. Right now we are learning about these people’s past and their lives, later we will witness their evolution in an alien environment. In essence, keep it up, SGU, you’re on the right path ;)

Flame On!

2009-11-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

You've most likely already seen these tutorials, but I just happened on 2 of them todays, and I can tell you that I was pretty impressed by the creative ways in which the Cloud filter was used to create a fiery effect of just plain fire. There are the three tutorials:

Blazing Text: possibly the most popular fire tutorial example. The one I saw was actually from a different website, but I couldn't find it again, and this one is pretty much how it's done, so good enough :)

Burning Cloud: not just for the fire, but teaches you a thing or two about gradient maps.

Fiery Eclipse: creative example of how the cloud and difference cloud filters are used to obtain realistic fire.

Free Photoshop Brushes #1

2009-10-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

This one isn't by me but by anjinanhut from Deviant Art. Try out his brushes and tell me what you think! Personally, I think they're bloody brilliant! I don't really have a demo to show you, but you really should try them.

And please read before downloading.

Click Here for the Brush Set

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a RANT!

2009-10-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin? Avatar: the Last Airbender. The cartoons were absolutely amazing! Nickelodeon did masterful work on this one. I enjoyed it so much I was this close to getting an Aang tatoo! Okay, maybe not, but it is an amazing cartoon.

Now, onto the tragedy that will befall 2010. The Last Airbender looks like complete and utter horseshit. My bad, but I had to say it. This is my first impression anyway. Here's why I think this movie is a horse-spawned anal product:

Zuko - okay, maybe it can be considered creative to turn the Fire Nation into Hindus. Why not? This could work. But, my oh my, why is Dev Patel the guy playing Zuko??? Zuko should look intimidating, not like he's gonna crack a joke any second. I seed Dev Patel more in the skin of Sokka if anything.

Sokka - Jackson Rathbone doesn't fit the Sokka character at all! If anyone, it's Zuko he should play, then again, I'm still having a hard time imagining a non-chinese person playing him, so nevermind that.

Katara - you're telling me they couldn't find a pretty native-american or hispanic or inuit girl to play her? I am sincerly hoping that her role in the movie won't be some dumb damsel in distress role. She's a powerful waterbender and should be portrayed as such.

Toph/Azula - where the HECK did these two go??? You CANNOT have an avatar movie without Azula, for crying out loud.

That's about all for now. I really hope what I saw was an incomplete cast, or some stupid hoax. I get a feeling this movie is gonna pull a Dragonball-movie. I mean, Dragonball was good as a movie, but for a Dragonball fan, it-was-lame!

Anyway, rant over.

Texture Pack 9

2009-10-21T04:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's a volley. For all of you grunge lovers, here's a texture pack for your pleasure. Enjoy!

Click Here to Download

NB: all my textures are completely free and require no crediting, although it would be nice to tell people where you got 'em from ;)

Texture Pack 8

2009-10-20T01:06:00.000-07:00

Just like with the barks, the cloud texture pack wasn't very savvy. Here's the improved version, if you will.

Click Here to Download

Texture Pack 7

2009-10-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, another bark texture pack. I figured since the first one was pretty dope, I'd do another, better one. So here you go! Enjoy!

Click Here to Download

StarCraft II Battle Report 4 Leak!

2009-10-19T03:39:00.000-07:00

C-H-E-C-K- I-T O-U-T!

And you can download it here!

And it's on Lost Temple, nerds!

Sex Up Chrome!

2009-10-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, my bad, I haven't posted anything in some time. So, this is for Google Chrome users. I'm not sure when this started but I only just noticed it today (or it could have started today :P ) but you can now swathe your favourite browser in diverse themes!

Check em out and enjoy! Clicking on the name of the author (I think it's the author, lol) will give you a rapid preview of the theme :)

You can also access the themes page by clicking at the bottom right of your 'new tabs' page :)

Get the Glass!

2009-09-20T06:52:00.000-07:00

Monoface is an amazing flash website, I agree, but Get the Glass beats it anytime by the sheer amount of work put into it. It is simply amazing. Then again, Monoface could have been monomade whereas Get the Glass looks polymade... okay, lame joke, but anyway - I played it, and it's one of the best flash games I have EVER played... not that I play a lot of 'em, but I know something amazing when I see one.

It's basically a board game on computer. You start off from the house of the Adachi family who are out to get The Glass, a fabled glass that contains milk, something which they crave and have none. So they hope in their van and you roll the dice. I landed first thing on a Fortune spot, which prompted a Fortune card to slide into view and tell you how many squares you can go forwards.

There is always the risk of running into a Misfortune spot though, which will say how many squares back you need to go - and as a little addition to this, you have the Mastermind card, a small brainteaser that if answered correctly, you get to roll the dice again. It's simple and fun!

But there is more than that! You will get chased down by a police car that will try stop you from reaching Fort Fridge, the place where The Glass is kept. The police car will roll the dice too to advanced, and it's seemingly unaffected by Fortune, Misfortune or Mastermind.

But as if having the fuzz on your tail wasn't enough, you will get Spotted from time to time (which I believe is scripted to happen at particular location, and there is a specific number of 'Spotteds'.) When this happens, you will have to play a minigame, like putting flowers in the hair of the Melissa Adachi for whatever hilarious reason (to hide her medusa-like hair so that the cops won't recognise her).

Eventually, I managed to lose at one of those minigames and I was sent to Milkatraz prison, where I then attempted an escape (by turning a big wheel), which apparently was a failure... and the consequence to that was to move back several squares and lose 1 life (out of 3). But I persevered and eventually managed to reach destination.

Each time a minigame is completed, you would be awarded a number, and these numbers combined are the code to opening Fort Fridge's door.

You would think this is the end of it, that the Adachi would finally get their goddamn Glass, but alas... you have one final challenge.

Divine a question, and the Glass is yours. It's pretty simple, but you have to be smart. Once you get it right, rejoice as the Adachi can now once again drink milk! Watch the funny ending and play again if you wish :)

That's a flash game for you ;)

Ma Doggiepoo!

2009-09-17T07:39:00.001-07:00

Behold! Spot!

Mind you, I'm not the kind of person who's OMFG I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YA MA DOGGIE-DOGGIE! I just think he's really cute.

Texture Pack 7

2009-09-16T01:51:00.000-07:00

This texture pack was a long time coming. I took several pictures some time ago thinking of making a fabrics texture pack, but never got round to doing it. I blame forgetfulness. Anyway, this pack is pretty heavy, and because my internet connection can't handle it, I'm uploading it in 2 times. Enjoy!

Like always, my textures are completely free and no credit is needed if you use them, although it would be nice. 'Sup to you.

PS: some of the pictures were taken in low light-condition without a tripod, so I had to retouch them. They still look pretty good though.

Part 1

Part 2

WarCraft 3 Custom Race Contest

2009-09-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

This a wallpaper I made for a WarCraft 3 custom race contest over at WarCraft 3 Campaigns. I worked on an Undead theme, but more magic/spirit oriented than rotting corpses. My result: the Witches of Ceronen. I'm not that good a scripter, so there might still be some bugs, but anyway, you will be able to download my map over at WarCraft 3 Campaigns in the Submission Thread (under Spellbound) in a few days. I'll edit this post when it's available on that particular page. For the time being, you can get a beta version here. If you are however more interested in the wallpaper, just click on it, let it load, and save it to your hard drive. I think it should still look good even on a 1024x768 monitor, because this one is widescreen (1440x900). Enjoy :D

EDIT: Map submitted. I'm currently working to add TWO more races to this very map :)

Texture Pack 6

2009-09-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

Don't mistake this as a sign of prolificity, because I used a 2-birds-with-1-stone tactic yesterday and uploaded 2 texture packs in one go while the internet connection was stable. Just thought I'd wait till the next day to upload that one. Lacking a tripod (or external flash), I couldn't take proper shots of some of the trees and a lot had to be eliminated, and 3 of the pictures are slightly blurry. Not a good thing, I know, but like I said before, you're getting 'em for free! Yeah, that's a lame excuse, but anyway, hope you'll find a use to them.

Click Here to Download

Texture Pack 5

2009-09-13T04:15:00.000-07:00

I had these textures with me for a while now, but only just remembered to make a texture pack about it. Mauritian sand, albeit not as beautiful as the sand of Seychelles, is still better than most out there in the cold countries. I hope you'll find some use to it.

Click Here to Download

Sample:

Opera Mauritius Review: Les Pecheurs de Perles

2009-09-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

I didn't go there with the intention of doing a review about it later, and I'm not an opera critic, so I'm going to give you my personal point of view on my first opera experience. I'm not going to talk about the story of the play, but more of the quality, which in my opinion is the most important aspect considering this is the first opera in Mauritius.

It was stunning! Mauritius is not known for it's professionalism in the artistic field, and this was a very, very pleasant surprise. Everything looked pro to me. But alas, amongst all this glory, there is one tiny flaw I have noticed. But I'll get to that later. For now, on to the praises!

The singers were simply amazing. There are three male singers (Francesco Petrozzi, Matias Tosi, Prof. Michael Schopper) and one female signer, who is, quite frankly, the pearl of the collection. Véronique Zuel-Bungaroo sung with such ease, control, grace and power it seemed almost like there was no limit to her talent. It might be my personal preference for female soprano voices speaking, but she outshone the three other singers - and it showed when she received a full standing ovation. The accompanying choir was also incredible. 10/10.

The music was absolutely fantastic. The philharmonic orchestra wasn’t merely playing; they were weaving the music through the halls of Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre (SVICC). It was, simply put, mesmerising. It’s a 10/10 for the masterful performances of the musicians (and the very energetic maestro, Martin Wettges).

Dancing... this is where is saw that tiny flaw. Despite all the dancers being very professional and talented, I noticed a lack of synchronisation at times, but other that it was a wonderful moment; the dancing from start to finish was very enjoyable, and added much to the quality of the play. It’s a 9/10.

The overall composition of the play was a splendid fusion of Hindu culture and occidental opera. I’m am in daily contact with the Hindu culture of Mauritius and thus take it from granted, but seeing it put forward in such an unexpected fashion was refreshing. The creativity behind this is grand and inspiring. It’s another 10/10.

For a 9.75/10, I’d say the show is on the edge of perfection, a thing which I must say is a rarity where I live. Despite the high prices of the tickets, it was well worth it. I’m certain I will always remember my first opera experience, and hope there will be more in the future.

Texture Pack 4

2009-09-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

Been meaning to upload this for a while now. These are pictures of the plastic criss-cross that 'wrap' around wine bottles. Hope you'll find some use to it :)

Click Here to Download

Sample:

My Review: Wolfenstein (Single Player)

2009-09-01T01:22:00.000-07:00

The Wolfenstein series have always been a very immersive universe for me, and the latest instalment, Wolfenstein, was a lot of fun to play, albeit it has it flaws. But let me start by highlighting the differences between its predecessors and itself.

DIFFERENCES

To start with, the health system: Wolfenstein has adopted the system of regenerative life a la Call of Duty and Jericho; you don't have a health gauge or dynamic numerical value to tell you how healthy or harmed you are - the edges of the screen get bloodied up if you get harmed (more damage recieved, the more blood there is), and if your vision is framed in a nice pattern of scarlet blood, then that means you have the Grim Reaper's scythe hanging above your head. One bad move and it's hello hereafter. Wolfenstein's life system has a fast health regeneration rate, but to counterbalance this, the invisible amount of health is also quite modest. Running through a crossfire (well, you are usually the target in these situations anyway) is pure suicide. Duck and cover, and then peek and shoot. It’s the best way to go.

Second, the weapons: they can be upgraded! You have the:

• MP40

• Kar98

• MP43

• Panzershreck

• Flammenwerfer

• Particle Cannon

• Tesla Gun

• Leichenfaust 44

• Mdl. 24 Grenade

MP40 & MP43

The MP40 and MP43 are both machineguns, but in my opinion, the MP43 far surpasses the MP40. Ammunition for the MP43 become abundant mid-game (except in the Hospital ‘level’), and I used it even versus the final boss (which can be one helluva pain in the nether, tell you that). The MP43 when fully upgraded becomes a multi-purpose weapon, usable in any situation. You may consider this being overpowered, but hey, I thought it was a lot of fun. I didn’t use the MP40 much, and didn’t bother upgrading it, but it’s a good weapon nonetheless, good for rapid silenced kills.

KAR98

The Kar98 is the sniper rifle par excellence. Fully upgraded, it has very high firepower (like a sniper rifle should) and an excellent zoom. You will be using that gun a lot until you get the Tactical Scope for the MP43.

PANZERSHRECK

The Panzershreck, a bazooka, is a realistically devastating weapon. Fully upgraded, it deals massive damage, and each exploding rocket has a rather wide reach. However, since other weapons are all very powerful, I didn’t use this one at all.

FLAMMENWERFER

One of my favourite weapons of all time, the Flammenwerfer, a flamethrower, is indeed very, very powerful. You don’t really need to upgrade it, but it’s always good if you do. One upgrade in particular makes this weapon very deadly because it increases the jet reach.

PARTICLE CANNON

For me, the best weapon in the game is the Particle Cannon. It fires a steam of energy which literally disintegrates matter, and it can take care of a crowd in about a second. It can be upgraded so that its beam bends towards organic matter, aka, your victim.

TESLA GUN

I didn’t use the Tesla Gun at all, because everything else was better, but it’s still fun to use sometimes. Fully upgraded, it is easily the best risk-free crowd-control weapon in the game.

LEICHENFAUST 44 & MDL. 24 GRENADE

Last of the weapons is the Leichenfaust 44, an energy weapon which fires a ball of explosive power, a bit like an energy version of a rocket launcher, only faster. I never really compared their strengths, but I am inclined to believe the Panzerschreck has more firepower and greater splash damage. As for the grenades, I rarely used them because it’s always hard to aim with these things and you can throw back those the enemy toss very accurately at you, plus sniping them when they peek and shoot is always more fun.

Third in the difference table is the RPG-esque feel of the game. Compared to the previous instalments, Wolfenstein has an exploration value to it, and you can replay missions if ever you’ve missed Intels or Tomes or Treasures. You start off in the town of Isenstadt, and can roam around, encountering Nazi soldiers at certain locations and going treasure hunting to increase your pocket money, amongst other things. Once you finish a mission, a new one becomes available, and there are always at least two missions to choose from in whatever order you desire. The other element which adds to this ‘RPG-esque’ feel I mentioned above is the presence of a Black Market, from where you can upgrade your weapons and...

Veil Powers! The king spot in the Difference competition between the Wolfensteins games is the presence of a something I call the Veil mechanic. It’s pretty well thought of, but makes the game a bit too easy in my opinion. However, without it, it would have been the completely opposite.

Lastly, there is no crosshair in Uber difficulty :D

THE VEIL MECHANIC

Wolfenstein’s story is centered around a parallel dimension called the Veil. I won’t spoil anything for you, but you will eventually be able to enter the Veil (more like ‘activate’ it), in which everything becomes teal-green and spectral, and the enemy appears glowingly ‘radioactive’, meaning they are easily detected. Their fluorescence makes them stand out, and you only need your Kar98 or MP43 to shoot them down from a long distance. You have a Veil energy meter which slowly drains while you are in it, but the omnipresence of veil ‘energy wells’, as I call them, makes the worry about it draining down to zero almost absent. Throughout the game, you will get new powers that you can activate during the Veil. These, on the other hand, drain your Veil energy very quickly, so you have to be alert when using them. There are 4 in all, and the most useful one is undoubtedly Empower, which when fully upgraded will make your weapons insanely powerful, and able to shoot through obstacles, like concrete blocks ( O.o ). When I upgraded Empower, grenades became completely redundant.

The other powers are: the standard ‘Veil mode’, Mire, and Shield. Mire is basically slowing down time, with an upgrade that allows you to disintegrate enemies that are in the vicinity when you activate it, and Shield creates a barrier around you which makes you impervious to ranged damage for a while. Shield can be upgraded to reflect bullets back at the enemy, and disintegrate certain enemies that stray to close to it.

THE ENEMIES

Enemies in Wolfenstein are very, very easy to dispatch, but the danger goes both ways. With a fully upgraded MP43, you can take out the standard infantry with 1 or 2 bullets. 2. Only. And I’m not talking headshots. 2 bullets in the chest and they kick the bucket. Although they are the most common enemies you will face, there are also some that will put up a challenge.

First on that list: the Scribes. These fellows are bald and weird-voiced and frikkin’ blur-worthy fast. They don’t move fast – they zoom past like Speedy Gonzales, minus the trail of dust. Fortunately, they have to stop to be able to perform what they are trained to do: Veil magic. They can erect force fields that protect themselves or other enemies, and can blast balls of energy at you (which are very powerful). Mid-game, they will be accompanied by a group of creepy animalistic humanoids that do their bidding.

These ‘animalistic humanoids’ mentioned above are called something which I don’t remember (it’s in German), and they look like the BDSM ‘pet’ dude in Doomsday. They run on all fours and will rush to eviscerate you with their claws. One thing in particular with them is that to do not glow in Veil mode, but you usually see them coming anyway, so it’s hardly an issue.

The stealth assassin comes next. These men can turn invisible, and it can be quite hard to see them (they remain invisible in Veil mode). They are quite resistant to bullets, but they die in no time against a good ol’ stream of napalm-like fire from the Flammenwerfer. They engage in melee combat and are rather deadly.

Then there is the Super Soldier, or whatever his name is. He is slow and heavily armoured and wields my favourite weapon, the Particle Cannon. His is very much less powerful that yours, and to kill him, you have to enter Veil mode to find his weak spots, and destroy these so that his armour will explode, taking him with it.

As with all Nazi-occult-themed games, there is the magic-wielding Zombie Officer! There are two different kinds: the red ones, and the green ones. Reds can send out shockwaves and trails of equally red energy to hurt you, and Greens can hurl equally green fireballs at you. Greens are deadlier from what I’ve experienced.

The Elite Guards from Return to Castle Wolfenstein make a return, without their STEN guns, but with whips and quite a few hit points. They are pretty fast and are dangerous in close-quarter combat, but hardly a challenge.

Before last, there is the one that wields the Flammenwerfer, and he can be very easily killed by shooting the fuel tanks on his back. Or you can activate Empower and blast him off the face of the Earth. I personally prefer the second method. He is hardly a threat at all.

Finally, these are the very annoying and easily deadliest of all enemies: the flying rocket trooper (not the real name). They fly around, bombarding you with volleys of missiles (or mortar shells, I’m not sure) that can take you out before you’ve had the time to activate Mire or Shield. Stay under cover and shoot them out of the skies with the help of Mire and/or Empower.

CONCLUSION

On the plus side, I have all the innovations to the Wolfenstein series. On the down side, I have maybe a bit too much innovation, and a pretty easy gameplay. The facility that the Veil powers bring makes killing your enemies very easy and the negative remark about innovation is that despite they brought a lot of newness to the series, Wolfenstein lacks this feeling of desolation that the previous instalments had. Maybe it was the lack of challenging situations which unmade this, maybe it was the presence of the Veil mechanic. However, despite this note, my personal rating to the game would be a rather good 7/10. I had a fun time playing it and I hope there will be another Wolfenstein for me to play and have fun again.

Mods for Thoughts

2009-08-28T21:52:00.001-07:00

First off, let me describe what a mod is. If you're a gamer, you might want to skip this paragraph. A mod is short for 'modificaion' and it essentially changes certain aspects of a game, either subtly or drasticall, or even completely. The latter are known as TC, short for Total Convertion, and these are often the most fun since they essentially reinvent the game. However, not because a mod is a TC means that it's automatically awesome: a TC is a humongous load of work and to see one worthy of notice reach release alone is something of a rarity. But this post isn't about a TC, it's a mod which very intelligently enhances the quality of gameplay of Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (CnC3) by replacing certain units and adding new ones and adding new upgrades and such.

This mod is called Tiberium Essence. When I first saw it, it was in very early stages of development and if I'm not mistaken, it's only 1 guy who's working on the thing, which is why the mod takes so long to be released/updated in the first place. Perfectly understandble. The first versions were uninteresting, but hitting v1.3, the good stuff started showing up. If you're familiar with the previous Command and Conquer series, Tiberium Sun (CnC2), you will no doubt remember units like the Mammoth MK II or the Ghost Stalker or even the Titan. All these are back. What Carnius, the mod's developer, wants to do for Tiberium Essence is to bring back elements of Tiberium Sun into the third installment, and it has been working out brilliantly up until now. The new additions and changes were not just flippant choices, but seemingly well calculated; for instance, the Brotherhood of NOD have their fabled Cyborg Commando back. This infantry is an 'Epic Unit', meaning you can have only one under your command at a time - a good thing since a Cyborg Commando can deal massive damage on it's own. Now, compared to GDI's Epic Unit, the Mammoth MK II (a dreadful walking mahcine of destruction), the Cyborg Commando doesn't hold up, but teamed with a Subteranean APC, it has the mobility that an Epic Unit normally doesn't have, and a Cyborg Commando popping up at the back or your base is a really, really bad god-awful news.

It's not just adding and changing units: there is also logic behind the alterations. The Cyborg Commando, for instance, is trained from the Secret Shrine, a NOD building which, as its name implies, is a place of reverance, and the Cyborg Commando is something of an idol to the Brotherhood.

Last but not least: aesthetics. It isn't left behind in Tiberium Essence; I've seen good mods go south because their developers had not given aesthetics good enough an attention. What most people seem to forget is that the looks in a game is very important, especially in this day and age when virtual realities are so believable because of the quality and intesity of realism of their visuals. Even a fantasy world can become credible with good lighting and textures and the like. I'm not a game designer, so I can't really give you an in-depth idea of what makes a reality realistic or not, but you get the idea. Tiberium Essence takes care of every aspect, like custom interface icons, new unit models and animations. With the screenshots of the v1.4, we can see new things like modified wall sections, laser fence for the NOD, upgraded Shredder Turrets and Buzzer Hives, the Scrin Epic Unit, and much more.

Tiberium Essence is easily one of the best Command and Conquer mods out there, and it didn't even have to change every single aspect of the game to do it. Don't misundestrand me, it obvious a lot of work was put into it. If I should give it one, my humble rating would be 7/10. I'm guessing it'll turn to a 9/10 with v1.4. We'll find out in time :)

Links:

Tiberium Essence on Mod DB

Tiberium Essence Forums

New Art: Burn

2009-08-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

This is my attempt at trying to get a more realistic-looking planet, although I'm not quite there yet... and I screwed up the starfield, pfft. I am still satisfied with it however.

Visit my Deviant Art Gallery for more of my art!

Texture Pack 3

2009-07-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Time for a new texture pack! This one's an all-time favourite: Grunge! Pics were taken at the beach, from a kiosk, so you can expect a sand texture pack some time in the future :)

My textures are completely free and you don't have to credit me in any way (unless you want to, hehe). Use them to your heart's content, for personal and/or commercial ends.

Click Here to Download

Sample:

New Art: Lost World

2009-07-19T01:37:00.000-07:00

Meh, hardly my best, but I wanted to see what kind of green nebula I could make. The end result is pretty satisfactory, not to mention not having to use a lense flare to make the picture better. 'Lost World' as a title is pretty obvious why :P

Visit my Deviant Art gallery for more of my art!

New Art: Godbirth

2009-07-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't really have a title in head when I was doing this artwork, and just sort of named it after it was done. Was done mainly for practicing the new nebula technique I learned several days ago. You can find the link to the tutorial in my previous post. To explain the title (I don't think that's necessary, but I'll do it anyway), it's a visual representation of the birth of a Deity.

Visit my Deviant Art gallery for more of my art!

New Art: Celestial Theurgy

2009-07-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

I did this artwork today. I might have been a bit to generous on the bluish glow, but, oh well, it's still pretty good, in my honest opinion. This artwork was the result of my trying out a nebula tutorial for photoshop. I added the planet and glow for a more dramatic effect. The artwork is called Celestial Theurgy.

Visit my Deviant Art gallery for more of my art!

Texture Pack 2

2009-07-07T01:04:00.000-07:00

So, while there are plenty of things you can do with clouds (I made the planet in this artwork with these same clouds I'm offering), taking pictures of clouds can be the easiest thing ever... but not everyone has a camera and it's not a sunny day all the time... pitiful excuses, I agree, but I'll go ahead a post this one anyway. 7 hi-res pictures. Hope you like it!

(I'll go ahead and copy/past the stuff I said in my previous post)

My textures are completely free and you don't have to credit me in any way (unless you want to, hehe). Use them to your heart's content, for personal and/or commercial ends.

Click Here to Download

Sample:

Texture Pack 1

2009-06-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

This Texture Pack contains 20 hi-res (taken with a 10 megapixel camera) pictures of rocks. The pictures were taken at a beach. Some of them are not that excellent quality (and I was kinda vehement on the aperture for some :P), but, hey, you're getting them for free.

My textures are completely free and you don't have to credit me in any way (unless you want to, hehe). Use them to your heart's content, for personal and/or commercial ends.

Click Here to Download

Sample:

An Intro is in Order!

2009-06-23T05:38:00.000-07:00

Hello. Although this is not my true name (obviously), I'll go ahead and say my name is Spellbound. I never bothered about blogs before, but I've been looking into ways to make some 'Bling! Bling!' through the internet, and apparently a blog is one of the many methods available.

Now, since I am a student in graphics design, I thought it might be an interesting experience to start a blog about design itself. I am far from being a professional and certainly can teach nothing to very little any experienced designer. I, however, have certain things that might interest people. Other than the financial agenda, I h0pe to create a social network where I can meet other people who are already in the design trade and learn from them, as well as interact with people in general.

This blog is also a personal one, and I will sometimes post things that aren't necessarily design related, like sci-fi or fantasy stories, because I am something of a geek, so yeah, expect a bit of everything here. The central focus will be of course design.

With this, I hope to meet people and grow this blog into an interesting place.

~Spellbound