Illustration - Old Shack - $200 *Project Over*

[Zoe]

(Admin code added by Palmer - H3LL0Z03)

Hi guys,

I have this idea for a splash page but I can't seem to create it myself. Looks a bit dorky.

So I have come to the experts!

I am creating an Australian Outback feel for Harry's site. I have created the background etc... BUT I need an old shack/cabin.

I would like a front on view, tin roof, front door hanging off the hinges, beaten up old shack.

I would like it not to be cartoony - possibly a bit like a painting maybe?

A couple of images to get your juices flowing... :)

<img src='http://www.demexdesign.com/Old_Home.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

<img src='http://www.demexdesign.com/shack2.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

You can create it in vector, Photoshop, etc... BUT, If you create it in a non scaling format I would like it to be large, - say to fit 800 x 600 px

Timeframe is as soon as possible... I know! I am hopeless with deadlines. Just working very fast on this particular project due to tight timeframe.

If you could let me know if you're interested, I would be much appreciative.

Questions? Just let me know.

Thanks!!

[Anne]

Hi Zoe

I might be interested in trying something for this.
If you would take a look at some of my work done in photoshop and tell me if you like the style, and if you think it is good enough I will try.

Objects (http://www.newfacedesign.net/vector/v_objects.html)
People (http://www.newfacedesign.net/vector/v_people.html)

[Zoe]

Excellent Anne - I wish I had these skills!

I can only move blocks around... LOL

[Zoe]

oK - I thought I would show you waht I have been doing. Obviously the shack is clipart... Was playing around with placement.

But you can see that the shack will be the main feature and that I will be using signs to navigate into the main site.

I would also like a sign standing from the roof so I can place the logo on it if possible. :)

oops...

the image... lol

<img src='http://www.demexdesign.com/outback.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

[AlexKogan]

I'm in, Zoe :tup:

[Zoe]

Great! Can't wait to see what you guys come up with.

If you can - I would also be interested in seeing any rough sketches before you add the details. That way I can comment on the style and layout etc... :)


and.. it will help calm my anxiousness (if that is a word)... lol

[CBaker14]

Demex,

I'll give it a go...have something posted soon....

Chris

[AlexKogan]

Hey, Zoe :) Here's a rough drawing I'm about to render. Very basic. What do you think?

[Zoe]

sorry Alex, glad you posted the rough first.

I really want the front of the house facing to the front.

[CBaker14]

Hey,

Here is my attempt, this is a rough draft just starting to play with the wallboards and need to add windows and ground, but wanted to see if this is going in the right direction...

Thanks,

Chris

[Zoe]

sorry not what I am after.

I quickly scribbled this down to show you waht I am looking for but I want it to be as realistic as possible. I have another person working on a painting for the background now so I would really like this to look great. :)

Image attached...

[Zoe]

It really needs to look run down and like something you would never want to live in. I want boards falling off, the tin roof rusty etc...

[AlexKogan]

Zoe, and how about this one?

[Zoe]

that is looking better. I really like the style of the shack but I really would like it to face the front a little more and if you could add some "country and western" type windows that would be cool. :)

[Zoe]

when you are thinking about this shack, think about how it would be ready for a bull dozer... lol

[Zoe]

I also like the placement of your sign. :)

[AlexKogan]

:D Bulldozer, sure :D

Are you absolutely positive about the shack facing the viewer? I'd say the way it is now, it looks much more dynamic than it will be if I put it facing front. Think about it ;) Meanwhile, I'll try to prepare it for the bulldozer :D

[Zoe]

ok no problem, I will accept your better judgement. :)

[AlexKogan]

...here's something in progress, but ready enough for bulldozer ;)
Hope it isn't too cozy :D

[AlexKogan]

..it's all vectors ;)

[Zoe]

I LOVE IT!!

If anyone else is still entering let me know please...

[Zoe]

just thought I should add... before colouring it in could you please remove the window from the roof.. This is a little too advanced for the Aussie outback. :)

[Zoe]

Alex:

Ok. I just showed the picture to my partner and he picked up on a few things that will need to be changed if possible.

Roof: The corrugated iron roof is currently split into 4 levels. These should actually be long sheets so to make your design correct you would need to remove the top two segments and leave the bottom one to show the verandah cover. Also the vertical lines need to be closer together, approx half of what you have now.

Door: Could you add the wooden look to this on your next revision as I am a little unsure at this stage as to whether I would like it hanging of the hinges open or hanging of the hinges closed.

Outside Dunny: The aussie Dunny has a open gap at the top and bottom. So it is not a whole door so to speak. The gap at the top would probably be a quarter off the current door. (About the height to allow you to pop your head over) and the gap at the bottom would be about a 8th of the current door. Could you also add a sign above the door "Dunny" ?

Thanks heaps!!

[Christian]

Nice work Kogan! I'm definitely in!

[AlexKogan]

Cheers, Zoe ;) Will do ;)

Thanks, Christian ;) uh-oh, you're in? :look: I'd better... whatever :D

[AlexKogan]

...ok, here's the revision ;)

[Zoe]

that is amazing. I don't know how you do it! It is excellent.

Ok. just a quick hands up from the people who are entering. I am happy to choose Alex as a winner if no one else has started anything. So if you have started something, please post the rough. :)

Thanks

[Zoe]

ok - 9-12 more hours to let me know if you are entering.

[AlexKogan]

Zoe, meanwhile: what else would you like to see on the image? :)

Maybe, some accessories thrown here and there, some specific items like barrels, piled wood, tractor parts ( :rolleyes: ), spare tires and such?

Kangooros galloping through the open? :)

Trees? Grass? Livestock? Pets?

And what about the signs: do I add them and if so - how many are they and what do they say?

[Zoe]

Alex: I will talk to you about this after the comp. There are a couple of other things I would like but I would like to pay you a little extra for your time. :)

[AlexKogan]

Oh, you're always welcome, Zoe :D
(hey, that's in case I win, cause if Christian enters this contest..... :look: )

[Christian]

Hey Zoe, here's a quick design draft! I personally think that your idea with the cabin facing forward fits nicely since it's the center picture for a website, and facing forward is more immersive so I went with that approach. I've already been working on the real version, I'd say I'm about 25% done and hopefully should be done in around 24 hours, maybe less.


EDIT: Hey Kogan, hadn't seen your post, I'll take that last bit as a compliment, thanks!

[Zoe]

ok... I have to say stop Christian. :(

I like what you have started but I have changed my ideas since Alex's entry about having the building face the front.

I think it will be unfair of me to have you continue any further when I already love Alex's design.

I had posted the last message incase you were nearly complete.

I am sure that at 25% you would still have a few more hours of work to do, so I am happy if you would like to leave it this time. :)

BUT, if you still wish to complete the drawing, please do... I am off to bed and will look for your response in the morning.

Thanks you sooo much for the effort guys. I hadn't realised we had such great illustrators here. I am so happy I decided to run this comp.

[Christian]

No prob! ;) Alex definitely has something good going there. I guess I'll put my design aside and someday, when someone else happens to need a broken down shack, I'll keep working on it :lol: .

Congrats Kogan! ;)

[Anne]

:D I gave up when I saw Alex design. Perfect one :D

- Anne

[Zoe]

thanks guys.

I officially announce Alex as the winner. :) It is just perfect!

There are a few changes required but I will talk about this a little later.

Have a severe weather warning today and I want to watch. :)

[Michael]

Well Alex :tup:


*Moved to the revisions forum* ;)

[AlexKogan]

Thanks a lot, Zoe! :tup: How do we proceed?

Thanks, guys and girls ;) I think I was just lucky enough to start the design before you could jump in :D

[Zoe]

Alex, I just need a couple of days to gather my thoughts.

Though I was thinking of having a Gum Tree created and a rickety old road sign created. If you want to have a think about it for the next couple of days.

[AlexKogan]

Zoe, ummm... :huh: :D That's gibberish to me, unfortunately :D Do you have some links? (at least to a "rickety old road sign" :wacko: , I think I can find a Gum Tree )

[AlexKogan]

Zoe, ummm... :huh: :D That's gibberish to me, unfortunately :D Do you have some links? (at least to a "rickety old road sign" :wacko: , I think I can find a Gum Tree )

[Zoe]

here is a link to a road sign... but there are too many signs...

http://www.historicalvillage.com.au/

I would like something with a couple of signs in different directions that I can then add and remove as needed.

As for the gum trees... I am going to go out back and take some photos.. :)

[Zoe]

ok Alex...

I have uploaded a zip file to my server here (http://www.demexdesign.com/photos.zip) which has a mock up of what I am trying to achieve and some photos of a gum tree and outback etc...

What I am after is a gum tree and the sign post. I can then muck around with the placement etc...

I can offer another $70 if you would like to take this on. :)

I would like to be able to edit any images you create in vector if possible.

Also there is a small change required on the shack which is to remove the heart from the dunny door. Also I need to add a chimney but I can not find an example so if you can hold off on that I will keep searching.

Let me know if you want to go ahead and I will add the funds to my account and pay Palmer.

[AlexKogan]

I'm on, Zoe ;)

Is there a deadline?

[Zoe]

umm... say Friday to have the final ready?

Could you show me in stages again? The gum tree is quite important to me. :)

[AlexKogan]

will do ;)

[Zoe]

have you had a look at the mock up I sent?

were the pictures of the gum tree and outback ok?

[AlexKogan]

yeah, I guess they are workable. The mockup is priceless :tup: :D For a moment I thought it was a photo :D

Do you want Harry to appear there with the 4x4? And if so, must it be the same Harry that will be on the sign? Will there be an illustration or I have to draw him as well?

Cheers ;)

[Zoe]

oh no - I was planning to use his logo when he chooses one.

I only want the tree and sign. :) Though I wanted to show you how I envisioned the whole design. He absolutely loves the layout so far.

[AlexKogan]

...here's the landscape (gulp) in progress :D

[AlexKogan]

..that's what I had up to date. I'm working on the sign now.

[Zoe]

very cool Alex.

I have been told that the sign on the house is usually made from corrugated iron as well. If you could add this that would be great.

[Zoe]

sent extra dollars through to Palmer too. :)

[AlexKogan]

yeee-haw :tup: :D

Here's the sign. I can make the post higher form more "hands" to fit.

About the sign made of corrugated iron: when you put the logo over it, won't it just hide the iron and the corrugated it is? :huh:

[AlexKogan]

Zoe, I'm really sorry, but... err... can we push the deadline a little? :unsure: I'm somewhat drained out and I still have to do some errands tonight... I don't think I can do it today :(

[Zoe]

that's cool. let me know when you think you could have it by. :)

[AlexKogan]

Ok, I'd say I can have it by tomorrow or maybe (in case I'm unable to work on it tomorrow) by Tuesday.

I've got a couple of trees for you, what do you think of them? :)

[Zoe]

The trees are OK but I think they have too many leaves...
Gum trees are generally, 'ratty' I guess you would call it. They have ugly old branches and sticks that look like they are dead. Leaves are often sparse across the tree and you can often see the branches through the leaves.

[Palmer]

Gum Trees (http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=gum+tree+australia) :zorro:

[AlexKogan]

Ok, Zoe. Will trim the crowns :) Is Tuesday too late, Zoe? Also, you haven't said anything about the signs: are they alright or maybe there's something else you would like me to do about them?

Palmer, yeah, thanks :) I've seen some of them, I just entered "gum tree", without Australia. Some of them aren't that ratty, that's where I got the leaves. Aside of that, the leaves help to hide the lack of branches :rolleyes: :D Dirty trick. :bang: Will do the branches.

[Zoe]

tuesday, wednesday or thursday will be fine... :) just as long as they are super duper... lol

Thanks Palmer... :)

I like the signs sorry I didn't say so... I just want to be able to split them apart so I can create the number I will need when I make the site.

[Zoe]

also could you possibly make the road in front of the house a little lighter to make it look more like a road?

thx

[AlexKogan]

...here's the ratty trees. Will plant more today. Any more details to add to the house and surroundings? Like old tires, broken tools, rusty shovels and such? :)

[Zoe]

Now THEY look GREAT!!!!!

VERY HAPPY!!!!

Ok the only thing is no vines... The grass out there is like straw and yellow/brown. Have a look at a couple of the photos I sent through.

[AlexKogan]

...like this?


(what about the stuff lying around? ;) )

[Zoe]

Alex that is GREAT!

I don't want to ask you to do any more than you have. You have already added the landscape which was beyond the scope and you have done a brilliant job!

So my only question is.

Are the pieces sepearte allowing me to move them around and play with the scene? I would also like to use different features in the rest of the design. Am I going to be able to take elements and seperate them from the rest of the picture?

Is it possible to make changes using an EPS file? I do not have illustrator.

[Zoe]

The only other thing that I would like changed would be the sign. Could you try and make it old? maybe turn it into some wooden planks that have been nailed together and are raggered on the ends?

[AlexKogan]

Zoe, I have absolutely no problem with making more changes (I've already mentioned I was going to add more gum trees). Right now I can see various things I'd like to change, like contrast in leaves, more gradual grass limits (they are a little too coarse now), the forest line at the horizon, among others.

I'm going to bed in about 30 minuntes and plan to be up in something like 6 hours from now. If you'll be here then, we could try and finish the picture today, adding all of the details you come up with :)

About the structure: whether you'll be able to manage the layers depends on what program do you have. Anyway, I'm going to flatten the house, the landscape, the road, the trees an the sign to separate layers, so you'll be able to work with them individually.

If you are going to parse it to Photoshop or any other bitmap editing program (to tell you the truth, I don't know if PS can parse layers from EPS, but) I can save the sign tables as separate layers, as well. Right now - they are separate groups on one layer.

About the sign: no problem, will do when I'm up ;)

[AlexKogan]

I'm up :yawn: that :party: got me :sick: :sick: :sick:
be back soon ;)

[AlexKogan]

How about an old rusty tin sheet for the sign? :)

I've made the leaves more vivid and added a bit more contrast to the whole thing. There's also an extra gum tree far in the back :)

[Zoe]

Hey Alex...

Did you notice you also won the logo comp for Harry!!! :)


Could you attach an EPS file but I think you need to save it a few versions back. One of the other designers did this for me as then I was able to open it in my old Corel draw program. :)

[AlexKogan]

Ok, if you're on Corel - I'll prepare it for Corel ;)

It may weight. Its actual size is 15Mb but after expanding styles, brushes and flttening the transparency, I figure it'll be at least half smaller. Hmm, EPS will bloat it, though, so I'll have to ZIP it anyways.

[AlexKogan]

...hey, I've just noticed: the dunny is a bit oversized, I'll make it a little smaller. <_<

[AlexKogan]

..dunny resized. Are you positive about this being the final version? :)

[Zoe]

I am so excited! I just love this!

Can I request that you remove the different type of trees far in the distance. I feel they look wrong.


Now there is one thing that Harry mentioned he would like... BUT it is totally up to you whether you want to or not. I don't know how much extra work would be involved. He said it would be nice if there was a windmill in the background. Did I send you a photo with a windmill? If not I will send you one if you feel like adding it. :)

Also my idea is to have the picture look like it is a framed picture on the splash page and I thought you may like to "sign it" :)

[AlexKogan]

Hi, Zoe :) I've been flattening the artwork, it's coming out pretty good ;)
Yes, the savannah trees in the far are leftovers from the first skratch, I just left them there just in case :) I'll remove them, of course.

No, there isn't a windmill in the files you've sent me. Can add it, of course ;)

[Zoe]

Here is a photo of windmills in the outback.

[AlexKogan]

...will this be enough of do you want them to be more detalized?

Okay, the deal is: I'll have to send you a raster, unless Corel can read PDF 4 o 5 with transparencies. I had to rasterize most of the artwork, the file was too bloated :( I've rasterized the shack, the "logo pole", the road, and the gum trees (separately). Their masks are transparency features which came with 9th version of Illustrator, when Adobe switched from EPS to PDF-based format. I can't backsave it to EPS7 (which would be eaten by Corel with great pleasure) so I can either save it as PDF or as a raster.

A zipped PSD with layers at 300dpi will weight about 10-12Mb. You'll be able to upscale it at least three times without losing quality for web :)

If the windmills are ok - I can start sending the PSD right away. It'll take some time with my dialup, though.

[Zoe]

Alex, I really wanted them vector based.

Would it be possible to send them in different files?

eg. the shack as one file. The trees each in a seperate file etc?

You can upload the files to my server if you want? If you save them as illustrator files I will work something out. :)

Also - only need one windmill. :)

[AlexKogan]

Ok, I can try to save them in separate files with some kind of registration (like a transparent rectangle in each file to mark the overall boundaries).

Choose the windmill :D Which one do you like more?

[AlexKogan]

Ok, I've separated the thing in 10 layers, created an outlined rectangle around the whole thing and saved each layer as a separate EPS file, including the rectangle in each one of them as a reference.

The files are named according to their position in the stack (01, 02 ... 10).

I've got 9 files so far, the 10th will be the one for the windmill.

I can post the files here or send them to your e-mail, if you want, right now.

[Zoe]

I am happy with all the windmills. :)

If you can send them to sales at demexdesign dot com that would be great!

Thanks heaps!!!!!

[Zoe]

ok the one at the front. :)

[AlexKogan]

...sending :)

[AlexKogan]

...how's this? If t's ok, I include it in the files I'm sending you, if it isn't - it'll be PUNISHED :devil: :D No, seriously, if you want it in some other position or other color or something - just mention it :)

[Zoe]

you don't have a written signature to make it look professional? How do you sign your banking slips? lol

[AlexKogan]

I sign them like this :rolleyes: :D

[Zoe]

that looks better. :)

[AlexKogan]

and the windmill? :(