ria_oaks

Okay, I made another manip... heh, 3 in two days. ^^ I'm a bit addicted right now... they're fun. Easier than drawing from scratch, I find, since I already have the base images there. I'm still sticking with black and white for now since I don't have the confidence to try colour... but I'll try it out eventually. :) This one took a bit more work because I decided to give them clothing (don't ask me why XD XD) and I had to redraw their clothing over the suits that the original boys were wearing. Jack's turned out okay, I think, but I'm pretty iffy on James's uniform... oh well. x_x I like it, overall. It ended up being sadder than I meant... I should have chosen pictures where they were smiling. As it is, it seems to me like it's suggesting the oh-so-common-in-fandom scenario of Jack sneaking into Port Royal to be with James, but having to say good bye in the morning again until the next time he can come... so this could be them embracing before Jack leaves, knowing that they can only ever have these stolen moments. ;__; Poor boys.

Rated G. Just snuggling, and they're fully clothed. :)

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ETA: Original photo from here: http://jackny.com/gallery.php?gallery=series&model=greg_and_ricardo&sort=date
Photos of the boys from screencaps; not sure now where I got them.


Feedback appreciated, as always. :)

Farscape in half an hour, woot! Dunno if I'll still be up to watch it, since it's pretty late already, but I might catch a bit... 2.14 "Beware of Dog" tonight. Pretty funny episode. And next week is one of my all-time favourites. :) I miss the days in Ontario when it was on every weekday at 3pm on A-Channel... sigh.

Haven't been posting much recently... not since Strikethrough, actually. Laazy. -_- I realized that I haven't even posted yet to tell you guys the news - I got the job at the Credit Union. :) Only part-time, though, so I'm keeping my job at Doc's. I've had three shifts so far, including the grand opening today. It's going pretty well so far, though I haven't really had any training yet. She's going to train me next week and the week after... it's a nice environment, though - office is brand new, and the people are friendly. I'm excited to finally have a real job. :) Met our MP Blair Wilson today at the opening, too. Didn't realize who he was at first because I voted in the North Van riding last election and am not too familiar with the West Van riding. ^^ Anyway, I think it will go well and I'm excited to get training...

Anyway, forget real life. XD I've been in a big Pirates mood recently, specifically a Sparrington mood. I never used to ship them, so now I have a huge wealth of fanfiction to read... I've also been inspired to do a bunch of drawings of them, most of which I've already posted. The other day, however, I was browsing elessil's excellent fanart and came across a tutorial she did about graphic manips. I've never tried manipping before, but I was intrigued and decided to give it a go. She provided a few links to boykissing pictures which were very useful, and I chose one that I thought would work well. Finding the right pictures of Jack and James to go with it was a pain in the ass, but I eventually found some that would work... Though I did fiddle with James's mouth a bit to make him look somewhat happier.

Well, all things considered I'm pleased with it. Took a cue from elessil and combined manipping with brushwork/drawing, mainly abusing the smudge function in Photoshop... Not too happy with Jack's hair and I'm a bit iffy on James's arm. But like it otherwise.. I enjoyed doing it, at least once I found pictures that would work, and I might practice some more later.

Please let me know what you think. :) I'd appreciate any feedback, and definitely would like some constructive criticism and advice anyone has to give. I want to get an idea of what I can do to improve it next time...

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EDIT: Okay, I think I just realized one of the main problems with this pic... Jack's head is too damned big. Woops. -_-

EDIT 2: I fiddled with it a bit more... can't do anything about Jack's head being too big without redoing his head, but fiddled with him to try to make him blend into the picture more... I think it's a bit better.

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EDIT 3: Okay, fiddled with it again... stil not wholly happy with it. Jack needs more lighting... meh, whatever, I don't think I'll do anymore... want to try another one later. XD

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EDIT 4: Okay, I lied, I did another one based on some of the comments I received (thanks guys!). Added a bit more shadow into both guys' faces, think it helped a bit.

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