That’s right. The majority of tutorials teach you nothing that you couldn’t learn on your own. Most tuts exist to “teach” amateur “graphics designers” how to make “AWESOME LIGHTNING EFFECTS!” Let’s actually take a look at this tutorial that I saw on WikiHow and its end result:

Before you waste your time starting a tutorial on “How to make _____”, take a look at the END PRODUCT before wasting your time following the 6 steps of idiocy to produce a garbage looking lightning effect. What lightning looks like that? I wasn’t aware that lightning was hairy.

Photomanipulation tutorials can be even worse. Especially when they have titles like “How to make Dark style art”. If you need a “How to..” on how to make a style of art, give up right there. People who write tutorials like that only do so because a) They suck at art and think that they’re good enough to be teaching you and b) They want you to make crappy looking art. Here’s an example of a tutorial you should never follow.

I’m sorry, but that looks like something I made when I was 14. The saturation is out of control, the lost/lonely/emo angel-girl has no directional lighting on her face whatsoever. The whole thing looks like a bad CD cover for a failing gothic metal band (you know, bands with names like “Charlemagne” or “Black Unicorn”..stuff like that). It’s fine if you want to make something that you think looks pretty, but for God’s sake DO NOT UPLOAD IT AND WRITE A TUTORIAL ON IT.

Another thing that annoys me are tutorials about how to make sunsets with crappy fake grass in the foreground. Example:

The tutorial for this image is meant to be made into a web site, so I have serious sympathy to any of the misguided people who used it thinking that it looked good. Let me explain this in a delicate way that hopefully makes sense: making little “grassy plain with a sky in the background” images just look bleh. I’ve seen several examples of this theme used in signatures and art and it hardly ever looks any good. This is because the grass just looks flat and crappy and the sky is always made using some horrid filter (Render Clouds).

I’m not saying that you should never use tutorials. I’m asking you to not use tutorials that teach you how to make ugly things. If you follow these types of tutorials, you’ll be bound to make amateurish stuff that no one, but amateurs, will think looks nice.

So, I did the unthinkable. Yes, I’m now Playing World of Warcraft. I’m finding it to be lots of fun, albeit a little complicated to understand. I like the game enough to pay the subscription fee since I feel like Blizzard does a good job, not only with its community, but with its game. Brad has been giving me a hand with getting used to it and we’ve even made an RSBANDB guild!

The only catch is that we need 10 people to sign our charter. So, if you are a European WoW player, please make a character on the Anachronos server and sign our petition. Creepy’s playing now too, so I’m doubly happy. We haven’t actually been able to play together though as he’s feeling under the weather.

–

Yesterday, I finished another piece of art. I think this is the best I’ve done in a while and according to Creepy, it’s one of my absolute best.

Buy your own RuneHQ thong today! (don’t forget to get your dog a top as well!)

Funny RuneHQ news entry on their website from 2004.

RuneHQ is written for Microsoft Internet Explorer. We support only MSIE. We could care less about Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla or any other browsers you care to use.

If things don’t work and you are not using MSIE or if the site does not look good on your browser that is not IE, KEEP IT TO YOURSELF, WE DON’T CARE and we won’t support your issue. Post about it and we find out your not using MSIE, expect to get a warning or banned if you keep complaining.

Don’t complain, don’t ask and learn to live with it. This decision will never ever change as long as Weezyrowe and I own this site. We REFUSE to code this site for any other browser! If you don’t like this decision, then, See Ya Later, we could care less!!! Actually, we wish some of you complaining babies that complain about everthing would leave!

The next person to tell us about another browser is likely to get banned! I am tired of people telling me something on the site does not work or the site looks like crap only to find out your using Netscape, Mozilla or Firefox or some other off the wall browser. IF YOU TRY TO USE ANY BROWSER OTHER THAN MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER ON RUNEHQ, YOU ARE ON YOU OWN! Message me via pm/MSN or any other message medium including email, and mention any browser other than IE and I guarentee you you will be blocked permanently from contacting me!

~MrStormy~

YES, MEIN FÜHRER, I WILL NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT WEBSITE DESIGN ISSUES EVER AGAIN. *kicks heels together* HEIL!

I wish I had one irl. I love sandwiches.

I made my first Star Trek-themed art and since Shane approves, I’ll post it here.

Yeah, the lighting on the left shoulder is a little messed up and one of the eyebrows is slightly larger than the other. Minor stuff considering I had a good time making it. I just love Vulcans.

Credits to:

ChonaStock
Moonchilde-Stock

Thank-you, Luthas.

I don’t have much to write about, so I’ll leave you all with this:

I am so glad that Jagex are game designers, not architects.

It was four days ago, technically. But I wanted to write a post about it. What a long time to have a site up and running, don’t you think? In three years, I doubt this blog will be running. Even if it is, it’ll probably be full of half-gibberish posts about nothing in general. Either way, Mike and Shane are the reason that RSBANDB is here. We (the community) help the site along by..being there and being supportive. It’s easy to just be here, but being supportive (whether you’re donating, modding, contributing, or just being helpful) is what makes it worthwhile to come here every day. That’s what makes it worthwhile to get to know everyone here.
Sobby-mushy stuff aside, we’re working (Shane, Jeff, and I) on something that will expand the community in a new way. Providing that things run smoothly, you’ll be seeing it relatively soon. Those of you who know what it is, don’t you dare tell or I’ll put my mean hat on.

Oh, by the by, I made a new piece of art. Check it out.

Nimue by ~nemina on deviantART