Happy Holidays - Easter Edition! - Link to the zipped folder on Dropbox + links for zipped old stories - Updated 4/19/23

[sixgunzloaded]

Okay, so let's try this... This link should take you to my Dropbox account and let you download the zipped folder containing the story and all the pics. I hope.

The Rise of Esme - An Artifact Hunter Tail
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t2hsao7nsdx2t ... e.zip?dl=0

Please let me know if it works for you. If not, I'll have to try something else.

Thanks for your patience, everybody and, again, apologies for the difficulties.

ADDED:
I went back and added some old pic stories (now zipped) to Dropbox in case anybody wants to revisit them without having to download all the separate frames again.
Here's all the links:

Artifact Hunter - Treasure of the Forbidden Temple
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sndvul8aylusj ... e.zip?dl=0

Artifact Hunter - The Passage to Zinj - Part 1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iu1lg4clt4k2n ... 1.zip?dl=0

Artifact Hunter - The Passage to Zinj - Part 2
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d0960bsbbjtcx ... 2.zip?dl=0

Christmas Magick
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ataav12wn97lv ... k.zip?dl=0

Crashed 2 - Desert Nightmare
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qui4xqdlfzgqs ... e.zip?dl=0

And one vore story for anyone whose interested:
It's Hungry When It Wakes
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c5c37oolor30q ... s.zip?dl=0

Enjoy!

Here's a couple more:

Space Pirate's Crash Landing
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hqbfj7s6nzw9m ... g.zip?dl=0

Supergirl - The Toyman's Trap
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rzvzxijl1pzbk ... s.zip?dl=0

[Viridian]

In the spirit of Easter - Thank Christ you chose to upload it to a cloud folder. At over 280 images, that's 56 individual posts of 5 images had you chosen to do it the way you normally do. And given it takes about 70 images to get to the quicksand sequence, that's a lot of "dead" posts that get minimal views but are incredibly painstaking to upload and download.

With that said, there are HUGE advantages to giving us this download link. Since we don't have to individually download every single image, we can play it on a viewer and slide between each one...and oh god, it is fucking beautiful to see your careful scene construction in almost virtual motion. Your method of storytelling relies heavily on very slow sinks, and you can only appreciate that if you go frame by frame. The fact that every item in the chamber sinks out of sight at the same pace really adds to the metaphorical depth of the scene.

This is by far your best piece of work - your magnum opus, you could say. The setup takes a LONG time to get to (arguably, far too long, but that's a stylistic preference and it is proportional to the set). It was quite repetitive getting the gossip on the LRV and it might have been better to have more scenes drawing attention to the pond so that the payoff for the trap hits harder(it is literally one frame when the joke about skinny dipping is said, followed by one frame with the water supposedly draining).

But that payoff, rushed in execution as it was, really made the sequence the best I've seen. The subtle change to the floor was genuinely surprising. I hadn't realised that it was a sand floor, and the sequence now turns into a delightful fantastical trap that all three women are stranded in. The setup is very purposeful, with each one positioned in a different part of the tomb, making a unique sinking sequence as each character is struggling with their own problem. The use of the props to escape makes appropriate use of the setting to create a unique story, and the cuts between each of the three characters is fluid and tense. The changing detail of the sand from solid to liquid with their continuous descent (again you HAVE to play this back and forth in a gallery to appreciate) is marvelous.

What really sets this apart is that it's such a huge leap from the static plop-and-sink sequences. The time and effort in the construction really show, but what makes it really stand out is the narrative.

Well done.

[ghostofmyeyes]

Your attention to detail in all things strikes again! Another symphony of character vices, drawing the cast inexorably to their interwoven fates! Bar-raising quicksand effects! A gallery of facial expressions worth thousands of words! Thought-out, tightly-plotted cinematic peril drama we need but don't deserve!

It is a tragic tale, but some of the mud fetishists around here need to be reminded that quicksand is very dangerous and you mustn't play near it! The inhabitants of the Sinkyverse will never understand this (in time), but YOU can, dear reader!

[sixgunzloaded]

In the spirit of Easter - Thank Christ you chose to upload it to a cloud folder.

ahaha! Yeah - I may have to put all my future big stories in the cloud this way. And you're right, it is a lot of work to upload and download my usual way. I guess I just liked that way because it let me keep an eye on how many times the pics were getting looked at, how many times the topic got returned to, etc. It was sort of a general barometer for me of how well a story was received.

Thank you for your wonderfully detailed and constructive review! I'm very happy to see you liked it so much!
I did want to make this one a cut above my previous stuff. That's why it took so long.
And the narrative was extra-important to me this time. I wanted to give these characters personalities and complex backstories to explain why they are the way they are. Hence all the dialog (gossip). Maybe I overdid it a little?
I also wanted to use their conversation, just before they grab their gear and go in, to explain why there's an open tomb just sitting unguarded in the middle of the desert.
But you're right, I should have given the pond some more attention. I thought about it at the time but I couldn't quite figure out a good way to focus on it more without it seeming superfluous. I was already getting a little nervous about the length of the build-up, so I just sent them on in and gave them more dialog inside.

and oh god, it is fucking beautiful to see your careful scene construction in almost virtual motion.

I'll have to try it that way!

really made the sequence the best I've seen. The subtle change to the floor was genuinely surprising. I hadn't realised that it was a sand floor, and the sequence now turns into a delightful fantastical trap that all three women are stranded in.
The changing detail of the sand from solid to liquid with their continuous descent is marvelous.

Oh, good. I was a little worried about the realism of the qs too. That particular model is the only one I have that uses displacement maps (how I make the indentations where they're sinking) but it can't undulate or move like some of my others. But those can't make indents. It'd be nice to find one that does both.

Again, thank you so much for the excellent, helpful review!!

[sixgunzloaded]

Your attention to detail in all things strikes again! Another symphony of character vices, drawing the cast inexorably to their interwoven fates! Bar-raising quicksand effects! A gallery of facial expressions worth thousands of words! Thought-out, tightly-plotted cinematic peril drama

Thank you very much! That was absolutely the intent throughout. Meaningful character exposition and dialog designed to intertwine with past and future stories, and maybe even make people care about them, if only for a moment. The expressions were a big part of that, too. As well as the drama and prop usage.

As I told Viridian, I was slightly concerned about the quicksand effects. A lot of post-work painting was needed to get it to change its appearance from solid to liquid. The splash props, I already had, so that helped. But even they needed minor tweaking sometimes.

we need but don't deserve!

Thank you Lieutenant Gordon!

It is a tragic tale, quicksand is very dangerous and you mustn't play near it! The inhabitants of the Sinkyverse will never understand this (in time)

Nah, they'll never learn. They'll blunder on through their squishy universe and continue to entertain us, despite their best efforts.

Thanks again for the lovely compliments!

[Viridian]

And the narrative was extra-important to me this time. I wanted to give these characters personalities and complex backstories to explain why they are the way they are. Hence all the dialog (gossip). Maybe I overdid it a little?

In fairness, it's been over a year since the last installment, so I don't clearly remember who Sapph and Esme were, so that was lost on me. In fact, when I was doing the AI renders, I completely forgot you did these sets since they're not in the more commonly updated Odds & Ends thread (which means I might have a go at doing some AI renders...). I came out of this feeling that Esme was pretty badass cool-under-fire leader type who faces a personal crisis, Sapph is a whining schoolgirl who doesn't know how to do anything ("How do I get out? How do I get you out? How do I climb out? How do I open the door? How do I use the gun? How did i trigger the trap? TELL ME HOW TO DO EVERYTHING!")... and Layla is just as helpless as Sapph.

I found the pace and dialogue to be too drawn out. It's literally "Are we there yet?" and several frames of "I need to pee". Then the exposition about the Guild is slammed in about three frames with huge paragraphs, unlike the other scenes, and it still doesn't make sense to me. I don't really care why they are at an unguarded tomb in the middle of nowhere. It's... an unguarded tomb in the middle of nowhere. That's all I needed to know. If there's any lore-based exposition, it should have been shown rather than told, because the characters act like teenage girls instead of professional treasure hunters.

It REALLY improves at Frame 70 because of the quicksand trap, and the tone immediately changes and Esme really shines as a character. All that banter is gone and it's drama and tension - what we really go for. Not three air-headed girls cracking jokes and poking around walls.

The QS scene is outstanding because we can see the slow sink, so we'll literally dig 10 frames of the characters sinking 10 inches - or even NO sinking because those frames add tension and expectation. Sometimes when playing through the frames, I wish I could see MORE frames to track how much they have sunk before it cuts to a different angle (this is a unique advantage of 3D models - you can do these inch-by-inch frames).

But the pacing is inconsistent when it's not a quicksand scene. There are too many LRV scenes when they're just driving or wandering around. It takes 10 frames for Sapph to run out the door and use the gun to blow the door. They don't add anything - it's literally the motions of running, climbing, chambering a round, pulling the trigger. Could've been told in 3 frames.

Honestly I don't think the gun was even needed. There's no reason why they have have a machine gun. It's only role in setting up the story is Sapph whining about not being allowed to use it. The closing door thing would normally have heightened tension, but it's a convoluted way to extend the scene, whereas you could have easily made it longer by having Sapph figure out a rescue method on her own using the rope and drone instead of being told by Esme.

In any case, it's an outstanding set that pushes your standard higher. I'm only saying this to balance out the billboard syndrome. It's easy to become obsessed with small detailed that you forget the big picture. We love and appreciate the story, but if it could be told in... 100 images instead of nearly 300 without any loss in pacing, narrative and quality, I imagine it would more enjoyable for you and the reader.

ahaha! Yeah - I may have to put all my future big stories in the cloud this way. And you're right, it is a lot of work to upload and download my usual way. I guess I just liked that way because it let me keep an eye on how many times the pics were getting looked at, how many times the topic got returned to, etc. It was sort of a general barometer for me of how well a story was received.

About that. If you haven't already, you should upload your previous sets on Dropbox. The only thing stopping me from going back to enjoy your masterpieces is that it's tedious to find the threads and load every individual page and every post.

[sixgunzloaded]

Alright, I put the old ones on Dropbox. A fine suggestion.

A few of the things you mentioned in your last reply are made a little clearer if you read the written intro first. Or maybe you did and simply don't agree. Or maybe you don't wish to read it, and that's all good too. It's just there for extra backstory for anyone who might like it.

A couple of things though, that maybe I should have been clearer on:
Layla and Sapph are not professional treasure hunters. Only Esme is at this point, and she is about to go rogue and raid this tomb behind the Guild's back.
Layla is a soldier in the army and is here because Esme's her lover and they planned this scheme together. She has army training but that's it. It's not the same as Esme's training. She doesn't know how to deal with ancient, diabolical quicksand traps.
Sapph, though of legal age, essentially is still just a college girl in this time frame. She has no training, whatsoever. Hence her complete helplessness when confronted with a dire situation. She has no experience yet like she does in "The Passage to Zinj". She's here because she's Esme's recently discovered half-sister and Layla has convinced her to join them and get to know Esme - and get rich in the process. Sapph will get her training later, as hinted at in the final 5 frames of the story.
About the machine gun - there is a reason it's there. The LRV is a Guild vehicle that Esme has nabbed for this escapade. It's purpose (for the Guild, that is) is team extraction from bad situations. The gun is its defense weapon.

Again, some of this is covered in the written intro. But I get it. Not everyone wants to read stuff that's not directly related to the quicksand scene. And that's perfectly cool. It just made me happy to attempt a more complete story, poorly written as I'm sure it is.

And I do appreciate the honest criticism. I did ask for it. I did have to look up 'billboard syndrome' though. lol

[Viridian]

Thanks for the Dropbox uploads. It was good to see the Passage to Zinj again. It really shows the progress you've made in putting this story together.

I see about the backstories. I guess I was saying that it was a bit hard to see that conveyed in the visual story - a bit "on the nose" with the characters (Sapph actually being immature and inexperienced). What put me a little off was that they way they speak and act in the tomb doesn't feel like how people would interact. I appreciate that you have woven complex backstories, though I would've like to see them shown in the visual story as opposed to having some kind of required reading to understand who they are (I didn't read the Doc file initially in the Drive).

Sorry for coming out a little harsh. It's a bloody fantastic sequence.

Here are a couple of AI renders.

[Rusty Shackleford]

So this story is just fantastic. I truly appreciate the time and effort you put into creating this long and epic tale. Very enjoyable to see a continuation of your prior stories and see that universe expand. I have lots of technical questions, but I'll save those for a private message (or maybe a thread on using 3D programs - although with AI is there any space for us anymore?)

Thank you also for the old posts. Would you have some of your older work as well (I'm thinking the space pirate series which I don't recall seeing before). Thank you for sharing your work with us!

[ghostofmyeyes]

with AI is there any space for us anymore?

When photography appeared, demand for portrait artists declined but did not disappear entirely. Other types of painting could not be mimicked by photography. Both media persist.

For now, trying to use learning models for sequential art is a headache. They like to change things up. They are becoming easier to control as tools and experienced users accumulate, but they remain an immature medium. There is still plenty that 3d artists can do readily that learning models may not, possibly ever, be the ideal tool for.

Of course we will also see artists who start with a 3d render and use learning models to process them further, much as Viridian has done.