Official AAO Competition - Film Noir (Winner announced!)

Compete with other members to create the best art following a given theme.

Moderators: EN - Assistant Moderators, EN - Forum Moderators

Voting for "Film Noir"

Poll ended at Fri Jul 05, 2013 1:37 pm

Entry 1: Koopakirby's "The Don Tigre"
6
26%
Entry 2: Alnar's "The Ungodly Cool Guy"
13
57%
Entry 3: Detective Luke Atmey's "Detective Luke Atmey"
1
4%
Entry 4: FenrirDarkWolf's "Seemingly More To Her Alita"
3
13%
 
Total votes: 23

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Ferdielance
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Official AAO Competition - Film Noir (Winner announced!)

Post by Ferdielance »

Monthly Sprite Competition

Theme: Film Noir
And the winner is...

Alnar!
Spoiler : Entrants :
1. Koopakirby
ImageImage
:tigre: The Don Tigre! :tigre:

2. Alnar
Image
The Ungodly Cool Guy

The mysterious shadow sauntered down the brick road. The lights shown on his face; none were brighter than his own, glowing through the night. His grape coffee was in his hand at all times. "Blacker then a moonless night, hotter than hell itself." As he would describe it. Many porcupines fear its fiery tendrils burning into their skin and the bitter taste of the darkness it contains. Few have seen him, several have waited a lifetime to meet him, and none know him beyond his mask. Some say he is a specter, a shadow running from the light of its past; others say he arose from the depths of hell with one purpose, to redeem himself by avenging the death of the one he loved.[/quote]

3. Detective Luke Atmey

Image
The man slinked into his office. Once a great detective, he had resorted to thievery. He's back to the detective game in order to redeem himself. "Why, good evening... Mr. Wright... Have you given up on a case and come to pass it over to me...?" he said, with the same peculiar grin on his face as usual.

Wright frowned. "You know that's not why I'm here. You witnessed the murder. The DeLite one. Care to tell me what you saw?"

"I could tell you... For a price... How about you give back my red diamond you took so long ago...?" he continued grinning oddly, unblinking.

Wright laughed. "I knew you'd ask for it. That's why I brought it with me." he tossed the red diamond ring at the detective.

"Excellent... You took good care of it... Still shiny... Now tell me what you want to know..."

4. FenrirDarkWolf

Image

"What is it, exactly, do you want, Mr. Justice? Ms. Tiala asked.

I looked at her, and she appeared to be a working woman. But... It seemed there was more to her...

"Are you just going to stand there all day? she snapped, I have a plane to catch.

And with that, she pushed past me, and boarded her flight to the unknown, never to be seen by my eyes again.

Honorable Mentions (Excluded from voting due to rules)

5. Putin

Image

(WIP dialogue): "Mr. Smith, I am not certain that my employer will be too pleased when he hears that you did not bring the package. You're only making yourself get into...deeper...debt. You know what happens when people like you don't pay back their debts in due time dont'cha?"

6. VirtAnderson

Image

"The strange fellow with the questionably large forehead glared at me with an uneasy look. He must have noticed that I no longer had my trademark beard. I shaved it off one day. I regret that day horribly."
The first time Gumshoe laid eyes on Maya Fey, she was silhouetted in the door of his office and fingering a piece of jewelry at her neck. "Are you coming in, ma'am," he asked, hoisting himself upright in his chair, "or did you just want to see what a big-city detective looks like?"

"How'd you know I'm not from the city?" She stepped inside, closing the door carefully behind her and smiling nervously.

Gumshoe shrugged and poured himself a shot of grape juice from his hip flask. "It's my job, pal. I'd offer you some juice, but you don't look old enough. Who are you, and what's this all about?"

"My name's Maya... Maya Fey. And, um, it's my sister." The smile vanished from the girl's face; Gumshoe wondered if she could make it come and go as she pleased. "I think she's getting involved with... bad people. She's the only person I have in the world, and..."

The detective's massive eyebrows shot up. "You're afraid she's gonna get herself into trouble?"

"I'm scared she already has. Listen, if you can help... I can pay."

Gumshoe took a swig and mulled this over. "Alright. My fee's a hundred bucks a day, plus noodle money."

"Thank you!" Maya beamed again, and it reminded Gumshoe of the kid sister he'd never known, and a few convicted murderesses he had.

Yeah... this one was going to be trouble.


--- opening sentences of The Lady from Kurain


Image

--- Publicity photo from The Lady from Kurain, film version
The theme of this month's competition is Film Noir! Think hard-boiled detectives, femmes fatales, and shadowy conspiracies. Think The Maltese Falcon or Double Indemnity. Entries should be inspired by classic detective/gangster/spy movies in some way, in costuming, presentation, setting, or all of the above!
Spoiler : Frankensprite component credits for Film Noir Maya :
* Base: Maya Fey
* Background: Wright and Co. Law Offices, night.
* Body, hands, coat, and mouth: Angel Starr
* Hair: Yvette Delacroix (The Dagger of Amon Ra)
Suggested stylistic devices include (but are not limited to):
* Grayscale or sepia tones
* Period clothing (1930's to 1950's)
* Sharp contrasts of light and dark; heavy shadows
* World-weary characters with unhealthy habits (hip flasks of grape juice, grape cigarettes, etc)

None of these devices are required, and backgrounds may be optionally included with sprites if it heightens the atmosphere.

Rules:
* Only sprites created between May 26th and June 26th may be entered.
* No GK2 sprites may be used, even as components. Even though a few are REALLY well-suited to this comp, resist the temptation!
* Please only enter your own scratch sprites or frankensprites; if you use a non-AA source, such as 999, please credit that source!
* Please submit all entries by June 26th.

Entrants so far:
Spoiler : :
1. VirtAnderson: (removed due to moderator clarification; see this post.)

2. Koopakirby
ImageImage
:tigre: The Don Tigre! :tigre:

3. Alnar
Image
The Ungodly Cool Guy

The mysterious shadow sauntered down the brick road. The lights shown on his face; none were brighter than his own, glowing through the night. His grape coffee was in his hand at all times. "Blacker then a moonless night, hotter than hell itself." As he would describe it. Many porcupines fear its fiery tendrils burning into their skin and the bitter taste of the darkness it contains. Few have seen him, several have waited a lifetime to meet him, and none know him beyond his mask. Some say he is a specter, a shadow running from the light of its past; others say he arose from the depths of hell with one purpose, to redeem himself by avenging the death of the one he loved.[/quote]

4. Detective Luke Atmey

Image
The man slinked into his office. Once a great detective, he had resorted to thievery. He's back to the detective game in order to redeem himself. "Why, good evening... Mr. Wright... Have you given up on a case and come to pass it over to me...?" he said, with the same peculiar grin on his face as usual.

Wright frowned. "You know that's not why I'm here. You witnessed the murder. The DeLite one. Care to tell me what you saw?"

"I could tell you... For a price... How about you give back my red diamond you took so long ago...?" he continued grinning oddly, unblinking.

Wright laughed. "I knew you'd ask for it. That's why I brought it with me." he tossed the red diamond ring at the detective.

"Excellent... You took good care of it... Still shiny... Now tell me what you want to know..."

5. FenrirDarkWolf

Image

"What is it, exactly, do you want, Mr. Justice? Ms. Tiala asked.

I looked at her, and she appeared to be a working woman. But... It seemed there was more to her...

"Are you just going to stand there all day? she snapped, I have a plane to catch.

And with that, she pushed past me, and boarded her flight to the unknown, never to be seen by my eyes again.

6. Putin

Image

(WIP dialogue): "Mr. Smith, I am not certain that my employer will be too pleased when he hears that you did not bring the package. You're only making yourself get into...deeper...debt. You know what happens when people like you don't pay back their debts in due time dont'cha?"
Good luck!
Last edited by Ferdielance on Mon Jun 10, 2013 7:48 am, edited 12 times in total.
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
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TKinhonipei
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by TKinhonipei »

I like this concept behind this! I'm excited to see what kind of entrees are sent in. :)
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Gumpei is so awesome for being everything that I've always wished for. <3
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Holhol is my soulmate ~<3

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BBblader© wrote:The strongest bonds you can make are the ones you aren't looking for, the ones that surprise you. I'm speaking from experience, so I believe in that pretty strongly. Think that's why so many relationships fail, because people wind up forcing themselves to find good in the other person, play up who they are to appear more attractive to them... but well... real love is being yourself, with someone who cares about you and accepts you for who you are.
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by Gumpei »

Because most people here have definitely seen or even heard of The Maltese Falcon. :P

Definitely like this theme, though a bit worried that it might not be broad enough for as great a variety of entrants as past competitions.
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by TKinhonipei »

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about that one. "The Maltese Falcon". That... Was a masterpiece!
Image
Gumpei is so awesome for being everything that I've always wished for. <3
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬­▬▬▬

Holhol is my soulmate ~<3

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
BBblader© wrote:The strongest bonds you can make are the ones you aren't looking for, the ones that surprise you. I'm speaking from experience, so I believe in that pretty strongly. Think that's why so many relationships fail, because people wind up forcing themselves to find good in the other person, play up who they are to appear more attractive to them... but well... real love is being yourself, with someone who cares about you and accepts you for who you are.
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VirtAnderson
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by VirtAnderson »

Question: Does it have to be a character sprite or can it be something like the cutscene art from the games?
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Ferdielance
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by Ferdielance »

If it's a cutscene, one or more characters should appear prominently in it. If that's the case, go for it!
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by Wolf Speaker »

If I don't get noir!Phoenix with grape cigarettes I'm going to be sad.
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Shuìlián - Lv.9
Adaptability

- Helping Hand
- Growl
- Tackle
- Tail Whip
- Sand-Attack
- Baby-Doll Eyes

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Mr. Darcy - Lv.8
Pick Up

- Odor Sleuth
- Tackle
- Growl
- Defense Curl
- Flail

Allistair - Lv.9
- Tackle
- Dragon Rage
- Focus Energy
- Bite
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by Koopakirby »

So, quick question. I made a sprite, but I lack the tools to put it through a black-and-white filter. Can I have a friend do that for me or would that be considered cheating or something?
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by VirtAnderson »

Image
"The strange fellow with the questionably large forehead glared at me with an uneasy look. He must have noticed that I no longer had my trademark beard. I shaved it off one day. I regret that day horribly."

Other variations:
Image
Spoiler : large :
Image
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by Ferdielance »

Koopakirby wrote:So, quick question. I made a sprite, but I lack the tools to put it through a black-and-white filter. Can I have a friend do that for me or would that be considered cheating or something?
As long as they don't make any more significant changes, that's fine! That said, if your image editor can't handle a quick conversion to grayscale, I really recommend trying out Paint.NET or the GIMP. They're free, and they make it MUCH easier to do any kind of concerted spriting.

(To make something grayscale in Paint.NET, all you need to do is push control-shift-G.)

---

Here are some noir clips for inspiration!

Double Indemnity, Opening scene

The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade meets a gunman
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by Koopakirby »

Here it is, with a little help from my friends(Zeel), I present to you...
ImageImage
:tigre: The Don Tigre! :tigre:
Please play my trial series: Layers of Truth!
It contains my featured trial, Reinstate the Turnabout! Part 1 / Part 2
Heeeeey! Pinkie Pie here! Just asking for you to please check out Ask Pinkie Pie! It'll be a real party! I promise!
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by FenrirDarkWolf »

Dang..
I've never done Noir style before...
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Spoiler : Wanted to use these as avatars, but it wouldn't let me. They're by Nibroc-Rock :
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by Alnar »

Well this is quite an interesting concept. I wonder how long it'll take for someone to do "The Maltese Phoenix"?
Now I just need to make a fedora and such and I'll be set.

Edit:
Well, just finished my entry. Didn't take too long, but it was quite challenging.
Image
The Ungodly Cool Guy

The mysterious shadow sauntered down the brick road. The lights shown on his face; none were brighter than his own, glowing through the night. His grape coffee was in his hand at all times. "Blacker then a moonless night, hotter than hell itself." As he would describe it. Many porcupines fear its fiery tendrils burning into their skin and the bitter taste of the darkness it contains. Few have seen him, several have waited a lifetime to meet him, and none know him beyond his mask. Some say he is a specter, a shadow running from the light of its past; others say he arose from the depths of hell with one purpose, to redeem himself by avenging the death of the one he loved.
Last edited by Alnar on Wed May 29, 2013 12:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by Ferdielance »

I've just gotten notice from Tap: cutscene background images that aren't in a sprite/pixel art style are not admissible in AAO art competitions. Message:
Hey, Ferdie!

As remarkably wonderful as Virt Anderson's graphic is, unfortunately... I can't really consider it as entry material. These competitions are meant to be for sprite/pixel art only, and that's just artwork/cutscene art. I think it should also be made clear that there doesn't necessarily need to be so much of an emphasis on the background when the sprite should be the hero. The background certainly accentuates the genre and feel of the sprite, but it shouldn't be a pre-requisite for entry.
I'm going to have to remove Virt's entry for now, given moderator judgment.

That said, if Mr. Hat's scaling and position were set to match the canonical series sprites, and the lines touched up to give it less of a "hand-drawn" feel and project him a little from the background, I think the entry would probably be admissible.
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
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Re: Official AAO Competition - Film Noir

Post by Alnar »

Hey there Ferdie, I noticed an error in my sprite description so if you don't mind, just copy paste the one I edited above your post. Thanks!
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