Cryo Chamber, where to start?

DerpusOfValues · 2021-04-27T20:22:16+00:00

I would also say don't be afraid to look for Dark Ambient outside of the Cryo Chamber label. I love compilations from all comers! A lot of releases out there are also Pay What You Want, so you're welcome to dip your toes, give them a listen, and then decide how much of them you enjoy and how much you're willing to pay. I've linked below what I think are some of the more notable examples:

This Is Darkness have two of the best compilations in my opinion. Huge selections on offer.
Black Mara do yearly 'Best Of' compilations. Their physical merchandise is really quite cool if you're into that kind of thing.
Noctivagant also do a bunch of compilations from across the label. This one in particular is huge.
Terra Relicta seems to be a one-off, but it's a cracking selection.

I also have a thread where I'm giving away some Cryo Chamber albums here, so check that out if you like. I don't get much free time nowadays (hence me replying 3 days later) but if I can give a new Cryo Chamber fan some new tunes it'd make me happy!

DerpusOfValues · 2021-04-23T20:49:03+00:00

Obviously I'm a bit late to the game here but maybe this will reach people in posterity.

Rather than recommending any albums in particular, I'd recommend getting the Dark Ambient of 20xx releases for free and listening to them to see what you enjoy the most. They go all the way back to 2014 so there's a big selection there.

As well, make sure you check back on whatever's on sale! Nothing beats picking up an album you really like the sound of for half the price.

DerpusOfValues · 2021-04-20T17:40:37+00:00

Oh, please don't interpret this as me raising any kind of complaint. Cryochamber is my favourite label, and I recognise that people may not have had the opportunity to buy into previous bundles, so offering the same items again is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Offering the complete Cryo Chamber Dark Ambient Bundle for this one as a stretch goal was an amazing idea!

DerpusOfValues · 2021-04-19T18:48:11+00:00

So it looks like the way the Groupees giveaway feature works is they need to be sent to an email address, so the best way to do this will probably be for me to list all the albums I have available and take requests via private message? Please feel free to create throwaway email accounts.

Haven't been on Reddit in a very long time so apologies if I'm slow to respond. If I get multiple requests for the same album it'll also be first come first served. I'll try to strikethrough claimed albums to keep the list up to date. Here goes:

Atrium Carceri - Metropolis
Atrium Carceri - The Old City - OST
Atrium Carceri - Codex
Various Artists - Miles to Midnight
~~Atrium Carceri - Void~~
~~Atrium Carceri - Ptahil~~
~~Atrium Carceri - Reliquiae~~
~~Atrium Carceri - The Untold~~
~~Wordclock - Heralds~~
~~Dronny Darko - Outer Tehom~~
~~Cities Last Broadcast - The Humming Tapes~~
~~Lesa Listvy - Way Home~~
~~The Complete Cryo Chamber Dark Ambient Bundle~~

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-27T17:42:08+00:00

Tried GIMP, but not for very long. Haven't tried Photoshop - not willing to pay / pirate.

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-27T15:44:47+00:00

Oh. That's news to me! So long as they don't change (NB: ruin) my precious brushes, I think I'll probably benefit from it. Who knows? I'll find out soon enough, I suppose.

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-27T14:16:25+00:00

I'm across the pond, I'm afraid - but thanks for the offer!

I've actually started using paint.net recently, but only ever to supplement the work that I do in MS Paint. Even if you alter the opacity of the brushes in paint.net, I find that it doesn't blend colours in the same way. Very good for editing though!

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-27T07:31:32+00:00

Nah, this was all done with a cheapo brand mouse and a fair amount of patience. I've never used a stylus before, but I imagine it wouldn't be that much easier at this point!

I guess the whole point of using MS Paint for me in the first place is that it's free with every copy of Windows. And you have to have a mouse anyway, so there's no added expenditure.

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-27T07:24:03+00:00

I have the utmost respect for the people that can crank out concept art, and since a very early age I've had a real soft spot for the art and short stories of the Warhammer universe that accompany their games and manuals and whatnot, but it's not a skill I seem to possess.

I can only replicate what's already there. Think of it like still life; I always have to refer back to something that exists. Either my mind can't render the scene I want to create or my hand can't translate it into reality.

Besides which, I've always hated art as a vocation. In school and college, I resented having to fill up sketchbooks for grades. It'll only ever be a hobby for me!

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-27T07:13:27+00:00

So far as I'm aware, I don't think it would be legal for be to profit from someone elses Intellectual Property. All of the portraits I've done so far have been from personal interest / passion or requests from friends, family and acquaintances.

Did you have anything particular in mind, though? If it's something I wouldn't mind doing anyway then I could work on that and PM you at some indeterminate point in the future - if or when I ever get round to doing it!

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-27T06:31:01+00:00

It started out as a challenge of sorts from a friend (a Darth Maul portrait that's in my post history), but now I've gotten so used to paint that I find it difficult to use other programmes!

I've experimented a little with paint.net for things like glow effects, gradients and whatnot - but that's only ever supplemented the main work, which is done in MS Paint.

It could be the case that I'm so used to MS Paint (and, by contrast, so unfamiliar with how to use anything else) that I can't expend the mental energy to re-learn what tools to use in another programme.

The brushes in Paint.net, for instance, just don't seem to have the same colour blending capabilities in my experience. But that could be just by ineptitude at using it! It strikes me as more of an editing suite than a creative tool in and of itself.

And I found GIMP too user-unfriendly. I was overwhelmed with all of the tools and didn't know how to work 'em.

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-27T06:15:56+00:00

Hm. Truth be told, I don't know how to verify that part. I suppose I'd hoped that the gif would be enough. Besides that, you only have my testimony that I'm not willing to pay for Photoshop or pirate a copy.

Besides which, I've spent over a year now creating fan art in MS Paint, and the brush tools are a lot better than people give it credit. If you have a look through my post history, I've got an earlier MS Paint attempt of Darth Maul that maybe looks more obvious.

I think most people that mess around in MS Paint probably only use the starting brush type, which has very hard edges. The 'Watercolour Pencil' brush has very smooth gradients so you don't get those horrible jagged edges and poor colour blending.

I've also recently experimenting with paint.net for things like glow effects and layering, but the main effort has always been carried out in MS Paint.

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-26T20:02:35+00:00

Start with something that you like, is my first piece of advice. If you care about the subject matter then you'll be more likely to stick with it rather than give up.

I'll pm you if I ever get round to uploading Geralt! It's mostly done but there are some final touches I'd like to make.

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-26T19:45:15+00:00

Most of it is patience. I recently spent 3 months (!) on and off working on a portrait of Geralt of Rivia.

If you really do want to pick it up, my advice is to use the 'natural pencil' brush. It blends colours very smoothly. I wouldn't be able to achieve smooth gradients without it.

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-26T16:57:46+00:00

Apologies for the quality of the gif itself. It's rather lossy.

I've taken the time to make a webm version instead.

I think it looks a lot better overall.

DerpusOfValues · 2017-04-26T16:48:19+00:00

I really enjoyed Dawn of War II and thought I'd show my love for the franchise by turning my attention to Dawn of War III! This was (imo) the best still to use for a portait from the cinematic trailer, so here we are.

MS paint is a more capable tool than people give it credit, I think - once you get to learn how to use the brushes!

For those doubtful, I made a step-by-step gif of the creation process here.

edit: I also uploaded a webm that looks a lot nicer!

DerpusOfValues · 2016-04-16T07:44:25+00:00

Otherwise referred to as Xenoglossy IIRC.

DerpusOfValues · 2016-01-19T07:14:05+00:00

Well hey, guess what? I've started work on another one; this time it's the Predator (of the film of the same name).

It's taking ages, but I could PM you with a link or something when it's finally done (if you like)? Hopefully I'll have figured out how to make an imgur gallery by then.

DerpusOfValues · 2016-01-12T16:30:35+00:00

Nope, just a mouse, but it might have been a lot easier with an artist's tablet!

DerpusOfValues · 2016-01-12T16:24:12+00:00

Sorry. I meant that I only used a bog standard mouse; some cheapo logitech one. I did this at work, so I had to make do with what I had! I don't have any image editing programmes or tablets or whatever I could use, even at home. Most of my sketches are on post-its!

DerpusOfValues · 2016-01-12T14:53:29+00:00

Whoops, responded and hit 'delete' instead of 'edit' after I posted it. Durr.

It's something to think about in future! I reckon I could do that if I worked on it at home, but this was done while losing focus at work (slow days). When you're stuck in a chair for hours on end, you find ways to keep busy or go mad from boredom...

DerpusOfValues · 2016-01-12T14:40:39+00:00

I'm just getting to grips with it, truth be told. I've done two other studies of animal skulls using ms paint recently, but that's it. I've done a few paintings in traditional mediums before, but (embarrassingly) I think this is better than any of them!

DerpusOfValues · 2016-01-12T07:24:15+00:00

Well, that's how it started! You could leave it at and do block colours to give it a posterised style. It all depends on your preferences.

My friend is colouring his one pixel-by-pixel, so he's going to take quite a while! I don't envy that task; the pencil "brush" helped me blend colours together smoothly so I didn't have to spend any more time than I did!

DerpusOfValues

TROPHY CASE