Shmup Art

[y3mbailey]

Hey everyone I am a design teacher and a big Shmup fan and recently I began thinking about developing some artwork based around shmups. In the end I produced what you can see below that was inspired by bullet pattern in "Perfect Cherry Blossom". It is on Canvas using Acrylic Spray paints with a very complicated set of stencils.

It is currently sat very happy in my study but I was wondering if this is something other people would be interested in or if this will be the only one like it I produce?

This is not going to be my new business but if it is something people would be interested in owning and I could cover my costs I would love to produce more.

Feedback would be appreciated

[Captain]

Incredibly precise pattern replication, but the theme will get people to think that it's easy to do and/or not worth it.

I think most people won't even know what's depicted in the art, at least not before thinking in the right direction...unless you plan to make spaceships/whatever the protagonist/boss is and not just patterns.

Idea: make a more realistic version of a boss shoot an unchanged pattern, with equal focus to both!

[ebarrett]

Incredibly precise pattern replication, but the theme will get people to think that it's easy to do and/or not worth it.

I think most people won't even know what's depicted in the art, at least not before thinking in the right direction...unless you plan to make spaceships/whatever the protagonist/boss is and not just patterns.

Idea: make a more realistic version of a boss shoot an unchanged pattern, with equal focus to both!

wat

[Nereid]

wow

this is amazing

[Captain]

wat

tldr: not enough people care about shmups to know whats going on, a more "direct" approach would help.

[trap15]

That's why it's not being sold on whatever generic web store? I don't get your point. Besides, the whole point is that the patterns themselves are awesome to look at...

[Nereid]

I think it looks great just as a piece of art. I don't think it has to be obvious that it comes from a game or anything.

[chum]

wat

tldr: not enough people care about shmups to know whats going on, a more "direct" approach would help.

Know.... what's going on? It's art, It's pretty, if you find it pleasing to look at, isn't that enough?

By the way, I love this and

This is not going to be my new business but if it is something people would be interested in owning and I could cover my costs I would love to produce more.

would consider wanting to own something like this.

Devil's Recitation pls

[Captain]

Didn't I complement the art before adressing the issue?

oh whatever, just no flamewars please.

[BobbyNewmarkiii]

Looks cool:-) how big is it?

[chum]

Didn't I complement the art before adressing the issue?

oh whatever, just no flamewars please.

There is not really any issue, though. You may critique the art itself, otherwise, suggesting that the artist should do something completely different just because "It's not shmuppy enough" is kind of daft.

The focus on the pattern itself is precisely why I like it, there needs to be more art like that.

[Cagar]

In some weird way, I love it.
It sure looks like a bullet hell pattern, but most people won't notice it.
I'm 100% interested if you do more stuff like this, this looks neat!
EDIT: I think there was a related thread here not too long ago, but I can't find it... It had lots of nice screenshots of different patterns

[Aleksei]

Those who have played PCB(t7) would appreciate it, if I were in a gallery and this was displayed, I would enjoy knowing that I understood where this was inspired from without any help. However, with shmups being so niche, its understandable to insert a ship or title that makes it clear where this is coming from. I'm against you displaying it at galleries in fear that hipsters will wrongfully make it "their own", but I do encourage you make more pieces inspired by other games to sell to individuals here and around the web. I personally would love to see what you can come up with if you'd use Darius as inspiration, Darius Gaiden and later to be exact.

[rjosal]

I think it looks great just as a piece of art. I don't think it has to be obvious that it comes from a game or anything.

this

[chempop]

I love it!

If you can do something in neon (blacklight reactive) colors, doesn't even need to be from a specific game, just amazing looking... I will be VERY interested in buying one.

After a little searching I found this (i hope you don't mind me posting it).
i don't play touhou so I didn't recoginze it, but you definitely did the pattern justice!


Have you seen this, I like that it's only bullets, just no need for ships imho.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

^

Where's that exhibition from? Love the Futari Ultra one on the left (one of Larsa's last attacks before TLB starts), I recognize the right one as Hibachi's from DDP DFK... what's the middle one from? Does it count as art or does it straddle the copyright infringement line, since Cave really designed those patterns...?

Reminds me of some of the shirts rancor resells, there's a shop near him that stocks Touhou shirts with spellcard patterns on 'em that are pretty neat.

[ZacharyB]

^

Where's that exhibition from? Love the Futari Ultra one on the left (one of Larsa's last attacks before TLB starts), I recognize the right one as Hibachi's from DDP DFK... what's the middle one from? Does it count as art or does it straddle the copyright infringement line, since Cave really designed those patterns...?

If I'm not mistaken, those replications are hanging in a CAVE office; they were mounted by CAVE themselves.

[AntiFritz]

^

Where's that exhibition from? Love the Futari Ultra one on the left (one of Larsa's last attacks before TLB starts), I recognize the right one as Hibachi's from DDP DFK... what's the middle one from? Does it count as art or does it straddle the copyright infringement line, since Cave really designed those patterns...?

Reminds me of some of the shirts rancor resells, there's a shop near him that stocks Touhou shirts with spellcard patterns on 'em that are pretty neat.

Middle one is pink sweets afaik.

[PurpBullets]

^
What's the middle one from?

Id recognize that one anywhere, that is big burn from Pink Sweets.
Normally the pattern is multi-colored though, in waves, like fruit loops.

Being someone who is familiar with how much goes into making stencils from scratch, what y3mbailey has done is crazy.
y3mbailey, how many layers is that?

[Nereid]

would consider wanting to own something like this.

Devil's Recitation pls

For reference, that is this:


Might look pretty cool.

[Obiwanshinobi]

If I wanted to give a girl an expensive gift, that artwork would be my second choice.

[Elixir]

He's blurred out the spellcard names and Yukari's barrier, as well as the transparent butterflies which surround certain bullets mid-right. 73 fps is in both top images top-right, as is the 60 inside the bottom-right bubble.

In the end I produced what you can see below that was inspired by bullet pattern in "Perfect Cherry Blossom". It is on Canvas using Acrylic Spray paints with a very complicated set of stencils.

It wasn't inspired by the bullet pattern from PCB, it is the bullet pattern from PCB. It's the same screenshot chempop posted (just enlarged), which has been around forever. I like the concept of danmaku as art, but not like this.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Good catch. So it's not actually a close resemblance, it's more of a trace 'n paint if anything.

In the end I produced what you can see below that was inspired by bullet pattern in "Perfect Cherry Blossom".

This is less "inspired by" and more "taken from". Unlike the Cave office example, they're not your creations, they're ZUN's, so claiming to only be loosely "inspired by" PCB and posting it as your own art is more than a bit disingenuous when you basically copied the screenshot into a different medium.

[chum]

Hah, well... so much for that.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

You thought someone wouldn't notice?

[Obiwanshinobi]

If he really worked on it a lot, I can't see much difference between his work and photorealists' of nineteen-sixties-seventies.



If it's 'shopped quickly, though, that's another story altogether.

[PurpBullets]

it's more of a trace 'n paint if anything.

This is less "inspired by" and more "taken from".

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...
Do you all know how stencils are made?
They are made from images that already exist.
& Only 1 person has a problem if he turned that pattern into a stencil.
Nearly every stencil on earth is a case of "find image jpeg, transform into layers, print out, cut out layers, lay the layers down sequentially".
Every stencil artist on earth is doing the same thing.
Ask Banksy...

[chempop]

PurpleBullets is right. Chum, Elixer, and Roo are being silly.

[KAI]

So he made a 73 shaped stencil?

[y3mbailey]

Hey everyone many thanks for all the great feedback

Good catch. So it's not actually a close resemblance, it's more of a trace 'n paint if anything.

In the end I produced what you can see below that was inspired by bullet pattern in "Perfect Cherry Blossom".

This is less "inspired by" and more "taken from". Unlike the Cave office example, they're not your creations, they're ZUN's, so claiming to only be loosely "inspired by" PCB and posting it as your own art is more than a bit disingenuous when you basically copied the screenshot into a different medium.

Yes it is from that posted screenshot but that is how stencil art works. This was made using a stencil for every colour in the painting which if you can imagine all those small parts requires an insane amount of precision and time to cut out. Once these 6 stencils are produced it then needs to be mounted individually and layered. This in all took over 20 hours to produce. Its not exactly a photocopy......

As this was my first attempt (a test if you will as I am not trying to sell this and I apologise my english was not accurate by using the word inspired as opposed to taken from. I am not a lawyer and do not think precisely about the terminology I use) I am not and will not try and sell this one (i made this for my study) I did indeed use that screenshot but should this have interest I will of course work from my own screen grabs in future.

I have taken a screen and copied it into a different medium.... that is kind of the point

I am not claiming to have created the pattern and that is 100% not the point of what I was trying to achieve

I am glad that everyone else liked it.

I am not to keep on using the bosses as I am mainly interested in the patterns

In terms of what I am planning I would like some feedback on Price as they take me about 20ish hours to produce a set of stencils (Once I have made the stencils this obviously means I can produce a second one for a greatly reduced price. I would like to generally keep these unique but will happily produce a 'copy' for anyone on this board that has been positive and friendly for a massively reduced cost).

Secondly size. This one is 30x25 as it was to go in a specific gap in my study but I was considering making them double the size.

Many thanks for some constructive feedback and I appreciate everyone here who appreciated what I have tried to do

kind regards

Matt