bazilracoondog

Mark the Garden Sprinkler (+ extra stuff)

Published: November 21st 2024, 11:05:38 pm

Okay, I'm still not done with my cravings, although I'm trying my best to do the comm art in parallel. I did another attempt at ZX Spectrum graphics and this time I tried to use way more of what it can offer.

The image was in my head for few days actually, I just thought what stuff can be done for easy practicing more complex color gradients with Spectrum, my mind stopped on water and the idea of Mark playing with a garden hose popped up instantly. So, in the end, I just couldn't resist it, one evening I thought "Okay, I'll try it just a little bit" but ended up doing 90% of the final image in one sitting except Mark's spots which I did the next morning and felt so proud of the results.

As you can see, I followed the grid precisely and tried to use Spectrum limitations the best I can to create the water gradient as smooth as it can be, almost the entire image was done in Multipaint from scratch.

There actually was a chance to give Mark his green bottom lip even though it required to make some of his muzzle dots green too but I had to scrap it because it didn't look like a face expression I was imagining, it's good and I'll probably save it for some other art but I wanted something more emotional in a bold and cocky way for this one so it really had to have a big grin but an extra color for a lip just doesn't fit it, there were no way but to make it black, limitations being limitations...

Interestingly, this is my first time doing water inflation art ever. Strange, considering I love the trope, guess I was too busy being obsessed with food themed ideas.

I also tried to convert this artwork into a Commodore 64 hi-res mode image. All this time all my C64 artworks were done in a multicolor mode with double-wide pixels and 4 colors per 8x8 square and no wonder, this mode was way more popular among artists and developers who were making games exclusively for Commodore. Hi-res mode usage was usually limited to porting ZX Spectrum games but now it's the first time I'm using it, well, because we have ZX Spectrum art now. This mode's graphical limitations are nearly identical to the ones of Spectrum so it's very easy to convert one to another, except Commodore has higher resolution so I had to create a decorative border for this version of my art.

Another thing that can't be done in Spectrum but can be done in Commodore's hi-res is combining lighter colors with darker ones. This allowed me to use both light and dark green together and create some gassy stuff with it. You know, if there's a hole it just has to be dirty. I posted a burping gif openly above but of course that's not all I did. All the materials of this project are stored in an archive below, there's even a sound video with Mark burping and farting, couldn't resist my temptation to make one. Sound is this video's weak side though tbh, I still rely on using the same 8-bit fart sound I used for the Fox McCloud dirty animations, I wish I could find some more 8-bit sounds for farts and burps for a variety. Sorry if animation feels kinda primitive in general, I just tried to make it fit the graphics, super realistic smooth movements just wouldn't fit it. I uploaded the video separately in attachments just to make it easier for you, it still can be found in an archive.

The last bonus here is one very dirty picture with Mark shitting and pissing. This is actually the first time I'm doing scat and waterspots with my OCs, funny that it's done in such minimalistic graphics but whatever, it looks hot anyway. Also it's probably the first furry scat pixel art done in C64 graphics, what a reason to be proud of yourself! (also uploaded separately in attachments but can be found in an archive too)

Since this little project has some exclusive materials I think it won't hurt if I post the main version right away today without waiting for a month keeping it private in early access here.

I also couldn't resist the urge to share a little update on my other pixel animation project with Mark feeding Zed lots of pizza, the one I only highlighted with one single picture in a previous post. This project is also moving on, I already did an alternative position for Mark with him holding a pizza box for Zed and some extra frames of Zed eating it. Turned the initial image with Mark wrapping his arms around Zed's belly into a little belly rub animation as well. And most interestinly, I did an alt with Zed having a ginormous veiny belly going off-screen. I guess you can easily tell that such an alternate pose with an accentuated ass jutted up like that and this desperate face expression mean nothing good, in a good way of course >:D I'm definitely gonna finish it this month as there's not much left to finish.