ega palette in action

[egypturnash]

Character design for doctorpinkerton. This is a holographic avatar of a computer. I went through several iterations on this design before finally arriving at this; I wanted it to clearly be someone virtual without it being a handful of clichés stolen from Tron, or relying on post-processing filters. The nod to the horrible EGA palette happened quite by accident, at the last minute, and really brought it together for me...

Comments

[spotweld.livejournal.com]

I like that lower array of panels. I suggests a skirt, but also reminds me of the adjustable flow exit nozzle of a jet engine.

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

I figure that they might end up constantly turning. And I'm glad they serve their intended purpose of implying a skirt!

[grrrowly.livejournal.com]

Sweet. Makes me want to conceptualize what my computer might look like if given a similar holographic form :D

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

A while back I was threatening to anthropomorphize my computer: a Powerbook named 'Cobweb'. I never did get around to drawing a slightly-outdated titanium-hulled femmy spider-droid as Jonathan Ive might conceptualize her...

[turbinerocks.livejournal.com]

Hey, I thought four color was CGA! :D I could be wrong, I didn't have a PC until the 486 days.

[turbinerocks.livejournal.com]

(The best part is her digital skirt/waist thing of revolving squares.)

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

Hell if I know. I never had one.

[turbinerocks.livejournal.com]

You're missing nothing! :D Most all the great PC games of what I consider the golden age of PC gaming were VGA era.

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

EGA is more accurate, though the predominance of cyan is CGA-ish in spirit. In CGA, you could have cyan, magenta, white, and black, or, alternatively, you could have red, green, yellow, and black. For two shades of cyan you'd need the palette of EGA.

[turbinerocks.livejournal.com]

I am SO glad I got in on the PC gaming after PC games became attractive. I remember seeing Mean Streets for the first time, in glorious VGA, and I couldn't believe it.

[tracerj.livejournal.com]

One of the running gags with my self-as-character in City of Heroes (as pictured in my icon, though that's her old look) was that her predominant colours – cyanish denim vest and jeans, magenta t-shirt, and white shoes (and pale skin) – earned her the nickname "Miss CGA" among the cybered anarchist punks known as the Freakshow. These are folks who would know what CGA is.

Of course, I'd look horrible in that other palette. Ew.

[tracerj.livejournal.com]

I approve. There are certain design elements that are near-universal for such digital avatars, and I see some here, but I also see where the cliches stop and your design really sings. I like the colour palette, I like the discrete blocks used to represent anything that flows (hair, skirt, perhaps to some degree wrists), and the way that the patterns on the body imply the lines instead of just being random circuit-clutter... ultra-sweet.