Possible Fester Redesign--Now Complete

For posting new and revamped pet colours on Subeta.
Silverevilchao
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Possible Fester Redesign--Now Complete

Post by Silverevilchao »

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I am really, really torn on this. The new Fester looks awesome, but I'm not sure if it should replace the current Fester, because it's an entirely different pet, pretty much - the colors, the tone, and even the type of bird are different (looking at the beak, anyway, it reminds me more of a bird of prey than a scavenger). Maybe with a few tweaks this new version could be a new bird species instead?
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Griffin
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Griffin »

I think this total overhaul is the best direction for the Fester. It's currently the least popular non-revamped, non-limited/experiment pet on the site with only 817 owned (according to the stats), but I can see this drastic change multiplying its numbers.

I know nothing about bird anatomy, so nothing really bothers me about it except the neck could be longer. My only concern is that if they revamp all the Fester redraws, as they should, Graveyard could be a loss. But the rest of the redraws won't be hard to improve upon.

Anyone know who the artist is?
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Silverevilchao »

Oh seriously? I had no idea that the Fester was so unpopular.

I echo the sentiments in the comments for the news post that 1.) the wings should be bigger and 2.) they should be up more so that they don't seem to be dragging along the ground if it were to walk on land for a little bit. #1 has always been a problem with Subeta pets (Serpenth, Serpenth, SERPENNNNNTH), and #2 is a problem showcased on the Lain.
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Seerow
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Seerow »

I like it and I want this to be a pet, but I don't think it should replace the Fester. The Fester is currently very much a vulture while the new one has a whole lot of hawk mixed in.
The bald head and neck should definitely come back, seeing as that is one of the key elements of both vultures and Festers. The beak also needs to go back to it's long, smooth self. The old one always reminded me of being a cocky bird, but the new one just looks mean.

Again, I really like the new pet and will likely own one. But it is not a Fester :(
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Goldenchaos »

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Some redline. Crazy bird anatomy. Rose the wing up a bit, and made the other wing similiar to the original fester colour, elongated the neck.

I do want to see how the proposed revamp would look in the original browns of common. And maybe do without the black tip on the beak. Though I can see why its there, same for the colour around the eye, so the other colours can have some sort of contrast.

The face/head is so awesome looking. And it fits the Graveyard so much better now.
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Marah »

The art is obviously better, but I think the main problem for me is that the old fester was curvy and the new one is triangular. That is a big difference to me.
I like Goldenchaos' redline, it improves some of the problems a bit.

I don't mind the hawk tossed in with the vulture, I think the new beak and yellow spot are pretty, overall the pet is definitely less cartoony but the feather mohawk looks like it is glued on.

All in all a pretty new pet.
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Griffin »

I did a quick and crappy mockup of what the revamp might look like with the old color scheme:

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I think it looks pretty ridiculous, like a turkey trying to be a hxc punk rocker :P The new colors are fine with me even if it looks like Twilight.
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Jessi »

Griffin, Lindsey actually did this revamp c: Those of you saying it's based off a hawk - it's actually supposed to be based off a Hooded Vulture and a Harpy Eagle with a sliiight bit of secretary bird thrown in.

And Griffin, I also agree with you about the colors xD I think some browns'd look really nice on this, but the green head feathers are just... utterly ridiculous xD

Personally, I'd be perfectly happy to see this replace the Fester, and I think Lindsey'd be really good at keeping the spirit of the Graveyard if/when it were to get revamped for this.
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Huggles »

Yeah, I don't like it. I don't think there's anything wrong with the old fester except for that damned mohawk. I'm quite the fan of them usually, but it just always struck me as one of those needlessly tacked on features to make the species "unique", like wings or ruffs. It's especially irksome for vulture or other carrion eater. I hate it equally as much on the new proposal. I also think the proposed revamp has the proportions and features of a much smaller animal. The inclusion of the feathers has shortened the neck in such a way as to make it look cramped. As it stands, I don't want either of them.
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Zekumi »

I like it, and I also like Goldenchaos's redline of the left (our left) wing. I think that wing specifically currently looks a little lackluster, like the animal's just kind of letting it droop there.

For me, while it's perfectly clear that there are some major differences, I don't think anyone should necessarily make much effort to work directly off of the original. It wasn't all that great of a design to begin with, and as another user has pointed out, it's largely unpopular anyway. If the species is updated and it loses a lot of those qualities for others, I don't think many people will miss them.

I also think the slightly more eagle-like angle of it is an improvement. Birds of prey would be something more people would be into and want over scavenger birds, I would imagine.
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Slugawoo »

I don't like it as a revamp for the Fester. Like a few have said, it's a nice bird and would be nice as its own pet, but it's not a Fester. I think Goldenchaos' redline and Griffin's recolour address most of the issues I have with it though. But in the case of the recolour those green feathers on it's head would have to go. They really do look ridiculous. Maybe if they were the same colour as the tail or the tip of the wings instead...
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by lavender »

I honestly think it's quite good. Different, yeah, but as someone else said it needed a big overhaul. The old one is just so... eh.

And since I'm no bird expert, I totally see vulture.
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Wingsrising »

I don't like how it looks like it's frowning. It looks mean, which is a totally different attitude than the previous version. I also like the neck and wings in Goldenchaos' redline much better: I think the wing anatomy in the revamp is pretty off. (Sorry.)

Also, the revamp looks front-heavy to me, like it's about to fall over forwards. A birds' center of gravity is between the wings: the legs on this seem awfully far back.
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Sunwolf »

This proposed revamp is freaking awesome. I can totally see the Harpy Eagle, and there are plenty of vulture species that don't have ugly, bare necks and faces - the Bearded Vulture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bartg ... _Bartz.jpg in particular is quite attractive. This Fester is kick-ass.

I am extremely glad that the Fester is getting a revamp - it always looked so ridiculously cartoony, with that darned green mohawk. I was always tempted to get one anyway, because they are the closest thing on the site to a hawk, but, well, having one is kind of embarrassing, compared to all the other lovely pets on Subeta. Now I will probably get a few, if the pink skin doesn't come back! Who doesn't like hawks or eagles? Hopefully a name change is in the works, too?
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Re: Possible Fester Redesign

Post by Foghawk »

Things I like:
The new color scheme is great. (I won't lie, I loved the stupid green mohawk, but this is very cool, in both senses of the word.) I can see the secretary bird influence, and it's delightful. The head and neck are really nice: the volume of the ruff and the sense of movement around the shoulder is great, the short neck fits better with the rest of the pet, the new crest works well, the beak is lovely, and the flash of color at the nares is inspired. Marah's right in that it's triangles rather than curves now, but I find it reads better that way. I don't mind the change in expression.

Things I don't like:
The shape of the tail is off. It's not in line with the rest of the body, and it's not symmetrical. (Goldenchaos's revamp is a little better here.) The feathers are all different shapes, and they really shouldn't be. What's more, it's been drawn flat, as a single layer. Birds of prey have very fan-shaped tails; when they perch, the fan is shut, and all the feathers (which are very broad, more so than they are here) lie on top of one another. Looking at the shut tail from the underside, we should be able to see the whole of the two feathers at the outside edges, with the rest behind them. (We'd also be able to see a little of the light filtering through the layers, rather than the opaque tail here—and gosh, wouldn't that be pretty?)

As many people have said, the wings are a little small and a little low; as has gone mostly unmentioned, the feathering isn't right. This is based on, and evidently meant to be, a rather large bird, but the placement of the feathers and the way they've been drawn is more similar to much smaller birds, which makes the entire pet look unbalanced. Pictures of birds of prey in flight are a great help here. First, the coverts—the layers of feathers at the leading edge of the wing, done in the darker blue here—are much too long. In pictures, it's clear they're longer closer to the body and shorter nearer the wingtip, and don't go much past the wrist—the major joint of the wing, the one the beak is touched to here—at all. In the revamp, their edge is pointed rather than rounded, and they cover too much of the wing for a large bird. I would remove the second and third tiers of dark blue feathers on the wing to our left, and shorten those on the wing on the right correspondingly. Second, the secondaries—the flight feathers (in the lighter blue) behind the wrist, closer to the body—are too fluffy and downy, and a little too short; they don't look like flight feathers at all. In real birds they're nearly as broad as the feathers closer to the wingtip. In a closed or half-closed wing, like we see them here, they'd simply be layered over one another, again a little like a shut fan. Last, both the shape of the primaries—the flight feathers near the wingtip—and the shape of the wing as a whole are too pointed. In birds of prey, the primary feathers are slotted, creating the 'splayed fingers' look at the ends of the wings you can see in raptors and corvids; they're still rounded, but thinner near the tips (the feathers near the left side here show it well). In addition, the larger raptors have rounded wingtips: the first feather isn't the longest, as it is here. That pointed wing shape is characteristic of smaller birds.

If I could change just one thing about this, though, it'd be the feet. Wings is right in that they're a little far back, but my main problems are a) sausage toe and b) weird scaling. Raptor feet have talons (which are a little slimmer and a little less curved than they are here) set at the very top of the toe; the upper surface of the toe is flattened, and the underside bumpy. (The redlined version is better here.) Also, only the lower surfaces of the legs and toes have the pebbled texture they've been given here; the upper sides have broad, flat scales.

On the whole, though, this is really quite nice; it's way, way better than the Lain (and oh please keep it that way), and if it goes through there might finally be a bird pet I'm satisfied with.
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