JJ2+ Splash Screen

[Violet CLM]

Have you ever sat around worrying to yourself "gee, I wish I could contribute to the <a href="http://www.jazz2online.com/jj2plus">JJ2+ project</a>, but I have no programming skills! All I have is a digital art degree from an insanely prestigious university and lots of free time."? Well, worry no longer! <em>You too can help.</em>

<img src="http://djazz.mine.nu/lab/j2d/img/Picture.Title.png" width="640" height="480" alt="Look at those outdated logos." />

That, of course, is the splash screen that shows up whenever you start JJ2. Not only have we been seeing it or its TSF-exclusive cousin every day (YMMV) for fifteen years (again, YMMV), <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/85/Epic_Logo.png/200px-Epic_Logo.png">neither</a> of the <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Windows_logo_-_2012.png">logos</a> at the bottom are even current anymore. So that's where you come in! If you draw us a great enough new splash screen, we'll put it in future releases of JJ2+ to replace the original! All you have to do is make a 640x480 picture using <a href="http://www.tachyonlabs.com/sam/Menu.pal">this 256 color palette.</a>

Fine print:
You may use existing artwork, although if you want to use someone else's fanart, you really should contact them for permission. Besides that, content is left up to you.
Multiple submissions are fine. Everyone likes pictures!
If no submission is deemed suitable for the JJ2+ splash screen, none will be accepted. So don't post a random picture of a pony just because nobody else has submitted anything and you think you'll win by default.
There's no deadline because we don't know when the next release will be, so do it sooner rather than later, I guess???

[MrAlextov]

n00b 1.22EE parody splashscreen was complety funny rofl.
http://www.jazz2online.com/jcf/showpost.php?p=371233&postcount=50
http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/8726/jj2enterpriseedition4oq.png

I Will try to make own. It would be cool every JJ2+ release to have its own splash screen.

If you are asking me what is my favorite splashscreen, its the 1.24 CC' 99 splashscreen. Even that version is my favorite.

[SpR]

Might try ^^ I have some ideas.

[Roobar]

Well, I've made some just for fun. I'm not participating in the contest. The images are not limited by the 256 color palette, though I wish you could somehow remove that limitation for the game. That would be great.

Ehrm... Since there is a 2 posts rule for urls, I'll post them after I made two posts...

[Violet CLM]

Well, I've made some just for fun. I'm not participating in the contest.
Does that mean that you wouldn't be okay with their being used, in the event that they're the best things ever made by humanity? Understand that this whole <em>project</em> is just for fun. Very, very serious and time-consuming fun. :lori:
The images are not limited by the 256 color palette, though I wish you could somehow remove that limitation for the game. That would be great.
Here is not <a href="http://www.jazz2online.com/jcf/showthread.php?t=19489">the place</a> to get into a discussion of what things to change or not to change, but I'll briefly say that JJ2's use of palettes is built into pretty near everything. Besides that, the official splash screens are themselves all reduced from pre-existing high-color drawings, so you never know, they might reduce successfully. :)

[Roobar]

It's ok to use them if it's possible to convert them to the 256 color palette. The art isn't mine, though it wouldn't be too hard to find the authors for their permission.

[Roobar]

And here they are:

http://imageshack.us/a/img580/2757/d3t.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img580/2757/d3t.png)

http://imageshack.us/a/img196/2798/95k.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img196/2798/95k.png)

http://imageshack.us/a/img713/8223/2dap.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img713/8223/2dap.png)

http://imageshack.us/a/img844/5092/pobr.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img844/5092/pobr.png)

[cooba]

That is amazing

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/s1SMqfv.png" />

[Slaz]

Haha you guys should make that an alternate title screen only accesable by a -flag command.

Reminds me of a text about an idea the JJ1 developers had for a 'dirty' title screen that got scrapped.

[Love & Thunder]

Reminds me of a text about an idea the JJ1 developers had for a 'dirty' title screen that got scrapped.
Cannot unsee mental image! :O

[minmay]

<img src="http://www.cowmuffins.net/stuff/spazslackrabbiteatingachair.png" width="640" height="480" alt="VIOLET I'M REALLY SORRY I HAD TO i'll like make a real submission later to make up for it" />

[Sean]

oh my god all these are BRILLIANT

[sAlAmAnDeR]

Thank goodness I can finally put my art degree to good use.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/47097940/newtitlescreen.bmp

[Violet CLM]

spazslackrabbiteatingachair.png
Needs more iCeD.

[Roobar]

I forgot to use the new Epic Games logo, but that can easily be changed if you wish.

[MrAlextov]

That is amazing

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/s1SMqfv.png" />

This is random, use second for TSF and last for 1.23 instead.
Also could be cool to choose if you want the old one via options.

[MrAlextov]

Eh, might be the next update to having this sexy picture.

[Jerrythabest]

I like the "Press Fire" text on that screenshot.

[szmol96]

Here's mine.
http://www.jazz2online.com/pictures/2383/jj2plus-splash-screen/

[szmol96]

I don't know, if I have posted it correctly, so I'm posting it again. Please delete it, if it's a double post. Thank You!
http://s18.postimg.org/d2bsf9h7d/plus_splash.png

[Jerrythabest]

Ooh, I like what you did with the + in that one. Creative!

[Sean]

The 256 color palette was a bit of a pain to try to work within but I did the best I could.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95263412/Splash%20Screen%20compressed.png

Can't say I'm too happy about the way the Windows logo turned out, though...

[Jerrythabest]

Looks cool! Maybe you could get the logos (especially the Windows logo) a bit better with some error dithering to disguise the limited colour space?

And it would be nice, but maybe a bit difficult, if the + was set in the same perspective as the JJ2 logo itself.

[szmol96]

Ooh, I like what you did with the + in that one. Creative!
Thanks! :)

[Sean]

A little changed then, can't say I'm very happy with the way the plus looks.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95263412/Nearest%20match.bmp

[Jerrythabest]

Yea, it's a difficult thing. I remember making the Rabbit Roasters logo the same way, it took me a few days to get it right. And even then it wasn't perfect.

[DoubleGJ]

guys I just want you to know that I'm working on an entry that's 100% original content

I've been hoping so long for something that would put my actual skills (which do not include programming) to use in this project so I'm gonna do my best!

you know I'm a slow worker tho so the blurriness of deadline makes me happy

[szmol96]

guys I just want you to know that I'm working on an entry that's 100% original content

I've been hoping so long for something that would put my actual skills (which do not include programming) to use in this project so I'm gonna do my best!

you know I'm a slow worker tho so the blurriness of deadline makes me happy

I wish you good luck! :) And to other people, who post pictures.

[Roobar]

Some more unoriginal content variations. I've changed the Epic logo and added + and tm. The art from the first one is by Bogrim (http://bogrim.deviantart.com/) The characters and the background in the third one are by Noogy.

http://imageshack.us/a/img801/5031/2equ.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img801/5031/2equ.png)

http://imageshack.us/a/img856/951/gx9h.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img856/951/gx9h.png)

http://imageshack.us/a/img29/8665/3zxa.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img29/8665/3zxa.png)

[MrAlextov]

Some more unoriginal content variations. I've changed the Epic logo and added + and tm. The art from the first one is by Bogrim (http://bogrim.deviantart.com/) The characters and the background in the third one are by Noogy.

http://imageshack.us/a/img801/5031/2equ.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img801/5031/2equ.png)

http://imageshack.us/a/img856/951/gx9h.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img856/951/gx9h.png)

http://imageshack.us/a/img29/8665/3zxa.th.png (http://imageshack.us/a/img29/8665/3zxa.png)

The third is the best.

A little changed then, can't say I'm very happy with the way the plus looks.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95263412/Nearest%20match.bmp

Use the newest Windows logo instead...

[Jerrythabest]

Since Jazz won't run properly on Windows 8 I guess you could get away just fine with the Windows 7 logo. :rolleyes:

[MrAlextov]

Since Jazz won't run properly on Windows 8 I guess you could get away just fine with the Windows 7 logo. :rolleyes:

Ok...

[Roobar]

Since Jazz won't run properly on Windows 8 I guess you could get away just fine with the Windows 7 logo. :rolleyes:

Is that really the case because I'm planning to upgrade to win8.1 and if I'm unable to play Jazz 2 on it, I'd rather stay with 7. And what is the situation with windows 8 RT also?

[Jerrythabest]

Well, in Windows 8 (.0) DirectDraw is very sluggish. So if you want to play JJ2 in full screen you'll get very poor performance. As far as I know it's fine in windowed mode (but I don't have Windows 8 so I may be mistaken).

I know nothing about whether it's any better with Windows 8.1. Hopefully it is. Maybe we should try it out with the preview version that is available now.

Windows RT (NOT: "Windows 8 RT") is a completely different matter. It might look similar to Windows 8 because both feature the "Modern UI" (the weird tile thing), but it is a completely different system underneath. Microsoft failed to make a clear distinction between Windows 8 and Windows RT for non-technical people, so I'll explain. It basically comes down to this. Windows 8 runs on x86 processors, the type of chip that has powered most of our computers since the 1980s and for which all our programs, including JJ2, are written. But Windows RT runs on ARM processors instead, that's the kind of thing that runs your smartphone or tablet. Microsoft has created the "Modern UI" so that apps that are made for the "Modern UI" can run on both Windows 8 and Windows RT. But since all regular Windows programs are written for x86 processors, Windows RT will not run any regular Windows program, JJ2 included. You're stuck with the "Modern UI" apps in Windows RT. So no JJ2.

[MrAlextov]

What about these users use lowest resolution, The Image would be downscaled?

[Slaz]

What about these users use lowest resolution, The Image would be downscaled?
As far as I know, JJ2 doesn't store multiple sizes of the title image. So yes.

[cooba]

That got me thinking. For those using higher resolutions, the image will be upscaled, and probably pretty badly. Therefore I suggest the image you submit is larger than 640x480, as long as the resolution is still 4:3.

[Roobar]

What is the maximum supported resolution? I haven't even tried JJ2+ yet. And what is the font used for the Jazz 2 logo? The logo is too low res for anything larger than 640x480.

[Slaz]

What is the maximum supported resolution? I haven't even tried JJ2+ yet. And what is the font used for the Jazz 2 logo? The logo is too low res for anything larger than 640x480.

Not counting BigJazz which 'supports' any resolution but will crash with anything out of the low and ordinary, the max is obviously just 640x480.

And the font used for the JJ2 logo is: Nick Stadler's steady hand.fnt :god:

[cooba]

the max is obviously just 640x480.So far.

[Jerrythabest]

Though much of the code seems to assume 800x600, actually. That resolution is also reasonably stable in BigJazz.

[DoubleGJ]

upscaling = you can still appreciate the intricate pixel art

unless the scaling filter is crap

[cooba]

Judge for yourself:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/011LWR7.png" />

[Roobar]

And the font used for the JJ2 logo is: Nick Stadler's steady hand.fnt :god:
Aha, but if this font exist, I didn't find it on this site, neither on google.

[cooba]

Aha, but if this font exist, I didn't find it on this site, neither on google.There is no font, it was all hand drawn by Nick.

[MrAlextov]

It is possible to do TSF-Like startup that hasn't the logo bar?

[Violet CLM]

TSF does have a logo bar on startup, so... maybe?

[Jerrythabest]

AFAIK Plus is loaded at the moment the logo bar disappears... so changing that would require changing the way Plus is loaded as a whole.

[MrAlextov]

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/scale_small/1/17172/1287134-jj2tsf.png
I Think i mean like this, it hasn't the "Press Fire" and there is only the epic logo matching with the background...

[Jerrythabest]

Oooh of course! You mean the black bar on the in-game splash screen. I must admit I don't know, whether this is possible. Violet, maybe?

[Violet CLM]

As you can see in the opening post, the black bar is part of the image, so if another image doesn't have a black bar, it won't be there.

[Jerrythabest]

Oh sorry, I somehow managed to completely miss the point of my thought in my previous post. I think I were being distracted while posting that :p


The "whether this is possible" referred to silencing the 'Press Fire' text if the image does not have a black (or other solid colour) bar at the bottom. Since that would require scanning the image etc. But on second thought, if we end up using such an image, we can just simply silence the text in a hard-wired manner. Duh.

Short answer: so yes, of course it is possible.

[DangerMouse]

An option to customize which screen we see would be a better idea, but I really want the first image wiivn posted here for my game. :) Sexy Bunnies!

[French]

Changing the splash screen is certainly a good idea, but I have another request (and maybe is it misplaced?): could you change the menu screen to other colours with different music during special events like Christmas? It would occur during a week, for example 72 hours before and after December 25. There might be:
• Christmas with the same green look as in 1.24x Christmas Chronicles, with Whare.j2b;
• Halloween with a dark grey look and probably Haunted.it;
• Easter in blue and Easter.it.
If you like the idea, maybe a new thread would be great?

[MrAlextov]

Changing the splash screen is certainly a good idea, but I have another request (and maybe is it misplaced?): could you change the menu screen to other colours with different music during special events like Christmas? It would occur during a week, for example 72 hours before and after December 25. There might be:
• Christmas with the same green look as in 1.24x Christmas Chronicles, with Whare.j2b;
• Halloween with a dark grey look and probably Haunted.it;
• Easter in blue and Easter.it.
If you like the idea, maybe a new thread would be great?

The problem is the 1.23 doesn't come with these soundtrack.

[French]

The problem is the 1.23 doesn't come with these soundtrack.

It doesn't come with the new splash screen either.
Users may add them or the default Menu.j2b may be used instead. The color would be more striking anyway.

About the initial subject, I've asked a friend (Lolo, if someone knows, from his rare server) to draw something for you and he decided to draw the new splash screen as a vectorial image, but we don't really know how to fill the background (and even the foreground actually). Any cool idea?

[Violet CLM]

It would occur during a week, for example 72 hours before and after December 25. There might be:
• Christmas with the same green look as in 1.24x Christmas Chronicles, with Whare.j2b;
• Easter in blue and Easter.it.
This is unlikely to come true from a project whose primary coder is Jewish, just letting you know.

[Stijn]

HEY LETS DO IT ON BOTH CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH GUYS crazy idea I know

[Jerrythabest]

We should also have a special theme for infidels! >O


*feels subordinated*

[Violet CLM]

See, JJ1 got it right. Besides a quick cutscene-only mention of santa claus, everything is "holiday" and the menu snows <em>when it might be snowing in real life</em>, at least in the northern hemisphere, rather than during any special event in the middle of that season.

[Jerrythabest]

I vote for linking JJ2 with location discovery and weather services to find out about the actual weather at the precise place where someone is playing JJ2. Turn on the holiday theme if it's snowing. And maybe add stuff like thunderstorms or apply a heat effect to the main menu at hot days.

[Violet CLM]

Seconded!

[Stijn]

Or it could check J2O and see whether it's applying the snow background, and base its own winter theme on that! <small style="font-size:0.5em;">except usually we forget to enable it until january or so</small>

[Obi1mcd]

And then it stays there until April.
Clearly the best option is to leave the winter theme on in JJ2 at all times just in case it's snowing somewhere.

[DoubleGJ]

just assume the menu applies to antarctica

[Torkell]

And then it stays there until April.

You mean you don't get snow in April where you are? :p

[Slaz]

You mean you don't get snow in April where you are? :p

We do! This year in NL, snow actually fell on easter. Which made me feel ironic, as I had just released a JJ2 level called 'Frozen Spring' around that time. :rolleyes:

[Jerrythabest]

Also don't forget the 16 °C new year's eve. That totally justifies the fact that J2O didn't have snow until January.

[Obi1mcd]

You mean you don't get snow in April where you are? :p

Nope! In Australia you hardly ever get snow, and most certainly not before Winter.

[French]

Please, just do something simple, using for example the last two weeks of December… Simple but which works!
And sorry for religions (or origins); I thought about it while writing Easter but supposed it was not so important as the game uses those feasts as tilesets.

[cooba]

We're trying for a September releaseYa'll hear that? Best get your move on!

[Hare]

I'll see if I can cook something up.

[DoubleGJ]

I'm on it

[Love & Thunder]

If I get around to installing GIMP on this PC, I'll see if I can make something decent.

[Hare]

You guys were mentioning different splash screens depending on the time of the year, I think? I am thinking... If we get a few good submissions, would we be able to have multiple splash screen images? If it is possible, we could have one chosen at random each time the game starts up.

[cooba]

You guys were mentioning different splash screens depending on the time of the year, I think?Not really, no.

[Hare]

Ah, ok. I must have misread something. X_X

[Grytolle]

That's a fun idea. Special splash screen for JJ2 holidays, such as the anniversary bash \o/

[DoubleGJ]

<a href="http://i.imgur.com/lclxSCH.jpg"><img style="max-width:600px; max-height; 600px;" src="http://i.imgur.com/lclxSCH.jpg" alt="Image"></a>

wow I'm doing something worthwhile!!!!

I'll probably start over though because I'm not really happy with how it's turning out

[Slaz]

That looks like some real passionate effort there DoubleGJ! Spaz looks slightly more 'spazzed' and Jazz's mad like his alter-ego in Guilty Gene.. Just remember that any effort will at least come out better than sexy furr- ehh bunnies. :p

[Treylina]

<a href="http://i.imgur.com/lclxSCH.jpg"><img style="max-width:600px; max-height; 600px;" src="http://i.imgur.com/lclxSCH.jpg" alt="Image"></a>

wow I'm doing something worthwhile!!!!

I'll probably start over though because I'm not really happy with how it's turning out

Still better than every other entry and my questionable attempt. Jazzes gun looks a bit strange, though,

ripped art is boring

[Hare]

Just remember that any effort will at least come out better than sexy furr- ehh bunnies. :p

Family walks in when you are starting up JJ2
"Why, Timmy! What on earth is on your computer?"
"MOM! I can explain O_O"

[Violet CLM]

Small update: we actually have working code for this now. It was kind of an untested theory before, but right now when I boot up JJ2 I'm actually seeing custom graphics, albeit ones that color reduced pretty poorly into the menu palette, so please keep that detail in mind...

[XxMoNsTeRXM]

A little changed then, can't say I'm very happy with the way the plus looks.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/95263412/Nearest%20match.bmp

You should change it again :) because you have wrote Epic Games instead of Epic Mega Games.

EDIT: I understand it's not wrong, that Epic Games is from Epicgames site. So it's good.

[Treylina]

You should change it again :) because you have wrote Epic Games instead of Epic Mega Games.

...That's because it's no longer Epic Mega Games. Gee, does it really matter?

EDIT: It's late for me to say this, but I really think if players going to rip art, it should be limited within the official Jazz Jackrabbit universe. I don't care if you add JJ related attire to some character of another franchise, it still doesn't count. Bonnie may be created by Dean and all (the guy who designed Lori and the cutscenes), but she has nothing to do with the Jazz Jackrabbit universe. Erotic stuff doesn't belong to JJ2 either.

[Love & Thunder]

Is it possible to have separate splash screens for TSF+ and 1.23+?

[Jerrythabest]

I think so.

[French]

Behold a splash screen made by my friend Lolo!

Here is the PNG extracted from the original vector graphics made with Inkscape:
http://www.frigory-turin33.fr/special/jj2/Lolo-Splash-TrueColor.png

Following, what we could obtain if you were able to change the palette for the splash screen:
http://www.frigory-turin33.fr/special/jj2/Lolo-Splash-CustomPal.bmp

And finally what we have with the menu palette:
http://www.frigory-turin33.fr/special/jj2/Lolo-Splash-MenuPal.bmp

…
But I think Lolo can improve he last one manually (because this one was generated automatically).

[Violet CLM]

Is that automatic vectorization from raster images in the background there? It looks pretty good on the Carrotus graphics, but I'm not wild about the JJ2 logo, even without the strange lighting.

[Treylina]

Behold a splash screen made by my friend Lolo!

Here is the PNG extracted from the original vector graphics made with Inkscape:
http://www.frigory-turin33.fr/special/jj2/Lolo-Splash-TrueColor.png

Following, what we could obtain if you were able to change the palette for the splash screen:
http://www.frigory-turin33.fr/special/jj2/Lolo-Splash-CustomPal.bmp

And finally what we have with the menu palette:
http://www.frigory-turin33.fr/special/jj2/Lolo-Splash-MenuPal.bmp

…
But I think Lolo can improve he last one manually (because this one was generated automatically).
Why would somone use gradients a basis for shading for something that's meant to be for an 8-bit pallette? That's asking for bad-looking colour loss. Can people just complete the rest of the pic with the 8-bit method, it saves so much time messing around in the end. Sketching on paper is fine, but when it reaches the colouring stage, some thoughts about limited colours should be applied. Do people really have that much of a problem doing pixelart?

Also, pls save in PNG again after converting to bmp. BMP is large. There's even some programs/online utilities out there that can reduce the colours in PNGs, probably much better than how BMP does automatically.

Another nitpick is that is looks pretty stiff. It tries to look dynamic, though ends up looking awkward, because it doesn't execute anatomy very well (yes, it helps with cartoons at times) as well as lacking a proper line of motion. They don't meld well with the background either, it feels thrown in, because it completely ignores the perspective between where the characters are placed. Spaz appears to be a giant, and I don't have a clear idea of what he's doing. Jazz and Lori's hands appear to be the same, even though Jazzes are actually bigger (and for a good reason, male hands are bigger). The way the hands are drawn doesn't look like they're grabbing onto anything, probably because I don't see any knuckles implied, they just...get thinner. I could go into more critique, but I think that's enough for now. I've probably used a bunch of terms that are obscure to many.

Sorry for going into evil art-critic mode. I am also critical of my own work.

[Toni_]

Light source seems really displaced. Fix the JJ2 logo. With palette fixing it is definitely better than any splash screen I saw before.

[Jerrythabest]

Definitely the best one so far IMHO, though the Jazz logo and the Epic logo need their lighting fixed.

Though I must say there is some truth in Treylina's remark that such extensive use of gradients is somewhat courageous if you're bound to a specific palette. The error dithering is all over the place.

[French]

Thanks for your constructive replies. A new version is under “construction”. I may submit it during the week.

[Obi1mcd]

I'll leave all attempts at drawing the main screen to those above me that are good at art, but if anyone wants a quick Epic Games logo that fits with the palette and is kinda flat instead of "best-match" fitted to the palette:

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8052/9jo0.png

[Stijn]

You know, I'd kind of prefer the old Epic logo. The game was made when the company still used that one, after all. A bit of pandering to us nostalgic old ones doesn't hurt ;)

[Jerrythabest]

Also, again, the fact that JJ2 won't run properly on Windows 8 is a very valid reason to ignore the eye-exploding ugly new Windows logo.

[Hare]

Eye explodingly ugly :D. This is why Steve Ballmer is stepping down as CEO of Microsoft. ;)

I like your friend's splash screen, French. Colors are vibrant and playful. It looks like a design you might see on a jewel case.

I do think that Lori's clothes are kind of weird fitting though. That, and the logos are a bit off. I'm all for Linux, but the way the WINE logo is tacked over the Windows 8 one doesn't look classy. The Windows 8 logo itself is... Yeah as Jerry said, eye explodingly ugly, but that's Microsoft's fault XD.

*edit*

I think my submission is broken...

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/2013-09-23-jazz-splashscreen-wip-what-the-crap.jpg

I was working on this when I realized it looks like Jazz is holding Spaz's torso like a gun o.o

Oh, and I'll have Nick's JJ2 title in there for the final image. The blue text is just a placeholder.

[Stijn]

:O that's awesome

[Jerrythabest]

Yea! (Except for Jazz holding Spaz's torso like a gun, that is...)

[Treylina]

Eye explodingly ugly :D. This is why Steve Ballmer is stepping down as CEO of Microsoft. ;)

I like your friend's splash screen, French. Colors are vibrant and playful. It looks like a design you might see on a jewel case.

I do think that Lori's clothes are kind of weird fitting though. That, and the logos are a bit off. I'm all for Linux, but the way the WINE logo is tacked over the Windows 8 one doesn't look classy. The Windows 8 logo itself is... Yeah as Jerry said, eye explodingly ugly, but that's Microsoft's fault XD.

*edit*

I think my submission is broken...

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/2013-09-23-jazz-splashscreen-wip-what-the-crap.jpg

I was working on this when I realized it looks like Jazz is holding Spaz's torso like a gun o.o

Oh, and I'll have Nick's JJ2 title in there for the final image. The blue text is just a placeholder.
Don't make the finished submission JPEG, plz. I think that once you add the gun, it will no longer look like Jazz is holding Spazzes torso. If it still does, move Spaz to the left more. Out of curiousity, will Lori be included? It looks neat so far.

[Hare]

Yeah, the final version will be indexed. I was getting a large file when I exported PNG, which seemed strange because of the limited colors. I've got it sorted now though and have everything working with the JJ2 menu pallet.

Unfortunately, I only included Jazz & Spaz in this picture. I really should have included Lori. I guess its because I only ever play on 1.23. I will have to work something out though.

[Violet CLM]

In the best of all possible worlds, we end up with one great submission with Lori and one great submission without her.

[Hare]

That sounds good. I think I'm done for now. I've just spent the last 10+ hours turning this...

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/2013-09-24-jazz-splashscreen-fullbright.png

Into this...

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/2013-09-24-jazz-splashscreen-finished.png

Let me know if there's anything I missed, though.

Oh yeah, and here's the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 + logo I used if anyone needs it. Its a bit fugly around the edges, but it looks ok once it is scaled down.

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/jazz2plus-indexed.png

[Foly]

Wow, that really looks incredible! Those 10+ hours you spend on it are well worth it.

[Stijn]

I O+ it. Incredible! And we even got a JJ2+ logo as a bonus ^^

Though I'm still not sure about the Windows 8 logo there... It doesn't really seem to fit in. I think the new Epic logo looks better than the old one in this case, but maybe you could do away with the Windows logo entirely.

[Hare]

Yeah, I was having a hard time making it fit in with anything. I did my best and the Windows 8 logo has defeated me. I just can't fix that kind of ugly.

Maybe I could put a J2O logo and URL there instead.

[Stijn]

J2O doesn't really have a logo :( I'd say just leave the corner empty, so we can appreciate Jazz's left foot better ;)

[cooba]

Looks wonderful!

How about moving the Epic logo into the bottom right instead?

I also think I prefer the JJ2+ logo (O+) on the top layer, instead of being behind ears. Also, maybe try giving the Epic logo the same white border, and see how it looks?

[Toni_]

Maybe add Stroke 1px with black color to the Windows logo, like it's on Epic's logo?

This is the best JJ2 illustration I ever saw. Can you tell us what you used for motivation? :)

[Love & Thunder]

Wow, that is awesome. It would be great to see that every time I start up JJ2. :)

[Grytolle]

Looks awesome! But for the life of me, I don't get why we would change to the Epic Games logo and the Windows 8 logo. Epic Games have never had anything to do with JJ2, now have they? And Windows 8 makes it seem like JJ2+ wouldn't run on older versions of Windows, eventhough it probably runs the best on XP

[Slaz]

Wow hare! That splash screen literally took my breath away for a while! :D
All the way from sexy bunnies to something so awesome!

I can really see 10+ hours of work in that! I'm on vacation now, but can't wait to find the new plus release when I get back

[Treylina]

I'm sorry, I don't like the TSF submission. It feels too off. If only my art skills weren't despicably limited (I am bad at hands, perspective and I refuse to do the hands-behind back crutch cliche). Though if I really get my arse off I could try. I had a somewhat concept sketch from 2 weeks ago, though when I cut out parts to the point it became something more basic and uninspired, I have doubt in myself of improving in time.

The 1.23 entry is nice, though jazz appears to be missing the insides of one of his ear, and his tail looks kinda unfinished (or maybe it's just me).

http://s15.postimg.org/qxk6s2j4r/Picture_19.jpg
EDIT: Here is the "concept" doodle. Featuring special guest, hedgehog mug. It's not what I was going for (my title looks too much like graffiti art, and it was supposed to have a vanishing point, the characters aren't doing anything what I intended to, no plus), so I just consider it a warmup. Disreguard the mediocre cam quality, when I'm confident enough to attempt the final version, it'll be done digitally. Spaz is a bit wonky. I'll sketch up another concept sometime which will be more what I aimed for, though I got to practice some other things.

[French]

Well done, Hare! Lolo and I are very impressed!
He tried to improve his vector graphics:
http://www.frigory-turin33.fr/special/jj2/Lolo-Splash-TrueColor-Last.png
But as he loves what you did and thinks he cannot draw something better (and he cannot spend too much time at drawing), I think he will give up for a while (unless someone wakes us up).

[Treylina]

Still, the question begs: How well does it cope with colour loss? And fur splits don't work that way. When they're drawn that way, they look like they have got shocked by something. Fur splits follow the line of the body. The colour composition is better, and the hands are an improvement, and the figures... the same.

[AvalancheMaster]

French, sorry, but that tries so hard to look like a JJ Abrams movie, that at best it looks blurry and unfocused.

[Slaz]

I made this somewhat lousy attempt to improve upon the Windows logo by using the Microsoft flag instead. It's menu palette compatible, and at least looks slightly less ugly now. Any more skillfull artist may improve the shading I tried to make in the edges of the squares. :p

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/9175/5tej.png http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/7953/yi82.png

[Jerrythabest]

Hare's splash screen looks WOWZERS! I'm absolutely stunned in amazement.

Two remarks:
* It's indeed somewhat weird that Jazz's right ear does not have the pink inside.
* I'd either replace the Windows logo with the Epic logo, or fix it somehow.

EDIT: I'd try Slaz's suggestion. Though maybe a little less vivid?

[Stijn]

I'd just not put in a Windows logo at all, really. The only reason it's in these concepts is because it's on the original splash screen, and that was more of a "look, we're not a DOS game!" thing, hardly relevant nowadays.

[Treylina]

I was working on remaking Slaz's logo, but I forgot to save a lot of work I had done. Fuck it, I'm not doing that again.

In the end, the windows logo isn't even necessary. TSF didn't have one, I recall.

[szmol96]

Hare's screen RULEZ!

[KRSplatinum]

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/2013-09-24-jazz-splashscreen-finished.png

Let me know if there's anything I missed, though.
Maybe there needs a version with Mac logo for Macintosh...:p

[Jerrythabest]

Since when does Plus run on Macs? :p

[Sean]

Yep, Hare's pretty much got us all beat with that splash.

[Jerrythabest]

Now it's up to someone else to beat his entry =)

[MrAlextov]

Really, Without logos (atleast Epic Logo only) it would look better.

[Grytolle]

Yeah, just change it to the logo of the company that actually made the game, and it's perfect \o/

[Love & Thunder]

Here's an idea: Instead of the Windows logo, how about the logo for whatever Orange games is known as these days(Or, if Orange no longer exists in any form, the old Orange Games logo could still be used)?

[Hare]

UPDATE

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/jazz-jackrabbit-2-splash-indexed-final.png

I hope the Epic Games logo should be enough :)

[Violet CLM]

Looks good... ship it!

[Hare]

w00t w00t!

[DoubleGJ]

Gonna go to town to scan my submission today - no scanner of my own, such poor wow im doge. I could probably draw the whole thing on my tablet, but nothing beats pen and paper

[Stijn]

Hare: awesome-o. I'd prefer it with the JJ2+ logo in the background as in the first version - makes the whole look more dynamic - but either way it looks great.

[Slaz]

I like it with the white corner around the Epic logo. Would it look good on the left side as well (in that electro blast)? :)

[MrAlextov]

The last version of Hare Splashscreen looks great!

[Jerrythabest]

I like the JJ2+ logo in the foreground =) After all, the logo is designed so that the '2+' end of the logo seems to be popping out of the screen. IMHO it looked rather silly to paste Jazz and Spaz on top of that.

Also the white edge around the Epic logo comes out nicely, though I'm somewhat curious whether it wouldn't look better if the logo would stay on the yellow blast so we can enjoy Jazz's foot more.

[cooba]

The splash screen is good enough as it is.

[Stijn]

Also the white edge around the Epic logo comes out nicely, though I'm somewhat curious whether it wouldn't look better if the logo would stay on the yellow blast so we can enjoy Jazz's foot more.
#2, I think that'd be a nice final touch.

[Violet CLM]

I think it's more balanced this way, with logos in opposite corners.

[Treylina]

You still didn't fix the inside of Jazzes other ear =C. I'd experiment putting the epic games logo (the one with the white border, ofc) to the left corner, to see if it looks better.

I think I prefer the plus logo being in the front. I didn't notice it very well before.

[DoubleGJ]

'ho boy.

this is obviously not finished yet, but I'll spend most of tomorrow on train, and I want to show you guys that my entry is nearing completion. it doesn't look even half as cool as it's going to be with all the shading and texturing I intend to make, but at least it's palpable as it is now.

check it

http://i.imgur.com/iBfXIot.png

[Violet CLM]

Looking dynamic! Just... could you try to make Jazz look a little less evil?

[DoubleGJ]

I did once already... one of the reasons I started from scratch was that Jazz wasn't looking like a positive character (and Spaz looked more like his hard mode alter ego). When I'll do the shading, his eyebrows and smile will be much more visible, that should do the trick.

[Love & Thunder]

It looks kind of like an episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog, and I love that. :D

[cooba]

Some thoughts:

- That's a lot of pixels used just for the legs. Maybe move the characters down a bit, so the JJ2 logo has more room to breathe?

- Jazz looks like he's picking up Spaz from the floor. Would it be a problem to move the right hand somewhere?

- You could do without the shine on the Blaster, I think, to make the picture less busy (and because it looks like <a href="http://theslenderman.wikia.com/wiki/The_Operator_Symbol">the Operator symbol</a> a lot)

Otherwise it's great! That Lori is just the cutest thing O+

[Slaz]

Nice one DoubleGJ! It looks great even without the extra shading you're planning to do.

However, I wonder where and how you're going to put the logo's in. The top left would say bye-bye to Devan which would be a loss. When you've worked that out, you may want to consider the 'white edge' method for the logo's that Hare used, it looked crisp and clean! :cool:

I'd say this can be used for TSF+ since it includes Lori, while Hare's one obviously suits 1.23+ with her absence.

[DoubleGJ]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d660mg3bvag0ook/JJ2%20Plus%20RC1.bmp

(sorry for using dropbox, I didn't want to risk the picture getting its color settings and file format changed)

It's messy, especially compared to Hare's entry, but that's how I wanted it to be. The biggest inspiration behind this submission were the "eye catcher" pictures from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, so yeah. One thing I regret is that Lori got a bit greenish during the color reduction process - I did my best to use colors from the menu palette, but Photoshop knew better anyway (and it was pretty much the only program I could get decent results with). I used TilesetPal for color reduction. If anyone feels better at this, I do have the original picture as well.

Worth noting is that right before doing most of the shading I had my wisdom tooth removed and did the work under the influence of a really strong painkiller. I guess it shows :2

[cooba]

Fantastic.

[Superjazz]

Pwn! (y)

[Treylina]

Nice! I don't think it would've got ruined if you uploaded it as a PNG and showed it here though. You can always save a picture again separately in another format. The preview in dropbox is a JPEG.

EDIT: I can take out the stray green pixels manually and show it here.

I also wanted to edit Hare's entry as well to add better anti-aliasing to Devan's shadow in the cloud, though I'm waiting until he fixes Jazzes other ear.

EDIT 2: I killed the stray green pixels. And improved some little things. Lori's eyes were never officially green, it was likely that way in the sprites to keep the morph cycle colours default for Jazz/Spaz in SP. There's not much I can do about how scratchy Lori looks that has the black shading, that's the pallettes fault. I was going to smooth out some more scratchy yellow areas, but I've worked on this long enough already (I'm kinda lazy). Though I don't think it will bother people that much.

http://s2.postimg.org/kqdznv0ah/JJ2_Plus_RC1_EDIT.png

Btw DoubleGJ, you should upload the original lossless version to deviantart. It would be a nice plus advert too.

EDIT 3: Updated version is on next page.

[Stijn]

And improved some little things.
Living on the edge...

[Treylina]

Living on the edge...

What do you mean?

[cooba]

Let's not change other people's artwork without permission

[Stijn]

What cooba said, people are typically not thrilled if you go editing their work without permission, even if it's done with nothing but good intentions...

[Black Ninja]

First, I logged on today and saw Hare's artwork, and I was like "woah, I doubt anyone can make anything I like even half that much."

And then I saw DoubleGJ's, which is just as awesome but in an entirely different style, and I love it just as much.

Tough competition! Though none of you have added Fooruman to your art, so really, someone else could easily steal my heart at this point...

[Slaz]

Hey DoubleGJ, don't be too modest, your shaded version looks impressive! No painkillers killed the Jackrabbits. 8D

[Seren]

Let's not change other people's artwork without permission
What cooba said, people are typically not thrilled if you go editing their work without permission, even if it's done with nothing but good intentions...
I take it we interpret "if anyone feels better at this" in two different ways.

[cooba]

"This" being "color reduction", which Treya did rather well, but not everything else.

[Treylina]

Semi-unpopular opinion go;

I used to care about things being edited without permission, though I stopped caring, since the original still exists. Somewhat unrelated, I don't even get why some artists make a big deal about their uncontroversial art being reposted (if they give credit), you're basically getting free publicity. It's the picture equivalent of word-of-mouth.

In the case of taking someones physical work and changing it without their permission, I could understand. Once that is changed, it is hard to go back and may be out of the original artists intentions. Or in the case of taking food without asking, may be for someone else/an occasion and once you eat it, it's gone.

And, what SE said in skype:
"Besides, you just posted it in the same thread as he. I don't get the problem, it's not like you modified it without his *knowledge*, you're telling him you did and he is to decide whether he's going to accept your version or not. So you're asking him for permission, except better because he doesn't have to trust you will modify it well, he can already see the result."

I'd be pretty greatful if people edited my work for good intentions (it's something I sunconsciously expect, compliments barely effect me unless it's a comparision of said previous works of mine). Don't be afraid to admit if there's something I need to work on (and it helps to explain how to improve it and why it's wrong).

[Jerrythabest]

I think you did a very good job at removing the greenness from Lori, though you also removed some of the scratchyness that I assume DoubleGJ had added on purpose. I'm not completely sure which version I like best, though of course DoubleGJ is the one who has to decide.

[DoubleGJ]

http://jsz-jazz.deviantart.com/art/Jazz-Jackrabbit-2-Contest-Splash-407490684 original full-size, full-color version

Treylina, I appreciate your eagerness to help, but I'd rather not change Lori's eye color. I too used to draw them purple years ago, but now I prefer to go with green, for two reasons: 1) No official artwork shows her eye color at all IIRC 2) She's a sibling of Jazz and Spaz and a different eye color for every single one of them seems improbable. Also, green looks better composition-wise to me. I'm not angry or anything, but it does sadden me a bit when you undermine my artistic choice in such a tricky way...

[Treylina]

http://jsz-jazz.deviantart.com/art/Jazz-Jackrabbit-2-Contest-Splash-407490684 original full-size, full-color version

Treylina, I appreciate your eagerness to help, but I'd rather not change Lori's eye color. I too used to draw them purple years ago, but now I prefer to go with green, for two reasons: 1) No official artwork shows her eye color at all IIRC 2) She's a sibling of Jazz and Spaz and a different eye color for every single one of them seems improbable. Also, green looks better composition-wise to me. I'm not angry or anything, but it does sadden me a bit when you undermine my artistic choice in such a tricky way...

It's okay, I didn't realise you made them green for that reason. I can make an edited version which only gets rid of the stray green pixels but keeps everything else the same as before.

[DoubleGJ]

yeah, that'd be great

[Violet CLM]

Heh, I think technically we could put it in at the original resolution and JJ2 would do the downscaling, but that feels like it would be a massive waste of bytes and processing power.

[DoubleGJ]

I doubt it'd look good anyway

[Treylina]

http://s22.postimg.org/puzo5e7hd/JJ2_Plus_RC1_EDIT.png

Edit of an edit. I pieced the crucial parts of the original back, because doing it all over again would take too long.

[DoubleGJ]

I think it's good. Others' opinion?

[Violet CLM]

I think the thin white X at the center top should be more curved or something, because right now it looks like someone crossed out the light behind it using the line tool in MSPaint.

[DoubleGJ]

yeah, one thing I really miss in Photoshop is freely rotating canvas like in Paint Tool Sai. doesn't help that I have a really cheap graphic tablet either. individual lines just never come out quite smooth enough

[Love & Thunder]

It looks brilliant, and -- as a TSF player -- I would love for that to greet me every time I start up the game. :D

[Hare]

I think my head just exploded. That's awesome :).

[Grytolle]

This is going to be awesome.

[Jerrythabest]

No, Gry. This is awesome.

[Slaz]

Does that mean you're all set and ready to release now? 8D

[Violet CLM]

As far as I know, we're only working on documentation at this point.

[Hare]

Ok, update. Jazz now has an inside to his right ear... And I tweaked some colors and stuff to make it pop.

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/splash/2013-10-22-jazz-splashscreen-updated.png

[Violet CLM]

Neat! Would you say that's the final version?

[Slaz]

I see a stray green pixel right from the blue gem! 8D

But my eye for detail aside, I'm not sure which version I like better. From an artistic point of view, I think I like the previous one with the lighter colors and the smoke/shadow in the back. For a menu screen however, this one looks more clean and vivid to the eye.

[cooba]

Hmm. Maybe try removing the white outline from the logos after all?

(And could you put up the logo itself too?)

[Jerrythabest]

Ooh, nice update! I like it even better than the previous version, good job :)

I also spot a green pixel left of Devan. Or is that a star?

About the white borders... I think maybe the Epic logo can do without, but I'm not so sure about the JJ2+ logo.

[Love & Thunder]

Perhaps the white boarders could just be smaller?

[Slaz]

The white outlines do make the logo's stand out which is good imo.

Though I agree it may not be that important for the Epic logo, so I wouldn't mind seeing it go. I wouldn't mind seeing it stay either.. How convenient! :p

[Darkhog]

IMO Lori should have Jazz eyes. Somehow she doesn't look right with green ones, it just stay too much out. But it is just my opinion.

[Hare]

Yeah. This was meant as the final image. I will have to find out what's going on with that stray pixel and fiddle with the logo outlines when I can get back to my computer... Might try adding a border to the gem as it looks a tad odd in Jazz's hand.

[cooba]

Might try adding a border to the gem as it looks a tad odd in Jazz's hand.No, I like that! It's pretty much the same as in game, this way.

[Darkhog]

Yeah. This was meant as the final image. I will have to find out what's going on with that stray pixel

I don't mean stray pixels, just that green eyes doesn't look good with yellow fur. Blue (Jazz's eye color) would work here better IMO.

[Treylina]

I don't mean stray pixels, just that green eyes doesn't look good with yellow fur. Blue (Jazz's eye color) would work here better IMO.

What the hell, you were talking about DoubleGJ's entry. Hare is talking about his own entry.

[Jerrythabest]

I think he missed the posts of me and Slaz that mentioned the pixels. :p

Also, about the gem: I'm with cooba. It looks awesome the way it is now, and I'm very afraid a border would do it no good.

[Hare]

KK, things have been fiddled with.

Plain: http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/splash/2013-10-27-jazz-jackrabbit-2-splash.png
Bordered: http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/splash/jazz-jackrabbit-2-splash-retrolicious.png
Over The Top: http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/splash/jazz-jackrabbit-2-splash-fanfare.png

[Violet CLM]

Despite the admirable amount of work gone into that third one, I think my vote's for Plain... great work on the illumination from the blaster flash, btw.

[Hare]

Ah, alrighty. Yeah, the third one was just experimenting.

[Jerrythabest]

I agree with Violet. Plain looks most natural. And indeed the illumination and shading tweaks look very good! And Jazz is no longer holding the gem with his tail :p

[Slaz]

I prefer the plain one if I must choose between those 3..

But honestly, I liked the previous one with the thick white borders and the 'tail holded' blue gem! :D

[Stijn]

But honestly, I liked the previous one with the thick white borders and the 'tail holded' blue gem! :D

#2<!>

[cooba]

Ugh, the "Plain" one is almost perfect, but you really didn't need to rotate the logo :(

Speaking of which, can you put up the logo in its own, too? It would make sense to use it in the game menus as well. :)

[Slaz]

Oh yeah, and here's the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 + logo I used if anyone needs it. Its a bit fugly around the edges, but it looks ok once it is scaled down.

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/jazz2plus-indexed.png

This was posted with Hare's first 'final' version of the image, maybe it'll look good in the menu once scaled down. ;)

[cooba]

Oh, thanks. No idea how I missed that. :drugs:

[Hare]

KK, trying again.

http://drawingforward.com/img/jj/splash/2013-10-27-jazz-jackrabbit-2-splash-300.png

[Violet CLM]

Looking fine!

[Jerrythabest]

I actually liked the way the logo was rotated, since it fits nicely between the rabbits and the stars, then. But either version looks awesome, so I'd say just go with the majority + your own preference as the artist of course.

[Darkhog]

Yeah, version with rotated logo looked better IMHO.