Description from original post (created 2013-06-22 11:22):
Thanks for having a look at my contest entry. If you like it, please take the time to diamond my submission - it only takes a second to click a button! I'm not exactly a famous skinner so I could use all the support I get, whatever form it comes in.This was a difficult skin to make due to complications with McSkin. I managed to get to about this stage before it crashed, the .png file became corrupted and I had to start again. As you can imagine I was pretty annoyed with losing a good few hours' work, but I started again because I had confidence in the idea. In a way, I was happy: I was starting afresh, I knew what I had to do and I remade the skin.
Then it crashed again.
I flipped out a bit, as you would expect, and took a day's break. I was in a pretty foul mood. But you know what? I liked this idea. It was going to do well. I knew it. So this afternoon I started again, saving the .png file to a different folder on seven separate occasions, and eventually came up with what you're seeing now. I'm proud with how it turned out actually. This time there was a lot more contrast in colours than in the first version, his beard looked a lot more majestic and generally he didn't look like a fish stick wrapped in seaweed. Yeah, that's not a good look for the god of freedom.
So, why freedom? I wanted to choose a broader topic than 'dogs and pretty flowers' and this seemed like it would fit in nicely with existing Roman gods, so there we go. As well as this, his colours match those of the Statue of Liberty - the brown-orange sheen that it would have had when it was first made, and the blue you see today.
I loved working with these colours, too. Blue and orange are complimentary - that is to say, they are found on opposite sides of the colour wheel. While you would imagine that oranges would only work with reds or yellows, and blue with greens and purples, you'd be wrong: the blue and orange compliment each other (hey, it's that word again) in a way that would not work so well if the colours were similar. This is especially important when you're working on an extremely small 'canvas', as it were, so I'm certain I made the right choice.
The shading was different to my general style which you can see the most clearly in my Santa skin - and I hope you agree that it's progressed from there. Previously, my biggest downfall was not putting in enough contrast, so that's what I focused on with this skin. also, the patterns in the shadows were too regular: I wanted to make it look at least a little anatomically correct, so I attempted to make the shades reflect that. You can see this on his back with the spine. This was also the first time I'd tried making folds but it turned out a lot nicer than I expected. Again, it was this use of contrast that helped me here.
Libertus Sum's background
In the relative history of this planet we call home, it was not so long ago that the God of Freedom came into existence. His arrival into this world was not unlike that of other Gods; however, the circumstances of his birth caused him distress in his later life, as he would be rejected by those who may have been his friends given a different upbringing. His story is as follows.
In the beginnings of the Roman Empire, slavery was commonplace. A richer household without slaves was akin to a proper gentleman without a monocle - that is to say, he is not a very proper gentleman at all if you ask me. Slavery was to be found anywhere where labour - in the fields, beneath the flagstones, why, even the gladiators were slaves. Life without slaves was unthinkable to the Romans, the pinnacle of human society in their time.
I digress.
One such slave was an unassuming girl by the name of Vitellia, whose beauty captured the eye of the God of Gods, Jupiter. Vitellia worked for a man whose name has been shrouded by history. This is, for him at least, a good thing; it is reported that he worked his slaves to the bone. He was exactly the person who you could look in the eye and say without a shadow of a doubt that he should not be in possession of a single human life, let alone the horde he already owned. Many a slave had died by his hand or command, and while I could provide detail, I feel it would be unbecoming of me, given the number of younger readers here. It was a shame, thought Jupiter, that such a pretty young thing could be born into such a gruelling and laborious background. Jupiter took pity on the girl all those years ago and decided that he would provide Vitellia release from her life, if only temporarily. [HERE OCCURS THE i]MIRACLE OF LOVE[/i] WHEREBY JUPITER CANNOT KEEP IT IN HIS PANTS.]
Vitellia waved a silent farewell to her transcendent lover. Here began her arduous nine months which, while fraught with danger due to her inability to work as well as she had done before, would provide her with strength in the times she needed it most. She liked to think that she was helping her baby, but she still entertained the belief that the baby was, in fact, helping her.
Nine months passed, and Vitellia gave birth to a beautiful baby boy which she named Marcus, a name that he would not keep for long. Marcus behaved well and would follow his mother everywhere, helping whenever he could.
Vitellia decided to tell him about his godliness later on in his life, which coincided with him discovering his immense strength. The fact that he could work tirelessly, days on end, aroused the suspicion of his master, who could not damage him physically or mentally, however hard he tried.
The day that Vitellia told him about his father Marcus was given confidence. He had the courage to confront his master and, on the very same day delivered a magnificent punch with the force of a falcon between his master's eyes, knocking him out immediately. The Falcon Punch is the stuff of legends even today. A victory for the slaves! Marcus' cry of Libertus Sum - I am a free man - became his catchphrase and eventually his name, and after rising to Olympus he became the God of Freedom for millennia to come.
Make sure you read the Fresh Prince version of this!
In the beginnings of the Roman Empire, slavery was commonplace. A richer household without slaves was akin to a proper gentleman without a monocle - that is to say, he is not a very proper gentleman at all if you ask me. Slavery was to be found anywhere where labour - in the fields, beneath the flagstones, why, even the gladiators were slaves. Life without slaves was unthinkable to the Romans, the pinnacle of human society in their time.
I digress.
One such slave was an unassuming girl by the name of Vitellia, whose beauty captured the eye of the God of Gods, Jupiter. Vitellia worked for a man whose name has been shrouded by history. This is, for him at least, a good thing; it is reported that he worked his slaves to the bone. He was exactly the person who you could look in the eye and say without a shadow of a doubt that he should not be in possession of a single human life, let alone the horde he already owned. Many a slave had died by his hand or command, and while I could provide detail, I feel it would be unbecoming of me, given the number of younger readers here. It was a shame, thought Jupiter, that such a pretty young thing could be born into such a gruelling and laborious background. Jupiter took pity on the girl all those years ago and decided that he would provide Vitellia release from her life, if only temporarily. [HERE OCCURS THE i]MIRACLE OF LOVE[/i] WHEREBY JUPITER CANNOT KEEP IT IN HIS PANTS.]
Vitellia waved a silent farewell to her transcendent lover. Here began her arduous nine months which, while fraught with danger due to her inability to work as well as she had done before, would provide her with strength in the times she needed it most. She liked to think that she was helping her baby, but she still entertained the belief that the baby was, in fact, helping her.
Nine months passed, and Vitellia gave birth to a beautiful baby boy which she named Marcus, a name that he would not keep for long. Marcus behaved well and would follow his mother everywhere, helping whenever he could.
Vitellia decided to tell him about his godliness later on in his life, which coincided with him discovering his immense strength. The fact that he could work tirelessly, days on end, aroused the suspicion of his master, who could not damage him physically or mentally, however hard he tried.
The day that Vitellia told him about his father Marcus was given confidence. He had the courage to confront his master and, on the very same day delivered a magnificent punch with the force of a falcon between his master's eyes, knocking him out immediately. The Falcon Punch is the stuff of legends even today. A victory for the slaves! Marcus' cry of Libertus Sum - I am a free man - became his catchphrase and eventually his name, and after rising to Olympus he became the God of Freedom for millennia to come.
Make sure you read the Fresh Prince version of this!
Fresh Prince version for those with a limited attention span
Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute
Just sit and behave
I'll tell you how I became the God of freedom for slaves.
In Eastern Italia born and raised
In the villa was where mom spent most of her days
Day out, day in, obeyin' the rules
And all shootin her mouth off 'bout how her master ain't cool
When the king of the gods, who was up to no good
Started making trouble in her "neighborhood"
She ended up gettin' pregnant and mom got scared
She said "I'm carrying a god, surely someone should care?"
I popped out and worked with her day after day
And she showed me how our master just wasn't okay.
She gave me a kiss and she said "just forget it,"
I put my angry face on and said, 'I don't really get it'.
I say to him, "yo this sucks
You're drinking orange juice out of a gold wine cup.
Is this what the people of Rome living like?
Hmmmmm you're not in the right.
But wait he's got a villa, some land, all that
Is this the type of place that they just give this old bat?
I don't think so
It looks like he's doomed
I hope they're prepared for the God of Freedom.
Well, the first punch landed and he got knocked out
There were slaves standin' round, not knowing what I'm about
I ain't trying to get arrested,
I'm a God, you see?
They snap out of their trance and start applauding me.
I told them to run and when they all looked scared
I said "Libertus Sum, I'm free and I'm fair,"
If anything I could say that they were proud of me,
But I thought "Nah, forget it - they just wanna be free."
I went up to Olympus about quarter to three
And I yelled to mah daddy "Yo homes, remember me?"'
I looked at my kingdom
I was finally home
To sit on my throne as the God of Freedom.
My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute
Just sit and behave
I'll tell you how I became the God of freedom for slaves.
In Eastern Italia born and raised
In the villa was where mom spent most of her days
Day out, day in, obeyin' the rules
And all shootin her mouth off 'bout how her master ain't cool
When the king of the gods, who was up to no good
Started making trouble in her "neighborhood"
She ended up gettin' pregnant and mom got scared
She said "I'm carrying a god, surely someone should care?"
I popped out and worked with her day after day
And she showed me how our master just wasn't okay.
She gave me a kiss and she said "just forget it,"
I put my angry face on and said, 'I don't really get it'.
I say to him, "yo this sucks
You're drinking orange juice out of a gold wine cup.
Is this what the people of Rome living like?
Hmmmmm you're not in the right.
But wait he's got a villa, some land, all that
Is this the type of place that they just give this old bat?
I don't think so
It looks like he's doomed
I hope they're prepared for the God of Freedom.
Well, the first punch landed and he got knocked out
There were slaves standin' round, not knowing what I'm about
I ain't trying to get arrested,
I'm a God, you see?
They snap out of their trance and start applauding me.
I told them to run and when they all looked scared
I said "Libertus Sum, I'm free and I'm fair,"
If anything I could say that they were proud of me,
But I thought "Nah, forget it - they just wanna be free."
I went up to Olympus about quarter to three
And I yelled to mah daddy "Yo homes, remember me?"'
I looked at my kingdom
I was finally home
To sit on my throne as the God of Freedom.
Here's a screenshot for those of you who can't use the preview feature.
Well look at this, you beautiful people you.
As always, I'd love to