Screenshots

Rumarin by Laufey

Kris Takahashi News 2 Comments

Rumarin

Alliteration is fun, so I figured in addition to Fan Art Friday we should do a Screenshot Saturday as well. Here’s an image Reddit user Laufey contributed to the Skyrim Porn subreddit. I am a fan of all genres of pornography – it brings so much joy to so many people – and while some may disagree, I think this is the kind of porn we can all appreciate.

I’m also going to start highlighting some Let’s Plays in the right-hand column that take along followers from the mod. MulberryMint, who previously put Rumarin in the Sims, is currently doing a run through of Skyrim with the irreverent Altmer in tow. If you like it, don’t forget to subscribe.

I figure we can feature a youtuber every month or so, so if you have a Let’s Play you’d like to share or have featured, then make it known in the comments or the forums.

Fun with Filters

Kris Takahashi Screenshots 2 Comments

Meresine_DynamicBoostCool

Adobe Photoshop CS6’s filter gallery is a popular technique for making your screenshots look artsy, but it’s not quite as effective when dealing with NPCs because it mostly just blurs their faces. Still, I’ve found it’s remarkable how much mileage you can get out of ordinary screenshots when you apply the right filter.

oilpaintedskjel

This is just done with the standard CS6 oil paint filter. I just played around with the sliders until I got the desired result. I also noticed if you raise the SHINE slider you get pure nightmare fuel, so I’d advise against doing that.

Of course, rather than mess around with the filters, it’s always easier to just install a plugin. Right now I’m trying out Topaz Simplify, and it’s pretty fucking boss.  For instance, the picture at the top of the post is Meresine approaching a Giant Camp, done with Dynamic Boost plus some additional saturation to bring out the colors.

AnumLaTree_Topaz1

However, I think it’s with these pictures that the plugin really shines, and best of all, they require little to no adjustment. This shot of Anum-La‘s tree is just a standard PAINTING IV setting. The picture below is the same with added brightness.

Talos_Topaz_Meresine

Lurgok_Topaz

The Talos Shrine where you meet Meresine is above. Given it was night it required raising the brightness slider a ton, but the plugin really brings out the colors when you do. Riften’s fairly bright so there was no need to brighten or saturate the other one. It’s a shot of Lurgok watching over the bones of his offering to Malacath.

Viranya_Watercolor

Topaz also has a watercolor filter, but it requires some additional brightness and saturation to get it to look right. I still prefer the PAINTING II and PAINTING IV settings overall, but it’s always good to experiment and see what comes out. This shot of Viranya was done with the WATERCOLOR II setting.

In any event, if you have Adobe Photoshop CS6, it’s a pretty cool plugin to have. Works well with Skyrim screenshots anyway. It’d be interesting to see how it does with real life photos, but that would require going outside.

Bones, Beauties and Blacksmiths

Kris Takahashi Screenshots 7 Comments

2014-03-04_00001Here’s another set of screenshots I took over the last few weeks. Originally I thought we could turn this into a running segment, as in Screenshot Saturday, but then I realized I really don’t play enough Skyrim to justify a weekly collection of screenies. Modding Skyrim, sure, but playing it, just haven’t had the time. Also today is Tuesday.

This first shot is a nice little action photo. Too bad about the text – I’d photoshop it out if I wasn’t so lazy. As I mentioned previously, I’ve been staying in Riften for most of my recent playthrough – just there for the fishing I guess – and picked up Skjel on my way to test the new quest. While I’ve heard people say he’s a poor fighter, he was casting Frost Atronachs and smashing heads at level 25, so he seemed pretty badass to me.

2014-02-27_00011I wasn’t sure if Yushari‘s flower carrying mechanism was working properly, but lately I’ve seen her pottering around Riften with her wares in hand. Serana, meanwhile, is also hard at work in her career as a professional creeper. Soon.

2014-03-10_00002Here’s Balimund wearing his brand new bread-based kneeguard. He bakes them over his fire salt forge and then lets them sit out in the sun until they get so stale they can stop a spear. Some mistakenly believe that bread goes stale due to a loss of moisture, but it’s actually due to starch retrogradation, which is science talk for magic.

In any case, Balimund proves you don’t have to be a master smith to make capable armor, just grab some bread and some glue and you’re ready to face a Draugr horde. Just pray the Draugr don’t own bread knives, because then you’re completely fucked.

2014-03-07_00004I moved Alphena from outside the Retching Netch to a little box just outside the docks, allowing her to theoretically accompany you from the moment you step on dry land. I say theoretically because again this mod will never happen.

2014-02-08_00013Sometimes Serana will get really creative with her sandboxing. This is her getting into an Indian Step to set up for a classic “B-Boy Flare” maneuver popularized by the legendary Rocksteady…what? A horse and carriage bug? Nonsense. Serana is a street legend and also incredibly insane.

2014-02-06_00004Well, that’s it for another episode of 3DNPC screenshots. Somehow Meresine and I managed to get another picture posing with a corpse before Serana could fondle it, but perhaps she was too busy working on her windmills.