Artwork Wanted for The Brass Goggles Forum and Wiki

[von Corax]

Hello, everyone:

Welcome to our new home at brassgoggles.net, and the new forum software, Simple Machines Forum v.2.1.4!

To mark this major change in the life of the Forum, I have decided to ask the Community for contributions of new artwork for the following elements (so far):

• Top Banner
• Gender Icons
• More elements, as the need appears

I am not averse to paying for any artwork submitted; however, keep in mind that I am doing this entirely out of my personal pocket, and that I will expect to own the copyright to any art I pay for.

To the specifics: Although the current Top Banner is quite serviceable, it does not fit the requirements for a MediaWiki logo. I would like to obtain a logo and wordmark for the Wiki that co-ordinates with the Forum banner; this may require reworking of the Forum banner to match the Wiki logo.

The current banner is a 435x88 pixel transparent .png image of a Victrola with the text, "The Steampunk Forum at Brass Goggles". The Wiki logo would need to be a 50x50 .svg image (I imagine a globe or armillary sphere) with no text, combined with a 124x32 pixel "Wordmark" .svg image of the words, "The Steampunk Wiki at Brass Goggles".

It is more important to me that the logos co-ordinate between Forum and Wiki than it is to preserve the current Forum banner; I would like something that looks similar to the current banner, but I will consider any submission that fits this brief.

I have also implemented non-binary gender options for the Forum; however, the default icon set provides icons for only male and female. I need 45x45 (I think) icons for the following:

• Male
• Female
• Nonbinary
• Fluid
• Clank/robot/automaton
• Shoggoth
• Eldrich Abomination
• Great Old One (Cthulhu would be the obvious choice here)

Please note that I am unsure of the exact requirements for the Gender icons, and will be updating these requirements as and when I learn more.

[J. Wilhelm]

If I may, and at the risk of repeating myself, I'd like to suggest that for the icons, which will be very small images, we use very simple symbols.  And also I'd like to use Unicode characters, because you can print very sharp images of Unicode characters in any size, no matter how small, using something as simple as Microsoft Paint. If there isn't a way to display an image file, you can still display the Unicode character in full sharpness using text only. Simple Machines, as you can see below, handles Unicode quite nicely.

In the table below, which was generated with an app called Phonto, I used a font which is a custom font. BUT all the symbols to the left of those letters are standard Unicode characters that you can type on any keyboard (namely the Shoggoth, Eldritch and Great Old One symbols - are actually letters  or logographs from foreign writing systems).

For anyone interested in incorporating these symbols into your artwork, you can actually copy and paste these symbols from the list below, and then scale your text to match the artwork:

♂ Male
♀ Female
⚧ Transgender
⚩ Non Binary
⚥ Bigender
⚲ Agender 
𐃵 Automaton
𖡹 Shoggoth
𖢙 Eldritch Abomination
𖢘 Great Old One

There's no symbol for Gender Fluid Only a flag AFAIK. Fluid would be a subset of Non Binary.

If you want to, I can generate the 45 x 45 pixel icons in Phonto, but I'd prefer to use Microsoft Paint in Windows or Gimp in Linux if someone gives me the color maps for the font and background (I just picked two random shades of brown).

[von Corax]

There's no symbol for Gender Fluid Only a flag AFAIK. Fluid would be a subset of Non Binary.

According to Nonbinary Wiki the symbol for Mercury, ☿, can be used to denote both fluidity and intersexuality.

Also, I've found the instructions for adding icons, and they recommend 16x16 transparent .png for the gender symbols. Also, there will need to be one set for each installed theme, of which there are currently three: default (aka Brass Goggles), Burnt and Brown Shades.

[J. Wilhelm]

So according to that wiki, the ⚧ symbol is shared, but I  also found that in some sources, the Bigender symbol, ⚥, is shared with Intersex. Making Intersex share symbols with others.The problem with that is that these are two very different things. Intersex is the physical state of body regardless of identity, whereas Bigender and Gender Fluid are a type identity, regardless of the body. In this case, I'd yield the ⚥ symbol to Intersex instead. The Mercury symbol ☿ then goes to Gender Fluid.

The updated list is:

♂ Male
♀ Female
⚥ Intersex
⚧ Transgender
⚩ Non Binary
☿ Gender Fluid
⚲ Agender 
𐃵 Automaton
𖡹 Shoggoth
𖢙 Eldritch Abomination
𖢘 Great Old One

We do have at least one Intersex member in BG, I believe.

[J. Wilhelm]

16 x 16 is pretty small. I was trying to do a sample gif or jpeg of an icon, but Phonto isn't very useful because it rescales the image when saving.  It's got to be done with MS Paint or Gimp to get it right. Since I have that Azulle PC stick, I have MS Paint there.

[von Corax]

16 x 16 is pretty small. I was trying to do a sample gif or jpeg of an icon, but Phonto isn't very useful because it rescales the image when saving.  It's got to be done with MS Paint or Gimp to get it right. Since I have that Azulle PC stick, I have MS Paint there.

You could also do a true vector .svg, which would make the size immaterial.

[J. Wilhelm]

Here's some pictures made with AI. I can improve on this.I don't know how they'd look as a transparent svg, but it's easy to process in gimp. The AI doesn't generate vector graphics. It only spits out jpeg gif and png. Let's see if I can make the brown shades transparent or translucent to only leave the lowest layer. Or we can just put it in a frame

[von Corax]

I like all three of those. I am particularly drawn to the globe (the top one) although the busy background makes it unsuitable as-is. Can you make it with a uniform blank background?

As to format, WikiMedia recommends a 50x50 transparent .svg, but a transparent .png of the same dimensions should serve as well.

[J. Wilhelm]

I like all three of those. I am particularly drawn to the globe (the top one) although the busy background makes it unsuitable as-is. Can you make it with a uniform blank background?

As to format, WikiMedia recommends a 50x50 transparent .svg, but a transparent .png of the same dimensions should serve as well.

Ok. Let me see what I can do, but AI doesn't give you much of a choice in that regard.

[RJBowman]

It looks like a globe of a regional map. Does the software allow any map to be turned into a globe?

[J. Wilhelm]

It looks like a globe of a regional map. Does the software allow any map to be turned into a globe?

You can *suggest it* but I'm not sure you can force it. This is machine learning which learned by association. If a lot of images on the net show something in particular quite often, the AI will gravitate to that. The phrase I used was "globe inside an armillary sphere" and didn't specify a background with wooden furniture or brown interiors, for example, but most armillary spheres and globes are inside offices, and that's why that background emerged. 

Maybe if I specify a white background I can come later and erase the white in Gimp or Photoshop.

[von Corax]

I've started playing with Midjourney, and came up with this:

Would someone adept with Gimp/Photoshop/Whatever be able to crop & scale this to 135x155 px with a transparent background?

[Sorontar]

Okay, try https://imgur.com/a/ySyQPe8



I have with a transparent background if that version doesn't work.

Sorontar

[von Corax]

Thanks. I'll have a closer look after work.

[von Corax]

Okay, try https://imgur.com/a/ySyQPe8



I have with a transparent background if that version doesn't work.

Sorontar

Excellent! Thank you! I've installed it as the Wiki logo, and it looks splendid!

Could I prevail upon you further to produce a "wordmark" image? It should be a 124x32 transparent .png containing the words "The Steampunk Wiki at Brass Goggles", matching as closely as possible the typefaces and layout of the Forum banner. If you can't match the Forum banner, I would consider replacing the Forum banner with something that matches the Wiki banner.

[Sorontar]

Is this the size you want?

https://i.imgur.com/5RDfGin.png



If so, I will try to make the "Steampunk Wiki" easier to read and get the right font for the "at Brass Goggles". I have seen it before, but can't remember what it is called.

Sorontar

[von Corax]

Looks about right, except I need it without the logo - text only.

[Sir Henry]

If so, I will try to make the "Steampunk Wiki" easier to read and get the right font for the "at Brass Goggles". I have seen it before, but can't remember what it is called.

Sorontar

I think it's Eccentric Standard.

[Sorontar]

Okay, let's try this one.


https://imgur.com/a/WRakYZJ

The fonts I have used are:
- The: Apple Chancery
- Steampunk Wiki: Zapfino Italic
- at Brass Goggles: Eccentric Std

[von Corax]

Ooh, I like that!

[von Corax]

I've just changed the wiki's default skin to one called Timeless, which uses both the logo and the wordmark. The wordmark looks a little thin and pale on the white background, though, and I'm not sure what it needs to fix it.

[Sorontar]

We can make it a darker brown but the problem is always going to be that it is a lot to say with not much space, so it is a small resolution. There are a few bits that are light and could be strengthen to make it a bit stronger, e.g., some of the upstrokes for the k and the W. I'll see what I can do this week. The more I hand-touch it, the more it is likely to look up like pixelated text.

Sorontar

[von Corax]

Thank you. I appreciate all the effort you're putting in to this.

[Sorontar]

New version
- browner
- bolder

https://imgur.com/PSpkn0C

[von Corax]

It's in place, and I think it looks good. What do you think?
https://brassgoggles.net/wiki/