*Hopes that my mind is twisting Coda's words to mean worse than I am currently thinking they mean*

You finally have a computer? No more having to watch Netflix off your phone? Or trying to bribe people to come to your house with a labtop in exchange for food?

Probably you are -- all I meant is that I sent Toho a message on the 1st when I saw we didn't have any new items to tell him that we need a proper announcement to say we don't have June monthlies. (Because earlier in this thread we had agreed that an announcement every month is important even if it's not good news.) He said he would, and then he forgot to. That's all.

Roger. The bad thing about having a mind prone to negativity - you assume the most negative first.

Here here, I've fixed it all. Behold, a new item that will make everything okay for everyone until we get this little speedbump ground back down into the dust.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...pssedw6wfd.png

There. Now everything is better.

... actually if you back off the black to a dark brown, I could just about ship that item as-is.

I'd pay for those fancy pixels!

xD I want that item!

Wait. Is that's Trisphee's secret? Brown? Augh I finally know the secret and it is brown!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...psvj5thtdy.png

I present IOU2: IOU HARDER. Now in Brown. For Coda. Because I have nothing better to do.

Actually, part of the secret is "never use solid black". Use a darker version of the color you're outlining. Look at the base for an example.

...Isn't that a general computer graphics technique? The alternative being "layer a see-through shadow over the picture" or "start with blacks and greys, then change them after you get the shading correct"?

It's a general art technique; it isn't restricted to just computer graphics. It's also a style decision, not a hard-and-fast rule -- certain art styles look fine with bold black outlines, and may for example vary the thickness instead of the color (art nouveau style takes this to the extreme).

It's particularly popular with computer pixel graphics because you can't get a line any thinner than one pixel, but a less-dark color gives the illusion of a thinner line, but that illusion isn't the only reason to use it.

Ohhhh. That...makes a lot of sense. I'll be honest, very rarely do I art. Most of my attempts are considered crimes against humanity and each piece I have made lowers the cultural advancement of humanity by a tiny fraction. If you're a fan of Pratchett, I am the Rincewind of art.

But, you know, there is fun in lack of skill. And now I know the secret of brown.