What is this about the tumblr staff wanting to sell art data to midjourney?
An ex-colleague of mine mentioned yesterday that there may be contacts between Automattic and midjourney in that direction, but nothing is public yet and I don't have any more info. They probably won't have anything specific to share either, since they left the company weeks ago too. That being said:
I have no reason to doubt my ex-coworker word, they are a trustworthy person.
Tumblr's CEO has been absurdly enthusiastic (comically, even) about AI, and is a big fan of LLMs and 'AI' companies.
A deal with midjourney could solve tumblr financial issues (not the same company, but openAi is paying up to 5 million/year to news companies to use their content as training data... tumblr generates several orders of magnitude more content than any newspaper or any media company and it only would need a 20 to 30 million per year deal to be profitable)
So I don't have any extra info yet, but I'm keeping my ears open.
And I just got confirmation from a second ex-colleague that a deal with midjourney has been brewing since months ago. Not any extra details, just that's a real thing.
Shit, I don't see any way for this to happen that doesn't make it an apocalyptic event the size of the porn ban. Fuck.
Shit. This may be pure chance and coincidence, and it's not he is in a position to be able to talk about anything, but seeing prominent staff members announcing they are moving their original photography out of tumblr just two weeks ago seems a pretty significant cue of shit to be about to hit the fan.
Shoutout to any long-time visitors of the ScrollBoss site who get why this Golden Axe tribute is the first new pixel art I'm posting this year. The violence inherent in the system never seems to end...
A general recipe for a Marvel Super Heroes Psylocke. Use this as a stepping off point to customize your very own Capcom style figure.
"Come on."
Original fig of Psylocke from Marvel Select and added sculpt to the body with wire extensions for bendable hair mod.
Process:
Took the Marvel Select Psylocke figure and sanded it down entirely.
Sanded the chins of each one (of the 2) heads down slightly.
Took off the long pieces of belt that streamed down and sanded that area smooth where it was connected at waist.
Cut the hair into a V on the head with the closed mouth expression. (See photo above for reference)
Trimmed back some of the hair by the left eye on that same head.
Just enough to indent a hole, lightly drilled into the separated sections of hair to eventually shove wire into. (3 in each)
Shoved aluminum wire in hair holes with a dab of super glue.
Sculpted some hair on head including adding a long strand down the right side of face.
After sculpt dried painted top of head's hair with 1 coat to see how it looked.
Using Aves, added sculpt to chest, thighs, calves, and feet.
Added a lil sculpt around each wire. (Also where it connects to hair)
Took purple foam sheet and cut into strips then super glued them between and on top of aluminum wires for hair.
Sanded the figure after all sculpt was set.
Painted everything the appropriate color including both heads and all of the alternate hands.
Drew bands around thighs using a felt tip sharpie to match a similar pattern to sprite's.
Painted the line spaces for the bands.
Using mostly neon pink paint, mixed with water, lightly repainted the translucent psychic effects to give a brighter hue.
Note: Even though the hair is meant to be moderately bendable, still use cautious pressure when doing so.
An example of the finished hair that is able to be bended into different positions.
Tools/Materials Used:
Brackets after the item are where they were originally purchased. No sponsorship or anything. This is in case you want to use anything I did and where they were found.The initial cost will be noted like this in USD for your consideration to weigh your options.
Figure
-Marvel Select Psylocke by Diamond Select $66.81 (Tax and Shipping included in prices)
Tools
Gordon Folding Lock-Back Utility Knife $5.44 [Harbor Freight]
Honoson 5 Pieces Miniature Sculpting Tools Set Mini Stainless Steel Double-Headed Tool $11.99 [Amazon]
Sanding Sticks DGBRSM 30pcs Black 37mm $8.59 [Amazon]
3M 110N sand paper ~$6 to $7 for a pack [Lowes bitd]
Transon Artist Paint Brushes Set of 12 $12.99 [Amazon]
GJJC09B 1PC Painting Stand Base and 20PCS Alligator Clip Stick Set Modeling Tools for Airbrush Hobby Model Parts New $9.99 [Amazon] (This is used to hold painted parts while they dry)
Rotary Tool, 4V Cordless Mini Rotary Multi-Tool Kit with 2 Variable Speed, 31pcs Accessories Kit for Carving, Engraving and Polishing $14.99 [Amazon] (This is what was used to drill small holes in hair for wire)
Materials
-Aves Apoxie Sculpt - 2 Part Modeling Compound - 1/4 Pound, Natural $21.95 [Amazon] (For body)
-The Army Painter Green Stuff $14.52 [Amazon] (For hair)
-HFT Super Glue 3-pack $1.49 [Harbor Freight]
-Hello Hobby Foam Sheets 50 ct. $5.97 [Wal-Mart]
-Artistic 20 Gauge Wire ~2.99 to $3.99 [Hobby Lobby]
Paint
-Apple Barrel Real Red Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart]
-Apple Barrel White Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart]
-Apple Barrel Black Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart]
-Apple Barrel Purple Velvet Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart]
-Apple Barrel Real Blue Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart]
-Apple Barrel Neon Pink Gloss ?? [Wal-Mart]
-Apple Barrel Yellow Matte $0.97 [Wal-Mart]
-Vallejo Flat Flesh and Clear Orange (From Vallejo Basic USA Acrylic Colors Paint Set, 17ml, Assorted Colors, 0.57 Fl Oz (Pack of 16)) $26.39 [Amazon] You may be able to find them individually much cheaper if you don't want the whole set just for those colors.
Other
Black and Red Felt Tip Sharpies for lines $5.47 from a 4 pack [Wal-Mart]
No BG photos.
For Your Consideration:
A few extra modifications that you could do with yours to make this fig even more accurate than mine:
-A large variety of psychic energy effects and butterflies.
-Can try recreating bendable hair.
-It might be an even better option to use the Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Psylocke to create your custom. It will certainly allow for an even greater range of poses.
(If you can think of any more please feel free to comment.)
Special Thanks To:
maximumspider for sending the link where I can find the character name logos via Scrollboss' website.
(You can also find Scrollboss here on tumblr and on X/Twitter.)
Psylocke sprites by psylockeboner
(Deviantart)
2d sprites, Player Select grid, and stage backgrounds from the original game (Marvel Super Heroes) by Capcom.
Psylocke Player Select photo.
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Currently sharin some MSH custom action figure recipes (10 / 12 Done)
My brand-new pixel art of Iron, the second boss from Data East's Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja and one-time co-worker of Karnov. In honor of Karnovember, of course.
There wasn't much involved in this custom outside of a few pieces of tape and a repaint. This Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Wolverine really lends itself to the MvC look very well right out the pack. You can put the fig in SO many positions. Also started having fun just bending or swapping out the tape for the ear and boot flaps to match movement and poses.
________________________________
Below are details for the curious or for those who want to modify their own custom and improve upon mine.
Process:
Sanded it down and cut some black art tape for the boot flaps.
Trimmed the belt.
Painted.
Took pic.
Debated.
Re-cut new flaps for boots and some for the mask then touched up the paint.
Comparison pics of The Wolverine.
Tools/Materials Used:
Brackets after the item are where I purchased them. NO sponsorship or anything here. This is in case you want to use anything I did and where I found them.
(Ever since Magneto I will be retroactively adding the initial price (USD) of these items for your consideration to weigh your options. Same message applies that this, of course does, not guarantee you'll find these exactly at the same price point I did, but you may or might even find them cheaper! Ya also don't need absolutely every one of these items. You can trade out other materials/tools using this list to either be more cost effective for you or sub in ones that'll suit you better in the artistic process.)
Figure
Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Wolverine No.005 $107.59 (price includes tax and shipping) [eBay]
Tools
Sanding Sticks DGBRSM 30pcs Black 37mm $8.59 [Amazon]
3M 110N sand paper ~$6 to $7 for a pack [Lowes bitd]
Transon Artist Paint Brushes Set of 12 $12.99 [Amazon]
Materials
Black Art Project Tape $2.99 [Hobby Lobby]
Paint
Apple Barrel Primary Blue Satin ~$1 [Wal-Mart], Apple Barrel White Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart], and Apple Barrel Tropical Blue Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart] to achieve blue color.
Apple Barrel Real Yellow Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart] and a possible drop or two of Apple Barrel White Satin $0.97 [Wal-Mart]
Apple Barrel Real Red Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart] on belt.
Black Sharpie for black lines on suit. ~$2 to $3 [Wal-Mart].
Apple Barrel White Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart] for teeth.
Vallejo Silver from Vallejo Basic USA Acrylic Colors Paint Set, 17ml, Assorted Colors, 0.57 Fl Oz (Pack of 16)) $26.39 [Amazon] (can purchase cheaper individually) and Apple Barrel White Gloss $0.97 [Wal-Mart] for claws.
Other
Black and Blue Felt Tip Sharpies for added lines and touch ups. $5.47 from a 4 pack [Wal-Mart]
"Let's go, bub." Logan is his sprite stance pose.
For Your Consideration:
A few extra modifications that you could do with yours to make this fig even more accurate than mine:
Add a little more sculpt to bicep and thighs.
Trim claws slightly.
Get more specific with skin tone and hair on arms.
(If you can think of any more please feel free to comment.)
Special Thanks To:
maximumspider for sending the link where I can find the character name logos via Scrollboss' website.
2d sprites, Player Select gird, and stage backgrounds from the original game (Marvel Super Heroes) by Capcom.
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If you just want to see images instead of all this yakking, you can check 'em out on my insta: www.instagram.com/avlyrr/
You can also find me now pretty regularly on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Avlyrr
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