I still wouldn't have a disk drive for a few more years yet, so had to get the cassette version hoping there was some work-around the 'advice' in the review about the tape version being 'unworkable'. My solution was to use C15 cassettes to save out my images as they progressed, which I could keep track of easier than larger/longer cassettes. And it's on these short-tape cassettes that I have found some more of my older pixels, from around the end of 1987.
To learn the new application, I decided to 'retouch' some existing loading screens of games I had in my collection, instead of pixelling anything new, starting with (it seems) Mastertronic's 'Action Biker' and 'The Captive'.
I screen grabbed both of my 'retouches' as well as the original images and compiled them into some animated GIF's below to easier see the changes. Hopefully, it should be possible to see some improvements?!
Firstly, I would like to send a HUGE apology to Jim Wilson, wherever he may be. He was the artist who pixelled the original 'The Captive' loading screen; I'm not sure who pixelled the 'Action Biker' screen although there is a chance it was also Jim Wilson since he pixelled many of the Mastertronic loading screens of this era. The apology is for the fact that I obviously considered it fine to alter someone else's work all those years ago, something I would never do today unless with express permission or by request. Hey! I was only 12 going on 13 at the time!
I clearly remember being 'affected' by seeing Paul 'Dokk' Docherty's work in ZZAP!64 and on loading screens of other games I had in my collection. I was really impressed by his clever use of colours and shading/dithering and even to this day I would have to admit my 'style' (even if I have one) is strongly based/influenced by his, along with Robin Levy and as a result of this influence, my retouches of the Mastertronic screens shown above contain similar shading/dithering techniques and use of colours.
I was happy at the time with my 'Captive' logo and the improvements to 'Clumsy Colin' himself; I was less happy with the 'Action Biker' logo itself, which was based on a smaller image on the inlay card of the game cover. I just couldn't get the shape or colour to my liking. I'm glad to see I was morally mature enough to leave Jim Wilson's signature on the Captive bitmap. Both retouches include the 'improved' Mastertronic logos I had pixelled for my previous loading screen attempts.
I've converted my rescued final-version Art Studio files to the more commonly used Koala format. In the download below are the bitmaps in Koala format, the bitmaps in C64 executable format and the screen dumps which are pictured above, along with the game box art on which the original artists based their work.
To download a zip file containing all this, click here...
I have a few more C15's with some other retouched loading screens on them and will convert these soon, when I get a bit more time.
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