Re: Xiphophorus helleri

On Fri, Dec 27, 2002 at 08:24:28PM +0100, Marcel Martin wrote:
> have a look at the webpage I've put up for this very purpose. You'll find a 
> comparison between the current and my proposed version of the logo and can 
> download it in different file formats. It was drawn using Sodipodi therefore 
> the native format is SVG.
> Please see: http://w148.de/~mmartin/xifish/

Hi, I do have a few comments.

The first is that the original xfig files for the Fish are still here
if anyone wants those to play with.

Second, it's fine to have the page up.

Finally, the design nitpicks.  When I originally drew the Fish, I did
make extensive use of splines, but in most cases, having no corners or
any perfectly straight lines whatsoever was unappealing.  I went to
entirely straight lines, as the mix of splines and straight line
segments looked inconsistent.

Specific corners and straight lines that shoyld not go away:

1) basic fin edges; fish have most of their corners in their fins, and
swept/tightly angled fins give a greater impression of streamlining
than do rounded fins.  Think 'tuna' (champion swimmer at speed)
vs. 'lobefish' (ugly and mostly extinct).  The fins all have at least
one straight horizontal line intentionally.  The pectoral fin's
corners are intentional.  The caudal (tail) has a straight-line notch
and sweep to keep the fish from looking like some primordial species.
(Admission: the Xiph fish is actually based on a rift lake cichlid,
not Xiphophorus helleri)

2) The lips are also constructed carefully of line segments such that
the shape looks intentional (and also swept to match the finnage),
rather than 'bulging balloons' at one spline extreme and 'I can't get
it to bend any more precisely' at the other.

Yeah, the fish is pretty heavily stylized, by the stylization is
intended to be consistent.  What I don't want to happen going to a
more rounded look is that the fish move toward looking like a balloon
animal.

The overall job on the tail and pelvic fins was good (the straight
lines were preserved).  You lost the straight lines, intentional
corners and basic shape of the lips and pectoral (side) fin.  

Last nits, the dorsal (top) fin it too peaked, as is the fish's back
(fins and bodies are different; the dominant straight horizontal line
in the back of the fish is out of place).  Ideally, I'd like to see a
few intentional corners creep back into the fins, especially the
pectoral.  I'll draw a few circles for suggested spots tonight :-)

Monty
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