Oh, I have one more thing to say about Neko's style. It's not original. Just lurk, you'll see tonnes of vector art in that same style. I mean, his is unique to all of them in a few ways, but the underlining style is still the same. Not to pick on him, I have nothing wrong with him at all. You're just all using him as an example, and I'm just too tired right now not to follow suit. I almost worked from daylight to daybreak today. D=
Again, just because it's unique here, doesn't mean it's unique everywhere, and vice versa; just because a style is whored here, doesn't mean that it's not unique to this site.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure a lot of other people used vector here before Neko did. Rhodri is (was) a prime example.
I can only name a couple of people on this site that have made true vectors, not following any tuts, or using stock images, or anything, and all but a couple of those people are gone. Mainly Rhodri.
And, again, I can only mention a few people who don't normally use whored styless, and again, most are gone. And where? Away from this utter crap forum. It's all drama, and the same crap every day. Preteens who haven't learned how to be a grown up, and think for them selves.
C4Ds and smudge are a great effect, but it starts getting really monotonous seeing, day after day, just smudge tagss and C4D tags, and smudged C4D tags. Why not use other great effects, or develop your own? You people seem to think that if you don't get something right the first time, if you don't get your desired effect after the first time you try something, and it gets ripped to shreds by other noobs, then it's not worth doing, and that you should just drop it. You cannot possibly be further than the truth. That gives you even more reason to continue on with that effect/style.
These so-called fads, these "new and catchy" styles are nothing but that, fads. They come, they live their overzealous lives, and then they die. Why not be the truly cool person, and stray away from those fads? Because, really, to be totally honest, whatever the moagority of the group is doing, whatever people are conforming to at the moment (this is true for all of live) is the furthest thing from the truth. It's wht the media, and people want you to believe, so they can profit from it. And, most importantly, it's what you want to beleive it to be, because you're too damned lazy and afriad to do your own thing, to be truly unique; you're all too lazy and afraid because all you want to do in life is to be like everyone else, and to fit in, to be accepted by society. But, wouldn't it be better, if you were the one people were trying to be like? Wouldn't it be better if you were the one at the top, the one in control? Wouldn't that make you truly happy, and truly able to shed all fear, and to truly accomplish anything?
About people not knowing about what a true vector is, why don't you teach them? Hmmm?
And, Lycanthrope, haven't you ever noticed that the teachers, the people who truly know what they are talking about, never use their martial arts? I mean, they practise it, all the time, because they must, if they wish to continue their mastery. But, they never show it off, they never demonstrate their true power to others, they never use it on other people. And, just why is that? Because they don't have the need, or the want to do anything of the sort. They know what they're capable of, and they don't need to prove anything at all to anyone, anybody. They know that they're better than you, and could kill your pathetic *** so fast you couldn't even measure it in time. And, really, when it gets down to it, that's all that matters.
tl;dr
If you're going to use grunge/smudge/C4Ds/vector, at least be unique and creative about it, and never EVER EVER follow others. That just tells society that you're weak, and scared, and just don't care about yourself, or anyone else for that matter, enough to do something new and exciting. And, nobody on this site has ever EVER created thier own, unique style. Ever.
And so he said, "and there will be delicious cake", and with those words, I said, "I see what you did there..."