These are great, totally adding your site to my little list of comics. I both like that you use the halftones, but at the same time, it can start to bug my eyes while I'm reading the text, I think the texture works a lot better
Thanks Verom, every subscriber is important!
So that's at least two and a half votes for the texture, and only half a vote for the halftone.
I think you've got the right idea. I like the original moire patterns, but I completely understand where it's painful to the eyes after a while. I'd recommend trying the same pattern, but increase it's size here and there. As in, don't use it uniformly for the whole comic. Try a larger version of the moire pattern for large surface areas, like the ground.
Halftone is such a pain in the butt, and doing that would make it even moreso. I might just nix the moire altogether and start experimenting with other textures that are a bit easier to apply.
Here's how I do the halftone now. I take the entire grayscale layer and import it into a new file. I convert the color to 'Bitmap' and select 'Halftone Pattern.' Is there another way to do it for black and white? I know there's one under Filter -> Pixelate, but it's for color halftone. I'd like to be able to use that one for black and white.
Edit: Well I see that I can turn my picture grayscale and still use the 'color' option and it works pretty good. I'll play with that.
You raise a good point. I see your point, and raise you a counter-point!
Check out this comic, I feel like it does what you're aiming for exceedingly well. I can't speak for the writing but take a look at the art.
I see, I see. It seems like the wider shots use a heavier moire while the tighter shots use a more subtle one. Thanks a lot, this will give me a lot to think about and experiment with.
Hahaha, I think that new style balances everything, keep up the great work. Also added to my favs, keep at it, I think you will become a great cartoonists looking forward to what your comic evolves to.
Hahaha, I think that new style balances everything, keep up the great work. Also added to my favs, keep at it, I think you will become a great cartoonists looking forward to what your comic evolves to.
I completely agree with this, and the panda comic is my favorite so far.
Thank you both. Kris Straub (Chainsawsuit, Starslip) looked at my comic (the Bill & Ted one) last night and without missing a beat he said "WOW, you really love KC Green." And I blushed because it's true, and I think I went a little too far emulating him. There's an old saying (or should be), that if you copy something great, you can never be better than the original.
I'm going to keep refining my shading, but I'm still very interested in keeping it grayscale. I, too, am looking forward to seeing how I turn out as a cartoonist. ;D
I don't really know KC Green but I had that feeling that I had seen the style before but I like that your still trying to be original you're on the right track. Kris Straub is a giant, I'm glad you got noticed by him. Keep up the amazing work.
I mostly lurk here as I'm not an artist myself. I haven't touched pencil to paper in 10+ years anyway. I do read pretty much every thread and check out everyone's comics while I'm at work. I'm diggin' on this new thread. Great work!
I mostly lurk here as I'm not an artist myself. I haven't touched pencil to paper in 10+ years anyway. I do read pretty much every thread and check out everyone's comics while I'm at work. I'm diggin' on this new thread. Great work!
Thank you so so much for unlurking for me! I'll keep posting every 3 days or so.
I like it, but I think it would be better to show him on the ground, because it seems like he should be in sight on the floor. I would also show him on the ground with the thud in the second to last panel, and have a silent panel with him K'O'd a the end.
Thats just my opinion. I like your character you handle expressions pretty awesomely.
I like it, but I think it would be better to show him on the ground, because it seems like he should be in sight on the floor. I would also show him on the ground with the thud in the second to last panel, and have a silent panel with him K'O'd a the end.
Thats just my opinion. I like your character you handle expressions pretty awesomely.
You know what's horrifying Iruka? That's exactly what I wanted to do, with the three panels, but there was no way to get the panning shot I wanted to fit in there with 3 panels. I'm so disappointed now that I didn't figure something out. I could take the last three panels and arrange them vertically, but it would have made it super tall. I'm debating now whether I should fix it or just do a new strip tomorrow.
Also, thank you for the super nice comment on my expressions. I work really hard on them.
Ah, here we go. This is much more in line with my original vision. Sorry he's still not visible. I'm a big fan of implicit slapstick (as much as explicit, so they work equally well for me in many situations.)
pacing in the last one is much better. I would even cut out the running into the door panel. Most people will fill in the gap between him running and a thud sound with funnier imagery than you could ever draw.
More powerful to show the shadow of the monster not the monster-- all that.
Well, I've completely lost my edge, but whateva. I guess I was just trying to introduce this new character, so it was kinda slow. Maybe the next one will be good. *shrug*
Edit: Oh, also, tell me what you think of my new lines. You'll notice I stepped down by about half on my line weight. I am trying to figure out how the heck I can make this thing look good when colored. It seems when I stick color to thick-lined things, it never comes out right. What are your opinions, AC?
Edit2: Hey, check the spoiler for a colored version. I want lots of opinions on which is better (colored or black and white) and how can I can improve it.
Edit3: Yech! Just noticed she's way too small in one panel. Gonna fix that.
Edit4: And fixed.
Edit5: Also, did anyone else get a boner? No? Ok.
When you started using backgrounds and textures you grabbed my attention.
But this is the panel that won me over completely. I thought I had seen enough cartoon pandas, but as it turns out I had room in my heart for one more.
Hehe, I like this one a lot. Great work. B&W seems to be best.
Thank you, then black & white it is!
When you started using backgrounds and textures you grabbed my attention.
But this is the panel that won me over completely. I thought I had seen enough cartoon pandas, but as it turns out I had room in my heart for one more.
Haha, how kind! And thank you for letting me know what grabbed your attention. Look forward to lots more of Xiong (Sorry, never said her name in comic, but indeed, the panda's name is Xiong [Pronounced like Shawn.] Terribly cliche in China, but still somewhat fresh in the west. )
Pretty good comic.
And as much as i love bendy arms and legs; the first panel just aint cutting it. (for me..). I find that having a leg bend forwards usually is a bit too much of a break in reality for it to be easily "read".
The colours you suggested are allright, but i think i prefer the BW. Speaks out a bit more than the bland pastelly colours i think.
*sigh* I really feel like I'm just shitting them out at this point. Hopefully they get better soon.
You know what it is? My pacing is all off. I'm trying to save work by cutting down on my frames and I'm ruining myself that way. Lesson learned. Next on Whomp!, something that doesn't suck.
Edit: Nah, this one's not so bad. I shouldn't be so hard on myself for doing a tamer comic once in a while.
So very tired. Had this one nearly finished, then the file corrupted. Had to start over on a mediocre joke.
Edit: So, I haven't slept yet, but what the hell? That's a terrible joke.
Whatever, I really enjoyed this one--especially the gender-ambiguous first time author!
Hahaha, you know what, that wasn't intentional, but that's awesome. I love that he is gender-ambiguous. I was really tired and crotchety when I wrote all that, but it really was kind of funny. Monday's strip is gonna be badass though. I'll post here when it goes live on my site.
Ahh, I just can't wait! My regular readers will get it Monday, but I just gotta give it to you today.
I'm kinda new to the whole 'Fair use' thing. I'm not trying to capitalize on anyone's properties, but do you think any of this would bite me on the ass? I mean I know all these guys are super cool, but I don't want to step on any toes.
Edit: Also, I didn't trace anything. All eyeballed. Bleh.
Hehe, that last strip is one of my favorites. Keep up the great work. My only complain (not a complain really) where are the StarTrek fans? Every NerdCon need StarTrek fans.
Hehe, that last strip is one of my favorites. Keep up the great work. My only complain (not a complain really) where are the StarTrek fans? Every NerdCon need StarTrek fans.
An unfortunate scheduling mishap resulted in a clash with the also-popular "DweebCon" which takes place on the opposite coast, whose keynote speaker is none other than the guy who played the adult son of Jean Luc Picard in his imaginary life in the episode "Inner Light." You couldn't keep the Trekkies away from that gem.
So, I've been trying to figure out how to make my art more clear and attractive. Looking at Octopus Pie, there's never any confusion or eye strain in how she does her stuff. Gonna start working in greys no greater than 20% and reduce my line weight a bit, see if that helps.
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Thanks Verom, every subscriber is important!
So that's at least two and a half votes for the texture, and only half a vote for the halftone.
Halftone is such a pain in the butt, and doing that would make it even moreso. I might just nix the moire altogether and start experimenting with other textures that are a bit easier to apply.
Here's how I do the halftone now. I take the entire grayscale layer and import it into a new file. I convert the color to 'Bitmap' and select 'Halftone Pattern.' Is there another way to do it for black and white? I know there's one under Filter -> Pixelate, but it's for color halftone. I'd like to be able to use that one for black and white.
Edit: Well I see that I can turn my picture grayscale and still use the 'color' option and it works pretty good. I'll play with that.
Check out this comic, I feel like it does what you're aiming for exceedingly well. I can't speak for the writing but take a look at the art.
I see, I see. It seems like the wider shots use a heavier moire while the tighter shots use a more subtle one. Thanks a lot, this will give me a lot to think about and experiment with.
Really happy about this one turned out.
I completely agree with this, and the panda comic is my favorite so far.
I'm going to keep refining my shading, but I'm still very interested in keeping it grayscale. I, too, am looking forward to seeing how I turn out as a cartoonist. ;D
i can see similarities to KC in your linework, but your characters and so forth certainly seem different enough to make it unique!
also i love the new shading style much more, it looks SO NICE and crisp
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Thank you so so much for unlurking for me! I'll keep posting every 3 days or so.
Edit: Oki, fixed. Be sure to refresh your browsa.
Thats just my opinion. I like your character you handle expressions pretty awesomely.
You know what's horrifying Iruka? That's exactly what I wanted to do, with the three panels, but there was no way to get the panning shot I wanted to fit in there with 3 panels. I'm so disappointed now that I didn't figure something out. I could take the last three panels and arrange them vertically, but it would have made it super tall. I'm debating now whether I should fix it or just do a new strip tomorrow.
Also, thank you for the super nice comment on my expressions. I work really hard on them.
More powerful to show the shadow of the monster not the monster-- all that.
Well, I've completely lost my edge, but whateva. I guess I was just trying to introduce this new character, so it was kinda slow. Maybe the next one will be good. *shrug*
Edit: Oh, also, tell me what you think of my new lines. You'll notice I stepped down by about half on my line weight. I am trying to figure out how the heck I can make this thing look good when colored. It seems when I stick color to thick-lined things, it never comes out right. What are your opinions, AC?
Edit2: Hey, check the spoiler for a colored version. I want lots of opinions on which is better (colored or black and white) and how can I can improve it.
Edit3: Yech! Just noticed she's way too small in one panel. Gonna fix that.
Edit4: And fixed.
Edit5: Also, did anyone else get a boner? No? Ok.
But this is the panel that won me over completely. I thought I had seen enough cartoon pandas, but as it turns out I had room in my heart for one more.
Thank you, then black & white it is!
Haha, how kind! And thank you for letting me know what grabbed your attention. Look forward to lots more of Xiong (Sorry, never said her name in comic, but indeed, the panda's name is Xiong [Pronounced like Shawn.] Terribly cliche in China, but still somewhat fresh in the west.
Edit: Xiong, not Xiao
So very tired. Had this one nearly finished, then the file corrupted. Had to start over on a mediocre joke.
Edit: So, I haven't slept yet, but what the hell? That's a terrible joke.
Edit 2: Well, this one isn't so bad. I was just really tired. Sorry, haha. It's not good to badmouth your own work.
Pretty good comic.
And as much as i love bendy arms and legs; the first panel just aint cutting it. (for me..). I find that having a leg bend forwards usually is a bit too much of a break in reality for it to be easily "read".
The colours you suggested are allright, but i think i prefer the BW. Speaks out a bit more than the bland pastelly colours i think.
You know what it is? My pacing is all off. I'm trying to save work by cutting down on my frames and I'm ruining myself that way. Lesson learned. Next on Whomp!, something that doesn't suck.
Edit: Nah, this one's not so bad. I shouldn't be so hard on myself for doing a tamer comic once in a while.
Whatever, I really enjoyed this one--especially the gender-ambiguous first time author!
Hahaha, you know what, that wasn't intentional, but that's awesome. I love that he is gender-ambiguous. I was really tired and crotchety when I wrote all that, but it really was kind of funny. Monday's strip is gonna be badass though. I'll post here when it goes live on my site.
It counts for everything, my friend.
I'm kinda new to the whole 'Fair use' thing. I'm not trying to capitalize on anyone's properties, but do you think any of this would bite me on the ass? I mean I know all these guys are super cool, but I don't want to step on any toes.
Edit: Also, I didn't trace anything. All eyeballed. Bleh.
great work!
Haha, thank you Rich. It made me laugh really hard too. I really enjoyed every moment of making this one,
An unfortunate scheduling mishap resulted in a clash with the also-popular "DweebCon" which takes place on the opposite coast, whose keynote speaker is none other than the guy who played the adult son of Jean Luc Picard in his imaginary life in the episode "Inner Light." You couldn't keep the Trekkies away from that gem.
lil pre-wednesday for my buddy pals.
So, I've been trying to figure out how to make my art more clear and attractive. Looking at Octopus Pie, there's never any confusion or eye strain in how she does her stuff. Gonna start working in greys no greater than 20% and reduce my line weight a bit, see if that helps.