I really don't know why I find this stuff funny. Maybe my family was just weird. No, I take that back - my family is weird. And I, as a result, am pretty fucking out there. Give me a stuffed animal, and I'm going to end up making it talk to you in a funny voice. It's going to be up in your face, whispering in your ear about raping you, or how it likes to touch itself. I draw faces on the bananas in the fruit bowl. I sometimes use sound effects in place of descriptive words in conversation.
Basically, the stuff I like is not what most people online are going to like, and I'm going to have a niche audience as a result of that.
What's weird is that this concept sounds funny. You just need to be more focused and, if a character is threatening to ear rape you, its not quite as funny when that character is essentially a mute.
Flying Man continues to remind me of Marshie from Homestar Runner, except even Marshie is somewhat funnier/creepy.
I think I mentioned earlier that Homestar Runner would be a great site to poke around. I loved that shit when I was in middle school, it has a cast of random absurd characters and the humor is pretty odd. Have you watched it? What do you think about it? Checking out things that people suggest and giving a through opinion on it will help us see what you're about.
The fact that you love your comic isn't really the issue, but you have to be committed to making it the best you can by not restraining it. You'll have to let stuff go sometimes, everyone has to go through editing. Its like killing your own children sure, but its sort of like how you cant put every scene you ever thought of in a movie.
I also... well.. I don't really think our crits are off because we aren't your audience. Most people in the AC can let personal tastes slide in favor of giving a well rounded crit. Don't let the mindset of "these people don't get what I'm doing" get into your head, because you'll use it as an excuse to experiment less.
I also... well.. I don't really think our crits are off because we aren't your audience. Most people in the AC can let personal tastes slide in favor of giving a well rounded crit. Don't let the mindset of "these people don't get what I'm doing" get into your head, because you'll use it as an excuse to experiment less.
Yeah. I don't really know if children or preteens would enjoy this, either. It's too cute for adults and too weird and random for kids.
Iruka: I've never really seen any HSR, but I probably should give it a watch. And I wasn't trying to say "the AC doesn't get what I'm doing, so I'll ignore them." Though I admit my behavior would seem to indicate that. More like "the AC doesn't like this at all, and I'm not sure I can make it into something they'll like without completely scrapping it...but maybe they'll think that this improvement I made was for the better." I don't know.
UncleSporky: My current audience seems to be made up of 20-somethings who really like random and odd. A lot of them came from Brawl in the Family and Ill Will Press.
Okay, then, do a one-shot comic strip. Draw four panels of sequential hilarity and post it here. Hand draw it and use some original. I want to see what you're capable of if you're not confined to the style you've set for yourself.
You'll have to give me a bit, but I'll try to take you up on that.
I gave this advice back in October:
Look at it this way: your first try at anything will nearly always be pretty awful. If you like this comic idea so much, don't you want to do it right? Do something else for a while, develop different styles, and when you come back to it you will be ready to make it everything you hoped you could make it.
I don't have any delusions of being the best advice giver in the world but the rest of the thread's been saying this too. Your guest strip for Polk was not bad! Can you draw some other stuff for the AC? Doesn't even have to be a comic. We've already established that this forum doesn't like your comic and you're making no effort to change it, so further updates to this thread along these lines go nowhere.
The AC is for the betterment of your artistic abilities, so post some different things and see what sort of comments you get. Go sit in the park and do a life drawing of a dog. Heck, stand your two dog toys next to each other and do a pencil still life.
Has it really been half a year since this thread started? Damn.
Honestly, one thing that's probably holding me back (unconsciously) is the thought that "Hey, they don't like this because it's dumb. But what if I try to do something they'll like, and they still loathe it?" Call it performance anxiety. The snappy, snarky comics that everyone loves have already been done so well by other people that I'm not sure what I can add. Sometimes, I just freeze. No ideas. That happens whenever I think about doing another "side" strip as a one-off.
And you didn't mind the strip I did for Polk? I never really got any feedback from that. Hell, I wasn't even sure if he liked it.
At least the Polk strip was vulgar. I thought it matched his style pretty well.
And like I said, if you're worried that people won't like a comic, just try some art instead. There's a lot you could be doing to try to improve. Maybe practice composition by taking a Cyanide and Happiness strip and doing the art in a different style, while trying not to lose what makes it interesting? Or have someone here write you a strip, and then do the art for it.
I wanted to stop in briefly to show you guys my most recent strip, in which the salad that began this thread finally reappears. It's a cheap and easy joke, but I like it:
Oh, and I've edited all of the strip postings on my site so that the blog under each comic explains where "continuity" gags are coming from, and links to the relevant strips. That way, people can actually jump around through the story and get the gist without just saying "fuck it." You can see that here, if you're interested.
After reading the first and last page of this thread I can only conclude that this man is in fact a robot trying desperately to grasp the human concept of humor.
Okay, okay. Today, I did another "Mr. Stinky draws the strip" comic. Different style from the first time I did that (last time, it was a squiggly, messy style. This time, it's my own doodling style):
I wasn't really trying to reference an old strip, though - I mean, both involve Mr. Stinky drawing something, but other than that the rest is completely different.
I'm a little surprised this has been so well received, honestly.
What sort of collab with Agent Coleman would you suggest?
That is actually quite nice. The hand written text, the use of light and dark on the characters...the simple style comes off well because it's obvious you have some artistic understanding. And it's even a good comic before the end. Not too wordy, illustrative and silly without being grating and pandering.
It's so weird because we feel the same disappointment the bone does when we hear Flying Man saying things.
I think I'd like to incorporate more "free-hand" drawn strips over time. Really, I'd like to be drawing everything separately, and having motion and facial expressions for everyone - but at the moment, it's daunting, and I'll have to approach it gradually.
MetalbourneInside a cluster b personalityRegistered Userregular
edited February 2010
You should figure out how to do it; having a contrast between "real life" and "the show" is a source of endless comedy, as well as giving some kind of "neutral ground" to measure just how absurd a joke is.
I wasn't really trying to reference an old strip, though - I mean, both involve Mr. Stinky drawing something, but other than that the rest is completely different.
I'm a little surprised this has been so well received, honestly.
What sort of collab with Agent Coleman would you suggest?
the man has a lot of ideas that are sometimes held back or affected negatively by the accompanying art.
you do the math :-)
seriously though, check out his thread, i bet you could do a bitching re-interpretation on some of his comics.
At the moment, I don't think I have the time to add any more to my plate - but I'm definitely down with the idea of collaborating with people on a temporary basis, for fun, in the future. I just really can't commit to anything now.
I do like AC's stuff, and I believe I threw in a few thoughts early on in his thread. It kind of reminds me of a more personal PBF.
At the moment, I don't think I have the time to add any more to my plate - but I'm definitely down with the idea of collaborating with people on a temporary basis, for fun, in the future. I just really can't commit to anything now.
I do like AC's stuff, and I believe I threw in a few thoughts early on in his thread. It kind of reminds me of a more personal PBF.
Thanks for the good words, and yeah, I'm pretty busy as it is. I'm always down for one off's or anything if need be.
I guess I kind of made it as a "present" to my regular readers, but I took the time (and it was a lot of time) to transcribe and link to every reference, so at least the random cameos are sort of explained.
This is the first time I've really made a strip that depended entirely on inside knowledge. I don't think it's something I'll do very often.
sorry, I seem to have lost my enigma (no pun intended)
awesome nuke though, but I think you should stay away from making insider based jokes, it's hard to establish a fan base that way (but this being nr 100 is okay by far)
So, I'm off to read 99 strips now bye
i think you've taken "in-jokes" to such a ridiculous degree that your comic is literally indecipherable to anyone who hasn't read every previous strip
i'm a little scared
This.
I'm glad you said you wouldn't do this very often, because holy cow would it kill your comic. The best webcomics are the ones that need to do no explaining.
Congrats on 100, though. We're on number 30 and it's been a LOT of work, so I can appreciate this milestone. Hats off!
Thanks, JLM-AWP - it really has been a lot of work. I'm glad I've stuck it out, though, because It's something I never thought I'd be able to commit to.
And yeah, I don't want to be completely[/I indecipherable.
Okay guys, I'm back. I'm still at this shit, and I wanted to share the absolutely massive strip #112 with you. It brings to close a story arc that I know none of you have been following, but it also makes a delightful joke about one of my least favorite genres of music. And, as an added bonus (well, maybe not for everyone - a bonus for many of you would probably be if I stopped doing this for good), it ties into the earlier hand-drawn strip that I posted above.
MetalbourneInside a cluster b personalityRegistered Userregular
edited April 2010
You might consider that you're just trying too hard, man.
You have great ideas, but then when you put them into a comic strip, you just add too much. You're like, "Hey you know what'd be better than a race car? A race car with a microwave and a coffee maker"
No, the only thing better than a race car is two race cars. Or one faster race car. Take your pick because nobody has time to eat a hot pocket or drink some coffee while they're racing and they don't want that shit to spill all over them anyway.
I agree 100% with what Metal said, but don't tell him I said that. Let me try to take a stab at helping out here.
Your jokes....aren't jokes. They're randomness. Having something happen in a panel, and then having gingerbread dude say "Oh Mr. Stinky, this is unfortunate for some reason or another. *Insert random thing to push the story to the next strip*!!!" is not going to make many people laugh...at least not around here.
Pull it back a few notches. In almost every strip, you have something happening that is completely unexplainable or off-the-charts crazy. This makes it really tough to a.) connect with any of your characters, and thus, relate to the situation your charcters are in, or b.) allow for any low-key jokes or "normal" things happening. It's pretty safe to say that nobody here knows what the hell is going on in your comic. I don't, and I read through all of them (sorta). It's complete chaos. TONE. IT. DOWN.
Sorry man, but it's just not doin' any funny bone ticklin' for me. I gave it my best shot. I would take some time to figure out exactly what you want to say to your reader on a strip-by-strip basis. Slow down and think out your strips. Pies, rainbows, and giant teddy bears can be really funny, but aren't in the way that you're using them. You lack context.
Posts
What's weird is that this concept sounds funny. You just need to be more focused and, if a character is threatening to ear rape you, its not quite as funny when that character is essentially a mute.
I think I mentioned earlier that Homestar Runner would be a great site to poke around. I loved that shit when I was in middle school, it has a cast of random absurd characters and the humor is pretty odd. Have you watched it? What do you think about it? Checking out things that people suggest and giving a through opinion on it will help us see what you're about.
The fact that you love your comic isn't really the issue, but you have to be committed to making it the best you can by not restraining it. You'll have to let stuff go sometimes, everyone has to go through editing. Its like killing your own children sure, but its sort of like how you cant put every scene you ever thought of in a movie.
I also... well.. I don't really think our crits are off because we aren't your audience. Most people in the AC can let personal tastes slide in favor of giving a well rounded crit. Don't let the mindset of "these people don't get what I'm doing" get into your head, because you'll use it as an excuse to experiment less.
UncleSporky: My current audience seems to be made up of 20-somethings who really like random and odd. A lot of them came from Brawl in the Family and Ill Will Press.
I gave this advice back in October:
I don't have any delusions of being the best advice giver in the world but the rest of the thread's been saying this too. Your guest strip for Polk was not bad! Can you draw some other stuff for the AC? Doesn't even have to be a comic. We've already established that this forum doesn't like your comic and you're making no effort to change it, so further updates to this thread along these lines go nowhere.
The AC is for the betterment of your artistic abilities, so post some different things and see what sort of comments you get. Go sit in the park and do a life drawing of a dog. Heck, stand your two dog toys next to each other and do a pencil still life.
Honestly, one thing that's probably holding me back (unconsciously) is the thought that "Hey, they don't like this because it's dumb. But what if I try to do something they'll like, and they still loathe it?" Call it performance anxiety. The snappy, snarky comics that everyone loves have already been done so well by other people that I'm not sure what I can add. Sometimes, I just freeze. No ideas. That happens whenever I think about doing another "side" strip as a one-off.
And you didn't mind the strip I did for Polk? I never really got any feedback from that. Hell, I wasn't even sure if he liked it.
And like I said, if you're worried that people won't like a comic, just try some art instead. There's a lot you could be doing to try to improve. Maybe practice composition by taking a Cyanide and Happiness strip and doing the art in a different style, while trying not to lose what makes it interesting? Or have someone here write you a strip, and then do the art for it.
Oh, and I've edited all of the strip postings on my site so that the blog under each comic explains where "continuity" gags are coming from, and links to the relevant strips. That way, people can actually jump around through the story and get the gist without just saying "fuck it." You can see that here, if you're interested.
Actually, 100% is an understatement. Mere Mortal Words can't describe how much character and personality hand drawing adds to your strip.
now try to make a joke that doesn't reference your old strip
And preferrably not featuring neither mr stinky or "flying man" (unghhhh)
Really though, you and Agent Coleman should team up.
I'm a little surprised this has been so well received, honestly.
What sort of collab with Agent Coleman would you suggest?
It's so weird because we feel the same disappointment the bone does when we hear Flying Man saying things.
I think I'd like to incorporate more "free-hand" drawn strips over time. Really, I'd like to be drawing everything separately, and having motion and facial expressions for everyone - but at the moment, it's daunting, and I'll have to approach it gradually.
Early on, I had actually considered showing "behind the scenes" bits, but I couldn't figure out a way to make it work.
the man has a lot of ideas that are sometimes held back or affected negatively by the accompanying art.
you do the math :-)
seriously though, check out his thread, i bet you could do a bitching re-interpretation on some of his comics.
In all seriousness though, I could be down for a collab, if you were interested of course.
I do like AC's stuff, and I believe I threw in a few thoughts early on in his thread. It kind of reminds me of a more personal PBF.
Thanks for the good words, and yeah, I'm pretty busy as it is. I'm always down for one off's or anything if need be.
i think you've taken "in-jokes" to such a ridiculous degree that your comic is literally indecipherable to anyone who hasn't read every previous strip
i'm a little scared
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This is the first time I've really made a strip that depended entirely on inside knowledge. I don't think it's something I'll do very often.
awesome nuke though, but I think you should stay away from making insider based jokes, it's hard to establish a fan base that way (but this being nr 100 is okay by far)
So, I'm off to read 99 strips now bye
This.
I'm glad you said you wouldn't do this very often, because holy cow would it kill your comic. The best webcomics are the ones that need to do no explaining.
Congrats on 100, though. We're on number 30 and it's been a LOT of work, so I can appreciate this milestone. Hats off!
And yeah, I don't want to be completely[/I indecipherable.
You have great ideas, but then when you put them into a comic strip, you just add too much. You're like, "Hey you know what'd be better than a race car? A race car with a microwave and a coffee maker"
No, the only thing better than a race car is two race cars. Or one faster race car. Take your pick because nobody has time to eat a hot pocket or drink some coffee while they're racing and they don't want that shit to spill all over them anyway.
Your jokes....aren't jokes. They're randomness. Having something happen in a panel, and then having gingerbread dude say "Oh Mr. Stinky, this is unfortunate for some reason or another. *Insert random thing to push the story to the next strip*!!!" is not going to make many people laugh...at least not around here.
Pull it back a few notches. In almost every strip, you have something happening that is completely unexplainable or off-the-charts crazy. This makes it really tough to a.) connect with any of your characters, and thus, relate to the situation your charcters are in, or b.) allow for any low-key jokes or "normal" things happening. It's pretty safe to say that nobody here knows what the hell is going on in your comic. I don't, and I read through all of them (sorta). It's complete chaos. TONE. IT. DOWN.
Sorry man, but it's just not doin' any funny bone ticklin' for me. I gave it my best shot. I would take some time to figure out exactly what you want to say to your reader on a strip-by-strip basis. Slow down and think out your strips. Pies, rainbows, and giant teddy bears can be really funny, but aren't in the way that you're using them. You lack context.