2. I posted this IN A PENNY ARCADE FORUM... yes, I'm aping Gabe's art style. Yes, I like Tycho's writing style. Yes, I have the same sense of humor (why else would I be here in the first place?) I've followed their comic almost since it first came out. I can't help aping both of them, not when I'm just starting out at least.
Yes. Yes you can.
3. Please just tell me how to draw better. I REALIZE THE ART IS SHITTY. That's why I asked for constructive crit in the first place.
Well, you could start by trying to draw your own work, or draw from a diverse pool of influences. Or even get outside, and draw from life.
I'm going to do some new comics, not about video games, and not imitating (poorly) Gabe's style. Then I will post them here to get some more constructive criticism and to show you that I am not a whore.
Thanks for all the criticism - even the guy that mentioned that the Starcraft II comic hurt his soul. Yikes.
I'm going to do some new comics, not about video games, and not imitating (poorly) Gabe's style. Then I will post them here to get some more constructive criticism and to show you that I am not a whore.
You know, there is nothing wrong with doing a comic about video games. It's the repetitiveness of the video game comic format: Two guys talk about video games, random genitalia joke and cussing... lots and lots of cussing. It gets old!
There is nothing that separates you from the pack leader (in this case Penny-Arcade). If I were asked to do a comic about video games, I'd probably look at what everyone else is doing and go in a totally diffrent direction! I'd incorporate things from my life that I like, so that its fun to write.
Off the top of my head:
(wow, this is hard, I hardly play video games)
A boy get's sucked in the internet and must find his way home through the X-box live feature moving from server to server. Along the way he makes several remarks about the poor development plans of several big name games as he is forced to collect zombie testicles on a WOW mini quest.
I'm going to do some new comics, not about video games, and not imitating (poorly) Gabe's style. Then I will post them here to get some more constructive criticism and to show you that I am not a whore.
You know, there is nothing wrong with doing a comic about video games. It's the repetitiveness of the video game comic format: Two guys talk about video games, random genitalia joke and cussing... lots and lots of cussing. It gets old!
There is nothing that separates you from the pack leader (in this case Penny-Arcade). If I were asked to do a comic about video games, I'd probably look at what everyone else is doing and go in a totally diffrent direction! I'd incorporate things from my life that I like, so that its fun to write.
Off the top of my head:
(wow, this is hard, I hardly play video games)
A boy get's sucked in the internet and must find his way home through the X-box live feature moving from server to server. Along the way he makes several remarks about the poor development plans of several big name games as he is forced to collect zombie testicles on a WOW mini quest.
EDIT: Wow, that's just like Captain N!
MagicToaster, I totally dare you to make that comic into your own ongoing series.
Because of these guys, Ive started sketching the page before drawing it, have learned simple lighting (although i still suck at it), have taken live-model drawing classes, and cut down on number of random Liefeld lines (in digital art), and managed some half-arsed details in my rpg sketches.
Im far from being good, but these guys sure as hell pushed me along the way. If I werent straight, Id give them a manhug or something.
Because of these guys, Ive started sketching the page before drawing it, have learned simple lighting (although i still suck at it), have taken live-model drawing classes, and cut down on number of random Liefeld lines (in digital art), and managed some half-arsed details in my rpg sketches.
Im far from being good, but these guys sure as hell pushed me along the way. If I werent straight, Id give them a manhug or something.
It's just a matter of preference I suppose. I'm always open to criticism myself, and encourage people to give it to me straight even if it may mean learning that I'm doing everything wrong... but I don't find comments like "Looks like you did that in MS Paint" and the like all that constructive.
It comes from years of putting up with thick artists who don't give actually want advice, especially webcomic artists who write about videogames.
Aye; a lot of people just think that they're amazing, so when they post asking for advice, they are just trying to "be modest," all the while expecting a handjob instead of a slap to the face. And an actual critique comes as quite the slap to the face, so they bite back like idiots and make up all sorts of johns and it's just a horrendous waste of time and space.
When that's the norm and the expectation, it's pretty easy to overdo it a little bit with the harshness.
Because of these guys, Ive started sketching the page before drawing it, have learned simple lighting (although i still suck at it), have taken live-model drawing classes, and cut down on number of random Liefeld lines (in digital art), and managed some half-arsed details in my rpg sketches.
Im far from being good, but these guys sure as hell pushed me along the way. If I werent straight, Id give them a manhug or something.
It's just a matter of preference I suppose. I'm always open to criticism myself, and encourage people to give it to me straight even if it may mean learning that I'm doing everything wrong... but I don't find comments like "Looks like you did that in MS Paint" and the like all that constructive.
Yeah, they sometimes are harsh.
But the MS paint comment was right on... too much pixelation, bitmappish lines and white noise around blacks, looks like the MS paint fill tool (however, the gradients say othewise)
I think everyone who's been posting here really needs to think about why they are posting. So far the majority of the posts have been "..Pa rip off.." "..bad art.." etc. I hardly see how this helps Milk N Peaches. I see that you recognized the formula PA used for success. 2 characters + medium of entertainment + commentary on said medium. I would take a character drawing class and develop truly original characters and focus on developing your characters before you get into reviewing or commenting on anything. You really have to think: 1. Why am I making a comic? 2. What are my goals for the comic? and 3. Who is my target audience? I really would like to see an improved Milk N Peaches down the road.
That's a really good suggestion, and for what it's worth I hope you see an improved MNP down the road as well. Actually, if you visit the site now I'd like to hear what you think of it.
Interestingly enough I was just reading this book that lists all the violations that one can make to break brand promises. One of which is having a product be too similar to the lead product. You just plead guilty to this one.
Haha, that is an awesome book... its required college course material for Graphic Design.
The commentary on this page confuses me: http://milknpeaches.powweb.com/id9.html. Specifically where you talk about how nobody finds this comic funny but you, then you say:
And I ask them, "So... it's funny, then?" And they say, "well... no. Or... I'm not really sure." So I guess it's so far from being funny that it's entered some sort of nether realm, wherein concepts such as amusing or not amusing have lost their meaning.
In other words, this comic has the same effect on humor as a black hole has on gravity. And I am so proud of that.
Putting your analogy aside, which I'm not sure works, you're saying you're proud that your comic isn't funny? Huh?
What's sad is that he has spent so much time learning poor methods and creating an atrocious style, it will take years for him to unlearn it if he decides to improve.
Posts
You're not very good at this.
Yes. Yes you can.
Well, you could start by trying to draw your own work, or draw from a diverse pool of influences. Or even get outside, and draw from life.
Just a thought.
Tumblr/Artblog | DevArt
They should be deleted now.
And I've never read CtrAltDel.
I'm going to do some new comics, not about video games, and not imitating (poorly) Gabe's style. Then I will post them here to get some more constructive criticism and to show you that I am not a whore.
Thanks for all the criticism - even the guy that mentioned that the Starcraft II comic hurt his soul. Yikes.
You know, there is nothing wrong with doing a comic about video games. It's the repetitiveness of the video game comic format: Two guys talk about video games, random genitalia joke and cussing... lots and lots of cussing. It gets old!
There is nothing that separates you from the pack leader (in this case Penny-Arcade). If I were asked to do a comic about video games, I'd probably look at what everyone else is doing and go in a totally diffrent direction! I'd incorporate things from my life that I like, so that its fun to write.
Off the top of my head:
(wow, this is hard, I hardly play video games)
A boy get's sucked in the internet and must find his way home through the X-box live feature moving from server to server. Along the way he makes several remarks about the poor development plans of several big name games as he is forced to collect zombie testicles on a WOW mini quest.
EDIT: Wow, that's just like Captain N!
MagicToaster, I totally dare you to make that comic into your own ongoing series.
True, but theyre good art critics. Heck, my stuff improved much since first posted here...
Compare the first few pages of my webcomic, to the last ones-
http://612toapocalypse.blogspot.com/
Because of these guys, Ive started sketching the page before drawing it, have learned simple lighting (although i still suck at it), have taken live-model drawing classes, and cut down on number of random Liefeld lines (in digital art), and managed some half-arsed details in my rpg sketches.
Im far from being good, but these guys sure as hell pushed me along the way. If I werent straight, Id give them a manhug or something.
My digital art! http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=8168
My pen and paper art! http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=7462
It's just a matter of preference I suppose. I'm always open to criticism myself, and encourage people to give it to me straight even if it may mean learning that I'm doing everything wrong... but I don't find comments like "Looks like you did that in MS Paint" and the like all that constructive.
At least this thread didn't get filled with a bunch of dumb sandwiches. Ugh.
Aye; a lot of people just think that they're amazing, so when they post asking for advice, they are just trying to "be modest," all the while expecting a handjob instead of a slap to the face. And an actual critique comes as quite the slap to the face, so they bite back like idiots and make up all sorts of johns and it's just a horrendous waste of time and space.
When that's the norm and the expectation, it's pretty easy to overdo it a little bit with the harshness.
I can understand how that would get rather old quickly.
Yeah, they sometimes are harsh.
But the MS paint comment was right on... too much pixelation, bitmappish lines and white noise around blacks, looks like the MS paint fill tool (however, the gradients say othewise)
My digital art! http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=8168
My pen and paper art! http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=7462
I barely glanced at the first post and it'd be a sin if wasn't already.
Haha, that is an awesome book... its required college course material for Graphic Design.
Putting your analogy aside, which I'm not sure works, you're saying you're proud that your comic isn't funny? Huh?
And then I have a deviantART here: http://scottewen.deviantart.com
And I tweet: http://www.twitter.com/scottewenartist
*Scuffs shoes and looks down at the ground* No sir.......
Who wants Fla-Vor-Ice?! ;-)
Twitter
Spot on AoB!
Flickr ... Myspace
The OP took advice and is noticeably improving.
falconaire shit on the advice and is still sub-mediocre.
Moral of the story: AC can seem dickish at times, but you would be a fool to ignore the advice.
For a second there I was paranoid you linked my profile.
Your art reeks of weird, not terrible.
Big difference. :P
Music really screws me up when drawing. I'm usually that "draws from observation" guy, but when I'm listening to music I draw really weird shit.
I like it.
If the quality on the strip can be improved.it'll look more better.
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Oh wow, those comics are bad...
What's sad is that he has spent so much time learning poor methods and creating an atrocious style, it will take years for him to unlearn it if he decides to improve.
Jesus, I just listened to his podcast, funniest thing ever!
Does anyone dare me?
Anyone???