Advice requested.

HeatherHeather
edited June 2006 in Comics
As some of you may be aware, I am working on starting up my comic again.

Since I've improved since last year, I would like to produce a better comic than I did before. The linework needs to be more consistent, for sure, but also I am considering something a bit more complicated than straight flood filling shades of grey. But the trick is to not make it take too much time or else I'll *never* be able to keep up with the update schedule.

So in summary, what I am looking for is a method for producing instant perfection. Style. Intrigue. Instant gratification. And of course everyone who is reading this realizes how impossible that is, so what I am actually looking for is something as close as possible to that goal.

I created a sketch for a test panel of episode 80 of my comic using my PDA. Some of you have seen it. I used Flash and my tablet to turn the sketch into better linework. Then used Gimp to turn the line work into colored work. Now this process was more tedious than I had hoped and in the end I came up with a picture that I think is kind of "meh". I've attached that picture and I would like to know, seriously, if I were to put this over top of a more interesting background (never just plain white like I have here) would this make for a good comic style or do I need to do something different?

Comments

  • X'o'LoreX'o'Lore
    edited June 2006
    You got me. I think it looks quite nice, but I'm not that picky. Good story telling can cover less-than-perfect art easily. As for speed, I'm not going to try to comment 'cause I have almost 0 experience with comicing which sort of invalidates any opinions I might have (I don't have any).
  • brucebruce
    edited June 2006
    Thats pretty good, although the hand on the guns a bit iffy.
  • deku12345deku12345
    edited June 2006
    I rather like the style. But I am no art critic or anything.
  • HeatherHeather
    edited June 2006
    Okay this is helpful. Everyone I've asked likes the style of the guy's head, but has issues with the gun, which I already knew was kinda iffy.

    So advice received ... and it was helpful.

    I appreciate your responses. :)

    In return I gratuitously offer a link to my latest watercolor piece:
    http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/34402402/
  • HamelinHamelin
    edited June 2006
    A watercolor mermaid, how fitting. And awesome.
  • HeatherHeather
    edited June 2006
    Thanks, Hammy :)
  • HamelinHamelin
    edited June 2006
    You're welcome. I really like the use of color, it is very pleasant to the eye.
  • stefstef
    edited June 2006
    B-but, flood filling of outlines is where it's at! Where it's at!
  • BehemothBehemoth
    edited June 2006
    I really like the colors used for the rocks on which she is sitting.

    Comic Art: I consider most stick-figures talent compared to myself, so I don't have too much credibility here. I feel that as long as you can tell what an object is without any hard thinking, it's ok. And the most important thing for a character is emotion. You can see the emotion well in that drawing.
  • SerephelSerephel
    edited June 2006
    The sky in the watercolor is really well done. I like how the clouds actually fade in and out, indicating actual dimension.

    As for the gun, you should go out, buy a gun, and hold someone up at gunpoint, and then sketch how you're holding the gun and how he's reacting. Real life experience!
  • geokogeoko
    edited June 2006
    looks fine to me... but then again, the only comic i work is the brew... and we ain't exactly known for art....
  • brucebruce
    edited June 2006
    Wow...that water colour is just fantastic.
  • Paper StreetPaper Street
    edited June 2006
    I personally would rely less on outlines, especially with colors. The colors, however, are entirely an aesthetic success and for which that I compliment you on. The figure could use more detail depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Then again, you may have made it the way it is for style purposes. In this case, disregard everything I said and make whatever is pleasing to yourself or whatever is your key audience.
  • jasonjason
    edited June 2006
    I would like to know, seriously, if I were to put this over top of a more interesting background (never just plain white like I have here) would this make for a good comic style or do I need to do something different?
    Yes. I agree that this would make for a good comic style, and I'll agree with 'Lore that good storytelling trumps all. There are two caveats to this, of course--that the art is clear enough to tell the story (no is that a hand or a machete or a cat allowed), and that the art style doesn't distract from the story. There's no problem with a simple art style, and if you're going for "real" people then the biggest thing to keep in mind is proper proportions, which I think you've more or less got. (Everyone's pointing out the problems with the gun... I think it's not so much that it's innacurately drawn, as that it may be a little too small.)

    The shadows on the fleshtones really do help give the drawing more life as well. I remember you saying that you'd written the program that lets you draw this on your PDA...perhaps you can add some small features to let you do some of the work that you do in Flash + GIMP on the PDA, thus saving you time? (Does the PDA program allow layers at all?)

    If you figure out any way to make the getting-comics-from-the-brain-to-polished-photons process less tedious, then PLEASE let the rest of us in on the secret. :D

© Vanilla Keystone Theme 2023