The NP member comic discussion thread!

[phil_]

Ok, I'll be supportive when the actual comics start. It's just that so many folks are like, "I'm gonna make a comic, so I'll make a teaser image," and then they don't actually make anything. I'm included in this. It doesn't help that you say you have no ideas, even if it's a joke. It's hard to get excited.

Though, yeah, who else is gonna be in it? Is it just going to be like the Kickass Adventures of Demon and Rick? 'Cause that'd be awesome.

Also, I hope Fenry realizes that he falls into the group detailed in the first paragraph right now and gets to work.

[The Wizard Who Did It]

There are not enough comics with me in them.
I may or may not have actually viewed this thread within the past 5 months.

[bluestarultor]

Loyal: Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I know it's just a trailer, so no, nothing actually happened. I was just hoping it would do what a trailer is supposed to do and generate a bit of interest.


And frankly, I'm not letting my sprites write my stories for me, if that's what you mean. I didn't do them custom to carry the burden of my work's value. I did them that way because I'm anal and have very specific ideas that aren't served well by copying the work of others. XD You'll notice my sheets are both laden with tweaks and custom poses, and that Blue is a pixel shorter than other sprites. But that's to better augment their personalities in the story. I'm very much a writer before I am an artist, or else I'd be drawing these instead. :p


So, yeah, I wasn't really expecting people to rave about how nothing actually happened and it was AWESOME!!!1!1 so much as I just hoped it would generate a bit of interest in what's to come and maybe generate a few technical kibitzes.


P.S. Blue and CJ are just posing dramatically. Nothing special going on there other than to look cool.




Edit:

Phil: No, I have every intention of filling out my trailer promises. It does sound a lot like that arc you mentioned by design. Basically, the Adventures of Blue and CJ, with other people added in for awesomeness.

I mean, heck, I made good on my last trailer. I think I did pretty good with it until I lost everything. Never did get back my backgrounds (school took all the pics off their site), but overall, I think it was a worthy effort.

[Lady Cygnet]

Originally Posted by The Wizard Who Did It

There are not enough comics with me in them.
I may or may not have actually viewed this thread within the past 5 months.

I'm not in any, so pbbt. :p

Technically, it's kind of my own fault, as I never got around to making sprite sheets of my own, and now I don't have time.

[RickZarber]

Just so ya know, the following isn't aimed exclusively at you, Blue, or this particular comic, but it has been a growing concern of mine and I feel this is as an appropriate time as any to bring it up.

I hope this doesn't come off as being too jack-assy but it really turns me off when someone tells me--and not in an ironic or joking way--how awesome their own work is. I guess I just prefer a sense of self-deprecation or modesty towards one's art.

Trust me, I appreciate putting half a day's work into something. That's a lot of time to dedicate towards anything. But part of posting comics is the possibility that no one will comment. Still, doesn't mean that no one saw it or no one liked it. I'm guilty of this myself; I don't comment nearly enough but that's mostly because sometimes I just don't have anything to say.

It's just that when a person obviously thinks highly of their own work and I have no constructive criticism, there's really not much I feel I can say that wouldn't just be "yes-ing" or ego stroking. Worse if it's something I don't particularly find engaging or amusing, as will inevitably be the case from time to time.

So I guess what I'm trying to say, in a generic advice sorta way, is concentrate on the story and or jokes you're telling first and worry about how people receive them a little later. And after a while if it's not getting the attention you think it deserves, maybe it's time to rethink the process. Find out what your audience does respond to and go with that.

In any case, I am looking forward to seeing more from you. And everybody else. Hint hint.

[Daimo Mac, The Blue Light of Hope]

Originally Posted by RickZarber

In any case, I am looking forward to seeing more from you. And everybody else. Hint hint.

you must not rush my movies. Or else face the wrath of

*face change*

DANCE TIME.


you don't get my reference, then you need to watch more cartoons.

[bluestarultor]

Wow, I can't believe it got this far out of hand. I really was just joking about needing feedback on T3H C0M1C 0F AW30M3N3SS! and stuff. It's a trailer. My original post on the matter was just to say it was there, in case anyone was interested in looking.

But that's a problem with me, I guess. Nobody really gets it when I'm trying to be funny. Verbal humor isn't one of my skills, but if I stop trying, I'll never get it, will I? XD


As I said, I put it up to generate interest. I didn't expect people to rave about a trailer, but apparently, I came off wrong joking around. So, for that, I'm sorry. AND! I'll try to get a real comic out as soon as humanly possible. It's just going to take me a bit with school rolling around the bend, but once it starts, I'll have all the free time in the world. XD

[Loyal]

In any case, I am looking forward to seeing more from you. And everybody else. Hint hint.

Right back at you. *Fake glare*

Good news, I finally hit 70 for the first time on WoW. So I may just get around to doing something.

...yeah.

[RickZarber]

Originally Posted by Big Mac

you don't get my reference, then you need to watch more cartoons.

I do not get your reference, but that's really not that uncommon for me...

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

Wow, I can't believe it got this far out of hand. I really was just joking about needing feedback on T3H C0M1C 0F AW30M3N3SS! and stuff.

Well, like I said, that diatribe there wasn't necessarily in regards to this one thing. It's just something I've noticed here and there over the course of several months.

Originally Posted by Loyal2NES

Right back at you. *Fake glare*

Good news, I finally hit 70 for the first time on WoW. So I may just get around to doing something.

...yeah.

Well that certainly explains a lot. :p

As for me... man, I need some more free time. I've got three NPF projects to work on, two non-NPF projects, a dozen movies I've bought and haven't watched, maybe two dozen books I've bought and haven't yet read... :stressed: *sigh* I blame work. And laziness. ...Laziness caused by work. I know, I know, excuses, excuses. Hopefully I'll have some JAQ time soon. Ish.

[bluestarultor]

First comic up. I know, I know, nothing actually happens yet, but at least this one has writing, and every adventure has to start somewhere. Just an FYI that it exists.




Edit: While I'm here, I may as well comment on technical stuff I did, for those who care/are always looking for tips. The tails on the speech bubbles were done differently this time. It didn't exactly streamline things, but here's the difference:

old way: do bubble with ellipse tool, draw a triangle in black one layer below, select transparent inside at 70%, flip down one to a dedicated layer, color fill selection with white, scribble in white on a dedicated layer above the bubble to erase the wall on the tail, tweak as necessary.

new way: do bubble with ellipse tool, draw triangle in white on a layer above OVER THE WALL of the bubble, select inside at 70% and color fill with white right there, flip one layer up and draw outlines around exposed white.


Basically, the new way allows for more control and less pointless scribbling. It takes just as long to get the outlines right, but whatever. I've been happily using this process on bridges and figured I'd try it out here.

Also, I've used a few new effects. The shaking was done with a "fragment" effect and a solid copy on top. The pulsing vein was done with a "lensing" effect. The sun flare was actually done totally custom, believe it or not. There was no picture of the sun I liked, so I drew a white circle, did a Gaussian blur, and put a glow over it for good measure. Then I used a lens flare plugin with a smaller area selected with a rectangle select to keep it under control.



Edit: Big Mac body cast FTW! XD