[677] DPD: Sick Piro Day Art Lesson #1

"DPD: Sick Piro Day Art Lesson #1" February 23rd, 2005 [677]

Panel 1:
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SICK PIRO DAY ART LESSON
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If you are seeing this, it means that the flu got the better of me, and it made me too loopy to finish the comic for Wednesday. Whatever this flu thing is, it snuck up on me quick (I was fine yesterday). Second time this month that I've been sick, that's way over quota. >_<
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Anyways, I figured I'd do something a little different with this DPD/preview and maybe give a little lesson / example of comic layout stuff. Hey, it's better than stick figures, right? Right.
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Now, take a look at these two frames, both from drawings for the next comic (which I am working on, but isn't done yet):
Ping:
<Piro-kun...? PIRO-KUN!!>
Also shown:
Piro
Panel 2:
Ping:
<Piro-kun...? PIRO-KUN!!>
text:
The drawing on the left is my first attempt at frame one, where Ping is accosting Piro and demands that he stop ignoring her. Even before I finished the drawing, I felt that it didn't work very well. I rethought the layout and did the drawing over, resulting in the drawing on the right, which is what I will actually use for frame one in the next comic.
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One of the things about comics is that each frame conveys a certain amount of time. When characters are moving or things are happening, you have to frame things in such a way that it's clear what's happening so readers can follow the flow.
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In this frame, I needed to give the impression that Piro is still walking along seemingly downcast, with Ping following him. She's trying to get his attention, worried about what is bothering him. Finally, she shouts his name in frustration, which finally brings him to a halt.
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The first frame was an attempt to show Piro at that moment where Ping shouts out his name. It's a snapshot of the tail end of the 'moment' the frame covers. With no frame before it that shows him moping, I didn't think it worked.
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The second frame, which is more dynamic, clearly shows Piro's 'lost in thought' staggering gait, and the snapshot point here is really when Ping stops and yells out his name. It is a moment before the surprised look captured in the first frame. I won't be showing Piro's surprised look (the next frame will cut to show Ping, and perhaps Piro looking at her) but I felt that the information and flow of the frame on the right was clearer and conveyed the story better than the one on the left.
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A good comic, I think, is one where the drawings and the dialogue work together to create a good sense of watching the story flow. Your dialogue and your drawings don't have to show the same thing (for instance, in the last comic, Piro did not say 'Here's your cell phone' - the drawing shows him handing it to her) and you can use character's expressions to contrast or convey the tone of what they are saying... At any rate, don't be afraid to put aside a perfectly good drawing if it doesn't do what you need it to do, even if you are sick and behind and end up having to do a lame DPD...
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Disclaimer: I am no expert, this is just stuff I've figured out on my own, and I have no idea if it really works or is just a bunch of nonsense.
Also shown:
Piro

console

< Piro >

"rawr!"

Wednesday - February 16, 2005

hehe, a friend sent me this little scribble and i have to say, it really DOES describe how i feel today. :P

Anyways, yesterday was a mess so i'm once again doing most of the work on todays comic... today. :P Not sure when i'll be done, but i'm gonna opt for doing a nice job rather than rushing it. Till then, enjoy the message from the zombie hordes.

Really, i do think they might actually get me in the end. :)

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< Dom >

"Zubaaaaan"

Wednesday - February 23, 2005

[Dom] - 14:00:00 - [link here]

I need to stop playing Nanaca Crash. I have things to do, rants to write, games to get ready for...

Yet, I simply can't stop playing The Little Flash Game That Could.

If you haven't had the fortune to have someone send you the Nanaca Crash .swf file, or found it somewhere, it's a brilliant little game--the concept is similar to, say, a Track and Field game, where you have a projectile you want to fling as far as you can, so you have a little timing game to determine what angle and what force goes into the throw.

Except in this case, the projectile is the main character of some dating game or other, and you propel him by crashing into him with a bike--and depending on who he smashes into, you can get extra boosts to fling him further.

It's marvelously addictive, and I've spent the last day playing it--my personal high is about 9000m, but I know a friend who's gotten as high as 14000m or so... it's so much fun!

Hmm. I guess I should play City of Heroes again at some point, too...