Industry Elites Added As Judges for Webcomic Contest

[foolishcharacter]

Here is a couple examples of the style I used for the contest. Please comment on it! I even want negative ones.
http://titankore.newgrounds.com/

A key criticism I would list is that your work looks fairly generic. There's very little to separate you from other artists. I know its fairly common to imitate the style of someone, but still your not doing yourself a favor artistically by sticking to what you have just now.

 

[Screw_it]

Here is a couple examples of the style I used for the contest. Please comment on it! I even want negative ones.
http://titankore.newgrounds.com/

A key criticism I would list is that your work looks fairly generic. There's very little to separate you from other artists. I know its fairly common to imitate the style of someone, but still your not doing yourself a favor artistically by sticking to what you have just now.

Omigod, dude. You're bein' dickish. Your stuff has been done before too... Reminds me of Bubsy the Bobcat, and that's not a good thing.

 

[titankore]

Wait are you saying mine looks like bubsy or his and who is bubsy?

 

[Casts a Shadow]

Dude,kettle calling the pot "Black".

Why? He's more metallic grey... in fact they're both that color so...

it's...an expression. Like "bull in a china shop" and NO that does not mean a bull in a shop of Chinese items.

 

[mynameissqrat]

Just throwinng my two cents titankore, the best thing that could help you get off to a better start with your comic is if you take a life drawing class or something (assuming you actully wanna draw your own comics). Also while copying someone's style and calling it your own is frowned upon, it isn't bad to actully try to copy someone's style for an experiment because you might find something you like and adapt it to your own style. It's all a learning process, but your off to a decent start.

 

[narcolepsyinc]

Dude,kettle calling the pot "Black".

Why? He's more metallic grey... in fact they're both that color so...

it's...an expression. Like "bull in a china shop" and NO that does not mean a bull in a shop of Chinese items.

Thank you. I was starting to kind of worry about my work. Never thought of my stuff as hard to grasp.

 

[LACKT]

Dude,kettle calling the pot "Black".

Why? He's more metallic grey... in fact they're both that color so...

it's...an expression. Like "bull in a china shop" and NO that does not mean a bull in a shop of Chinese items.

Thank you. I was starting to kind of worry about my work. Never thought of my stuff as hard to grasp.

Well,you did miss coloring them in a black tone,Foolishcharacter didn't miss the quote he was hinting about your mistake.Sometimes we already have a preconcieved notion on making stuff and miss details we thought we put in.

 

[Satoshii]

One of mine, not entered in this contest.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ndkjGSX3LVY/SiPI46mif5I/AAAAAAAAAMA/rhcqsmw3Gu0/s1600-h/Page_1.jpg

Haha, that's pretty clever. Nice work. I like the style you've got there too. Is it the same sort of style you did for your contest entry?

 

[toadking07]

Dude,kettle calling the pot "Black".

Why? He's more metallic grey... in fact they're both that color so...

Eh, the coloring could have helped, but it's just a saying. I got it right away anyways, not bad.


Hey, where does it say who the judges are? I didn't catch that. :/ Anyways at this point I'm just a little worried/annoyed about my art because I had to rush it a bit and I know I could have drawn things a bit better if I had learned about the comic at the beginning of the month instead of the end. Oh well, no real regrets I guess.

 

[foolishcharacter]

Here is a couple examples of the style I used for the contest. Please comment on it! I even want negative ones.
http://titankore.newgrounds.com/

A key criticism I would list is that your work looks fairly generic. There's very little to separate you from other artists. I know its fairly common to imitate the style of someone, but still your not doing yourself a favor artistically by sticking to what you have just now.

Omigod, dude. You're bein' dickish. Your stuff has been done before too... Reminds me of Bubsy the Bobcat, and that's not a good thing.

Even if my work is like Bubsy (and comparing anything to that travesty is a pretty low blow there) does that change the fact that the artist could still use improvement? If I'm not to give suggestions (which the artist specifically asked for), what else am I suppose to do? Tell all those really incredible artists out there to stop being so good so this one can play catch up?

 

[narcolepsyinc]

Dude,kettle calling the pot "Black".

Why? He's more metallic grey... in fact they're both that color so...

it's...an expression. Like "bull in a china shop" and NO that does not mean a bull in a shop of Chinese items.

Thank you. I was starting to kind of worry about my work. Never thought of my stuff as hard to grasp.

Well,you did miss coloring them in a black tone,Foolishcharacter didn't miss the quote he was hinting about your mistake.Sometimes we already have a preconcieved notion on making stuff and miss details we thought we put in.

Yeah.. I drew this over a year ago when I was still starting out. I tried to color them darker, but a lot of the facial expression was lost when the coloring was darker. I opted for a lighter tone and just hoped people would realize they were a pot and a kettle.. and get the joke. This is pretty similar to the style of the four that I entered, though this is almost a year old and I've been drawing 2-3 a week since then so I've learned a lot about the programs and I think I've kind of gotten a lot more comfortable in my own style.

 

[LACKT]

You could have put soot markings on them like they got smears.

 

[narcolepsyinc]

lol.. I could have. Though.. the process I went through for this comic was as follows:

1. idea.

2. quickly draw idea.

3. laugh at my comic because for a brief moment I felt "clever".

4. immediately regret coloring of idea.

5. look into future where comic is judged harshly based on shitty flash coloring job.

6. laugh at future self.

7. decide to change comic based on future decisions.

8. pour glass of scotch and forget steps 4-7.

 

[foolishcharacter]

Wait are you saying mine looks like bubsy or his and who is bubsy?

I'm certain he's saying mine looks like Bubsy. As for what Bubsy was, he's the mascot character to a terrible series of platformer games that tried to mimic the successful formulas established by Mario & Sonic. Remember Ty the Tasmanian Tiger? Well Bubsy was even more derogatory and bland than that!

 

[gnarwhalstudio]

Here is a couple examples of the style I used for the contest. Please comment on it! I even want negative ones.
http://titankore.newgrounds.com/

A key criticism I would list is that your work looks fairly generic. There's very little to separate you from other artists. I know its fairly common to imitate the style of someone, but still your not doing yourself a favor artistically by sticking to what you have just now.

Omigod, dude. You're bein' dickish. Your stuff has been done before too... Reminds me of Bubsy the Bobcat, and that's not a good thing.

Even if my work is like Bubsy (and comparing anything to that travesty is a pretty low blow there) does that change the fact that the artist could still use improvement? If I'm not to give suggestions (which the artist specifically asked for), what else am I suppose to do? Tell all those really incredible artists out there to stop being so good so this one can play catch up?

We all had to start somewhere. Foolishcharacter has a point, and is obviously an accomplished artist. He gave constructive criticism, and part of being able to give it is delivering an honest appraisal of yours and other people's work, when solicited of course. Critique is an important part of developing as an artist; when given properly and honestly, it gives you a realistic idea of where you stand against other artists. There was nothing dickish about his words. They were honest and objective, and should in no way discourage titankore from improving. It might not have been what he wanted to hear, but again, the easiest way to keep from improving is believing you don't have to anymore.

Titankore, keep drawing. My input is that if you'd like to put out some incredible stuff, consider taking life drawing. It looks like you enjoy doing humanoid characters; being able to exaggerate and augment features requires knowing what a normal feature looks like. Once you're comfortable drawing in realistic proportions, those fundamentals will shine through in whatever style you choose.


I guess I can post some of my stuff, too. I like trying a bunch of different styles, so they tend to be a little schizophrenic.

http://gruntman-the-sound.deviantart.com is my DA page.
http://twitpic.com/photos/gruntman is where I like to post in-progress stuff from time-to-time.

The "tweet" and "Still in Progress" pieces are how I shaded my comic, "Pokeroomies" is pretty close to how I drew it.

 

[gnarwhalstudio]

Wait are you saying mine looks like bubsy or his and who is bubsy?

I'm certain he's saying mine looks like Bubsy. As for what Bubsy was, he's the mascot character to a terrible series of platformer games that tried to mimic the successful formulas established by Mario & Sonic. Remember Ty the Tasmanian Tiger? Well Bubsy was even more derogatory and bland than that!

Don't listen to him. Your stuff rocks. It's well-rendered and laid out in a coherent manner. I would have loved to see it in color, but the greyscale gets the job done.

 

[foolishcharacter]

Wait are you saying mine looks like bubsy or his and who is bubsy?

I'm certain he's saying mine looks like Bubsy. As for what Bubsy was, he's the mascot character to a terrible series of platformer games that tried to mimic the successful formulas established by Mario & Sonic. Remember Ty the Tasmanian Tiger? Well Bubsy was even more derogatory and bland than that!

Thanks dude, that was a real picker-upper for me. After I complete the first 'chapter' of this thing I plan to create the comic in color from that point on. This comic has been a learning experience for me and I'm using it as an opportunity to try and further refine my knowledge of Photoshop (particularly in the realm of digital 'painting')
Don't listen to him. Your stuff rocks. It's well-rendered and laid out in a coherent manner. I would have loved to see it in color, but the greyscale gets the job done.

 

[Satoshii]

Here is a couple examples of the style I used for the contest. Please comment on it! I even want negative ones.
http://titankore.newgrounds.com/

A key criticism I would list is that your work looks fairly generic. There's very little to separate you from other artists. I know its fairly common to imitate the style of someone, but still your not doing yourself a favor artistically by sticking to what you have just now.

Omigod, dude. You're bein' dickish. Your stuff has been done before too... Reminds me of Bubsy the Bobcat, and that's not a good thing.

Even if my work is like Bubsy (and comparing anything to that travesty is a pretty low blow there) does that change the fact that the artist could still use improvement? If I'm not to give suggestions (which the artist specifically asked for), what else am I suppose to do? Tell all those really incredible artists out there to stop being so good so this one can play catch up?

We all had to start somewhere. Foolishcharacter has a point, and is obviously an accomplished artist. He gave constructive criticism, and part of being able to give it is delivering an honest appraisal of yours and other people's work, when solicited of course. Critique is an important part of developing as an artist; when given properly and honestly, it gives you a realistic idea of where you stand against other artists. There was nothing dickish about his words. They were honest and objective, and should in no way discourage titankore from improving. It might not have been what he wanted to hear, but again, the easiest way to keep from improving is believing you don't have to anymore.

Titankore, keep drawing. My input is that if you'd like to put out some incredible stuff, consider taking life drawing. It looks like you enjoy doing humanoid characters; being able to exaggerate and augment features requires knowing what a normal feature looks like. Once you're comfortable drawing in realistic proportions, those fundamentals will shine through in whatever style you choose.


I guess I can post some of my stuff, too. I like trying a bunch of different styles, so they tend to be a little schizophrenic.

http://gruntman-the-sound.deviantart.com is my DA page.
http://twitpic.com/photos/gruntman is where I like to post in-progress stuff from time-to-time.

The "tweet" and "Still in Progress" pieces are how I shaded my comic, "Pokeroomies" is pretty close to how I drew it.

OK, firstly I don't think 'foolishcharacter' was being dickish, but then he wasn't offering constructive criticism either. He pointed out faults but gave no advice on how to better them.

@Titankore: as well as people telling you to check out life drawing (which is always a good thing), i'd focus on your characters legs which look a little bit awkward. Check out some sites offering tutorials on 2d animation, the first thing you'll come across is the 'walk cycle' this will give you a better understanding about leg positioning when a character is walking.

The proportions actually seem alright for those sorts of characters, but a little more detail and definition may help your characters stand out (maybe the arms need a little work, work out where the shoulders and the elbows should be because they look a little off). Also I'd vary the poses a little, walking whilst holding the bag straps with both hands gets a little boring. Put some body language into it, make another character gesture to another. The baseball pose is good, but it could be more dynamic. Tilt the body back a little and make it look like she's *just* catching it, and she's had to use all her might to do so (for example). Add as much expression as you can, not just in the face but with the whole body and even the scene its set in.

I know it's your style, but I personally think the colouring clashes with the inking. The outlines of the characters are too light and the colours too dark (IMO). Maybe make the outlines a little darker and connect a few more lines? Or maybe use a lighter colour and blend the shadows a little, they look kinda blocky. Just my opinion.

@Gnarwhalstudio: Your stuff is pretty good, especially the colouring, but I much preferred the style you did with those Metropolis characters, they were pretty funky and interesting. Would you be able to keep up a twice weekly comic doing that realistic style (colouring)? Is it just you or are you part of a team?

 

[gnarwhalstudio]

@Satoshii No, it's just me I made sure to only spend a few hours drawing and coloring on each strip. From start-to-finish I think I averaged about 10-12 hours per strip, but I'm not sure since I did them all in a batch. I think I spent about 40-50ish hours on the whole thing.

 

[mynameissqrat]

(In reply to satoshii's sugjestions for titankor):I agree, as for the color, To me it looks like you were screwed over by your scanner a little. I have the same problem. In fact I regret turning in my own comic in color because of it but hey what can you do? However some tips that might help (depending on your resorces) Is to either:
1: Scan line work in black and white then colore the best you can in an art program (it's a pain in the ass trust me)

2: Scan your compleated work but darken the scan quality because the light bleaches your picture.

3: get one of those fancy stylist thingies. I've used one but don't own one. They take a while to get used to but are very worth it if you want to avoid the scanning process.

as far as that goes I'm not much of a color guy. I do my best work in ink and pencil. But keep at it man, my stuff looked a lot worse than yours when I was starting out.