Industry Elites Added As Judges for Webcomic Contest

[doggkun]

Hi, i have a Question about the size of the Webcomic. when it says "width must be no larger than 650 pixels height must be no larger than 1280 pixels" Is that referring to the 4 submissions separately or as a whole and they should add up to that size?

thanks in advance

 

[Beeli]

Okay! I have a couple questions. I've read through what's on here, and some questions already asked have come close to mine, but I want to make sure the particulars of my questions are answered. ^^

"You must submit one (1) single frame of logo or brand and four (4) pieces of art, totaling 5 submissions"

Okay, so I was wondering exactly what this means. Does it mean you submit four comic examples, or a comic that has four cels, but each separately, or four one cel comic examples? A little clarification on this would be super helpful.

Also, if I wanted to do a comic that occasionally took place in a video game world and had certain game character cameos, like Link for instance, would that be considered copyright infringement?

Regarding video game plot and plot spoilers, I have a couple scenarios for example: Say you had an original character who is in a Final Fantasy game, and they know they have to get from point A to point B (NO spoilers or significant plot revealed, the person is just told to go from this town to the next, and maybe kill this or that along the way,) would that be CR infringement?

Or if an original character is solving some sort of puzzle in a game--would they be able to solve the original puzzle, or would that be a spoiler? Would you have to make up your own puzzle?

Can original characters interact with in-game characters? If so, would the in-game characters need to stay true to their original personality, or could they be a reflection of the original character's interpretation of the in-game character?

Also, can original characters mention certain in-game places? For example, if a character says something like, "Oh, just head over to Nook's Cranny (Animal Crossing)..." is that allowed?

I'm just trying to figure out exactly what's considered a copyright infringement. ^^ I certainly don't want to cross any boundaries!

Thank you for your time.

 

[Kud]

I accidentally put "how many comics can you enter" into the description box because I thought it was a question box. can somebody like reset it for me?

 

[pooryohei]

Hi, i have a Question about the size of the Webcomic. when it says "width must be no larger than 650 pixels height must be no larger than 1280 pixels" Is that referring to the 4 submissions separately or as a whole and they should add up to that size?

thanks in advance

I don't intend to be rude but...are you joking?

 

[jimothy_]

Because there's been far too much questioning of it, and because I'm sure Spinwhiz has other things to do, a note on copyright:

"copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner." (emphasis mine) -U.S. Copyright Office

Which means if you are taking someone's plot, setting or characters and attempting to do anything serious with them--don't. Fair use gives a small amount of leeway for excerpts, but the only way that would be relevant in a webcomic is as parody, or if the webcomic is making a critical review on the subject.

And it really doesn't take much to check up on questions you might have. The official page [http://www.copyright.gov/] of the U.S. Copyright Office is pretty darn accessible, and there's a wiki [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright] if you want to avoid primary sources.

 

[Billska]

Does the webcomic specifically need to be about games? Or could it be about something else entirely?

 

[Nivag the Owl]

Does four 'pieces of art' mean four comics, or is it sort of like concept art / random sketches.

 

[Spinwhiz]

Hi, i have a Question about the size of the Webcomic. when it says "width must be no larger than 650 pixels height must be no larger than 1280 pixels" Is that referring to the 4 submissions separately or as a whole and they should add up to that size?

thanks in advance

Each page, whether broken down into frames or not, will be 650x1280. Meaning, you will be submitting 4 650x1280 "pieces of art". How you decide to divide the 650x1280 is up to you.

Okay! I have a couple questions. I've read through what's on here, and some questions already asked have come close to mine, but I want to make sure the particulars of my questions are answered. ^^

"You must submit one (1) single frame of logo or brand and four (4) pieces of art, totaling 5 submissions"

Okay, so I was wondering exactly what this means. Does it mean you submit four comic examples, or a comic that has four cels, but each separately, or four one cel comic examples? A little clarification on this would be super helpful.

Each page, whether broken down into frames or not, will be 650x1280. Meaning, you will be submitting 4 650x1280 "pieces of art". How you decide to divide the 650x1280 is up to you.

Also, if I wanted to do a comic that occasionally took place in a video game world and had certain game character cameos, like Link for instance, would that be considered copyright infringement?

Regarding video game plot and plot spoilers, I have a couple scenarios for example: Say you had an original character who is in a Final Fantasy game, and they know they have to get from point A to point B (NO spoilers or significant plot revealed, the person is just told to go from this town to the next, and maybe kill this or that along the way,) would that be CR infringement?

Or if an original character is solving some sort of puzzle in a game--would they be able to solve the original puzzle, or would that be a spoiler? Would you have to make up your own puzzle?

Can original characters interact with in-game characters? If so, would the in-game characters need to stay true to their original personality, or could they be a reflection of the original character's interpretation of the in-game character?

Also, can original characters mention certain in-game places? For example, if a character says something like, "Oh, just head over to Nook's Cranny (Animal Crossing)..." is that allowed?

I'm just trying to figure out exactly what's considered a copyright infringement. ^^ I certainly don't want to cross any boundaries!

Thank you for your time.

Here is the short answer to your question, without getting into anything too legal. If it is a parody or satire of a game and everything it encompasses, it's probably okay. Sending Link out on another adventure will send Nintendo your way in a hurry but if you are using a likeness of Link and creating a funny adventure, there is a possibility it may be okay.

To stay with Zelda, if you are poking fun at something in Zelda and using a likeness of Link, again probably as well.

Taking specific items out of any game or storyline and generating more content based on that becomes fan fiction, which will most certainly bring Nintendo's lawyers sending over a cease and desist order.

Because there's been far too much questioning of it, and because I'm sure Spinwhiz has other things to do, a note on copyright:

"copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner." (emphasis mine) -U.S. Copyright Office

Which means if you are taking someone's plot, setting or characters and attempting to do anything serious with them--don't. Fair use gives a small amount of leeway for excerpts, but the only way that would be relevant in a webcomic is as parody, or if the webcomic is making a critical review on the subject.

And it really doesn't take much to check up on questions you might have. The official page [http://www.copyright.gov/] of the U.S. Copyright Office is pretty darn accessible, and there's a wiki [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright] if you want to avoid primary sources.

Awesome...and thank you!

 

[Spinwhiz]

Does the webcomic specifically need to be about games? Or could it be about something else entirely?

From the Contest Page: "Is the subject matter interesting to readers of The Escapist? The Escapist aims to capture and celebrate the contemporary video gaming lifestyle and the diverse global video game culture, so please plan accordingly."

If you can make it interesting to readers of The Escapist, you can do whatever you like.

Does four 'pieces of art' mean four comics, or is it sort of like concept art / random sketches.

We want 4 complete strips that are ready to be published. Each page, whether broken down into frames or not, will be 650x1280. Meaning, you will be submitting 4 650x1280 "pieces of art". How you decide to divide the 650x1280 is up to you.

 

[Beeli]

Each page, whether broken down into frames or not, will be 650x1280. Meaning, you will be submitting 4 650x1280 "pieces of art". How you decide to divide the 650x1280 is up to you.

Here is the short answer to your question, without getting into anything too legal. If it is a parody or satire of a game and everything it encompasses, it's probably okay. Sending Link out on another adventure will send Nintendo your way in a hurry but if you are using a likeness of Link and creating a funny adventure, there is a possibility it may be okay.

To stay with Zelda, if you are poking fun at something in Zelda and using a likeness of Link, again probably as well.

Taking specific items out of any game or storyline and generating more content based on that becomes fan fiction, which will most certainly bring Nintendo's lawyers sending over a cease and desist order.

Thank you, my questions have been answered! ^^ I wanted to do a comedy/parody, so that seems to give me a little room for snippets of things here and there.

 

[zolf]

Hello, I'm an artist looking for a writer. ^_^

I have no problems doing either dramatic or comedic work and I can turn out pieces fairly quickly.

Some of my works:

http://blaze45.deviantart.com/art/Initiative-145571670
http://blaze45.deviantart.com/art/Happiness-Is-A-Warm-Gun-152982184
http://blaze45.deviantart.com/art/A-Cat-is-Fine-Too-152880238
http://blaze45.deviantart.com/art/Off-Duty-152879942

Old Comic Works: (Please read right to left. Sorry >_<; )

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v448/Kiro/page214jpgcopy.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v448/Kiro/page215jpgcopy.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v448/Kiro/page216jpgcopy.jpg

If you're interested, please feel free to send me a note! d_(^_^)_b

 

[SirPumpkinLongshanks]

Awww man, no nudity? What if I just pop a pair of tits in there at random? Everybody loves tits, right? That's not sex and it's not even nudity! You need a person to have nudity. This? This is just a pair of rockin' tits being awesome in one of the panels. Or all the panels. Hell, what if I make all the characters different sizes of tits? It'd be like Game Dogs except with tits! You guys like Game Dogs, right?

 

[theaceplaya]

Shamus is the man.

 

[Gerbil117]

This was partially covered by the WoW and Zelda questions, but can we use characterizations/representations of real life individuals? More specifically, those that do features on The Escapist such as Shamus or Yahtzee Croshaw, assuming that:

1.) It is done in good taste (obviously, and I realize this would be very subjective)
2.) It does not constitute libel towards said individual(s)
3.) No infringement of said Escapist feature(s) occurs

I ask this without knowing the legal relationship that the Escapist has with it's content writers/contributors.

Also,

Names of games in the conversation are okay, just like the way Shamus does it in Stolen Pixels or the guys from Penny Arcade.

This is a very grey area. While you are allowed to use images from the Warcraft Universe, doing anything to promote a brand (say a certain soda) or putting them in unflattering situations that could hurt the brand, would get the comic closed before you could blink. So, if you are just using the images or even your characters from the game but your content is not affect the brand, you should be okay. There are a lot of webcomics out there that use parody from games, so the only thing we can do is ask you to try and we'll see what happens.

Penny Arcade has been cited quite a bit in this thread. Many of the PA comics involve Gabe's renditions of game characters and parodies of situations involving their games (my favorite of all time is when Nova tries to take shelter from the Nihilistic Software/Blizzard fiasco in Tycho and Gabe's apartment, resulting in Tycho nearly being garroted).

Would it be safe to assume that humor and parody in the same flavor as Penny Arcade would be acceptable for this competition?


Thank you for your time, and I'm glad to see so many good discussions, good questions and good answers being thrown around!

 

[Charlie Ethan]

now i do have ideas, and i do concider myself a good artist, but not a good computer artist. would it be frowned uppon if i hand draw my comics, scan them, then upload them?

edit: would they even be accepted at all?

 

[Gerbil117]

now i do have ideas, and i do concider myself a good artist, but not a good computer artist. would it be frowned uppon if i hand draw my comics, scan them, then upload them?

edit: would they even be accepted at all?

There are some extremely, EXTREMELY popular webcomics that are drawn pencil on paper, for example Dominic Deegan and *coughcoughMegatokyocough*.

There are many types of webcomics, so feel free to write and illustrate anything your heart desires. From stick figure drawings to illustrated comics Marvel or DC Comics, there are millions of possibilities and can range from political satire to full episodes.

Keep in mind that a scanned-in, hand drawn image is still a digital image, even if the original media was analog. So, it would still be a webcomic, and I'd say to send that sucker in.

 

[aeroz]

how anal are you about the 650x1280? Our comic is currently 500x1280. I would have assumed long as it wasn't over, but that whole "We would like to see a full width comic to maintain this quality" made me hesitant.

 

[maxbola]

I understand that a width of 650px is mandatory because that's the size of the page, but I guess height is not that important.

 

[megalomania]

I am interested in entering for a bit of a laugh - is there any artist out there who is willing to collaborate with a writer; I'm a scientist by trade with a pretty acerbic sense of humour. My ideas have no story line so each comic would be stand alone.

Also I have no interest in being employed to write web-comics, so if I somehow was part of the winning team I would decline the contract...(bet your all jumping to work with me now!)

If there are any of you artists who are interested gimme a shout!

 

[pooryohei]

how anal are you about the 650x1280? Our comic is currently 500x1280. I would have assumed long as it wasn't over, but that whole "We would like to see a full width comic to maintain this quality" made me hesitant.

You could always just have some extra white space on the outside to make up for the width.