3D Comic Book Tips And Pictures

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  • duckbombduckbomb Posts: 585
    Linwelly said:

     I would like to disagree with duckbomb in the aspect that people would not care in the end.

    You can totally disagree with me, but that's not what I said at all...  I was actually very specific to say that I wasn't saying that we don't care about the style she chose.  My point is that here on this forum we're all extremely technical and we represent a very small minority.  I've gone down rabbit holes myself that took me days to work through, and in the end I end up with two or three variants that realistically all look perfectly viable to my readers.

     

    Consider the posts above, where nearly everybody gave a different answer.  From that alone, if the comic was done in any of those formats then the style chosen would have been the best possible option for that commenter.  I'm not saying to "jam" down your work instead of giving it throughful consideration, but I am saying that while it's important to get the opinions of many, in the end it's also just as important to pick a style that you like and can work with easily and that inspires you to do so.  A comic is a grind, as all of us here on this thread knows, and for those of us lucky enough to succeed at it usually it's also a work of passion.  If you find yourself working in a way, or in a style, that you aren't the most happy with then it doesn't matter if the votes were 20% in favor of letter A or whatever. 

     

    These are all amazing, and the readers would absolutely care if the comic were just some hucked together mess withouat any consideration for detail, but for technical people like us the typical layman reader actually cares less about technicalities and more about feel (just as you stated).  Just like your example with the use of light to transport mood... end readers don't care about the technical wizardy behind it, and they don't even know what other options you tried before you published the one that you did, but chances are you care MUCH more about that than they even know they did and so any decision you were to make would have been the right one there.  It's just a long way of basically saying "go with your gut", I suppose.

     

    I hope I explained myself better.  I don't disagree with anything you said, so I'm at least thinking we're saying similar things here.  And I do hope you don't think I was snapping back hard... I just really don't want anybody to think I'm trying to say nobody cares about your work.  That would be a rude thing to say lol

  • Griffin AvidGriffin Avid Posts: 3,755

    You can totally disagree with me, but that's not what I said at all... 

    I think that is my new favorite line.lol

    I think we can all agree that the 'truth' is in the middle. You turn to others when you are not sure.

    And being sure, as I said, is the final thing to get to. The obvious answer is H) None of the above.

    Which is why I said experiment further.

    The final style or method has to cause you (the creator) to lean back from your computer screen, stand up and go "OMG that's it, that's it right there!"

    And the new pressure is- how do you get the results to look 'like that' for a whole book.

    Which means there *might* be a compromise or middle ground where you choose a system that looks great overall and only tinker (more) with the settings when something is off.

    -----------

    And in this case, I fear it's both.

    They all look good and similar so it's hard to choose, but none of them are 'it' which is why you can't decide between them.

     

  • duckbombduckbomb Posts: 585

    True, that's well said!

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276
    Linwelly said:

    This is like my quest for the right font for the different language, you will get as many answers as there are people answering, and everyone has a point that's worth considering, but in the end it's what you feel is right. 

    That's a good point - a couple others said something similar but in a different way, so I think that's the way to go. While it's important to get feedback from people on what they like (since I don't want people to be put off from reading it because of the art style being something they might really dislike), I think you guys have a good point about doing what feels right "to me". You guys are right, in the end it has to be a style that I, personally, love. And hopefully, others will end up liking it too (or at least tolerate it enough to enjoy the comic - since I know people's tastes can vary pretty wildly from one person to another). lol :P

    Linwelly said:

    For my part I use light (souce of light/ colour / angle etc) to transport mood and personality of my characters. Since I don't do thought captions, it's an important medium and it gets noticed.

    That's great advice. Lighting and angles can definitely play a huge role in the mood or feeling of a scene.

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276
    edited June 2020
    duckbomb said:
    Linwelly said:

     I would like to disagree with duckbomb in the aspect that people would not care in the end.

    You can totally disagree with me, but that's not what I said at all...  I was actually very specific to say that I wasn't saying that we don't care about the style she chose.  My point is that here on this forum we're all extremely technical and we represent a very small minority.  I've gone down rabbit holes myself that took me days to work through, and in the end I end up with two or three variants that realistically all look perfectly viable to my readers.

     

    Consider the posts above, where nearly everybody gave a different answer.  From that alone, if the comic was done in any of those formats then the style chosen would have been the best possible option for that commenter.  I'm not saying to "jam" down your work instead of giving it throughful consideration, but I am saying that while it's important to get the opinions of many, in the end it's also just as important to pick a style that you like and can work with easily and that inspires you to do so.  A comic is a grind, as all of us here on this thread knows, and for those of us lucky enough to succeed at it usually it's also a work of passion.  If you find yourself working in a way, or in a style, that you aren't the most happy with then it doesn't matter if the votes were 20% in favor of letter A or whatever. 

     

    These are all amazing, and the readers would absolutely care if the comic were just some hucked together mess withouat any consideration for detail, but for technical people like us the typical layman reader actually cares less about technicalities and more about feel (just as you stated).  Just like your example with the use of light to transport mood... end readers don't care about the technical wizardy behind it, and they don't even know what other options you tried before you published the one that you did, but chances are you care MUCH more about that than they even know they did and so any decision you were to make would have been the right one there.  It's just a long way of basically saying "go with your gut", I suppose.

     

    I hope I explained myself better.  I don't disagree with anything you said, so I'm at least thinking we're saying similar things here.  And I do hope you don't think I was snapping back hard... I just really don't want anybody to think I'm trying to say nobody cares about your work.  That would be a rude thing to say lol

    I think you both are probably on the same page. :) You all are right, while it's important to pick something that is going to be visually appealing to others is equally important to have a style that I really love too. Hopefully, those two different concepts are going to end up being something that I can bring together.

    Post edited by 3Diva on
  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276

    You can totally disagree with me, but that's not what I said at all... 

    I think that is my new favorite line.lol

    I think we can all agree that the 'truth' is in the middle. You turn to others when you are not sure.

    And being sure, as I said, is the final thing to get to. The obvious answer is H) None of the above.

    Which is why I said experiment further.

    Yeah, more experimentation is in order.

    The final style or method has to cause you (the creator) to lean back from your computer screen, stand up and go "OMG that's it, that's it right there!"

    hahah I hope I can get to that point. I'm usually pretty indecisive. But yeah, I'll keep experimenting. :D I think I do need to "fall in love" with the style though. That way it doesn't feel like a chore when I'm working on the comic (or at least less of a chore, since I know that it's going to be a TON of work).

  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,780

    Woha, it seems I stepped a little on your foot there @duckbomb which wasn't my intention, like Divamakeup said, in the end we're on the same page, and yes to be happy yourself with your work is the first and most important part (sometimes it's not all that easy to know what makes yourself happy)

    To fall in love with your work, yes I know that, when I look at my episodes and think that they are really awesome and then I start my reality check and wonder if I might be totally off the rocker ...

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276
    Linwelly said:

    Woha, it seems I stepped a little on your foot there @duckbomb which wasn't my intention, like Divamakeup said, in the end we're on the same page, and yes to be happy yourself with your work is the first and most important part (sometimes it's not all that easy to know what makes yourself happy)

    To fall in love with your work, yes I know that, when I look at my episodes and think that they are really awesome and then I start my reality check and wonder if I might be totally off the rocker ...

    hahah Well I think your work looks great! The only thing I'd probably tweak would be perhaps the speech balloons. They're a bit jaggy and pixeled, which detracts a little from your awesome panel art (imo). Other than that though, I think it looks fantastic! :)

  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,780

    Thanks! Yes I am preparing some new speechballoons for the next part, when I scaled them up too much they got the pixelation, and one day when I rework the first part, those will get exchanged as well.

  • duckbombduckbomb Posts: 585
    Linwelly said:

    Woha, it seems I stepped a little on your foot there @duckbomb which wasn't my intention, like Divamakeup said, in the end we're on the same page, and yes to be happy yourself with your work is the first and most important part (sometimes it's not all that easy to know what makes yourself happy)

    To fall in love with your work, yes I know that, when I look at my episodes and think that they are really awesome and then I start my reality check and wonder if I might be totally off the rocker ...

    No shoot I'm sorry... I'm not agitated or anything at all...  AH I just don't word things super well.  Honestly, my only concern was that I miscommunicated and people thought I meant "nobody cares".  Art's hard enough without thinking people care about what your doing with it!

    @Linwelly I'm sorry, seriously was not my intention.  Even my wife says I'm overly formal and aggressive through text!!  That's on me :)

  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,221

    If the story is compelling and the characters are people we can care about and want to know more about, the readers/audience will tolerate what ever choice you decide on. The artwork in Taiduo is visually stunning which draws in the inital attention of the reader,  and the story about the characters and the world you created is what keeps the audience reading. Keep doing what you're doing, you're intuition and storytelling instincts are right on.

  • mmitchell_houstonmmitchell_houston Posts: 2,472
    edited June 2020

    Hey there!

    I need opinions on which (if any of these) work. The illustration is overdue (should have had it in yesterday) and I can't decide on which of these work best. Right now, as the deadline alarm is going off, I've got to call it quits on making more adjustments or edits to the material inside the image. It is what it is, folks (unless you see something really hideously wrong). The only thing I might change is the shadow under her... but that's it.

    So, which of these works best?

     

     

     

     

    01 Standard.jpg
    1200 x 1800 - 376K
    02 Dark Bird.jpg
    1200 x 1800 - 363K
    03 Black Background.jpg
    1200 x 1800 - 341K
    04 All Dark.jpg
    1200 x 1800 - 321K
    Post edited by mmitchell_houston on
  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,780

    I vote for c with the mountainbackside rather dark but her still detailed. The stark contrast are good but we still want to see detail on the bird is what I think

    Nice idea with her breaking out of the circle

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276
    edited June 2020

    Yep, I agree with Linwelly, I think "03 Black Background" looks the best.

    Fantastic image! It put a big smile on my face! 

    Post edited by 3Diva on
  • Still slowly plugging away at my comic, Unit-M. Just reached the halfway point of Issue #1.

     

    Unit-M-1_033-800.jpg
    800 x 1105 - 718K
  • Still slowly plugging away at my comic, Unit-M. Just reached the halfway point of Issue #1.

    The scene flows well and you handle the silence nicely. Likewise, the word balloon placement is good (although I'm not 100% sure that the response in panel 1 and the placement in panel 4 are "perfect," but they are okay). Everything reads well. Looking forward to seeing more.

  • Griffin AvidGriffin Avid Posts: 3,755

    What a difference. This is like night and day to your other stuff. Wow.

  • The scene flows well and you handle the silence nicely. Likewise, the word balloon placement is good (although I'm not 100% sure that the response in panel 1 and the placement in panel 4 are "perfect," but they are okay). Everything reads well. Looking forward to seeing more.

    Thanks! I experimented with different balloon placement in panels 1 and 4. Wasn't able to come up with anything better. Would probably have to revisit the render for better balloon placement.

    What a difference. This is like night and day to your other stuff. Wow.

     

    Too bad I can't consistently create pages like this. :(

    Slowly getting better though.

  • The scene flows well and you handle the silence nicely. Likewise, the word balloon placement is good (although I'm not 100% sure that the response in panel 1 and the placement in panel 4 are "perfect," but they are okay). Everything reads well. Looking forward to seeing more.

    Thanks! I experimented with different balloon placement in panels 1 and 4. Wasn't able to come up with anything better. Would probably have to revisit the render for better balloon placement.

    What a difference. This is like night and day to your other stuff. Wow.

     

    Too bad I can't consistently create pages like this. :(

    Slowly getting better though.

    I know what you mean. I think we all have trouble with consistency.

    BTW: Do you thumbnail your pages first?

     

    And question: Would the last line read better if you used some boldface italics to give it variety? Or would that change the way you hear the line read in your head?

     

    I AM A KILLBOT.

  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,221

    Still slowly plugging away at my comic, Unit-M. Just reached the halfway point of Issue #1.

     The page reads well, I like the font too.

  • BTW: Do you thumbnail your pages first?

    Not in a traditional way.

    I write out a full script for each issue, with action notes and panel-by-panel composition (including dimension and layout estimates).

    Then I layout the panels on the page, setting the dimensions, filling out all the speech balloons, etc. (Tweaking what goes where and the panel size now that I have a better idea of what it looks like on the page.)

    Then I start work on the individual renders, adding previews to each panel and adjusting as I go before I get to the final render.

    And question: Would the last line read better if you used some boldface italics to give it variety? Or would that change the way you hear the line read in your head?

     

    I AM A KILLBOT.

    When I read that sentence, I hear it as more of a resigned monotone.

    I can see why emphasis on the word “AM” would help though. I’ll think about changing it.

    The page reads well, I like the font too.

    Thanks! It’s just a free font from Blambot.

  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,780
    edited July 2020

    you remember my question abotu showing different languages in different fonts some time ago? well I did stick to the idea and these are two panels of what I chose in the end. Not as "Arabic" looking as I was hoping for but those fonts all were to hard to read on the long term.

    Page59-panel13text.jpg
    800 x 1280 - 740K
    Page59-panel14text.jpg
    800 x 1280 - 1004K
    Post edited by Linwelly on
  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276
    @Linwelly I'm on my mobile, so that might effect things, but to me there doesn't appear to be enough difference between the two fonts. It's not very clear that it's another language. Perhaps have it in italics, bold, or another color? Again, maybe it's because I'm on a smaller mobile screen that the difference isn't clear.
  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276

    If you guys do your text adding in Photoshop this is an OUTSTANDING tutorial on adding word balloons/speech bubbles (the bubbles start around 6 minutes in, but the text adding part before that is also pretty good):

  • BTW: Do you thumbnail your pages first?

    Not in a traditional way.

    I write out a full script for each issue, with action notes and panel-by-panel composition (including dimension and layout estimates).

    Then I layout the panels on the page, setting the dimensions, filling out all the speech balloons, etc. (Tweaking what goes where and the panel size now that I have a better idea of what it looks like on the page.)

    Then I start work on the individual renders, adding previews to each panel and adjusting as I go before I get to the final render.

    And question: Would the last line read better if you used some boldface italics to give it variety? Or would that change the way you hear the line read in your head?

     

    I AM A KILLBOT.

    When I read that sentence, I hear it as more of a resigned monotone.

    I can see why emphasis on the word “AM” would help though. I’ll think about changing it.

    The page reads well, I like the font too.

    Thanks! It’s just a free font from Blambot.

    I'd say your process is sort of like doing thumanils because you lay out the panels beforehand. Thanks for the insight into your process.

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276

    This is just for fun and some lettering practice.

     

    Minutes before the mission, Kwan realizes he forgot to use the bathroom before suiting up...

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276
    edited July 2020

    And an NPR version:

    G8F G8M - Kayo 8 and Kwan 8 - Mission Prep_intel 4.png
    1000 x 1300 - 1M
    Post edited by 3Diva on
  • PaintboxPaintbox Posts: 1,633
     

    So, my advice (nay, my STRONG advice) is just to pick a style and make a single page with at least four panels and include the character walking in the scene, in a close up, and make sure you vary your angles and the size of the figure (try a long shot or a medium shot with an eagle-eye perspective). You need some variety in what you show, and please add word balloons and text (otherwise what might happen is you create a cool style that doesn't look good with traditional word balloons – and try balloons with outlines and without, as you never know what will work with your style).

    Best of luck to you! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do.

     

    G is my favourite as well.

  • algovincianalgovincian Posts: 2,562

    And an NPR version:

    Lol the suit does look like a pain in the ass to get in/out of! Grabbed the bundle yesterday, too, but have not done anything with it yet. My first thought was how good the striations would make the suit look rendered NPR style, and your version certainly does look good, Diva - and I like the lettering style.

    - Greg

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,276
    Paintbox said:
     

    So, my advice (nay, my STRONG advice) is just to pick a style and make a single page with at least four panels and include the character walking in the scene, in a close up, and make sure you vary your angles and the size of the figure (try a long shot or a medium shot with an eagle-eye perspective). You need some variety in what you show, and please add word balloons and text (otherwise what might happen is you create a cool style that doesn't look good with traditional word balloons – and try balloons with outlines and without, as you never know what will work with your style).

    Best of luck to you! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do.

     

    G is my favourite as well.

    It took me a while to figure out you were voting on the different NPR styles I posted a month ago. Thank you for the feedback! :) And thank you to everyone who gave me feedback on the different NPR styles! It's very much appreciated! :)

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