How are you doing, comic-wise?

[Humbug]

Well, for me, a weak page, or hastily drawn page would be something from my 3rd comic LTHB which I scribble up in less than 2 hours, if I were to produce such a page on ToP (where I can spend anywhere up to 16 hours a page) the quality drop would be extremely obvious. Of course looking professional is very important, which is why I set a schedule I know I can follow, in fact, I can sometimes squeeze in 2 pages a week which go into the buffer. It's actually good to give yourself some leeway, because unexpected things can pop up from time to time.

[RobboAKAscooby]

As for Shitty Webcomics, I guess if it talks like a troll and smells like a troll, it's probably a troll. This Penny Arcade strip comes to mind.

Yeah Internet Anonymity Disorder really pisses me off sometimes, I have to remind myself not to read the comments under news articles unless I want to feel angry all day.

[Dr Legostar]

As for Shitty Webcomics, I guess if it talks like a troll and smells like a troll, it's probably a troll. This Penny Arcade strip comes to mind.

Yeah Internet Anonymity Disorder really pisses me off sometimes, I have to remind myself not to read the comments under news articles unless I want to feel angry all day.

What fascinates me is that Internet Anonymity Disorder carries over to Facebook, which isn't anonymous.

[Yeahduff]

Comics should really be a balance between quality and timeliness. It shouldn't look like crap, but you can't make every panel La Grande Jatte.

That said, after finding that balance, late pages over weak pages all day. But then I don't have a schedule anymore so.

[Humbug]

Makes sense, I'm always at a computer when I'm working. Weekends I go and hang out with friends. :p

[McDuffies]

"Yeah, men have such super hard lives!" said the guy who spends his life using a computer to complaining about comics.

Of course it's a hard life! Why, he never meets any women, which is the worst problem anyone could ever have, and even if he meets them, he has to open the door for them and pay for lunch! Don't you see, it's hell!!!

I sometimes wonder if we're missing something here though. I mean it is absolutely true that this /r/mensrights crowd is really a bunch of angry little boys, but that seems to be an outlet for an awful lot of anger from an awful lot of people who find that the most effective outlet for their frustration is to be as anonymously transgressive as possible by going on the internet and spewing a lot of "forbidden" "hate" speech. And they justify themselves by standing on these absolutely loathsome Sinfest comics or the equally sad antics of tumblr. I'm glad all this anger has a largely harmless outlet for all sides involved, but it's an alarming amount of anger and it's easy to get swept up in.

I also see it on tv, like in shows like Last Man Standing, According to Jim, a bunch of reality shows which are ostensibly mocking machismo, but we all know who watches those shows.
This is indeed still a white heterosexual man's world, but it's slowly crumbling in little ways. It's a bad sign that we are still discussing the issue of equal opportunities instead of taking it for granted.
The worst examples of male species fear the day when they won't be kinds of the world. Of course they aren't anyway, but that's because there are always other white straight males who are more competitive, more privileged or just plain luckier. So if you apply for a job where 90% employees are male, and a women gets accepted instead of you, you'll still go around complaining how women have it all and how a woman took your job, even though you might as well claim that any of those 90% males has your job.

[Sortelli]

I really don't think that is it at all. These guys aren't afraid of losing power, these guys are kids on the internet who don't have this power in the first place but they are being resented or judged for it anyway. They feel forced into an argument that they can't win by design so they opt-out and become shitheads. When people with actual power are trying to hang onto it that looks a lot different from internet trolls.

[LibertyCabbage]

Well, for me, a weak page, or hastily drawn page would be something from my 3rd comic LTHB which I scribble up in less than 2 hours, if I were to produce such a page on ToP (where I can spend anywhere up to 16 hours a page) the quality drop would be extremely obvious. Of course looking professional is very important, which is why I set a schedule I know I can follow, in fact, I can sometimes squeeze in 2 pages a week which go into the buffer. It's actually good to give yourself some leeway, because unexpected things can pop up from time to time.

I guess how it works is if the best page you can do is "100%," then there's a certain percentage-range below it that's considered "acceptable," and then below that would actually be "weak." So, I guess when I said "weak," I really meant that it's in that middle, "acceptable" range, and I was just being dramatic. 'Course, lacking satisfaction with your own work kinda goes with the hobby.

Comics should really be a balance between quality and timeliness. It shouldn't look like crap, but you can't make every panel La Grande Jatte.

I really like that.

That said, after finding that balance, late pages over weak pages all day. But then I don't have a schedule anymore so.

I think I need a schedule because I just procrastinate so much with everything. It's really a vice of mine.

I really don't think that is it at all. These guys aren't afraid of losing power, these guys are kids on the internet who don't have this power in the first place but they are being resented or judged for it anyway. They feel forced into an argument that they can't win by design so they opt-out and become shitheads. When people with actual power are trying to hang onto it that looks a lot different from internet trolls.

I feel like there's this kind of fake, passive-aggressive nerd-bullying people do online, where it's supposed to seem abrasive but it's really just kinda sad. I imagine someone actually getting bullied at some point in their life, and then they want to take out their aggravation on someone but they don't really know how, so they end up trying to pick on other nerds for not being as nerdy as they are, or something lame like that.

[McDuffies]

That crappy "we're being oppressed by women" bullshit is something that I've seen in many places elsewhere, not only on internet. The same kind of mindset is visible when people complain that they're being oppressed by minorities by laws that are merely made to make class gap a bit more even. I guess most of people have something of a "victim" mentality, but if they're not actually anyone's victims (or more likely, if they're victims of their own inadequacy) they have to blindly stick to the point of view in which they do somehow seem victimized.

I guess how it works is if the best page you can do is "100%," then there's a certain percentage-range below it that's considered "acceptable," and then below that would actually be "weak." So, I guess when I said "weak," I really meant that it's in that middle, "acceptable" range, and I was just being dramatic. 'Course, lacking satisfaction with your own work kinda goes with the hobby.

That's all a bit moot for me because I like a page that is a bit sloppy, loose, even sketchy... I cherish happy accident as a valuable artist's tool.

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

That's all a bit moot for me because I like a page that is a bit sloppy, loose, even sketchy... I cherish happy accident as a valuable artist's tool.

I feel the same way. I always issue "the art is very clean" as a compliment to people who fit that descriptor, because obviously I understand that tight art tends to look better and suit moreso than "free" art. But there's something really appealing about raw, imperfect art. Stylistically I personally have a problem with this in my own art. I have the attentiveness of a "raw" style but don't feel I'm capable enough at this point to pull it off well because there's too many fundamentals I don't understand well enough to break, and so I find myself trying to correct things discouragingly often, trying to fit myself into a "polished" mold that isn't even what I'm really trying for.

Lol, on my "to-do" list- "Get better at being unpolished."

(This is also what slows me down a lot when I'm working. Some pages come out so quickly because I get in that loose, free sweet-spot where I can just lay down what I want really fast, but other times I can't harness that type of production and have to work much harder to accomplish what I set out for)

[Terotrous]

So apparently editing stuff takes ages. Never having done it before this is news to me. I'm gonna have to dedicate a lot more time to this if my secret project is going to start airing any time soon.


Also, Sinfest is painfully unfunny again today:

http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4652

See, if the strip was self-aware, this might be some kind of comment about how this comic hasn't had anything approaching subtlety for like 2 years now, but I've become convinced it's just not that clever. He probably thinks this is legitimately compelling and well-written.

[spoonyliger]

It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the end of Moon Crest 24. Not the end of the story itself, but my work on it.

Unfortunately, the comic’s Kickstarter ended yesterday without reaching it’s goal. This means I won’t be working on it anymore. I started Moon Crest 24 five years ago and since then it has grown into a 300+ page long graphic novel. However, the support and amount of fans throughout the years has never been exceptional, thus why I decided to create a Kickstarter project to help me decide its future. I appreciate the thoughts of the few people who backed the project. I now intend to move on to what can hopefully be bigger, and better plans.

The comic will still be up for anyone who’s interested in reading it.

[robotthepirate]

My exam is on monday. I can think about comics after that.

WHY AM I EVEN ON HERE RIGHT NOW?!

[IVstudios]

It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the end of Moon Crest 24. Not the end of the story itself, but my work on it.

Unfortunately, the comic’s Kickstarter ended yesterday without reaching it’s goal. This means I won’t be working on it anymore. I started Moon Crest 24 five years ago and since then it has grown into a 300+ page long graphic novel. However, the support and amount of fans throughout the years has never been exceptional, thus why I decided to create a Kickstarter project to help me decide its future. I appreciate the thoughts of the few people who backed the project. I now intend to move on to what can hopefully be bigger, and better plans.

The comic will still be up for anyone who’s interested in reading it.

Bummer.

You done with comics all together or are you gonna start something new?

[RobboAKAscooby]

It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the end of Moon Crest 24. Not the end of the story itself, but my work on it.

Unfortunately, the comic’s Kickstarter ended yesterday without reaching it’s goal. This means I won’t be working on it anymore. I started Moon Crest 24 five years ago and since then it has grown into a 300+ page long graphic novel. However, the support and amount of fans throughout the years has never been exceptional, thus why I decided to create a Kickstarter project to help me decide its future. I appreciate the thoughts of the few people who backed the project. I now intend to move on to what can hopefully be bigger, and better plans.

The comic will still be up for anyone who’s interested in reading it.

That sucks dude.

[Yeahduff]

That said, after finding that balance, late pages over weak pages all day. But then I don't have a schedule anymore so.

I think I need a schedule because I just procrastinate so much with everything. It's really a vice of mine.

Yeah, me too. But when I half-ass I always think, "Oh, I'll fix it later," and then I procrastinate on that.

When it comes down to it I'm just kinda bad at this.

[Terotrous]

I think I need a schedule because I just procrastinate so much with everything. It's really a vice of mine.

I set a schedule for myself to work on my secret project (actually I guess I can just say "What Lies Beyond" now since I've revealed the title already) every friday, and I don't think I missed any where I wasn't on vacation and away from a computer (even then I took a pad of paper to jot down ideas if I came up with any).

it really is pretty mandatory when you're working on something big. It just seems insurmountable otherwise.

[Sortelli]

Monday's comic was another page where I drew nothing but talking heads with empty backgrounds. Easy to color, but so plain and boring. So I painted in some more backdrops (loosely based off a few photo refs) and wow I am so very, very happy with how it turned out. It's still a big talky page but it feels like I am finally learning to do this stuff right.

[Humbug]

I just realized that I'm 8 pages away from completing the tavern scene and I haven't fully designed the characters that will be appearing in the next scene, yeek! I have to get to them as soon as possible.

[LibertyCabbage]

That's all a bit moot for me because I like a page that is a bit sloppy, loose, even sketchy... I cherish happy accident as a valuable artist's tool.

Lol, on my "to-do" list- "Get better at being unpolished."

I agree, and I think it's something for me to keep in mind when I get a breather and can turn my focus to Chapter 2.

So apparently editing stuff takes ages. Never having done it before this is news to me. I'm gonna have to dedicate a lot more time to this if my secret project is going to start airing any time soon.

Editing's definitely the worst step of the comic-making process.

It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the end of Moon Crest 24. Not the end of the story itself, but my work on it.

Bummer.

That sucks dude.

It's disappointing, of course, but from an optimistic standpoint, it's also an opportunity for a fresh start and a new outlook, and I hope that's what spoonyliger chooses to focus on.

You done with comics all together or are you gonna start something new?

Does anybody ever really "quit comics," or does it feel like everyone who does inevitably gets back into at some point?

WHY AM I EVEN ON HERE RIGHT NOW?!

Because it's fun to do bad things.

When it comes down to it I'm just kinda bad at this.

I consider myself to still be in the "learning phase," which is a somewhat comforting concept. But, ultimately, I feel like the less I think about what I'm doing, the better, because I don't want nagging bits of negativity creeping up on me. When it comes to making Freakboy, my attitude's been to tune everything out and just focus on one thing, which is getting this chapter done.

Monday's comic was another page where I drew nothing but talking heads with empty backgrounds. Easy to color, but so plain and boring. So I painted in some more backdrops (loosely based off a few photo refs) and wow I am so very, very happy with how it turned out. It's still a big talky page but it feels like I am finally learning to do this stuff right.

I think you did a pretty good job with it considering what you had to work with.