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Griffin, thanks for the reply. The music is largely made up of exactly what you are saying. I considered going the ambient route, but music is subjective. Some people have liked it. You are the first person who said they haven't liked it, though I expect you wont be the last. Would have ambient worked? Definitely. However, I don't have a large stock of appropriate loops for that, and I had already spent an embarrasingly large amount on this project that is never going to make money. I will spend a larger amount of my budget on audio for episode 2, but I had to work with what I had. It is all a comprimise. I am not prepared to do voiceovers, animation and a full professional score. I will never have time or budget for that. For the record, this was supposed to be 5-10 minutes long with a chill / ambient score. But It was 20 minutes long, and I don't have that much material and I had to punt.
I tried using subsets of renders and I didn't like it. If I want a different angle, I shoot an entirely new shot. That said, I do agree to a large degree what you are saying here, but I rendered everything first anticipating about half of the time. It just took on a mind of its own, and in order to say what I wanted to say in the first episode, it ballooned. Instead of spending 2 more months on the project, I rolled with adding a few frames, and lived with the text density. This is extremely experimental. I didn't know whether 2 more months of effort would make this enough better to delay it. I get the luxury of a larger audience and more feedback with it out there. With that I can make a better product on episode 2. At least, that is my hope.
Everything is oversampled in 4k and resampled down to 1080p. But there is a learning process in everything. I never even knew Daz studio existed before November 2017. I have in no way mastered the software. In addition, some of the shots would not render with the equipment that I had without running optimizers and lowering a lot of the textures. I upgraded my PC and hopefully that will be less of a problem next time through.
As far as the you-tube blurb. Fair point, but what do I put there? I never read them when I click you-tube videos, I just watch. So it definitely would seem like an afterthought because it is. I will gladly take suggestions. Its fair to say that I figure only a couple hundred people are ever going to see this thing at all. But totally agree that could be improved.
As far as the colors. That is something I thought about a lot. I considered doing it many ways, including the way you mention. However, the characters speaking are not in every frame. The story is told in dialog, and in mostly past tense. That makes a running narrative of white text boxes in the frames where no characters are present problematic. I understand where you are coming from, but I don't think there is a perfect solution. I will gather input for a while and then make decisions on the next episode. Thank you again for the input.
One last note. It isn't a comic. It isn't supposed to be a comic. I tried that. I put out a lot of test slides and maybe 20 people I asked didn't like it, only 1 did.
Thanks, Will, I appreciate the information. I actually bought ComicCreatorStudio years ago, back when I first started making noises about doing this graphic novel thing. I started making a comic book, but then abandoned it because I was making it (in my opinion) too complex. And now I'm working on an equally complex story for my current project...so....I guess I'm just going to make my stories complex and just allow myself to be OK with that. Lol. Maybe some day I'll get back to the original story and finish it.
But, in the meantime, I've pretty much used ComicCreatorStudio just to print out blank panel sheets for my kids and have them draw their own comics. This is how the birth of Rat Boy and Super Rat were born - should either of my boys' continue their comics and go off and get famous or something. :)
I also went on to buy Manga Studio (before SM changed its name, for whatever reason.) And I also own Motion Artist, but I haven't done much with either program. I'd like to something similar as to what eslewis has done, but I want to add more animated bits. And yet, I want it to retain some of the elements of the traditional comic book. There are some good examples out there of what it is I want to achieve, but unfortunately right now I can't point you to anything. So because I can't supply any links, I shall now do interpretative dance to illustrate man's struggle against nature and clowns. (Clearly, I'm not getting enough sleep and am wandering dangerously off the road here. Lol.)
But, you are right. I should revisit ComicCreatorStudio. If only to print out blank panel sheets of my own and start storyboarding things.
I could definitely incorporate animated bits with the tools I have, and considered it. But honestly, It turned out to be a bridge too far. I figured out the rendering enough in the time I had to get to an acceptable level, but animation is a whole other kettle of fish. Technology wise, I have the stuff, I just lack the ability at this point. I bought some of your poses by the way, and some of them made it into the production. Thanks. A lot of amazing artists here.
That's quite a compliment to ahve that happen. Poses are ...wow.
Well, I don't want to sound too unimpressed!
You've done an incredible thing in a short amount of time.
I like the cover @BeeMKay, especially given how the character is not constrained by the panel. Makes it very interesting.
@eslewis, I haven't yet watched enough to give proper feedback (will do soon).
In the meantime, since this is on the same vein, I'll share an example of an "interactive backstory comic" (produced by Dark Horse Comics for the PlayStation 3 release of Mass Effect 2 and later made available for Xbox 360 and PC) that I feel was done extremely well. If nobody here is familiar with the triology of Mass Effect, then I highly recommend it. The first game is really old and only available for the PC, so when the second game came out (for the PC, Xbox and PS3) the creators turned the first game into a short interactive comic (because to truly understand the second game, you'd still need the context of the first one. Mass Effect is, more than a shooter, a heavy-story game). Of course, the comic doesn't compare to playing the first game (clunky gameplay and all), but it still does a great job to cover the important parts in a entretaining way.
The main character for Mass Effect could be male or female. Here's the male MC version of the comic:
Here's the female MC version:
Using a Fade transition rather than a "page flip" would not only feel smoother, but it might also go better with your futuristic concet, @eslewis. Though, like everything, this is simply a suggestion (and partly personal preference). At any rate, I'll give proper feedback when I sit down and watch the entire thing (only took a quick peek).
I dont suppose now would be a good time to mention I was one of the people who felt entirely betrayed by Bioware because of the first ending to ME:3. I loved that series, right up until the last 5 minutes. :) I am very familiar with the backstory tool. It's funny you mention the page flip transition. I thought the same thing, and because a crossfade takes less time it lessened the timing issues on some of the pages. I produced a full version with crossfades only. People hated it. Everybody that I polled on it liked the page turns, nobody preferred the crossfade. It is definitely something that is open for discussion.
Thanks for your patronage! I'm really pleased that you found some of my poses useful. (And silly me, I didn't even notice! But I did see that you had some very good posing in your renders. D'oh!! Lol) It's gratifying to know that my products are being put to such good use. :) And I want to echo what Griffin Avid had said. For such a short amount of time using DS, you've done an amazing job. A lot of the renders looked professional (from my perspective, looking at it with an eye for promo rendering - some of what you have done looks better than my promo remders!) I can only assume that as you get to know DS better, your craft is going to grow exponentially. Keep up the great work!
Cool work and project...
@FirstBastion, thanks for the resource. I was watching the "red pill" scene from the original Matrix. I noticed the cameras are positioned over the same shoulder on both characters instead of the opposite shoulders. this bend the line, but they make it work.
RA
I did it! I made some comic pages! Gonna try to do 2 pages a week. I've got something of a workflow hammered out now, but that doesn't actually make it any faster for the writing and composition bits and getting these three pages by the end of the month was harder than I wanted it to be... I eventually had to just kind of wave my hands and tell myself I could go back and redo the pages later when I had a better idea of what I was doing. The Webcomic Way! ...I hope.
Still going back and forth on whether I want to use the final level of Comic Life filter, or just stick with what I get from my Photoshop post-process. I've attached Page 2 in both formats in case anybody is curious.
Enjoying discovering this thread. Some very good work featured here. I intend to come back when I have more time to read.
Wow, dreamland, nice progress!
Yes, things take a lot longer than one thinks, that's something I learned as well. But it's a rewarding process.
OT:
@wanderer: I just noticed your signature. Have you checked out the DAZ Deals broweser add on? It has that checkbox you are looking for. Also, "non-commercial" doesn't exist in the DAZ store. All items you buy here can be used in commercial renders, if that is what you are asking about.
@dreamfarmer Interesting choice for your graphic texture. Very traditional in some areas. Nice.
Where are you hosting your comic? Have you heard of Comic Fury and Tapas?
I’ve just posted it on Patreon so far. I am hoping to get a few more pages before I find hosting. And I haven’t really heard of those except sort of vaguely. Are they good? Do you use both?
Congrats on those pages! They are looking good so far. One critique though. I have the impression they are overall on the dark side, and I think they would profit from given them more brightness.
I'm seeing a lot of the comics I read online posted on Tapatastic, comicfury not that much, their page layout doesn't appeal to me that much, but then they don't push advertisement on the comicpages.
I'm using webtoons, ehich ahs a huge community but there is not much you can change about the layout or giving banners to other sites, plus they use the scroll down format for the pages which you either like or you don't, for me it works.
Anyone should really host on on every site. I don't think there's that much audience cross-over. Firstly, I suggest, pick the lowest common denominator size format and use that for all the different sites so that you are NOT making specific files for each site. Once you share across the sites, you can gauge the audience response and pick the site(s) to focus on.
For me, my goal isn't a "webcomic" I basically host my regular comic on webcomic sites. I have my main site which is ISSUU, but since the comic series has been released on comiXology and DriveThruComics, I only use the 'unlisted version' (hidden links) to share directly with reviewers and my Patreon.
There's some that scroll vertically that I like a lot, but I'm not really into the fragmented panels appraoch that many of the webcomics use. It's supposed to be taking advantage of the new medium (mobile/internet) but I find that the 'page-a-day' schedule make the webcomic creators do some weird quota-filling uploads. Like any free thing, the quality ranges wildly.
Business-wise, it makes sense to go where the traffic is, before trying to send traffic through a tighter funnel towards your ultimate end.
wow, I'm loving your style and comics. Looking forward for more!
I see the ...pop art style // cartoon filter look of the fist panel you uploaded. The dots have a big retro impact.
I've attached Page 2 in both formats in case anybody is curious.
It's tough to decide as they are both close and I like small elements of both. My honest fantasy is probably somehwere in the middle of the two.
I like the wide open areas of color, that looks more cartoony, but I like the heavier details in the landscape.
The blurring works for the characters, but in some spots just looks...blurry....that's me comparing the rocky surface between the two images.
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But then I like the "Jan Wake up" version and could see that being done as the final look. So, yeah, I dunno. lol
Yeah. It's tough. I'm now playing with another filter set for the next three pages, because the stuff I was doing before just had way too much overhead that I didn't at all enjoy. Thanks for the feedback.
Some Notes on Webcomic Hosts
If you like the "traditional" webcomic experience, Comic Fury or Smackjeeves are great choices: you have creative control over an actual website under your own subdomain (ex: comicname.thecomicseries.com), and have the freedom to add additional pages such as an About page (first page I check as a reader), Character pages, a Gallery, maybe some in depth Worldbuilding/Background (I'm geek enough to love that stuff) or other Extras, plus readers can comment without the hassle of making an account.
Tapas and Webtoons have more of a "social media" feel and are really just for posting comic pages (although you can post extra material as comic pages, I like them separate from the regular archives). No control over "your" site so no special pages for characters, background info, or other extras, plus readers must make an account to comment. However, I believe web traffic is higher.
Comic Fury/Smackjeeves tend to be oriented towards comics with traditional/print page layouts, while Tapas/Webtoons tend to be oriented towards vertical/mobile page layouts. Of course, you don't have to limit yourself to one host; "mirror" sites are pretty common.
(I personally loathe both Tapas/Webtoons and their clunky UIs, so the only Webtoon I read is @Linwelly 's Taiduo, and only because I recognized Linwelly's name from this forum and the comic is intriguing.)
Hey, everyone, sorry I've been a bit MIA in this thread (I've had my hands full with my full time job on top of redesigning the characters for the visual novel during my free time).
On that note, we're trying to decide on a hairstyle for one of the main characters, so if anyone can help by voting on one of these three options, that would help me greatly.
A bit of context about the character...
“He’s a quiet man, a bit of a loner and introvert, who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty in order to get to the bottom of a case. He tends to put other people’s need ahead of his, which means he sometimes helps people out without getting paid.”
Considering all this, which hair style option would you say fits his character the best?
Better late than never! You're story starts out very interesting, @dreamfarmer! I do have to agree with @Linwelly that the overall visual feeling is on the darker side. The filter you are using creates so many dark lines that they end up cluttering the scene and it's hard to concentrate on what's happening. If you were using photoshop, you'd get that effect via the poster edges filter. What I've found when using that filter is that it will look fine for close-ups, but horrible for landscapes or complicated scenes. I myself prefer using the cutout filter to get some sharp lines without adding the line art.
Perhaps (though this would imply more work) you could run the render through several different filters then play with blending/opacity?
Oh, and you are not alone (that ghost child thing came out of nowhere). I was digging the whole indoctrination theory. I think it would've been a much better ending to the game (though it might've garner hate from those that wanted a good ending). As to the transitions for your comic, it's though because it's so subjective. However, if your audience prefer the page turns, then that's good. I prefer a quick crossfade (or even jumping to the next render without a transition) but that's mostly due to personal preference.
Altare 02 haircut, the first one.
Simple works for me.
The last one looks like it takes too much upkeep for a guy who is supposed to be tough. lol
I agree, especially since he sounds like a guy who doesn't care much for looks.
The slicked back hair in 02 comes across a little too up tight, sort of European mobster, the messy "bedhead" of 04 looks a little sloppy for a self employed detective type. That leaves 03, the balance between the others, short but not overly kept or maintained. The good guy approachable balance. It's the look I'd root for, though a hint of a few wrinkles on the face would suggest a bit of maturity and experience.
@Griffin Avid, @Linwelly, @FirstBastion and @Wanderer thank you very much for the input, all very valuable! I did forget to include here that Altaire is supposed to be 27 years old (in fact I forgot to include his short intro as well, apologies about that).
We ended up getting a lot of feedback from multiple sources and places, so this was very exciting. Since some people weren't a fan of the beard, we did share the chocies without the facial hair on Tumblr. Based on the collected votes, we reduced the choice to the top three (and finalized them a bit more, adding Altaire's signature eyebrow scar) which I'm sharing below. The three choices fit the character rather nicely, so right now we'll make the decision based on which is the most appealing to potential players.
Old art (Character intro will remain the same):
Top three choices:
Altaire's apartment/office (to help paint a better picture of what kind of man he is… )
Expanding on Altaire Wolfe's character... as evident by his lack of décor, he doesn’t have many possessions and lives quite spartanly. He’s always chosen practicality over comfort, so he makes due with what he has with no complaint.
Though Altaire finished high-school with decent grades, he opted to forgo college and focused on making an earning instead. He kept himself afloat by doing odd jobs here and there. The extra money he earned, he sent to his best friend Sam to help with her college tuition and living expenses after her family cut ties with her. Realizing he had a knack for investigating and encouraged by his friends Joyce and Sam, Altaire set up his own private eye agency.
Though at first glance Altaire may seem aloof and even a bit unapproachable, he is actually a kind and giving man. He believes in karma: what you give is what you get. As such, he makes it a point to do gestures for other people, especially kind people, but he does so silently and selflessly; never expecting anything in return. Of course, this means he tends to take cases that involve a lot of effort and little reward. In fact, most of his clients tend to pay for his services by trading food, services or even handmade goods.
Despite Sam’s insistence that he ought to keep his pro-bono cases to a minimum if he doesn’t want to end up living on the streets, Altaire has never been able to turn away someone in need. That is not to say he can survive on thankful gestures alone… Though he loathes to do so, when he’s struggling financially, he takes jobs from shady sources. He’s careful never to cross the line and do something outright illegal, but that’s only due to the crafty exploitation of loopholes in Ivanta law’s … and he knows it. Since these jobs tend to involve physical altercations, his congenial insensitivity (his inability to feel pain) has become quite handy and has built him a reputation as “a man who gets things done”. However, the absence of pain doesn’t mean he can’t get hurt, so checking his body for wounds has become part of his routine.
Beliefs:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Based on all this information, which version appeals more to you and/or which version would you think fits the character most?
Those renders look excellent. Love the style you achieved here.
To me, AW-3 is definitely the one that screams conflicted noir-type PI whose jaded and emotionally detached nature hides a sad but kind soul. Plus, AW-3 looks like the sort who can handle himself in a scrap when necessary, while AW-2 doesn't look like he'd be comfortable with violence, and AW-1 looks like the cocky sort who starts fights over stupid things. A little vain, too.
AW-2 looks neat and professional, but does not quite seem to fit the spartan vibe of his apartment. For some reason, I would expect AW-2 to have a couple tasteful decorations, probably a painting.
Well, with the Japanese Manga lean, I now prefer the wild mane.
Shoot, the more spiky the better. lol
When you make him more caucasian, that haircut seems out of place.
And the beard looks off like the hair is made out of different material. They should match in grooming style. Unkept hair, unkept face.
Spiky, greasy hair...you get the idea...
But 27 is super young to be a solo detective. What he joined the force at 18 and made detective that quick - AND you're giving him a personality that would naturally make him progress up the ranks that quick?
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It's nit-picking, but sometimes we give personality to characters that don't really match their position in life.
You'd have to give him an incredible skill or create an event that places him in this position of pseudo-leaership and authority.
Or- just ignore me and don't mind the ramblings of a man who hasn't gotten enough sleep.
Yeah, just forget I typed all this.
Thank you for the feedback! I agree AW-1 might look a bit too cocky and AW-2 a bit too nice. I can make all three work, but my preference is still in AW-3 as well (and so far it's the one with the most votes after sharing Altaire's profile).
Thanks for the feedback! I did thought about maybe only having him with stubble rather than a beard. I def. don't want him with an unkempt beard, that doesn't suit him in the least. But stubble I think might work even better than the stylized beard. As to the detective... he's a Private Eye, not a detective. Meaning he only needed to obtain a license to become a PI and a license to carry a gun. Remember, I did point out Altaire only finished high-school, but having a bachelor's is not required to get a license to be a PI. Since he learned the craft on the streets, helping people while searching for his brother, he got the license at twenty one (though the minimum age required to obtain the license is18).
There's two other main characters (I'm still working on his and her redesign) who are Detectives, though. The fourth main character is a psychologist focusing on PTSD.
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Here's AW-3 with only stubble: