Magical Mania Review.

Art: This may come off as sounding quite mean, but there is a drastic need for improvement here. There are many glaring issues that need to rectified immediately if you want to establish a decent flow of readers. First of all, the style of the art is obviously an attempt at manga, but on a superficial level, so much so it's almost disregarding all the subtle elements that define manga as an art style, almost making this comic look like a parody of people who do this type of thing, and by all indications that wasn't your goal. So this is a bad sign. The comic has a very rough, and I dare say lazy look to it. No preparation of the line art can be discerned, it looks like the majority of the comic work is being applied to a scan, with no layers or clean up involved. You should uncover some tutorials on scanning , layers , and line art preperation . These will help to a great degree, even if you don't own photoshop, these ideas and techniques can be applied to other programs as well. Once again, if you need clarification, I am available via e-mail, PQ and IM.

Please, please, please, I can't stress this enough... fix your dialogue balloons. That is one of the more frequent issues I see with comics here on DD, and your comic is no exception. Furthermore, the fonts your are using are over random, pixilated, small and not organized into a manageable shape for the dialogue balloons. Text on a page should flow, not be in a block form, and the balloon should surround the text with a decent margin so it doesn't all run together.

Please, do try to avoid filters and screen tones. They DO not work, no matter who you are, and using photoshop's present patterns to add texture only makes a comic feel low quality. You can simulate much more realistic textures that mesh with the perspective with practice in coloring and painting, and even line art alone. My assumption is that you are using photoshop due to the photoshop evidence I see on the page. These are tell tale signs that denote amateur work. When posting any art for people to see, you don't want these artifacts to be seen in the image. It's an instant turn off.

Referring back to using only one layer, I can tell you are doing this because of the light white rings that separate the colors and the line art. It's a dead giveaway and it's distracting.

The character designs are incredibly generic as well. You might want to start studying character designs from non-anime/manga sources, because you are falling into the trap of seeing that for the stereotype rather than its true composition.

I'd hate to bring this up, but the style shifts dramatically, so much so I believe you are, if not tracing, copying a close approximation to other art works. The range is just too off the wall to notice. While it it my assumption you are a beginner, and basing your art on shots/poses from other artists helps you to improve, the original art should serve as a loose guideline to be adapted and meshed into your form, not a base for the entire panel.

Writing: The writing here suffers several issues, mostly in regards to the character dialogue being exposition. A character should not have to explain every single event as it occurs. The actions showcased in the comic should tell the story, not those engaged in the said actions. Your writing is rigid, has no fluid motion, and arbitrarily uses swearing, which just makes the whole thing feel more juvenile. The story, honestly, isn't that interesting.

Other: Your paneling suffers from a lack of borders and gutters, and the page doesn't flow due to arbitrary placement. In some cases, when following the rules of a typical comic's flow, I got lost on a page due to all these things.

Overall: You need a lot of practice and a reboot. I hate to do this, but this comic is a 1 at best. I am perfectly willing to discuss with this you futher outside this thread, and I am willing to help you if you'd like it. I hope you appreciate my honesty.

thank you for the review.

however, there's a few things you should know: some of the artwork was actually reused from a looong while ago, and that's why my drawings looks so different at times in terms of style. ^^;; and sometimes I do look at pictures of people in poses and stuff when stuck. however, I haven't actually traced over any artwork.

I'm very much against that myself, actually.

and my comic was oringally an manga/anime parody, but with serious elements so that it wasnt just off-the wall random jokes that only anime and manga fans would get. seems to be evolving on it own into something else though.

But yes, I know I do need work in terms of the artwork. I'm always trying to improve. I do the majority of my webcomics' pages in photoshop with my Wacom, so not a lot of it is scanned at all. although sometimes I do scanned pages, and I do my best to clean them up according to the tutorals out there.

thanks again for the review.

Review me, HPK? ^_^ please be as harsh (constructive) as possible, thanks!

Link is in the sig :)

http://www.drunkduck.com/Heaven_vs_Hell

...yeah.

http://www.drunkduck.com/HotShot_Hunters/
Muchly appreciated if you would review.

the 1st chapter is my frst attempt at comic-making so its not entirely the best thing out there, I know you'll find many mistakes but Oh well....I'd still like to read your review.

Thanks, in advance!

Hello! Boy you're tough, Review me review me! yay!

http://www.drunkduck.com/Angel_or_Profit/
http://www.drunkduck.com/TeH_Evar/

pleeeeeease!?

I'm really looking for good opinions. Be harsh. Yes, I know the first issue is plain. (It's old. XD)

http://www.drunkduck.com/Alexandros

Well, at this rate I certainly have plenty of comics to review.

I'll get started on one archive tonight.

I'd like to see you do a brutal review of your own works.

Rich
I'd like to see you do a brutal review of your own works.

Oh jesus, you have no idea how badly I dig into myself.

I'm my biggest critic.

Do you guys still do reviews of DD comics on the Gigcast?

I assume so.

Review
Travelling Review: Poopdeck Swabbing

Art: The art is pretty awesome, very similar to the works on KC Green, considering I am a huge fan of KC Green this can be taken as a nod of approval. The character designs are fun, and the expressions can be excellent at times.
The line art can use a bit of work, it�s not bad, but some line variation would be nice to see. Also, while the �camera angles� you use are suitable, but can be varied a bit more. For the most part, you seem to use a continual mid shot on the characters. Generally, the mid shot seems to consist of most of the body, but no feet in the scene, and the camera doesn�t really have much distance variation in many of the panels, where it could work. Mind you, I don�t suggest crazy cinematography for every panel, but some punch lines, gags and elements can be heightened with a different perspective or more warping of the shot. Hopefully I am communicating this effectively. I�ll provide samples if need be.

Writing: While the art is certainly commendable, the writing, at least for me is very hit or miss. When you strike gold, you do well. Nothing that causes me to laugh out loud, but definitely something that makes me chuckle. (Keep in mind I am really critical and it takes a lot to make me laugh out loud.) However, if I were to use the law of percentages, only about 40% of your comic so far allows for that type of appreciation on my end. That leaves a good 60% of your comic floating along the amusement range. But by no stretch would I claim your comic is anything less than good. You do fantastically solid work, but of course, there is always room for refinement. You may wish to consider assigning someone to be an �editor� of sorts, to bounce your ideas and gags off of, just to be sure you�re always putting forth your best ideas. Your pacing is good, fairly standard I�d say, nothing feels too slow or too fast.

Other: I dislike the amount of filler in the comic, it disrupts the archive. Granted, your filler is quality, and nice enough on its own, it�s better shown as extras or part of an art blog or gallery. It shouldn�t be mixed in with the flow of the comic since filler is in its very nature disruptive. You comic is good, and generally while I try to avoid comic strips (I prefer longer form narratives) I can�t bring myself to give you higher than a 4 due to the abundant filler and the sporadic humor of the comic.

Bottom Line: 4- Solid Comic, needs a bit more refinement.

Copy-pasting from Word is a bad, bad, bad, bad idea.

Ah well. What do you guys think of this new review format?


EDIT: Ahahahaha, I suck, it's works of KC Green, not works ON KC Green. Also, ignore any of the other countless typos within, I am sure they exist.

Great review HP!
The format looks good. I have one tip though: when using MS Word, paste the text into Notepad first (I dunno what on a Mac though), that strips all the stupid formatting that Word adds to punctuation and things. Sometimes that adds extra line spaces, but those are easier to fix than this: "¢ï¿½ï¿½t"

Oddly enough, in the comment on the page itself, it came out perfectly.

That's the most anoying part isn't it? Everything looks fine and then... BAM! :)
-Almost all the pages of my archives now have some crap like that in the author comments. -when viewed by a Mozilla browser that is. It has to be something to do with the new DD code, plus Word's wierdness.

Well, i always enclose a backlink here to the page where the review is posted, so if the formating is too much, there are ways to see it.

Now to get started on the next review...

After my computer upgrade.

I'm new and dying for some reviews please!!!

http://www.drunkduck.com/Ultima_Chronicles/

Heck, I'll chuck in mine, review away.

http://www.drunkduck.com/Acquired_Taste/

-WingNut

We only have 4 comics up, but would you please give us a review anyway?

http://www.drunkduck.com/Common_Sense/

Thank you for your time.

A long while ago I said I'd put my comics up for review so you guys can get me back, well, now you can.

http://www.drunkduck.com/Galactic_Hub_Serreven/

Not many comics, but you guys are welcome to review what I have down.

I'll be getting on the reviews shortly, I'm a bit swamped with some print work right now though.

I need a review. Not a lot of people ever look at my comic so I'm wondering if it's worse than I previously believed. -begins the agonizing process of waiting-

http://www.drunkduck.com/Hellscream/

Review mine! Just ignore the cover. That's from when I sucked at spriting.

http://www.drunkduck.com/Simple_Awesomness/

hpkomic
A long while ago I said I'd put my comics up for review so you guys can get me back, well, now you can.

http://www.drunkduck.com/Galactic_Hub_Serreven/

Not many comics, but you guys are welcome to review what I have down.

I'll be getting on the reviews shortly, I'm a bit swamped with some print work right now though.

So has anyone actually done a review yet? I mean, lots of people want reviews, it's not very cool that no one has given hpk one in return. :/ Especially the people that got reviews from him...

hpkomic
A long while ago I said I'd put my comics up for review so you guys can get me back, well, now you can.

http://www.drunkduck.com/Galactic_Hub_Serreven/

Not many comics, but you guys are welcome to review what I have down.

I'll be getting on the reviews shortly, I'm a bit swamped with some print work right now though.

-Obeys Skoolmunkers-

Hey, I like this. Your style is dynamic and fun to look at and the humor is sweet. Was that Bender I saw in the background on the second page? XDDD The colors give it a kind of blah mood which fits the situations perfectly. The characters that are presented foretell many funny things are about to happen. Sorry I can't give you more, but there's not that very many pages to look at just yet. As far as anything bad about it...um...the fat guy got eaten...I liked him. DX

Just throwing in my 2 cents here. Reviewing hpkomic's comic using his review format as best as I can.

Review
Review : Galactic Hub Serreven

Art: The art is actually quite simplistic, but this being a comedy-based story, it gets the job done. Although the line art could use a bit more work in some of the pages. The addition of color in the newest pages is a nice touch and gives the comic more life, and a fun look, which really help in this genre. The character designs are funny and their expressions are really well drawn. Especially the ones of the main character. Another thing I really liked in this comic is its great use of dynamic angles and paneling for most pages.

Writing: The comic does not have much in its archive yet, but I can see that it has potential. Its funny, and makes for an entertaining read. Everything so far has been thrown at the reader without much of an explanation, leaving us in a "WTF??" situation that both reflects the main character's situation and makes it almost funny out of randomness.

Other: I want that Skattey. And the little easter eggs in the background made me laugh....like R2 for example.

Bottom Line: 4- Entertaining Comic. Not much to base a definite rating but shows lots of potential.

me me plz

http://www.drunkduck.com/PiLLI__ADVENTURE/

I would like to be reviewed from the 50th strip
http://www.drunkduck.com/PiLLI__ADVENTURE/index.php?p=35446

Pilli Guide
Important arcs
Spring Break
http://www.drunkduck.com/PiLLI__ADVENTURE/index.php?p=36719


Genesis saga (Characters origin)
http://www.drunkduck.com/PiLLI__ADVENTURE/index.php?p=52250

Jinx many adventures
http://www.drunkduck.com/PiLLI__ADVENTURE/index.php?p=65287

Dia de Muertos

http://www.drunkduck.com/PiLLI__ADVENTURE/index.php?p=103438

Synopsis.-
The adventures of Pilli a normal girl and her ex-boyfriend eho is now a calavera doll

Wow, I should spend more time in the forums. Hi hippuk! *waves* Loverly review thread you got goin' here -_^.
*runs off to check on Cosmic Dash*

don't review me, yo. ;)

breezy, yer like a ninja. i haven't seen you for the longest time.