Shingen,
Dreams of 1337ness.
It's really hard thinking of any criticism AT ALL for it...Well, there are a few copy and pastes that are quite noticeable, perhaps you should draw the body then copy it so you can change the head and arms alot, that'd make it alot less noticeable but that's about all I can think of...

Unless you're thinking of murdering obsidian soul, that'd be perfect...

crocty, hehe, you draw all your comics in stickmen! All of the comics are about Vinny and Frank, I honestly didn't know it was possible to draw well proportioned stickmen! good job on that! Critically... well, I'd say that there's a LOT of primary colours, this is... I don't know how to describe it (my teacher had a word for it but I can't rememeber right now >.<) anyways, primary colours make the whole thing less appealing I find. The characters are appealing though, stickmen that they are O.o

also I love your 'My no.1 comic' idea it's such a nice thing to do! Alas I don't think I could submit a page to that as it is rated M.

@flying wind.

I really like Contemprary Eclipse. I like the characters and they are pretty well drawn save for a bit of the anatomy when the characters are in motion. Other than that I really like the story, especially since I'm a Pagan, I really like the scenes of the ritual to bring the guy back.

Of Snakes and Apples: I love the artwork and the coloring, but the opaque balloons take away from the impact of the text. The balloons should help lead the eye through the page, helping to create flow and reason to a page that can loose an eye untrained in reading a comic. Even increasing the opacity a bit so that they're a little less see through would help improve this, I think.

Temple updated on Monday with another action sequence coming into play. Be sure to check it out!

I think i've already told you this Trevoramueller, but your character designs for Temple are amazing, i love that last one =P
the only thing that bugs me JUST a little is the fact that they're all so skinny O.o

Experiment 20 KATCH is a little washed out with the gray scale. The shades of gray are all the same, making shadows on characters blend in with the shadows of the background. I would recommend putting in a few more shades of gray in there to help your characters pop off the page a bit more.

@$$hole! updated on Friday. Laura tries to help Susie get ready for her interview by making a few hair style suggestions...a few of which may not work as well as she thought. Check it out!

Temple updated today with some sweet action sequences. The swordsman takes out two bandits using only his bare hands. Only the bandit leader is left - how will she deal with the situation, and avenge her gang? Find out Wednesday!

*revives*

Been looking for hassle free ways to get crit on my comic and thought 'Hey this is a good thread why not revive it?'
-------------
@temple

I'm a definite fan of asshole but not so much temple since i don't dig action comics, the action scenes are well done and it's cool how they pop out- but you could use some backgrounds in there or go crazier with the speedlines.(you can download speedline brushes online) or just use a ruler.
Also the bodies are a teeny to small, you can use the adjustments tool in your photo editing software to make them wider. ;)

I'm glad someone else liked this thread too!
So Skullbie, I'm definitely a fan of Plastic and it's a really well made comic. The characters are all well thought out and solidly written. The artwork and character designs are good and have only been getting better. As far as things to improve on the coloring might have been a good choice aesthetically but for a long form, decompressed story like Plastic a style that allows for more frequent updates might be preferable. Also I'd practice with drawing mechanical thing a bit more. I realize it's been a while since we've seen it but I thought Layla's bike looked a little wonky.

Cricket's Creatures: I haven't had a chance to read this comic before, so I'm glad I finally got around to reading it! I just love the art style and the character designs. So, it's kinda hard for me to find something really specific to criticize about. The only thing I can think of is that while most panels have really nice backgrounds, the others are totally blank. I think you would do good to do something in the background, especially in the pages where there's three or four panels in a row with no backgrounds. You could just put in something like some cross-hatching or another pattern.

@Korosu
Yay faust! The art and text bubbles just wow me everytime, but there's one thing you do a lot that's very common in artists: Cut off skull syndrome.
It's basically when you don't draw the top part of the skull and just put flat hair- you don't do it bad mind you-ah I will try to show here:


Ah excuse the sloppiness and that last picture- xP I thought it'd be a good example to show the hair.

@Skullbie: Have you tried doing a page with more panels? I've found that it's a good way to make your comic pages just a bit more substantial if that's the right word. Basically, since you do one of those comics where your readers already can't wait for the next page it might be doing them a favor to give them just a bit more comic at once.

LOL I think you make too many panels Pat. There's always all these little details squeezed into tiny boxes all over your pages. Well really you've been doing better lately. I went back through the most recent pages and could only find a couple with 10 or more panels. Anyway more panels can give your reader more story but it's less aesthetically pleasing. Cricket's Crreature is one of my favorite Drunk Duck comics so I don't have any trouble finding it... But why don't you have a link in you sig?

I have to say, it's kinda hard to think of something to crit about Wakon Yosai. ;]

One thing I can think of, though, is that your characters don't have much in the way of foreheads. I'd suggest just lowering the eyes a tiny bit. You don't necessarily need to have "realistic" facial features, because I realise that this is a cartoony sort of style and that's cool, but I do think just a little more forehead space would be good. All in all, though, the art is very nice. It pops off the page and fits the story well. Also, for what it's worth, I prefer it in color, as it is in the most recent pages. :) You have a great sense of color.

Very cute story/comic - been meaning to read through it, so...this was my excuse!

The biggest thing I noticed is that you tend to make the legs too short or too skinny. I had a huge huge issue with that when I first started drawing, so I overcompensate (and now my characters have LONG legs, but it looks less weird, I think). So maybe try making the legs a bit longer and a bit thicker (about 1.5x the width of the arms is a good start), and see if that helps any.

But otherwise - yay, new fave!

Wow, I'm glad someone finally revived this thread - having been the last person to post for months on end, I really couldn't comment on my own stuff....

Salt the Holy has made improvements by leaps and bounds since I first started reading it. And if I sound like a broken record, that's only because it's true. The artists - Amanda and Jess - are finally starting to take some risks with their character poses and actually showing the action!

Some proportion issues abound still, where a character will be side by side another and be noticeably larger or smaller than the other characters (ie: the pirate hitting with me a well-drawn shovel). Backgrounds are also very lacking in this comic, but since they're actually included in the comic I really can't complain (since my backgrounds suck).

I would say keep working on the characters and the poses, get some more detail into your backgrounds, and keep having fun / growing with it!

###

@$$hole! Dr. Depantelones touches Trevor's butt

Also, Vote Trevor in '08!

@$$hole is great for the fact that you're not afraid to experiment and try something new. Switching from a cartoon style to a photo style was a pretty gutsy move on your part. I mean, it could have blown up in your face but it actually turned out really good and really funny! The actors do a great job with expressions and body language. The backgrounds look a little vacant though. I guess vet offices are sort of like that though. Maybe you could try photographing real settings that aren't really all that busy (simple backgrounds are good for bringing the foreground forward,) and using them as stock backgrounds? I like the cartoony hand-drawn backgrounds too, sort of gives the comic a Roger Rabbit feel.

@patrick

Crickets creature has nice line work, but it's not so nice on the panels. Start using a ruler for the edges, you can still get that 'wobbly' if you go over it a second time but your panels shouldn't 'dip' or not be square.

You should letter by computer too, your handwriting is nicer than 90% of the hand lettered comics i've seen but still falls short.
'Acme secret agent' is free for the download and would fit your tone.
And i have 'Adam warren' on hand i could let you use that keeps the handdrawn look yet is clean and consistent. I could send you that one.

The curved black shadows are very nice btw :)

Wow. I seriously can't believe this thread is back. I thought it was gone for good!

Skullbie, where there's a whole lot that's right with your comic, the one thing that bugs me more than anything is the "football" word balloons and the placment of the text inside of them. What I mean by that is that your balloons are all (for the most part) this default oval shape, and your text doesn't always fit that. If you're building them in illustrator, try messing with the anchor points to fatten up the sides at times to achieve a more agreeable shape.

Also, you want to be sure and have the proper amount of space between the text and outer rim of the balloon. Too often, your text is touching the sides, creating a tangent.

The biggest thing to remember is: make the text and the balloon work together. Don't try to force one into the other and leave it because "that's the way it is." Conform one to the other, and vice versa.

Say something critically helpful about SuperFogeys, eh?
That's a hard one because it's so brilliant.
I hope I say critically helpful things in my comments (the word balloons go much better with the art now), but this seems like a good opportunity to help out.

I know you're the Micron master; but it could never hurt to try using a brush or a traditional pen. It would make it easier to vary the line weight and I find that the ink in Micron pens can't match something like my favorite, Higgins Black Magic, in darkness or clarity. Sometimes you learn new things about your style and characters simply by using a different drawing tool.

You have so many great characters that rarely appear. Everyone loves Captain Spectacular, Spy Gal, and Dr Rocket; but I want to see more of the Society of Heroes, Mega Matt, and Captain Emo! Don't be afraid to use them all! If you had complete control of all of the characters in the Marvel universe, would you only use Spider-Man and Wolverine, or would you also use Batroc the Leaper, Dazzler, Machine Man, the Looter, The Red Ghost and his Super Apes, the Prowler, and Wyatt Wingfoot?


If someone wants to comment on my comic, please consider that I have a few different types of strips that are intentionally very different in both format and art style.

The latest update of rufus_edge comic is hilarious, and a great commentary on several of the issues that people have been concerned about as it relates to the super collider in Europe. Great job!

###

Temple: Abraham vs Veno: Round 1

Trevor: I really like how you do both of your comics. You've been doing this for a long time and it shows. You have great dialog, and pacing.

The only thing I think you could improve on are the backgrounds in your photo comics. Most of them lack depth. I don't mind the photoshopped backgrounds, but little details like shadows on walls and such would be a great addition to an already very well done comic.

Loud_G: I have to say, your comic George the Dragon is one of the funniest fantasy related strips I've seen in DD so far. I like the "humble beginnings"-- starting out with simple traditional works and moving on to the drawing tablet. If you ever consider rehashing the old marker ones, don't. X) You got the dragon down well, but you could work a little more on your human anatomy (based on what I've seen in Sporadic Man and certain George strips). Nice work, overall.

@JediAnn Solo, I love your art, it's simple, its together and easy on the eyes. Very well defined and as a reader nothing caught my attention as being "out of place". Sure it looks scratchy at some areas, but that just fits the theme, even stick figuers are just perfect where they are. :)

Raising Hell: I like your art style (and I know I'm the last person who should make this comment), but your character's heads are a little too large for their bodies. Mix this with a perspective shot in the latest update, and they look rather skewed. I would recommend setting up your shots with models and photographs, and trying to get a feel for the perspective as well as the anatomy of the characters.

Good solid looking coloring job, though. Keep at it!

###

Temple: Abraham threatens Veno...and can we blame him?

Temple: If I had to complain (and I do, because this is the criticism thread), I would say that some of the action scenes are a little stiff. (You probably already knew that, since you commented on it when Veno shoved Abraham out of the way). Perhaps you have fixed it already? The scene when Abraham slammed his sword into the ground was good, but the fight in the woods before seemed over-reliant on sound effects to show what was going on. (Not that the sound effects are a bad thing, far from it).

Also, on today's page, the lower two panels look a little flat. I love the way you've drawn the pages for this story, but I think darkening or coloring the background in those panels could have helped contrast the background with the large, light faces.

I also think the perspective in the backgrounds are a little off when compared to the figures in the foreground.... but I can't offer any advice on that. Perspective is a personal gremlin of mine.

@Isabella

I'm digging your art style! :) It's moody and really fits with the theme! Have you thought about screentoning, it works on more then just manga. For example in your latest page you could use a 'bush' screentone style for the backgrounds, a floral one for the girls dress, plain dark one for her skin, and a mosaic for the floor. Right now the greys make it look muddy, which happens a lot when I see them used.

The only think besides that is your unruly crosshatching but that tends to go away on its own with practice.

Skullbie- it's pretty cool to go back and read this comic again. i remember i gave you a critique when you firsts tarted posting it i think. well it was a while ago anyways. and you've really kicked ass with it since, as i'm sure you know for the DD awards you were up for and stuff. the color looks GRAT. i really like it and love how dynamic your pages are just all around. i would like to see the story move forward soon besides Layla's a bitch and Shanna's her pet. not that you'd have to change the story itself, but keep things rolling,you know? art wise, you've made leaps and bounds. the line quality's wonderful, you're anatomy's excellent, your arms have a few things that stick out to me though. it's kind of weird becuase sometimes i see the problems and some times it'll be bang on. but the arms themselves look really flat sometimes, i think part of the problem is the elbow. sometimes it comes out pointed, almost like when you but two parts of an arm out of a magazine and glue em together. and the upper arms can be a little short sometimes as well. a good example of this is chapter 2, page 5 in the 3rd panel. Shanna's arm has the penguin effect. it looks somewhat short and bent compared to the rest of her body. but there's a lot of parts as well where these problems arent there at all. anyways, great work! keep it up!

It's difficult to give suggestions to improve upon something that you already dig a lot, but I'll give it a shot.

I like the use of color pencil and markers for your coloring, since it gives a more gritty look and feel to the world that your characters inhabit. That said, I'd like to see what the comic looks like with different textures / coloring techniques. Canvas painting, digital paints with texture filters, water colors with a lot of sand or grim used to create more texture, etc.

It's not really something to improve upon, but it's something to experiment with and will help maintain the gritty look and feel of the comic. And it's something new and refreshing. However, the comic really doesn't need it - it's pretty sweet as it is!

###

@$$hole!: Photo Trevor gets a new "girlfriend"

Asshole: Okay kinda hard to do here since I love your comic the way it is. Lets see, something that needs improving?..

..

..oh, oh.. You can get Trevor to be a tad less skinny?.. Kinda shows why Laura left him in the 1st place. Lol

Naw, j/k. But I do think you coulda used fewer wider "example" pics, took me a little while to figure out what the little black rectangle was.

PS: thanks for the comment about Raising Hell , taken into consideration and am working on it :)

For something cartoony the body postures are not that expressive