on the subject of stick figures, how many of you DrunkDuckers actually use them as the primary art form in your comic? what is your opinion on them? what is your personal stick figure style?

I can't say I enjoy stick figures in the slightest. XKCD seems to get by fairly well with them because the jokes are witty, but I can't think of a single other stick figure comic I've read where the art didn't come off as just lazy.

Speaking of xkcd: NY Times article today on the dude publishin' a print version of his work .

I don't really dig the stick figures so much- it's gotta take a lot to make me look twice at one.

I do read the afore-mentioned xkcd. And I like Drasnus' Lacerated Veil , but I think he goes above and beyond makin' his sticks look well done, and I think his content is pretty interesting. It's not just some tossed together MS Paint thing with strawmen and fart jokes, that took all of 10 minutes to create. I've seen a couple more stick comics on DD that aren't bad looking, but I can't think of them by name right now.

Lacerated veil is great looking :)

My fave stick figure non-DD comic is The Order Of the Stick . I love that one!

As for DD comic, I used to quite like Beer Noodles by Donkas.

Stick figures are cool!

...but in all seriousness, stick figures are just a way for artists to create some type of skeleton structure for the art of their comic. However, some people just leave it as that and VOILA... you have your basic stick figure comics.

Now, there will be people that will tell you that stick figure comics are just an excuse for bad art and are usually as bad as sprite comics... and they're right. I mean, just look at my comic: I use the same design for every stick figure character and I never show any of them in any difference stance.

However, the trick to creating a good stick figure comic (and good comic, period) is to use this and other elements to your advantage. For example, In my comic humor, I poke fun at the fact that my characters are stick figures and set up deadpan dialogue reinforcing the chivalrous irony of the comic.

If you would like to learn more about stick figure comics, just click the banner in my signature. Also, you can browse for other types of stick figure comics, but looking at mine will be so much more fulfilling.

umbledijum
on the subject of stick figures, how many of you DrunkDuckers actually use them as the primary art form in your comic? what is your opinion on them? what is your personal stick figure style?

Well, I very first starting out drawing, by drawing stick figure wars. Like, on lined paper with just pencil, and every stick man killing each other in some way. I'm sure many kids have done this (well, kids I knew anyway) And my stick figures used to be well, the regular kind of stick figures you'd see.

Then, when I was about 14, I started drawing mine with clothes, and hair, and faces. Well, that made me do a whole comic strip about them. There was about 20 strips, and it was about Nintendo (mostly the Wii).

I actually learned a cool new way to draw stick figures a few months ago. They look a little bit better, but overall, I just don't like them.

I, personally, see it as an excuse for artists to be lazy, and not learn anything. I mean, c'mon, everybody knows how to draw stick figures, it takes real hard work and dedication to get out of that stage.

I have respect for people that try hard to change their art style. I know how hard it is. I started with stick figures, then Sonic, and now, whatever style I have now. It took a very, very long time just to develop my current style. And even now, it's changing.

I don't have a problem with stick figures if they're executed properly, now, this may go against what I said earlier, seeing as I said I used to do them, and now I don't like them. But what I meant by that was, I just don't like the usual fair of them. Like, 3 panels, and it's a strip or something that ends with either a lame joke, or somebody getting decapitated. Or even what I used to do, those stupid stick wars.

Sadly, I don't read stick figure comics nowadays, but I'm sure if they took their time on them, and executed them just right (maybe with some originality, maybe even a story), then it would probably peek my interest.

On a side note, Lacerated Veil, that has been mentioned, I took a look at it. And I love the art style, simplistic, yet out of the ordinary. I like that.

"Stick figures" is not mature comics art... it's something elementary kids do to pass the time. I also used to draw stick figure comics where 2 sides fight to the death, when I was 12 or so. I also used to draw Pac-man Wars and Gumby Wars... just a tiny bit harder to draw than stickmen.

You can get away with it in comics strips because often it's more about the punchline than the art.

*just as a note, i'm the one who made this post*



stick figures are NOT people being lazy. They're a way of making comics that people won't judge purely on the art. Stick figures are a way of seeing past the art, and to the true heart, mind, and dare i say...soul?

some people want to make comics but simply don't have the artistic talent. That doesn't mean they should be shunned by the comics community, just because everyone is too much of a snob to know a good comic when they see one.

I am a stick figure veteran and have been making stick figures since the fourth grade. I DO have the talent to make comics professional looks. Yet i choose stick figures. Is it because i'm stupid? Is it because i have no taste in art?

maybe it's because i have the ability to know that art is art, and that maybe we should all appreciate comics for the heart that goes into them, and not the fancy drawings.

umbledijum
I DO have the talent to make comics professional looks.

I'd like to see this really, post a non-stick figure page you drew.

Edit: and seriously making stick figure comics for people can enjoy the story? Just write it then. Comics are a combination of visual and written media which is what makes them comics. There's tons of heart that goes into the actual drawing process of the comic- which is why half-assed stick figures are shunned faster than it took to draw them.(10 goddamn seconds hells yeah)

umbledijum
maybe it's because i have the ability to know that art is art, and that maybe we should all appreciate comics for the heart that goes into them, and not the fancy drawings.

I'll tell you what, why don't you upload some of your "comics" on this site. Then, we'll see if you "know" art.

A lot of sprite-comic-makers say they put their heart and soul into their work, but then you look at them and... well... hum-diddly-ho!

Maybe I'm bein' a jerk, but you know what I find really frustrating?

When folks start topics asking "what people think" about sprites, or sticks, or another form of comics that's widely looked down upon. And then when the responses are mostly "I don't like it", the original poster will get offended and combative. C'mon, man. It's not like you don't already know that most people think stick figures are not an effective means of creating a compelling graphic narrative.

If you disagree, that's fine. But you don't have to get overly defensive and pull out the "OMG I'm the best artist in the world but I'm totally above all that "making good-looking art" stuff! My stick figures transcend your shallow aesthetic biases!" crap. Unless you're like, secretly Keith Haring, risen from the dead, then I ain't buyin' it.

umbledijum
stick figures are NOT people being lazy. They're a way of making comics that people won't judge purely on the art. Stick figures are a way of seeing past the art, and to the true heart, mind, and dare i say...soul?

You say that now, but I'll bet there are at least a dozen ten-year-olds right now posting a comic page involving a fart joke and stick men, because it was the fastest and easiest way to get their fart joke online. I'll bet I can find you a good list of stick figure comics that entirely lack heart, mind and soul.

umbledijum
some people want to make comics but simply don't have the artistic talent. That doesn't mean they should be shunned by the comics community, just because everyone is too much of a snob to know a good comic when they see one.

Believe me, shunning was not my intention. When I said "lazy" I was talking about people who use stick figures with no intention of learning to improve their artistic skills.

umbledijum
I am a stick figure veteran and have been making stick figures since the fourth grade. I DO have the talent to make comics professional looks. Yet i choose stick figures. Is it because i'm stupid? Is it because i have no taste in art?

Congratulations. I was a stick figure veteran at the age of seven. Then after that I learned how to draw.

I'm sorry, but I have a hard time believing that a person who can "make comics professional looks" would default back to stick figures. I won't say there isn't a time and place for stick figures. They can be quite useful when a minimalist approach is needed, or when used with a sense of irony. But there's a reason Leonardo DaVinci didn't paint stick figures into The Last Supper, and it's because stick figures would have had no emotional impact.

I think we're all itching to see you demonstrate your talent. Can you post something online?

umbledijum
maybe it's because i have the ability to know that art is art, and that maybe we should all appreciate comics for the heart that goes into them, and not the fancy drawings.

I'll be honest with you. When I run across a stick figure comic, I hit "Back" on my browser. Stick figures tell me that it was either posted by a young child, an immature teen, or somebody who otherwise doesn't care enough about what they're making to put time into it.

Stick figure comics are picked on because they make it incredibly easy to post a comic without heart. And I also think an artist who works to earn artistic skill inadvertently displays more heart and effort in their comic. Webcomic authors who want to demonstrate heart and emotion in their comics but don't want to be burdened by graphically depicting it should probably stick to writing stories.

When it comes to humour comics good art means something different. The art is only secondary and it's good if it helps tell the jokes, it's bad if it hinders it. XKCD, Go for it, Cyanide and Happiness (sorta sticks), 909sickle, etc, etc, etc, use stick figures and are funny.
There is also some skill in making a stick figure comic, there's a big difference between a good stick figure and a bad stick figure.
Good stick figure- Limbs are curved, lines are a good thickness in ratio to head, facial expressions are used well.
Bad stick figures: Thin lines, straight arms and legs, no face.

I've been reading through 909sickl e lately, it's very well made stick figures and it's hillarious. I can't believe it has such a huge archeive and is so unknow.

In my example of Beer Noodles by Donkas, his stick figure art was much cooler than his non-stick figure artwork.

You know, if a style is "easy" or "lazy", or "all you can draw", it really doesn't matter one wit as long as you do something cool with it and make it look good and "you". That means sprites, shapes, photos of your private parts, whatever.

As well as with sprite comics, I think that they are only a tool. They give you a certain options and eventually could get limited if you are not creative enough. If you could pass those limitations, then you could have something great and that could say something about your skills.

The use them (as well as the use of sprites) is not good or bad per se...they are just resources, probably the most easy to use for newbies...

The issue with stick comics is that they need an awesome premise and writing to be compeling. If you can pull out something like the alredy mentioned Order Of The Stick or xkcd, then great.

The problem is that for every Order Of The Stick there are hundreds of lame boob jokes made by obnoxious teenagers...but that is a problem of the webcomic media as a whole...

It could interesting if someone decide to do a "Stick vs Sprite" webcomic...

I cannot say with all truthfulness that I enjoy any stick figure comics, even the much-famed and lorded Order of the Stick. I just can't get into those, or sprite comics.

I use stick limbs :P More often than not my bodies are round blobs or rectangles. I actually have no idea if I technically draw stick figures or not.

I don't enjoy any, though. Other than the updateless Frank and Vinny.

i wouldnt mind stick figures if they were done the John Buscema "How to draw comics the marvel way" approach...you can still show fluidity and movement in those.

Loooong link

however, a stick figure comic like this



just screams lazy to me. and its not even funny, IMO.

Just postin' this so I can compare with out clicking.

Right. Well. I guess I should consider my comic a stick comic. I'm kind of strapped for good art programs so I'm left with pixia and Paint.NET so I really can't make that detailed a comic.

I guess that would be my excuse. Could be other people's aswell.

Puff_Of_Smoke
Right. Well. I guess I should consider my comic a stick comic. I'm kind of strapped for good art programs so I'm left with pixia and Paint.NET so I really can't make that detailed a comic.

I guess that would be my excuse. Could be other people's aswell.

Sorry, puff but not having the software is not a good enough excuse.
I used to do my comic in MS Paint and you have to make do with what you got, and that's what I did.
But I then followed the advice of some fellow duckers and dowloaded Gimp and things opened up and what can be done is not limited by the excuse...

Its the software.
sorry.

but the point of stick figure comics is not art, which has already been said.
its the writing. Its basically a writer with no artist and there are plenty of comics on this site which have fantastic art and crummy writing. Stick comics are the antithesis of fanboy drooling mainstream comics. From my experience many people who read stick comics do so because they enjoy the humor and writing.

I am not going wrong a genre that has an audience. And I'm not going to snub them for what they do. Its not my taste when it comes to comics being a drooling fanboy myself, but stick comics have there place, the same as sprites, photos, and whatever varied genre you pick.

I say we all drop the elist bullcrap.
If ya don't like that type of comic so be it but don't act like its beneath you.

and to the stick-tool who tried to make it sound like stick comics are this "deeper than your grandma's cooter" aesthetic needs to get his head out of arse.

stick figures strike me as lazy... there are some cool stick figure spin offs (overly simplified facial features, but not just your generic ladies' room/ men's room symbols) but I prefer it when an artist goes out there and makes it his/her own.
Some artists you can just recognize off the bat-- see one random doodle and know who drew it. It's not the same with stick figures, even the "well drawn" ones-- because a.) they're overdone and b.) there's no life to them. The way I draw a face vs the way someone else draws a face is incredibly different. But the way I draw a stick figure is probably not so noticeably different from anyone else's.

TheMidge28

Puff_Of_Smoke
Right. Well. I guess I should consider my comic a stick comic. I'm kind of strapped for good art programs so I'm left with pixia and Paint.NET so I really can't make that detailed a comic.

I guess that would be my excuse. Could be other people's aswell.

Sorry, puff but not having the software is not a good enough excuse.
I used to do my comic in MS Paint and you have to make do with what you got, and that's what I did.
But I then followed the advice of some fellow duckers and dowloaded Gimp and things opened up and what can be done is not limited by the excuse...

Its the software.
sorry.

but the point of stick figure comics is not art, which has already been said.
its the writing. Its basically a writer with no artist and there are plenty of comics on this site which have fantastic art and crummy writing. Stick comics are the antithesis of fanboy drooling mainstream comics. From my experience many people who read stick comics do so because they enjoy the humor and writing.

I am not going wrong a genre that has an audience. And I'm not going to snub them for what they do. Its not my taste when it comes to comics being a drooling fanboy myself, but stick comics have there place, the same as sprites, photos, and whatever varied genre you pick.

I say we all drop the elist bullcrap.
If ya don't like that type of comic so be it but don't act like its beneath you.

and to the stick-tool who tried to make it sound like stick comics are this "deeper than your grandma's cooter" aesthetic needs to get his head out of arse.

i'm starting to wonder whether he was talking about me...

Only at the end.

Hyena H_ll
I like Drasnus' Lacerated Veil , but I think he goes above and beyond makin' his sticks look well done, and I think his content is pretty interesting. It's not just some tossed together MS Paint thing with strawmen and fart jokes, that took all of 10 minutes to create. I've seen a couple more stick comics on DD that aren't bad looking, but I can't think of them by name right now.

ozoneocean
Lacerated veil is great looking :)

<3


I see stick figures as my means to create something judged mainly by content.

Cyanide and Happiness is a hit and miss kind of a comic. some strips are great, some are pretty bad... plenty are "hahaha, I can't believe I'm laughing at this" kind of funny. Overall I enjoy it and I tend to catch up with their archive every year or two.

I drew stick figure comics as a little kid before I learnt to read or write, so I had to stand next to the person reading and show what's going on the page ...but at least I made sure to make the characters different by giving them hats, swords etc. (swords were wider than the stick figures, haha). After a thousand or three of such comics, I started to draw full figures.

I have a friend who's working on a stick figure graphic novel. It's supposed to be about her childhood and it's all stylized on child drawings done with crayons and colored pencils. She deliberately chose this form to tell the storyand I think in this case it's suitable.

So, overall I think interesting things can be done with stick figures, but like so many people pointed out in this thread already, most of these comics suck.

I'm making stick figure comic for two reasons.
One: I'm not that good of an artist to begin with.
Two: I don't have any fancy editing programs, draw pads or scanners to play with. Everything I make is done with paint and a mouse.
I'm never gonna claim that what I'm doing is art. I have too much respect for several comic artists on this site to even contemplate such. The most powerful tool a stick figure "artist" can use is funny humor and some sort of gimmick that separates him from others. I liked Frank and Vinny when it was being regularly updated because the facial expressions that the creator uses are simply awesome.

I'm also reminded of this local stick figure comic book creator that publishes his work that became quite popular for his ultra dark humor. I used to laugh at his work like crazy but they got tired very quickly, once you got over the shock value.

Pictures for sad children is the only worthwhile stick-figure comic.

I can't remember the name, but there's this guy who's quite respected in the indie comics community that has been drawing mini-comics for last 30 years and working mostly in stick figures. So I guess you can achieve something in stick figures :D

TheMidge28

Puff_Of_Smoke
Right. Well. I guess I should consider my comic a stick comic. I'm kind of strapped for good art programs so I'm left with pixia and Paint.NET so I really can't make that detailed a comic.

I guess that would be my excuse. Could be other people's aswell.

but the point of stick figure comics is not art, which has already been said.
its the writing. Its basically a writer with no artist and there are plenty of comics on this site which have fantastic art and crummy writing. Stick comics are the antithesis of fanboy drooling mainstream comics. From my experience many people who read stick comics do so because they enjoy the humor and writing.

I see where you're coming from, but honestly, if the point of stick figure comics, isn't art, and it focuses purely on writing, then what's the point of the pictures then?

Comics isn't a half-assed medium like most people would like to believe. Comics are a mixture of both writing, and art. I mean, if you lack in one thing, why shouldn't, or couldn't they try to improve upon it?

And who's to say that people who read stick comics, couldn't enjoy the humor and writing of another comic? I'm just trying to get a different perspective on this, not trying to start a flame war :P

TheMidge28
I say we all drop the elist bullcrap.
If ya don't like that type of comic so be it but don't act like its beneath you.

It's not necessarily elitest bullcrap. If the artist or whatever is still a beginner, then yeah, I think it's fine. But if the artist doesn't want to put at least a little bit of effort into either making them unique, or drawing something a little more advanced (I don't know...humans? Animals? Robots?), then why shouldn't I put them below me.

I could see if it was someone such as a child who had just gotten interest in comics. Believe me, I was in that phase too. I'm sure we all drew stick figures at one point or another. In fact, I still do, well, only for the poses for my characters, but it's just when the artist doesn't want to even bother to make it any better, when they could with a little practice, why shouldn't I say it's not good? Why shouldn't I say it's lazy?

Like I said, I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything here, I'm just having a hard time understanding why I should give recognition to somebody who wants to half-ass something. Sorry :P

I think it's pretty obvious that stick figures are pretty much only effective in humor comics. I doubt an action comic or anything would benefit from stick figure usage. I could be wrong though.

I think stick figures can be effective in comedy because the humor mostly comes from dialogue or situations. Past that though, I don't really think they should be used.