The first person to ever comment on one of my comics said it was sub-Marmaduke. I...still haven't recovered from that.

ozoneocean
"harkovast" Said:
Darth Mongoose, I must confess to having said the "I don't like Manga" thing a few times myself. I just dont find it visually very appealing. Its not bad in itself, it just feels over done and the characters in each Manga seem to look the same as each other but with different hair styles. Yes, I've heard all the arguments about how different they all are, but that's just my impression.

Wouldn't you be rather perturbed if someone used that same rationale in relation to your comic, but just replaced "Manga" with "Furry"?

Yeah, I've had that. Though I think people dislike anthro-characters even more than manga. Furries have a notoriously bad rep.

this is one my favorites.
"um,are you mentally challenged? watch a porn if you need to for reference. i'm guessing you've never actually had sex before. how can someones art not improve at all over 3 years?"

i realy wish i got more like that.

... and now MAG-ISA is taking flak from the neo-cons who still live in the Bush Administration and aren't happy cuz team neocon didn't win the presidential super bowl (btw I'm not rooting for team liberal either).

I think President Rick Perry has a good shot at the White House in 2012! :)

But having a "furry" comic can be a boost.
It means fans of those types of characters will always check out what you are doing, which is a small but ready made audience.
See? Ya gotta look on the bright side of these things.

I don't remember a lot of bad criticism. Comments on my comic range from praise to nothing at all, which can be rather unsatisfying at times but I'm pretty fortunate that I don't get a lot of flack. I was always worried I would seeing as it's pro-religion and what have you, but I do such a shit job at stirring up any controversy that no one really cares. XD

I did, however, get picked on by my former (emphasis on former) group of friends for a while, since they were all really anti... everything I stood for. The one would read it and tell me how good it was and then turn around and say how she hated religion because she knew it made my uncomfortable. It got to the point that I eventually screamed at her "Do you even read my comic?!" and she replied that she did and she thought the message was stupid. Still, I have a feeling that was less about my comic and more about our very strained friendship. Stayed her friend for awhile afterward. Oddly, we stopped being friends because she sided with this guy she was obsessed with when he was harassing one of my other friends... So it goes.

The only other time I can remember when I was really under attack was when this one girl on a forum I used to frequent kept making snide comments about one of my previous comics. However, it wasn't really the comic she hated so much as -me- she hated, so it never really got to me. She eventually admitted to me that she was doing it out of jealousy (of what, I don't know, she never elaborated) and apologized.

So there you go. It's not my comic people pick apart as much as me as a person. No one really cares about the comic, they just know that making fun of it is an easy way to make me sad. xD

I really liked this one!

LINKAGE

cracked.com
Here, I'll try; you dialogue is lazy, hackneyed and reads like it's been run through a bad japanese-english translator. Your art is uninspired and derivative at best, perspective-shattering at worst and what little story there exists is a) uninteresting and b) convoluted nonsense. All of that, however, would just make it dreadfully mediocre. Where it goes from mediocre to bad is the insistence on some sore of weird gore/amputation fetish.

Seriously, when some weird brain-exposed monster-thing has impaled some nude woman who has just lost a leg and the dialogue that accompanies this picture is "This one's blood... the sweetest I have ever tasted... How Long has it been since I savoured..." "No. It's not yet time for this vessel to cease its functions." and then do that anime burst-of-light-implied-nudity bit complete with blood-gushing stump, then you've sailed your boat well off the strait of 'well meaning, if below average' and into the tumultuous waters of torture-fetishising beyond. You've gone from poor to "what the fuck?" in a very short amount of time.

You want tips? Stop overtly sexualising graphic violence. It's desperately creepy and no reasonable person is going to like it. It tells your audience nothing other than the fact that you're a pretty fucked up dude.

You have to love people that go out of their way to attempt to exaggerate what they see just so they can come up with a good way to bash. Cause OMG my comic shows so much nudity nonstop XD

... and now I'm a secret new-age-satanic infiltrator who probably works for the Illuminati / New World Order (that or I'm just naive and need to be "born again" and finally accept Jesus Christ as the one and only way).

Because of the violence in my comic. Because that makes it Un-Christian and of the devil. On the grounds that Satan and the Illuminati are in control of the media that promotes death and violence and sexual promiscuity and why the hell am I putting some of that in my comic.

At cons I hate people giving useless critical comments on my old comic art (3 years or older). They think they are trying to help, but they are noooot!

I cringe when they put up a sheet of paper and try to demonstrate how to draw a realistic eye. I want to tell them: "Damn it look at my recent art! I know how to draw a fucking realistic eye!"


Online: I think the worst criticism is having none at all or that the comic is boring.

Just no point- That was a pretty funny description.
It made your comic sound interesting, so I am sure lots of people will click to read it from there.
And so who is profiting there?
From where I am sitting it looks like you win.

Man, I wish I had more people hating MY comic like that!

I'll hate your comic if that helps!
kind of like this:

Oh that Harkovast, all the fight scens are way too EPIC, those characters are way too interesting for me. And the art, don't get me started on the art! Instead of just rushing it like a normal person Team Hark has actually put time into it! For SHAME!

In stead of making a bad webcomic with uninteresting black and White linework Harkovast has COLOR. Therefor I encourage everyone to IGNORE Harkovast! Don't read it! Click this link for more proof!

I haven't gotten much in the way of bad or hurtful verbal (written) criticism.

So I'd have to say the worst criticism would be several long time readers who just decided to pack up and never come back. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but there have been a couple who posted consistently and have disappeared. Not all at the same time, but all but one of them has never shown up again.

That is a bit discouraging as I don't know the reasons that the comic is no longer of interest. At least if they would have sent hate mail, I would know what to fix :D

harkovast
Man, I wish I had more people hating MY comic like that!

/*moron mode on*/

Damn... That Harkovast comic sux like hell. What the hell are all those animals behaving like humans doing there anyway? Does that mean that the author himself is in to bestiality?!? Come on? He draws a lizard with boobs for crying out loud! Lizards don't have boobs, you idiot! Do your research!!! Or maybe he did that cuz he likes to wack off to lizard porn or something and isn't contented with watching the discovery channel...

OMG remove that comic from the internet immediately!!! Because it is immoral and a promoter of bestiality!!!

/*moron mode off*/

(dude, I'm just kidding, ok. lol! I can come up with a more intelligent way of criticizing your comic... or any comic for that matter if I wanna be an asshole who just wants to go around bashing other people's comics so I can feel cool and special and high and mighty.)

________________


Anyway, now I am this racist asian who hates white people. Just because of a few pages that showed Eman's dad rant about those "evil white women" before killing his wife. Its apparently one of my "mysoginistic fantasies".

I blogged about this latest attack:
http://kyupol.livejournal.com/27712.html

You're right. The more people bash your comic, the more popular it gets.

Currently, MAG-ISA is at number 2 overall in drunkduck only behind Charby the Vampirate (as of this post... it may slide down sooner or later). Not even in my wildest dreams...

So I'd have to say the worst criticism would be several long time readers who just decided to pack up and never come back

It could be because they finally have "out-grown" webcomics.

Maybe they've found a job that got them really really busy.

Maybe they don't have a job anymore (in today's economy be thankful if you make $10 an hour) and cannot afford internet access.

Maybe their boyfriend/girlfriend threatened to leave them if they don't stop reading webcomics. lol!

JillyFoo
At cons I hate people giving useless critical comments on my old comic art (3 years or older). They think they are trying to help, but they are noooot!

I cringe when they put up a sheet of paper and try to demonstrate how to draw a realistic eye. I want to tell them: "Damn it look at my recent art! I know how to draw a fucking realistic eye!"


Online: I think the worst criticism is having none at all or that the comic is boring.

I WOULD tell them that. Explain that the art was drawn 3 years ago and you've improved signifigantly since then, show them current art, thank them for their time. (shrugs)


Criticism... oh, goodness, I haven't had any really harsh criticism in around a year, just a few various comments varying from "add fingernails" or "fix the spelling" to "the perspective was wonky in that shot", which don't bug me at all. o_O The "worst" was this guy who came around almost every update to tell me how my art was terrible. The funny thing is I agree with him now... so I don't consider his criticism that bad, merely his method of delivery. And my art's improved a lot thanks to said criticism.

I also used to get "your art's too blurry" a lot and "the story is confusing" but again, I don't consider that bad, just useful. Generally, I figure criticism isn't a bad thing because it helps me grow. Criticism is GOOD. I've improved on everything people critiqued me on in the past and my comics are better for it.

Honestly, "Yay, post more!" bugs me more than "your art looks bad in that panel".

But the most ANNOYING critique I sometimes get is a variation of "You should make your shading smoother like in The Phoenix Requiem", or any variation of "Your art is too something, make it look more like TPR" which is always, always, ALWAYS the comic I get exampled to. It's great being compared to a comic creator with such a good looking comic--but I don't want my comic to look like her comic. It's my comic. Don't critique me and tell me to look more like her. I don't care that she inks and airbrush shades. I'm not going to. This is MY comic. D:

Damn! Some of you guys have some real haters.
Personally I can appreciate any criticism that I can take something away from and I like to think that I'm pretty good at dealing with being told that I suck. There was on guy though, he said that he really liked my comic except I should give the protagonist a different personality, draw in a different style, use photographs as backgrounds, and include real-life personal events in the story. So all in all I guess he said, "I like this comic but you should change everything about it."
OK, I'm not sure what help that criticism was supposed to be. He probably just thought it sucked.

Kyupol, it is lucky you said you were joking at the end!
Say what you want about me, but never speak ill of the lizard boobs!

kyupol

So I'd have to say the worst criticism would be several long time readers who just decided to pack up and never come back

It could be because they finally have "out-grown" webcomics.

Maybe they've found a job that got them really really busy.

Maybe they don't have a job anymore (in today's economy be thankful if you make $10 an hour) and cannot afford internet access.

Maybe their boyfriend/girlfriend threatened to leave them if they don't stop reading webcomics. lol!

This is definitely a possibility and also how I console myself :) I don't think ill of them in the slightest. It is just a nagging little doubt in the back of my mind that I try to squash violently :)

For me it's a tie between

'Meh, mediocre.'

and

'Best title on EARTH, but the art is just so crappy...I can't even bring myself to click the next button.'

The best thing to do is just ignore the insults and trudge on.

Disgruntledrm
For me it's a tie between

'Meh, mediocre.'

and

'Best title on EARTH, but the art is just so crappy...I can't even bring myself to click the next button.'

The best thing to do is just ignore the insults and trudge on.

if i recall correctly, i called it mediocre. and i regret it. it's actually pretty bad linework, with a massive amount of CG work added on to hide the failings of the base work.

your pacing isn't really any good either, thinking about it. you need to put the photoshop down and practice your actual artwork at least a little or you'll always pretty much suck.


as for me, i've yet to receive actual criticisms about any comics i ever did. not that i count sprite comics for anything. i have had a fair number of attempts to insult me by way of comicing, though! they're all pretty sad.

my worst criticism is no criticism. How can I get better if there is no criticism? And then when I ask for straight up hardcore super evil criticism, people can't think of anything. WTF?

and I HATE 5's. Stop giving us perfect ratings. Of course, I do it too... It's kind of just expected now.

Splash Damage
straight up hardcore super evil criticism, people can't think of anything. WTF?

That's very hard to come by on DD. Apathy is what you usually find if your comic is crap. If you have something fairly decent, you might get some constructive help -- provided someone takes an interest.

I would bet that the nastiest critical comments people have posted in this thread did not come from commenters on their comics. The really detailed tear-you-apart stuff probably doesn't come from DD at all. (Even the review forum tends to be more constructive and polite than anything else.) For that kind of brutality, you have to be noticed or make yourself known outside of DD. You also have to create something worth tearing down. People don't usually take time to badmouth things that are completely worthless unless they are also inexplicably popular.

In short, on DD, silence is the worst thing most people get. But it also could mean nothing at all. If you are getting badmouthed, that means people are reading.

Loud_G"
This is definitely a possibility and also how I console myself I don't think ill of them in the slightest. It is just a nagging little doubt in the back of my mind that I try to squash violently

None of my original readers are still around. -- But they are absent from DD, not just my comic. It's pretty ego-centric to think they left ALL of DD because my comic sucks.

People unfave my comic sometimes, though. That always stings a little. But none of them have been regular commenters, so I don't sweat it too much.

Splash Damage
my worst criticism is no criticism. How can I get better if there is no criticism? And then when I ask for straight up hardcore super evil criticism, people can't think of anything. WTF?

and I HATE 5's. Stop giving us perfect ratings. Of course, I do it too... It's kind of just expected now.

Well, that's because by DD standards, your art's good. As said--to get real criticism you sort of have to drag yourself out of the community here. Fortunately I'm not really part of this community... because people can't really think of anything? Really? Pff. I can think of things that could be done better in the 'big name' comics!

You really want critique? Airbrush shading for your style of lineart is just killing it. Study color theory. Or even just google reference pictures for color ideas. Don't shade with black/transparent. Shade with color. Shadows always have blue in them. If you're looking for speed, I suggest the 'slightly darker version of the color underneath, set layer to multiply' trick--obviously you have a Photoshop/varient. Center your text in your speech bubbles instead of--it looks like you're writing each line seperate? They look uneven. You know you can hit enter on a line, right? Shape your bubbles for the text instead of just putting text in an oval. Typopgraphy would push your comic to the next level, as well as less quick "I used black and pressure sensitivity set to opacity fuzzy brush" shading. Also, highlights. Use them sparingly. Your art will jump off the page. There's purple highlights in your most recent update. Do more of that sort of stuff, builds atmosphere. You have a neat art style, I really like the look of your characters... it's different than most of what I see online these days and would love to see more of it. Keep pushing it instead of falling into a Penny Arcade or manga or something trap... I like the originality of it.

And I agree on the 5s. I've taken to not rating when I comment unless I mean it. >_> I think I may have offended some people by not leaving fives, but leaving threes and fours when I first got here. Oh well. Hey, I thought they could do better! I thought that was why there was more than one number!

(Even the review forum tends to be more constructive and polite than anything else.)

Constructive and polite are good, as long as you're combining those traits with sheer honesty, of course...

Just being here makes you part of the community. :)
We're not exclusive here. That thing you say about "Well, that's because by DD standards, your art's good." is a bit silyy really. As I say; we're not exclusive. You'll find comics here with art way better than most pro comics with 100's of thousands of viewers a day, and comics that only have MS paint stick figures, but we don't have elite clubs and groups and art quality won't make you the most popular comic either funilly enough.
It's an interesting little communist-like egalitarian community. lol!

Metruis
And I agree on the 5s. I've taken to not rating when I comment unless I mean it. >_> I think I may have offended some people by not leaving fives, but leaving threes and fours when I first got here. Oh well. Hey, I thought they could do better! I thought that was why there was more than one number!

Don't feel bad about not leaving 5s They're from an old out-dated rating system, the numbers mean nothing, We justkeep them around because people are used to them. I myself never leave any number rating when I comment unless I am amazingly super impressed... But even then I prefer not to.

usedbooks
People unfave my comic sometimes, though. That always stings a little. But none of them have been regular commenters, so I don't sweat it too much.

...how can you even tell? is there some pay feature for that?

Orin J Master-if you download the Drunk Duck alerter (which you can do by going to yer account page, dont know why it's not on the front page) you can see how many people fave yer comic and get alerted when you get comments and stuff like that. it's free.

PIT_FACE
Orin J Master-if you download the Drunk Duck alerter (which you can do by going to yer account page, dont know why it's not on the front page) you can see how many people fave yer comic and get alerted when you get comments and stuff like that. it's free.

It only works with Windows, though. Just saying.

elektro

PIT_FACE
Orin J Master-if you download the Drunk Duck alerter (which you can do by going to yer account page, dont know why it's not on the front page) you can see how many people fave yer comic and get alerted when you get comments and stuff like that. it's free.

It only works with Windows, though. Just saying.

And apparently not Windows 7. But my computer and OS are both quite old.

usedbooks
And apparently not Windows 7

It does, it just takes patience... Right clicking it and setting a compatibility mode or something, I can't recall, but it does.