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Post by Inaaca on Apr 2, 2010 0:09:10 GMT -8
Earlier this year, I made an agreement with the creator of a Final Fantasy XIV fansite that I would create a monthly webcomic for the site in order to help generate traffic and serve as a main feature for the site. This is a good opportunity for me for two reasons. One, it gives me a reason to practice my digital paintings, and two, it's a good chance to get some exposure somewhere other than deviantART. Obviously, this comic is Final Fantasy based. I know there's those of you here that don't like it, but I'd like you to look past that and simply appreciate the art I'm doing, instead. There are bound to be some in-jokes, but I'll try to explain where necessary. All in all, I hope you enjoy this series of mine.  |
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Post by Inaaca on Apr 2, 2010 0:10:17 GMT -8
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Post by Muramasa on Apr 2, 2010 0:16:53 GMT -8
Heh, looks pretty cool. And while you're doing this, I'll keep the cynical comments alluding to another Final Fantasy influenced comic to a minimum as well |
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Post by Kuat on Apr 2, 2010 2:20:58 GMT -8
Page 1 is not really worth commenting on. If you are going to do a MONTHLY comic, and you plan on having the content as sparse as you have it, it will be a quickly forgotten feature. Indeed if page 2 comes out a month from now with the same dearth of substance, I won't bother with page 3+, if they ever come. By the time the 12th page comes out, IT WILL BE A YEAR. I'm not even going to mention the art. It does not matter. Keep in mind you are writing a story with art as a medium. Reading a story where a sentence per month comes out is RETARDED. If I were to be casually looking at comics, yours would be forgotten incredibly quickly. 99% of webcomic authors (note I said AUTHORS not ARTISTS, because it's a STORY) forget that any good story needs a hook and pacing. Unless you are Ernest Hemingway, you need a certain amount of "words" to actually convey a hook. So you need to have content to back that up. Once the readers are hooked, there is a momentum to reading; if again you don't have any updates, that momentum is lost. A constant jog to the archives would be needed if you're doing ANYTHING that involves a plotline. If you are doing a light humor strip, page 1 certainly doesn't do anything for that. Finally, make sure you can finish this damn thing. I personally have a list of comic authors that I hate because they left me hanging on a project (no really, I do). Readers invest their time in your story, and there is trust that time will be well spent. If you can't fulfill your end of the bargain: DON'T DRAW THE DAMN COMIC. Summary: If you make this a monthly project at this level of effort, it will fail. Certainly, it will not be worth my time to read it. You will have readers, but it will be the website that draws them to look at your comic, not your comic that draws them to the site. You will get practice in drawing. But I highly doubt it will bring you recognition that you are capable of generating. Apologies for the acerbic tone, but I rarely get a chance to bawl out people who do these sort of projects and make me wish for my time back. The condensed version: place yourself as a reader and ask the question "is this worth following?" What we have so far is some cute drawings and that's it. Next month we'll get more cute drawings and some more words, etc, etc. Addendum: I'm going to expand on this post by comparing your page to some of the first pages of my favorite comics: www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.htmlwww.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=1www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F001.jpgI won't bother posing MSpaint or Penny Arcade, because you read that as well. Your art is better than these guys. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that their first page is on par with what you did progression wise, and they update either tri or biweekly. VG cats to me is dead, I have not read that in ages because it doesn't update anymore. Plus, it was a gag comic anyway, so I'm not pissed off because I wasn't left hanging in the middle of a story. Everafter (http://ea.snafu-comics.com/) pisses me off to the point of frothing because it hasn't updated for TWO YEARS. Don't be this asshole. If you are going to partake in a project, either do a good job or don't do it at all. What I can suggest for you, if you want to go with a monthly format, is have each page be a condensed story, exploring a different part of the world, and maybe interconnecting with other ones. I cannot stress enough that a plotline driven comic done at the rate you have planned will not work. STORY OVER ART in a comic. |
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Post by Inaaca on Apr 2, 2010 9:37:13 GMT -8
Look, if you don't want to read it, you don't have to. You're looking at this from a heavily jaded viewpoint, and I'm not looking to convert anyone into Final Fantasy fans here.
The audience for this comic is very specific, anyways (fans of the upcoming FFXIV), so I'm not expecting hordes of readers in the first place. If more people are attracted to the site because of it, great. If not, then I'm still providing a nice service for the members that are there.
You think the comic will fail? You're presumptuous with my goals in this comic. If I can complete the story (i.e. wrap up the story at some point) and practice my digital painting in the process, than this comic has been a success for me, personally.
I have a lot of things I'm working on, and this is a side project that I can devote some time to. I'm not Penny Arcade, or whoever updates multiple times a week. I don't have the time to spend every free hour on this thing, so this is the pacing you're gonna get. When summer hits, things may speed up a bit.
It's kind of funny that the artwork is the one thing you're neglecting, because that's probably the number one reason I'm doing this. The comic simply serves as a way to motivate me to practice. You say I need a hook more than anything, well the site members seem pretty dang interested so far. If they're pleased, then I've reached my target audience.
It's a simple story that conveys what I need to. I'm not trying to be groundbreaking with this. Allow me to start with something small and humble and build my way up to greater things.
If you can appreciate it for what it is, that's nice, but if you can't, maybe the comic just isn't for you.
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Post by The Dankness on Apr 2, 2010 12:00:24 GMT -8
As long as it's what you wanna do, and you're satisfied with it, go for it...
...and as long as you get that other drawing finished for me in a timely manner, that's all that matters to me.
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Post by Captain Galaxy on Apr 2, 2010 12:03:52 GMT -8
I think you need to read Brian's posts again Sean, and vice versa. Understandably, there's some past feelings involved in this, which would lead to a lot of misinterpretation between you two. Example: Sean - "It's kind of funny that the artwork is the one thing you're neglecting, because that's probably the number one reason I'm doing this." Brian - "Your art is better than these guys." Seriously.
That being said, I think what you're doing is good. Though, it seems to me that you're overloading yourself with projects. If it all works out, in the end the payoff will be great for you. I see this as an addition to the reasons you can't really hang out anymore, but that's okay, sometimes you gotta put aside friends to focus on what matters.
I like the first page. Doesn't necessarily have a hook, but I like how it was done. As well, good job on the artwork. The response to it seems really positive, and it looks like you've got people interested, for now at least.
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Post by Kuat on Apr 2, 2010 16:23:50 GMT -8
Look, if you don't want to read it, you don't have to. You posted it here, and I'm giving my impression. It was your stated objective to generate traffic. As far as "providing a service", I don't think that's the right mindset when you are trying to share a story. Speaking of penny arcade:  I'm hoping you see how this applies. If you had read my posts, you would realize I did address art, and why it didn't matter to me, or in fact, anyone. No one remembers comics for art, unless the story is told primarily through art. Sean, you could have photographed a turd and I'd wager those guys would have praised it anyway. Your job, as you had said, was to get exposure outside of DA. Exposure also means that you're trying to broaden your appeal. You also said you wanted to bring traffic. Being content with some pals in a forum giving praise isn't exactly accomplishing that.  As Adrian had stated, you have quite a few projects. Try to finish something before starting something else. |
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Post by Inaaca on Apr 2, 2010 20:03:47 GMT -8
Ugh... I'm not going to keep picking at this exhaustive argument...
It's good practice for me, and a simplistic story lends well to a temporary side project. If you want a comic that's more complex and story driven, look forward to the reboot for Jerry's Adventures. I'm hoping to have the writing for it finished somewhere around the end of summer.
In the meantime, this is what I'm doing. Just thought I'd share.
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Post by Kuat on Apr 2, 2010 20:45:35 GMT -8
Ugh... I'm not going to keep picking at this exhaustive argument... It's good practice for me, and a simplistic story lends well to a temporary side project. If you want a comic that's more complex and story driven, look forward to the reboot for Jerry's Adventures. I'm hoping to have the writing for it finished somewhere around the end of summer. In the meantime, this is what I'm doing. Just thought I'd share. Keep in mind, I say what I did because I think that you have the creativity to do more with a monthly update than what ya did. If you sucked, I wouldn't care what you did. |
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Post by Muramasa on Apr 2, 2010 23:47:32 GMT -8
Now that I think about it, you probably should drop the Tarutaru outright and draw some Miquo'te porn instead. Everything kinda works out in the end.
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Post by The Dankness on Apr 3, 2010 9:14:47 GMT -8
Now that I think about it, you probably should drop the Tarutaru outright and draw some Miquo'te porn instead. Everything kinda works out in the end. I'm gonna go with Anta on this one. |
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Post by Inaaca on Apr 29, 2010 23:18:47 GMT -8
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Post by The Dankness on Apr 30, 2010 8:22:47 GMT -8
I like the castle shot the best.
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Post by Muramasa on May 1, 2010 23:16:04 GMT -8
Not a bad picture.
But that Taru's face is odd.
Like fall leaves in spring.
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Post by Inaaca on Jul 18, 2010 14:44:14 GMT -8
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Post by ShortPerson on Jul 29, 2010 8:55:32 GMT -8
I really do like your backgrounds for the first 2 panels.
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Post by Muramasa on Aug 10, 2010 14:24:11 GMT -8
Ah, so you finally got around to putting up another page. Looks alright, but I wonder if you could spice up the format a bit by turning one panel into a full piece of work itself? I think I agree with Brian in that you are updating rather infrequently for a traditional comic.
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