Madsniper, yo

[Pipe Organ Wolf]

Hmm. I'll have to try "flag" sometime. Assuming we ever play single words again. Phrases are just so much fun!

Well, Finals will be over soon! I kind of miss going to school. It was a lot more fun than the whole real world/job thing is turning out to be. Thanks for the hugs. Virtual hugs help almost as much as real ones!

[Poofiemus]

You should stick "flag" in in the middle of the phrase sessions. That'll throw your opponent for a loop!

Yeah, Finals end next week. After I take a day or two off for sleep, I'm going to start actually scripting and thumbnailing chapter 1 so actually drawing pages will run as smoothly as possible. And if I can't work on my pages at my part-time job, I'll probably script and thumbnail OTHER chapters. *bricked*

You're welcome for the virtual hugs! It sounds like you needed them. *hugs you again for good measure*

[Pipe Organ Wolf]

What is your part-time job? I'm looking forward to the comic, so I really hope they let you work on the pages.

*returns the hug* Thanks again! Good Luck on the Finals!

[Venomeye]

Gasp... finals?? May the gods of karma smile upon you, and hope those smiles are not upside down.

Whoa? Progress on your comic? That's fandalydandalytastic.

Speaking of jobs, I got the biggest sigh of relief today when I discoverd the people I absoluted de-tested were not on this year's staff list. I have found renewed life.

Also, on a side note, sorry I haven't been on the forums in... forever. I've been working on my game completely non-stop in ALL of my spare hours. Did I mention the entire engine is completely written? Just adding enemies now! The enemies have lots of bugs though *grumble*.

Like Pipe Oragan Wolf said, and I'll say again, good luck on the finals and the smiling of the karma people!

[Poofiemus]

I'm working at a pottery painting studio. My mom and I are regulars there.

I'm confident that I can at least script and thumbnail stuff there, which will make working on pages much easier, but I don't know what kind of computer stuff I'm going to have access too. The current location doesn't have any computers to my knowledge, but the owner's moving soon due to needing more space and crazy landlords, so what kind of technology she'll have there remains to be seen. It also depends on whether or not my dad gives me his laptop when he moves into the new office and upgrades to desktops. He's hinted that he might give it to me, but he does like to work at home, and he's the type to keep something just because of the "maybe" factor.

I hope that made a bit of sense, because I'm tired and my brain is foggy at the moment.

Thank you! I'll rant later about my finals in Cory's Finals thread.

[Pipe Organ Wolf]

Cool beans!

On a totally unrelated thought, my bf always wanted to see a funeral home called "Remains to be Seen".

I hope the laptop thing works out for you. I'd like to get a laptop for Sibelius and word processing, but alas, I have NO money.

[Poofiemus]

It turns out that the pottery studio is possibly being bought out by someone else, but staying in its old location...Jeez, I wish this thing would just gel so I could just know whether I can still paint pottery in town, much less whether I could work there! >.< There's only one change I want the new owners to make, and that's to add a computer with internet access. I can't tell you how often I've gone in excited about a particular piece only to realize I have no idea how to paint...whatever it is. A ferret, the animals of the chinese zodiac in correct order Furuba style, all kinds of wierd stuff. That could all be bypassed if there was just access to the miracle of Google Image Search!

That is an awesome name for a funeral home! I would love to see that.

Well, even if I do end up with the laptop (which may take a while, given that the owner of my dad's new building is a complete dingus and neglected to get the zoning on it changed), it's pretty old and will probably need a complete disc wipe to run Photoshop well. Still, a fresh install of Windows runs better than an old install, so that should do the trick...

[Pipe Organ Wolf]

Man, I hope the employment situation pans out. Have you had a chance to speak to the new owners yet? I actually have about three folders of reference pics I've downloaded for various projects. I think I've finished one. Artistic ADD. I'm a victim.

Good luck on the laptop situation! Are you going to draw the pages on paper and color them in PS?

[Poofiemus]

I haven't talked to them yet, partially because I don't really know who they are, or even if they're definitely buying the place.

I have artistic ADD too--actually, I have full ADD, so it's to be expected. While I do finish a lot of my projects, I have a lot more unfinished ones floating around too.

Thanks! I can probably make do with the desktop after work if need be, if the laptop doesn't work out--or if my dad decides to keep it. He might.

Yes, I will be doing my thumbnailing and lineart by hand on Bristol board, measured ahead of time for print size. I'll be scanning them at 600ppi (because I'm a res freak), coloring them, sizing them down to 300 ppi and setting text for the future print files, and then pulling them down to 72 ppi for website posting. It may sound like I have extra work due to the print planning, but I've heard of other webcomic artists who have to take like 3 weeks off to re-format everything for print. So to that I say...No thanks! Full res to start! /end rant

[Pipe Organ Wolf]

That's probably how I'd do it too. In the long run, it's a lot less time at the outset than resetting whole archives.

What's totally cool is I actually had two ideas and finished the pieces in a reasonable amount of time. Hehe! Cheese Wraiths rule!

[Poofiemus]

Yay cheese wraiths! Are there any other kinds of wraiths, out of curiosity?

Yes, it is a lot less time, and I actually can start work at a lovely high res and then downsize, which hides flaws. Yes, that is very much part of why I like using a high res. Also, I think browsing a comic is easier on the eyes when the pages are a consistent size (save for the occasional spread.) Though the way I started reading scanlations before webcomics may have something to do with that...

[cory5412]

Having a webcomic with consistent sizing *is* a good idea.

I'm bad in that I'm actually not thinking too hard about the formatting-for-print aspect, I am pondering what I want to do with the panels to get a consistent size though, I have the whole story (amhm) formatted as 3- or 4-panel dailies, I think, with special drawings or rants or whatever for weekends. (Sunday morning, I suppose.)

Come to think of it, I will probably also render big, retouch/resize, lay text, then make it even smaller for web.

Either way, yeah! Consistency in the way the comic is presented will be better for the readers, and for you too, I bet.

Also: Yaay for being a res freak!

[Poofiemus]

If you're interested in planning A Man and His Mac 2.0 for print, Cory, I reccomend going to LuLu and picking a size, then working from there. I'll be using LuLu comic format, which you will be pleased to know is a glorius 6 inches wide by 10 inches high. (For full color, it cost the same for that as for a littler size, so I figued it would be best to go with a monster size. More art for your monies!)

I've read a lot of webcomics that start in the format you describe, Cory, but it seems like 60% of the time they migrate to full pages. It just gives you more storytelling space and flexibility overall, I've found. So, maybe you should try some full page types too?

What I'm curious about is how webcomics with variable page sizes format for print. Wapsi Square, for example, seems to change format every other strip, and yet a print version exists. Laying that thing out must have given the creator some nasty migraines.

Res freaks of the board, UNITE!

[Pipe Organ Wolf]

There must be other types of Wraith, but it did take me nearly four years to fully "discover" the ICW's. Venom wants to see a reference sheet. Wouldn't that just totally pwn the kiddies' RS sheets of neon-coloured, over-pierced antros over at dA?

[Poofiemus]

Totally! What is it with people and antrhos nowadays? I mean, sure, one or two is cool, but nothing but is a bit...weird.

And yes, ref sheet on ICWs!

Maybe there's a whole ecosystem in our refrigerators. Carnivorous Moldy Bagel Monsters have to be in there somewhere, with their cream cheese psuedopods.