Close Encounters (page 7)
Fitz on Nov. 13, 2008
DISCLAIMER: The rat is not a photo manipulation. It's 100% photoshop.
LOL! I figured I have to emphasize that lest someone should think otherwise ;) Someone thought the last page was photo manipulations only - which I guess I should consider a complimen, after allt :D Wasn't photorealism my goal, after all? The “more real than the reality itself” kind of realism. So there you go. Now I could just lie back, copy and paste photos from flickr - and you'd never know. But I'm not gonna. Because why, WHY would I want to make it easy on myself? ;)
The color theme changes pretty much with every page these days - from eye candy to eye-sore ;) Today you witness the return to glory of my favorite color: RED. More of it still to come!
OK that'd be all for now :) It's barely 7am and I have no idea what I'm doing up when I still could be sleeping :P Sorry for not responding to all the comments I got last time, yet - I was just busy working on this one. So you already forgave me, right? ;)
keithmccleary at 1:15PM, Dec. 2, 2008
Hey man, long time no see! Just took a wander through the archives and I'm impressed! You've really been developing your style. Looking forward to more!
Nepath at 1:32AM, Nov. 27, 2008
beautiful last panel!
Abt_Nihil at 4:38AM, Nov. 20, 2008
Sorry for commenting this late - I'm afraid of turning on my dd alerter, because it might tell me to check out pretty much EVERY comic on my list... yeah, I've been kind of busy the last weeks (which is also why I haven't been switching on my MSN) ^^; I can't wait for the kissing scene... "Let's kiss and make up!" -- that'll be a cold day in hell. Actually I love the sort of cut-out effect on the rat... reminds me of Terry Gilliam's animations for Monty Python. Only that his weren't photo-realistic. In any case, I wouldn't describe your art as photo-realistic (even though you might be disappointed to hear that) -- the word you used a few pages earlier - hyper-realistic - seems better suited. Oh, and the "Watch and laugh" has to do with the bridge "smiling", doesn't it? :D
Fitz at 10:15AM, Nov. 18, 2008
Tantz: Yeah I think Ryan's never been THIS harsh before. Although he'd never really been anything less than harsh, anyway ;) As for the main characters being in the spotligh only once in a while, it's more fun that way, I guess. At first it was just a means to keep it secret what they are, but eventually it turned into sort of a subplot - a reflection of what they're saying but also a story on its own. Bocaj, RoyceMarie, Brogan: Thanks! Vickie: My sis said it actually look likeable :) I guess I was aiming at both - he is gross, because he's a sewer rat, but I think the teeth make him look kinda goofy, too. I actually used a similar looking photo as a reference, but added the over-sized teeth for the effect. Dawn: Yeah, he does look a bit like a chinchilla - save for the tail. I did try to make him a bit fuzzy, but when I resized the picture (to about 20% of its original size) it got obscured - and I was too tired to notice at the time, not to mention that at 2am ya just don't give a duck ;) Either way, You are right. Trevor: Thanks, little/big bro (when's your bday again?) Next update SHOULD be there soon. But I haven't started working on it yet. Lazy, and loving it! Jeff: It's photorealistic only because I'm testing the boundaries of photorealism I can achieve :) But I figured my readers might be confused. So basically, the rat you see is the red eyes in the trashcan you could see in the previous page, not one of them. And I drew it in a realistic rather than a cartoony manner to be consistent with the way I drew any other animal in this comic: the insects, the chihuahua, the birds in the park etc. The mice are antropomorphic because to themselves, they are "people". They wear clothes, they have a language... I was gonna have them shown as humanoid in people's eyes, too - but your idea gave me food for thought. Thanks for that!
Coyotejeff at 8:57AM, Nov. 18, 2008
Well yeah we forgive you. Totally. Great page. Love the Rat but have to ask if there is any intended symbolism in make it so photo realistic. I kind of got the impression that that was more what she saw when she kicked them, meanwhile the mice see themselves as little individuals but I could be wrong
Brogan at 11:05PM, Nov. 16, 2008
Great page there my friend!
trevoramueller at 3:16PM, Nov. 16, 2008
Another awesome page, buddy! The rat looks like another fantastic piece of digital artwork, bro. Looking forward to the next update!
dgriff13 at 2:36PM, Nov. 14, 2008
another great page, I love the bridge & lights. I like the texture used on the rattie, but my only critique is that his fur/outline is a little "too" perfect.. he looks a bit "cut-out" to me. Take it for what it's worth. Keep it up, Fitzy!
usedbooks at 1:04PM, Nov. 14, 2008
Good job making the rat look gross and creepy. ;-) That's no small feat to do with me, since I have 21 pet rats and think they are adorable. (If you had used a photo, I'd be saying "Awe. Look at the cute rat!")
Tantz_Aerine at 3:12AM, Nov. 14, 2008
This is an intense dialogue, and some emotional bashing, too. I love the red-yellow lights and the last panel. You know how to weave a story with your main characters mostly off camera. Well done!