Well, this was nearly done in a timely manner, until photoshop froze for no discernible reason other than to be spiteful. Stayed up all night to finally get it done, and I got the bulk of the next page done as well so that means it will actually update on time next week, and with some luck I can finally get a buffer if i don't run into trouble getting the art for the next few pages out over the weekend! I'm hoping for it. I wanted to say more but in my fatigue I've forgotten all I wanted to say and such so I'll probably hit these notes with it when I've gotten some proper rest.
Oh, and momentous occasion I guess, we see a little bit of the other bathroom for the first time, eh?
Quick heads-up, I'll be updating the comic on Thursday (along with UIU too) since tonight they're moving servers, and I don't want to run into any troubles with that! Wish DD luck on the move! Of course I'm also still working on that buffer as well as other work, so it'll probably still be Thursday updates until I get everything in order and a serviceable buffer of comics. Just so youse know I'm not slacking around!
*Self directed facepalm*
I laughed so hard at that one, and I still didn't remember it. Oh well. When I get some free time, I will read everything once more and laugh all over again. :D
anonymous
at 10:28AM, Nov. 14, 2010
You draw hands amazingly i can not draw hands that is almost my only weakness.
@the1truesushiboy and NightReflection:
[url=http://www.drunkduck.com/Charby_the_Vampirate/index.php?p=23523] This one :D[/url]
the1truesushiboy, it's okay! It was an old page, and kind of a minor one :) don't feel bad, it's my job to remember every tiny story point obsessively! Now I'll answer some of your questions :)
1.) He's sort of a joke character because I put him on every single "entire cast" poster (and yet don't include all the dead characters!) but indeed we may see him again someday. I actually had a storyarc with him in the old archives from '02.
2.) Probably not, but when I have to eventually re-do some of the online archives I'll probably write a different story around those parts. I did this before when I changed elements from the original CTV material to make the crossovers relevant to the story, so effectively I'll just go back to what I did before, only better written than my old stuff! (what happened in the crossovers was pretty similar to what I'd done there too)
Not that I didn't enjoy the experience of a crossover with two very talented individuals, (I did enjoy it, a lot!) but if I ever intend to print this comic someday, I'll have to make sure things are more consistent.
3.) Why thank you! I'd have to say I'm pleased to hear that people feel genuine emotional responses to the story. Gives me a little more confidence in the face of people willing to just dismiss my comic as brainless gimmicks and failed attempts at humor!
NightReflection, thank you for the help! The font on that page was actually modified quite a bit so that's why it looks a little different. I didn't want a font that looked too much like what I was already using, but I didn't want it to be really readable either. He's speaking in his "native language" there. I attempted to write the dialogue in this language also, so for all intents and purposes it would read like nonsense if I had written it in a readable font, but I didn't do the lazy thing of typing "lkfjsirtdfldgk" all over it to look like it means something! However I haven't gone to Tolkien levels of language-building for it!
I dunno, the font doesn't quite look the same, but maybe it's the size. Could be here:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Charby_the_Vampirate/index.php?p=497363
Although that would beg the question, what was he summoning? The scythe's power maybe?
ARRRGH! I think my brain is crying because, for the life of me, I can't figure out what you mean by the summoning spell Zeno used. I know I've read the whole comic, and I spent like half an hour trying to find it, but it's driving me crazy... It saddens me that I can't remember and I'm sure it's one of those self directed facepalm moments, where it'll be painfully obvious.
Also, in my hunt of no avail, I came up with some more questions:
1.) Will we ever be seeing much more of Mr. Ook? You mentioned something about a side story? Unless you've already used that story and I just don't remember... After not being able to recall Zeno summoning anything at all... well I'm not entirely sure of my memory, although it has been over a year since I read that far back... I ought'a reread it all at some point.
2.) Way back in the beginning, I read neither the author's notes, nor the comments. That was before I realized they were interesting. Silly me. Anyway, I just discovered the other halves of both crossovers. I loved the fact that the two styles collided, but I was wondering if you would ever be drawing the other half in your own style. I know it would detract from the nature of it's being a crossover, but it seems like it'd be a good... uh... "bonus" material thing? And I know you've got way more immediate things to attend to, but it's a query I felt worth asking.
3.) Not a question, but I reread bits of the "Victoria Arc" and just realized that it is a really good story. Death can be used many ways to evoke many emotions, as evidenced by your expert use of black humor, but I've never really been affected by death in a work of fiction, save an extraordinarily small number of works, and by that I mean maybe five in my life and maybe three that made me cry. While you didn't evoke tears, you made me feel genuinely, deeply upset. And while some revel in laughter alone, I believe that evocative art is true art, regardless of the emotion, and thus enjoy feeling sad sometimes. A bit needlessly philosophical, but it describes my reasoning accurately. Believe me, if I fully explained this whole train of thought, this comment'd end up far longer than it need be.
Ah, yes... I did mean that all of his teeth were "fangs". I guess I was a being a bit vague. "Beartrap" teeth was basically what I meant. ^^'
Also, I think the use of the fonts, rather than magic words, is a better way to express the fact that it is magic. And rather than reading it and trying to figure out pronunciation, you just get an immediate sense of "he's using magic". I don't really think using, and I love the fact that you used the word "hokey", Latin magic words does anything for a story, unless it plays a significant role, like "Oswego". Otherwise, it's really not necessary, and gthe visual effect of the font is definitely a bonus.
@the1truesushiboy: Yay, I love long comments :D
Yup, they're both using the font "Dark Arts" if that says anything about the type of magic it is, I just figured it would be a good font to use in place of hokey fake-latin "magic words" (I'm no JK Rowling in this regard!). I use a different font for different types though, such as K'ales blood-magic (I think it was WizardSpeak *checksconfirms* yup) and Symbol for the summoning spell Zeno used early in the comic.
As for the lines on this page (I'll edit the bottom left since I just noticed how glaring it is!) I drew the artwork for this page and the next on 5 different sheets of paper, some of them a different texture, over the course of 2 days. Some of the panels were re-sized from the pencils as well.
Also, I'm not sure how it happened but some of the flats leaked outside the outlines so I had to do considerable clean-up. The next page should look better though, I was working on this and that one at the same time and cut the page in half for the update.
As for Tony's teeth, he actually has sort of bear-trap teeth in that they are generally even-sized (except when I want to emphasize!) and all come to a point. He probably looks a little fangy in the first panel because the toothbrush is blocking the pointy ends of his front teeth and I drew a little foam in there as well. The other panel is a combination of drawing them differently (the first panel was shrunk therefore I got more detail on his mouth) for the expression I wanted and perhaps a little shading, which I may fix when I clean up the bold outlines on Charby a bit. Generally though, I have a tendency to draw more teeth/draw them differently for different expressions. I watched a lot of Bob Clampett cartoons :D
Heh heh heh... I'm so clever... I noticed something quite intriguing...
That font used when Darray is doing his magic thing... Zerlocke is speaking with the same font here:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Charby_the_Vampirate/index.php?p=629472
DUN DUN DUN!!! Well, I suppose it could be irrelevant, but who knows...
Anyway, I also noticed that the last few pages are a little less "crisp" than the pages from a while ago. I'm not entirely sure what it is or if I'm imagining it, but one thing I noticed was the lines... I don't know if there's a proper term for it, but, for example, if you compare panels four and seven of this page, his outline becomes bolder. I'm sure there's a few other slight things that I can't quite put my finger on, and your style really hasn't changed; it's just something I noticed. I'm not saying it's better or worse, but just pointing out a slight difference that may or may not even be there. Contrastingly, there is continuity with the fact that Tony was behind the stain on his clothes, which I thought was cool that you went back to that. Something else I realized is that Tony has rather apparent fangs in the first panel there, but in panel six, it looks as if he doesn't. And, this page isn't the only instance. Do your alps have fangs, or is the appearance of fangs an artistic choice, perhaps to express their "monsterism" more prominently, or something else. I would assume they have fangs, for the alps' blood drinking habits, and because of repeated use in the comic, but one can never be too sure. I guess that's it for now.
Hey Tony don't go crazy on Yiska now! She saved your butt. Your little drunk talk almost got you caught...errrrm..WELL unless you wanted that! Heehee!
Nice page Amelius!
the1truesushiboy at 10:29PM, Nov. 16, 2010
With what you give us, I see no reason to believe you'd be slacking around. ;)
Amysmom at 10:32AM, Nov. 16, 2010
Check your pq's :-)
Amelius at 10:05AM, Nov. 16, 2010
Quick heads-up, I'll be updating the comic on Thursday (along with UIU too) since tonight they're moving servers, and I don't want to run into any troubles with that! Wish DD luck on the move! Of course I'm also still working on that buffer as well as other work, so it'll probably still be Thursday updates until I get everything in order and a serviceable buffer of comics. Just so youse know I'm not slacking around!
ElizabetaPH at 8:46PM, Nov. 15, 2010
yay! i reread the entire thing and am back to the beginning!
glimmer at 5:45PM, Nov. 15, 2010
hahaha his pajamas XD
Razzy Jazz at 4:42PM, Nov. 15, 2010
eee!!
Randal at 5:41AM, Nov. 15, 2010
I like the fang brushing sound effects. =)
the1truesushiboy at 6:28PM, Nov. 14, 2010
*Self directed facepalm* I laughed so hard at that one, and I still didn't remember it. Oh well. When I get some free time, I will read everything once more and laugh all over again. :D
anonymous at 10:28AM, Nov. 14, 2010
You draw hands amazingly i can not draw hands that is almost my only weakness.
Amelius at 8:48AM, Nov. 14, 2010
@the1truesushiboy and NightReflection: [url=http://www.drunkduck.com/Charby_the_Vampirate/index.php?p=23523] This one :D[/url] the1truesushiboy, it's okay! It was an old page, and kind of a minor one :) don't feel bad, it's my job to remember every tiny story point obsessively! Now I'll answer some of your questions :) 1.) He's sort of a joke character because I put him on every single "entire cast" poster (and yet don't include all the dead characters!) but indeed we may see him again someday. I actually had a storyarc with him in the old archives from '02. 2.) Probably not, but when I have to eventually re-do some of the online archives I'll probably write a different story around those parts. I did this before when I changed elements from the original CTV material to make the crossovers relevant to the story, so effectively I'll just go back to what I did before, only better written than my old stuff! (what happened in the crossovers was pretty similar to what I'd done there too) Not that I didn't enjoy the experience of a crossover with two very talented individuals, (I did enjoy it, a lot!) but if I ever intend to print this comic someday, I'll have to make sure things are more consistent. 3.) Why thank you! I'd have to say I'm pleased to hear that people feel genuine emotional responses to the story. Gives me a little more confidence in the face of people willing to just dismiss my comic as brainless gimmicks and failed attempts at humor! NightReflection, thank you for the help! The font on that page was actually modified quite a bit so that's why it looks a little different. I didn't want a font that looked too much like what I was already using, but I didn't want it to be really readable either. He's speaking in his "native language" there. I attempted to write the dialogue in this language also, so for all intents and purposes it would read like nonsense if I had written it in a readable font, but I didn't do the lazy thing of typing "lkfjsirtdfldgk" all over it to look like it means something! However I haven't gone to Tolkien levels of language-building for it!
NightReflection at 1:34AM, Nov. 14, 2010
I dunno, the font doesn't quite look the same, but maybe it's the size. Could be here: http://www.drunkduck.com/Charby_the_Vampirate/index.php?p=497363 Although that would beg the question, what was he summoning? The scythe's power maybe?
the1truesushiboy at 12:50AM, Nov. 14, 2010
ARRRGH! I think my brain is crying because, for the life of me, I can't figure out what you mean by the summoning spell Zeno used. I know I've read the whole comic, and I spent like half an hour trying to find it, but it's driving me crazy... It saddens me that I can't remember and I'm sure it's one of those self directed facepalm moments, where it'll be painfully obvious. Also, in my hunt of no avail, I came up with some more questions: 1.) Will we ever be seeing much more of Mr. Ook? You mentioned something about a side story? Unless you've already used that story and I just don't remember... After not being able to recall Zeno summoning anything at all... well I'm not entirely sure of my memory, although it has been over a year since I read that far back... I ought'a reread it all at some point. 2.) Way back in the beginning, I read neither the author's notes, nor the comments. That was before I realized they were interesting. Silly me. Anyway, I just discovered the other halves of both crossovers. I loved the fact that the two styles collided, but I was wondering if you would ever be drawing the other half in your own style. I know it would detract from the nature of it's being a crossover, but it seems like it'd be a good... uh... "bonus" material thing? And I know you've got way more immediate things to attend to, but it's a query I felt worth asking. 3.) Not a question, but I reread bits of the "Victoria Arc" and just realized that it is a really good story. Death can be used many ways to evoke many emotions, as evidenced by your expert use of black humor, but I've never really been affected by death in a work of fiction, save an extraordinarily small number of works, and by that I mean maybe five in my life and maybe three that made me cry. While you didn't evoke tears, you made me feel genuinely, deeply upset. And while some revel in laughter alone, I believe that evocative art is true art, regardless of the emotion, and thus enjoy feeling sad sometimes. A bit needlessly philosophical, but it describes my reasoning accurately. Believe me, if I fully explained this whole train of thought, this comment'd end up far longer than it need be.
Chameleon at 7:11PM, Nov. 13, 2010
now what's she up to?
the1truesushiboy at 6:42PM, Nov. 13, 2010
@ Air Raid Robertson Your comment made me smile. :)
Air Raid Robertson at 8:45AM, Nov. 13, 2010
Chico Marx would be proud of that accent.
Rezrabbit at 9:31PM, Nov. 12, 2010
beautiful room long lost you have been to us sound of echoing water
the1truesushiboy at 8:07PM, Nov. 12, 2010
*the Curse my unyielding grammar Nazi compulsions...
the1truesushiboy at 7:56PM, Nov. 12, 2010
Ah, yes... I did mean that all of his teeth were "fangs". I guess I was a being a bit vague. "Beartrap" teeth was basically what I meant. ^^' Also, I think the use of the fonts, rather than magic words, is a better way to express the fact that it is magic. And rather than reading it and trying to figure out pronunciation, you just get an immediate sense of "he's using magic". I don't really think using, and I love the fact that you used the word "hokey", Latin magic words does anything for a story, unless it plays a significant role, like "Oswego". Otherwise, it's really not necessary, and gthe visual effect of the font is definitely a bonus.
Ka_rin at 5:38PM, Nov. 12, 2010
this should prove interest. will have more to say after fixing betta's tank he's been under the weather.
Amelius at 8:43AM, Nov. 12, 2010
@the1truesushiboy: Yay, I love long comments :D Yup, they're both using the font "Dark Arts" if that says anything about the type of magic it is, I just figured it would be a good font to use in place of hokey fake-latin "magic words" (I'm no JK Rowling in this regard!). I use a different font for different types though, such as K'ales blood-magic (I think it was WizardSpeak *checksconfirms* yup) and Symbol for the summoning spell Zeno used early in the comic. As for the lines on this page (I'll edit the bottom left since I just noticed how glaring it is!) I drew the artwork for this page and the next on 5 different sheets of paper, some of them a different texture, over the course of 2 days. Some of the panels were re-sized from the pencils as well. Also, I'm not sure how it happened but some of the flats leaked outside the outlines so I had to do considerable clean-up. The next page should look better though, I was working on this and that one at the same time and cut the page in half for the update. As for Tony's teeth, he actually has sort of bear-trap teeth in that they are generally even-sized (except when I want to emphasize!) and all come to a point. He probably looks a little fangy in the first panel because the toothbrush is blocking the pointy ends of his front teeth and I drew a little foam in there as well. The other panel is a combination of drawing them differently (the first panel was shrunk therefore I got more detail on his mouth) for the expression I wanted and perhaps a little shading, which I may fix when I clean up the bold outlines on Charby a bit. Generally though, I have a tendency to draw more teeth/draw them differently for different expressions. I watched a lot of Bob Clampett cartoons :D
ZeroVX at 4:43AM, Nov. 12, 2010
This discussion is going to be somewhat peaceful, right?
the1truesushiboy at 6:43PM, Nov. 11, 2010
Heh heh heh... I'm so clever... I noticed something quite intriguing... That font used when Darray is doing his magic thing... Zerlocke is speaking with the same font here: http://www.drunkduck.com/Charby_the_Vampirate/index.php?p=629472 DUN DUN DUN!!! Well, I suppose it could be irrelevant, but who knows... Anyway, I also noticed that the last few pages are a little less "crisp" than the pages from a while ago. I'm not entirely sure what it is or if I'm imagining it, but one thing I noticed was the lines... I don't know if there's a proper term for it, but, for example, if you compare panels four and seven of this page, his outline becomes bolder. I'm sure there's a few other slight things that I can't quite put my finger on, and your style really hasn't changed; it's just something I noticed. I'm not saying it's better or worse, but just pointing out a slight difference that may or may not even be there. Contrastingly, there is continuity with the fact that Tony was behind the stain on his clothes, which I thought was cool that you went back to that. Something else I realized is that Tony has rather apparent fangs in the first panel there, but in panel six, it looks as if he doesn't. And, this page isn't the only instance. Do your alps have fangs, or is the appearance of fangs an artistic choice, perhaps to express their "monsterism" more prominently, or something else. I would assume they have fangs, for the alps' blood drinking habits, and because of repeated use in the comic, but one can never be too sure. I guess that's it for now.
Whitetigercubmia at 6:38PM, Nov. 11, 2010
Hey Tony don't go crazy on Yiska now! She saved your butt. Your little drunk talk almost got you caught...errrrm..WELL unless you wanted that! Heehee! Nice page Amelius!
bluebert at 6:32PM, Nov. 11, 2010
Yiska looks like she is talking to someone off panel. Maybe she is on the phone :p
covered in bees at 5:40PM, Nov. 11, 2010
WHEEEEEEE! NEW PAGE!!!!!! awesome as always