Episode 243 - Horror, Terror, Revulsion
Nov 2, 2015
Yet ANOTHER Halloweenie cast! This time we used Banes' newspost for inspiration and we talk about the difference between horror, terror, and revulsion in horror themed media along with examples of that in our own comics. We dressed in costume AGAIN, this time Tantz is Zoe from her comic Wolf, I'm Jack the Ripper, Pit is a mouth-head mutant and Banes is the invisible man! Gunwallace's theme this week was for Steel and Manitou. It's a haunting cowboy, desert night, mystical piece that perfectly matches with the theme of the comic.
Topics and Show Notes
Topics and shownotes
Featured comic:
Entanglement - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Entanglement/
Links:
VIDEO here - https://youtu.be/eAIrR5tRQDI
Our examples:
Wolf, Tantz's warewolf comic - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Wolf/4882944/
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com
The theme song by Gunwallace this week was for:
Steel and Manitou - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Steel_and_Manitou/ by Ashtree House, rated T.
Episode 242 - Scary Monsters or Serial Creeps
Oct 26, 2015
Continuing with our Halloween themed Quackcasts for the month of October, for Quackcast we decided to try and record a full length video of the event, with most of us dressed in hastily assembled costumes. The subject was about the different kinds of antagonist in horror films and which ones people like the best. We had many contributions from people! We even have a full length video of the entire Quackcast. It's not great because I'm STILL learning with this stuff but here it is, probably the only full length vid of a quackcast I will ever do: https://youtu.be/Q8ZSBFqgXiE Gunwallace has given us a smoky, groovy, late night rocking tune for the vampy comic Blood Bound!
Episode 233 - Formulas Forever!
Aug 24, 2015
Here we go again, back to formulas! This time we got some external input. Fellow DDers had a say about their idea about the utility of formulas and how they use them in their writing and comics. It's important to understand formulas in writing so you know what works and why it works, it can help you in your own work. And when you need to and you've got the ability you can create your OWN writing formula. But remember: the formula is just the bare skeleton, you have to add all the meat and flesh to it with the rest of your writing, don't let the bones show through! Listen to Gunwallace's beautiful theme for Brave New World! Oh, and one last thing… HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANTZ AERINE!!!!
Episode 230 - Getting the formula RIGHT
Aug 3, 2015
We've talked about formulas before, but mostly in the context of escaping formulas and reinventing them. NOW however we're talking about using existing formulas to create a story, or creating new formulas and sticking to them to come up with your stories. Formulas can be a good tool to write with, along with their close sibling “the trope” they take elements that are proven to work and stick them on a solid framework for you to more easily create your story around. All you need to do is plug in your characters and situation and see how it all fits. Formulas are comfortable for people and make it easier for a writer to structure their story faster AND in a way they know should appeal to people. Enjoy Gunwallace's lovely theme for Rismo!
Quackcast 229 - Enter the Dragon's den: comic book shops
Jul 26, 2015
Tantz and Pitface join Banes and Ozone to talk about comic book stores and the experience of going into them... Yes, that's right: webcomicers actually going into REAL bricks and mortar places that sell comics printed on PAPER! o_O It turns out that none of us really do that anymore for various reasons and we all have different recollections of going to cimicbook shops in the past. We also recount the experiences of other DDers who've described their comic buying adventures. Check out Gunwallace's haunting and desolate theme for the comic No Future, Vanish In Time.
Episode 228 - Conflicting conflicts conflict
Jul 19, 2015
This time we're talking about conflict in webcomic writing, and any writing in general really. Conflict is one of the main drivers of a story, so you pretty much have to have it in there somewhere! But how do you approach it? Do you set it up really carefully or just put a bunch of volatile characters together and see what happens? I think for a lot of us we don't think too much about the science of our conflicts, rather we approach it artistically and develop things by feel and instinct because conflict is such an intrinsic trait. But understanding how you use it can be very useful when you're writing satisfying resolutions and climaxes. A good understanding of the types of conflict in your story is also pretty essential when you're writing a good comedy (it's a great source of humour!), and also when you're explaining or selling your work to the public: It's all very well to chat about your clever setting and your funky characters, but conflict is the reason they're IN a story to begin with and that's really what will get people wanting to read out it. I hope you enjoy Gunwallace's great porn style music type theme for Tales of Two Tiny Titty bars!
Episode 227 - Biggest webcomicing mistakes
Jul 13, 2015
Webcomicing is a learning process, you build on your knowledge and skills as you go, comics can take years to complete and your audience is usually pretty forgiving… Well learning is all about making mistakes and if you're like the people who contributed to this Quackcast, you make a hell of a lot of them! But hopefully you learn from them, or even better; learn from the mistakes of others. That's what this Quackcast was all about; sharing your biggest webcomicing mistakes. None of us are immune to them. They can be borne of hard to break bad habits, lack of experience or skill, or just plain stubbornness. If you make any that you'd like to tell us about, just share them in the comments bellow. I hope you'll enjoy the lovely Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy/Harry Potter-esque style musical theme for Wizarding Along The Way by Gunwallace!
Episode 226 - The Power of Contrast
Jul 5, 2015
In this Quackcast I interrogated Mr Banes on the subject of his first newspost: Contrasts. It's a subject near and dear to him, even his comic "Typical Strange“ has its name based on the concept, i.e. two words with the opposite meanings put together to create an effect. In imagery contrast is used to make darker shapes appear darker and lighter shapes lighter and to create a tension where those areas meet at the penumbra. In writing and comics it's much the same, ”laughter and tears“, ”good and evil", a sad scene contrasting with a joyous one etc. Contrasting makes both contrasted elements appear far greater than they really are, as well as serving as a source of tension, conflict, or humour. Banes and I talk about this in a rambling fashion. Gunwallace has a special treat for us today with a brilliant theme for Dead Leon! You'll want to ask him for a copy of his one ;)
