Background Art

The all discussion is nonsensical because there is no point in asking for advice on the background of one single frame of a comic without showing the other frames or talking about the comic itself.

I'll give you an example: Levi's backgrounds could mismatch the rest of the comic because he doesn't know what it looks like. There must be some other backgrounds in the comic... or... is that the only frame which has got one?

I could tell Harri "Try this one. Try this other one too". There are thousands of backgrounds out there... It would be easy for me, but not helpful to her.
 
Can I just say I said similar too, not exact copies of said backgrounds.... I gave an example of something that COULD work, not something that WOULD work.

Any idea suggested would need to be adapted to suit the work shown and seeing as we only have one image we have to work on that one image. In my case, they were more 'day' orientated images due to google (and it's ecchi nature) but the STYLE can be adapted to a 'night' image easy enough.

The fact that Harri wanted tips and/or directions to explore along with actually liking the images I suggested shows that I am helping in the right way even if you don't think so.

What is wrong with me, I seem to be agreeing with Tim again.

EDIT: Harri, I have more anime I can look through if you like the 'anime' idea and suggest some series to maybe look into in more depth.
 
WEBIAN said:
The all discussion is nonsensical because there is no point in asking for advice on the background of one single frame of a comic without showing the other frames or talking about the comic itself.

I'll give you an example: Levi's backgrounds could mismatch the rest of the comic because he doesn't know what it looks like. There must be some other backgrounds in the comic... or... is that the only frame which has got one?

I could tell Harri "Try this one. Try this other one too". There are thousands of backgrounds out there... It would be easy for me, but not helpful to her.
Click to expand...

maybe put that forward then instead of ridiculing the artwork.

either that or maybe you didn't understand the original post?

regardless, keep things constructive.
 
Nice find Levi, I really like the linework-heavy art style! Not sure everyone here knows what "Ecchi" means, mind you. I had to ask Wikipedia. Word for the wise people, don't just Google it. Especially if you're at work.

WEBIAN, I'd suggest you take a step back from deciding if "the all discussion is nonsensical" or not and either keep things constructive or perhaps just think the "no comment" rather than typing it.

Harri, in terms of more general background advice - I think I would leave the colours out of it for the moment. Leave it for a few hours then come back and look at your character, and let your imagination sort of fill in the gaps in the space around her. Then try some ideas with just basic linework and apply colour and lighting only when you're happy with the basic structure.

With it being part of a story, you've got the added bonus of having a pretty good idea of where she is and where she's going. For instance, if the story calls for a street, you've got all those kinds of details to research and reference pretty much narrowed down. Cobbles, windows, street lamps, etc. If the story calls for a different setting like a field, same applies as you know already the specific things to reference and put together.

I wouldn't say you need to post the whole page of the comic/graphic novel for us to see, but it would help you to think about the direction/tone of the story, the mood of whatever's going on in it in this panel and the specifics of the character's location/purpose. I disagree with WEBIAN that it is less important due to being a single panel on a comic book page, if anything it means that the panel has to tell part of a story and be connected and relevant to everything else going on in the page. Some comic book panels have become classic pieces of pop culture reference in their own right.

Nerd-alert.

I googled the famous panel from Marvel's Spider-man No More comic, and discovered that later artists had refereced/homaged/copied it multiple times since! As well as it being used for one of the movies. One artist's drawing for one panel in one comic and it's still getting referenced.

Original Version
Modern Version
Another Variation
Marvel Zombies
Spider-man 2 movie screenshot
 
Thank you Jim, this was a really helpful post!!

I feel more inspired to at at it this week.
Hope you are having a lovely weekend.
 
If I had said "she will never manage" that would have been destructive, yes. Instead, what I'm saying is "she should try and communicate her project more clearly".

tim said:
it's actually quite helpful to have a comment when you critique something
Click to expand...

I konw... and I'll be happy to comment if I see the comic she's talking about... :)
 
Harri said:
Thank you Jim, this was a really helpful post!!

I feel more inspired to at at it this week.
Hope you are having a lovely weekend.
Click to expand...

Thanks Harri, glad to be of help. Hope the project goes well. So far my weekend has involved redecorating, working on illustrations and frequenting the pub, not a bad start. Let us know how you get on with this picture.
 
Taking on board a little of what everyone said... I've re done some frames.
:)
I'm much happier with the thing now.
(obviously it's not finished)

any comments appreciated
2v2flms.jpg
 
Looks interesting, Harri. Personally I'd be tempted to play more with the angle/height of the "camera" but otherwise all looks solid.
 
Harri said:
Taking on board a little of what everyone said... I've re done some frames.
:)
I'm much happier with the thing now.
(obviously it's not finished)

any comments appreciated
2v2flms.jpg
Click to expand...


Well done! This is exactly what I was hoping to see. Doesn't it make more sense now?
Now that I can see it in its own context the sketch of the image I didn' like before looks appropriate.
I can see a glimpse of a story and I can honestly say, I like what I see: the mysterious
atmosphere and the fact that you don't know if this will announce danger, or
an amazing surprise makes me curious. If I found a comic like that I would want to read it.

So I'd say you are beginning to find the way to a success story.
Whether you're planning to create a long or a short, maybe one page comic, keep the good
work and keep it meaningful.

Guys, I notice that my "destructive" comments aren't so destructive after all...

Ian
the evil guy ;)
 
WEBIAN said:
Guys, I notice that my "destructive" comments aren't so destructive after all...
Click to expand...
you sure, it seems like he was taking notice of the "constructive" comments to come up with those images :p
 
Guys, I notice that my "destructive" comments aren't so destructive after all...
Click to expand...

they were still being quite forceful of your opinion IMO. but cool, nice idea to stick around and comment something more productive this time :)


harri, love the work, keep sharing!
 
Tim
Yes I know I was a bit rough, but, you can believe me, it's been months giving advice in this forum, and it seems that people can't even register what you say, most of the times. It may sound absurd as they do ask for advice.
So this time I thought that if I said "try to communicate the concept of this project more clearly... I just slightly dislike this, but maybe this other thing could be ok with a little bit of effort..." and things like that, she probably wouldn't have registered them either...

Its nobody's fault really. It's just that virtual communication makes it hard for concepts to come across sometimes.

Levi
What to say about this. I don't even understand what you are trying to say. If you explain it maybe I can answer ;)
 
Tim
Yes I know I was a bit rough, but, you can believe me, it's been months giving advice in this forum, and it seems that people can't even register what you say, most of the times. It may sound absurd as they do ask for advice.
Click to expand...

i understand where you're coming from, and it is frustrating when people don't listen to valuable feedback, but i don't feel you gave her much of a chance, your first responses weren't constructive or valuable as feedback.

i have met harri 3/4 times, i don't think she'd intend to waste anyone's time.
 
Tim

Since you met in person, the communication has probably become easy for you two, but I never thought that she was trying to waste our time. I just thought that she probably wouldn't have heard a word I was saying.

It's what happens in forums sometimes, but I don't think people are taking the piss. Who knows why that happens. Sometimes you post answers which are like an online course ( explaining the grid, the alignments, the kerning etc ) and the person who has asked for them disappears...

In addition to that, I think that one sometime should be able to say 'I don't like that' if it is what they mean, otherwise the opinions you give are not useful. And besides, you should notice that I never give negative feedback to people who appear to be useless. On the contrary, when I see someone who seems to have some talent - if I have the impression (right or wrong) that they are not using it (that they could do better) - I become a bit more demanding.

Honestly, I don't know why the guys here are perceiving me as sooo nasty :)

I am happy now that I see that Harri is putting into practice all the advice we gave her. So far, I think the only person in this forum (I mean in threads I took part to) who is doing the same is Gilmore. I hope we'll see some good results coming out from this thread, so then it means that we are communicating.

Just my two cents.
 
Ahh thank you very much. thats very kind, and lovely to hear! Hope your enjoying the forum!
 
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