Dropdown/community for people to help each other out

Ary · Post by **Ary** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 10:54 am

Just popping an idea out for people, I haven't really planned anything for certain yet--
But, basically....a comic listing for nice people. @_@ You know, people who don't write something along the lines of "don't email me, I don't like you. I don't want to help you improve your comic. If you want to talk to me, you are a pathetic loser. GRRRR!!!!

"

I guess....people who are willing to help each other get known in the great wide world of the web (link exchanging, letting people know about good places/forums/dropdowns/whatever). Is it a stupid idea? Maybe there aren't any people out there like that! XP

BOMC · Post by **BOMC** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 11:01 am

It sounds like a good idea, count me in!

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:57 am

It sounds like 80% of webartists. Only so little of them are rude to readers and are not happy when they see a fan mail.
On the other hand, there already was a dropdown like this. Inactive, I think, you might check on old dropdown list page, maybe they entered it before they stopped updating it.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 2:06 pm

but we need to replace the inactives, badly. There are so many inactives compared to the active ones. As I've started to refurbish the dropdown directory, and I'm looking for a method so that it will be easy to tell the inactive (zombies) from the current as well as a way for me to keep it up to date as best as I can.

I'll be doing a thread on all the information, including the work on a the dropdown dropdown website, once I hear back about it.

the tester for the dropdown drop down is on my webcomic's index page. Just click on my button and check it out.

but I hope some people will be interested in bringing back some of the more popular dropdowns that have went dead.

a new Gay, Lesbian, Transexual, bi-sexual drop down would be great (and I might do this if no one else does), as well a furry dropdown, and I'm not sure what the status of Keenime is but I think if its to full that maybe there could be a sequel to that as well. though judging by that community and how active it is, I'm not sure how one would go about doing that.

okay I'm blabbering though.. but inactive/zombie dropdown replicants and sequels would be very helpful if you ask me.

Arumo · Post by **Arumo** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 4:00 pm

That would be a nice drop down to have. I only got one fan letter with some suggestions and when I finally put up a topic for discussion asking for help I was mauled.

So a supportive group I think would be very beneficial to anybody who is becoming a webcomic artist.
Also, I don't think keenime is quite a dead drop down, being on the drop down itself. I still saw stuff up for Valentines day. People on keenime are pretty active with their seasonal pictures. They like group involvement.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 4:15 pm

well from my understanding they arn't adding people anymore on Keenime or that was the last thing I heard regarding it. I'm not sure whats going on, but if anyone knows what the deal is let me know, if they arn't "zombified" and are still adding people I can add them to the active dropdown list.

as to mauled. thats wierd who did you ask? despite being insane most people here are very nice, and very helpful.

Arumo · Post by **Arumo** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 9:08 pm

You can try to go to the keenime board and see what's going on. I didn't know they weren't adding people anymore. It took me over a year before I could even get onto a drop down because of being ill informed on how to do stuff.
Like right now I'm still trying to figure out how to make a drop down so that people can access different chapters of my comic.
As for my being mauled I put it up on an open forum and I was told everything that could be wrong with a comic was wrong with mine. Everything from my "generic anime" style to my horrible title. Many people emphasized to get rid of the anime style, but I'm on the keenime drop down for a reason. The anime style is taking over, look at Totally Spies and Teen Titans on cartoon networks. Though I'm not ungrateful for their comments, otherwise I would have just kept making a cancer of a comic.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:48 am

if your trying to do a chapter dropdown. there's a tutorial on that very function on http://thejaded.keenspace.com in the workshop area. I've never done one so I'm not sure how tricky it is. Don't have a need for it yet myself. I only 25 comics, at the moment.

arumo wrote:As for my being mauled I put it up on an open forum and I was told everything that could be wrong with a comic was wrong with mine. Everything from my "generic anime" style to my horrible title. Many people emphasized to get rid of the anime style, but I'm on the keenime drop down for a reason. The anime style is taking over, look at Totally Spies and Teen Titans on cartoon networks. Though I'm not ungrateful for their comments, otherwise I would have just kept making a cancer of a comic.

ah yes I remember that post. I don't believe I'd have called that a mauling you asked for criticism and its not exactly ever positive. its supposed to help you so you can figure out whats up and how to improve your style. I actually like Teen Titans, as a few people do. I'm actually a big fan of the cartoon and the comics (well not the new titans comic series but everything prior).

if you ask me I think what they were trying to say, is that art should be you. and the way it looked it appeared like a clone of other art styles, and not your own. Its up to interpretiation of course, but in my school of thought in anything you do from music, to writing to comicking being influenced by and basing your art in total are two diffrent things. And people were reflecting that it appeared that your art idenity seemed to be missing.

Course art identity to me is very important in my own comic, it might not matter to you. making a webcomic is supposed to be fun. but if I'd give advice to you from a critique affair (and given I'm not the most stunning or gifted artist in the world) would be to continue what your doing, but in your striving to always improve look beyond the traditional templates of anime and manga and mix and match lots of diffrent styles, how things look to you, shapes of faces.. noses and what nots. as you shouldn't let yourself be held back by a genre. I'm influenced by manga myself, as well as german, french, and chinese artwork (and american comics). but you can take this with a grain of salt.

but at the end of the day, your comic is about what makes you smile. And I don't think that anyone should stop striving to get better. your mauling if I was to look at it, would be people telling you what to aim towards as you are improving your style.

I don't think anyone meant to hurt your feelings.

Arumo · Post by **Arumo** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 2:39 pm

I'm sure they didn't also, but it's over and done with.
As for distinctive styles, few people actually have their own style, and develop their own by mixing and matching. People are always looking around and then they see something that they like better than their own and assimilate that. Like my first influence into manga drawing was Naoko Takeuchi's work but nobody would actually say 'Yes, I see that in your work." My stuff looks nothing like Sailormoon. People's styles don't evolve without outside influences.
Also, thank you very much for the link.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 4:16 pm

phactorri wrote:but we need to replace the inactives, badly. There are so many inactives compared to the active ones. As I've started to refurbish the dropdown directory, and I'm looking for a method so that it will be easy to tell the inactive (zombies) from the current as well as a way for me to keep it up to date as best as I can.

True that. I was a member of "Workspace" and "European" dropdowns. Now that JPSloan is active again he might ressurect the first one, but I really feel sorry about the second one not working out.