by Legmuscle on Tue Apr 19, 2005 10:29 am
I think all of the comics were amusing on one level or another, even if sometimes the punchline is awkward. The style, which I can only describe as vaguely psychedelic, is a little busy but it is very original and does have a lot of potential. If nothing else, it makes your comic stand out among the hordes and hordes of gag strips out there.
A couple of things I'd work on, though: At times your characters lack structure and are sometimes a little bit squooshy looking. I understand that you're using a minimalist style that relies a lot on negative space, but it looks like you're just trying to draw the finished product rather than laying down a structure in light pencil before you begin. When you draw without an underdrawing you can get stuff like eyes not lining up right or arms that look like they have no bones.
I think your best comic, visually anyway, was the first one. There is some nice use of negative space there, and you can still tell what the shapes are supposed to be with the objects that are not outlined.
A comic that doesn't work so well is the one where the kid is in bed dying. We see the mother in profile but the coloured outline doesn't match up with the black areas that you've drawn for the eyes nose and mouth. It doesn't look like she has a neck. It seems like you drew the black outline and added the colour later. If you'd done an outline of what the whole face was going to look like first, then decided what was going to have a black outline and what wasn't, it probably would have turned out better.
Sorry if it seems like I was dwelling on the negative here, but it's hard to explain drawing techniques without using pictures. I really do like the comic and I hope you continue.
