The Dreaded Cut and Paste

Anywherebuthere · Post by **Anywherebuthere** » Wed May 18, 2005 7:10 pm

I originaly wanted to do my strip with a kind of...don't know how to call it...shortcut. Basically I wanted to create a library of character poses that I could use to cobble together a strip on a short notice.

What I discovered is that I felt cheap and whoreish after doing a few strips by hand.

I will use cut and paste, normaly it's becuase I try and instill the absolute static nature of the culture in which I live. There are so many uncomfortable pauses where people just kind of stare at each other up here that it's just kind of...eerie.

However, like I said, I feel cheap and whorish when I cut and paste.

I feel even more cheap and whoreish when I use backgrounds that aren't mine:

http://anywherebuthere.keenspace.com/d/20050302.html

well, maybe not QUITE so cheap and whorish, but still not as good as I feel nailing a strip.

AsterAzul · Post by **AsterAzul** » Wed May 18, 2005 7:20 pm

Usually putting backgrounds that are photos in a strip just looks so silly it's ludicrous. In that strip, however, it works out pretty damn well. I think because of the black and white motif...

AsterAzul · Post by **AsterAzul** » Wed May 18, 2005 7:27 pm

Hmmm... this strip is super popular with blatant cut and pasting...
http://www.strangecandy.net/

It has Ghastly in it. ^_^

I guess it does all depend on what you do with it... I don't know.
I don't think I'll ever end up cut and pasting for my own comic, simply because it's really easy for me to either change the angle whenever I want and I can always put some creepy metaphorical stuff going on in the back. 8)

I'm also not afraid of going back through my archives once in awhile and touching things up. Hey, we have the capability to do revisionist histories, why knock them?
Speaking of which, (yes I'm plugging Gloria again, it's a vested interest, I'm getting plugged through a guest strip in a coupla weeks

), here's an artist who has never cut-and-pasted a single panel in her life. She's also going back and redrawing all of her old artifact littered strips into pretty versions: http://untitled.keenspace.com
G'wall on over there and read the comic.

Rianeva · Post by **Rianeva** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:42 pm

Personally, I don't mind cut-and-paste. (Hey, I make a sprite comic; what did you expect me to say? =p)

However, it does depend -a lot- on how well the strip is written. Nothing will save a sprite comic that isn't well written. And there are still ways to make cut-and-paste look interesting. The way I've started doing it is through varying panel size and placement. Honestly, would you rather read a comic that looked like this, or like this? (Ow... my early comics really suck...) My point is, cut-and-paste can look, if not good, than at least decent. =p

Eunice_P · Post by **Eunice_P** » Thu May 19, 2005 2:36 am

Lifts hand. I'm guilty as charged!

Fourth and fifth panel:
http://nemo.keenspace.com/d/20040116.html

Second and fourth panel:
http://nemo.keenspace.com/d/20040131.html

*everybody stares wide eyed*
B... But... I... I'm too exhausted to draw the same complex drawings twice! *sniffle*

P.S: Flashbacks are great for cut and paste!

RemusShepherd · Post by **RemusShepherd** » Thu May 19, 2005 5:37 am

Edit: Nevermind. I shouldn't ask questions when I know the answers. I'm just looking for a fight because this thread is depressing me. Please ignore.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Thu May 19, 2005 9:27 am

Just like most of people, I agree with cut/paste only if it's to show the total lack of movement.
Other than that, I too do redraw the same position every time.
The thing is, strips with cut and paste come out as boring, bland, undynamic. I remember when I was reading archives of Pentasmal, I could get through 20 strips before I had to give up because, despite a good scrips, repetition of the same image was just boring me and making my eye tired. On the other hand, check out "Bone" to see how not-cut-and-paste can make the most still scene dynamic.

I leave a possibility that cut-paste comics could be good; I generally don't like to disregard the entire class of comics. Well, no matter what people say, I think that cut/paste part of Elf Only Inn was as good as any other. But that's because Sortelli could never settle on only copy/pasting images: he changes expressions to some extent, zoomed in, zoomed out, changed angle and positions of characters... This process seem to require as much effort as drawing a new comic. That's perhaps why I've never seen another cut/paste comic that was so involving.

AsterAzul · Post by **AsterAzul** » Thu May 19, 2005 12:42 pm

I noticed the blatant cut and paste of Monty Python's scripts in your latest comic, by the way. (It is true you draw that, no?)

Somehow, it was still hilarious the second time around... *chuckle*
A raspberry...

ShineDog · Post by **ShineDog** » Sat May 21, 2005 8:23 pm

a year ago i was drawing this, the very first page of the second incarnation of gateway. when my art sucked even more than it does now. (LONG ARMS)

i was paranoid it was too copy/paste

its not remotley, i think its easy to worry too much.

that said, no final element in this comic (that i remember) that you can see is cut and paste

the comic is entirely digitial, so i sometimes copy my "pencils" but do the linework new each time.

since im a lazy inker you can see the differences clearly.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Sun May 22, 2005 6:13 am

AsterAzul wrote:I noticed the blatant cut and paste of Monty Python's scripts in your latest comic, by the way. (It is true you draw that, no?)

Somehow, it was still hilarious the second time around... *chuckle*
A raspberry...

Many things are blatant in that comic.

Pandapan · Post by **Pandapan** » Sun May 22, 2005 4:36 pm

AsterAzul wrote:
chibiartstudios wrote:No.

*Shoots Azul in the foot*

Any questions?
OWW!!

OK, I deserved that.
That foot's going to take a week to grow back, though.

*goes to redraw the same scene three times*
*comes back, grabs ruler, leaves*

I thought "foot" was "face". that's what happens when I neglect to wear my glasses.

I suppose if you draw the same scene twice, it would be that much more practice than if you cutnpaste.

Uncaringmachine · Post by **Uncaringmachine** » Thu May 26, 2005 6:39 pm

I think if you use it for a good comic effect, then it's fine. Stick it to the man and cut and paste to your hearts content! Of course, people might stick it to you and not read it, but that's a change you just may have to take!

Spriteville, USA · Post by **Spriteville, USA** » Thu May 26, 2005 6:49 pm

Personally I think that my use of cut and paste is on the leading edge of cut and paste technology. =]

Mvmarcz · Post by **Mvmarcz** » Sun May 29, 2005 1:23 am

to avoid blaten cut and paste if I need the same postion twice(like i did when I did the phone scenes in my <a href="http://junkriot.keenspace.com/d/20050524.html">latest pages</a>) I take the drawn version, scan it in copy/paste how many panels of it I'll need, print it out very lightly and then ink each panel with eye movement or a slight change in the hair, and of course the lining will vary because each is inked it's own way. I think it really works, I also had to do it in my <a href="http://junkriot.keenspace.com/d/20050426.html">skating rink page</a>

So, I think it comes down to if you can pull it off and it would be best go for it, but try other ways first.