New Comic Style
Hello everyone, I see that many people are concerned about white pony, and I am very grateful for that. I also miss her very much, but things don't always go as expected. My husband, who is comixchef, predicted that we could start our Subscribestar project in 2023, but my back pain has disrupted everything. For about a month, I was unable to work at all. This has caused us to put all long-term plans (including Sofia’s Extra) on hold and we need to earn money to pay our bills. Another problem is how to avoid the issue of my back pain affecting my work again.
Long hours of painting in a fixed position every day are the main culprit. Therefore, my husband and I have decided to research a new comic production specification to reduce the workload.
As you can see, this sample draft is the approximate style of the new comic. This page is from the Extra of "Jane's Nightmare" that I drew a long time ago. At that time, I had already completed all the storyboards. Because of my back pain and the cost of high-detailed coloring, I never finished it as a final product.
I hope you like this coloring style, which is closer to the feeling of animation. I like comics that are refreshing and easy to read, but of course, this may also have some negative effects on the presentation of certain materials. So, I still hope that some comics can retain the effect of high-detailed coloring, such as RiT&C, which has many exquisite things that require this type of coloring to be displayed.
So, that's basically it. My husband has been answering your questions and interacting with you all because my English has always been limited to awkward conversations with neighbors about gardening. This year, AI applications have exploded, so he thought I should give it a try. By the way, the dialogues on this sample draft were translated with the help of AI, but there are still many expressions that AI cannot achieve. I can use my native language to determine whether the character's words are appropriate for their identity, whether the dialogue is verbose, or even add dialects, but not English. So, if you see any problems in the dialogue, please let me know. Love you guys.
Sorry to hear about your back issues Kittyhand. I hope your health improves! Have you thought about getting an ergonomic chair as this may help your posture when you are seated. I think you will find that the fans are worried that you will disappear and if you are proactive with your delays, people will be very forgiving.
As for the new art style, whilst I love the older art style for it's attention to the shading, I can understand that it would be a lot of hard work. If this means that a comic would be quicker to draw and release I think this would be a good compromise. As long as there is enough detail to see what is happening I think it would be be great
I hope you get well soon. I agree with McLonglord, have you tried an ergonomic chair or even desk or maybe switching from sitting to standing while working? I was a bit worried that you would stop drawing. But seeing you answering fan's questions gives me a relieve.
Again, I also agree with McLonglord as for the new colouring. The older style depicts muscle definition better. But if the new style is better for your back and as long as athletic characters (like Jane) don't lose too much muscle definition, I am good with it.
As for the Subscriberstar, I still think you should start it as a channel to support the artist.
As someone who spends a lot of time in front of a computer for work, I have found that a good ergonomic chair (Herman Miller Embody) and keyboard (Kinesis Advantage360) are well worth the price.
I hope the pain will disappear completely, or at least be less of a nuisance. As mentioned before, if you can communicate, people will usually forgive any health-related downtime.
How about doing away with colour altogether and trying a manga aesthetic? Or maybe explore colouring through AI? The new style is great, no worries. I think Erenisch on SubscribeStar has even less detailed shading/colouring and people are OK with it.
And I agree with blggg, you should start SubscribeStar as a means of community support for now. Maybe with a promise to return the favour in the form of graphics or something in the future.
Take care.
First of all, thank you for sharing this picture. I rather enjoyed the 'Jane's Nightmare' comic even though Jane's end in the Clair's Tale 4 isn't very hopeful for her.
Next, speaking as a guy with two blown disk in his lumbar area, I fully understand the pain you deal with. People don't realize it but doing stuff like writing and artwork do place a serious strain on the shoulders, wrists and back, so you have my sympathy.
Just so you know, I've spent my $$$ at Do-Fantasy since I didn't know about this site. Kittyhand, Comixchef and Gary Roberts are the only comic that I buy, so I'm glad that a few of my $$$ are helping you provide us with the great material we enjoy.
I hope your health improves soon.
Quote from blggg on September 2, 2023, 10:14 amAs for the Subscriberstar, I still think you should start it as a channel to support the artist.
Yes,we have been wanting to set up Subscriberstar, and we believe that the Extra of Meixing and white pony is a good start, after all, our first work originated from it. However, our lack of productivity has kept us busy and we have no time to pursue this project. With the use of new coloring methods in our comics, I hope things will gradually improve. Of course, there is some preliminary work to be done for this Extra, such as unifying some locations with RiT&C.
Quote from DongerMcLonglord on September 2, 2023, 2:28 amAs for the new art style, whilst I love the older art style for it's attention to the shading, I can understand that it would be a lot of hard work. If this means that a comic would be quicker to draw and release I think this would be a good compromise. As long as there is enough detail to see what is happening I think it would be be great
Yes, the new coloring method will improve our production efficiency. We have many stories we want to create, but we have always lacked productivity.
Quote from Smook on September 2, 2023, 12:33 pmAs someone who spends a lot of time in front of a computer for work, I have found that a good ergonomic chair (Herman Miller Embody) and keyboard (Kinesis Advantage360) are well worth the price.
I hope the pain will disappear completely, or at least be less of a nuisance. As mentioned before, if you can communicate, people will usually forgive any health-related downtime.
How about doing away with colour altogether and trying a manga aesthetic? Or maybe explore colouring through AI? The new style is great, no worries. I think Erenisch on SubscribeStar has even less detailed shading/colouring and people are OK with it.
And I agree with blggg, you should start SubscribeStar as a means of community support for now. Maybe with a promise to return the favour in the form of graphics or something in the future.
Take care.
Thanks for your advice.
Haha, regarding this chair, if you have carefully watched "Fashion Queen", you will find that "Alexander Desire" company uses this type of chair. At that time, in order to make this company look very high-end, I searched for it. Hey, I really like its appearance, but the price is not pretty. I have been using an ergonomic chair that costs about $200. After years of observation, I think my problem is that when I draw, my body muscles are all tense, which is unconscious because my subconscious mind makes me concentrate. Comixchef works with his legs completely on the desk and his waist is twisted, but he does not have any waist pain problems. My current solution is to exercise and stretch properly, which I think has relieved a lot. I have paid attention to AI coloring, but currently they cannot meet the requirements for comic coloring.
Quote from DoctorDetroit on September 2, 2023, 1:04 pmFirst of all, thank you for sharing this picture. I rather enjoyed the 'Jane's Nightmare' comic even though Jane's end in the Clair's Tale 4 isn't very hopeful for her.
Next, speaking as a guy with two blown disk in his lumbar area, I fully understand the pain you deal with. People don't realize it but doing stuff like writing and artwork do place a serious strain on the shoulders, wrists and back, so you have my sympathy.
Just so you know, I've spent my $$$ at Do-Fantasy since I didn't know about this site. Kittyhand, Comixchef and Gary Roberts are the only comic that I buy, so I'm glad that a few of my $$$ are helping you provide us with the great material we enjoy.
I hope your health improves soon.
Oh, I am sorry to hear about your herniated disc.
I'm not sure about my specific problem as X-rays didn't show any issues. But for a whole month, I was really only able to lie down. I think the main issue for people like us who work in this field is that our spine stays in the wrong position for extended periods of time involuntarily. I did some stretching and abdominal exercises. Stretching helps restore the wrong back muscle memory, while abdominal exercises can make the abdomen stronger, thus preventing the back muscles from being overused. For me, the pain has eased, and you can also give it a try.
Wish you good health.
Quote from Kittyhand on September 3, 2023, 1:35 am
Oh, I am sorry to hear about your herniated disc.
I'm not sure about my specific problem as X-rays didn't show any issues. But for a whole month, I was really only able to lie down. I think the main issue for people like us who work in this field is that our spine stays in the wrong position for extended periods of time involuntarily. I did some stretching and abdominal exercises. Stretching helps restore the wrong back muscle memory, while abdominal exercises can make the abdomen stronger, thus preventing the back muscles from being overused. For me, the pain has eased, and you can also give it a try.
Wish you good health.
Thanks for the kind words. X-rays only show so much, you may need a MRI to find other issues. My wife was a writer and small Newspaper Editor and she would spend hours over a keyboard everyday. All that tension caused her to have spasms in her shoulders and wrists before her failing health led to her retirement.
For me, losing some weight would help a lot, but us fat people will do anything to lose weight except diet and exercise. I do use a TENS unit (you can find a unit pretty cheap on the internet). It's non-invasive, you don't need a prescription for one and you can adjust it as the day goes. It helps me, so there is that suggestion.
Thanks for putting the ideas of the ladies torments to print so lesser mortals like us can enjoy them.