Blip And Radar Progress Thread

[PsychicHeart]

So, i've recently decided to, with a team of friends, develop a webcomic. We have planned to get the hosting ASAP, but until that time, here are a few early snippets
PS: If anyone remembers my 'Blip And Radar' post in the Critic's Lounge, this is the same series.


Blip, Radar and Radarette, the three main characters.


One of the first strips [VERY HEAVILY WORK IN PROGRESS!(especially the car's block-shape!)]


Another strip i did a few days ago. Note how, even when not focusing on the characters in the world of the strip (ie, me coming in and explaining something), it still maintains the graphic character style. Also pretty WIP.

So, yeah, we'll be getting the hosting once we have some more strips written up and some Work In Progresses finished, which should be within the next two months or so, and until then i'll continue putting up some work in progresses and whatnot.
Cheers,
Fluke and the 'Blip And Radar' Team

[LGM]

only three strips and already one of them is a space filler? Wow.

[PsychicHeart]

Heh, the joke was on the prescence OF space fillers in modern webcomics, not a space filler in it's own right 

[Helm]

Modern webcomics in contrast to ancient webcomics cut on rock and put on the gravelnet.

[SSH]

I recommend that you go to a library and get "The Joy of Work" by Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) and read the section on humour. There's a summary of it at http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2005/12/humor_formula.html

His idea is basically that the core of humor is the 2-of-6 rule. In order for something to be funny, you need at least two of the following elements:

Cute (as in kids and animals)

Naughty

Bizarre

Clever

Recognizable (You've been there)

Cruel


Now, not only have you got to try for these thingsm, you;ve got to do them in a funny way. In your first strip, you're aiming for cute, recognisable and cruel. I think you need to work a bit on the character design to make them a bit cuter, but they're a bit of the way there. Recognisable: well, I'm guessing that the first panel is burnt toast, but I'm not sure. Second panel is car exploding (not particularly recognisable) and the last one also misses the recognisability. And cruel, well it is a bit, but more physical pain on Blip would be fuinnier.

Second strip is only going for recognisability. It gets it, but only has 1 of 6 and so fails again.

Don't worry about your artwork so much: the humour is the thing.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I really don't think a set of rules exists for humor.  You either have it (and the ability to share it) or you don't.  That said, I've never found Dilbert to be funny at all.

[Babar]

Going off on an even further tangent than present right now, but I don't think there is any such skill (presenting humour, painting, musical creation) that either a person has, or doesn't have. Any skill can be worked upon, even from scratch. That being said, I don't believe in any such 'divisions' in humour as a very good sort of comedy, or something that is crap. Something that makes you ROFLOFLF is better than something that makes you giggle madly? I'm sure some people will find the Flukeblake style of humour funny, and some will not. It's his job to make it work for the largest number of people.

[Darth Mandarb]

1 word: Margins

[Andail]

The extremely...limited...art-style would work well with a very intellectual kind of humour, or possibly the surreal variety a la Acthung Franz. Unfortunately, your comic doesn't present either of those, and could benefit from being just a tad more worked on, graphically speaking.

[Helm]

I think the 2-of-6 concept is very interesting... for people who already can do this sort of work and want to codify their processes. It's not going to teach somebody to be funny when they're not.

[m0ds]

Give your characters interesting situations. Taking in what people have said, a not so elegant looking character filling three blocks with a not so witty punchline just isn't going to work a great deal.

Here, I envisage blip and radar getting up to slightly crazier antics! They look more like slapstick characters to me, rather than ones who could dish out funny dialogue. But thats just my view

Radar buys a Satellite dish


!

[Akatosh]

I don't think you should just strictly follow these x-of-6 rules. The result could be like this:

I mean, it's cute (animal), naughty (stabbing), bizarre (talk stuff), clever (IQ), recongizable (I don't think I need to explain this) and cruel (same here), but still it's not funny (oh please, let this be not funny - it always ends up funny when it should not).

Also, I actually found the first one quite funny, but this probably just is the omnious german humor striking again. The second one, however... you may want to have a look at this.

/EDIT: Now actually with picture.

/EDIT EDIT: Meh, I just discovered leftovers of what I once wanted to turn out as a webcomic someday. Now I know why I never showed this to the public... http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a23/FAMILIAR_QUEST/6-FamiliarQuestgoesHollywood.gif
Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb. 1 out of 6 (strangeness). Difficult-to-follow print. Insaneness. The work of a sick mind.

/EDIT EDIT EDIT: On re-reading, that damn blue-screen comic seems to be actually funny. Don't you dare to laugh about it, though. Don't even smile.

[MrColossal]

I personally think, and I usually always suggest this to people who are starting to make comics, just make more.

Just keep making more and eventually you'll figure some stuff out on your own and the characters will become more than just things that talk. So then when you go to write a new comic you'll know how the characters will react to a situation and the comic will come easier.

Just keep making them, more and more and more. It's practice that will only help even if they fail. Lord knows I have enough failed comics lying around. The first few strips of the majority of comics are usually crap compared to the stuff they do now.

"You're so lazy! Did you pay the bills?!" "Get off my back, I'm a kind of free spirit wacky character! I play playstation or something!" "Oh I hate you so much!"

This is pretty much what a bunch of webcomics start off as and then become something more eventually, so... Continue, please.

[PsychicHeart]

Thanks for the advice guys. Especially the 2-of-the-6 rules thing. I've always found Dilbert quite a humourous peek at the "office space-esque" lifestyle, and enjoy it thoroughly, so if it's good enough for Scott Adams and Gary Larson, it's good enough for meÃ, 
Cheers,
Fluke.
PS: More updates/comics coming soon

[PsychicHeart]

Ello again, some more comics for your advice and critique.

Here, in terms of the 2-0f-6 rule, i've done recognizable (BSOD, WoW, Microsoft)and cruel (The BSOD).


Here i went for bizarre (how does a small yellow creature get ahold of acid?) but couldn't really think of any other ways to make it comply to the 2-0f-6 idea.

Cheers,
Fluke.

[esper]

If I'm translating his simple one-word word of advice properly, and I like to believe I am, Darth is very right that you should include a liiiiiitle more margin on the page. I have a hard time telling where one frame starts and another ends on first glance. Just put a little whitespace between them and you'll be golden.

BTW, the newer two, although still wanting a certain "Oomph," are considerably better than the first two.

[Nikolas]

Fluke,

I enjoyed the later two quite a lot! Rather clasic, but did bring a smile in my face, so job done! Do fix the margins, as Darth and Esper say. Also if you will please take a better screenshot of the blue screen in the middle as I have very hard time understanding what it says (although of course, I know what it says...)

In terms of humour, keep on writing, every day, every single day.

In terms of drawing... :-/ you have some way to go really, but the thing is that in the last comic it seems that you spent 2 minutes, copy pasting the first frame into the other two. Try to make at least some differences to show that they are differnt after all...

[PsychicHeart]

Lo,
while i understand what Darth and esper are saying, i really feel that having the black line there clearly shows the fact that the panel ends.
Cheers,
Fluke.

[LGM]

I think that last one is the funniest thing I've ever seen from you. Didn't make me LOL, but it's cute.

[MrColossal]

I disagree



Much easier to read.