Invasion Space

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 89 is up! Let Texty into your heart Raz. ...

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:38:55 -0700

Let Texty into your heart Raz. Go on.

!SJ has been having image issues recently, you may have to reload to see the page!

Today’s incentive is Sex-Swapped Mortal Cycle/Blue Page characters. Vote to see it! There is also only one request left in the askbox!

*So its teeth are black with cavities? MY HEADCANONZ

Readable (x) I’ve lost it. Maybe this is what destroyed...

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:08:00 -0700

Readable (x)

I’ve lost it. Maybe this is what destroyed my last shred of patience. I honestly don’t know what else to say or what I should even do. I’m at a loss for words. How the fuck am I supposed to react?

So while I’m sorry to post this, I’m NOT REALLY THAT SORRY.

Do I have to spell it out? Do I have to use monosyllables to explain why the word choice isn’t the real problem?

I know in some ways I am overreacting but I don’t see a real point in pretending that just telling the author is good enough or that simply telling her will make things hunky dory. Don’t do this shit aspiring artists. Everyone makes mistakes, but if you have the spine to admit you’re a shitty writer but still want to defend your ASSHOLE fictional character’s integrity by fighting for him to be called a “lesser” form of an asshole, your priorities are in the wrong order.

Now if you excuse me I have to finish harvesting my own rage and confusion to convert into art production fuel.

Further details: No, saying it’s “just fiction” is a load of shit- it’s still BAD. This comic is NOT a rape fetish specialty comic. It’s not even porn, most of the comic is spent with talking heads that are supposed to be developing the ~~abusive~~ KAWAII relationship. I HAD to read this in order to review it, fuck your “Don’t like, Don’t read”. I don’t give a shit if there is worse out there, this is still terrible and it needs to be called out. There are no effort ribbons when it comes to godawful writing, don’t ask for them. Especially from me.

Comments, questions, reaction, etc, feel free to use the Disqus section or my askbox.

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 88 is up! Who is being more of an ass, the...

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:33:00 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 88 is up!

Who is being more of an ass, the author about updating or Texty in the comic?! YOU DECIDE!

Today’s incentive is Amvisile’s pranks. Vote to see it! You can also see Martae’s pranks in the freetalk- and with that all the Bezzafrayl pranks are done!

As an aside, I am slowly converting the image hosting from PB to imgur since PB has some bizarre redirecting going on. So far MiniMags and all the Asks have been fully converted~

*But Texty you’re a TREE THING this time around!

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 85, 86 & 87 are up! TRIPLE UPDATE,...

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:27:52 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 85, 86 & 87 are up!

TRIPLE UPDATE, JINKIES!! Mags sassing Sid, Sid being a worryBrick and Raz buckling down for QUALITY CHATTIME with Texty.

Today’s incentive is a stupid joke about how Texty plans on helping Raz. Vote to see it!

*GDI Sid this isn’t rocket science. It’s SIMON SAYS!

I’m flattered you enjoy them, Anon! And I’d be...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:06:00 -0700

I’m flattered you enjoy them, Anon!

And I’d be honored to critique/review your webcomic! You can contact me about it on via the Askbox, or on SJ via PM. I also have no problem giving an informal/private critique if that is what you want. Simply tell me when you feel up to it.

Now as for my tastes…. [A shitton of text under the cut]

In terms of comics I enjoy reading, well there’s a lot, kinda? I tend to have an odd slider on what I’ll forgive or overlook when it comes to enjoying things. Typically the more people involved in a work, the more I can overlook things that are simplified or tropey or Rule of Cool-ing along.

I tend to be harshest on webcomics because (unless specified as being sincerely mindless), authors have the most control over their work in terms of what they produce or what they can potentially fix. The author-audience/critic dynamic is present so problems can ideally be addressed/fixed while the comic is still going to produce a stronger story or something where the growth is evident (art/writing) as the comic goes on.

Not all webcomics strive for this and I understand that, but as a result I tend to be pickier or at least less tolerant if the author pretty much pulls a YOLO about their works, at least in the case of dramatic or long form comics. I tend not to attach much to gag-a-day webcomics simply because most of them are either gamers on the couch or memetic humor.

Some webcomics I enjoy: Whatever the hell’s on my SJ Fave List, Gunnerkrigg Court, FAMIB, Cucumber Quest, TJ and Amal, Lackadaisy, Boxer Hockey, Kagerou, The Meek, Unsounded, Inhuman, Monster Pulse, Ava’s Demon, All Night

In terms of actually published comics, I tend to enjoy/get my mitts on manga more simply because of the variety and how easily accessible it is (cough).

Some notable manga I’ve enjoyed are: Berserk, Eyeshield21, One-Punch Man, Assassination Classroom, Jing: King of Bandits + Twilight Tales, Qwan, Blame! (and most of the rest of those author’s works), Shaman King, Blue Dragon Ral Grad (IDK what that proper title is), Deadman Wonderland, Fullmetal Alchemist, Demon Diary (egads), Petshop of Horrors, Uzumaki (and other works by that author), Azumanga Daioh + Yotsuba&!

I also really enjoy ~VIDEOGAMES~ and actually base some parts of my writing and critique logic processes off of those as well.

Some notable games I’ve enjoyed [that I feel have good handles on some aspect of writing]: Most SMT/Atlus Games, the Ace Attorney Games (that I’ve played), Demon’s/Dark Souls, the FFs typically in Ivalice. Annnnd Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, that’s TOTALLY a video game, right? Right.

Anyway, back to comics, typically when I come across new ones, the art or premise has to catch my eye in some way- whichever I’m exposed to first (a pitch or a promo image). Sadly if something looks generic or really gimmicky, I’ll skip it.

As for keeping up with a comic, I only really note the art when it botches what it’s supposed to be being conveyed. In my opinion, art is easier to improve over time vs writing, since art can almost be seen for what it is “immediately” or at least as time goes on and the artist is looking back, but with writing, it takes far longer for scenarios/arcs to play out in full so the bad writing might not be apparent until much later and by then it’s already done!

That being said, what I ultimately look for in anything I read are interesting worlds and scenarios that arise from different circumstances and possibly different ethics/values of the characters in these different worlds

As a general rule, I tend to like comics where the worlds have rules that mean something and hopefully with a cast where the collective IQ rounds out to about average instead of frustratingly dumb (exception to comedy, and even that is a gamble).

TL;DR: I favor comics with good writing but good or bad-but-improving art is a plus!

Hope that answers your question Anon!

*The list is not thorough, I tend to make recommendations based on what I think the asker would like, the ones listed are things I’ve enjoyed- there are probably flaws in these works but this answer is not really intended for discussing those flaws or what specific reasons I like them, hope that makes sense, thanks for understanding!

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 84 is up! Sid ain’t having...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 06:17:44 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 84 is up!

Sid ain’t having Raz’s shit.

Today’s incentive is Raz having the time of his life. Vote to see it!

*There is a level that exists in a hell below pickup lines. This is an example of one of those.

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 83 is up! Classic Avoidance in...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 02:55:00 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 83 is up!

Classic Avoidance in action.

Today’s incentive is Raz spouting the words of a true Romantic. Vote to see it!

*But does Sid cease being a 3rd wheel if he’s part of an OT3?

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 82 is up! Oh look it’s some homoromo,...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 18:15:00 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 82 is up!

Oh look it’s some homoromo, I bet some of you forgot that was a persisting thing in this comic- don’t worry, no one blushes with the kawaiis.

Today’s incentive is if Mags could channel knighthood into a single image. Raz is not impressed. Vote to see it!

*That’s some STRONG LANGUAGE YOUNG MAN.

I honestly don’t know how to respond to this aside from...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 23:30:00 -0700

I honestly don’t know how to respond to this aside from express my condolences that I alone managed to crush your webcomic hopes and dreams, as well as be a little confused as off the top of my head I do not recall reviewing any comics whose genres I had no interest in and even further, failed to provide any help in at least the art or technical categories of your comic (lettering, etc.).

Lastly, I will assume you are not this person:

(source: (x) scroll down to the disqus comments)

If you are, well, I’m glad this is cleared up, on the other, I don’t appreciate how my name was used as part of a fabrication to dislike a website and community and hope your next foray into SJ will go smoother. Or if you come to actually dislike SJ, it will be due to events/interactions that actually happened.

Thanks to anyone who had discussion or defended me in the comments, I really appreciate it. :)

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 81 is up! Wherein Raz looks evil despite...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:46:00 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 81 is up!

Wherein Raz looks evil despite doing something nice.

Today’s incentive is Kresin’s turn to prank people, she’s quite the she-devil. Vote to see it!

*Wait, what orifices?

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 80 is up! Let’s learn about...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 09:53:31 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 80 is up!

Let’s learn about everyone’s favorite floating skeleton!

Today’s incentive is me dicking around with coloring/brushes, it has Mags. Vote to see it!

*Relationships, where sometimes what you ask for isn’t what you get, but you’re happy anyway??

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 79 is up! Raz prepares to give Mags some...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:06:42 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 79 is up!

Raz prepares to give Mags some kind of TALK.

Today’s new incentive talking about how Sid goes about pranking his fellow Bezzafrayl. Vote to see it!

*Alt: “I’d stop undressing you with my eyes if I could undress you with my hands, bby.”

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 78 is up! Raz suggests inappropriate things...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:04:19 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 78 is up!

Raz suggests inappropriate things to the man he’s attracted to.

Today’s new incentive is a colorful sketch of Martae in motion. Vote to see it!

*Pictured: The best of Razmarus and the worst of social media.

archiaart: And apparently Enthrall was nominated for the Horror and Fantasy categories in the...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 01:41:17 -0700

archiaart:

And apparently Enthrall was nominated for the Horror and Fantasy categories in the Smackjeeves awards? Thanks, anyone who suggested me! I’m not sure Enthrall fits either of the categories well enough, myself, but what do I know ;P

Celebrate with some crude fanart. Arinshine, Ghostdus, Ghostlac and Scarrcock.

In all seriousness the horror nomination probably came from vampires = monsters => horror.

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 77 is up! Everything went better than...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:42:56 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 77 is up!

Everything went better than expected. ^u^

There IS a new incentive, continuing answering the pranks ask, it’s Lisair’s turn. Vote to see it!

*(Please hum the Harry Potter Theme for full effect.)

Oh boy this is going to be a LONG one! “First”: I...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:08:12 -0700

Oh boy this is going to be a LONG one!

“First”:

I used to do pages as they came along but that stopped seemingly forever ago. I took to thumbing out pages as I felt like it (usually thee pages at a time) and it slowly evolved into thumbing/rough sketching out pages by scene or until ten or more pages were stocked up (typically this is two scenes). However despite sketching these pages out they are still subject to change a lot when I actually get around to them. Dialogue especially.

Pages can actually change very drastically between initial rough sketches and when I get closer to finalizing them.

“Second”:

Getting pages done varies a ton. Back in the original chapter 1 days it would be 1-2ish hours and as I added more components such as shading and something closer to actual backgrounds it became 2-4ish hours. Now with 300dpi it took some getting used to and I’m still getting the hang of batching, but TYPICALLY it’s still 2-4 hours per page. Unless I happen to have a page with many panels and characters interacting a lot with each other on that page (the recent blue pages).

There are also distractions that I still have to get over but overall I’d say each page is 2-4 hours each now. I hope I can get better at reducing the time in the future.

“Third”:

Scripting is done during the rough sketch step. I generally have a list of developments/events/detailsI want to get done and aim to have to conveyed in that chapter. There are minor things that get to be shuffled around, sometimes something as minor as when it’s shown to something as major as who the detail is shown with.

This “luxury” of sorts comes with how set most of the world’s rules and respective character dispositions are. (Everyone gets a biography and a “story”, even the little bit characters!)

“Fourth”:

(I don’t mind at all, I really enjoy answering these questions!)

I have most if not all of the major “scenes” set up, though some details change over time the longer I get to stew on them. There are actually about 2-3 variations for the ending of the comic.

Even if the details change over time, overall the respective consequences will play out accordingly, and that’s what matters most to me. Most scenes do get rewritten depending on if there is an easier way to convey it though, so while I do have an ending in mind it could very well change with time.

“Fifth”:

Oh you and your flattery. 8V

It’s probably a bit of both? The comic used to be drawn at 150dpi, it only “recently” upgraded to 300dpi.

I personally don’t think I work at a very large resolution, for reference @150dpi it’s 800x1000 and @300dpi it’s 1600x2000 and I don’t really go beyond 100% zoom @300dpi, in fact, I go to 50% zoom when I draw my backgrounds (make of that what you will 8V).

When I save for web I cut down the resolution to half, but back in the 150dpi days what I worked at was what was posted!

Hope this was helpful to you in some way, if you have further questions, feel free to ask and thanks for asking, I really enjoyed answering! 8)

Yes and no. Astervotum is a sorta complete language since I...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:29:43 -0700

Yes and no.

Astervotum is a sorta complete language since I take/translate most words directly from another language (technically). However there are rules for what words I take (and from where) and there are a handful of unique words. The rules, structure and unique words are addressed in the Astervotum section on the site. However I do not reveal what languages I take/translate the words from.

As for when I’m translating while doing the comic, I keep a very large list of the words and an inventory of the word usage and what/where the words were used and where the words came from.

In terms of writing Astervotum (a much easier and more consistent task), I would warn against trying to use the current Astervotum writing as I am in the process of overhauling it in terms of visual clarity and distinctiveness. When I’m done the written letters of it can certainly be learned and a font may even be available for you to download. :)

Hope that answered your question and thank you for asking! 8)

*Edit: Swapped it to a photo, sorry about the double-post.

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 76 is up! More world building! This time a...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 12:33:00 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 76 is up!

More world building! This time a bit more visually! Also you can see what the rest of Kavir’s family’s Familiars look like 8)

There is NOT a new incentive, rendering makes my computer chug too much. I’d appreciate if you still voted but you don’t have to.

*Ladders are so plebeian.

Since DeSTRESS’s webcomic burfday is coming up soon (3...

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:25:00 -0700

Since DeSTRESS’s webcomic burfday is coming up soon (3 months “soon”), I decided I may as well start pecking away at a new banner/REAL COVER for the comic. Nearly 3 years isn’t too late, or something?

Anyway, I feel like I need to rework how Sid and Mags are on this and tweak Texty accordingly. Left is plain roughs, right is color coded idea of what’s going on. That thing in the top right may end up becoming the black sun typical of Mionfaer, I’m still debating it.

I don’t like how it’s GENERIC FANTASY looking but it’s better composition than the grimmerer and darkerer old things I have on hand.

Any feedback, critiques, suggestions, etc would be great. The goal is to keep Raz and Texty. Mags, Sid, Juvciel and even what is going to be buildings are negotiable.

Thanks for your responses in advance~

*If you’re curious why Sid and Mags have some black on them, it’s for color/contrast purposes since Texty is black as well but Texty is supposed to be more of a focus.

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 75 is up! World-building through lectures...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:46:00 -0700

DeSTRESS Ch. 05, Pg. 75 is up!

World-building through lectures of language! Domestic scenes! MONTAGES OF THINGS! ~~Hugs. Wait there are actually hugs.~~

There is finally a new incentive. This one is the first part of a multipart ask concerning pranks. You can Vote to see it!

*The tantrumey-pokey, how unsurprising.