feedback, please ( also )

[Ross K.]

For some reason this post feels a bit like plagiarism... but also a good idea, so here goes--

I also got cut today from the Amazon contest and am also hoping to improve.
If it's not too much trouble, would you be able to look over my panels and make some suggestions, both general and specific if possible?
Thanks!
You can access my comics here (on my website)

[Leann Webb]

I already said I liked your cartoons but I'll repeat here. Several of them gave me a good laugh. Since I draw single panel cartoons myself I am a little partial to them. It takes time and thought to tell the whole story in a single drawing with a well-worded caption (the proper wording of a caption is what gives me the most trouble)

I think the eye exam cheater and the Loch Ness Monster's bad photos are my favorites.

[standard]

some were funny. Good material. I think pun-based jokes can be a little grating in this context (seeing many strips all at once) but a tiny dose a day is pretty all right in my book.

I like your basic drawing style but your shading style (the diagonal lines) is relatively weak compared to your overall character design (doctor and patient looking particularly good). Also, your colored artwork seems like you just picked a random B&W comic and threw color on it. If the sheep are going to have gray-colored snouts, for example, then the line pattern isn't really necessary, right? You should be drawing with color in mind... using color to add to the art.

[ZingerSteve]

The Far Side pulled in a sense of continuity with reoccuring characters, though not in the traditional sense. They didn't have names or narratives that were followed over time.

However, there were the usual suspects: nerd boys, ladies with horn-rimmed glasses, private investigators, cows, amoeba, etc. Larson established personalities by the kind of character he drew. When you saw a cop in a fedora and a long jacket, whether it was a human or a dog or whatever, you knew what kind of investigative persona the character embodied. The Far Side used this type of character enough that even though it was a single panel, one shot gag, it had a depth established by the cartoon's larger portfolio.

I really like some of your characters - the doctor, the old patient, the grandma, the grumpy support group guys. Your style lends itself to weird, yet engaging characters. I'm not saying that all your doctor characters have to look like the same guy, but you might think about establishing some continuity with their designs (like the cop fedora). Start using those visual clues over again.

Example: What if you thought of several support group gags? It seems like there'd be a lot of great material there. And what if the group were the same three characters, no matter what support they needed? What if grandma was one of them? I don't know if this is a direction you'd naturally go, but it's a way to think about bringing your disjointed humor together under one cohesive umbrella.

[Leann Webb]

"Example: What if you thought of several support group gags? It seems like there'd be a lot of great material there. And what if the group were the same three characters, no matter what support they needed? What if grandma was one of them? I don't know if this is a direction you'd naturally go, but it's a way to think about bringing your disjointed humor together under one cohesive umbrella."

No, you weren't talking to me but that's a great idea. After a while readers will see the trio and have to check out what their latest group therapy is. "Oh my gosh! There's the three guys again!"

[Ross K.]

Thanks Lee-- I'll keep it in mind.

Leann-- yeah, writing the captions is tough. When I'm coming up with ideas I just jot down the first caption that comes to mind-- but that caption almost *never* makes it into the final product. ( in fact, it's become a habit for me to write "pre-re-word" in my sketchbooks before I make a caption that I know will be particularly clumsy. ) Thanks again.

Standard-- Your take on how I do my colored artwork is pretty spot on. I definitely use the base b&w as a crutch when doing color. I love drawing in b&w but I'm trying to develop some color sense now. Thanks for the feedback.

ZingerSteve-- That's an interesting idea and I'll keep it in mind. I suppose any simple shorthand to load more meaning/experience into a comic is a big plus. Thanks for the advice. Also, I like the idea of the "cohesive umbrella."