WhoIsTheFox?

[Jel]

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Loston here: while the art and storytelling in itself are good, your shading is waaaaay too confusing and flat.

I'm not going into a panel by panel description, but I remember we already had a little chat about foreground, middleground and background...And unfortunately, these pages have pretty much the same flaw. You tried to avoid shading both the Foreground (FG) and BG (good!), but instead you overused the zips which pretty much amount to the same final result For instance, in the panel where the fox arrives with his motorcycle, while the drawing in itself is perfect, it is far too dark! the characters, building and sky all mesh together! Though it might be clearer on a bigger scale, I still feel that your different planes don't separate enough, which is really a shame considering the quality of the art... I would say the problems pretty much start on the second page.

Voilà, hope I didn't come accross as too harsh, to sum it up your art is still top-notch, but you shouldn't be so heavy-handed on the shadows, it takes away alot of the clarity of the reading.

Cheers, and I hope this helped!

[benlw]

Hey this is great stuff. Rather than commenting though I wanted to ask a question - how exactly did you apply the grey tones, is that done with a computer?

[Caimano]

Hi Riq this mini comic is looking really intersting. As always I really enjoy your way to use camera angles and black spot area. I never used zip so I don't have tips for you, but the Loston ones sound great.
Really like your work

[Spidey]

I think the zips are a bit too grainy or dark. Loving it already, cant wait for more.

[riq]

Thanks for the comments!

It good to hear what people think about the zips.

I get your points Loston and Jel.. Thanks for the tips.

I'm not defending any shortcomings of my zip applications, but I have to admit some of my ideas about coloring and tones have more to do with controlling the eye rather than creating depth. It's just my idea about coloring, if it's not working I'll have to rethink that approach..

Thanks again for the comments.. They help a lot.( I'm reworking things as I speak)

riq.

[Bruce Lee]

On many levels you were successful, but in some ways the gray tones you've used makes your efforts seem a little crude, as they fail to enhance the artwork, and almost take away from it in places. You can achieve your objective without sacrificing depth and consistancy.

You are indeed controling the viewer's eye with the gray tones, and that is indeed a good thing. However, it is possible to do this while keeping some consistancy in regards to lighting, etc. Remember that comic art is a language in and of itself, and you want to speak that language as clearly as possible so that you are completely understood. I'm of the mind that simple almost always works best. Graytones can be very effective, just make sure that your patterns aren't too dark , and don't flatten out your work. It is important to control the reader's eye by creating areas of high contrast (or [I]statement areas[/]), but it's also important to keep consistancy and to maintain depth of field. It's a mixed juggling act for sure.

Image Comics printed two volumes of Alex Toth's ZORRO a few years back. I think these volumes contain the very best use of gray tones that I've ever seen, and might be something you'd want to check out. If you ever have a chance to pick these books up, they're well worth the money. Toth truly is a master of the medium.

Btw, your artwork and composition is looking good. I failed to give you enough praise for that in my first post, so I'm rectifying that here.

Take care,

Loston
http://www.lostonwallace.com

[riq]

Hey Loston,

It"s great to hear someone mention Toth.. I have his collected storyboards and character designs.. I don"t look at it as often I should lately, but his work for me is the bible of what you can acheive as an commercial artist( especially for comics and animation)

I'm glad you told me of these Zorro reprints.. I'll be looking for them..

It great to talk about this stuff with you guys also; it helps me refine some of the concepts I'm working with.

later,

riq.