# Webcomic Artists Wanted for Project. Critique Welcome.



## Browder (Feb 21, 2010)

I'm a bit hesitant to post this here, because at the time of me posting this there's an identical thread directly below me. Still, it's pimping his webcomic 'ideas' while I've got a pilot script (17 pages) constituting the first arc, along with character bios and race description. The link should be at the bottom of my sig.

If you're not interested in drawing it I totally understand. I  would appreciate feedback though.


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## Smelge (Feb 23, 2010)

Ok, first impressions are poor.

I'm no sure what the story is about because of that damned text corruption thing you have going there.

Ignoring that though, a few questions that aspiring artists would want to know:

* You'll have a pretty specific idea/style in mind, so what style are you looking for in an artist. Gritty realism, cartoony, whatever?

* Money. People always ask this. What is in it for them. It needs to be pretty special for people to be so enraptured with it they'll just go "Hell yeah, I'll do this for free!". Interesting how people assume a writer can afford to pay >$10 per page on a free webcomic. That said, if it became one of the few webcomics to actually turn a profit, then what?

* Input. How involved would the artist be. Would there be leeway on stuff. If the artist has an idea for a story, will ideas be heard out, or is it I AM WRITER, YOU DO DRAW

* Timescales. Weekly? Thrice weekly content? How many panels? full page or single strips. Is it a long-term project. Do you have an ending in mind, or will it be dragged out potentially for years or until you get bored with it? This isn't really a problem for most artists, as they can always quit and leave you to find someone else, so it's not really a case of being tied into it for the duration.

*Content. All ages, mature? Do you plan nudity, are you going to build up a well rounded cast then suddenly everyone is gay? For artists, it's nice to know the direction you want to take the comic, so you don't find yourself drawing shit you don't like.

I shall add other questions, and try and decipher your text file. but for now, it's 3:15am.


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## Browder (Feb 23, 2010)

Voidrunners said:


> Ok, first impressions are poor.
> 
> 1.) I'm no sure what the story is about because of that damned text corruption thing you have going there.
> 
> ...



1.) Wrote in word with italics, bold, font, etc. Did not convert well to plain text. Will be re-uploading and possibly separating content into separate posts. (If it helps '&' symbol is usually an ellipses)

2.) Gritty realism with some liberties with biology. No magic. Largely political, religious, and high-school commentary. On a smaller scale the deconstruction of the furry fandom.

3.) Donation box. Probably hosted on a free site. With a 100$ investment to get everything working. If it turns a profit than profits are split evenly between he artist and writer.

4.) Artist has the right to pitch story ideas. Artist also has the right to have they're interpretation what I tell them to draw. 

5.) Updated once or twice a week with six to twelve panels (eight is usually the standard). As for the long term, about ten arcs. One Arc= about 15 to 35 panels.

6.) Pg-13. No nudity, though suggestive themes, drug use, and possible death may happen. Everyone is gay will *never * happen, though one main character out of  the eight main characters definitely is. 

Any other questions, feel free to ask.


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## Foxstar (Feb 24, 2010)

3.) Donation box. Probably hosted on a free site. With a 100$ investment to get everything working. If it turns a profit than profits are split evenly between he artist and writer.

If you aren't willing to invest at least $50 per 'page' off of the bat, your never going to get any artist worth their salt to bother. 100 bucks is enough for two strips at best.


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## Smelge (Feb 24, 2010)

I think you'll find he means the investment is in the site itself, not for paying an artist.

And am I the only one who thinks that asking $50 a page to draw a webcomic is retarded?


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## Foxstar (Feb 24, 2010)

Voidrunners said:


> I think you'll find he means the investment is in the site itself, not for paying an artist.
> 
> And am I the only one who thinks that asking $50 a page to draw a webcomic is retarded?



It depends how many panels there are. $50 is typically what a comic page costs and that doesn't even factor in coloring.


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## Tanzenlicht (Feb 24, 2010)

While it would be wrong to post expecting free or even cheap (50 for multiple drawings is still well within cheap range) artwork, posting here hoping for same is not.  There's always the possibility that he will find an artist looking for a comic to work on.  I was one(although I make no assertations about my saltiness).

He's already doing one thing right that most comic writers don't bother with.  He wrote something.  Quite a lot of something, in fact and he's showing it.  So any artist getting involved knows that the other half of the work is going to get done and also roughly what kind of quality to expect.


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## Smelge (Feb 24, 2010)

Yes, maybe for a print comic, where the business model means that there is an inflow of cash when it gets sold. Webcomics are different. You have the option for adspace, merch, etc, but the product itself makes no money. Money is a peripheral thing.

Which is why asking stupid prices for a webcomic artist is moronic.

Yeah, if he wants someone for free, they might not be the best, but there's plenty of artists out there who might do it if it gets their name out there and helps them improve.


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## Browder (Feb 24, 2010)

I'm extremely grateful to you all for teaching me how much money, I might/might not have to spend but do you have any suggestions pertaining to how I might acquire an artist? If not then plain critique of the storyboard will do.


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## Tanzenlicht (Feb 24, 2010)

You might try posting in the Art Exchange.  Artists worth varying degrees of salt tend to hang out there looking for collaborative projects.  Have both patience and persistence.  It took me years to find a writer.

As for the script itself it seems to me that it starts out kind of slow.  Maybe just jump in at the fight.  Start it out with action, then shock us with the fact that this a school activity.  Then go into the meet and greet, this is how the world works stuff.

Also you might want to take a second look at the dialogue.  Some of it sounds like teenagers gossiping, but some of it is on the formal side.  In class it's fine, because they're supposed to be kind of elite, but hanging out with buddies is a whole 'nother vocabulary.

Your panel descriptions are often things that are difficult to draw.  This might not be something you'll have to change, lots of artists prefer a great deal of freedom.  Personally I like for my writer to have nailed down what it looks like for me, that's what he's for.  Then if I am inspired it looks how I want and if I'm not inspired I have something to fall back on.

That said, I think it's got potential to be more interesting than the average furry/high school comic.  Kudos again for having a script ready to go before trying to acquire a coconspiritor and the best of luck to you.


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## Neko_Nathaniel (Mar 4, 2010)

now if i could read it i would give it a try but i cant read it


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## Browder (Mar 4, 2010)

Neko_Nathaniel said:


> now if i could read it i would give it a try but i cant read it



Why not?


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## Taralack (Mar 5, 2010)

The submission is being in displayed in gibberish font. Probably an error on FA's end. 

If I wasn't so busy with my own webcomic, commissions and uni I would probably look this over. XD Sorry mate.


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## GreatAdthulhu (Apr 6, 2010)

I might be interested if I could read the script.


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## Browder (Apr 7, 2010)

GreatAdthulhu said:


> I might be interested if I could read the script.



Of course! Here it is.


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## Smelge (Apr 7, 2010)

Little tip for people complaining about the stupid text corruption:

Click Download. It makes it readable.


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## Smelge (Apr 7, 2010)

In fact, now I've figured out how to read the damn thing, I shall and critique as I go.

1) 10 species thing seems well thought out, though why are humans always seemingly the bad guys? Terrorists or freedom fighters? I have this nasty suspicion they'll turn out to be fighting to defeat the anthro tribes. Let's see...

2) Thomas Blackwood, human and also son of the wolf leader? Eh? And boarding schools?

3) Proudheart? Oh god no.

4) Yolande Proudheart. human, but half-sister of a lion? There's some seriously screwy genetics here.

5) Straight into the script? What is needed, in fact right at the top, is some kind of overview of what the hells going on. Why we seem to have humans related to animals, setting, everything people need to know. Possibly a brief of the comics point. It has to have a point, an underlying storyarc, or it ends up as a bunch of one-shots.

6) The script. Seems fairly well thought out so far, however the whole speaking your own language in classes thing seems a little odd. How are they meant to be learning stuff if they can't understand all the other languages? Seems incredibly counter-productive. Fair enough the jaw shape/sounds thing, but still.

7) Suddenly, cellphones. Up to this point, there's been no indication of technological state. This is something that should be in the brief. This is backed up by the tribes, harems and stuff that make it all sound pre-technology.

8) Wait, is this incest in the making? This is a pretty damn good way to lose readers at an early stage. Naylor only just got away with it.

_[edit]Ignore the smiley face, it's number 8. I am not endorsing this.[/edit]_

9) And then the gay angle in a wrestling match? Oh god.

10) And humans in the background bombing stuff. Hooray.

11) After going back and looking up the tribes again, apparently it wasn't humans but raccoons. Oops.

12) The Tribeless? Whut? More for an overview/brief.

Ok. Overall, I see a fair few potential pitfalls popping up. Most of all, you need to work on an overview other than just the tribes. Ana rtist will need to know stuff like that. Take for example the tech aspect. Up until they started using phones and laptops, it seemed like there was nothing technological, so an artist would have drawn old style stuff, torches, etc.

It's an easy trap to fall into. It's in your head, and you forget that everyone else is unaware of it.

The incest thing. I understand the reasoning behind it. But making it so obvious so early asks for trouble. References, allusions and so on to set it up would probably work better. A bit the same with the gay aspect. At the moment, you seem to be trying to cram too many sexual orientations in. Rather, you should be trying to set it up. Make the signs visible but not overtly so. Then introduce it in a later arc, falling for someone.

The main issue I have, is not gay characters. It's when a previously unassigned or straight character makes a quick flip to the gayside. Such as what's happened in your script. Fair enough the characters are barely introduced, but it reads as though he's just suddenly gone "ping" and decided to like cock. Either make a character gay from the outset, or lead into it, a subtle change in the character, work into it rather than a sudden transition. While on the subject, to keep your demographic wide, you need a decent balance. Have gay characters, but too many and it gains the gay comic label, wiping out a decent percentage of your potential readers.

The world from what can be seen is fairly well thought out, and seems to be leading into some events of interest.

Also, deciding on a rating and content level. Do you plan for it to be mature, adult, or what? The first pages with him in the pool could be seen several ways depending on how you want the comic to be;

a - He's wearing something, mature for swearing only
b - naked, but fur hides the danglies, mature for swearing and clean nudity
c - full-on naked, fanservice, adult for full nudity

Then we get to the relationships stuff. Sex is likely to occur, because it seems to be leading up to putting relationships together, and because it's a furry comic, where it's inevitable. However, it could be suggested to be happening, noises from behind a door or heard from the next room keeping people awake. Or tastefully, with no gender-specific gubbins on display, hidden by sheets or whatever. Or nastily, with juices everywhere.

This is another thing to go into an overview.

As for an overview itself, all the stuff mentioned above, and fleshing out the story so the artist knows where it's heading.

I'll probably add more to this later.


Suggestion: www.celtx.com

Good script writing software, free. Allows you to write a comicbook script and add libraries containing character, setting, scene and other information. Ideal, cos you send the file to the artist, and it has everything they need with reference. You can even add media files to it, for example a picture of the character with their bio.

I don't mind giving a bit better crit, so if you're interested, throw me a PM and I'll see if I can get some kind of IM thing to work.


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