24 MINUTE comics

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losttoy
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24 MINUTE comics

Post by losttoy »

It seems there is all this talk about 24 hour comics again. Partly because of 24-hour comics day on April 24th. But who has time for 24 hours? I need my sleep and I have a wife and daughter to provide for.

There was a craze here at Zwol not too long ago for 1-hour comics. It was cool since people explored invinate canvas, animation in comics, and just some cool art. But it seems that nobody has time for even a hour. I know I stopped doing it a while ago. Then my wife bought herself and I new sketchbooks. I have been doing art on the computer so long that it is refreshing to get back to basics. I then discovered that if I am doing a crappy, no preconceived plot, straight to ink, no erasing errors do not worry about style or craft ... comic page within 24 minutes. No it is not exactly something I would show to somebody at a convention, but the idea is at least once a week draw a comic from start to finish. To keep in the practice of doing panel to panel page layouts, not just sketchs. To free yourself from whatever kind of day you had or what project you are locked into and just have a crappy one page comic that has nothing to do about nothing.

I started posting the first of my 24 minute comics at http://www.geocities.com/da24minute . It was really crappy, but i have already done more 24 minute comics I have not posted yet thaat I am much more proud of and still creating as much as I can.

So what do you think?
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William G
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Post by William G »

:D that was damned funny.
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Post by Rip Tanion »

Maybe I'm old fashoined on this issue, but the whole idea of doing a finished comic page in 24 minutes seems a bit ludicrous to me. I think the example Losttoy posted is more of a sketch, from which you can then take you're time, and do a more polished version. The same can be said for some the of 24 hour comics I've seen. A lot of them seem, for the lack of a better word, sloppy. I think some of them have excellent stories and pacing, and promising artwork, but I'd like to see them redone so they look more refined.

But then again, there's nothing wrong with an experiment :wink:
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Post by gazorenzoku »

ok, I thought it was pretty cool.

I would like to address the sloppiness issue, though. I don't mind sloppy drawings, but sloppy lettering is a pet peeve of mine. I just got back from APE with a ton of mini comics, and upon surveying the lot I found a lot of sloppy lettering.

Yeah, I'd have to say at this point that I'll pretty much read anything as long as I can easily read the text. And if there isn't too much text. But mostly the text just has to be easy to read.

Hey, even if it isn't at the top of my "to read" pile because the art isn't my favorite, I'll definitely get around to reading it eventually if it is legible.

Paying for comics is a different matter. Then it has to have art that is really cool. But yeah, for free minis and online stuff, what the hell. Even if they are nothing more than "sketches", that's cool with me.

David, I have to say, I liked your comic but it was a little difficult to read. Maybe you can write a little more clearly next time. Also, don't forget that thin lines, like the kind used when you write letters, can be difficult to see when you put it on a computer screen.

Looking forward to more. Maybe I'll do some so you can take a crack at me and tell me how much you hate me and everything I draw...
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Post by Kris Lachowski »

first off 24 min comics=great, good, fun idea but... I don't have time :wink:
gazorenzoku wrote: David, I have to say, I liked your comic but it was a little difficult to read. Maybe you can write a little more clearly next time. Also, don't forget that thin lines, like the kind used when you write letters, can be difficult to see when you put it on a computer screen.
I also found it sort of hard to read, but seeing as it was only a page and i knew what your time constraint was i didn't mind, but maybe just for the sake of your readers you could post a panel to panel tranlation next to your future 24min comics. Just a suggestion, personally i don't mind either way.
losttoy
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Post by losttoy »

Thanks for the feedback.

I am not really taking this project seriously and as Rip mentioned it is SUPPOST to be a bit ludicrous. For just one finished panel of a real comic, it may take me over an hour or more to complete. The idea of 24 minute comics is that it is quick, sketchy and most of all fun. As you will see on my main page, the art and pacing of even just the preview of "Mug" is much much better (I wish I could post the whole comic). While posting sketch book pages online seems a bit arogant that anybody would want to see my sloppy unfinished art, but24 minute comics can become a fun group activity like one-hour comics was a year back (at least hopefully). Furthermore, when you just don't have time to work on a professional looking product you still can keep in practice. I can even promise that the upcoming comics will increase in quality as I go along.

As for my lettering being hard to read ... ah gee, I never thought of that. I just did it, got done in 24 minutes, scanned and posted it. I have already done a small number of these and some are better than others (the most recent one I did last night had very good lettering). So I ask you this, would it take away from the experiment if after I scanned the page to retype the lettering with a font instead of name drawn? After all I could then take time to touch up some of my mistakes and maybe add color and then the whole premise is lost? Where is the line drawn as far as touching up the lettering and art to make it readable?

Anyhow, I hope taht maybe you all can join me next Wednesday. It is fun, I promise!
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losttoy
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Post by losttoy »

My second 24 minute comic is up. slightly better than the last one, but not by much. I did retype the text and used a handwriting font. I hope it is easier to read. So did anybody else take up the chalenge?

http://www.geocities.com/da24minute
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Post by Guest »

cool. I have to do one! Would you believe I don't even have time for 24 minutes today? Soon, though, soon!!

vince
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Post by Kris Lachowski »

losttoy wrote: I did retype the text and used a handwriting font.
http://www.geocities.com/da24minute
Is the font created from your handwriting? If so how did you create it?
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Post by losttoy »

Nope, I just went to http://www.dafont.com/en/ and picked one from the handwritten fonts. Probably nnot the best one, but the best of the ones starting with A that thought would match the art and style. Did it work?
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Post by Veleno »

Was thinking about doing one of these... thus I did a quick search for a countdown timer program and this turned up. Seems to work quite well and is freeware.
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losttoy
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Post by losttoy »

Last week I was rrather busy and under the weather and just never got around to update my 24 Minute comic. I completed the comic long ago, but the actual scanning and posting was put off. Sorry. IT is currently up at http://www.geocities.com/da24minute.

So where is everybody's 24 minute comics? I can not be the only one doing this ... or am I?
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losttoy
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Post by losttoy »

My fourth 24 minute comic is up. Comments? Anybody else wants to try one? They are fun!
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Post by Veleno »

losttoy wrote: So where is everybody's 24 minute comics? I can not be the only one doing this ... or am I?
Well... I didn't do a 24 minute one, but I recently took a trip to Washington DC and on the three-hour flight did a three page comic for practice (pacing and such) for 24-hour comic day. However I won't be back at my apartment in Santa Barbara for a couple more days so I can't scan it in yet.
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Post by Eric F Myers »

David, is that some sort of commentary about Michigan roads? If so I totally agree with you. Michigan has some of the worst roads I've ever had the pleasure to drive on, especially around Detroit.
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Post by losttoy »

efm wrote:David, is that some sort of commentary about Michigan roads? If so I totally agree with you. Michigan has some of the worst roads I've ever had the pleasure to drive on, especially around Detroit.
I am not sure which part you were refering to ... the getting lost which is so a part of my life here living in Michigan I was not even making a commentary, just that it was just natural ... or the Hell part? If you think I am making a comment that the roads are hell, you are right, they suck, however there is an actual town named Hell, Michigan. All the local news stations go there after the first snow just to say "Hell is frozen over" (sigh).

This morning I found this comic in my mailbox. I thought it was really cool and captured the 24 minute comics perfectly. Good job Raymond!
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Post by Eric F Myers »

I knew about Hell, MI. It's just the way you wrote the story reminded me that driving in anywere in that state is Hell, Michigan. Don't you pay taxes up there? Why won't Highway Department fix the highways? Or the signs? I figure that Detroit is "Motor City" because Michigan drivers have to keep buying new cars to replace the ones that get so torn up from the roads.
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Post by losttoy »

Well you see, it's all about winter and salt. As with any state that get extreme weather changes, Michigan suffers potholes. water gets into cracks in the pavement and when the temprature gets really cold (which boy it does here in Michigan), the water freezes and expands, cracking and damaging the pavement even more. Since it tends to happen a lot in Michigan, the road crews just can not keep up with patch jobs. During the Summer we get unbarable heat, so much that the heat hits the pavement causing it to expand upon itself, causing the fratures in the first place. And of course salt does not help the process much.

You see in Michigan, the motor capital, we use more salt instead of the sand/salt mix or the other ice melts they use on roads. I have a theory that the automotive companies donate massive amounts of salt to city and state road services. The salt then helps oxidize the metals in the underside of your car, causing it to rust. That way you have to buy a new car more frequently.

As for the signs ... some cities are better than others. Take Ann Arbor of example. They are great when it comes to stret signs. On intersections with lights, they have lighted street signs next to the traffic signal. They also have at least two street signs at all other intersectioons. However, if we use Hamtramck as another example, they suck. More than half of the streets just do not have signs at all. If my friend Matt did not tell me to count the streets instead of looking for the sign, I would never find the way to his house.
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Post by losttoy »

I have been awfully busy lately ... this last 24 Minute comic was only 15 minutes since I kept on getting interrupted by phone calls. Never did get to finish it, but it still works. It is also of note that this is my first posted comic using a nice caligraphy pen instead of a disposible kind. Other than Raymond, how are other people's 24 minute comics? I can't wait to see Veleno's 3-hour comic.

http://www.geocities.com/da24minute
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Post by Veleno »

losttoy wrote:I have been awfully busy lately ... this last 24 Minute comic was only 15 minutes since I kept on getting interrupted by phone calls. Never did get to finish it, but it still works. It is also of note that this is my first posted comic using a nice caligraphy pen instead of a disposible kind. Other than Raymond, how are other people's 24 minute comics? I can't wait to see Veleno's 3-hour comic.

http://www.geocities.com/da24minute
Just finally scanned it in today, though I'll either need to re-do the lettering or post a transcript since as usual my handwriting isn't very legible.

However, even though i'll be rewriting the text, I've decided to resist any temtation to revise it. I'd perfer to have everything shown close to what it was in my sketchbook. Though I think I might use a blambot font for readability's sake, first I'm going to try redoing the lettering with the airbrush.
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Post by Veleno »

"The way to a man's heart is through his ribcage"
losttoy
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Post by losttoy »

cool comic, Veleno. Although it just felt like it needed more to the story. I guess that kind of thing is for the 24 hour comic. Please make sure to show us that after the 24th. :)
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Post by Veleno »

Aye, I did have more thought out for it but 3 hours isn't much time to do a complete story.
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Post by Eric F Myers »

Well David, my wife and I were in East Lansing over the weekend. While going through Michigan I checked out the roads again. I guess they're not as bad as I remembered them. But I still think Detroit has the worst roads in the country. You also have pizza places that use comics to advertise! Some joint called Pappa Leo's Pizza.

I guess I'll stay on topic. I took your challenge and did my own 24 minute comic.

With such a time constraint I found that it helps to do all of the lettering first, the borders next, then draw whatever is in the panel last. I think it turned out ok, even if the muppets do look a little tripped out.
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