davebarrack
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Grrl Power #986 - Smoosh is in the air
🕑 Added 2021-10-07 10:00:04 +0000 UTCThanks so much for your support! Like, seriously, you guys.
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For some reason, I decided to include two different pages on this page. I don't usually do color coded word bubbles, so hopefully this all makes sense and you guys can follow along. I had actually considered doing character specific word bubbles when I started the comic, but I'm really glad I decided against it for a few reasons. For one, back before I started, I read a lot of webcomics - some were good, most were people who had some funny ideas or had some interesting stories to tell, but weren't the best artists. Not that a comic has to have impeccable art necessarily, but there is a threshold of acceptability I think, and that includes not just the art, but also stuff like coherent sequential storytelling skills, layouts and design. There were definitely a few webcomics I gave up on because the artist decided to put black "monster text" over bright red word bubbles (note that I use a fairly legible bold font for Tom and put it over more of a creamy red/red/orange instead of a blinding rose red) or they would use some fancy script font in all caps. If I'd started the comic with character specific word bubbles, I would have felt obligated to use unique combinations of fonts and colors for every single person. There's only so many properly legible combinations, and somewhere around page 300 I'd be putting teal lettering over bright orange bubbles using a sound effects font for "Barista #3" and honestly it would become an absolute eyesore and really, there's only a few cases where it would even be helpful. It'd be a TON of extra work to keep track of and not that many readers would even pay attention to it, (Not everyone even realizes Sydney's orbs slowly orbit her from panel to panel) and if I tried to do something clever like having a shapeshifter using the wrong text/color combination, I'm guessing like 5% of people would get it, 15% would think I messed up, and no one else would notice.
So that's why I don't do it. Usually.
And yes, the final panel is supposed to say "Marital Arts," not "Martial Arts."
Tamer: Enhancer 2 β Progress Update:
Nothing to report unfortunately. Was working on the vote incentive thing.
Comments
Anti-No
At least a few. Math isn't "skilled". He's "way beyond insanely good".
Bowoodstock
Huh. She's actually into it somewhat. Then again, as dumb as Math can be sometimes, he is a very skilled martial artist, and that checks at least one box for her, doesn't it?
Martin Croft
No, it's Bra-tial arts
Evgeny Sandu
Oh yeah! That would've been fun, but even more work to do.
Matthew Lambert
"That explains why you're hiding, but how did they get your clothes in the first place?"
βI trained with the great panty-ninja Happosai.β
Eric Loken
Aw, Tom actually managed to reach Dabbler's heart. Her admittedly horny heart, but it was reached all the same. :) Probably not as difficult as it is with most girls.
D.A. Lamont
Math with the skills. Knew there would be some redemption from getting merc'd in the subscriber incentive. TBF, he was up against a super and a succubus, but still! Martial arts, baby! πͺπ
Kevin Wright
Incredible skills, Math.
Justaguy
In defence of a lot of those webnovels. The artists often DID get substantially better over time. Maybe not always to professional standards, but substantially better. (El Goonish Shiv, and Questionable Content come to mind).
Anton Schleef
That would be a good idea for the main cast, though only use them when they're speaking off panel to clarify who is speaking.
MGH
I think when you cram a lot of word bubbles like that, with the speakers off-panel, confusion is best avoided by linking the bubbles to tiny talking heads. (Plus you can provide funny facial expressions!)
Dane Filemyr
1) I agree about the Max/Sydney bubbles being confusing. Only took a double take to figure it out, but it did throw me at first. 2) Does anyone else smell a potential Patreon bonus comic in the works? XD
Merle Blue
I did mix up Max and Sydney's bubbles, at first.
Aquarion
I think that previously when youβve done word bubbles for off-screen characters, youβve put chibi faces on the establishing ones? I think that helps.
Robert Miller
Seems there is some emotional(?)|pheromonal(?)|energetic(?) leakage from conversation "A" into the participates of conversation "B".
Czarzhan
Same here
Czarzhan
Me either
Town Crier
DaveB: The gold dialog bubbles should always be Max's. Perhaps you could permanently assign colors to specific characters?
Regarding the coloured word bubbles, they worked fine except for Sydney's which is because they're a similar colour to Max's so it took me a while to realise that it wasn't Max talking and I had to re-read them.
Aclys
Anyone else gonna go D'awwww at Tom being accidentally smooth as silk?
Crushogre
I honestly didn't notice that he said marital instead of martial
Marc Vun Kannon
Do Sydney's orbs orbit her head in the same order all the time?
Tim
I am honestly not sure if Math was supposed to say βmaritalβ or βmartialβ arts here. Both kinda fit.
akrasia
Purloining a bra from under a tight, tied-off t-shirt is straight up magic.
Evil Midnight Lurker
Reminds me of 90s Ranma hentai fic titles...
Michael Obert
We work hard, we play hard!
Deltarno
Math is really in his element here. In any other workplace, being the perverted martial artist would leave him with balls bluer than out masked alien. In this work place, he gets more on screen action than hiro.
