Community Event / Creation Fangs: a short Elite: Dangeous noir-style graphic novel

DocStone

DocStone
I'm surprised no one has commented on this yet, this is incredible work! What did you use to get the pen and ink effect?
 

lee_ars

lee_ars
Thanks! It's at the top of the OP, but I took some regular Elite screenshots that I had on my drive and ran them through The Gimp using the Threshold filter. Twiddled with the sliders until each image looked right, then overlaid the text and boxes.
 

KiDra

KiDra
Hunting for good screenshots to push through a filter and combine with public domain fotos also pushed through a filter may not be high art, but it is nevertheless lots of work and takes effort, so kudos and thank you to you for taking the effort and time.

Much more important is the story you are planning to tell. In my humble opinion nobody has given you substantial feedback so far and in my own experiences with plot and story building simple "great", "wow" and "fantastic" may be good for the ego and motivation (which is important), but not helpful at all when it comes to substance. It is the not so positive feedback that is way more helpful. I am likely going to get torches and pitchforks for this, but well ... it is only my opinion after all.

So far the comic consists of ships, ships and more ships. I am missing a character to identify with and a situation or event that sparks interest to continue reading. Where is the mystery and foreshadowing to hookup the reader? I assume we are seeing the world through the eyes of some sort of main character and it is his thoughts represented in the speech bubbles. If so, the protagonist appears to be rambling for seven pages straight.

Have you planned an actual plot and twists? Do you have characters that differ in their archetypes? Do you know where you want to go with your comic? Up until now there is not enough meat to even give in depth feedback and to be honest, I had ingored the comic after page 3 and forgotten about it, would Frontier not tweet about it with every new post.

Maybe you turn this personal impression of mine around with the next post and that would be awesome. I ask you to take it as an individual's opinion on your project that may differ greatly from the impression others got. It can turn out great and interesting when you would hint at some event, or some mystery and introduced us to an actual character and give us a face to identify with. So far there is simply no story and we could argue now about patience, but it is a simple fact that you need to catch your audience early.
 

MacArthur

M
The game also consists of just ships at the moment. The single character who has a face does make an appearance, representing something the lone space jockey despises. Captures the feel of being a little player in a big game pretty well.

Not sure there is meant to be a story or even implication of a single protagonist in these. Each one feels like a separate little atmosphere piece, like the shorts you used to get in a Dredd comic. I always liked those, keep 'em coming.
 

KiDra

KiDra
The technique used to make this comic is indeed limited to what the game offers unless Lee wants to start drawing. We could agree on not displaying any characters visually to be a design choice, but then the dialogs are much more important.

Not sure there is meant to be a story or even implication of a single protagonist in these.
Click to expand...

From something called "Fangs: a short Elite: Dangeous noir-style graphic novel" a story can indeed be expected. So well, let's see what he does with the next page =).
 
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lee_ars

lee_ars
KiDra said:
Much more important is the story you are planning to tell. In my humble opinion nobody has given you substantial feedback so far and in my own experiences with plot and story building simple "great", "wow" and "fantastic" may be good for the ego and motivation (which is important), but not helpful at all when it comes to substance. It is the not so positive feedback that is way more helpful. I am likely going to get torches and pitchforks for this, but well ... it is only my opinion after all.

So far the comic consists of ships, ships and more ships. I am missing a character to identify with and a situation or event that sparks interest to continue reading. Where is the mystery and foreshadowing to hookup the reader? I assume we are seeing the world through the eyes of some sort of main character and it is his thoughts represented in the speech bubbles. If so, the protagonist appears to be rambling for seven pages straight.

Have you planned an actual plot and twists? Do you have characters that differ in their archetypes? Do you know where you want to go with your comic? Up until now there is not enough meat to even give in depth feedback and to be honest, I had ingored the comic after page 3 and forgotten about it, would Frontier not tweet about it with every new post.

...

From something called "Fangs: a short Elite: Dangeous noir-style graphic novel" a story can indeed be expected. So well, let's see what he does with the next page =).
Click to expand...

I can't actually draw, so I don't plan on doing anything other than screenshots—though David (the artist behind Mercenary Commander) and I are tentatively discussing some form of collaboration. But if there are to be people in Fangs, they'll have to be in-game models or drawn by someone else, because I can't do it!

@MacArthur has kind of summed up my feelings—Fangs pieces, at least so far, are intended to be atmospheric glimpses into the universe. I'm not so much trying to tell a story as evoke a mood; calling it a "graphic novel" is just keeping with the vernacular, since a lot of people get upset by the word "comic." Think of each Fangs piece as not a story, but more a tone poem—a set of images and text that (hopefully) adds up to more than the sum of its parts and makes a connection with the reader. I'm aiming for someone to read a Fangs comic and come away thinking, "I've been there!" or "I know exactly how that feels!" or "I want to do that!"

Since I can't draw, I'm limited to screenshots, and that limits my ability to tell a traditional story. We'll see how far I can take it with the current style; I get several thousand unique visitors and >10k pageviews each time I release a new one, so clearly someone's clicking!
 

davidthehall

davidthehall
KiDra said:
Hunting for good screenshots to push through a filter and combine with public domain fotos also pushed through a filter may not be high art, but it is nevertheless lots of work and takes effort, so kudos and thank you to you for taking the effort and time.

Much more important is the story you are planning to tell. In my humble opinion nobody has given you substantial feedback so far and in my own experiences with plot and story building simple "great", "wow" and "fantastic" may be good for the ego and motivation (which is important), but not helpful at all when it comes to substance. It is the not so positive feedback that is way more helpful. I am likely going to get torches and pitchforks for this, but well ... it is only my opinion after all.

So far the comic consists of ships, ships and more ships. I am missing a character to identify with and a situation or event that sparks interest to continue reading. Where is the mystery and foreshadowing to hookup the reader? I assume we are seeing the world through the eyes of some sort of main character and it is his thoughts represented in the speech bubbles. If so, the protagonist appears to be rambling for seven pages straight.

Have you planned an actual plot and twists? Do you have characters that differ in their archetypes? Do you know where you want to go with your comic? Up until now there is not enough meat to even give in depth feedback and to be honest, I had ingored the comic after page 3 and forgotten about it, would Frontier not tweet about it with every new post.

Maybe you turn this personal impression of mine around with the next post and that would be awesome. I ask you to take it as an individual's opinion on your project that may differ greatly from the impression others got. It can turn out great and interesting when you would hint at some event, or some mystery and introduced us to an actual character and give us a face to identify with. So far there is simply no story and we could argue now about patience, but it is a simple fact that you need to catch your audience early.
Click to expand...

Dear KiDra,

<Snip - No personal attacks please>

There are 2 major points that need to be considered before a truly helpful suggestion or critique can happen. The first thing to consider is, this is a Fan creation; a labor of love, in which the author isn't getting paid for, instead, does it simply because he loves the game - and wants to give back to the community, with a creation to make fellow fans happy.

Secondly: Limitations. Everyone who is creative, no matter how talented, has limitations. What defines the quality of work, is how the Creative operates within the limitation of their: Ability; Knowledge; and Time Constraints. In the case of Fangs - this isn't Lee's full time job, he doesn't make comics for a living. He doesn't write novels, or any stories for that matter, for a living. He is however, extremely talented as a writer. Not very many people have good outlets for their creativity, which can lead to feeling bottled up, dissatisfied, and sometimes even depressed just for the lack of expression. In that area alone, Fangs is pretty inspirational. If you want to make something, do it! Working inside the limitation, using it instead of letting itbulldoze you or your work, isn't a "design choice" it's called working smart.

Writing anything, and producing it into any visual form, is a massive undertaking. Entire studios of 30-100 people, staffed with artists, writers, designers, editors, and more, are what is required to make traditional comic books and graphic novels. Many webcomics still involve a team of people to divvy up tasks in order to make deadlines. It takes a group of professionals, skilled in their particular craft (writing; penciling; inking; coloring; lettering; etc.) to produce the quality of work that makes a successful story and comic book. Not enough can be said to that point. Do not take that process for granted and think you're qualified to give a substantial critique. It can take hours and hours to create something that will be consumed in seconds - that's the nature of the beast - so it's easy to pick out what you don't like, or would rather see, but unless you at least have a rough idea of the scope of what you're asking, then maybe don't, until you do.

I won't even touch the comment about "drawing", because it's irrelevant. The style is great, it's a brilliant solution and an elegant example of working within the limits.

I agree with MacArthur, this isn't a narrative about a single protagonist or player's story. Fangs captures the essence of the Elite universe in glimpses and moments that any player can jump in, experience, and feel connected to - not story arcs, character progressions and plot twists. If that's what you're looking for, then allow me to assist: http://bfy.tw/3fS

Cheers,
-David
 
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