Fukur0 and JayKat: Your all's plot worked really well to bring everyone together in dynamic ways, creating a two-and-two-makes-four scenario that weaved intentions together very strongly. I have to agree with Swan, though, as I have no idea how Fool found them, much less got up to where they are, but I suppose it doesn't matter that much. Everything was easy to understand, eith enough intrigue to keep me hooked and a lead into the next comic of dealing with the aftermath. It does feel a bit sudden of an end, with the opposig team just kinda leaving and then...the end. As a solo bit, that hurts the narrative, but in the larger conetxt, as long as it's addressed and carried on from, it won't be that big of an issue. The artwork is consistently quality, aided by the fact that the lineart and colors were assigned to one person each which did wonders for cohesion. I will say, though, that while I admire the amount of action, it did feel a bit stiff at times, or I was confused as to what direction/how much force was being put into a certain movement. Really nice differentiation of day and night with the colors and shading, giving it that extra little punch.
Citron and Reecer: Incomplete, so shorter critique. I didn't get much from the plot, as it felt really bare bones and, as previously stated, small in scale. A curbside scuffle. The lines are pretty good, with a fair sense of movement, but the anatomy was hit and miss. The colors were definitely your all's greatest strength, which is why its so unfortunate that that is one of the aspects you didn't finish.
Congrats to both teams for finishing these comics!
Lord and Reecer, I felt there was very little stakes in your comics the fight seems to be just over Fool bumping into Baby Barbarian and the set of action is rather confusing and so is the series of events the blocking could have been a bit better. But your colors looked amazing.
Fu and Jay, I liked your comic a lot it had a nice tone to it, but the one thing I think could have been better is Fools motivation she seems to be trying to save Baby Barbarian but in the end she does not do what she sets out to do and I cant see this being a recurring quest for her so it is disappointing to see this side of her come up only for it to be dropped.
Fu and Jay: I can see that the both of you have got something super interesting brewing and this is getting me excited. I'm also delighted to see that you've stepped up your action flow! Can't wait to see what's coming up next for you!
Citron and Reecer6: Augh, I can tell that time wasn't a kind mistress to you and you did your best. My biggest piece of advice for you guys would be to figure out a consistent way to draw your environments and anatomy. The more you solidify that, the better your comics will look.
fukur0 and JayKat: I got a bit lost on plot (I suspect some of it may be tied up in other comics) but the visuals were enough to keep me going through. Lovely use of visual flow and of course of colours that did a really nice job of setting mood. Really polished, lovely work guys.
citronrobotlord and Reecer6: As a hand letterer who should have been neater this round, hand lettering is ok but you need to be neater. Something that I have started doing at my paid job and should have done here especially when trying to convince my partner to let me hand letter is using a dialogue font in pencils and then tracing over it (you can find tools to make your own font even). This keeps things mostly consistent and in line, while tracing it means that you can still add variation and 'life' where needed. If that fails, using rule lines and grids should keep your lettering on point and readable. When it comes to lettering on shop signs/scenery etc, lettering it in the same black way you do your dialogue looks kind of unnatural. Definitely go out and look at real shop signs for typography reference and pay note to typical weights, outlines, bevels etc. For a tight deadline and a beginner, this is a great effort though.
Keep up practice work with anatomy and inking - with speed like this especially it can be difficult, but would be super nice to see some variation in street buildings too to give the setting some tone beyond a street of boxes. Some nice solid work though, keep it up :)
I'm really obsessed with hand lettering and this isn't my best work. But any time I'm in charge of dialogue it's going to be hand lettered. I do appreciate the sentiment but OMG I actually am obsessed with it. It rubs me the wrong way when I read fonts that have no life to them. Hand lettering is alive and I will never abandon my baby!
JayFu: Love this take on your opponents characters, and your visualisation of the magic is absolutely stunning. Excellent work!
Cintreecer: Cute comic! Really glad to see you work on this together, the finished pages you've posted look fab. Next time it would be good to try some fonts instead of hand-lettering. It'll look much more polished and'll be quicker and easier, too :)
TEAM WIZARDBABE- 11 pages is no mean feat and y'all turned it out. You had some nice sharp colors from the get, and your inks are definitely clear and distinct. Though, storyline wise there's still a bit of a muddle that I found myself re-reading trying ot figure what was what. When I first got to the page, I thought the potato blonde was Swan. I mean, is it Swan? I'm still not entirely clear if she just stumbles onto the scene or does the ol' Batman costume change to jump back into the scene. Also, who's the disguised afro guy and why is he important that he merits a spotlight moment defending Baby Barbarian? Why aren't BB's partners defending him? Also, what is Jasper tossing? candy? A spell packet? What explodes? why're there no sound effects giving us a hint as to what the substance might be?
All in all, my chiefest complaint would have to be clarity in narrative here.
TEAMBIRB- Those colors- HOT DANG. Fukuro, please color all my inks. Page to page, this warm glow of hues was super harmonious and enhanced simply stunning inkwork by Jaykat. You used fill blacks when needed, and detailed where applicable. Honestly, this tag team is one to look out for- your teamwork just sings (like a birb! 8D) I especially dug the characters expressions. Baby barbarians 'about to cry' face almost looks like a real baby-its both fascinating a wee bit unsettling!
Those magical effects were definitely a creative use of SFX for your comic. Everything from the glowing foreheard ward, to the portal your opponents use to make their escape were really fun and fit their style.
We get a nice nod to the Vday collab with the thoughts occupying Swans mind before we get into the action and a whole lotta mystery. I am stoked most of the comics round one leave all us readers with a hook/incentive for us to vote so we get to know more, and I definitely wanna know more here.
Hey! I'm sick so my crits will be a bit shorter this time 'round, hope y'all can forgive me
Fu + Jaykat- GOD the look y'all went with is gorgeous, the plotline escalates super fast but that's not a bad thing at all. It's gonna be hard to critique all these round ones because they're amazing. Only thing i'll say is that the super-amazing paneling can be almost a bit too distracting when it gets really intense-- it feels like the action overtakes the story at some parts. Overall, very well done!
Reecer + Citron- The story's a bit milquetoast because not much really happens? But I was surprised by the polish of your colored pages. Next time I'd suggest a 'all hands on deck' system [which is, as one person lines, the other colors, so you're both working constantly], or if you work solo, to spread the quality of your work through all your pages so that they're consistent.
@Citronrobotlord & Reecer6
I'm completely useless at commenting/critiquing in general, but here go:
Good work you two! I really like your entry, it's just a shame you couldn't finish up the other pages. Still, with the ones you have managed to get done, they look really, really nice! I especially like the colouring and shading you've got going with them.
Like what the others have mentioned before, some parts left me a little confused plot-wise, particularly towards the end. Sharpening up your anatomy skills by looking at real-life models and practice drawing what you see will definitely help you along the way. Overall, you guys worked together well! Keep it up!
TEAM DARKSWAN: There's alot of good color design going on here, the delegation of roles was done very intelligently for this comic and y'all's strengths are amplified as a result. The sound effects and some of the other motion trails are left wanting though, they need a bit more love given to them so they feel less like they were written in last minute (or were they?).
TEAM BABYMAGIC: Hard to critique cause it's not finished! Colors were going in a good direction and I was interested where it was going (though got a little lost with that extra character who appeared). Speed is the unsung hero to an artist, the fast you can manifest your ideas to page the more you are capable of doing. Keep practicing your fundamentals and time management, and hey my bootcamp is always open for new trainees if you feel you need a leading hand to get in the right direction!
Okay I had to edit this to solidify my thoughts becausee it was just me bashing my fucking skull into my keyboard in pure joy. FU and Jay, your comic is so fucking great I have nothing really anything constructive to say other than I could totally pick this book up and turn around and see a darkhorse logo slapped to the back and go " yea this is some good shit" MMMM THIS IS SOME GOOD SHIT.
BRUH.
JUST EVERYTHING
COLORS, LINES, DIALOGUE, THE FLOWS SO SEAMLESSLY
good work you two
Fukur0 and Jaycat: "Good thing I used a sharpie!" I really have to give it to you for the elegance and sincerity given to a comic that involves a muscly baby. Shit got real! I didn't know this was a death tournament!
Citronrobotlord and Reecer6: Ooh, this has a nice momentous intro, too! I think it could have done with a more unified color treatment, but you seem to work well together otherwise. I'm a little confused about what's happening, but it's a nice fight scene.
Man, what a crazy first-round matchup, this is such a strange cast of characters to throw together. I've been waiting to see how this turned out since the matchups were announced!
Citron and Reecer: While I know your battle didn't get finished and things like the lack of dialogue on the last two pages make the plot a bit confusing, the pages that ARE finished and polished look really nice! I think you guys make a good team, artwise; those finished pages look really nice and vibrant, and I just wish we could have seen it throughout. I think however you divided up the work really shone through on the finished pages, and it'd be very cool seeing you guys work together as a team on something with a longer deadline that gives you all the wiggle room you need.
Aside from just general time management and working a bit on anatomy, I think my biggest criticism here would be focusing on who's important. If I hadn't known who the participants were in the round, I would have thought your npc in the poofy jacket was part of someone's team. Definitely keep the spotlight on who's important.
Fu and Jay: Man, I've been excited to see more of you guys working together ever since seeing how beautifully you collabed for Valentine's, and I was definitely not disappointed. You guys definitely play to your strengths while divvying up the work and WOW does it show; this comic is spectacular in terms of motion, pacing, color-- I feel bad, I really can't think of many proper crits to give because I enjoyed it so much, so I'm gonna leave that to your fellow competitors who are definitely more qualified than me. All I can say is I hope to see more!
Jay and Fu: Hey hoooo, look at y'all! This turned out rad! The colors are on point, the paneling and layout direction is great, and overall, the whole comic, story, and dialogue really delivers! I only really have the one question of, why was baby barbarian ripping up the shed? I mean, it's not hugely important, but it's a question I'm left with none the less. Overall, y'all really hit it out of the park on this one!
Citron and Reecer: Hey, good on y'all! I can tell y'all really pushed hard on this. Y'all have nice colors where you've got them, btu I think somethign y'all might want to consider is cutting back on how much y'all try to do, page count wise. Work Smart, not hard, as we say in the south, and try to tell your stories in fewer pages if you have a hard time keeping up. It'll help you out too, because then you can spend longer on each page, and really push them to their limits. One thing to work on is consistency in the character designs, because for instance, in some panls, baby barbarian towers over everyone, but in page 4, The Fool is taller than him. Your comic ends a little abruplty as well, and it's not totally clear what's gone down? I understand that Swan and Fool have been trashed, but the wide cut of just, Baby B and crew all standing in a group shot is a little odd and threw me off.
Aside from that, I'd say just some general anatomy practice, taking some time to really study muscle groups and such, could pay off well. Things like hands and muscular characters are surprisingly complex, and can be difficult to nail down.
Overall, a really solid effort you two! I hope to see more from both of you in the future as you keep pushing yourselves!
Fu and Jay: Man, I'm really diggin the tone and colors and effects! The story was super solid too~
Citron and Reecer: Your story was nice and simple and the pages that were colored were real nice!
Great job all of you \(o v o)/
I passed out while lettering the last two pages I think they got uploaded X< it was so late, I'm really sorry!
Inks and colour: Reecer6
Layout and lettering: Citronrobotlord
It has been really great collaborating with you this round Reecer, I don't know about you but I feel like we worked really well together.
FINISHED WITH 2 HOURS TO SPARE. TIME TO ROLL THE CREDITS.
Fu: Story concept, general script and colors
Jay: Small edits to the original script, thumbnails, sketches and lines
It was fun working with your characters, Cro and Citron~ Can't wait to see your parts!
Yo, good luck, Jay & Fu! It's been a hassle-filled two weeks, so I hope we'll at least get a worthy even match out of it all! Super excited to see how you guys did!
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