2016 Invitational: Finals / Dawa vs. Harvey vs. Click Lyric

2016 Invitational: Finals — Dawa vs. Harvey vs. Click Lyric

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by Sean

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Critiques & Comments
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Sootball
Artist
28 comments
# 43   Posted: Sep 8 2016, 08:06 AM
Wowee! Thanks again for the critiques guys and thanks Red and Astro!

Astro Sean:

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for this awesome opportunity. Some of you know that I have been lurking and frequenting this site for about 12 years. I only started participating in speed death tournaments on occasion in the last 3 years. It took a lot out of me to actually involve myself officially into this community with my outside life being so busy and filled with adventure. It has always been something I've wanted to do since I was a young punk. So many of you have always been very welcoming of me and we have developed some fantastic friendships over the course of time I have been around. A lot of you have helped me so much with comments, critiques, tutorials, and just giving me an ear to shout ideas into while I have started to dive deeper into drawing comics. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who participated in this tournament. I hope you kids all stick around and have fun! Thank you to my friends for helping me push myself through these one week deadlines and put out the best comics I have ever done. Thank you to the people I faced in this tournament and let me weave into my emotional train wreck which is Harvey's life. And a big thank you to VOID for being this awesome community that I feel 100 percent myself at!

Stay tuned to "Harvey in Resolution" coming out in the next few weeks!
Quote

Crying ugly tears.

This community rocks. I probably wouldn't have felt so invested in this tournament if it weren't for some awesome peeps who motivated and encouraged me through it.  Also seriously congrats to Astro Sean and Technicolor for those amazing comics.

Red
Council
703 comments
# 42   Posted: Sep 8 2016, 07:02 AM
Whoaaa that was close! Congrats to Sootball!! Great job guys!!!!

Sean
Artist
384 comments
# 41   Posted: Sep 8 2016, 06:53 AM
Congratulations to DAWA for taking the win and becoming the almighty victor of the 2016 invitational series! That rules so hard!

Honorable mention goes out to Techni for the radical addition to this triple threat match!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for this awesome opportunity. Some of you know that I have been lurking and frequenting this site for about 12 years. I only started participating in speed death tournaments on occasion in the last 3 years. It took a lot out of me to actually involve myself officially into this community with my outside life being so busy and filled with adventure. It has always been something I've wanted to do since I was a young punk. So many of you have always been very welcoming of me and we have developed some fantastic friendships over the course of time I have been around. A lot of you have helped me so much with comments, critiques, tutorials, and just giving me an ear to shout ideas into while I have started to dive deeper into drawing comics. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who participated in this tournament. I hope you kids all stick around and have fun! Thank you to my friends for helping me push myself through these one week deadlines and put out the best comics I have ever done. Thank you to the people I faced in this tournament and let me weave into my emotional train wreck which is Harvey's life. And a big thank you to VOID for being this awesome community that I feel 100 percent myself at!

Stay tuned to "Harvey in Resolution" coming out in the next few weeks!

Fox
Artist
25 comments
# 40   Posted: Sep 7 2016, 11:25 PM
Sootball: I absolutely adore the dream-as-myth build you went with here. You nailed the iconography of the anthropomorphic mythologies. I half expected Old Man Coyote to come winking by. your colorscape is, likewise, adept at affecting the dreamscape. I particularly dig the Tsuki no usagi reference. That said, your line work still feels a little rough. (Yeah, I know. I'm not one to talk there.) The panel layout in pages 7 and 8 have a wonderful "stained glass" or classic illuminated manuscript sort of look. Very well done. That said, the dialogue post-dream feels somewhat stilted. Unnatural. The phrasing of "on the day of the damn explosion" feels more like exposition than a persons explanation.

Astro Sean: You have great expressions, though I feel that the stylized nature of your presentation goes in and out when you are representing other peoples characters. The tragedy is effective, but at the same time feels a bit at odds with the end of the piece. He is at once painted as the victim, but presented as a malevolent force. It left me a bit lost. Maybe it's just that at page 9 a new story starts, but I didn't follow well. Your use of color-as-mood is fantastic, and the spreading fire motif starting at page six and ending at, well, the end is a great visual representation of the tension building.

Technicolor-Yawn: I absolutley adore your style, and the soft color palette in this does a great job of establishing the toon-in-reality style. In particular I though this added a lot of impact to click's injuries. Likewise the archetypical appearance of the bear as contrasted with the toon-vs-reality makes a delightful contrast. Your dialogue is likewise sharp. I just wish the comic could be more complete. I feel like it could have been a knockout, but fell short in completion.

Hey all, I'm sorry my critiques are a bit... scattered. I kinda lost track of time and so I'm just getting these in at the last minute. Please feel free to poke me if you want a bit of clarification/explanation/expansion on what I've said.

Cheers!

dotoriii
Artist
16 comments
# 39   Posted: Sep 7 2016, 11:03 PM
these are all so amazing!! absolutely incredible finish from all of you!

sootball: okay so... i might've quietly screamed a bit because ji-ho but also i really loved the sort of folktale vibe in yours. it was such a joy to read!!

astro sean: oh man the entire progression of your rounds throughout the invitational are a delight! one thing i've really loved in your comics is your color palettes? i personally have a hard time with getting the right colors for the right time of day so it's neat to see the colors you used for nighttime!

technicolor-yawn: DUDE.. have i ever told you how much i love your poses & figures? because your style is super rad! the action sequences were also cool! i hope click is alright omg..

Overall I'm super glad to have been a part of this invitational & reading your guys's comics for the final round seriously made my whole week. Hope to see more from all of you in the future!

Technicolor-yawn
Artist
27 comments
# 38   Posted: Sep 7 2016, 10:44 PM
Kozispoon: TECHNICOLOR-YAWN
 Questions. I has dems!
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Yeah, there was a lot I wanted to do that I really didn't end up have time for, so alot goes unexplained, I mean I tried to Imply stuff, but i mean, if you're asking questions then I coulda done better!

To answer a couple questionnes tho:

Harvey's exploring a dream made up of his memories as he dies, with memories kinda bleeding into eachother and partially being directed by Dawa whose trying to keep him from fading out.

Click wrapped the wound up with the bandages he wears on his arm, which woulda been more obvious had it been in color(and also if I hadn't forgotten in one of the panels, bluh).

Most though, boil down to I was gonna explain, but I ran outta time!

Kozispoon
Artist
1211 comments
# 37   Posted: Sep 7 2016, 09:37 PM
TECHNICOLOR-YAWN
Your characterization of Harvey has to be my favorite. The way you drew him not only fits in your world, but was super charming to boot. Seeing him with the iconic barbers pole and Click strolling off with Merry left me smirking .It almost looks like a parent getting his kid their first haircut. Wonder how it went? lol
Though the subsequent pages leave me with questions. Was his babershop in a forest? How'd he get to that grassy riverside for a nap? Is it all a dream? Teleportation? In any case, it leaves me rather thrown as to your pacing and sudden pops of change in here these characters are.
It's a real shame the bulk of your pages are just rough pencil work, because what you have is really great.
Click is surprisingly amusing! His one liners and clever quips as he gets into some high stakes hijinks in the forest was a fun ride. The pages you did get to color really let me appreciate your stylized forest in how you almost gave it a geometric feel. I love the action pages where Click is kickin' butt and taking names. That three pronged hop into each VCPD face was especially my fav.
I fully expected Click to be nigh untouchable until he gets shot which actually made me gasp. It wasn't until the second read through that questions cropped up. Where did he get bandages? Who patched him up? Did the authorities simply stand there and wait before offering their ultimatum? Why is Click still truckin' along with a blow to the gut while Harvey can hardly stand? When Click calls out 'Explodey guy', does it confirm the first page wasn't a dream and Harvey's babershop is ACTUALLY in the middle of the forest? Questions. I has dems!
I do like the tie ins to the flood as well as Karrins relief efforts comic, but I wonder, with only a panel to mention it, was worth putting in from a story perspective?



Kozispoon
Artist
1211 comments
# 36   Posted: Sep 7 2016, 09:18 PM
ASTRO SEAN- *slams hands on the table* This is the type of comics I like to see! >=[
Like hot damn. HOT DAMN, DUDE. I know some of the previous comments note you were pressed for time or didnt put all that you wanted in this final round, but for me, reading it through without seeing anyone's feedback yet, I was really happy with it. The ending leaves you with such a sense of dread and such an open window to possibility, I just-
Well I just skipped to the end didnt I? Lemme back up.
Continuation! Honestly, there's been a really good show of continued timelines busted out for this tournament and this was pretty compelling. Such a nondescript hairy character getting such a story really flipped my lid.  Not to mention the way you weaved your opponents in as if they belonged there. Its not easy to do that considering the fact you never know who'll make it, but this, to me seems so intentional. As if you planned it this way with these exact individuals. The fact you had the time to pull away from the resent in order to give us a quick peek of Harvey's past really endears you to the character and what he had to go through. Honestly, as someone who goes into voting and critiquing with a leaning on story and character development, this is definitely up my alley.
I don't mean to be crude, but I wish there was a more obvious sign those scissors went airborne and shot into his Mother's neck. Which is not to say I was hoping for something more graphic, but as it stands, if you took the dialogue out of the page, you're left rather wondering what just happened.
This builds to such a mournful pitch then it all goes black-only to start a new chapter. Honestly, the fact you were pumping this out in two weeks is pretty impressive. You AND your competitors should really pat yourselves on the back. This business ain't easy!
I really dug the dialogue you had your opponents have. The exchange was witty and the jokes, for me landed. Even though the pages they were on were uncolored, your inkwork, I think stands well enough alone and was clear enough for the reader to follow the events as they unfolded. I think you did a stellar job consolidating your efforts in color where it counted, which was the end. I honestly dont think that reveal would've held the same impact if it had just been in black and white.
Really great show, Sean. I STILL can't believe this is your work, and I mean that as a sincere compliment.




Kozispoon
Artist
1211 comments
# 35   Posted: Sep 7 2016, 08:55 PM
Ayyyy! critiques ahoy! I got quite a bit of things to say, so I'll break it up artist to artist:

SOOTBALL- You had me so amped with your semi finals comic I was THRILLED to find you'd won your round! I waited with bated breath for this finals round- fully expecting a conclusion to a rather epic flood adventure conclusion and....and, well I'm not sure. The change in what I believed to be something of a linear story took such a different tone it was arresting. Definitely had me changing gears to adjust to the new world we were in.
Your color choices in this opening sequence are really lovely. Almost immediately you get the sense this is somewhere otherworldly, even fantastical in its portrayal. I only wish there as some adjustments to Harvey as it feels he cuts into the dream like look of everything- but maybe that was intentional? This jarring reality meandering into this dreamscape? Still you manage to weave the fantastical with dream Harvey's final act of sending his hair off to asplode on the moon- a reward for Click's selfless feat. Reading this through totally left me invested and almost wishing this was a children's book. How great would this look with more than a week to do it in, and time to fully flesh out this sequence?
I found myself so into where you decided to lead your readers, to find it was ACTUALLY a dream surprised me, haha! Upon a second read through I got to notice and appreciate the marriage of dream and waking that yu infused thrughout. But what reality? Did something prophetic go down that the moon in real life is the same? Is this after Dawa gets caught in the flood with Colorado? Has she sought higher ground? when did she find Harvey? Where and when and how are we in this universe? I am left with such QUESTIONS, but its the finals! Will I ever find out?? HARBLEflergble




petarvee
Artist
83 comments
# 34   Posted: Sep 7 2016, 08:36 PM
@Sootball Cute story! Glad the myth part book-ended so nicely and the little snap back to reality worked it nicely into the larger tournament plot. Also! It's good to see you're spicing up your interior shots a bit with reasonable amounts of furniture and stuff. And the single-solid-color background with full-color characters is an interesting approach. Like, you could probably sprinkle it throughout a comic with fully rendered scenery and it'd still fit. So good on that. But on that note, pick a more painterly brush for the background. Nothing kills that nice hand-made style like a perfect-circle brush. And in the latter pages your figure drawing really seems to have improved, but it sorta highlights the so-so figures from the myth in a side-by-side comparison. But as long as you're getting better as you go along, there's really no harm.

@Astro-Sean Always interesting to get a glimpse back into Harvey's past! Also, lovin all of Click's gags throughout. The end definitely raises some questions, which hopefully get answered soon in a BB (or in the comments at least). As a general thing, lower your horizon line: You seem to really like putting it right in the middle of each panel, making the background look a bit sloped towards the viewer, but the characters don't seem to move in it that way. A minor thing might be to vary your line-weight a bit, since it's all pretty uniform, but that might be a conscious stylistic choice, so I won't knock ya for that. The most solid pages are definitely after Harvey wakes up and sees his dad, so I approve of doing the money-shots first. But, when read alongside the rest, it makes the other pages feel less real, and less impactful. I've found that going with simple colors that work and simple shading is super effective way to knock pages out while still looking completed. Then you can always work your way through dropping a bit more color in each page, just so whenever your times up, it looks like a consistent, intentional choice, rather than getting beaten by the clock.

@Technicolor-yawn Obvious bonus-points for including Karrin on the last page 👌👌👌 And overall, it rocked! Your action and movement are where you shine and you definitely made use of it here. Also I dug the sudden shift from "mild mannered postal worker" to "holy shit he has a gun". As a fun side-note, I like how your depiction of Harvey improved from the first page to the last. I think the only new crit I can give is that a lot of panels are shot like a TV show or cartoon. Mostly the waist-up-with-one-line-of-dialogue ones. By combining a buncha actions in one panel, you can really cut down on the panel-count, and by extension, the page count, without really losing anything. Which leads into the next and most obvious one, finished pages. But I won't dock ya for that one, since comics are all about telling the best story, not making the most rendered drawing.

noiraa
Artist
23 comments
# 33   Posted: Sep 7 2016, 10:06 AM
hey everyone! I wanted to wait for the below drama to settle down before i added my thoughts!
1. congratulations to all of you! you 3 really made these final comics all feel like excellent endings to the invitational, and I am really digging how each one really makes its own resolutions!
2. I can see the ambition in ALL of your submissions- its really awe inspiring and certainly makes me happy to know that I was part of the invitational and got to see all your work progress!!
3. THANK YOU!! thank you for working really hard on these and making voting difficult!!

congrats to you all for getting this far!! keep kicking ass all over void- I know Shay isnt done with this place, so I look forward to battling off with any of you again :)))

Fearn
Artist
366 comments
# 32   Posted: Sep 6 2016, 09:36 AM
Sootball: Thanks for your critiques so far, everyone! Just thought I'd mention that KMart reached out to me and we had a talk and we're cool so we can move on without silly drama. :)
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WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT IT'S NOT A VOID TOURNAMENT IF THERE IS NO DRAMA

But seriously, I really really really liked your comic. I liked the structure, colors were beautiful! I think the two things I would consider are, as to whether or not including the bear lady as a bear in the dream sequence would have given it a stronger link with the awake part. And secondly, perhaps the waking up bit would have not been entirely necessary if you used the bear as one of the animals in the dream sequence??

SEAN: I am so so happy to see you here and like see your comic, it's really great! I think it was a good finale and like, I TOLD YOU THAT YOU WILL GET TO THE FINALS!!! <3

Technicolor - so so dynamic! Love your art, shame only two of the pages are complete but the colors on these are just FAB. Even though I suppose I am finding the choice of pastel greens an interesting one for an action sequence. :P

Sootball
Artist
28 comments
# 31   Posted: Sep 5 2016, 03:19 PM
Thanks for your critiques so far, everyone! Just thought I'd mention that KMart reached out to me and we had a talk and we're cool so we can move on without silly drama. :)

Wanted to put my two cents while I'm at it so here goes:

AstroSean- Like I already told you, I seriously love your ambition with this epic and compelling story you put together for this tournament. I'm glad Dawa made it in! Really the only criticism I can give is what Pyras already mentioned which was the role of Dawa and Click as just passing observers.

Technicolor- I loved~ So good, so dang cute. I will forever say SUDDENLY BEAR now, just saying. No criticisms, narrative-wise, just a shame you couldn't finish. I love Click. That is all.


Pita (Slowly getting back into it)
Approval Committee
285 comments
# 30   Posted: Sep 4 2016, 12:51 PM
Sootball- I'm really digging the visuals in the dream and incorporating Click's previous opponents in this retelling of the Moon Rabbit fable.  There's also evidence of Dawa's kindness in keeping Harvey in her home until he properly healed.  And the package at the end from Harvey's family is a nice touch.
The ending of the comic feels open enough to continue, and I'd like to see more interactions between these two.  Perhaps it can be should Sean and you agree to another match.  I'd love to see what else you'll bring to VOID!

AstroSean- I've been reading and re-reading your Invitational narrative.  It is that gripping.  I was hoping to see a conclusion made for the final round, but by the looks of the two week BB you have planned, you seem to wanna bring this to a larger scale in your story.  I guess I'll just have to wait after this tournament.

Tech- First, I giggled seeing the Merry cameo that started in zee's comic against Sean.  Nice nod there.
Second, "SUDDENLY BEAR" is a perfect excuse to easily dispose your enemies.  Good use of your opponent's gifts.
But in all seriousness, this is definitely the most high-stakes comic you've made for VOID.  It's such a shame it couldn't be finished on time!  Let's hope your next project shows off all the skills you got!

PyrasTerran
Artist
1513 comments
# 29   Posted: Sep 4 2016, 12:08 PM
I mean I don't see where Kmart ever mentions he took it to "proclaimed superiors" but, I do think what he was trying to say is he wanted outside and unbias feedback to see if his feelings were out of bounds. By asking fellow content creators, many of whom deal with deadlines and crunch times, I think Kmart just wanted to get a second opnion. If VOID is the only place we can get solid feedback from and should only trust VOID content creator opnions it makes it kind of hard to develop as a content creator if everyone agrees that style A is always best or writting style B is what you need to use.
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There's nothing wrong with getting feedback from others outside the community for your work. But I'll address this further lower down-

Unfortunately, in the little time I've been part of this community, it seems to be the case that a majority of people have perfered things they want to see in comics or are maybe at the point where they have a VOID tunnel vision?
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Just look at the finalists; one focused on a single cohesive dramatic narrative, and that became their strength. One focused on high octane action and fun, and that became their strength. One has made each comic different and separate from the other, and that became their strength. There is no preset preference here to what makes good comics and if you believe that there is then you need to list it out plainly and clearly what is your gripe, because we have very different artists and different types of comics have have succeeded throughout the tournament.

Again I could be reading too far into this but, I don't think Kmart was that far out of bounds as there is simply no way not one other single artist on this site has ever sent friends comics to look at or ask for a second opnion. He is proably just the first to openly admit it to be more transpartent about his opnion and attempt to be more mature about his response instead of simply writting something along the lines of "You comic sucks and you should stop writting." But that's just my two cents.
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What KMart comes off as is "I'm right, all my friends think so too, you made a terrible comic and it's wrong that you're being rewarded for it, am I the only one here with the balls to admit it?" There are very few arguments where stating that you are backed up by people you know is actually a good argument. It's the opposite of mature, rather than standing by your own statement with your own reasons you're adding the meatwall of "and i'm not the only one, others I've shown it to have agreed as well"

E.W. Schneider
Artist
1070 comments
# 28   Posted: Sep 4 2016, 11:59 AM
"Wow, that was a horrible waste of eight pages." is a pretty cunt way to start a critique. Your Writer's Digest information falls short due to this not being a novel and you are not using tone correctly in your criticism. Regardless of liking or disliking the comic, there's better ways to word your criticisms of the comic without having it outright appear you hate the participant.

Nana-Banana
Artist
19 comments
# 27   Posted: Sep 4 2016, 11:47 AM

Did you at once stop to think about how that makes the artist feel? Would you like it if any of us took your pages and shared them to the world to complain about the plot or art? Do you understand how insulting it is to take pages out of this *community* to hold up to your proclaimed superiors to reel at?
Quote

I mean I don't see where Kmart ever mentions he took it to "proclaimed superiors" but, I do think what he was trying to say is he wanted outside and unbias feedback to see if his feelings were out of bounds. By asking fellow content creators, many of whom deal with deadlines and crunch times, I think Kmart just wanted to get a second opnion. If VOID is the only place we can get solid feedback from and should only trust VOID content creator opnions it makes it kind of hard to develop as a content creator if everyone agrees that style A is always best or writting style B is what you need to use. Unfortunately, in the little time I've been part of this community, it seems to be the case that a majority of people have perfered things they want to see in comics or are maybe at the point where they have a VOID tunnel vision?

Again I could be reading too far into this but, I don't think Kmart was that far out of bounds as there is simply no way not one other single artist on this site has ever sent friends comics to look at or ask for a second opnion. He is proably just the first to openly admit it to be more transpartent about his opnion and attempt to be more mature about his response instead of simply writting something along the lines of "You comic sucks and you should stop writting." But that's just my two cents.


PyrasTerran
Artist
1513 comments
# 26   Posted: Sep 4 2016, 10:35 AM
KMart, I believe you've severely misunderstood the comic you're focusing your ire on.

Wow, that was a horrible waste of eight pages. Those pages could have easily been Harvey, Click, and the prior contestants coordinating an effort to build a lunar base with fully autonomous robots in the shape of a rabbit -- and it would still have the same effect. The 'fable' that was started with was thrown away and then the story was capped with something entirely unrelated. In fact, if the final two pages were only uploaded it would have been a stronger story than what was posted. A strong story doesn't rely on falsely setting up a premise, misinterpreting characters in order to fit that premise, and then haphazardly tossing that premise away at the conclusion and expect people to think nothing of it.
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I don't get where you're saying it's unrelated; page 6 reflects Harvey's own feelings in the real world, he is wounded in the entire fable just like he is in the real world; it's all a reflection of his own state in the real world.
 
In an article by Writer's Digest "The Dos and Don'ts of Novel Endings", they suggest that you do not suddenly change the tone or attitude of the story -- you did this in spades: the flow of the story which you were responsible in telling completely flicks to an entirely different story. The fable, fairy tale-ish' feeling is impromptly thrown out for something that doesn't even have a thematic element, the characters' minute interactions at the end completely set a different tone to the characters that were portrayed in the beginning as well -- WHICH IS JARRING.  
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changing to two different scenes isn't changing the tone "in spades", and the tone hasn't changed at all, do you understand what tone means? It remains quiet and reflective throughout. The tone/attitude did not change just because the scene changed.

Also this isn't a novel ending, the mechanics of a novel ending are different to that of these continuous serial comics

Even if you had to alter the characters' behaviors; it would have been better to have stayed in that dreamworld rather than having Harvey wake up. Or alternatively, the final 2 pages could have been more ambiguous -- as it is now: it is contradictory and confusing, which is ultimately unsatisfying.
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How is it contradictory? If you adhere to the notion that dreams have absolutely no meaning in narrative i suppose that's how you can reach that conclusion.

I have sent this comic to people (writers, artists, etc) unrelated to VOID and they have all shared the same sentiments that I have stated above.
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Did you at once stop to think about how that makes the artist feel? Would you like it if any of us took your pages and shared them to the world to complain about the plot or art? Do you understand how insulting it is to take pages out of this *community* to hold up to your proclaimed superiors to reel at?

This is a disappointment of a comic, especially since you represent the best of the invitationalists (moreso considering that the first two matches -- you have had were simply sketches!?!),
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Hold the phone. Now give the phone to me.

sootball won her matches on her own merit, in previous matches her story was good enough to keep her pushing forward. That is the balancing act that the voting system does to allow strong storyteller to face off against strong artists on even ground. Also understand that a 1-week deadline is a powerful obstacle for most artists. The great majority of the artists in the Invitational have been fantastic, most are just as good as the wonderful finalists we have for the end. But time management is also one of the challenges of this tournament, yet again another balancing system to even the competition. Even then, to act like this tournament is about seeing who is the best out of the invitationals is completely missing the point of the invitationals. To add, by your criticism, you are also throwing your shade at Technicolor-Yawn.

the only redeeming quality here is your art. I know that many people could, but shouldn't, disagree with me -- but since, this community continues to harp on and on about how the story is more important than the art; I truly wish that were true since the opposite seems to be, in fact, the truth here.
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Now you are saying you know better than others who have voted and critiqued this comic?

Rather than assume that the rest of us are crazy or ignorant or whatever it is that you're thinking up, take the time to ask yourself "what does everyone else see that I don't see?" A little perspective will assuredly help you in more ways than one, including how to craft a better critique of a comic you don't seem to like.

add: it's not about story being better than art, it's about the culmination of story and art combined, and how they complement each other.

Dechado
Artist
255 comments
# 25   Posted: Sep 4 2016, 03:04 AM
I just want to say something corny like you're all winners in my eyes because you made it to the final.

Good game everyone.

KMart
Artist
1 comment
# 24   Posted: Sep 3 2016, 11:25 PM
SOOTBALL:

Wow, that was a horrible waste of eight pages. Those pages could have easily been Harvey, Click, and the prior contestants coordinating an effort to build a lunar base with fully autonomous robots in the shape of a rabbit -- and it would still have the same effect. The 'fable' that was started with was thrown away and then the story was capped with something entirely unrelated. In fact, if the final two pages were only uploaded it would have been a stronger story than what was posted. A strong story doesn't rely on falsely setting up a premise, misinterpreting characters in order to fit that premise, and then haphazardly tossing that premise away at the conclusion and expect people to think nothing of it.
 
In an article by Writer's Digest "The Dos and Don'ts of Novel Endings", they suggest that you do not suddenly change the tone or attitude of the story -- you did this in spades: the flow of the story which you were responsible in telling completely flicks to an entirely different story. The fable, fairy tale-ish' feeling is impromptly thrown out for something that doesn't even have a thematic element, the characters' minute interactions at the end completely set a different tone to the characters that were portrayed in the beginning as well -- WHICH IS JARRING.  

Even if you had to alter the characters' behaviors; it would have been better to have stayed in that dreamworld rather than having Harvey wake up. Or alternatively, the final 2 pages could have been more ambiguous -- as it is now: it is contradictory and confusing, which is ultimately unsatisfying.
 
They also mention to not rely on gimmicks: Guess what -- that dream fable where the character wakes up?  
That is a gimmick, and a gimmick which lead to the feeling of being cheated out of a good story.  

I have sent this comic to people (writers, artists, etc) unrelated to VOID and they have all shared the same sentiments that I have stated above.

This is a disappointment of a comic, especially since you represent the best of the invitationalists (moreso considering that the first two matches -- you have had were simply sketches!?!), the only redeeming quality here is your art. I know that many people could, but shouldn't, disagree with me -- but since, this community continues to harp on and on about how the story is more important than the art; I truly wish that were true since the opposite seems to be, in fact, the truth here.

I'll review the others individually at a later time.

PyrasTerran
Artist
1513 comments
# 23   Posted: Sep 1 2016, 11:58 AM
congratulations to the three of you for making it this far, I know it's been a grueling summer, fitting that you can finally rest your pen on the first day of September. But I hope you three don't rest for too long, so that we can see you again in future battles and events on the site.

sootball: beautiful use of colors, this feels like the most complete of the three, even with the panels with missing background shades. The fable is pretty and the end is heartfelt. This is the biggest product you've delivered so far, getting that extra week really did help you. Since you have a solid understanding of color use, and your backgrounds aren't that bad when you have them, you want to start taking some time to focus on your character design. Inconsistency in proportions and structure are what you need to hammer out in future comics, take the time to doodle characters in different scenarios, loosen your figure drawing skills (there are websites now where you can get nude models posing for timed intervals you designate), try one of the 25 expressions templates, there's alot in the figure and character crafting department for you to sink your teeth into.

Astro Sean: I know you had alot of troubles during this drawing period and it's a good thing you got that extra week to try and squeeze out as much as you can. It's incomplete and the ending is really abrupt, true, though there is still alot of heart particulary in the first half. Narratively though when Dawa and Click are introduced, the story kind of winds down and stays tepid for quite a while, as we get 5 pages and alot of talking heads of being told a story that would instead be more fun to see first hand. It feels a little like you didn't have enough time to think of some creative ways to get Dawa and Click involved in Harvey's story outside of being passive observers. It picks up again by the end but then it's over too soon! You're getting a better handle on your anatomy, there's elements in this comic that are improvements, just keep pushing yourself and you'll stay in good form.

Technicolor-Yawn: Damn I was hoping the extra week would give you the time you needed to go all out, but i guess bad luck had other plans. As always, your sense of action and pacing and storytelling is really tight, and the character designs (AND character portrayals, which is even harder for some to pull off) are nearly flawless.. it's just a freakin' damn shame that you were unable to complete! I hope we see you stick around here and that you're able to find that perfect set of weeks that can show off your true power.

Keep on rocking, you guys

Nana-Banana
Artist
19 comments
# 22   Posted: Sep 1 2016, 09:51 AM
I guess since this is the big finale I should finally post an actual critique of sorts? I'm sorry if what I say doesn't make that much sense I haven't done a full out critique before!

Sootball: I really enjoyed the color scheme and the creative way to insert the characters into a respective animal. I'll admit I was very lost at first when I read the comic since there is so many characters introduced at once with most not even being part of the battle. While I love inserting characters to make a more well-rounded story I was just taken back and checked to make sure I was actually reading the invitational comics. I think many people that haven't heard of this tale (I can't remember the name at the moment) would also be confused without some sort of set up like a cover page saying "Dawa, Harvey, and Click's journey as told in the (insert title hear) format" then again I could be reading into it too much. There is a lot of dialogue and expositional things, which are fine in small portions, but there were times I skimmed because I needed the story to progress. I feel like too much dialogue can slow down a story where actions might be able to express the same emotions with practice or so I've read. Over all, it was a pretty solid comic and I hope to see more complete comics like this!

Astro Sean: Sean you're kinda my idol on VOID right now after all the amazing things you've continued to create. I'm extremely excited to see complete and consistent story telling from a comic produced on this site, I will continue to support this creative drive through whatever way you need me to. I do wish there was a bit more character interaction with all 3 characters however, I do understand that the separation helps progress the story and introduce new side characters relatively easy. With the sheer size of your comic I am surprised that a majority of the pages were fully colored as well page 14's clever coloring choice. I think if you had left click uncolored in the last panel of the last page it would make everything feel more concrete cause, to me, he almost looks like you copy pasted him into the comic. All that being said stellar work Sean!

Technicolor-yawn: Life man what even is that crazy nonsense?? Even with life being difficult your sketches are so clean it helps the reader still get a solid grasp of the character's movements, expression, and feelings at any given time. I do always enjoy your color choice, however sparse it may be, so hopefully in the future life is less of a pain! If life does become overwhelming I would say maybe cutting your page number in half? I know that for more elaborate stories this might seem like a handicap however, you can also grow as a story teller by expressing your story in few pagers. It's harder but it'll help you grow as an artist kinda thing! Even with the limits life gave you this is still really solid, keep up the work!

Sean
Artist
384 comments
# 21   Posted: Sep 1 2016, 01:26 AM
Ugh, having major upload issues. Sending these pages via email to the staff. I'm exhausted and dead.

EDIT* Uploaded properly.

Technicolor-yawn
Artist
27 comments
# 20   Posted: Aug 31 2016, 11:41 PM
Bluh, This week has been kind of a mess and, subsequently, this comic is kind of a mess. I put together what I could, but uh, I wouldn't call it my best work.

dotoriii
Artist
16 comments
# 19   Posted: Aug 24 2016, 03:21 PM
SO EXCITED TO SEE THESE!!!!

Dumorte
Artist
76 comments
# 18   Posted: Aug 24 2016, 09:09 AM
HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! CANT WAIT!!!!!

Sean
Artist
384 comments
# 17   Posted: Aug 24 2016, 08:34 AM
HOLY FUCK YES! THANK YOU MODS AND GODS OF VOID.


Sootball
Artist
28 comments
# 16   Posted: Aug 24 2016, 06:43 AM
YAAAAAY, thank you Entervoid Gods- er Staff!

I shall prepare the sacrifice immediately for our merciful saviors.

Red
Council
703 comments
# 15   Posted: Aug 24 2016, 06:17 AM
Hey guess what? You guys get 1 free week of drawing time, on the house. Use it wisely, and give us an amazing finale please!!!

E.W. Schneider
Artist
1070 comments
# 14   Posted: Aug 19 2016, 10:40 AM
Cherubas: How did Astro Sean get into the Invitational with a new character when his old character is still active? I'm not asking to stir the pot or anything, but I LOVED being in the Invitational so if the rules allow people to make a second character for the Invitational now I'd like to know so I can hop on that next year. :)
Quote

Hey, if you ever want to join a future Invitational, I can totally help arrange that.

Sean
Artist
384 comments
# 13   Posted: Aug 19 2016, 06:50 AM
Cherubas: How did Astro Sean get into the Invitational with a new character when his old character is still active?
Quote


Because I am a dirty cheat

Animeshen
Artist
1490 comments
# 12   Posted: Aug 19 2016, 03:27 AM
all of his characters at the point of signs ups were dead: the only rule is you have no living characters to join.

Cherubas
Artist
175 comments
# 11   Posted: Aug 19 2016, 01:31 AM
How did Astro Sean get into the Invitational with a new character when his old character is still active? I'm not asking to stir the pot or anything, but I LOVED being in the Invitational so if the rules allow people to make a second character for the Invitational now I'd like to know so I can hop on that next year. :)

noiraa
Artist
23 comments
# 10   Posted: Aug 18 2016, 08:03 AM
SO EXCITED TO SEE HOW IT ALL ENDS! You all did awesome work! Cant wait to see this :DDDD

eXed
Artist
21 comments
# 9   Posted: Aug 17 2016, 08:24 PM
Oooooh shit! Here we go!! Good luck you three!!

Technicolor-yawn
Artist
27 comments
# 8   Posted: Aug 17 2016, 03:31 PM
Soot, Astro, LET'S MAKE IT A GOOD ONE!

Sean
Artist
384 comments
# 7   Posted: Aug 17 2016, 07:52 AM
Best of luck Soot and Techni! This is gonna be a banger of a finale

Sootball
Artist
28 comments
# 6   Posted: Aug 17 2016, 07:03 AM
Thanks, you guys! I'm pumped!

Good luck Astro and Technicolor!

Dumorte
Artist
76 comments
# 5   Posted: Aug 17 2016, 06:16 AM
It's been a long, fun, ride. Everyone in this match deserves this!!!

I wish all three of you the best of luck! Show no mercy!!!  :)

E.W. Schneider
Artist
1070 comments
# 4   Posted: Aug 17 2016, 06:12 AM
I've only got enough good luck to give to the winner, so you all are going to have to work hard to get it.

JCee
Artist
425 comments
# 3   Posted: Aug 17 2016, 05:28 AM
Cannot wait to see this! Good luck you guys!

Animeshen
Artist
1490 comments
# 2   Posted: Aug 17 2016, 05:28 AM
GOOD LUCK! FUCK SHIT UP!

Cracking Skulls
Artist
354 comments
# 1   Posted: Aug 17 2016, 05:26 AM
IT BEGINS. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THREE OF YOU!

Comic Details -

 
Tournament Match
Drawing Time: 1 week
Ended: Sep 7th, 2016
Votes Cast: 42
Page Views: 3092
Winner: Sootball
 

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