This is my first comic strip since I finished art school. What do you think? What are some area's I could improve in? Any and All comments are welcome.
Thank you and God Bless
Naomi
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you're using 3 panels, which is fine- but many people find that 4 can be really good gags of this sort. i think it might help yours in this case.
your first panel opens up the joke
the second one builds the humor in the character's not leaving
in the third, i believe the gag is that the second character is upset that the first one still did not go away, even though the second character wanted her to and the first said she was
you could easily copy and paste the second panel, use it twice with minimal extra effort and no text, illustrating that the first character was staying for a longer amoutn of time. when i read the 3rd panel, i didnt' exactly get that the second character was upset that the first hand't left since it was only a second after the frist character agreed that she would. if you added the other panel, with some dead silence, it might show that she was staying longer. and if you direclty copid the art, minus the text, it would have the second character glaring longer.
just some ideas, i've been doing the 4 panel style comics for a while now- you can check it out at www.crazygoodcomics.com
i hope that helps- pure encouragement- i don't mean to be offensive at all...
DO NOTE: Observation will be your best friend - PERIOD. Observe, analyze, watch, look, look, look. Translate. In as many ways as you can. Draw a person with squiggles. Now do it with just sharp straight lines. Then use only shading. Then use only line. Then try only shillouette.
Toss up your work as you progress - if you private message me I'll help with constructive feedback.
Keep it up!
Maybe you might consider looking at Jack Hamm ( http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Figure-Perigee-Jack/dp/0399507914 ) He achieved a lot of content in his rather short books, and they are always a deal at their price in my opinion.
A list of his books:
How to Draw Animals, Drawing the Head and Figure, Cartooning the Head and Figure, First Lessons in Drawing and Painting, and Drawing Toward God
Everything should be available except perhaps Drawing Toward God which was with a different publisher.
Follow these two axioms when drawing and you will go far: 1: Draw what you see, not what you know. 2: LOOK! Look! Look! Look! Look! Look. Really look. Then, maybe, start drawing. Draw from life. ALWAYS PUT YOUR CHARACTERS INTO CONTEXT -meaning props or background - even if it's a simple horizon line - this will a) force you to draw in perspective and b) will improve your drawings quickly and c) will make your drawings more interesting because it almost automatically creates a story. Start with major shapes. Then work to the more detail. Construct using skeletons. OBSERVE YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND PEOPLE IN THEM VOCIFEROUSLY. Analyze everything. Then observe and analyze everything else. Possibly get: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards (highly recommended) Visit:http://johnkcurriculum.blogspot.com/2009/12/preston-blair-lessons-f... (WARNING: His stuff can lead to crude or crass images. He pulls no punches. BUT THE ART INFORMATION IS SOUND - though you may have to sift through it.) Possibly get
Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair - what does this have to do with "drawing" - well even though it is focused on "Cartooning" it is also focused on proper construction in drawing. Possibly get "
How to Draw the Marvel Way" by Stan Lee and John Buscema - but that's not Manga! No, but the drawing principles learned can be used in Anime or Manga. Possibly Get:
Perspective for Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea (highly recommended). Avoid "How to Draw Manga" books until you know the fundamentals of how to draw - and then, you will have no problem doing Manga anyway, so you won't need the books! Hope this helps. You have good observational skills and that is shown by what you did with the Hair. Keep it up.
I have notisted that my comic's tend to end up pritty flat looking, but I'm unsure how to fix that, or even were to start looking.
You have the sign of fundamentals - good overlap and solid clean shapes. Consistent and love the fact that you play with body language and expressions.
That said, a) run over to Blambot Fonts and get some decent fonts. Zud Juice and Anime Ace are pretty good. (Read the license agreements - he let's indy comics folk use certain fonts free of charge if they aren't in one of the big companies stuff).
b) Work on creating more dimension in the bodies and the arms.
Good start!