Comics Contest Suggestions

[Ziko]

Well, the forums have been back for a while now, and we've been thinking it was about time we had a Comics contest—the first Comics-only contest. So now we're looking for feedback from you guys. Do you have theme ideas? Is there anything you think should be a part of a contest here? We'd love to hear any feedback you have to offer.and no this has nothing to do with bonesiii's topic

[-Windrider-]

Just a note that this was approved by Black Six.Also, I am not sure where in the schedule the actual contest will fall. However, this is as good a time as any to take theme suggestions.

[King Joe]

Hmmmm....Maybe you could work with the Advent Calendar and do a Christmas themed comic. I heard a lot of great feedback on my comic from the three virtues podcast, and that might be an easy way to start it. Another idea would be to set an event or catastrophie that happens to every single comic, and seeing how each one deals with it.Just throwing out some ideas.

[tent163phantoka]

Something sports-themed.

[Ehksidian]

No.No sports.I hasidea.It'd actually be 2 contests, one with best graphics in a comic, and one with the best "joke"Or make a overall theme of a disaster, like King Joe said.okbye.

[Exon]

Well, obviously, you'd need some kind of judging panel, because if you left it to the people to vote, it would be more biased to popular comic makers. I totally agree with the disaster theme, it just seems kewl, but to narrow it down, I'd say a 2012 related disaster.~Exon

[Ehksidian]

I'd say a 2012 related disaster.

Agreement reached.

[Waffles]

Non-digital mediums only. It wouldn't please everyone, but it would promote non-sprite comics and be a change.

[Sumiki]

Non-digital mediums only. It wouldn't please everyone, but it would promote non-sprite comics and be a change.

I am in total, complete support of this idea. Limiting it to non-sprites would be the only restriction/theme of a contest with sprites out of the picture (no pun intended).

[Tavakai]

Non-digital mediums only. It wouldn't please everyone, but it would promote non-sprite comics and be a change.

I am in total, complete support of this idea. Limiting it to non-sprites would be the only restriction/theme of a contest with sprites out of the picture (no pun intended).

I'd be okay with that if it's "non-sprites" and not "non-digital." That way, it doesn't exclude vector art.Anyway, yeah, 2012 theme sounds pretty good. I can already feel ideas forming in my brain for that one.

[-Windrider-]

I must admit that I am wary of doing a non-digital or non-sprite contest. Non-sprite would, I think, be better, but even so.I am simply afraid of scaring participants away. It is quite clear that most comic-makers are spriters. I have no way of knowing their artistic ability in other media, but I think it is safe to assume that they are most comfortable with spriting. If that is the case, a non-sprite-only contest might not see many entries. And since this will be the first contest exclusively for Comics, well, I want it to be a smashing success. I also would like to have the entire forum be involved, spriters and non-spriters alike. While I would be happy to see people explore other media, I do not, at the same time, want to alienate any artists.If an overwhelming number of spriters support the idea, though, then heck, full steam ahead.I am a little unclear as to what is meant by a "2012 disaster" theme. If someone wouldn't mind explaining it a bit more?

[King Joe]

Some sort of general catastrophe that would happen to every single participating timeline, and how the comic deals with said disaster. In my opinion, you could be specific ("Tidal Wave destroys your characters homes, leaving nothing but My Little Pony toys") or general ("Your comic experiences a flood"). Being specific makes the authors work with a certain situation, while the general allows for interpretation (E.G, once comic maker has their basement flood, while another is infested with the Flood from Halo.). I would be cool with either one, but that was my interpretation of the "disaster theme" idea.

[Waffles]

Yes, it might scare people away, but by presenting them with different media, you are making think and make their comics much differently, and changing up the game. Photoshop wizards win again! But what about watercolor painters or stenciling? Here things are much more unpredictable, and since much of the comic makers on the site don't seem to be acquainted with these media (after all, they're not using them), then I daresay, you even out the playing field.Windrider, you said that they're most comfortable with sprites. Precisely, a good contest throws people off guard, and challenges them in new ways. It's difficult, this being the first comic contest, but by offering good prizes and finding other ways to attract people, this will be smashing success.Or we can watch the usual talented people dazzle us with editing, and the usual epic comic makers dazzle us with twists. I don't see why we can't achieve some sort of balance between sprites and other media. I guess non-digital might be too horrendous for our fastidious artists, so perhaps only non-sprites.

[Eljay: Toa of Mangosteen]

Weither or not it's a "challenge", it will chase people away. This forum is around 98% sprite based. No matter what prize you put up, there may be amazing artists who can't enter. Weither it may be the lack of a good editing program, or the lack of a scanner, there are a bunch of possiblities that untapped potential will remain untapped. I support the idea that it should remain open to all artistic styles. As for a theme? Would something like seasons of the year work? Maybe a comic detailing various artistic view points of various seasons (as in, winter, summer, fall, etc) and maybe how they or their characters would react to said season. Just a thought.

[Reznas]

I for one, am leaning towards being able to make sprite-based comics. Mainly because I'm not an extremely good artist outside of graphical artwork, but also because I enjoy making sprite-based comics more than non-sprited comics. But if lots of people vote for that, I'm fine with it. I most likely won't enter the contest if that's the case, because I'm not very good at drawing. But I'll definitely be viewing the comics and following the contest.I think that there should be a certain theme for the comic contest. Maybe not a 2012 disaster theme, because that doesn't seem very ideal to me, and someone already makes comics sort of using that theme. But possibly a holiday-themed comic would be good. I think a war-based comic theme would be good too. But there's many different themes that I think would be good.Regardless, I'm happy that there's going to be a Comics Contest! -Rez

[toastergrl]

I agree wholeheartedly with Eljay. There's a lot of untapped talent, but it remains untapped because they can't get it on to a computer in the first place. I don't think a contest would do very much to help matters in that regard - those that don't have scanners won't go out and buy them, save maybe a very select few, and those that can only use sprites would end up somewhat dissapointed. I also agree about his idea of the seasons. It would be a very interesting comic project to embark on.An idea of my own is that maybe you should impose a panel limit - that is, people can't enter with less than 40* panels when working with Spritework, or 20* if hand-drawn? That would dissuade overtly simple entries, and lead to a more enjoyable comic reading experience overall.Ultimately, I'm very pleased with the concept of a Comics Contest for the interests of the forum's continued existance._{*Numbers chosen somewhat at random. Obviously preliminary.}

Edited January 17, 2012 by Tapika

[Tavakai]

Yeah, excluding sprites, while it would encourage creativity, wouldn't really work well here. In my last post I was merely saying that this wouldn't keep me from entering, as I'm fairly good at vector art, but I'd be one of the few. If sprites weren't allowed, it'd probably be mostly people who don't even spend time in the comics forum, which you might not want to happen. Maybe have that for a later contest--the average quality of comics around here has improved a lot over the past few years, and no doubt will continue to as time goes on--but it won't work now.As for what the 2012 thing was about, I'm sure that was just an example thrown out as a possible prompt to make a comic about. You could use that, or you could use a different one.

[-Absorba-]

What about categories? Any ideas on that?

[Ziko]

What about categories? Any ideas on that?

Depending on the amount of entries, there could be different categories, which would probably separate digital and hand-drawn comics in some way (possibly more specifically than that). I suppose it's possible that a theme might require separate categories as well.I thought Tapika's idea on a panel requirement was interesting. Does anyone else have an opinion on that (maximum, minimum, or both)? Edited January 17, 2012 by Ziko

[-Windrider-]

I thought Tapika's idea on a panel requirement was interesting. Does anyone else have an opinion on that (maximum, minimum, or both)?

Yes, and also, I would like to hear opinions on Exon's statement as well:

Well, obviously, you'd need some kind of judging panel, because if you left it to the people to vote, it would be more biased to popular comic makers.

I am unfortunately still relatively new to this forum, so I hadn't thought of this. I can see why it might be necessary, however.(The possibility of a non-sprite contest still exists; I haven't ruled it out completely. Debate is good!)

[Ziko]

I'd rather have polls, personally; I'd hope that people could vote objectively in a contest. Comics generally don't take long to read, unlike the stories in Library contests (I'm not sure if any other contests have judges?), so it's not too much for people to read through everything. That might be too optimistic, I suppose, but I'd like to think it would work out.

[~kh]

Here's my take on it.I see comics as Scott McCloud defined them: juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer. That's really it. To me, sprite comics and hand-drawn comics are of the same token, the same purpose, if you will. They're just different styles that are used to achieve what they set out to do.That's why I'm still wondering why there is this sort of line drawn between hand-drawn and sprite comics, in which one is considered "real" comics and the other isn't. Its like comparing the styles between Marvels and Watchmen; yes, they're extremely different, but one isn't ranked as "an actual comic" while the other isn't.This debate, while interesting, is something I am puzzled as to why its even happening. Pixel art is just a newer form of drawing that still needs to reach fruition. True, the examples that its produced so far aren't exactly satisfactory (the millions of Sonic the Hedgehog and Megaman sprite comics aren't really helping anyone), but it does have potential. That's why I make these things in the first place. I see them as this sort of budding art form, not exactly at its peak, but with the potential to achieve something no one has really considered before.So yes, I don't really see the need to do this. It's not going to bring out something "new" in comic makers, if that's what some people here are hoping. There's a reason why there's not a lot of hand-drawn comic makers out here. Doing a hand-drawn comic is like doing a normal piece of artwork, except you make that artwork over and over again. And then, once you finish, you begin again on the next issue, and so on and so forth. Honestly, it's tiring, and while I do encourage it, I know I myself couldn't keep a regular series up. Others here just can't draw well, or don't have all the equipment to do so. Even if there was a surge of hand-drawn comics for the contest, would that actually carry onto the forum and make more hand-drawn series available? Even then, would those hand-drawn comics actually be good? I'm not sure, but I'd lean towards a no at this point.As for challenging the comic makers, I'm all for that. But making it hand-drawn exclusive is sort of like if you made the first Artwork Contest to be 3D only. A lot of artists don't have the experience, time, motivation, or equipment to make a really good piece of 3D art, and you wouldn't see as many entries.If you want a challenge, well, there's several things I would suggest. While a theme is good to start with, I'd like to see if there could be something to push the boundaries of what people normally do. For instance, perhaps you can give three characters with their own names, design and personality. Every comic has to use these three characters as the main focus of the comic, and the one that uses them the most creatively while still sticking to their original personalities would win.Or perhaps the theme would be the ending of the comic. For instance, someone dies at the end. The comic maker thus has to create an original character, make the reader care about said character, and then make that death meaningful. The person to do that the best would win.Or maybe one comic series is chosen and everyone else has to essentially make a comic using that series' premise and characters. The winner would be the one that stuck closely enough to the original comic maker's style.Or so on and so forth. There's many things you can do to "push" the boundaries of comics as a whole, and I'm not going to say that any of those ideas were any good, but in the very least they could get you thinking. I don't think limiting sprite comics is going to do anyone any sort of good, especially in a contest like this. Make this more about the comics than the style, and I think this could actually turn out to be a really interesting contest.Also, I'd like the idea of a panel minimum; perhaps twenty-five panels would suffice?[/boringrant]

Edited January 17, 2012 by #kahinuva

[55555]

I'd rather have polls, personally; I'd hope that people could vote objectively in a contest. Comics generally don't take long to read, unlike the stories in Library contests (I'm not sure if any other contests have judges?), so it's not too much for people to read through everything.That might be too optimistic, I suppose, but I'd like to think it would work out.

You could do 50% judging and 50% voting, with both polls and judges and mixing the results.For a theme, how about Quest For the Masks? The characters in the comic would be attempting to find hidden masks, like the Toa did.Good luck with the contest.

I see comics as Scott McCloud defined them: juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer. That's really it. To me, sprite comics and hand-drawn comics are of the same token, the same purpose, if you will. They're just different styles that are used to achieve what they set out to do.

I just want to take this opportunity to say that I know who Scott McCloud is. - 55555

[BioCry]

I personally am thinking of people being able to make digital/sprite comics AND hand drawn. But, have separate categories for each. Like the Expanded Universe contests. That way it can be open to anyone. Anyone agree?-

[-Windrider-]

Indeed, I am for the equality of all media. I do not, however, think the proposition of and debate surrounding a non-digital or non-sprite contest meant to imply that spriting is inferior or less difficult. (Goodness, I know I'm jealous of those experienced with sprites. I'm a decent artist, but spriting intimidates me.) No, I think the theme was suggested because it would be a change of pace.Regarding entry categories and the separation of media: I don't really want to have separate categories. In a perfect world, the method by which the comic was produced should not influence the voting process. Well, of course, the world isn't perfect. If the contest is all-inclusive, which it probably will be, and if I can expect the ratio of sprite-to-other of the entries to follow the current distribution in existing topics, we will see many more sprite-based entries than, say, hand-drawn. I am afraid that a voter might see this and consider the hand-drawn (or computer-assisted) entries to be superior just because they are (relatively) "different." This would be unfair, and is a case for having separate categories. This might be a decision I will have to make after seeing the final entry list. If there are too few entries to even consider said separation, then, well, so it will be. But, a smaller entry pool might only exacerbate the above problem.Regarding judging vs. voting: I have thought about this a little more. One goal I have for this contest is to attract (positive) attention to this forum, and attract, hopefully, some new regulars too. If we use a pure judging system, then nobody outside of this forum will be involved. That would be a bad thing. I know that it would be a fairer method, and eliminate any popularity bias, but I am hoping that votes from non-Comics-goers will work against that very bias. Going 50/50 with voting and judging, well, I think it would be too much trouble, honestly. It seems like that would be a pain to coördinate, but I would be willing to if it would be for the better. Right now, though, I think I will stick with the traditional voting setup.Regarding theme ideas: Kahi's idea of a pathos-inducing ending strikes my fancy. Certainly, it's better than the idea I had, which I may or may not reveal. It would be a nice change to require that an entry be serious, rather than humorous.(Bear with me, here; I'm new to the BZP contest scene. This will be my first hosted contest, and naturally, I want it to go as smoothly as possible, and I want it to be as big a success as possible. Yell at me if I am over-analyzing anything.)EDIT:

Just to clarify this: You have to define the difference between Spriting and Sprite Comics.

Yes, this is true. I am indeed aware of the difference between spriting and making a sprite comic. I used the verb for comic-making for lack of a better one. My mistake! In any case, if we were to have an actual spriting contest, it would have to be for Art II. That might be a really neat idea, actually. If only things weren't so dead there. Edited January 17, 2012 by -Windrider-

[Zerothemaster]

Indeed, I am for the equality of all media. I do not, however, think the proposition of and debate surrounding a non-digital or non-sprite contest meant to imply that spriting is inferior or less difficult. (Goodness, I know I'm jealous of those experienced with sprites. I'm a decent artist, but spriting intimidates me.) No, I think the theme was suggested because it would be a change of pace.

Just to clarify this: You have to define the difference between Spriting and Sprite Comics. Sprite Comics are easy to make, but hard to master. I've only seen a few people who really, really get it right (Gavla and Kahi come to mind). Spriting is a completely different monster. Spriting is the making of all the kits we use. While this is harder to do, once you can do it, it's still a beast to master. Names like Eljay and Venom come to mind when I think of the best spriters. Spriting is really making art with a very limited number of pixels. Sprite comics CAN be as simple as pasting the sprites made by others into a background, but it takes time and energy to do it so that it actually looks good. Spriting and Sprite Comics are both hard, but Sprite Comics are the easiest to get into, but just as hard to master. Also, I can't draw, so I am fundamentally against only-hand-drawn contest, even though I see the appeal of it. And I know that they're underrepresented in the Comics forum (Though I don't think it's as underrepresented as some think), but most of those would either be 1. People from General Art who either have migrated over here (ie Taka Nuvia) or just get wind of it and take a shot, or 2 people from here who can actually draw (ie NOT ME). And thus a very large chunk of comics would be left out. Mostly me. :PThat was more than I was planning to say

[~kh]

Indeed, I am for the equality of all media. I do not, however, think the proposition of and debate surrounding a non-digital or non-sprite contest meant to imply that spriting is inferior or less difficult. (Goodness, I know I'm jealous of those experienced with sprites. I'm a decent artist, but spriting intimidates me.) No, I think the theme was suggested because it would be a change of pace.

Mhm, true. I was more referring to what I've seen people talk about in the past that what has explicitly been said here.Also, good point with the categories; that is a definite possibility when it comes to voters.

[Pohuaki]

Well, obviously, you'd need some kind of judging panel, because if you left it to the people to vote, it would be more biased to popular comic makers

Actually, this hasn't been a problem in art or comic contests on BZP. Check the old contest history list, and how popular the winners were at the time they won - or, search for one of my old posts on the matter. Based on the recent discussion of the Advent calendar comics, some authors work may not be understood or appreciated as well by people who aren't already familiar with the authors previous work, so there could be a perceived bias related to that.

Non-digital mediums only. It wouldn't please everyone, but it would promote non-sprite comics and be a change.

It wouldn't be a change. Hand drawn comics have been promoted in every BZP comic contest so far.

I am simply afraid of scaring participants away.

Comic contests on BZP have always had a low number of entries - the number of entries was always lower than the number of people who had PMed me asking for a comic contest. Things like the Advent calendar have had much better participation. Some of it may be that some people would rather just participate than compete.

Yes, it might scare people away, but by presenting them with different media, you are making think and make their comics much differently, and changing up the game. Photoshop wizards win again! But what about watercolor painters or stenciling? Here things are much more unpredictable, and since much of the comic makers on the site don't seem to be acquainted with these media (after all, they're not using them), then I daresay, you even out the playing field.Windrider, you said that they're most comfortable with sprites. Precisely, a good contest throws people off guard, and challenges them in new ways. It's difficult, this being the first comic contest, but by offering good prizes and finding other ways to attract people, this will be smashing success.Or we can watch the usual talented people dazzle us with editing, and the usual epic comic makers dazzle us with twists. I don't see why we can't achieve some sort of balance between sprites and other media. I guess non-digital might be too horrendous for our fastidious artists, so perhaps only non-sprites.

If anything, there has been a bias against sprites in the previous contests - the previous contests were either a part of, or ran concurrently with, an art contest . I realize the earliest entries have been deleted, but you could at least check the contest topics for rules and categories.The most popular comic makers here haven't been photoshop wizards. I really have no idea where you're getting all this from.

What about categories? Any ideas on that?

In the past, there have been so few entries for comic contests that categories didn't work well, and there were a number of problems with them in the general art contests. I'd recommend against them at this point.

I'd rather have polls, personally; I'd hope that people could vote objectively in a contest. Comics generally don't take long to read, unlike the stories in Library contests (I'm not sure if any other contests have judges?), so it's not too much for people to read through everything.

My concern would be that some of the comics I've seen lately are so huge that it would take longer to download them on a slow internet connection than it would take to read a 10,000 word story, although I also prefer polls. Edited January 18, 2012 by Pohuaki

[The Great Spirit DM]

Has a story based comic contest been considered?

[a goose]

I think all types of comics SHOULD be allowed, as the vast majority of comic-makers do use sprites. And as for limits, I would suggest both a minimum number for panels AND a maximum for file-size.- PtVM

[King Joe]

Has a story based comic contest been considered?

I believe so, several ideas have been suggested (such as a disaster theme).Also, I do believe that sprite comics should be allowed, while still allowing other kinds of comics, and I would hope that the judging is NOT even partially based on graphic quality (because Kahi would win every single time ). Seriously though, I know that when I started, I was absolutely terrible graphics wise. I still can't make backgrounds, although I have gotten better with spriting objects to a degree. If the judging was based even partially on graphics quality, then many new comic makers wouldn't enter, and it would only be people like Gavla and Kahi and others who think they can contend with them. You wouldn't garner new attention. Of course, there needs to be some basic standards, such as the text needs to be readable and written with correct grammar. It's extremely hard to read a comic when the text blends into the background and is written with improper grammar. Edited January 18, 2012 by King Joe

[Reznas]

Also, I do believe that sprite comics should be allowed, while still allowing other kinds of comics, and I would hope that the judging is NOT even partially based on graphic quality (because Kahi would win every single time ). Seriously though, I know that when I started, I was absolutely terrible graphics wise. I still can't make backgrounds, although I have gotten better with spriting objects to a degree. If the judging was based even partially on graphics quality, then many new comic makers wouldn't enter, and it would only be people like Gavla and Kahi and others who think they can contend with them. You wouldn't garner new attention. Of course, there needs to be some basic standards, such as the text needs to be readable and written with correct grammar. It's extremely hard to read a comic when the text blends into the background and is written with improper grammar.

But, Windrider, has made it quite clear that we probably won't have judges for the contest. Even so, if we did, graphics should key in, because in most cases, graphics make a comic better. That is at least my point of view. I absolutely dislike comics with bad graphics (I mean like one's that make your eyes hurt when you have to squint to see certain things), no offense to the people who make them. It's just I don't find comics like that funny or well-done. So in a sense, graphics should be part of the judging, but then again, there are so many other categories that need to be judged that it wouldn't matter that much if you had graphics that are as good as Kahi, or some other amazing graphical-master that make comics. My idea on the panel minimum is probably around 20-25, and the maximum, probably something like 50-75. Even though the file size gets drastically larger when more panels are added, in the Advent Calendar, Gavla's (I think it was Gavla?) comic was at least 50-75 panels, and the comic had no problem uploading. But that's just my opinion.-Rez

[King Joe]

Also, I do believe that sprite comics should be allowed, while still allowing other kinds of comics, and I would hope that the judging is NOT even partially based on graphic quality (because Kahi would win every single time ). Seriously though, I know that when I started, I was absolutely terrible graphics wise. I still can't make backgrounds, although I have gotten better with spriting objects to a degree. If the judging was based even partially on graphics quality, then many new comic makers wouldn't enter, and it would only be people like Gavla and Kahi and others who think they can contend with them. You wouldn't garner new attention. Of course, there needs to be some basic standards, such as the text needs to be readable and written with correct grammar. It's extremely hard to read a comic when the text blends into the background and is written with improper grammar.

But, Windrider, has made it quite clear that we probably won't have judges for the contest. Even so, if we did, graphics should key in, because in most cases, graphics make a comic better. That is at least my point of view. I absolutely dislike comics with bad graphics (I mean like one's that make your eyes hurt when you have to squint to see certain things), no offense to the people who make them. It's just I don't find comics like that funny or well-done. So in a sense, graphics should be part of the judging, but then again, there are so many other categories that need to be judged that it wouldn't matter that much if you had graphics that are as good as Kahi, or some other amazing graphical-master that make comics. -Rez

Well, I simply meant that if graphics were a large factor of the "judging" for this contest, that people with spectacular graphics such as Kahi or Gavla would always win, and it wouldn't be fair to newer comic makers who don't have as much experience making extremely high quality graphics, or even experienced comic makers who simply don't have the time. I know that if I were to spend a lot of time on it, I could make better quality comics. I simply don't have the time to learn how to do it.However, I do agree that there needs to be a limit. It should not be painful to read, and make the readers eyes want to burn out of their head.

[55555]

Also, I do believe that sprite comics should be allowed, while still allowing other kinds of comics, and I would hope that the judging is NOT even partially based on graphic quality (because Kahi would win every single time ). Seriously though, I know that when I started, I was absolutely terrible graphics wise. I still can't make backgrounds, although I have gotten better with spriting objects to a degree. If the judging was based even partially on graphics quality, then many new comic makers wouldn't enter, and it would only be people like Gavla and Kahi and others who think they can contend with them. You wouldn't garner new attention. Of course, there needs to be some basic standards, such as the text needs to be readable and written with correct grammar. It's extremely hard to read a comic when the text blends into the background and is written with improper grammar.

But, Windrider, has made it quite clear that we probably won't have judges for the contest. Even so, if we did, graphics should key in, because in most cases, graphics make a comic better. That is at least my point of view. I absolutely dislike comics with bad graphics (I mean like one's that make your eyes hurt when you have to squint to see certain things), no offense to the people who make them. It's just I don't find comics like that funny or well-done. So in a sense, graphics should be part of the judging, but then again, there are so many other categories that need to be judged that it wouldn't matter that much if you had graphics that are as good as Kahi, or some other amazing graphical-master that make comics. -Rez

Well, I simply meant that if graphics were a large factor of the "judging" for this contest, that people with spectacular graphics such as Kahi or Gavla would always win, and it wouldn't be fair to newer comic makers who don't have as much experience making extremely high quality graphics, or even experienced comic makers who simply don't have the time. I know that if I were to spend a lot of time on it, I could make better quality comics. I simply don't have the time to learn how to do it.However, I do agree that there needs to be a limit. It should not be painful to read, and make the readers eyes want to burn out of their head.

The point of voting or judging is to determine the overall quality of whatever is being evaluated. It's not a question of being fair to people who make inferior work.And listen to Pohuaki everyone, he knows of that which he speaks.- 55555

[Sniper Jo]

Windrider, you said that they're most comfortable with sprites. Precisely, a good contest throws people off guard, and challenges them in new ways.

...Then people who usually work in non-sprite should be restricted to sprites only?

[Eljay: Toa of Mangosteen]

A "challenge" is one thing, yes. But taking a fish out of water and then dropping it just on the ground isn't a challenge. All other contests (MOC, Artwork) have done just what they do, only with a certain theme/twist. I don't see exactly how this is any different. If anything, sprites should be allowed for the first time, and a non-sprite theme would work at another time.

[Ehksidian]

I can agree with Eljay.I may be able to make handdrawn comics, but I am simply terrible at it.Despite the fact I have a scannar.Eh.Still think that a story-themed comic'll be good.WAIT.Comic theme about downtime.Because it did happen.

[-Windrider-]

It is my hope that the public will judge these comics fairly, taking each aspect (story, pacing, graphics, etc.) into equal consideration. There is no way to guarantee this, however, and I recognize this. However, even if I were to use a judging process (7% chance I will), I would not tell my judges not to take graphics or any other aspect into consideration. The presentation of a comic is very important.Ah, yes, there is the challenge. Instead of challenging you all by requiring an uncommon medium, I challenge you to push yourselves in whichever medium you choose.Oh my goodness that was cheesy, but whatever.On a somewhat related note, I am considering having a "pre-entry" period in which you will be allowed to take constructive criticism from your entry topics and make adjustments to your comic accordingly. Please do bring to light any problems with this that I might have missed. (Protip: I am aware that scheduling this in a way that is fair for every participant would be difficult.)

Edited January 18, 2012 by -Windrider-

[Pohuaki]

If anyone is interested...

• [*]AC 6 Ghost Stories
  • [*]original art comic winner - Rahi Zaku[*]kit-based comic winner - Twin Matrix

[*]AC 12b instructional pamphlet (comic) winner - Kanta of Le Koro I believe this was hand drawn based on other things that Kanta has done, but I'm not positive[*]AC 14 comics winner - Dokuma page 1 page 2[*]AC 16 hand drawn winner - Cap'n Kopaka page 1 page 2 This was an ad, and wasn't required to be a comic.

If you want to get some participation from people who aren't that active anymore, or get participation without entering from people who others think are too talented to compete, you could ask them to contribute a single panel based on a common premise/same characters. The contest for everyone else would then be to make a comic starting with any one of the panels, and ending with any other panel. To keep it simple, you could use a standard shaggy dog story premise ("A Toa, A Rahkshi, and a Matoran walk into a bar...") with initial panels ranging from serious (an obvious conflict about to ensue) to standard shaggy dog story fodder (the Matoran has carrots in his ears).

[Zerothemaster]

Suddenly, an idea!How about a dramatic comic? A comic that isn't focused on humor, but on dramatic tension?...maybe?