Make Your Own Joke.
So I introduced a new recurring character by the name of Yaju during my Thanksgiving story, as I’m sure you noticed. This person does actually exist and is a friend of my Wife and I. Granted I’m taking some…artistic liberties with her as a character I hope that you guys will enjoy having more than two people running around. If it feels a bit odd right now, let it ride out, her origin story and such are coming up so that it will make sense in the comic world. Now that I’ve laid some groundwork from that time warp I did, I can start going back and explaining things a bit. Whew~! Lots of text!
Something also worth mentioning, it seems that the real Yaju has made some mention of this comic, and I’m seeing alot of hits coming in from that…this makes me nervous. Typically I don’t like to advertise, especially not to the people that I know personally. I think that there’s a certain insecurity that comes along with doing something like this. Not only do I constantly worry that my drawings are crap, but I also get the bonus of worrying about the story as a whole, and whether it’s at least mildly entertaining. Basically I suppose I’m saying if you happen to think I’m being too harsh in my characterization of your friend, or if this comic isn’t your cup of tea…be gentle with me ^_^v
Also, this week, I finally broke the 200 comic barrier! When I look back on all that work, I can’t help but feel a sense of…well shame. Most of those 200 comics are terrible, HA!
Looking toward the future however, I’m feeling pretty good. Insecure, but pretty good.
Heh, I kind of know what you mean. The internet gives you that cirten a anonymity so you can be free. If no one likes it, who cares? And now, you’ve got your friends and their friends reading… personaly I’d be a lot more hesitant to make jokes at their expense and so on ’cause I don’t want to offend them.
Lol, I’ve never Never looked at your comic and thought the drawing was the best ever, but It’s plenty good enough. The best part, and the part that keeps me coming back is the amount of wit you put into it. Dun worry so much about it man, I think your comic is very entertaining
PS when are we going to have more Japanese Pirate tales =o…?
Pirate tales eh? I have 3 of those written, I just need to flesh out a couple more of them for the next pirate week ^_^ I’m also working on Ninja Doctor Medical Dragon Team which I think is equally ridiculous.
I actually cleared the use of Yaju (the girl I’ve been making fun of) for the comic, but I think maybe I took it farther than she would have expected. Usually in social situations I tend to poke fun at everyone (including myself) for laughs. It’s difficult with females I think. They’re more sensitive to being made fun of than guys and they don’t verbalize it when you’ve crossed their line.
I do feel though, however, that unless I take people that I personally know and have experiences with into the comic, it won’t retain the same vibe. I’ve always kind of built this as an exaggeration of actual events, sort of a caricature diary of sorts.
PS. What do you think of the direction I’m taking the art style? I’m keeping more of my sketch work’s rounded lines and simplifying things for the sake of time. I think it’s looking more like a clean cartoon.
Actually I think your artistic style is good. It fits with the sense of humor too. I like it a bit more now with the harder lines and acceptance of whitespace. Thinking back to some of the first comics… you were pushing for a lot of details and textures to objects that weren’t really important… and I think it sort of did detract from the usualy light-hearted nature.
What can I say, I really enjoy your comic a lot. It reminds me here and there of the silly/weird adventures I always had when I was crazy enough to hang out with Japanese exchange students here xD So keep up the great work. I’m sure a lot of people are enjoying them, even if they don’t all stop in and write messages. I think I’m just a compulsive writer :p
Hehe, yeah, I basically pick on people all the time. I tell them it’s just how I show my love =3. Not really innacurate anyways. I don’t pick on people who I don’t like (or don’t respect). I tend to assume they all get that fact, but STILL sometimes I can just be joking about something and I end up hurting my friends’ feelings and I feel so bad Dx.
That pen shading of everything was a really bad habit that I picked up from drawing at work. I used to have a ton of free time at one of my old jobs, so I’d stand at my register and draw for 3~6 hours depending on the day. Eventually I got to the point where I would just work on one drawing for the length of it and I’d end up trying to shade everything and really overwork the whole drawing just to kill time. Kind of in the opposite position now…
I’m glad you’re a compulsive writer, it’s nice to hear opinions and get feedback from people that read the comic. I like to think I’m pretty good about being responsive, though it’d be nice to see more people in the conversation. Community building, one member at a time. Even if it’s only one member for now