Sorry for the delay, but I still managed to finish it by Tuesday evening (Pacific time, anyway). As mentioned I had trouble getting my software to cooperate on the big 3d cityscape, but it evened out in the end. I would have gotten this strip done a lot earlier today, but a lot of stuff came up. And of course, I got a bit distracted. Vue 5′s extreme render times (this scene would have been over 12 hours, which I personally think is slightly excessive) made me think about whether or not Vue 6 was faster and if it was worth the upgrade price. So, I got obsessive as I always do with art program toys and had to check it out. Their presentation video is cool. It is perhaps an over-the-top package for a mere comic, though, and maybe even too realistic. But it looks like fun (which is what matters to me aside from speed and quality), and there’s a free personal education version that’s basically a full-featured demo. So, I’ll have to check it out some time to see if it’s worth the upgrade price. (I really can give it up at any time I want. Serious.) Interestingly, there’s a couple entry-level and more affordable versions for hobbyists looking for a quality alternative to Bryce. Well, more affordable for a 3d package, anyway.
Originally, this strip was supposed to be four panels, but then it didn’t leave room for the cool establishing shot that I wanted. So I had to split it into two half-strips of two panels each. It’s a bit scanty for a single strip to only have two panels, but this way we’ll have a better view of the characters. And they’re more manageable for me to finish on time. I really think it came out nice enough. It’s more or less what I had in my head in the planning stage. It would have been fun, were it not for all the setbacks. But that’s just 3d for you. I forgot to do any post effects like light bloom or depth of field blur (where stuff in the distance goes out of focus slightly). But do you miss it? I don’t. Well, this is my fourth article of the day (including the one on legendsfromthevoid.com), and my article writing skills are a bit lacking. Talk about excessive. So I’ll just leave it at that. Let me know what you think of the strip. Next comic should be Thursday.
I see Lizard-man is back. With a sidekick, nonetheless! *waits impatiently*
Anemone
Are you waiting impatiently for me to get back to Gilrec, or just to see what happens next? Sorry about that.
I had thought we’d go right back to Gil, but then realized in the script I have to introduce these two. They’re important later on, and I want to make them fun characters. Truthfully, I’m rather impatient to get more of the story out too. I probably could do more but it would mean forgetting about the 3d, which part of me would like to do and yet part of me would be sad to lose. I don’t know. I’d have to simplify things a bit. Then I could put out more pages. Plus, I’ve gotten carried away and left the story for too long. I shouldn’t have done that.
Well, there’s a few strips with these guys, which should be fun. Then we go back to Gilrec. Finally we’ll go back to Brin and Pix again.
Oh, I’m just impatient in general. I know it takes time to do what you’re doing — I get bugged for updates, too. But I’m one of those people who likes to wait until something is done before they get started on it, so there’s no waiting. I just couldn’t do that in this case, I’m all caught up in it! (Which is a compliment, if you like.)
You’re doing beautifully, keep up the good work.
And the city looks great.
Anemone
I’m glad you like it so much. And I understand. I’m a bit impatient too. I want to get deeper into the story and ideally update four or six half-strips a week. It’ll be a while before that can happen. But six half-strips a week roughly equals out to a 150 or so full pages a year. That’s a whole volume of a graphic novel. Four half-strips a week would be two pages, equaling about a hundred pages per year. That would be ok, I suppose. But I’d like to get more of the story told. But I guess the important thing now is to work up to consistent posts per week, and keep things moving.
Whoo, sorry I haven’t been on in a while. I like the sheep story so far, and its nice to get back to Gilrec.
I still am confused as to the state of the previous-next buttons. I can’t read them. :/
Hey, Minor Key! Yeah it is nice to get back to Gilrec. I’ll try not to take such long tangents from the story in the future. Ruins the flow. I’m really sorry about the buttons, though. They are messed up since I changed them. Can you read the Load or Save buttons underneath? What browser are you using. I need to know this stuff so I can test it. I’ll try to fix it tomorrow. Good controls are vital. Maybe I’ll use audio player-style Arrows instead. That’s what the new site will probably use.
Does anyone have a preference between arrows like on an mp3 player style navigation, or just the words:First,Previous,Next,Last?
Buttons are buttons, so long as they make sense and look okay it’s fine. I prefer full pages, but if it means more updates then go for it : ), Also I like the 3D work, I’ve only seen one other sci fi comic that does that. (granted I don’t read many sci fi comics, but still, it’s a nice touch that makes it different) Yay for getting back to Brin and Pix : D.
There are pros and cons to full and half pages, I think. Extra planning is needed for the half-pages. But I think it’s better to have a two half-strip week when things get busy, than a one full comic week. My traffic goes way down after too many one comic weeks. And the half-strips are more manageable, bite-sized portions for me to handle, which is nice when there’s really hard 3d stuff to do. Or even page 146 that, even though there’s only two panels and two characters, both were fairly detailed so it took me awhile to do them. But three half-pages a week, is easier for me to do, and better for traffic than two full-pages that take more out of me.
But when it makes sense and the layout demands a full-page, I’ll still do them. I would have preferred to do 145-6 as a full page since there are only four panels, but each of the elements and especially the 3d was very time consuming. So, I broke it up.
And I really do like the 3d, even if it does take longer some times. Like you said, it’s different. I know of other comics that use 3d, but they have a very different look. I like Far Reaches’ look since I started doing the 3d. Besides, it can be a lot of fun. I’ve been a 3d enthusiast for six or seven years. And it’s lots of fun learning and playing with new programs or techniques.
I like the new arrows but I still can’t rea the text under it.
I’m using Internet Explorer, I don’t know what version. i wish so badly I could switch to Mozilla but my computer is stupid and it can’t download any programs over the internet, including Mozilla…
Glad you like the arrows. I think they’re a lot better. I’ll try to fix the text under. It is awfully small.
Okay, I’ve fixed the Save and Load buttons. They’re a lot bigger and I think clearer. I hate web design. What looks fine in Firefox, is often messed up Internet Explorer, or vise versa. But I finally got it to work (I think). Thanks for mentioning it, because I’m sure you’re not the only one, and usability is so important. What good are save and load buttons if you can’t read them