The Wannabe Pirates

[Gerry]

this is looking absolutely great! Nice work, nice touches nice overall "look". I just hope you've learned your lesson and next year you'll start in June!

[largento]

Thanks, Gerry! I think maybe I should start on next year's next week. :-)

[largento]

It's up on the website!

 

But it's in YouTube quality... If you click through the YouTube page, you can choose to watch it in High Quality, which seems to be decent, but it doesn't seem to give me that option when I'm doing the embedding.

 

Anybody know how to do that?

 

In the end, I couldn't do the frozen in ice gag. It just got bigger and bigger and as I began animating it, I figured out that it would leave me only a couple of seconds for the "card" part of the Christmas card, so I dropped it. I hated to do it, but as I looked at it, I realized it did work better ending with the last line of singing.

 

Here's a still from it. I may go back and finish animating it anyway for fun, but for now, I'm done!

 

[martin]

Mark's done - it's Christmas now!

 

Hey, it's great, Mark, (and looks fine on YouTube). I went to that "IsItFunnyToday?" site but I couldn't find the Wannabes? (Those pictures of McCrary in the Wannabe home movie were great!)

[largento]

Thanks, Martin!

 

It's tricky with the Is It Funny Today site because they consider our comic a "story" comic. Right by where it says "Top 20 Today" there's a place where you can select "regular comics" or "story comics". Clicking on that gets you into the story comics area. Right this second our latest is at #4.

[Rodney]

Bravo!

 

I don't mind that level of quality resolution one bit.

It provided a nice TV production feel to it.

 

What a great addition to have for the comic strip!

 

Encore!

 

(Okay... maybe you can rest up a little... you've earned it!)

[Rodney]

 

Mark,

I've gotta say... This image (and your work in general) goes beyond 3D into something else.

Beautiful imagery.

[largento]

Thanks, Rodney! You are too kind! Thanks for the comment on the website, too!

[Gerry]

Great!

[Paul Forwood]

Congratulations on finishing before the deadline, Mark. That was some challenge that you set yourself and I think you did really well! The new ending works well too.

[largento]

Thanks, Gerry & Paul!

 

The ending grew out of trying to find a way to transition to 2D art from McCrary. I came up with the what-if-this-was-all-just-in-a-snowglobe (since obviously it never snows in Jamaica) and then remembered reading somewhere on the boards that depth-of-field could give a "miniature" look.

[Dagooos]

Congrats on getting the short done! Website looks great too.

[largento]

Thanks!

[largento]

This may be helpful to others:

 

I found out how to make my YouTube movie display in "high" quality when embedded on my page.

 

You go into the code and add: &ap=%2526fmt%3D18

 

after the two times the address appears. (You may have to put a semi-colon to separate it from other tags.)

 

It does make a difference!

[largento]

 

Got a bug to model another couple of characters and this is the beginning of the first one.

 

"Nash" has worked his way into becoming Cutthroat's first mate and since I need to give Cutthroat a couple of men, Nash seemed like a perfect choice. Nash will also be the first time I'm modeling a character not based on my design... another challenge, to be sure.

 

I must confess to wondering if I still remembered how to do this! It had been a fairly long time since I worked on my last model.

[Paul Forwood]

Looks good, Mark!

[largento]

Thanks, Paul!

 

I did a little bit more on him the other night:

 

 

I hope to get a bunch done tomorrow while I'm off.

[Rodney]

Hey Mark, Nice work... great looking character.

(Suggestion: Render those PNGs with the Alpha Channel on and you can repurpose the images for use in your blog, character sheets, promo material etc!)

By the looks of it I'd say you've still got the character modeling skillz!

[largento]

Thanks, Rodney!

 

I was just looking back through this thread and it looks like the last time I modeled the head of a character was in January of last year!

[largento]

 

A little further along...

[largento]

A little more progress with Nash...

 

[NancyGormezano]

Nicely Nashed

[largento]

Haha, thanks Nancy!

[HomeSlice]

Very nice largento. Please keep going. It is inspiring to see you keeping your nose to the wheel.

[Paul Forwood]

Very nice, Mark.

Have you ever read, 'Swallows and Amazons'?

[largento]

Very nice largento. Please keep going. It is inspiring to see you keeping your nose to the wheel.

 

 

Very nice, Mark.

Have you ever read, 'Swallows and Amazons'?

 

Thanks, guys! I'm trying. :-)

 

"Swallows and Amazons" doesn't sound familiar, Paul. Should I google it?

[Gerry]

Really looking great, Mark! I like this latest character.

[largento]

Thanks, Gerry!

 

With the weekend coming, I hope to get the rest of him finished and move on to the next one. I also was taking a look at things and realized I'd never finished the monkey model (I only did the head), so I need to finish that one off, too.

 

It's interesting how doing the webcomic is influencing this. As it grows, I realize that I need to modify things to keep up with it.

 

My first "micro-movie" is going to be what would be the opening titles to the longer "mini-movies." There's a Wannabe Pirates theme song that was just instrumental in McCrary's home movie, but I've written lyrics for it and am going to work with a local musician to get it recorded. I think it will be fun to have on the website and we can use it as a sort of commercial for the website on places like YouTube.

[largento]

Haven't started on the other models yet. The weekend got away from me.

 

I did do a new skyscraper ad for the website, though:

 

[largento]

So, it looks like I'm going to take a little side trip before I get to working on the theme song animation.

 

It hardly seems possible, but the beginning of February will mark 1 year for The Wannabe Pirates webcomic! Readers here know that we started it earlier than that in order to build up a 20 strip buffer before we launched, but it was on February 1st of last year that the first strip went online. (The strip that went up this Tuesday was #100!)

 

McCrary and I are discussing a few things we may do to mark the anniversary. One of them, I think, will be a micro-super-short short animation. I'm toying with some ideas, but I'll update here with progress. Another short deadline to tackle! When we do put up blog posts, we do it on Wednesdays, so it looks like February 4th will be the date for getting it finished.

 

It should be fun!

 

Still can't believe so much time has passed so quickly!

[martin]

#100! WhooHoo!

[Gerry]

Yarr!

[largento]

Thanks, guys!

[largento]

We've been invited to join a website that puts up free comics for kids.

 

Since it's more geared towards comic books, I've been working on putting together a small book that will reprint the first two storylines from the webcomic.

 

As I've been working on it, it occurs to me that it would probably work as a print version, sized similar to a children's book, saddle-stitched with a card stock cover and 20 pages of interiors.

 

Going to see if I can find out how much it would cost to print.

 

It would give us something to sell on the website and at any conventions we go to. We could also donate some to local libraries.

 

Here's the working cover for the book:

 

[Rodney]

Very nice Mark.

 

Make it great!

I'd buy one of those.

[largento]

Thanks, Rodney!

 

I'll let you know when/if it goes on sale. ;-)

[largento]

I uploaded the first volume of The Wannabe Pirates to Kidjutsu last night!

 

Kidjutsu is a website where kids can go to read kid-friendly comics. The Flash reader works pretty well.

 

You can view The Wannabe Pirates book here.

[Rodney]

I was rushing off to work this morning when I saw your post.

I had to take the time to view your online comic and I tried to read through it all in one quick sitting.

Of course that left me with no time to post to tell you how much I enjoyed it.

 

I'm back to say... job well done!

 

Words cannot adequately express how wonderful it is for me to see project like yours get a fair share of time in the spotlight.

Today you've made yet another impressive step forward for The Wannabe Pirates.

Getting your characters out in front of kids like this is no small thing.

May your readership grow at exactly the pace you and McCrary can keep up with.

 

Go get 'em Mark.

Long live kid friendly comics... and The Wannabe Pirates.

 

 

Edit: If there was one thing I'd pick on out of the whole Kitjutsu experience it might be the size of the dialogue/fonts.

It was a little hard to read at times. Now that I have more time I'll go back and look again. (perhaps its just my old eyes)

[Rodney]

Doh! I remember now.

The reason the fonts were so small is that I didn't have time for the full screen images to load.

I thought it locked up on me so I viewed the comic in the smaller screen size.

 

Sorry Mark.

User error!!!

The fonts of the full screen size are perfect (even for my tired old eyes).

[largento]

Thanks, Rodney!

 

Hopefully Kidjutsu will take off. I like the idea of there being a hub where kids can go to read comics.

 

I like their Flash reader. Isolating the image from the usual background noise is helpful and showcases the pages well. The navigation is pretty good and I found that the pages loaded pretty quickly.

 

And thanks to Martin, too! I really appreciate the comment on the page!

[Rodney]

Isn't it customary for these types who have birthdays to walk the plank or get a friendly toss overboard?

I've heard it said if they can swim fast enough to catch up they can freely climb back on board.

 

[largento]

Haha! That's awesome, Rodney!

 

Thanks!

 

If my choice is walking the plank or getting thrown overboard, I'm thinking I'm really not such a strictler for tradition. :-)

[largento]

Just an update, although there's nothing new to report.

 

I've been giving a lot of thought to how I next want to proceed. I think the micro-shorts are the way to go, but I'm trying to decide if they should just be random bits or serialized chapters in larger stories.

 

I'm also battling a bit of the "is it worth all the trouble" blues. I think I'll be able to weather them, though.

 

I've come too far and done too much work to just toss it all aside. :-)

[martin]

I'm also battling a bit of the "is it worth all the trouble" blues.

I heard there's a pill for that.

[mouseman]

I've been giving a lot of thought to how I next want to proceed. I think the micro-shorts are the way to go, but I'm trying to decide if they should just be random bits or serialized chapters in larger stories.

I think the serialized chapters in larger stories could be very effective, although it is a lot harder to plan and pull off. Ernesttx is doing a good job of it on Subject 99.

 

On TV, I think Babylon 5 was really the first series that had a real story arc with a beginning/middle/end instead of just a rambling storyline with occasional cliffhangers at the end of episodes, and now that is quite normal (although usually it's over one season). But if you can think of a story arc, motivations for each character, and storylines for each character that interact with each other within larger story arcs, you can really draw people in.

 

That's probably beyond what you have in mind, but it's something to think about. It probably lends itself better for dramas.

[largento]

Martin, I'm going to have to go look for that pill. I seem to have a chronic case of it. :-)

 

Chris, I think that's something I'll do on a cursory level, but the Wannabe Pirates can't (and really shouldn't) be taken too seriously. And although we've been introducing things to populate and define it's "world," we're really pushing towards a sort of permanent status quo.

 

That said, I do think the animated version allows for a slightly more serious tone. The webcomic's structure requires constant gags. Plot has to be woven into it, whereas the cartoon chapters wouldn't be bound by that... of course, it would be taking that structural requirement and trading it for another: cliffhangers.

 

But cliffhangers are a great way to build an audience... there becomes more of a reason to come back every time.

 

I just need to figure out a way to balance the results with the effort. How can I satisfy myself and an audience without killing myself in the process?

 

That's where I think the micro-length of them comes in... but can I really make this work in 1-2 minute chapters?

[Rodney]

I just need to figure out a way to balance the results with the effort. How can I satisfy myself and an audience without killing myself in the process?

 

When me mateys sails down to the blahs... we heads up to de deck... where there be plenty singin' an' dancin' and merrytimin' for all.

 

Perhaps somewhere down the line you might consider taking on an apprentice or two?

I know you like creating the stories yourself but it'd open a few doors of opportunity for other A:M Users which I'm sure they'd appreciate. The apprentice would gain some very useful experience on board your ship. The burden of day to day chores might lift a little from off your shoulders too.

 

This wouldn't be so much about entering a teacher/trainee relationship as much following the way of comics. It'd be more like placing your mark on the moving pages of a Wannabe flipbook with the apprentice filling in those spots, freelancing inbetween the marks.

 

I'm sure it wouldn't all be smooth sailing. More than a few times when its down to the wire you'd still have to complete the job yourself. You'd have that to look forward to.

[largento]

Sage advice, Rodney!

 

Somewhere down the line, I may very well do that.

 

But first I've got to figure out where I'm going. I think I'm starting to get an idea of it. Just have to see if it pans out.

[largento]

Well, after dipping down in the red, my enthusiasm has popped back up into the black!

 

I've laid out the basic plot for a 12-chapter serial that I think will work for me!

 

There are some fun adventure elements I've come up with for it and it will feature elements from the Arthurian legend!

 

I'm in the process of writing it now, which is a special challenge since all twelve chapters will be told by the narrator in rhyme. This device will allow me to keep the pace of the story moving forward and also free me from having to worry about a lot of different voice recordings with all the quality issues that come with this. Ditto extensive sound design and scoring. A simple music track can play under the narration which will suffice.

 

I think this will fit the story very well and free me from having to *show* everything. (Also, it means almost zero lip sync.)

 

My goal is to finish the first 3 chapters before I start putting them up on a one a month schedule. That will give me a 3-month buffer. [EDIT: or would that be a 2-month buffer?]

 

The new story brings with it some new characters and such that I need to model and that suits me fine!

 

At long last, I really feel like the adventure is about to truly begin!

[HomeSlice]

That's great to hear Large. You are much more than just some guy doing a cartoon about pirates. You help to inspire and motivate all of us to get off our a** and do something fun and creative.