largento Posted September 29, 2009 Author Posted September 29, 2009 Thanks, Myron! It translates as "A true friend is a rare bird." :-) Quote
KenH Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 Very original alien! The back of the head could be smoother, but I'm sure there are plenty of fpps to contend with. It's odd how the shadow behind/above the parrots is shaped like a candle shield! Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 30, 2009 Hash Fellow Posted September 30, 2009 What sort of material is the green on the alien's head? It has a velvet look that doesn't look like default. Quote
largento Posted September 30, 2009 Author Posted September 30, 2009 Very original alien! The back of the head could be smoother, but I'm sure there are plenty of fpps to contend with. Thanks, Ken! I can't take any credit for the design. This is an alien design that was in McCrary's very first version of Greyhawk back in 1985! fpps? I'll see if I can't smooth things out there. In the comic he has a sort of chrome hat/helmet that I've resisted putting on him, if I can't get it right, maybe I'll stick it on to cover it up. :-) It's odd how the shadow behind/above the parrots is shaped like a candle shield! The room is octagonal which I'm guessing is why the shadow's shape is different. This is definitely a case of fantasy lighting. :-) What sort of material is the green on the alien's head? It has a velvet look that doesn't look like default. No, it's not the default. I discovered it when I was messing with the dragon model. I thought it gave him a kind of kermit the frog look. :-) It's a material called Scales2. It's either in the default materials or from the Extras DVD. I found out that if I put the scale very small (like 5%), you get this look. Quote
largento Posted September 30, 2009 Author Posted September 30, 2009 Oh! :-) There's only the 4 around each eyestalk. Do have some hooks down around the neck I could probably lower... Quote
largento Posted October 1, 2009 Author Posted October 1, 2009 Here's an update on Glimey. Still have some things left to do before I call him done. glimeyturn.mov And here's Glimey with Flemm for size comparison... Quote
apprentice Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 I'm also doing a small webcomics convention on the 14th of November and I'd like to be able to have it running at my table. Ooh, I think that's a really good idea. I'm sure you'll get lots of attention. Quote
largento Posted October 4, 2009 Author Posted October 4, 2009 I hope so, Andy! Here's #26! I'm hoping to get 2 more done today. I'm behind this week. I had a lot of Greyhawk writing to do earlier in the week and was visiting family for most of yesterday. Quote
largento Posted October 4, 2009 Author Posted October 4, 2009 Assembly line's a crankin'! Here's #27... Quote
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted October 4, 2009 Hash Fellow Posted October 4, 2009 If i might make one general comment.... too much symmetrical posing is making the characters stiff. For example, Flemm's shoulders are always exactly horizontal. What sort of material is the green on the alien's head? It has a velvet look that doesn't look like default. No, it's not the default. I discovered it when I was messing with the dragon model. I thought it gave him a kind of kermit the frog look. :-) It's a material called Scales2. It's either in the default materials or from the Extras DVD. I found out that if I put the scale very small (like 5%), you get this look. Great find! Quote
largento Posted October 4, 2009 Author Posted October 4, 2009 Thanks, Robert! I'll try to keep that in mind! Quote
largento Posted October 4, 2009 Author Posted October 4, 2009 #29... one more to go and then I'm caught up! Quote
largento Posted October 4, 2009 Author Posted October 4, 2009 Bam Said the Lady! Done with #30! Quote
kwhitaker Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 nicely done. I really like your colors. warm and crisp all in one.. fun story I do hope the parrots grant captain Flemm his pirate certificate Quote
largento Posted October 5, 2009 Author Posted October 5, 2009 Thanks, Kat! Well, it sounds like it's a done deal for Flemm... all he has to do is bring in Henrietta as his sponsor! I can't imagine that anything might go wrong... :-) Quote
Paul Forwood Posted October 6, 2009 Posted October 6, 2009 Very enjoyable, Mark. I second Kat's comments too. Quote
kwhitaker Posted October 6, 2009 Posted October 6, 2009 all he has to do is bring in Henrietta as his sponsor! I can't imagine that anything might go wrong... :-) Ah but of course, it must go wrong!... Quote
agep Posted October 6, 2009 Posted October 6, 2009 I enjoy your updates more and more! Looking very much forward to the next strips. Quote
largento Posted October 6, 2009 Author Posted October 6, 2009 Thanks, jimd! The book is still aways down the road! On November 2nd, these strips will begin running five days a week on the website. Once I've finished this story, I do plan on having a book printed, but I'm still about a year away from that, I think. Quote
Admin Rodney Posted October 6, 2009 Admin Posted October 6, 2009 Mark, One of the most enjoyable aspects of your strip is that I have no idea whats coming up next (well... besides monkeys and general silliness of course). With most strip storylines I'll tend to think 'I saw that one coming.' Not so with yours. The artwork is compeling but its the episodic storytelling and not knowing whats about to occur that keeps me coming back for more. Quote
largento Posted October 7, 2009 Author Posted October 7, 2009 Thanks, Rodney! I hope the audience at the website will feel the same as you! I've had a fondness for doing something like this for a long time! I remember having a conversation with a business partner back in the mid '90s about my wanting to do an adventure story with cartoon characters. I just like that idea... and with this, I'm getting to do that! Quote
HomeSlice Posted October 7, 2009 Posted October 7, 2009 That darn lucky hat! I knew it was trouble Quote
largento Posted October 8, 2009 Author Posted October 8, 2009 We haven't seen the half of the trouble it's going to cause yet! Here's #33 with a big nod to Monty Python... I'm going to call it a night and do #34 & #35 tomorrow. I'm going to make #36 an oversized recap strip with the Storyteller recapping the story so far using images from previous strips. Quote
largento Posted October 8, 2009 Author Posted October 8, 2009 Thanks, Paul! I couldn't resist doing it when the idea occurred to me! :-) Quote
NancyGormezano Posted October 8, 2009 Posted October 8, 2009 yup funny!...made me laugh...Even tho I knew you were going to do a take-off on "dead parrot" - I was surprised by the twist that you came up with Quote
KenH Posted October 8, 2009 Posted October 8, 2009 My what big hands Flemm has! Are they flying in the last one? Quote
HomeSlice Posted October 8, 2009 Posted October 8, 2009 Awwww man, how's he going to get a parrot now? Quote
largento Posted October 9, 2009 Author Posted October 9, 2009 Much like Charlie Brown never got to kick that football, Flemm can't be approved by the Parrot Review Board. If he ever was, he wouldn't be a "Wannabe Pirate" anymore. :-) Not that he'll ever stop trying... :-) Quote
itsjustme Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 Much like Charlie Brown never got to kick that football, Flemm can't be approved by the Parrot Review Board. If he ever was, he wouldn't be a "Wannabe Pirate" anymore. :-) Not that he'll ever stop trying... :-) He could always come up with a lesser quality substitute...something small and angry/unpredictable on his shoulder would be great. "Nobody else has a mouth-foaming spider monkey...it could be my trademark." Quote
MJL Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 Or he could try to train a chicken or pheasant to sit on his shoulder, that oughta be good for a couple of strips. Quote
largento Posted October 9, 2009 Author Posted October 9, 2009 Thanks for the suggestions, guys! In my thinking the whole Parrot thing is a case of "having is not so great a thing as wanting." He wants the validation of the Parrot Review Board to be a "real" pirate more than he actually wants a parrot. It's sort of the endless quest. If he ever got the goal, the story is over. David, monkeys are a whole other thing in the Wannabe Pirates. They are seen as being evil and are involved in something big and don't really interact much with people... except for Flemm who, unbeknownst to him is becoming the one human they view as a threat. Let's just say that in the future Flemm is going to have to deal with certain monkey assassins. All of this is upsetting to Flemm because he is completely fascinated by the monkeys and thinks they are funny and cute. Myron, a painted chicken is Flemm's go-to-substitute for a parrot. He used one to get the job in Henry Morgan's treasure and chickens play a significant role in this current story. Quote
apprentice Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 Really funny! liked strip #32. Subtle movements, great acting. Flemm's pose in panel 3 has a classic clueless determination, lol. Quote
largento Posted October 10, 2009 Author Posted October 10, 2009 Thanks, Andy! I'm afraid there's not going to be much of anything to see for awhile. Although I was hoping to build up a 10-week buffer for the strip, I'm going to have to settle for 7-weeks. My freelance work has pretty much dried up and I've got to spend some time focusing on getting some money coming in or else I'm going to be in big trouble. It's going to be tough not to work on this! I've really been enjoying the process, but I really enjoy having a place to live and food to eat, too. :-) If anybody knows of anyone who might benefit from my talents, let me know. It looks like there's not a whole lot out there right now... Quote
apprentice Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 Aw, that's too bad. You're doing great with the strips. Well, I hope that you'll find new gigs soon! Quote
HomeSlice Posted October 13, 2009 Posted October 13, 2009 I'm afraid there's not going to be much of anything to see for awhile. Awww man, I'm jonesing already! I can't believe I've become so dependent on a comic strip Quote
largento Posted October 17, 2009 Author Posted October 17, 2009 Thanks, Homeslice! I'm missing it, too. I couldn't completely stay away and after a bunch of problems with our host server (and the site being down 3 days), I decided to move forward with redesigning the site for the relaunch at the beginning of November. The site was in desperate need of having the Wordpress/Comicpress installs updated, so it was pretty much a do-over. At least I was able to export all of the posts and comments and import them into the new one. I even found out how to make it so that it's located at the root directory, rather than having to go to another directory. Most of this Wordpress stuff is a mystery to me and most of the knowledge I've gained doing websites over the years with html is useless. It's a game of digging through all of the files and trying to guess what does what. Still some more things to do, but wanted to get it up and running *before* I started promoting the relaunch. Clicking on the banner in my sig will take you there, of course. :-) Quote
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