[DEBATE] Do you think a 3d comic should be considered honest art?

[Xade]

I admit Dan needs to perfect his new technique, but I have seen some that you would never know unless they told you it was a merge of 2d, and 3d. I forget which one, and probably lost it due to hardware failure last year but I was marveling over it when they revealed it.

Also, Daz 3d does have dynamic clothing but I for one think it's to expensive to use just on a comic. It would be different iof I could make a living off of it...

[raerae]

For a merge of 2-D and 3-D I know hydropix sometimes renders the basic shapes and then goes in an paints over it. Sometimes he doesn't, though. He used to have a tutorial on it, but it seems that it is no longer up.

[GaborBoth]

I know doing such stuff in 3d sucks balls, and I know how impossible it is for one person, and I know even a mediocre 3d model is lot of work to make. But I still pointed out how I miss this stuff, even though I know the it's the media's fault.

[Funderbunk]

It's not so much the medium's fault because that's like saying a toddler that falls down the stairs brought it on himself. 3D is only just in it's infancy and these things just aren't very efficient yet, but at some point someone is going to figure it out and make the process faster.

[GaborBoth]

Of course I meant it that way.

[Xade]

Well, I have occasionally changed my clothing to look look like they pulled it back (I forgot the shader on the shirt) to make it look like they were tugging it away to look down the shirt. And, with enough skill you can easily whip something up pretty quick. Example, Panel 3's bacground only took 10 mins, including the sky, ground, and the thing the monster is standing on. Texturing took another 15 due to having the sand texture and just needing to shade it and stuff. A sky dome is easy to make if you know how to do it. My vote incentive bush would not take the 3 days it has taken I actually had the time to deal with it the past few days and if I would have thought it through so I would not be dealing with a false start. So a skilled 3der can actually do things very quickly, and once you finish it then it is there, ready to be put into the scene.

Most items in the daz store actually has the folds morph, however, as I said before my shader washes out most things in the rendering. Come to think of it I did build my computer so it would not be a slacker in the processing department for my comic...most people cry with envy when I tell them about it so I won't give the specs. Let's just say it's a powerful machine that can handle any game you throw at it without batting an eye and leave it at that. ;)

One day 3d will be so popular that companies like Pixar will be like Disney was to all the others. (before the merger of course) Edit: I mean, how many of you tried to draw donald duck for instance as a kid?

[Yamino]

I'm of the belief that anything is an art form if you make it so.

Some of my professors scoffed at me when I announced I was going to be drawing Sister Claire completely digital- no paper or pencil or ink involved at any stage of the page.  These are guys who worked at Marvel and DC drawing superhero comics from the 80-90's, and some of them still can't grasp the concept of using a tablet.  I'm sure that having seen what can be done with it, they (and other people with aversions to digital art) they will start to change their minds as more and more artists embrace the digital medium and push it to new boundaries.

Of course, you'll always have some traditionalists who prefer their own medium over yours.  It's a matter of preference, and their opinion doesn't degrade what you're doing.

But I think the most important thing for people who make Poser comics is to do what all pioneers have done with new mediums, and really explore and experiment with new ways to improve the medium.  To be honest, I'm not really a fan of 3D comics myself.  As was previously stated by GaborBoth, the ones I have seen are generally quite stiff and they never have any of the exaggerations and crazy perspective/emotion that I require to really enjoy a comic. Also, the colors ad lighting always seem very staged, and it pulls me out of the story.

That being said, I wouldn't discount them as a legitimate form of comics, nor would I underestimate their potential to be improved exponentially over the next few years as technology improves.  Dreamland Chronicles is the best example of 3D webcomics I've seen.  I love the colors, expressions, and character designs in it. I think the key to having a good 3D comic lies in really customizing the hell out of your models/colors/textures etc, so that they cease to look like stock material and start to look more like individual, recognizable characters.

[Xade]

well, I admit, that I really haven't customized Alex, yet, however, I do plan on him going through a few transformations here and there, the hair streaks are only the beginning. Eventually his face will change, along with his body structure. It's one of the things about Xade (planet) as it shows here with Alexis (her wings were hidden for the event and she had a mute choker on. Anyone who kept track of the 2008 caper might know this) and the 5 following it, if a powerful wizard of dragon descent levels up off world they go through a transformation that they cannot control. Alex has a tiny bit of dragon in him, it it can influence him at any time. Also, I am still new at 3d webcomicing, and I'm trying to learn how to do the lighting and everything correctly. It's actually kinda crappy, looking back but I was just starting to learn about Daz 3d so that's to be expected.

Now, before I hurt my wrist I had graduated to the digital art style, most noticeable is the craptacular sixth comic You can see the sudden change in the final panel. I will be changing it over to 3d eventually, and probably removing the song reference for a more original song. (The older ones will be moved to a new section of the site with links) I actually found the digital work much easier, for I could draw the guidelines on layers, be able to fill on layers and not have nearly as many fill breaks and I had before. For the record, Cara, Alex's car, can actually go over 200 mph, for he suped (sp?) up the engine. There's a reason behind that but I think I tossed out enough spoilers for one thread ;)

[Yamino]

I was in a bit of a hurry when I made my last post, and I want to add some things I should have mentioned earlier:

I'm really sorry to hear about your wrist, I've had my own share of wrist problems which impeded my drawing ability, but nowhere near as traumatic as a car crash. :'(  But the fact that you're not giving up on comics is really inspiring.  It's great that you were able to find another medium to use, and I commend you for that.  I have very limited experience with 3D programs, mosty because they frustrated the heck out of me. I can barely get the hang of Google Sketchup.  I had Poser for a while, and I found it incredibly tedious to use when I could just use a photo or mirror for quicker, more realistic reference.  I'm really impressed that you took the time to learn a whole new way of expressing your story, and I know it can't have been easy.

I'm sure that as you continue with the comic, it'll only improve more and more as you learn to master the program. I mean, I taught myself to use Photoshop and Illustrator, and you wouldn't believe how horrific my first attempts with those were. (Not that your comic is horrific!  You know what I mean. XD)

[Xade]

hmm, I somehow missed your reply Yamino, probably because I didnt have time yesterday to loaf about. I must say that I have not actually read your comic, nor do I plan on reading it for....rather objective reasons that shall remain locked in the confines of my skull, even if you ask via pm but I hold nothing against you personally. I have glanced at it, chuckled over the concept, examined the artwork and deemed it nice, but other than that I have no plans to read Sister Clair.

I must admit, that Poser is a pain in the rear to work with, I much rather prefer Daz studio. I can actualkly pose real easy with a spin of the dials and the interface is pleasantly simple and highly customizable. I do own a copy, but I only use it when I really need to, like converting clothing with PhilC's converter or a few other handy scripts that I collected over the years. You need to try Daz studio, the link is on my site, the left sidebar. they have a special going on where all the human characters from Vicky 1 to Freak 4 is free. Check it out :)

[teh hchano]

Screw haters, the medium shouldn't matter lmao. As long as it's
something you are creating, it's art. I mean if they can say a white-
washed canvas is art then anything goes.

But personally, I think actually putting time into creating the characters
for a digital and 3d medium is so artwork. It takes creativity and talent.

So yeah, screw the haters.

Btw, totally not kidding, saw a canvas with default primer hanging in a
museum once. Mind you this wasn't some shitty place either, totally a
stand up, fine arts museum. The artists comment card implied that the
actual art was 'the shadow cast by the viewer'... whyyyyyy

[GaborBoth]

Interesting: http://webcomicoverlook.com/2010/02/08/the-webcomic-overlook-107-the-dreamland-chronicles/