Curse

Etaoin Shrdlu · Aug 28, 2009, 05:21 PM // 17:21

Hey, sorry to post this in two forums, but I was not sure if this belonged in NAA or LF.

Okay, I am nowhere near as good an artist as a lot of the people that post here. My comic is not going to be anywhere near as epic as Tzu's. All that I can promise is to give a good old college try with a webcomic. My associate has the same sentiments.

That being said, we just want to let everyone know about our comics, Etaoin's Tales and The Zhaga. Two stories that will (eventually) interweave but, for right now, we are just having fun with them.

etaoinstales.blogspot.com

duratzhaga.blogspot.com

Please check them out and give us feedback (we really need and appreciate it). If you want, we may even be able to work out adding your character to the comics.

Thanks!

YunSooJin · Aug 28, 2009, 05:26 PM // 17:26

I've read your comic before. It has a self effacing, old-style touch to it that is pretty endearing. Honestly, my only problem with your comic was the fact that the font you use, while in-style for comics, I have massive problems reading it in a way that's not painful to my eyes after awhile. It's just harder to read. And I'm young (early 20s).

Killamus · Aug 28, 2009, 05:44 PM // 17:44

Yea, make your font better and it'd be a good comic.

IronSheik · Aug 28, 2009, 06:08 PM // 18:08

^^^ this

Not to be a prick, but I can't even read that font.

Etaoin Shrdlu · Aug 28, 2009, 06:25 PM // 18:25

Oh, jeez! Is the font that difficult to read? I am sorry about that. I did not realize how hard/uncomfortable that could be to look at. Come to think of it, I run into this problem with my handwriting, too o_O

Okay, no problem to fix...

A quick question, though: What font (or "flavor" of font) would any of you recommend? I want to maintain a distinct font for each character, but I understand that it needs to be readable. What would you recommend for a guy like Etaoin?

kylanf · Aug 28, 2009, 06:46 PM // 18:46

First Up-lol @ the mario thingy on the second last page

Secondly-Whilst I'm not disagreeing with everyone else to be a total jerk, I think the font's fine as it is, it's not really bland and I personally can still read it.

Thirdly and Lastly-The interface? Do you think it may look better if you hide the interface? otherwise the build and level and stuff could kinda get in the way sometimes

apart from that third thing, i like this comic, it's kinda funny and light-hearted as well

Etaoin Shrdlu · Aug 28, 2009, 07:14 PM // 19:14

To kylanf: You can thank Carina over at The Zhaga for that last panel. After I told her I would be making a plumbing joke, it was totally her idea for me to add Mario in (Nintendo, please do not sue me!).

I am also glad that you like the font, although I will probably change it to make it more accessible. I am getting feedback from other sources suggesting I make it more readable. I will try to keep a distinct font for "our hero", but it will have to be something more...legible?

As to the interface - When I first started doing the comic back in May (an aborted storyline), I tried to cut as much of the interface out as possible when doing the comic. This made the view less obstructed, but it also brought on problems of trying to keep the scenes "pure" of such obstructions which, in some cases, was outright impossible. I wanted to be consistent, but to be consistent sometimes meant going to painstaking lengths to keep something out of a shot, or keep going in and out of interface to get things done. I am more than willing to put time into the comic, but the GW interface itself is extremely frustrating sometimes, and sometimes I would "lose my shot" while switching.

For the new series, I decided to do a lot of it with the player interface (specifically the default interface) still shown in the foreground. I think it adds an additional "frame" for the comic that also reminds readers where this is taking place (mostly in-game). Also, it makes my comic look a bit closer to The Zhaga, so you can tell the two are related.

I agree, though, that it does cause obstruction when trying to see everything. There is probably some way to quickly switch between visible and invisible interface, but I do not know it. I will try to look it up. Until then, I will continue to evaluate how I like the comic with and without the interface. If my readers keep chiming in on what they prefer, that will also influence my decision

In short: Thank you very much for the input!

YunSooJin · Aug 28, 2009, 07:15 PM // 19:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Etaoin Shrdlu

Oh, jeez! Is the font that difficult to read? I am sorry about that. I did not realize how hard/uncomfortable that could be to look at. Come to think of it, I run into this problem with my handwriting, too o_O

Okay, no problem to fix...

A quick question, though: What font (or "flavor" of font) would any of you recommend? I want to maintain a distinct font for each character, but I understand that it needs to be readable. What would you recommend for a guy like Etaoin?

To me, the biggest problem is the 'blobs' in the middle of a lot of the words in the font. When you have a lot of text, it's just difficult to read. I normally read very fast (400pg book in ~3hrs), so when my reading is slowed down a lot I tend to lose interest. I was reading some of your other episodes with the dream-guy, and yeah I reaaally had trouble trying to read all of it :P

I don't know what font you should use, but maybe use one with distinctive lower-case and upper-case?

Etaoin Shrdlu · Aug 28, 2009, 07:38 PM // 19:38

To YunSooJin: Ah, okay, this helps me out a lot. I think I might have an idea of how to improve the font to make it easier on your (and many other people's) eyes. The earliest comics are the worst for that, by the way. Headmaster Kaa's font was a total disaster, and I only realized that after I posted the comic. If I were still doing that storyline, his would be the first issues I cleaned up. Instead, I will focus on re-doing Etaoin's text.

I think that making the text size larger also helps, and I might make it even larger in my next revisions. I will edit the pages I have posted in the new series (Portrait of a Gentleman), and you will be able to see those improvements by the end of the weekend (if not sooner).

Tzu · Aug 28, 2009, 08:26 PM // 20:26

you could check out www.dafont.com and find a font which is both fancy and readable!

I'm not very good at finding fonts, it sooo boring... D8 I just stick to ordinary Georgia for the most part.

I quite like your comic so far, it's funny!

Keep posting! ^.^ worst you can do is give up.

Etaoin Shrdlu · Aug 28, 2009, 08:49 PM // 20:49

Wow, Tzu to the rescue! Seriously, this is a great site to get fonts from. Well, I guess I know what I will be researching for a while o_O

Also, thanks for the words of encouragement. Like I said, I am not an artist of your caliber (I just do not have the hands for it), but I do try to work with what I have...and I do try to give people a few laughs

Okay, after much searching I ended up choosing a font. It is not as fancy as I wanted, but it should be readable. You can see it on the site, since I have updated the three posted comics. I hope this helps out everyone who could not read it earlier.

Now I just need to edit the other comics I had in back-log...o_O

Etaoin Shrdlu · Sep 01, 2009, 02:34 PM // 14:34

Just to let everyone know, I am still updating (trying for MWF or MW) at etaoinstales.blogspot.com. I have also started the "blogging" part of the blog, and will try to keep up with that as well.

Please check it out and let me know your thoughts on (a) the new font and (b) the stuff I talk about. Some of it is serious, some of it not so serious. I love to have discussions, though. Please understand, however, that I am not "hardcore" about gaming (although I am about philosophy

).

Snograt · Sep 01, 2009, 03:24 PM // 15:24

Also: http://www.blambot.com/fonts.shtml

omens · Sep 01, 2009, 03:28 PM // 15:28

Quite a nice start, cant wait to see more.

To hide the interface do ctrl-shift-h

Etaoin Shrdlu · Sep 01, 2009, 03:57 PM // 15:57

::smacks forehead:: Of course it would be that simple! Thanks, omens. I will probably use this in the comics I work on from here on out. Unfortunately, you will have to bear with me for a while longer on the interface-ed comics. I have a good stock loaded up, and I still want to post them. I could always go back and redo them, but then I would have less time to work on more comics for the future. I think I can make it all work out, though.

Also, thanks for the font link, Snograt. I already see a few on there that I really like. Yeah...I think I can make this work.

Tommy's · Sep 01, 2009, 05:21 PM // 17:21

lol this really made me laugh, I loved it. And by saying this is not as good as Tzu's... Tzu's just looks alot better, your's I found more funny (sorry Tzu!) So everyone his style

Etaoin Shrdlu · Sep 03, 2009, 12:33 AM // 00:33

Thanks, Crucist! I am glad you are enjoying the comic.

Another page is up, by the way. Still sticking to the MWF schedule (although, as I have warned, that may bump around if work piles up).

I may play around with fonts some more, but right now I am sticking with what I have for the next few comics. Thanks to everyone who contributed so far, and I hope to keep getting more reader input!

Etaoin Shrdlu · Sep 10, 2009, 04:16 PM // 16:16

Well, the comic is still updating regularly (MWF), and I will try to keep this up for as long as possible. I have a small buffer of comics, but not much. With classes and work, that also means less time to write.

By the way, if anyone knows of a good free comic-hosting site, or of a way to get more publicity for the comic, please let me know. More readers means more feedback, and more feedback (hopefully) means better comics!