What are others' opinion on this?

Started by Howl, November 21, 2014, 11:21:36 AM

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Howl

Now, I'm not Amber and I have absolutely no say on how the update schedule works, but I'm wondering how others would feel if it shifted to three times a week (or indeed, anything more frequent) at the cost of full coloring. I imagine she could roll back to color them after a decent buffer is built, but I'm just curious about how others, and indeed Amber herself, would feel about a shift toward quantity over quality*.

*Mind you all, I personally wouldn't consider it a loss of quality. I've seen half-colored comic panels, and they're still lovely.

Famout

#1
Long time lurker here, I have seen the update schedule adjust many times over the years, and it seems for a constant steady stream (and least amount of outside pressure) to let Amber update at whatever rate she likes.

Besides, could easily be worse, sabrina online only makes about 4-6 comics a month! (It is still a wonderful comic though.)

For personal choice as well, I prefer high quality over quantity, it looks much better for new people reading archives, and makes a better end product.
It feels odd not having a fuzzy avatar picture around here....

Howl

Well I was more supposing that they'd be colored fully after a buffer of say, 10 partly-colored has been put together, not half colored permanently.

ZacAttac21

I would say good things come to those who wait.

Besides, I would think if anyone knows what the best schedule is, it's Amber herself...

Amber Williams

The unfortunate downside to a plan like that would be that any time I would theoretically gain from not fully colouring...would instantly be lost in the extra update.  So there would never really be time to make the proverbial buffer.  :<

Howl

Hm, that's fair I suppose. I'm not familiar with your schedule, so it's just idle speculation!

Shadowdancer

I am usually in favor of this as most artists tend to keep increasing their art at the expense of time until updates become monthly or worse,

but..

Amber is has managed to keep a consistent update schedule of more than once a week. This is rare when it comes to webcomics, and I am extremely grateful that we get bi-weekly updates most of the year.

When I look at the number of comics in my 'on hiatus' list, or that update less than weekly, I really appreciate what Amber has pulled off.
It's not always easy to motivate yourself, even if it is something you love, sometimes you just wish it could wait until tomorrow. It's hard to find a balance and I'd rather not mess with Amber's.
The most powerful magic is just a distraction.

llearch n'n'daCorna

I'm with Shadowdancer here. Ambaargh has enough trouble keeping her update schedule due to her insane self-set requirements. I'm definitely not going to mess with any of that.

It works for her, let's not break it?
Thanks for all the images | Unofficial DMFA IRC server
"We found Scientology!" -- The Bad Idea Bears

Howl

Funny thing, I actually expected to get shredded like cheese for making this topic.

Sofox

Well, you wrote your post with care and made it clear it was only an idea and you'd respect whatever decision Amber went with. It shows you care about he comic, but also about the author. That's why, in return, you received people expressing their views, but still respecting your views and you as a person.

Amber Williams

It's a fair enough subject to discuss, so I would have been sad if folks shredded you.

It is an odd thing, but I honestly dislike the slow pace of updates as much if not more than you guys.  It's a weird thing for me of trying to find that balance between pushing my art forward in quality but also not completely failing on quantity.  There is always a bit of a nagging voice in the back of my head that reminds me of the heyday when I was practically pulling off 4-5 updates a week. 

In the end, the truth of it is while I could return to 3 updates a week...it would basically be all that I would be doing within the week and as man cannot live on bread alone...only having one project that completely absorbs all of my efforts was making me feel agitated and feeling like my entire life revolved around updates.  As much as I love DMFA, I don't want to do nothing but DMFA...and above all things, I have always been adamant about making sure DMFA never became a chore or something that I was not excited to do.

That said, I'm not about to discount the return of more updates.  As I said, I am also not overly giddy about how slow the comic moves along now.  But at this exact moment I confess my focus is on finally getting the site moved over to Katbox proper and then finishing up a queue of owed artwork. 

Howl

That's entirely fair. It's understandable that there's probably quite a bit going on as far as the move is concerned that's invisible to the public eye. I admit I forget that there is a site move going on, but I've forgotten many more things than that. Any formal discussions about the schedule as is probably should be postponed until that move and owed artwork are both taken care of. It's not helpful at all to overwork one's self.

Scow2

#12
I prefer the color and good art. Black+White can lead to confusion on who's doing what and where one body begins and another ends... especially with a lot of intricate detail (There are several comics I ditched because I couldn't tell what was going on). And the color makes everything so pretty!

Wildy

I LIKE ALL THE PRETTY COLORS!

(No Wildys were hacked in the making of this post.)

llearch n'n'daCorna

Quote from: Wildy on December 28, 2014, 08:03:34 PM
(No Wildys were hacked in the making of this post.)

You're such a prolific poster, Wildy. We do wonder sometimes. ;-]
Thanks for all the images | Unofficial DMFA IRC server
"We found Scientology!" -- The Bad Idea Bears

Wildy

#15
If you act simple, no one will ever know what you are really hiding.

llearch n'n'daCorna

Thanks for all the images | Unofficial DMFA IRC server
"We found Scientology!" -- The Bad Idea Bears

Anri


Kuzma Volkov

Quote from: Anri on December 29, 2014, 05:14:19 PM

The only winning move is to run away flailing in terror.

I dunno ferret's are pretty damn fast and agile.. Can't even hide in a tree.

llearch n'n'daCorna

Quote from: Anri on December 29, 2014, 05:14:19 PM
The only winning move is to run away flailing in terror.

Running away catches the attention. What you want is to sidle away slowly, soas not to draw the eye...
Thanks for all the images | Unofficial DMFA IRC server
"We found Scientology!" -- The Bad Idea Bears

VAE

Hmm.
How about doing two per week *and* no full colour though, except for occassional strip where it's warranted.
That would result in a time gain, which'd make for a buffer, which'd make the schedule more reliable, never mind more time for fun stuffs.

I mean, I'm guessing most folks follow the comic for the story rather than eye candy.
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



Howl

I don't know if Amber will have the mind to recheck this old topic, but I did have a couple other thoughts.

The first and foremost would be to cut the shading temporarily (like the strips she's occasionally put up with no shading, then went back to later and finished) to allow room for some crunch time on the projects like wall papers and whatnot, then shade the comics after the fact. You know, the stuff that won't come back.

The second was an idea for something to do after all the side projects are mopped up. Basically go back to page one and redraw them to a certain point, though with less detail than the comic pages of today, probably something with basic coloring, if any at all. Leave the originals up, of course, but it'd just be something to do as a side project. Maybe if someone commissioned it? I sadly can't spring any sort of payment without going through a thousand hoops that nobody would want to put up with.

VAE

Quote from: Howl on January 08, 2015, 12:57:40 PM
I don't know if Amber will have the mind to recheck this old topic, but I did have a couple other thoughts.

The first and foremost would be to cut the shading temporarily (like the strips she's occasionally put up with no shading, then went back to later and finished) to allow room for some crunch time on the projects like wall papers and whatnot, then shade the comics after the fact. You know, the stuff that won't come back.

The second was an idea for something to do after all the side projects are mopped up. Basically go back to page one and redraw them to a certain point, though with less detail than the comic pages of today, probably something with basic coloring, if any at all. Leave the originals up, of course, but it'd just be something to do as a side project. Maybe if someone commissioned it? I sadly can't spring any sort of payment without going through a thousand hoops that nobody would want to put up with.

Bast, why?
The first bunch of comics are good as they are, besides, it's nice to see how it evolved over time.
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



Howl

#23
Hence leaving the originals easily available. It's just something to do, I suppose. Like I said, after all the other definite projects are mopped up. If it were done, I would say to leave the black and white comics (#1 - #83) black and white, and for the early colored comics (#84 - who knows?) do simple coloring. There is a point where the style becomes solid enough that I'd say it can be left alone, but that would be up to personal judgment, which at the moment I don't care to exercise.

Edit - Stupid emotes.

Scow2

Quote from: VAE on January 07, 2015, 12:34:00 PM
Hmm.
How about doing two per week *and* no full colour though, except for occassional strip where it's warranted.
That would result in a time gain, which'd make for a buffer, which'd make the schedule more reliable, never mind more time for fun stuffs.

I mean, I'm guessing most folks follow the comic for the story rather than eye candy.
I think you'd guess wrong.

The comic's been in full color for almost the entire run. I'd hate to see it lose that quality - also, color brings a lot into the scene and composition of the pages that would be lost.

And, this entire comic has run without a buffer. There's no need for her to build one now.