Oh boy, here we go again.
A few months ago, around the time I abandoned color, you may have read that I was pushing my art in a different direction. And I want to think I did – I started doing more work on top of my existing designs, really working each panel.
I recently realized I wasn’t satisfied, and that’s because I was essentially doing more of the same.
I started Atomic Laundromat painfully aware of my limitations as an artist. And thru the strips, I have taken a lot of shortcuts and visual tricks to avoid drawing or going into depth into things I couldn’t do. My notorious claws in the beginning of the comic because I couldn’t draw hands; David not having eyes (only the glasses) because I could not draw men for the life of me; most characters having short hair because I could not draw long hair. Even though the art has evolved somewhat, there are some thing that I’m still doing the same way — mostly because I’m afraid to change them. But I need to break away from my rut and push the boundaries.
The other hard truth is that Atomic Laundromat and comics in general are not my day job. It is something I do after work at my day job. I don’t have a lot of time to sketch and experiment: what little time I have to draw HAS to be invested towards drawing the comic or it is not going up in time. My experimenting has to be on the strip itself – but I have been reluctant/afraid to pull the trigger.
I guess where I’m going with this very long winded preamble is — expect things to change.
I will be trying out new things with the strip. Sometimes it will look weird, sometimes the character will not be consistent with how it looked a few strips ago. A character you haven’t seen for a while may look different next time it is introduced. Or I may decide to try out shading with my pet rabbit dipped in ink. Bottom line, I need the leeway to experiment, to grow and develop more as an artist. And I guess what I’m asking for is your patience thru this open ended period.
Ultimately I have lots of stories I want to tell – both with Atomic Laundromat and completely unrelated stories. And I want my art to do them justice.
Thanks again for all your support so far and going forward.
Although I truly love the come and the characters, I look forward to seeing some new things art-wise. Exciting!
haters gonna hate
lovers gonna love
experimenters gonna experiment,
don´t worry
keep calm and do your comic as you please
and all that
Armando, be brave, be bold, be amazing, astonishing, incredible, spectacular, uncanny, heck… if you want… be excelsior. One of my favorite strips was the multi-dimensional party, because we got to see the characters so many ways, and obviously from most people’s responses, none of us will begrudge you playing fast and free with the changes.
If you need to ink with the bunny, maybe sedate it first, or bribe it with lots of carrots, radishes, onions (the sweet ones), and beets.
Seriously, we look forward to seeing where your skills can go from here. Everyone has discussed how far Dave has come, but they overlooked Angie, Juno, Bob, and even Evil Chef… all have been vastly improved in their looks since the earliest AL days, and we are grateful for every improvement and change, so how could we not be happy you want to experiment and perhaps make some breakthroughs that will make the comic all the better. And if you make a change that really sits wrong with us, you’ll still have learned 1 new way NOT to draw the character. Remember, Thomas Edison didn’t brag about his 1 way to make a lightbulb, he bragged about his 1001 ways to not make a lightbulb that preceded his lightbulb.
As a reader of a ton of webcomics I can say that growing and experimenting with style and techniques are the norm and as long as the characters and stories remain strong the art itself can be sub-par and the comic will still work, and since your art is FAR from sub-par I don’t think you have anything to worry about. In fact I think it will be interesting to watch as you continue to experiment and grow.
And personally I kind of liked David not having eyes, it was an amusing quirk. Not that I mind the eyes either :O)
Just keep the quork! and all will be well.
I hear you. I am also experimenting with my style on my strip because I can’t afford the time to do it separately. Even as it is, I don;t get to update as often as I’d like to.
Great work around here. Good Luck!
Hey, cool – please do go ahead! I’m courious!
Right with you. Go for it!
I look forward to the rabbit shaded strips..
Good God, he’ll be lucky if the building is still standing when he gets back.
Experiment away, Armando. You don’t owe anyone any apologies or explanations for that. We’re all rootin’ for ya.
I love this comic – The stories, the art, the humor, the drama. I think it has only gotten better since the beginning, and I think it will continue to do so. I’m looking forward to the new directions your art will go!
Experiment? Go for it, dude.
Do a couple weeks with just stick figures while you try something new. Do a mosaic or something. Have fun.
Hey, man, relax! Your jokes are funny, your characters are compelling, and your art is improving. Just…relax. If you want to experiment with the strip, you can do that. It’s a hobby; nobody will get hurt if Bob’s eyes look funny for a couple of days. I’ve been here since about strip 10; even if you screw up a few times, we’ll all still read and enjoy your strip.
ditto.
Curious to see how things evolve
Hey, experimentation works for other comics (My Life With Fel for instance) so why wouldn’t it work for you? As long as you’re not switching to doing stick figures only – go for it!
Hey, no knocking Order of the Stick… they’re funny too.
I deeply respect your desire to experiment and and change so that you may grow as an artist.
For what it’s worth, I never found your skill to be lacking, but in truth, rather enviable.
Though to help with your artistic growth, I would like to offer my opinion that I do not like how David looks here. That tall jaw just doesn’t look right. It makes him look like a dork, which I guess he is, but for my opinion I just don’t like it.
Experiment away, especially with the duck.
Sometimes the comments are better than the art… But usually, art is good. That being said, glad you are aware and looking outside your comfort zone. Go Armando!
Cualquier cambio que decidas, aquí seguiré leyéndote. Siempre me ha encantado tu tira y no la dejaré
Lo que mejor me cayó de la noticia es que tratarás de reinventarte y eso no sólo me parece muy valiente de tu parte, sino que mucho más personal
Okie dokie! Sounds good to me.
My seat belt is on, take me for a ride. LOL!
Looking at the strip before reading your comments, I noticed the change in design and It got me thinking about how much better David having eyes has made the strip.
I was imaging what this strip would have looked like if he still had no eyes, I then copied it into GIMP and erased his eyes to see.(As I imagined he looked a lot like Red Bolt because of his new square jaw,which make him look too manly/heroic in my opinion)
So I’m glad you’re experimenting more with your art, on top of improving your skill I’m sure anything that sticks will be for the betterment of the strip.
I completely understand if you need to use the strip to practice a bit,I’m still amazed that you are able to be one of the most consistently published web comics I fellow despite the fact that it’s not your income source.
NOO!!
You must maintain consistancy of form and function of characters
MAKE WITH TEH FUNNY PICTURES!
Seriously man Do what ever the heck you want. Its your strip.
I do not suggest trying to paint with a pet rabbit though. They seem all cute and cuddly but they will bite your ever loving face off if you annoy them.
Hey, do what you have to do. Trust me. . .we’ll give you feedback and you can only improve from there.
Have fun.
Do give us a heads up when you try the rabbit trick. And remember, pics or it didn’t happen! (My nephew’s bunny could use a good laugh, but she’s not so good at reading.)
Hello ArmandoVa*,
it won’t bother me when you try things as long as the story and world will stay logical (in itself, not
in real ). I am looking forward to read more of you stories and let’s see how your art will change.
Greetings
Juy Juka
PS: * I haven’t found any other name, sorry if ArmandoVa is worong.
Long time reader first time commenting.
Go ahead and experiment. We’ll still be here. There is no reason to make apologies. You’re doing an awesome job as it is. I only hope for the best for you.
Good luck.
“Change”?
So, the everybody *except* the spooky chick gets a third eyeball? And *she* gets only *one*?
Hey man, I think your art is really good as it stands now. I’ve seen a ton of improvement since the first strips. Anything you want or need to do will be supported! Keep up the great work!
Yep, I can see this not ending well at all.
I mean leave a good business in the wings of a teleporting duck….yeah, I can see this ending badly.
Right…what could go wrong?