The challenge here was how to set this out. I like to work in one frame if possible. But there's just too much speech for a single frame.
The dramatic pause added a lot, I felt, so I went for it and made three frames. I've used the pause once before, I like it but don't want to use it very often.
I like the joke (the one in the last frame, not the yo mama joke which is only there to set things up) and it's interesting that this is easy to do with a static cartoon (because of the speech bubbles pointing to the speaker - or at least where the sound is allegedly coming from) but wouldn't be possible any other way, animation with sound for example.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI found it particulary funny because the Yo Mamma joke seems like the gag at first.
ReplyDeleteThen the pause being shock because us Brit's aren't used to something so derogatory as a roasting. (Roast Lamb!!.. Hah-ha)
Finally then the crow (which I hadn't taken much notice of) came and stole the show, twisting the whole idea into something I hadn't anticipated. (well played - quite a complex arrangement)
But,.... praise aside, I think you missed something! The artwork is duplicated across the frames (fair enough, why make more work), but it gives the impression of wax-work dummies.
I've seen Neil Kohney do this sort of thing, but what he does is pick out something simple in the next frame to be different. So the crow might look the other way, or facial expression might change on one of the sheep. Doesnt need to be much!
Thank you - and that's a really good tip. I think some different zooming is also effective in this situation? Though here a small change like you've suggested is probably better because the unchanging perspective emphasises the stunned silence I was after.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've seen you use zoom yet, your comic tends to follow the Dilbert fixed-view-point style. That's mainly because you try to wrap it up in only one or two frames and don't use elaborate dialogue to set-up your gags. (Zoom will give it a very different feel!)
ReplyDeleteJust changing a few details will be missed by most people (so it's tempting to say why bother), but subconciously they'll feel happier about it because the frames will look different, just as they would in real life. Think about animation,.. if a character in a scene isn't saying or doing anything then a good animator won't have them frozen. They'll be scratching their nose, blinking, or be in some way distracted or fidgety. (You try standing absolutely still, it's damn near impossible!!)
The only other thing (And I'm being picky now) is the artwork seems slightly off-centre. It looks ok where you have dialogue, but middle frame feels a bit odd. I suspect this sort of thing is difficult to spot if you're sitting too close, so view the whole thing from across the room.
(This one's in my top 3 Yvonnes of all time)