Selkie can screech, but she generally resists the urge. Heather knows about it but it still freaks her out.
– – – – –
Anyone who is in or near the Springfield Illinois area, I wanna invite you to attend an exhibition I am going to be a part of. I will be joining some fellow emerging artists to show work at the Pharmacy’s Warehouse location in a few weeks. The show is Saturday September 15 at 6pm, at 1022 S Pasfield in Springfield IL (about two blocks north of South Grand Ave). If you can make it, I’d love to meet Selkie readers in person. 😀
I don’t have a current picture of me right now, but those of us exhibiting will have nametags. I’ll be the heavyset blonde guy with a goatee glasses and really short hair.
Selkie's ability to screech is something I was originally going to reveal in a more comedic-context in a between-arcs short one day, but I like it here.
Wow! Selkie used her siren’s voice!
I wonder if she can set off car alarms? Garage doors? Dogs? Heather… We already know the answer. Amanda is jealous of Selkie’s overall awesometer being off the charts.
That, and maybe she knows Todd is her real dad?
I don’t think she knows, but she didn’t like Selkie to begin with because she’s different, and then Selkie got adopted first, all the more reason to dislike her.
Right;
https://selkiecomic.com/?p=183
IT´S SUPPER EFFECTIVE!
HEATHER´s speed fell
I have a shriek that’s great defense against unsuspecting individuals, but it only works once, and generally requires additional running thereafter >__>
I bet the Fangs are the difference<__<
So did that screech sound like a dolphin, more more like an angry hawk I wonder?
Heather is wonderfully conflicted a character. She reads excellently as the confused child struggling with her “friends” and right vs wrong. As offbeat as her two new parents are, they’ve certainly shown the right steps – reassuring they’re not returning her, but also not letting her get off with no punishment for doing something wrong, and at the same time not making the punishment extreme…plus the have-dinner-apology thing is a nice touch.
I “heard” it as a metallic (not metal the music, but metallic-something) hawk due to the R in the sound effect.
I “heard” it as something like the screech of the ringwraiths from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
…now that your mentioned it, it might work… albeit you’d have to slightly cute-ify the sound for Selkie.
Now, is this mysterious reason that Heather would rather not tell Selkie about the one we suspect, or is there yet another selfish petty reason for Amanda to hate Selkie?
“I can’t tell you that! Then she’ll be mad at ME!” That is such a great line. There’s honesty there that you don’t see with adults. Or teens, for that matter.
I wonder if she can break windows with that screech?
It’s not plausible that she’d be able to break glass with her unamplified voice, no (since there’s no superpowers in this milieu).
Ice, yes — although the effort would be exhausting. Glass, no.
an unamplified voice can break glass, it only requires the right resonance and volume. A screech from Selkie could achieve both I would think.
Can break glass that is susceptible to the vibrations – such as a crystal glass. Windows, however, tend to be made of sterner stuff. You need something like the sonic boom of a low-flying aircraft to break windows with sound alone.
I love the freaked-out-Heather face!
Ahh! Don’t do that! XD
Okay, this has been bothering me for the longest time.
First off, I really love the plot, and the story so far has been really good, but your art has not gotten better since the first page {besides gaining color}.
Maybe learning how to draw human anatomy better, along with straightening your lines and adding consistency to body and face types will help.
For me, drawing a stick-figure model, than a detailed model of the legs, arms, and torso before drawing the clothes will help draw different positions better. Since you draw using a computer, I’m pretty sure that drawing programs allow you to zoom in. You can use this feature to draw better detailing on clothes and eyes and the likes. I let it slide until now, but something about it just really annoys me now. You can always spend time on nice, detailed, reusable or easily editable backgrounds too.
I really hope this doesn’t sound mean, your webcomic is really well written and your characterization is great. It’s just… the art somewhat takes away from all the amazing things you have here.
You don’t sound mean at all. I’m accustomed to critiques and constructive criticism, so don’t be afraid to share your opinions on things.
I can’t really agree, though, that I have not improved since the first page. I do, however, believe that the improvements since the comic’s beginning are more of a series of minor adjustments and changes over time than anything big and obvious. I feel, for example, that my color palettes are a bit less wild than in the comic’s earlier stages (The bright pink of the orphanage’s Activity Center is something I do not feel I would do today, for example) and while my lines are not always perfectly straight, they are a lot cleaner than in the first arc. I’m not personally a huge fan of immaculate computer-perfect lines anyway. I think the little imperfections add character.
I do agree, though, that the comic’s overall visual style has homogenized in the past year or so. I’ve been feeling a bit complacent lately, to be honest. I used to shake up art styles from one page to the next but I’ve been feeling more… settled, I guess, with the comic’s look and with my routine. Maybe that’s a bad thing…
I’ve been wondering, do you draw the body and then the clothing over it or like… the clothing takes place of the body? Just curious.
I draw body and clothing all at one time with the occasional guide line, usually starting from the head down.
So it’s like, head > neck > shirt > pants > shoes then? If that’s right, you probably should draw out the whole body first, then draw the clothes on the body, it’d be more natural that way.
Re-read my comment here and had a few more thoughts that popped in my head.
Overall, I like the idea of the comic’s “look” being clean and maybe more… animation-y than cartoon-y, if that makes sense. I don’t necessarily want to get too rough or abstract or sketchy with the look. But… I dunno, maybe it’s a bit TOO clean…
Dammit, now I am thinking thoughts…
I’ve always read Selkie as though it was an animation more than a static comic, so for me it makes sense for it to look like it does – heck, I was among those that voted against giving up the vector style, I liked the original too. It would be nice if the art style didn’t change mid-story arc at least. 😉
I remember when I used to change art styles even from one page to the next. XD Lately I’ve been more resistant to big art changes popping up all the time because I’ve begun to worry about character design and character recognizeability. If I suddenly started drawing Selkie with pronounced cheeks and a more detailed nose for example, would you still recognize her AS Selkie…
…
I smell a Sketch Day coming
To go to one of my favorite strips, Peanuts. Look at early strips and look at later ones. The art changed. But as to whether or not it got “better”? Who’s to say? The kids certainly don’t look like real people. But so what? It’s not Mary Worth or Steve Canyon or The Jackson Twins. Schutz’s people look like “Peanuts people”. They don’t need to look like “real people”.
Nor do your people. Your drawings are fine.
I’m going to defend Dave here. I think his art has indeed improved from the early strips. (Since I can’t even draw stick figures, I should say nothing, but …) Now, I read a lot of webcomics ( > 40) and many have much better art. But the question is, does the art tell the story. To me it tells the story more than it gets in the way of the story. And maybe the story affects me a bit more than some other people because I’m adopted (and, again, can’t draw), but I’m willing to stick around and find out what the story is. Some webcomics have great art and so-so story and some are the opposite. (Only a rare handful have great art and great story). So, I intend to keep reading and be happy what I get for no charge, and encourage Dave in his efforts.
I tend to be really picky about art quality, but I and several like minded friends adore this comic. A lot of us are especially into story and plot for the comics we read/write/critique. We get into near weekly fusses about ‘did you see what happened on Selkie today?’. So does Dave have a ways to go? Yes. Does every other web comic artist? Yes. Perfection is boring and uninteresting, I would be more disappointed if we saw no development at all. Plus Dave is pretty cool to his readers, and THAT is something that not every artist is good about. Keep up the good work.
I love the idea that there’s a weekly Selkie discussion group out there. 😀
There’s also the bi-weekly Selkie discussion group right here. 😛
I disagree. I’ve noticed a lot of improvements with the art. It is cleaner, the character proportions are becoming stronger and consistant. On top of that, Dave is doing some pretty amazing things with facial expressions that many artists (even seasoned ones) don’t always grasp. And Selkie could continue with the art as is and *still* become a very popular comic. The characters, the dialog, and the story actually override the art—and those are some of the most important things with sequence art. It doesn’t matter how beautiful or realistically drawn a story is if the writing behind it is colorful, people will flock to it. Something Positive is an example of this as the art has not improved much over the years (I can even make a good argument of how it’s gotten worse), but still has many avid readers.
Just for reference, I make a living off of animation and web design so I do know good and bad art when I see it—as well as writing (talented writers these days are rare—if not mystical—creatures indeed). 🙂
I would say S*P’s readers are rabid more than avid (I’ve been reading it since… urrr… 2006?), but your point still stands. 😀
Personally for me the story has always overridden the art. I follow CVRPG (sprite-characters on backgrounds [mostly] ripped off of video games), not because the art was astounding, but because I like the story and the characters. I write myself, but can’t draw anything consistently, so if I had to go for a web comic, I’d probably do something similar.
Selkie has an art style that works for the “Selkie world”, it also has a very detailed world, and the extraordinary things make sense within that world – or if they are extraordinary, the other characters react/comment on them, further making the world real. The basic setting of the story is simple (girl with troubles fitting in because she’s different gets adopted), but that doesn’t even begin to describe the wonderful world we get to peek at twice a week. (In fact, it’s like describing the Lord of the Rings as “good guys kick bad guys’ collective ass by dropping a ring into a volcano”, which is what basically happens, but doesn’t do the slightest justice to the story or the well-fleshed-out world it happens in.)
You’re doing a good job, Dave. Experiment with art styles if you like, but never think you weren’t doing well so far. 🙂
Thanks. 🙂
Just to throw my voice into the mix, I think Dave’s art has improved so much since the first few pages. The expressions are better, the movements feel more natural.
I really like the current style. It’s simple, and does have a bit of a toon feel to it, but at the end of the day this is a simple story about a girl growing up. Sure, there’s a bunch of bells and whistles to make us come back every week, but I know most of us long time readers are so invested in this comic that we would survive on stick figures if we have to. Art is a skill that takes years to hone, and is always changing. Just look at David Willis’ strip Shortpacked! and compare it to his first strip Roomies. Astronomical differences.
By the way, Dave, I’d still really love to see a Selkie book at some point in the future. Kickstarter, perhaps?
I do have designs on a Selkie book at some point. My big concern with it is, coincidentally (ironically?), the inconsistency of the art-style in the early stages and how it will look in print.
I am also looking at plans for lapel pins and keychains and a few other things. More details when I get to that point. 🙂
Since the discussion’s been *opened*, I’m going to put in my two cents. I’ve been a silent Selkie reader for awhile now, and I’ve kept coming back because the story is intriguing and updates are consistent. I think the art has improved, especially when I compare the line quality and confidence of this scene to some of the earlier ones. I do have a few comments, though, and I worry less saying this to you, Dave, than I would saying it to, well, a finance major, because I know you’re getting it in critiques the same way I got it in critiques for five years.
I think it would be awesome if you started thinking a little more about anatomy and proportion. All of the characters look like slightly rounded rectangles, without much hint of musculature beneath the clothes. Have you considered using photo references? I know they’re a pain to shoot, but that’s where I turn when I need to get something right because this stuff is hard, and most people can’t intuit how the body works without looking at something.
Two thing about Heather’s eyes: They’re placed too high in her head. Most people’s eyes are in the middle of their heads, and placing them lower in the head will help a character appear younger, so it looks especially weird if a child’s eyes are not centered. Also, when her face is in profile, her eyes are drawn the same as they are from the front. Look at people’s eyes, in real life and in other comics, to figure out how eyes look seen from the side.
I think your colors have definitely improved, as you’ve said, but keep thinking about how to make the figures stand out. In this scene, for instance, the background is a very similar brightness to the figures. How would it look if you toned down a bit, to let the figures pop? Line weight is another important tool at your disposal. Think about thicker lines at the bottoms of things, where there would be a cast shadow. In this scene, what if the lines around the figures were thicker than the lines of the fence and the background? I think it would really help the figures pop, and they wouldn’t end up competing so much for attention.
It seems to me that Selkie is already a popular web-comic and that, as long as you continue to post, you will continue to grow more successful. That you have so many commenters stepping in to defend your art is proof of that. You have a great story here, and you can go far with it. At the same time, I don’t think it works to defend art that hasn’t reached its full potential by saying it’s supposed to look that way because it’s a cartoon. If you look at the best of even the most simplified cartoon drawings, you will see that they are governed by a very sophisticated understanding of shapes, shadows, and lines. To me, the Selkie art feels like it wants to be realistic. I see it striving for realistic lighting and proportions; it’s just not quite there yet. Sorry for going on about it, but the detailed critique is only possible because I have a keen interest in the subject, and I hope you take this comment as a compliment. I encourage you to keep working, keep looking at the real world to figure out how things really look, and keep looking at artists you admire to figure out how they do it. I look forward to reading along as Selkie continues to improve.
I’ve tried the “it’s supposed to look cartoony” defense before. Didn’t work then either. XD
Thank you for the detailed feedback, by the way.
When I was thinking about this today, I came up with one little idea: that Amanda is jealous that Selkie remembers her real mom and actually had a parent until she was given up, and then was adopted out before she was even though she’s been at the orphanage from what we can guess was her entire life so far.
More and more I’m liking Heather. It’s not easy to be a kid, especially in a school where you and many of your classmates are struggling with being parentless and arguably abandoned. I just appreciate that she makes a point of not only saying that it wasn’t Amanda’s idea nor that Amanda is a bad person, even if it would be easy to say those things to get Selkie on her good side. Hopefully Heather can be a link to the kids in class who haven’t connected to Selkie.
Also, in response to some of the above comments I think your art has improved since I started reading it. And honestly looking back at many webcomics with huge followings (Questionable Content comes to mind, which I love by the way), his art has changed and improved significantly over the years. Just keep at it and it’ll evolve with your skill.
I meant no offense by the way. I wasn’t saying your art is horrid or anything, I’m just saying it’d be better in the long run to draw out the body and then draw the clothes onto the body. Again, it looks far more natural that way.
No offense taken or perceived. I’m an art student, I’m used to critiques. XD
I’ll give that a try.
OK, since artwork feedback came up, I have to say… Your rendition of a soccer ball makes my eyes water. The black parts are pentagons, yes, but the white parts should be hexagons, and the six neighbors to a hexagon should be alternating between black and white.
(Gahh. Who’da thunk that it would be this that got me to finally sign in here?)