I went back to the old font and speech bubbles for now. I tried some of the hand-written fonts floating around, but I missed the crispness of the Lucida I've been using.
Nicely played on the wedding thing – the hop-skip-can-I-help is adorable.
And I’m very curious about Todd’s concerns in the aftermath…what exactly he sees as the problem and what he’s uncertain of. What the school doesn’t know? The extend of the bullying? How he can protect her? The list is quite open…
While I like the old bubbles better, I think the new ones you tried in the previous page can actually fit Selkie. They’ll make her voice sound more… fishy…
I actually liked the other bubbles, they fit the drawing style a lot better. These ones are too crisp and perfect, they feel out of place against the more textured lines of the actual comic.
Have you considered a combination of the two? I don’t know what program you’re using, but if you have a circle-select tool, a bucket tool, a draw-or-click select tool (mine in GIMP looks like a lasso), and a pen or pencil tool, then you can get a sort of compromise effect between the hand-drawn and the cleanness of a computer generated circle.
If you want to experiment with it, here’s how:
You do the text first, then create a layer behind the text. On the layer behind the text, do the following.
*Create an oval behind the text with the circle-tool. Keep the circle selected throughout all of the remaining steps.
*Fill the circle with white using the bucket-tool.
*Draw in black JUST INSIDE the bounds of the circle tool
*Use the lasso thing to make the pointer- I’ve found that using a long diamond that intersects with the circle works best.
*Color in the pointer part with the white pen tool (if you use the bucket tool, the rest of the diamond will white out the text)
*Do the outline in black against the selection bounds of the pointer part, the same way you would the circle part.
Todd looks…. adorable with those rashy pink cheeks.
I would comment more and do it more coherently and try to stroke your ego as a thank you except I have a migraine and can’t think coherently. But okay, Selkie is such a draw and a delight that it/she/you is enough to get me groping out of a dark room and staring into a bright computer screen when I have a migraine so perhaps that is a extraordinary compliment in itself.
It will be a miracle if I can solve the spam protection question and actually post this…
If you want to re-try hand-drawn speech bubbles, feel free to do so, but try them with a hand-drawn black outline. But try that with THIS font? Experiment a bit, see what does and doesn’t work.
Other than that, I LOVE how Selkie jumps in on the chance of planning a dream wedding for her new-found aunt. And also applaud Todd for asking his parents when he’s unsure about something in parenting. I mean, they’ve done a pretty good job of it, looking at him and his siblings.
I tried them on this one and decided against it prior to posting. They just kept coming out… TOO wobbly. I may try again when I can figure out what I am doing wrong. XD
If it’s not too much to ask, could you perhaps make some examples of different styles you’ve tried? Not even inside the comic, but as separated speech bubble images? I’m sure you’d get a lot of feedback from us readers.
I like the bubbles in the format used in this strip the best, but I can see how a combination of the two types could be pleasant. I’m loving Selkie. It’s actually slowly taking the place of another web comic I’ve loved for years as my favorite. You do a great job on it. Keep it up.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve run to my parents asking them, “How do I handle this?” So I feel Todd’s pain.
I’ve seen comics where the artist will change up the font/bubbles for each character. That is time consuming and it can back fire easily (several of them failed miserably because they chose fonts that are hard to read or colors that blended into the comic). So please, whatever you choose, do what you’re comfortable with. We’ll always be here to give our opinion (even when you don’t want it )
Order of the Stick has different speech bubble colors for different kinds of creatures to show that they sound different… like black on white for undead, for example. That works out pretty well.
So maybe it is worth a try using a different font for Selkie´s speech bubbles to show that she doesn´t quite sound human?
IMHO, the old font and dialog balloons WORK.
Keep what works.
I’m glad to see the old way back. I do like it.
Nicely played on the wedding thing – the hop-skip-can-I-help is adorable.
And I’m very curious about Todd’s concerns in the aftermath…what exactly he sees as the problem and what he’s uncertain of. What the school doesn’t know? The extend of the bullying? How he can protect her? The list is quite open…
I think he is more concerned about the dinner invitation…
While I like the old bubbles better, I think the new ones you tried in the previous page can actually fit Selkie. They’ll make her voice sound more… fishy…
I actually liked the other bubbles, they fit the drawing style a lot better. These ones are too crisp and perfect, they feel out of place against the more textured lines of the actual comic.
I tried mixing hand drawn bubbles with the old font, and they just kept coming out… TOO wobbly, if that makes sense.
Have you considered a combination of the two? I don’t know what program you’re using, but if you have a circle-select tool, a bucket tool, a draw-or-click select tool (mine in GIMP looks like a lasso), and a pen or pencil tool, then you can get a sort of compromise effect between the hand-drawn and the cleanness of a computer generated circle.
If you want to experiment with it, here’s how:
You do the text first, then create a layer behind the text. On the layer behind the text, do the following.
*Create an oval behind the text with the circle-tool. Keep the circle selected throughout all of the remaining steps.
*Fill the circle with white using the bucket-tool.
*Draw in black JUST INSIDE the bounds of the circle tool
*Use the lasso thing to make the pointer- I’ve found that using a long diamond that intersects with the circle works best.
*Color in the pointer part with the white pen tool (if you use the bucket tool, the rest of the diamond will white out the text)
*Do the outline in black against the selection bounds of the pointer part, the same way you would the circle part.
The effect will look something like this:
http://merrylurkerstudios.blogspot.com/2012/03/happy-st-patricks-day.html
Hope this helps!
Todd looks…. adorable with those rashy pink cheeks.
I would comment more and do it more coherently and try to stroke your ego as a thank you except I have a migraine and can’t think coherently. But okay, Selkie is such a draw and a delight that it/she/you is enough to get me groping out of a dark room and staring into a bright computer screen when I have a migraine so perhaps that is a extraordinary compliment in itself.
It will be a miracle if I can solve the spam protection question and actually post this…
Sorry about the migraine, hope it clears up
If you want to re-try hand-drawn speech bubbles, feel free to do so, but try them with a hand-drawn black outline. But try that with THIS font? Experiment a bit, see what does and doesn’t work.
Other than that, I LOVE how Selkie jumps in on the chance of planning a dream wedding for her new-found aunt. And also applaud Todd for asking his parents when he’s unsure about something in parenting. I mean, they’ve done a pretty good job of it, looking at him and his siblings.
I tried them on this one and decided against it prior to posting. They just kept coming out… TOO wobbly. I may try again when I can figure out what I am doing wrong. XD
If it’s not too much to ask, could you perhaps make some examples of different styles you’ve tried? Not even inside the comic, but as separated speech bubble images? I’m sure you’d get a lot of feedback from us readers.
I’m just wondering when he gets that rash off his face. Is he allergic to her saliva? Is it acidic? I’m curious.
Woohoo, back to the old bubbles and font! XD This looks so much nicer.
D’aww, Selkie’s adorable. x3 If you draw the wedding, Dave, then she ought to be a flower girl.
Oh, definitely. Nieces always get picked as flower girls, her being another species shouldn’t have much of an effect on this fact.
I love the lucinda font and the “crispness” it puts a nice contrast between the handdrawn pictures and the strict fonts. Keep it!
*lucida
I like the bubbles in the format used in this strip the best, but I can see how a combination of the two types could be pleasant. I’m loving Selkie. It’s actually slowly taking the place of another web comic I’ve loved for years as my favorite. You do a great job on it. Keep it up.
First panel: The picture speaks!
Last panel: The armchair is not pleased.
Sorry, I am obnoxious. Great comic so far, one of my favorites.
I… the chair… XD
…wouldn’t it be worse if the chair was smiling? XD
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve run to my parents asking them, “How do I handle this?” So I feel Todd’s pain.
I’ve seen comics where the artist will change up the font/bubbles for each character. That is time consuming and it can back fire easily (several of them failed miserably because they chose fonts that are hard to read or colors that blended into the comic). So please, whatever you choose, do what you’re comfortable with. We’ll always be here to give our opinion (even when you don’t want it
)
Order of the Stick has different speech bubble colors for different kinds of creatures to show that they sound different… like black on white for undead, for example. That works out pretty well.
So maybe it is worth a try using a different font for Selkie´s speech bubbles to show that she doesn´t quite sound human?
Dave i found something awesome for Selkie
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/522942_349449808442182_243319615721869_885772_533898781_n.jpg
Ingredients:
4 oz. lean beef
1 pack of Hot Dogs
1 package of Bacon (at least ten strips)
Cheddar cheese (or any cheese of your choice)
1 egg white
Oh Ehm Gee, that looks goooooood.
Can she eat eggs? I can’t remember…
Eggs aren’t plants, they’re animal matter. That should be OK, right?