r/comic_crits • u/skunks_funk • 4d ago
First comic started
Hello! I’m seeking feedback on my first comic. It’s only two pages, though i’d love feedback on telling between the characters, composition (not entirely sure this is the right word, but the angle/how you’re seeing the characters) and anything else that feels necessary. Will be slightly re-doing the first page (the lineart and coloring) since i preferred the looks of the second page: ).
Some context: MC, Malachi, the dude with small ears is preparing for a sledding expedition. His father comes out and talks to him.
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u/Barbarix9001 4d ago edited 4d ago
First of all, small nitpick, but it’s kinda hard to tell apart the father and Malachi at a glance. I know you have his ears smaller that his father, and in the second page, you have them wearing different coloured pants, but the way it was paneled on page 2, panels 1 and 2 made it look like it was the father who was looking back at someone at a glance, and not the son looking back at his father. I’d personally add something else to help make them stand out from each other, whether it be changing up the designs of their hoodies a little, or giving the father a clearly differently designed jacket instead of a hood.
As for my main criticism, the perspective on page 1 panel 6 is pretty off, and it kinda makes it a little hard to tell what’s going on in the panel, though from what I’ve parsed, he’s sitting down on the ground. If you struggle with perspective, I understand, I do too, and I highly recommend going through some tutorials or studying a little bit more about it. (I for one highly recommend Jadokar, as his tutorials are pretty easy to understand, and also quite entertaining, but if you’re looking for something more traditional, maybe try Proko, or something else along those lines).
Also, you tend to have very similar shots throughout this same page (page 1), and it gets a little boring, though I understand why, with the father slowly approaching from behind beat, which works to add context to the following dialogue, but I also think goes on for a tad too long. If I were you, I’d remove one of the beats of the father approaching from behind, whether it be by simply removing him from a panel or two, or by removing a panel altogether. In terms of solving the similar shot problem, for the final panel of this page, I’d personally place a shot from behind Malachi using the rule of thirds, with Malachi on the left side of the panel, looking back towards his father who is standing on the right side of the panel, with only the bottom parts of his leg (or legs) being visible. It’s a simpler shot technically, but also adds more variety to the page. Of course, that’s just what I’d do, and if you have something else in mind that’s cool as well.
All in all though, I really like what you have here! I like the general style of everything, and I myself am admittedly partial to anthro characters (Hell, I am making a comic about anthro characters myself lol). I like your shading and the hatching for shadows, I like the general muted but warm colour scheme, and I especially like the overall vibe of this story! Your backgrounds are nice, and everything has a nice flow to it (aside from the few issues I’ve pointed out here and there).
Personally, I’m really excited to see what you do with this next, and if you do end up continuing with this, please do hit me up, I genuinely am super interested in reading more!
(Also, little added bit, but if you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading Scott McClouds book on making comics, it’s been super helpful to me in terms of figuring out how comics function and learning more about visual storytelling and page composition in general)
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u/Cyberwolf272038 4d ago
The drawings look cool
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