P.O.W.! Challenge 24...The Doll

[Ilaekae]

http://photos.imageevent.com/aljmary/conceptarts/CA-POWexLOGO.jpg


P.O.W.! Challenge 24
Deadline: Sunday, May 31, 2009, 11:59 pm anywhere in the world.

Topic: The Doll...

This one sounds specific, but carries a lot of subliminal weight, so we should get some nice approaches out of it. A doll can be a toy or knick-knack that varies from realistic to primitive/hand-made, a religious item such as used in Voodoo or Santeria, cute females of various types in various genres such as detective pot-boilers, early US period pieces, movies and comics, or just about any item that is used in some way to imitate a human or near human. Like clowns, dolls can be both horrifying, beautiful or funny. You can interpret the art any way you wish, and the more creatively, the better. Any media. B&W or Color.

You can present your solution as a minimum of TWO to a TENTATIVE maximum of SIX pages which adhere to standard comic specs as below...and, yes, you can have the first or last (or both) as a splash page if you want. You can go to additional pages without asking if you have a decent idea that requires it--just don't get too extreme on page counts

Standard Comic Book Size:

--Trim size: 6 5/8" x 10 1/4"
--Live art area: 6" x 9"
--Bleed size before trimming: 6 7/8" x 10 1/2" (1/8" in all directions)

This thread will be the place you ask questions on this challenge, trash talk, post WIPs and post your final art. See the READ THIS FIRST thread for all specs.

Good luck.

Again, this one is three weeks rather than the usual two weeks to see if it will allow more participation or just cause a lot more procrastination.

P.O.W.! Challenge 25 will be posted before Sunday Midnight, May 31, 2009.


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A little note here for all of you who have supported the P.O.W.! Challenges...thankyewthankyewthankyew...

Just a reminder--those of you who didn't get a chance to finish exactly the way you wanted to, or ran into deadline problems, remember there is a sticky section where you can post your stuff when you do get it up to speed.

[idoru]

Ahh this is great! I used to really struggle with coming up with concepts but lately these have been more up my alley. :3 Hopefully this one can be more polished than my first one.

[DeuceRok]

Idoru: Your art on the last one was great. I think this one will be perfect for your style!

-Deuce

[idoru]

Aww thanks Deuce. I might try and borrow a scanner so this one can be inked and stuff-- I'm not really a digital kind of gal.

[j.s. sabastian]

i voted for duecerok for challenge 23!!!!! it just seemed so wrong voting for myself....anywho.... still mulling over the concept for "the doll" i want it to be spookey perhaps maybe even horiffic not sure yet and i want to use a more limited pallete this time...peace! j.s.-

[Ilaekae]

You're not supposed to vote for yourself in any of the six Challenge areas...

...not cool.

I'm running into something I didn't expect--it's easier to do a doll horror piece than a non-horror one (I've already got 15 decent story lines in that direction). I'm gonna make an effort to try to come up with a non-horror story.

[j.s. sabastian]

thanks! ILAEKAE i didn't actuallly know that..about voting. i've never actually entered a challenge here at CA(not one that i've finished at least) ya i know a horror plot is weak....but still......

[Ilaekae]

I wasn't criticizing the horror approach. It's one of my favorite genres. I was just surprised that when I started to think about it, how hard it was to come up with another approach that wasn't just bad/cliche/non-interesting.

[arttorney]

There's the porn approach, oh wait, I guess that falls under the "bad" category..

[idoru]

Haha my problem is coming up with one that isn't too LONG... I actually am really bad at horror so I didn't go that direction at all. o_o When it came down to it my first idea was too complicated, I couldn't possibly finish it in under 20 pages! Definitely too much work for me to do in three weeks.

[Ilaekae]

Well...porn is not maybe the best way to go, but if you do, it has to be a complete 196-page black and white with color covers and secondary intro pages--in three weeks. That's how the mangakas do it...:P:P:P

BUT...your porn comment did give me an idea I hadn't had before...

Aren't those inflatable sex toys called dolls? If so, it might be possible to come up with something really funny without going to the level of porn. Explaining to Sr. Mary Demonkiller why there's a self-inflating plastic chick oozing out of your high school gym locker could be a riot.

ADD: Thrown in as an idea--little girls always play tea party with dolls. What if the dolls talked? And if you were that doll, would you be satisfied with mud cookies? :P

[j.s. sabastian]

i did my sketches......even found my story line (horror/love....or something in between)but i think it might span up to 7-pages will that be ok?

[Ilaekae]

Yup...

The maximum of six pages is a SUGGESTION because most people who jump into this for the first time can get themselves into trouble really fast if they bite off more than they can chew. Then they get frustrated and never try it again.

[idoru]

Six pages is good, I like six pages. I keep having to remind myself that. :P

[arttorney]

Yeah. those are the dolls I was thinking about. Now that I recall, Roger Corman managed to use one in a reasonably taseful comedic manner in Rock N Roll High School.

[Ilaekae]

I gots two ideas. One's near-horror/pathos and the other's just a slapstick cartoon (...ever wonder what would happen if somebody used one of those blow-up dolls as a snow sled? :P)...

[DeuceRok]

All the horror story lines just prove one thing. That dolls are freaking scary!

I think i have mine. I just have to research the style that I wanna draw it in. Also, a long panel will be out of the question this time. I'm in Chicago til next week.

OH! And after the last panel's fiasco with figures, I picked up Burne Hogarth's "Drawing Dynamic Figures". We'll see how it goes.

-Deuce

[j.s. sabastian]

well now.....i just looked at 23's poll.....not many people veiw here do they!!! we should change that!...sketches..... i'm going to keep them grayscale for as long as i can....i'm a for color....but i suck at it!
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/jssabastian67/thedoll-page1.jpg
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/jssabastian67/thedoll-page2.jpg
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/jssabastian67/thedoll-page3.jpg
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/jssabastian67/thedoll-page7.jpg
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/jssabastian67/thedoll-page4.jpg
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/jssabastian67/thedoll-page5.jpg
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/jssabastian67/thedoll-page6.jpg

[idoru]

Hey, good start! The only thing I would criticise is the same problem I had with your last one-- your panel layouts. Irregular panels are good, but you have to think about the way the pages read, about the flow of the whole thing. First page, especially, I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to be following that. When your panels kind of slip and slide all over, it makes it hard to follow. Irregular panels should be used for a PURPOSE, not so that you can fit more on the page or whatever. (I think that would have made your last entry a LOT stronger, too.)

Sorry that was so long. orz I just think it would help your work to really shine. Page 5 looks good, though.

[j.s. sabastian]

in life i alway's have that problem strong start lousy finish! it's just my drunken i don't give a f$$ck style.
Idoru..thank you for your comments:) all panels are gonna be neccesery...in this and in comics the dialogue boxes will help guide you visually...i'm not really worried....and stuff lost train of thought ....sorry
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2255502#post2255502 oh ya check out my new thread project june bug peace!!!

[Alecat]

Whew, I'm finally here.
I'd like to have a go at this, kind of have an idea in mind. Anyway, here's my first page WIP, hopefully I can keep this up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Alecat/pow/2401-wip.jpg

Haven't decided what style to go with this... probably not good doubts to have after starting! Also confusing myself over image sizes... we'll see how it goes.

[petitemistress]

I'm in. too crunchy to pass up and I've never drawn a comic before ^.^

[Alecat]

okay, some progress on page one, scripting for page 2.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Alecat/pow/2401-wip2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Alecat/pow/2402-wip1.png

Hoping I'm not biting off more than I can chew.

[Ilaekae]

"Hoping I'm not biting off more than I can chew."

Why should you be any different than the rest of us? :P:P:P:P

[petitemistress]

yes! I have my story... since ive been completely obsessed with Alice in Wonderland lately, im gonna go in this direction:
narrator is Alice's favorite porcelain doll. The card soldiers came out into the real world to carry out the Queen's sentence on Alice, (off with her head, ahem) and ambush the girl while she plays in her garden with her Doll, Arsenic. The comic starts in the wake of this battle where Alice is kidnapped; the doll awakens, but her head is missing.

adventure ensues? :D im gonna go for introductory 2 pages, 3 at most since i wanna finish this... thoughts are welcome, panels are coming soon (after paid work and chow) ^^

[Tangleworm]

Photobucket doesn't work for me because Java is screwing up...is it alright if I just attach an unfinished version, or do I have to use another hosting site?

[Grief]

just attach the unfinished images. you can always remove and upload new images by editing your post with the 'go advanced' feature.

good turnout for this POW, hope everyone follows through to the finish!

[idoru]

I got mine all worked out and halfway thumbnailed at work today, I'm super pumped. Looks like this is going to be a good turnout if everyone finishes!

[Tangleworm]

Thanks, Grief.

So the story is, a guy's basically trapped in his own head. The voodoo doll behind him is suspended in the air, and he's stuck with it. Basically, it represents his addictions and needs. He figure walking about in front of him is his own self-doubt. I haven't written the exact dialogue yet and not all the pages are present, but that's basically how it is. The ending has him wake up in a hospital or asylum or wherever else I decide on.

(Forgive me, this is all extremely rough.)

[j.s. sabastian]

ya!!!!! more people are joining!!!ya now artistic'ally wise i think i'll just quite!!! and my sparadick! care free nature will just win the hearts and minds and stuff!!!of bullsit!!!honestly i think someone here will wright a better script......but i will rock you all when it comes to images....
p.s. it's just trash talk......don't take it personal!if ya wanna light me up...that's fine but just remember that i carry hot bisciuts!!!!!

[Ilaekae]

Well, so you know your own biggest problem... :P

I guess it's time to work on that script thing, ain't it? :P:P:P:P:P

[j.s. sabastian]

hahahaahahahhahaaha!!!!!! and stuff!!!! if you gave me less time I'd work harder i guess. but no you give me three weeks......fuck it i'll submit my finall withen two days.......because that's just the kind of jackass i am!!!!(sniffle) and then even arttorney would luagh at me!!!! and by the way i just boughtt a download from CA it fucked off all my brushes and some of my work settings....so be carefull boy's and girls!!!



As for me, I've been drinking, I'm on the internet, and I'm not afraid to burn your eyes out with my entry tomorrow.

[Tangleworm]

Here's how the first page is rendered currently. Does it fit with the theme?

(For bonus points: Name the M-rated Wii game published by SEGA involving a guy with a chainsaw on his arm that inspired this direction)

[shiNIN]

erm... hi people... I'm a lurker at POW topics since I joined. and now I have an idea. maybe a little sentimental and not exciting, but my own, my precious - and it's short and simple. maybe even me am able to do it somehow...
I can't even draw a head properly without some luck and it will be my very first something of this kind... :bashful:

I wrote this to give a slight chance for my idea to come true... I have plans and I rarely realize them soon enough. but I wanna do this... 2 simple pages... maybe a cover too...

[DeuceRok]

Well... I did a sketch of my doll while I was in Chicago, but I'm not going to take it much further. I'm gonna head back to some figure drawing and studies until I feel ready to do work once more.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b28/deucedeus/DSC00936.jpg

Wish I could have done the full paneling.... (=[)

-Deuce

[BubbaGump]

Here's how the first page is rendered currently. Does it fit with the theme?

(For bonus points: Name the M-rated Wii game published by SEGA involving a guy with a chainsaw on his arm that inspired this direction)

Mad World. :)

[arttorney]

Draw! Draw! Draw!

[Tangleworm]

Waugh, I'm gonna really have to work on this one to get it in on time.


Just leave it to my science teacher to assign me 30 pages of homework in one day...

[j.s. sabastian]

god f--in dammmit!!!!!honestly what do i have to do to piss you people off!! by the way i checked on the 23 poll...so far i lose by 1 vote...i swear i'll cry when i loose! not really....ok maybe ....just a little bit...

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/jssabastian67/thedoll-page11.jpg

[DeuceRok]

Ok J.S. You're starting with 5 panels on the top of the 1st page. Simplify that. 2 or 3 shots... 5 is way too many! Also, make sure that you clearly introduce your characters.

Also, look at the critique of "Rude" in the resources section. You'll see that you ought to place boxes and such for your words. Otherwise then they end up covering the art. I recommend adding another layer in PS to do this.

The rest of the pages have generally the same comments. Simplify the multi-panels, unless it's a fight scene. I also recommend enlarging a few of these smaller panels so that the action is clear.

-Deuce

[j.s. sabastian]

it's seven panels on the first page.....and more and more. thank yuo giodi thinkj ileft my body somewhere!!!!!but wher?

[strings]

Hey this looks intriguing, I haven't participated in week challenges before. But this one strikes a chord for me. How do you submit the pages?

[Ilaekae]

You submit by posting the images in this thread. Just use the image attachment, but make sure your image is reduced to no more than 10" high or it won't accept it. This ends tonight (actually sometime tomorrow if I keep my usual screwed up schedule) so you might be a bit late to start this one. Please note, though, that I am just STARTING mine right now--8 pages--and have no idea if I'll make it or not...so go for it if you want. Only need two pages finished to qualify for the poll.

Read the stickied stuff through real quick for a fast how-to on the rules and sizes and stuff.

New Challenge will be up tonight, running three weeks.

[strings]

Hey Ilaekae, thanks for the info. I got my thumbnails drawn out, we will see. Cheers!

[Tangleworm]

Finally done mine. I'm not too happy with how the story worked out (It looks sorta rushed...) and my rendering probably looked hasty too, but oh well. That was fun.

EDIT:
After a critical discussion with a friend o' mine, it became apparent that the story wasn't apparent enough. I guess I tried to fit something much too complicated for the alotted pages, argh.
She suggested I put the story here, just in case:
In short, there's a guy. He's derailed his life with alcohol and gangs. One day, he's drinking and pondering in his room (seem in the last page), but somebody breaks in and knocks him out, giving him a few stab wounds along the way. He then wakes up in this weird white space, trapped in place by a voodoo doll nailed to a wooden cube, and accompanied by a blindfolded man. I wanted to have a long section with him subjecting the protagonist to various symbolic unpleasantness, but that would've taken too many pages. In the end, the protagonist sees that playing tough gets him nowhere, so he trades this for actual toughness, rips out of the prison, and delivers a bird-related punching meme to the antagonist. He then wakes up and has an epiphany.

It is evident I didn't convey this well enough...any critique on how to do that better?

[idoru]

I didn't get my scanner like I'd hoped so I'm sadly not going to poll. I'll still post when it's done though. Sorry guys!

[Rambozo]

Alright here's what I got done. I only got wind of this last Friday so with about 8 days to work on this and plans previously made for the week I didn't really have time to build on it much :( So out of a 6 page run I was hoping to get to, I only have two to show. And they're not even finished (notice the clothes missing on the amazones, on the hero on the throne, the dismembered arm flung in frame 1 page 3 and, well.. You get the idea).

But, I liked the exercise and I thought I'ld post it here anyways, maybe get some comments/crits. I think I might actually get around to finishing up a few pages on this one in my spare time, we'll see.

A little background : this Hildùlfr, the D&D type hero here was the character I came up with for Dominance War IV... That went awry for me somewhat, tangled up and all. Regardless, this "story" is me takin' a pot-shot at myself : gettin' all excited about this warrior character and then in the end (page 06 included here) you realise that all these tall tales of various battles and what not are just some kid playin' around with his G.I.Joe-ish doll and gettin' lost in his own imagination.

Err, what else. Ahh well the heart floating around there is his magic weapon/artefact, he uses the blood as arrows and all that. Anyway, long story, you can check it out at the Dominance War Entries section if you're that interested.

I'll upload the (very preliminary) WIPs of pages 4 and 5 at least to give a little more of an idea of what I had in mind. But for now, this is what I got since this seems to be the deadline of midnight in oh just about 10 minutes hehe

Ahhh yes the copyright info. Dunno if you require this in the POW but as it was asked in the CHOWs here it is :
Copywright owned by : Nicolas Lizotte
2009/05/31 (I think that's all ?)

[Tangleworm]

Very nice! You've definitely done a great job on the rendering.

[arttorney]

You guys are great. Glad I didn't go through with the embarrasingly bad thing I was going to do. Wonder what happened to J.S., alecat, and shiNiN?

[strings]

Hey guys, hope you like this. No text with the exception of the last panel , leaning towards a storyboard - style.

[Candy Rain]

Aaaand here's my contribution! I don't think the image quality is great though; I'm still trying to figure out my less-than-stellar scanner as well as importing inked art into computer programs. Took me about as long to figure that out as it did to draw the whole thing...

[Sean McClain]

ok. I dont see a finals thread so here is mine though
this is my first comic book page so I am happy to finally of
done one since I love them so much:)
686286
686287

[Waterbird]

Computer's running a little slow tonight. But, finally finished this one.
:dead:

[Ilaekae]

Nice job, everyone. The poll will be up later this afternoon. Thank you... :)

[Rambozo]

Just wasted an afternoon with Techsupport at HP, AGAIN... >:{

Soooo I haven't gotten around to paste-up all that WIP stuff for page 3&4 so hot. I'm still gona take this break to post the WIPs that lead up to where I was for page 3 and 6 (out of 6). This doesn't seem to be required in POW, but it's something I always like to see in the CHOW so, I'll go for it anyway ;)

[Rambozo]

Well it's official... My harddrive crashed, AGAIN... Fuckin' useless HP twat bastard CUNTS... Apparantly I have to send the whole tower back this time... That's twice now, plus the faulty monitor... Pissed-off just doesn't quite seem to express the emotion...

I'ld updated the two pages I posted here and put in enough hours on pages 4&5 to make them look decent-ish, not to mention all the other stuff I'ld been workin' on recently...

Anyway, the point being that it all seems pretty much flushed down the bog now... Unless I somehow manage to recuperate the files (come on, like that's gona happen), this is pretty much the end of the line "for the Doll" as far as I'm concerned. To much of a downer to get back too...