P.O.W.! Challenge 50--Anniversary...

[donalfall]

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P.O.W.! Challenge 50
Deadline: Sunday, May 29th, 2011, 11:59 pm anywhere in the world.

Topic: Anniversary


50 Issues would be a big hit in the modern comic book world! Celebrate POW #50 with a strip about an Anniversary. This can cover any idea, topic, story beat, whatever, as long as you embody the idea of "Anniversary". Try and include some conflict/drama in the work, whether the exciting drama of a fight scene or the quiet drama of conflict between relatives.

You can interpret the art any way you wish, and the more creatively, the better. Any media. B&W or Color. We're also going to stick with the three-week-ish Challenge period that Ilaekae has established for the last while because it seems to be giving people a bit more time to play.

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.

REMEMBER: You don't have to have a complete comic to qualify for polling--if you're idea requires six pages or so, go for it, but if you realize you're running out of time, try to get at least TWO finished by the deadline. That's all you need to qualify.

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.

Get going & see what you can create!

I'm posting this up to keep a fresh thread going while Ilaekae is out of commission, much like j.s. sebastian did, to his credit. It's looking like Ilaekae will be offline indefinitely, but if he turns up sooner rather than later, he's the boss, this thread can be superseded by his whim. Cheers & good luck!

[zy.]

Really happy to see POW back in action! Hopefully exams won't mess with the deadline :/

Thanks + YEY!

[Waterbird]

Well done, donalfall! You are the steward of Gondor.

[donalfall]

Waterbird - fun times! That ends well, right? :)

[donalfall]

Sketch for page 1 of my POW! - or "save a place" as wanimal might say. I think this will be a 5 page extravaganza. I've been printing out 3 x 3 panel grids in 50% grey borders with Word and then sketching my layout over it.

It actually works quite well.

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[tobbA]

Nice initiative. :)

Page one done...

[donalfall]

Nice first page, tobbA. What are you using for your inking? I'm guessing a marker, but it could be digital? Either way, I would vary the lineweight a little if I were you, but it's looking sweet.

Your lettering is looking pretty nice too. Cheers!

[tobbA]

Thanks. :)

Here's page 2. I use a marker and an ink brush. But I didn't wanna use the brush for the smaller stuff because I was afraid of messing up. I did try it in the last three panels and I must admit I like how it looks so I'll probably use it more :)

[Codexier]

I'm going to try to finish this challenge. No idea how to start, but here's a script I came up with.


Page 1
[ Lots of romantic silhouettes. All figures are pure black, bg is white. The female is dead and flopping around, but she is positioned by the man for his perfect anniversary. Only small clues give her away, but we'd love the reader not to know she is dead. This first page has two or three flies outside the panel like they have landed on the page itself.]
Panel 1 - I remember it like it was yesterday. A perfect night with you. I had planned it all out...
Panel 2 - Your favorite pink roses. You grasped them in your hands so delicately. (Her hands holding flowers, but maybe just loosely since she has no grasp)
Panel 3 - A dinner to die for. We ate until we were stuffed and sated. (They are both pushed back from the table as though sated from eating, hands on their own belly...her head flops a bit down, but you might easily mistake this for being tired or full).
Panel 4 - We danced in the parlor. We whirled to our favorite songs. (He's definitely leading in this dance, she is like a limp doll)
Panel 5 - Then..later, in the bedroom. We made love in perfect unity. (Hmmm)

Page 2
[We see details that she is definitely dead. This page has more flies.]
Panel 1 - After, I watched you on the bed. (His POV looking over from a pillow to her laying on her side staring dead eyed at him).
Panel 2 - I wiped the sweat from your face. My sweat. (?)
Panel 3 - And for once in our marriage, I thought... (
Panel 4 - I am finally happy. (man smiling in bed with hands behind his head...quite content)

Page 3
[This is the event as he murders her. She is alive here and fighting with him. Finally, plenty more flies.]
Panel 1 - Every year since, I have celebrated the anniversary of that special occasion. (Him carrying her to the chair...maybe she is rotted or bone by now, maybe he is old and stooped.)
Panel 2 - I remember the words we spoke... (They are younger, arguing with each other, yelling)
Panel 3 - The dance... (They fight but it mirrors the panel of them dancing earlier)
Panel 4 - And our final throes of passion. (He strangles her in bed mirroring Page 1, Panel 5).
Panel 5 - Happy Anniversary my dear. I'm playing our favorite song.

[NickyBeats]

donalfall - great thumbnails! i must admit im confused as to whats going on, but i think you have a good balance of light and shadow in there! looking forward to the refined pages!!

tobba - nice pages man!! i like the ink job, are you gonna add color to them later? also, nice action in the second page!

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i havent tried to do one of these in a looooong time, and ive been meaning to get some more pages done. so i think im going to attempt a black and white inked series. maybe 4 or 5 pages if time permits. looking forward to it!!

[donalfall]

Nice to see some replies still coming in! Pretty sweet you guys. I've been busy with family events/other art challenges/that Beauty & Nightmares piece I'm meant to have given to Droid by now, etc. but mine is nearly done, and I'll certainly have two pages ready for the poll for this friday.

tobbA - I like those last few panels better, they have that more organic feel. Nice line weight variation, although I think you could go further, especially in the movement panels. Have you seen when Paul Pope (http://pulphope.blogspot.com/) does action? However, with 2 pages done, you're in the poll. Give us some more for resolution if you can!

Codexier - that's a perfectly functional plot! Get to it & just dive right in, try your damndest to get a few pages done for practise. This might help you get started (http://joeljohnson.com/images2/wallywood22panel2560.jpg). Plenty of close ups & pull back as you need to, keep the action in silhouette if you need to. You'll get there, just get the practise in.

NickyBeats - Cheers! I was mostly just showing my super cheap 9 grey panels printed off from MS Word technique, which I highly recommend some variation on. It helps you figure the flow of the story before you use anything important, like real paper. If you sit around an office at all during the day like I do, use that printer paper!

Right guys, 4 AM here. Bed time.

[NickyBeats]

Donalfall - yea, ive been just thumbnailing them the old school way, in my little 5x8 sketchbook with pens and marker. plus how do you make images in word?

heres a cover concept, and the first two pages.

i still dont have the story 100%, im sorting evolving as i go, but its basically about this japanese office worker, whos kind of young, and he goes through his monotonous life hating it, until one morning (the day this things due for some reason haha) and awakes to find this japanese god of war (Bishamon) in his bedroom. and i suppose hes gonna get some sort of mystical japanese power in the very near future...

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1238576&stc=1&d=1306214796
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1238577&stc=1&d=1306214832
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1238579&stc=1&d=1306214869

[Izitmee]

Cool :) I just discovered this thread (I'm new) but I'll try to submit (roughly sketched the story and all the pages - 4 - in 30 minutes, tomorrow I'll start the defs).

[NickyBeats]

itzimee - yea man, definately join in! the more the merrier!!

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heres the updated linework, still definately a wip...

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1239308&stc=1&d=1306304401
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1239309&stc=1&d=1306304430
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1239312&stc=1&d=1306304463

[JParker]

This is going to be my first submission! This sounds like a lot of fun.

[Patriarch]

...and so begins Donalfall's bloody reign!
Love the topic, have a few ideas but not sure I'll have anything come deadline, will try though =D
Really awesome work so far, can't wait to see the finals!

[NickyBeats]

just one new rough . . .

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1240654&stc=1&d=1306450311

[NickyBeats]

one more for today...

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1240791&stc=1&d=1306467210

[velderia]

These... Are pretty bad. I just started this yesterday and finished just now. But this is my entry... So... Yeah:

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[Izitmee]

Whew, here is mine, 4 pages, done in a rush (totally miscalculated my free time). I'm not very happy with the story, but I don't hate it :)

Hope I'm posting this correctly: this is my first time. And hope my english was good (I'm italian).

P.S. Happy to be here on schedule.
@NickyBeats: cool sketch style, love how the grays give volume to those lines :)
@velderia: those are NOT bad! :D I was a little confused initially, but I dig the style.

EDIT: I realized I didn't post correctly (pages must be separated, 96dpi, and with footer info). Did it now :)

[velderia]

@Izitmee: Oh my god! Your work is SO much better though! <3 Everything looks consistent, the colors are fantastic and fits the mood in each panel, and I love the story. :D Seriously, you win. n_n <3 <3 <3

[donalfall]

Oh hey you guys, these are looking sharp!

Izitmee - I love it. The colouring is nice & the cartooning is very lively. You're perfectly on schedule!

Velderia - this is really good! You expressed a mood nicely, everything works together. I especially like the third? last panel with the girl on a lighter red bg with the text swirling about. The transition there is great over the course of the whole comic - dark, then cool blue, then DARK RED, then pinkish, then bluish. That really punctuates the sequence.

NickyBeats - I'm really liking this! I hope you get two more finished pages together for the poll, but if you don't have time I'll still put up these ones. People can "mark you down" for the less finished work. :)

Patriarch - I'm too lazy for Reigns, although I'm good with bloody. :P

Sooooooooooooo I'm working tomorrow & then I'm doing something *SUPER NERDY* in the evening, then I'm working monday & have the Galway Pub Scrawl (see my sig, below) in the evening. So I'll probably only close this event monday at midnight my time, if ye want to dig in & run out another page or part of a page. I also have to scan these pages I have here. I have 3 done!

I also have another topic for POW #51 all lined up, I think you'll all enjoy it.

[Izitmee]

Ups, I realized I posted my comic without completely following the rules (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=115867). Updated it now :)

@donalfall: Yeyyyy I'm on schedule. Thanks :) Can't wait to see your stuff (as well as the finished NickyBeats and Patriarch). And I can't resist: what's the *SUPER NERDY* thing???
@velderia: You're too cutely kind (does this expression exists?) :D

[tobbA]

Nickybeats: Thanks. :) No color since I'd rather try to get more pages done...

Those pages are looking cool. Hope to see them finished!

Donalfall: No, haven't seen that. But cool link, thanks. :)

Velderia: I think there could be some more consistency to the story, but for being done in two days that's pretty cool!

Izitme: Very nice. I like the surreal feel to it. :)

I didn't exactly plan a certain amount of pages for this comic so it sort of ends with a cliff hanger... for now at least.

http://i.imgur.com/NkHyw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/liPKr.jpg

[Izitmee]

Hey Tobba, sorry if I confused you with Patriarch (yesterday I was starting to get feverish - and today I'm totally dizzy). I'm curious to know how the story evolves. Would you tell us your full plot? :)

[Izitmee]

Hey Donalfall, you can't let us without your comic :) This thread died?

[donalfall]

No, no, still alive. The computer I use for photoshoppery blew its power supply. I will post mine & run the poll when I get a new one. Sorry about the delay! It's the curse of the P.O.W! striking. :)

Move onto the POW! 51. I'm already starting on mine!

[donalfall]

No, no, still alive. The computer I use for photoshoppery blew its power supply. I will post mine & run the poll when I get a new one. Sorry about the delay! It's the curse of the P.O.W! striking. :)

Move onto the POW! 51. I'm already starting on mine!

[Ilaekae]

d', you and j.s. did one hell of a job while I was in limbo. Thank you more than I can express here. I'm getting the old polls together to go up after the announcements posts on Sunday night. Give me an idea of how long you'll be up shit creek with the comp, and i'll hold the 51 poll til you can get in properly. The new challenges and changes I've prepared will be up on Sunday night June 19, 2011, everyone, and will be labeled 52A, 52B, 52C, and 52D--all running simultaneously over four weeks.

d' will be in contact with you within days by pm.

[donalfall]

You're most welcome, anytime. We were just keeping your home-away-from-home fires burning. :P

The only computer I have access to is my GF's Vaio which is the once that blew its power supply... I'm assured that another is getting dropped off from a kind donor sat/sun sometime, so I'll post my POW!50 up before the end of Sunday for definite. Then you can run the poll!

Something else.... oh yeah, HUZZAH YOU'RE BACK!!!!!

:)

[donalfall]

Okay, so a power supply came, but I was exhausted after work so I almost literally collapsed. Now I'm awake in the middle of the night and can't sleep at all. It's going to be a loooooooooooooooong day at work tomorrow. :P

Anyway, I got my page 1, 2 & 4 done. 2 & 3 were designed to be flashback-y and exposition on what is going on. But 2 doesn't work without 3, it just becomes a weird non sequitur with even less sense than if I just give you pages 1 & 4. So here they are, finally. :)

1.
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4.
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If I get 3 done later I'll post the full sequence in my SB or under non-competitive comics or summat.

donalfall out.

[Ilaekae]

I been fighting with trees and carpenter ants all day so I won't start putting up the stuff from my end til tomorrow night, which means Number 50 may not even get organized and posted til Tuesday early. Does that help in the slightest. Either way, you're in because you have two finished pages, so don't kill yourself.

[donalfall]

I'll leave it cos I'm busy on Sleight of Hand. Thanks tho!

[JParker]

I'm a little bummed that I missed this one, but I had to go out of town. I'm brainstorming for Sleight of Hand right now and I'm hoping I can come up with a decent first submission!

I really love what everyone ended up doing for their panels! Great work everyone and I look forward to sharing! :yum:

[donalfall]

That's cool, JParker! Looking forward to seeing what you pull out for Sleight of hand. :)

[Izitmee]

Cool pages donalfall (though - sigh - I'll miss page 2 and 3)! Love your vintage style, reminds me a little of Vaughn Bodé: those were good times for comics :)

[donalfall]

Oooh, what a compliment. I *love* Vaughn Bode. I'll be posting 2 & 3 in my SB at some point. :)