Hey, I have a question to ask. I’m merely curious. Believe me, I’m only curious because I love this comic so much! ^^ My question is this, why does it look like the Grins are more heavily armored this time around? I kept looking over old pages of them and it definitely looks like armor this time around. Earlier, they looked far more like they were wearing jumpsuits with some light armor covering. Did you change their design to be more prominent or am I somehow imagining this? ;P Yep, you’ve heard from me before. You got another devoted reader and an enthusiastic commenter. :D
erp. ok, busted. i was thinking i should address this at some point, but you are absolutely right, and no, no one went home to change.
fact is, the last few years, i’ve been able to flex my draw and design muscle quite a bit. so, when i started this sequence, drawing the grins as i had them before, i had a choice to make. boring consistency, or pushing the design in a direction that would jazz me. so, i chose the latter. i kept the masks the same, i was happy with those, but they now have, in my opinions, more distinct and more interesting amrour designs.
and you’re right, and i thank you for asking about it. if i’m honest, it’s gonna happen more, and in little ways all the time. hey, i’m learning in ways i didn’t expect. as time goes by, i think that comes through. for the most part, designs just get more polished. virgil’s neck makes more sense now, but he’s basically the same design. stuff like that.
i’m glad you ‘love’ the comic! your word, no backsies. all i’m gonna say is that this has been such a huge learning process, and i’ve sacrificed consistency for experimentation. sometimes it works, sometimes i learned how not to do something. stick around, i think the feel of it is getting closer to what i have in my mind.
More like Virgil’s inertial sensors were fritzing with data overload. That’s what happened with one of the Mars landers, so it shut its engines off early. Just because you have an AI robot walking about, doesn’t mean that they were outfitted with the latest in hardware. After all, the manufacturer did make Virgil’s chassis to not accept third-party parts.
What would be more fun would be if Virgil did get a third-party hand, and the interface was funky because the hand’s electronics keep trying to convince the chassis that they’re genuine. Or what if the hand would take over Virgil’s voice, and “display” advertisements? Ooh, the possibilities…
haha, pitchin me plot lines? i got too many as it is!
one of the things i’m trying to promote is the idea of degradation. which is to say, there are ‘better tech’ out there, but rare. and that the average person can’t afford anything top of the line, because in the post war wasteland, even money doesn’t solve everything. your idea would work in a world with a thriving economy, but that isn’t the case here. it’s not the most usual approach to sci fi, but it’s kinda how i see it.
This is a post-war wasteland? You had me fooled! When someone “imagines” a wasteland, I think of abandoned towns and power lines that lead from nowhere to nowhere. (I like visiting “ghost” towns.) Or like Germany or England during/after WWII.
I see a lot of working tech, including electricity. Did you know that hydro power stations have to overhaul their generators every six months? That means brand new parts coming in on a regular schedule. Despite what Mad Max or Fallout depicts, you would never see electricity in a “wasteland.” I’ve lived without electricity, and believe me, you get up when the sun’s up, and the day is done when it goes down. Candles are usable, kerosene lamps are better, but electricity is just golden. (but if I had to choose between electricity or running water, I’d choose running water.)
So: no electricity, no running water, no sewage system, no refrigeration, no gasoline, no androids, etc. Now, you can have a collapsed economy with all of what you’re depicting. The electricity didn’t go off during the Great Depression, and all of it will keep running in the future. A collapsed economy will give you decay, lack of capitol, completely stagnant innovation, replacement parts being fabricated out of stuff, etc. Honestly, that’s what I’m seeing in the world you’ve presented.
So for Virgil’s hand, another hand could be fabricated from another droid’s parts, and the onboard processor would have been reprogrammed. Look at what is done with network routers and OpenWRT. We don’t like what the manufacturers gave us, so we’ll roll our own firmware and run it on their hardware.
I imagine this place like the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the junk scavengers of Mexico or India, or something like that. A first-world city that’s slid back to a second- or third-world state. There’s still tech, stuff may work, but nobody can afford good stuff, let alone new stuff.
ok, yes, that’s more closely what i meant, and not ‘wasteland’. i didn’t think i’d get busted for it. but certainly a place in decline. as for power, i’ve tried to give the buildings an almost ‘jury rigged’ look. the implication is that everyone is on their own. it’s also fun to draw it that way.
Virgil didn’t have the optional stereoscopic aiming program installed, eh? Or maybe he got the bootleg version (that lacks the steady-hand protocol) in a torrent…
It’s interesting though, since bots in your comic are more-or-less as easy to mangle/destroy as humans, it gives them an almost human vulnerability which influences their actions and motivations. Which is fun!
exactly! that’s kind of the vibe i’m going for. human frailties that transcend humanity. it lends a little more personality to artificial characters that they run the same risks as a meat based person.
Sorry about that double post…
Also, perhaps Virgil is just terrible with guns…I mean he missed at point-blank range one time and blew the wrong person’s head off (or whatever)…
shucks. well, you guys and you’re support make it easier to keep plugging away. i look back to the earlier pages, and i see alot of things i could have done better. which only means to me, it’s getting better. in another 2 years, who knows what it’ll look like. i’m jazzed to find out!
haha, don’t worry about it. i can stand to hear it said twice. or even more. don’t hold back. thanks for saying so!
and i think virgil is just more of a slippery sack of lies. and while you’re right, he did miss that shot, that was more about him being tackled at the time. i think it would read better if i was to draw that scene again now. ah to do it all over again….
Called it :D
This comic is great! The grins are pretty funny, and quite ironic ones too because you can’t tell their emotion at all in the comic since they have no facial expressions.
P.S. I got my sister hooked on this comic too. You’re welcome! ^^
haha, tell her i said hi. or she can just read this. hello, ms. snake.
and thanks, i appreciate you guys thinking enough of my work to spread the word. means a lot.
Hey, I have a question to ask. I’m merely curious. Believe me, I’m only curious because I love this comic so much! ^^ My question is this, why does it look like the Grins are more heavily armored this time around? I kept looking over old pages of them and it definitely looks like armor this time around. Earlier, they looked far more like they were wearing jumpsuits with some light armor covering. Did you change their design to be more prominent or am I somehow imagining this? ;P Yep, you’ve heard from me before. You got another devoted reader and an enthusiastic commenter. :D
erp. ok, busted. i was thinking i should address this at some point, but you are absolutely right, and no, no one went home to change.
fact is, the last few years, i’ve been able to flex my draw and design muscle quite a bit. so, when i started this sequence, drawing the grins as i had them before, i had a choice to make. boring consistency, or pushing the design in a direction that would jazz me. so, i chose the latter. i kept the masks the same, i was happy with those, but they now have, in my opinions, more distinct and more interesting amrour designs.
and you’re right, and i thank you for asking about it. if i’m honest, it’s gonna happen more, and in little ways all the time. hey, i’m learning in ways i didn’t expect. as time goes by, i think that comes through. for the most part, designs just get more polished. virgil’s neck makes more sense now, but he’s basically the same design. stuff like that.
i’m glad you ‘love’ the comic! your word, no backsies. all i’m gonna say is that this has been such a huge learning process, and i’ve sacrificed consistency for experimentation. sometimes it works, sometimes i learned how not to do something. stick around, i think the feel of it is getting closer to what i have in my mind.
More like Virgil’s inertial sensors were fritzing with data overload. That’s what happened with one of the Mars landers, so it shut its engines off early. Just because you have an AI robot walking about, doesn’t mean that they were outfitted with the latest in hardware. After all, the manufacturer did make Virgil’s chassis to not accept third-party parts.
What would be more fun would be if Virgil did get a third-party hand, and the interface was funky because the hand’s electronics keep trying to convince the chassis that they’re genuine. Or what if the hand would take over Virgil’s voice, and “display” advertisements? Ooh, the possibilities…
haha, pitchin me plot lines? i got too many as it is!
one of the things i’m trying to promote is the idea of degradation. which is to say, there are ‘better tech’ out there, but rare. and that the average person can’t afford anything top of the line, because in the post war wasteland, even money doesn’t solve everything. your idea would work in a world with a thriving economy, but that isn’t the case here. it’s not the most usual approach to sci fi, but it’s kinda how i see it.
This is a post-war wasteland? You had me fooled! When someone “imagines” a wasteland, I think of abandoned towns and power lines that lead from nowhere to nowhere. (I like visiting “ghost” towns.) Or like Germany or England during/after WWII.
I see a lot of working tech, including electricity. Did you know that hydro power stations have to overhaul their generators every six months? That means brand new parts coming in on a regular schedule. Despite what Mad Max or Fallout depicts, you would never see electricity in a “wasteland.” I’ve lived without electricity, and believe me, you get up when the sun’s up, and the day is done when it goes down. Candles are usable, kerosene lamps are better, but electricity is just golden. (but if I had to choose between electricity or running water, I’d choose running water.)
So: no electricity, no running water, no sewage system, no refrigeration, no gasoline, no androids, etc. Now, you can have a collapsed economy with all of what you’re depicting. The electricity didn’t go off during the Great Depression, and all of it will keep running in the future. A collapsed economy will give you decay, lack of capitol, completely stagnant innovation, replacement parts being fabricated out of stuff, etc. Honestly, that’s what I’m seeing in the world you’ve presented.
So for Virgil’s hand, another hand could be fabricated from another droid’s parts, and the onboard processor would have been reprogrammed. Look at what is done with network routers and OpenWRT. We don’t like what the manufacturers gave us, so we’ll roll our own firmware and run it on their hardware.
I imagine this place like the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the junk scavengers of Mexico or India, or something like that. A first-world city that’s slid back to a second- or third-world state. There’s still tech, stuff may work, but nobody can afford good stuff, let alone new stuff.
wow. an essay. hahah
ok, yes, that’s more closely what i meant, and not ‘wasteland’. i didn’t think i’d get busted for it. but certainly a place in decline. as for power, i’ve tried to give the buildings an almost ‘jury rigged’ look. the implication is that everyone is on their own. it’s also fun to draw it that way.
Virgil didn’t have the optional stereoscopic aiming program installed, eh? Or maybe he got the bootleg version (that lacks the steady-hand protocol) in a torrent…
It’s interesting though, since bots in your comic are more-or-less as easy to mangle/destroy as humans, it gives them an almost human vulnerability which influences their actions and motivations. Which is fun!
exactly! that’s kind of the vibe i’m going for. human frailties that transcend humanity. it lends a little more personality to artificial characters that they run the same risks as a meat based person.
Yeah!
Sorry about that double post…
Also, perhaps Virgil is just terrible with guns…I mean he missed at point-blank range one time and blew the wrong person’s head off (or whatever)…
You’re right about the fact that the comic is great. It bears repeating.
shucks. well, you guys and you’re support make it easier to keep plugging away. i look back to the earlier pages, and i see alot of things i could have done better. which only means to me, it’s getting better. in another 2 years, who knows what it’ll look like. i’m jazzed to find out!
haha, don’t worry about it. i can stand to hear it said twice. or even more. don’t hold back. thanks for saying so!
and i think virgil is just more of a slippery sack of lies. and while you’re right, he did miss that shot, that was more about him being tackled at the time. i think it would read better if i was to draw that scene again now. ah to do it all over again….
Called it :D
This comic is great! The grins are pretty funny, and quite ironic ones too because you can’t tell their emotion at all in the comic since they have no facial expressions.
Called it :D
This comic is great