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Eric: Because I listen... bigger pictures!
(I promise I don't only think about John Stark.)
One of the recurring comments I've gotten this week has been a difficulty in reading the text in The Adventures of John Stark. The strips are, simply put, too small. And I agree. I wanted them bumped up enough to make them easy to see. Unfortunately, Comic Life (the program I've been doing the strips in) just won't resize graphic groups, making in-program alterations prohibitive. And its output options were limited to 72 dpi, 150 dpi or higher in resolution. So I could double the size or leave it as is, but I couldn't, say, export it at 96 dpi and bump it up nicely.
Well, I've got a solution -- export in the larger resolution in tiff, then batch convert to JPG at 80%. The result is a 514x800 image that should be plenty easy to read.
The problem now is it's too large to fit without scrolling. I could shrink it down to 600 in height, but that brings back some of the trouble in reading the text. So. My plan is to enlarge the existing strips and the buffer, then recreate the layout in a monitor-friendly 800x600 at 72 dpi that should resolve the issue once and for all.
However, part of the problem there is I've got three more weeks of strips in the can. Meaning that even if I rebuild the template, you won't see the benefit until this time in October.
(That's right. I'm working on a month buffer. See what power you possess when you... er... have no art requirements whatsoever?)
I'm vaguely considering redoing all the old strips in the new template, ultimately. But that seems like cheating, somehow. Anyway. I'm soliciting comments. Take a look at the current size, let me know what would make your heart glad, and we'll move on from there.
Posted by Eric Burns-White at September 30, 2005 3:32 PM
Comments
Comment from: Doctor Setebos posted at September 30, 2005 4:14 PM
I really, really hope I'm not the only one enjoying these adventures. =D
Comment from: lochinola posted at September 30, 2005 5:10 PM
I like the strip... though the way it shows up when you look a the archives takes away from it a bit, I think; at least put a little space between the strips... but I think one strip per page is important, so that when you hit "previous" or "next", once the image loads, all that changes is the text.
This works very well for Dinosaur Comics, and the visual effect would suit this strip as well, I think.
So when's the crossover with Dinosaur Comics coming?
Comment from: Eric Burns posted at September 30, 2005 5:16 PM
In what way would a crossover even be possible? I mean, wouldn't one of us by definition have to change our art?
(Speaking of which, I've gone ahead and built an 800x600 template. And I'm going to spend a good amount of tomorrow plugging in the next three weeks into it. So there'll just be this one week on the portrait template.)
Comment from: Lyndon W posted at September 30, 2005 5:19 PM
You mean people still keep their monitors on mere triple digit resolutions? Barbaric!
Comment from: SeanH posted at September 30, 2005 5:38 PM
Right now I'd like to give a shout-out to the beat panel in the bottom left. Give some love to the beat panel!
Comment from: gwalla posted at September 30, 2005 5:45 PM
You could have a crossover. The characters from one couldn't appear in the other, but you could have a story that crosses both. Maybe having them both reflect on a shared experience. Sort of like Rashomon. With dinosaurs and American revolutionaries.
Comment from: gwalla posted at September 30, 2005 5:46 PM
That's all Rashomon was missing, really...
Comment from: Dorkboy posted at September 30, 2005 6:44 PM
I like it.
Keep it.
\/\/
Comment from: Darth Paradox posted at September 30, 2005 7:19 PM
Actually, you could just have each of them referring to a previous conversation they had together. If you write it carefully, you could each have a comic that appears normal, unless you've read both of them, and then you realize "wait... they were talking about the same thing!" It'd be like a stealth crossover. And that would rock.
Comment from: Wednesday White posted at September 30, 2005 8:29 PM
Lyndon: not everyone maximizes while browsing. One of the joys of having reasonable resolutions is that you can do several things at once without the windows being unusably tiny. (I don't know if I resemble other people, but if I don't have at least four things going at once, I break down and *cry.*)
Eric: dude, send me the Stark original and give me a couple days, okay?
Comment from: Archon Divinus posted at September 30, 2005 8:45 PM
Both John Stark and Dinosaur comics have 6 panels, so just switch the text. T-rex would talk about the revolutionary war, and Stark would misinterpet a philosiphy.
Comment from: quiller posted at September 30, 2005 8:58 PM
I certainly hope you don't only think about John Stark. Girlfriends hate it when you only think about Revolutionary War Heroes. Believe me, I have no idea...
I think if there's a crossover, the comics should alternate panels between dinosaur and Bennington. Though a script that worked with both comics would be cool too.
Comment from: Wednesday White posted at September 30, 2005 9:05 PM
It could be worse. He could be one of those guys who only thinks about City of Heroes.
Comment from: Lyndon W posted at September 30, 2005 10:24 PM
More then one program at the same time? Intriguing!
Comment from: Ian K. posted at October 1, 2005 1:13 AM
I like the strip as is, personally, and I'm strangely looking forward to more.
I would love to attempt a style-crossover with Adolf Nauseum which I'm moving over to Webcomics Nation this weekend.
For serious, man.
Comment from: Merus posted at October 1, 2005 1:21 AM
I maximise everything and then pretend I have multiple desktops. This is on vanilla Windows, mind.
Are there any strips out there which have tried keeping the words the same and changing the art? I'm curious to see if it's as much of a trainwreck as I think it'd be.
Comment from: AndrewWade posted at October 1, 2005 1:25 AM
(I don't know if I resemble other people, but if I don't have at least four things going at once, I break down and *cry.*)
That is why I adore my widescreen laptop. The extra screen real-estate really comes in handy.
Comment from: HKR posted at October 1, 2005 1:36 AM
I love the comic, but agree that the image needs to be bigger.
The only problem? Today's comic is 512k. On my lowly 33.6 connection, that took almost two minutes to load.
Can you find some way to lower the file size on the comic? Dial-up users are people too!
Comment from: Eric Burns posted at October 1, 2005 1:55 AM
HKR -- it's a priority, yes. ;)
Comment from: Alexis Christoforides posted at October 1, 2005 6:55 AM
More then one program at the same time? Intriguing!
Comment from: mckenzee posted at October 1, 2005 10:18 AM
Comment from: larksilver posted at October 1, 2005 11:20 AM
The N.A.D.D. thing is pretty darn funny. Some of the comments, though, they scare me! How can one actually forget they're watching a movie with their wife? augh!
At work, my job requires a bit of that super-multi-tasking thing. I generally have at least 7-8 items open, plus phone calls, etc. But then, I always have so many projects going for the 50 people I support, that's the way it is. Then, when get home... I seldom have more than one item running. The simplicity is beeeeyoootiful. yep!
Comment from: Robin Z posted at October 1, 2005 1:41 PM
You know, the way I'd imagine a Dinosaur Comics / John Stark crossover is: Each strip would appear with its normal panel template, only with the other strips characters in poses similar to the native characters'. Sorta like this Dinosaur Comics fanstrip.
Comment from: Eric Burns posted at October 1, 2005 2:03 PM
I might have some trouble bending the statue into a "stomping" position. Also, I think that's a Federal offense.
Comment from: Lyndon W posted at October 1, 2005 7:32 PM
I say that having the characters talking about a shared experience would be the most plausible form of crossover. But what experience would a dinosaur and a historical figure have to share?
Comment from: gwalla posted at October 1, 2005 7:54 PM
NADD describes me perfectly. Good grief.
Comment from: gwalla posted at October 1, 2005 7:54 PM
NADD describes me perfectly. Good grief.
Comment from: gwalla posted at October 1, 2005 7:55 PM
Much hatred for my browser right now. Oh yes.
Comment from: Wednesday White posted at October 1, 2005 8:10 PM
Waiiiit a minute.
let me know what would make your heart glad
Dude, the heart is non-emotive and unbranded. I can't comply!
Comment from: gwalla posted at October 1, 2005 11:57 PM
Ooh! You could do a crossover with Warren Ellis's Edison Hate Future!
Comment from: larksilver posted at October 3, 2005 1:50 PM
Maybe he meant the figurative heart-type-emotional place which he hopes to get to feelin' all mooshyfied and loverly, and not the actual, y'know, organ what's responsible for pumping oxygen? Just a guess. But then, of course, you knew that, but I couldn't help finding an excuse to type "mooshyfied." "Loverly" was a bonus. See how easily amused I am?
Comment from: Wednesday White posted at October 4, 2005 1:58 PM
Lark: sh! I'm trying to gently and stealthily dissuade the gentleman from abusing antiquated notions of emotional locus! :)
Comment from: Eric Burns posted at October 4, 2005 2:07 PM
Actually, all my organs have their own emotional state.
Right now, my spleen is caught up in profound ennui. But then, if you were a spleen, you would be too.
Comment from: Wednesday White posted at October 4, 2005 2:45 PM
Dude, your spleen is so eighties.
Comment from: larksilver posted at October 10, 2005 9:42 AM
I thought spleens only had angst or rage. So if my spleen were feeling morose.. is that better, or worse?
Or maybe it's my spleen chakra or some such, since we can't use antiquated notions of emotional locus anymore. (hehe) Wait. Chakras are older than that... darnit! Somehow, "my gut is depressed" just doesn't work as well.
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