And now we’re going to start moving into new design territory. Note that this is not the final look of the new design; I did a heavy-brush look to see how it would come out. I think it looks cool but am not sure yet I’d like to use it all the time. Today’s and Monday’s comics are heavy brush, following that will be a mixed style.
First up: working with a brush! It’s probably going to take a while still before I’m as accurate as I’d like, but I think it might be an interesting direction to go. I’ll need to figure out eventually how best to integrate backgrounds when working with a lot of dark lines.
Second: Improving character designs! I’m working on differentiating character designs and also making them more consistent, which might at first seem counter-intuitive with all the inaccurate brushwork. But we’ll see what comes of it!
Third: Expanding the comic framework. Right now it’s including three-panel comics in the selection, but I’m eventually going to also go into designing panel layouts by hand instead of relying on the template all the time.
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Nice! The new art style looks amazing! : ))
in my honest opinion, the old style looked somehow better. It’s a bit too anime/manga-style… I would also like to see some lightings/shadows, I miss them here (in this comic overall)
Agreed. But he did say it isnt a final look. so maybe he will take a look-see at the comments and adjust accordingly.
TOO BRIGHT! need some dark colors.
and is that, blue trees?
I’m not sure I’d say it’s an anime/manga-style, the trees just make me think of Calvin & Hobbes. And then I wonder what Calvin & Hobbes would be like in Housepets.
I just find the brush to be too heavy though.
I thought the background looked familiar
Agree very Calvin and Hobbes Background
I agree, the “heavy brush” style looks a lot less professional.
I do like this style, but i liked the older one better.
in nature, there are no “lines”, so the thinner ones looked more “real” to me, despite being a web-comic.
If this was animation, you pretty much went from “Lion King” to “Aqua Teen Hunger Force”.
Yeah, I think the old style reflected the comic a bit better. If Sasha’s new design were merged a bit with the old design minus the jewelry, then I think it would be a little… more. But hey, this is just the first step, so I’ll wait until Rickster finalizes the style before making any major calls.
I like Bino’s design, though; he looks older than Joey now, which should make it easier for new readers to deviate between the two.
^This
The jewelry is fine, and I’d like to see the new character models given a chance with the old style… he’s been doing some really nice shading and lighting with that.
yep as others have said the character style is fine but old background style looked better
Well, I can’t really judge the character models, the style changes make such a difference. They looked interesting in the character sheets Rick posted on Deviant Art, though.
Yeah, to me Sasha looks a little too different.
*brain exploshun*
The new style update is cool! But yes the old style was a lot better! The background was much more lively! And everyone is used to the original HP’s formula!
She got a hole in one… dozen!
Alt Text: “Sasha, who gave you scissors”
GREAT ART!!!! AND A JOKE TO BOOT!!
Ok … please put down the scissors
Charlie Brown owns Bino?
Well I’m sure plenty of his neighbors want to give him a rock… to the skull.
I was thinking that looked like the kite eating tree in the background.
I kind of like this style so far can’t wait to see how it evolves. Sasha how can you be so smart and yet do things like this all the time.
Looks too cartoonish for my taste
Is it just my craptacular phone or is there a bit of Res lag when u scroll?
The comic was done in three panels today. That means each panel is bigger. That may be causing your phone to lag
Was not bino going to have a belly?
Have a belly? What do you mean?
http://rickgriffin.deviantart.com/#/d5ihuai
This.
oh, oh, oh, I see
He was going to be kind of chubby
hahahaha yeah XD
Just EPIC!!! The artwork reminds me of Viewtiful Joe just a tiny bit!
Alt text: Sasha, who gave you scissors?
Bino’s realization hit him like a hammer.
New style is looking good. The brush work will only get better.
HEy, at least now your ears and eyes can fit in the holes =)
Like the new Bino look alot more, but he is no competition for Sasha <3
Melty dude
I have to admit the new style reminds me of Okami a bit. Might just be the heavy black line work.
I guess the sheer randomness keeps others from predicting how she’ll take advice.
I have to say, the new art style looks pretty cool. Still, go with whatever direction you feel comfortable with. Kinda wondering how a mixed style would look. Looking forward to what you come up with.
I like Sasha new look :3
Ok 1. I like the heavy brush strokes for the background but not for the characters. 2. Not totally into the dogs wearing jewerly but I can get over it.
On another note I totally don’t think that Sasha is as stupid as she appears. I believe she is ‘playing dumb’ as a coping mechanism that she has developed to cope with her dissapointing and unloving alcoholic owner. The unfortunate part about playing dumb is, as C.S. Lewis has said in summary, that pertending to be less intelligent than you are, quickly stops being pertend. I belive this is the case with Sasha because she has shown amazing Intellectual ability. The example I am thinking of is when she composed an elaborate musical peice on the way back to her dog house with Bino useing the piano he had regifted her. Of course the other alternative to this example would be that Sasha has Savant Syndrom that is expressed through musical talent. There is a comic strip that Sasha is having a conversation with King that seems to support the former.
e-e
Or uh…. Rick just wanted to make a joke???
Could be but this idea might make a good plot and help the characterization.
I think its a tribute to Rick and his writing that the characters have so many layers to debate about.
This new style is going to be like New Coke to me.
Bino perfers non-vulpine step ladders.
Vulpine step ladders are heated for those cold autumn mornings, Bino should think about upgrading.
Upgrade to Vulpine’s new Arctic Fox model! It is fluffy!
It’s so FLUFFY!!!
Neat style, but I worry about the heavy brush work pulling the eye toward the background. The third panel does not have this issue, since there is no line work on the fence. The tree in the earlier panels distracts the eyes from the action and expressions of the characters.
Perhaps reserve the heavy brush for the focal points of the panel?
Wow.
I was just gonna say it seems kinda grim and sasha is too curvy.
But I like what you said better.
I like the new style, but as of right now, the lines look a bit too thick, so maybe halfway between the thick and thin lines would be a good compromise. I look forward to more new-styled pages, but also to some that stick with the old style.
……so she did.
Indeed she did, didn´t she ?
hmmm… the new brush gives the backround that spooky halloween feel, and make the characters look realistic… yet have a dash of the cartooning style of the older strips… well played sir, well played… ;}
whoa, looks pretty Calvin and Hobbes-y. o.o
That’s what I thought! The thick lines over the trees giv eit that kind of style. I do prefer the old style.
The traditional method is to use brushwork for organic objects (living characters, foliage, etc) and technical pen (unvarying lines) for non-living things (rocks, buildings, robots…).
I think what is making the comic look “darker” is not heaviness of the brushwork per se, but the fact that you’re using more areas of solid black in the shading.
I like it. as someone else said, it looks kinda Calvin & Hobbes-like, and I happen to have a special place in my heart for Calvin & Hobbes
Ace in the Hole!
I’ve never commented before, but the bolder-line style is absolutely gorgeous. The intense contrast between thinner and thicker lines really makes the art stand out and frankly just looks awesome.
Lets remember what happened the last time we saw Bino with a hammer !
*Flashback*
http://www.housepetscomic.com/2011/05/30/enters-the-hero-take-ii/
*End of flashback*
Oh yeah … he almost destroyed part of a soul
You mean a watch Bino found in the trash, which King tried to steal. = P
Bino would not have been in a position to know the watch was anything more than it appeared to be.
Interesting how you changed your avatar to Pete to say that
Personally I really like the thicker lines for the background, but I think the character lines are just a little too thick. I’m very interested in the mixed style because I have a feeling it will be the best of both worlds.
reminds me of might joe, it was a game which used the same coloring always thought it was nice looking, but i love how you’ve done it, made it look much darker than normal
sorry mean mighty joe*
You mean Viewtiful Joe?
Everything looks great. Bino’s modified collar is a cool touch. Didn’t notice too much difference with the background and objects, though. I am not well-versed in the various methods of comic art and I realize that. I understand that this is still a trial and error period, but, well, my only real problems are:
1-the introduction of jewelry into the potential accessories available to pets. It seems to humanize them too much, which takes away from the fact that these characters are actually house pets, who are similar but different. I don’t feel that Rick should make the line too thin. The jewelry sort of distracts from Sasha herself. It seems superfluous and unecessary, adding little to her overall character and the way she acts.
2-Quite surprised with Sasha’s new hairdo, and I hope that most characters will not sustain like transformations for the reasons stated above and for the sake of familiarity and tradition. How different are you trying to make this, Rick? I don’t suppose Peanut will show up next with a comb-over, but personally I was just fine with the tuft-hairdo’s given to all the characters before.
3-Perhaps too much reflection off the eyes?
4-Less eye color than what I am used to, perhaps not enough.
Not enough Eye color for my taste, to clarify my thought.
I agree with your point about the jewerly.
*jewelry*
I also agree that the eyes need something. The eyes should be bigger.
I actually like Sasha’s new look. She has that cute punk vally girl look to her. It fits her charicter in my opinion. Which she would do to attract males seeing as one of her primary objectives is to have puppies for her owner as stated in MANY clips with her. If there is a change to be done I guess the earring can go but defently keep the hair and arm bangles.
LOL… Oh the look of “OMG What have I done!” on his face… That’s hilarious!
Love the math-pun too.
T and T = T
F and F = T
T and F = F
F and T = F
T OR F = T
F OR T = T
“Logic is little tweeting bird in meadow. Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers, which smell bad.” – Mr. Spock
I don’t think that’s a math pun. She folded it over twice so the eye holes would be symmetrical. When she folded it over once, she could cut an eye hole out from the middle by cutting the top and bottom parts of the sheet simultaneously by cutting out a semicircle. When she folded it again, she could do that process to both eyes at the same time by cutting through four layers of sheet. Thus she cut out symmetric eye holes that were mirror images of each other.
Also, isn’t F and F = F?
F and F = T (the negative of the negative is positive)
Nice point (BTW) let me chew it…
I think he’s using electronic engineering math. Not math math
Oooh. I see. I prefer pure math and logic. Applied math doesn’t interest me as much. Reality is too confusing for me.
Interesting … it looks a bit odd vs the cleaner style of before … but I bet it’d work really well in print for a start.
I wanted to dress up as a ghost, then someone told me that a redneck wearing a white sheet is a bad idea.
sow haw old is sasha she look a lot old in thes art work
I like this style very much.
I think the brushwork is a bit over heavy on the background, it is a bit distracting as noted above.
and….Panel 2 really sums it all up…..
Somehow this new art style makes Sasha look much more….
..Attractive >//>
*shot*
Those trees in the background made me think “OK, so they live next door to another comic strip”… Bloom County or Calvin and Hobbes or Peanuts. I could easily imagine Opus looking over that fence. They kind of look better, in monochrome, than the colored foreground.
I think the heavy brush lines work better for black and white comics.
Or maybe Bill the Cat after the toxic waste incident…
I liked the colored foreground, I like this style for now cause I feel it kinda fits with the halloween/day of the dead thing (in case you celebrate that one)
For me it would be more Calvin and Hobbes like
I rather like the old style better. The background draws too much attention away from the characters, and I liked the shadows on organic forms. I feel like the smaller irises are too small foe their big eyes, and while I’m fine with Sasha’s hair, I don’t feel like jewerly is appropriate for pets ( karishard maybe; Cu’s he’s just weird like that). Otherwise, you have.more control of the brush than I do!
Hm, interesting style change! Wasn’t expecting the heavy brush. It looks great on the characters, but the background seems a little off. Maybe it’s ‘cuz I’m not used to it. But regardless, keep up the good work!
Am I the only one that noticed Bino is referring to his “dad” as his owner?
I noticed as well the thing is the last time I remember Bino talking about Jeff he called him Dad. http://www.housepetscomic.com/2009/03/11/delayed-reaction/
I knew I wasn’t alone…
Probably Rick was soo focus with the new style that he didnt pay attention to the dialogues
Every time a major style change has occurred Bino is one of the first characters we see.
Makes sense…to quote the TVTropes “Housepets!” page, ‘Bino is the official mascot of “Housepets!” Not Fido. Bino.’
I thought that was from the cast page
Love the character design. However, I think the outlines are just a touch too thick. For instance, look at Bino’s back and the house in the background in panel one. Both outlines overlap, which is a touch … odd… to look at.
It certainly makes the characters “pop” from the background, but it may just be a touch too much.
I like te heavy brush look – there’s something Bill-Watterson-ish about it, an old-times feel that can add a lot to the comic. But, above all, congratulations on keep experimenting with your work.
Really don’t like the idea of them wearing jewellery. Seems more like animal cruelty than a fashion statement when it’s pets. ._.
It helps to think that the pets are the ones making the choice to wear jewelry or get piercings, etc
Precisely. It would be cruelty to PREVENT Sasha from having Jewelry.
Well, it’s not unheard of. We pierce noses and ears of bovines for centuries. And, yes, there are places where you can buy earrings for dogs and cats – a glue-on variety. A bit disturbing, but there is also people who paint their dogs pink, blue, green… not to mention dressing’em. If we humanize our pets, imagine in Housepets Universe, when they are much more closer to humans.
This dark brush style is very Halloween-esque, but I don’t see it as functional otherwise, imo.
I think this is too heavy. Maybe you can use the “heavy” style to emphasize shock or something?
I like Sasha’s new fur-cut, though.
Click my link and you’ll see even thicker lines, so I don’t mind.
O.o
Massive over-haul alert!!!
Here’s what I think, while I like the detailed background, I feel it takes away from what’s going on in the foreground. Also, I feel that the thick character lines only work if the character is paired with a detailed background. For example, look at panel 3, the heavy lines make the characters look out of place with a less detailed background. Finally, as another person pointed out, I feel that their iris’s are far to small, considering their eye size. Also they should be darker, I mean, Sasha’s iris is pink, but its so light I can’t tell where the pink ends and the white ends.
Well this new style is not bad but I do not think it fits the comic. I like how the lines for the character’s bodies are thick, dark, and clean. But for the shadows it looks like you drop ink on that spot and smeared it around to make a shadow effect. That makes the shadows so dark its hard not to look at them. So the very darken shadows are drawing attention away from the characters, action, and story trying to be told. Not to mention staring at it to long messes with your eyes. I think keeping the thick lines for the character and lightening up the shadows would be a good mix for this comic. :3
Bino had that coming when he said “Sasha cut that out”
I’m liking the new character designs so far, but the heavy brush style seems a bit much to me.
The background detail is really good, too, but it’s so different from the old style it’ll take a lot of getting used to. I think I liked the old backgrounds better, because they were a bit less distracting, but that’s just me. I’m afraid of change.
I would like to not that the heavy use of shadows had me confused on what happened to the sheet for a minute (I thought the holes were just more shadows for a bit).
I like the idea of new panel layouts and maybe new character designs, but I liked the original art style a lot since it looks professional and everything was clear and there was almost no confusion as to what was what.
he just needs some practice… when you try something new for the first time you don’t master it instantly
Lurv the hair :3
This is the first time I ever seen about the “cut it out” joke, and I wonder how Bino is gonna explain his owner.
I do like the new style, though I liked the previous one better. Also I tend to associate comics with their styles and so I’ve gotten used to the older style.
I agree wholeheartedly.
Hi Rick! Personally, I prefer the old style, I feel this style gives Sasha a bt of a “punk/rocker” sort of look and makes the comic overall more spooky, which I think works for the Halloween theme, but I dunno how it’d look once Halloween passes. Either way, great comic as always!
Even if this isn’t the final style I really like it, reminds me a bit of Calvin & Hobbes.
why does sasha have a piercing lol
Because it’s cool.
also she’s a pet
idk, just seems out of place
She’s basically a teenage girl, except she’s a dog. Lots of teenage girls have pierceings. That’s the way I look at it, at least.
But I would never pierce a earing in my female dog.
Not even if she begged for it and told you that it would totally help you pick up girls and did that passive-aggressive “hate you” thing until you gave in?
In this world it would seem out of place regardless. The way I’ve always seen the character design in this comic is very simple and not full of over the top sparkledogs. This change by by no means incredibly over the top, but in my humble opinion it just looks out of place in the comic as a whole. It would make a lot more sense in a comic where the characters are more “anthro” and less animal than they are in this comic.
/wall of text nobody will read
I like Sasha’s new look. It looks nice.
I’m digging Sasha’s “cutie mark” XD
Not a cutie mark.
And thank goodness from those of us who don’t watch FiM.
I know it’s not a cutie mark, I was just being smart. It’s still cute.
Eh-It’s a bit…stark? I wouldn’t mind this style for magic and meta-verse stuff, but on a daily basis? not so much. If you really like it, go for it – I like your comic too much to ever consider leaving over something like this, but there’s my vote.
Mine eyes! Forsooth, it is just too bright.
But otherwise, thy faithful reader dost like this new style.
Please continue.
I liked it better when they looked more like animals, not furries
I like the fur– er, I mean Sasha’s hairlike fur on her head in particular, but all the fur’s good– and the collars. Other than that… well, I don’t think I like the dark lines and cartoony backgrounds. They say the background shouldn’t be less realistic than the foreground. And by they, I mean Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. I like it on the sheet, though, because of the shadows.
So I think you should use the new shading, fur, and collars. But for everything else, the old way was fine.
But I don’t know, I’m not an art critic.
As furry as it was in the beginning, so furry shall it be in the end. And in the middle, it was also furry, yet it was and shall be furrier than that.
Blessed are the furries, for they shall inherit the Earth!
Honestly?
I’m excited to see how your newer style changes, Rick.
I have to be honest. The lines seem a bit too thick……cluttered.
But I realize that you are still exploring this new style.
Either way I’m a die-hard fan of this comic, lol!
sorry about the strange speech pattern, my dyslexia kickmy brain in a bit. xD
Wasn’t Bino a star of the last comic involving a style change? Coincidence?
I love the experimentation, though I must admit the cleaner lines of the former style were a bit easier on the eye…
One thing I do want to mention, though,…is that the eyes seem strikingly strange to me because I find myself missing the delineation (sp?) between the iris and the white of the eye… Without that line the iris seems to “bleed’ uncomfortably into the white, making the eyes seem to really “burn” painfully on the face in a level of brightness that’s a little hard to look at… The eyes before seemed endearing, while the new lack of delineation gives them a bit of a “crazy” look to them…
I totally realize it’s still in the experimentation phase, though,…so I hate to be hyper-critical… Please take all such critique with a huge grain of salt,…and a lot of love on our part…
a better question in this situation is who gave Bino a hammer?
What makes that question superior? :3
lets put it this way the bodily trauma induced by being brutally beaten by a blunt object is far more difficult to bear then being cut to death.
and also he Almost destroyed a piece of Kings soul the last time he had one…. and yes i understand that he didn’t know about it being part of a soul, but my point stands.
While I’m definitely going to miss the old style, I’ll get used to the style, whatever it ends up being. I’m not the biggest fan of the think lined style you have here (it seems less detailed and a bit more messy than what you’ve done up until now), so I look forward to the “mixed” style following Monday’s comic.
. . . I also miss the B on Bino’s collar.
wow i did not notice that until you mentioned it D:
I think its just the Heavy brush… some of the fine details are hard to put in.
I can’t really say I like the new style, the heavy black messes are kinda weird. And something about seeing eyes through hair bugs me, it makes it seem less real, even for a comic about talking animals and mythical creatures. Really loved the older style.
I think that the dark lines addresses the Halloween Theme of this arc but I’d have to see more strips before agreeing to it becoming a permanent feature.
I was quite happy with the other style but I know that artists in any field have to mix it up every once in a while, so it’s really your own decision. The only thing that strikes me right now is that there’s something about the colors that doesn’t fit. Wish I knew how to describe it but the color of the characters seems to stand out too much for such a thick dark outline to be around them.
I adored some of the mood colors you tried during the theme park arc. I’d love to see you use them again.
I also have to agree with some of the others. The Milton’s and Duchess you’d expect to have a few diamond rings and stuff but something about Sasha with an earring doesn’t sit right. It could be viewed a few ways, either she had the money for them, they where a gift or her owner was so drunk one night he put holes in her ears
“you gotta say what you mean, boy!”
-Daryl
cool but maby a bit thiner it looks (no offense ) a bit messy
Can’t wait til Mondays strip ^-^
With this new style, it looks a little too much like other American comics I’ve read. Not like the Sunday paper ones, but the more serious and epic (long) ones. I’m up to trying it out, but I prefer the old style.
The style kinda reminds me of a Zalgo comic
Is… is Sasha wearing earrings?!?!
I know it’s not a final look, but I prefer the ‘old’ look to this. Particularly what you’ve done with Sasha.
The reasons why most people commenting say they like the old style, yet not quite explaining why, is that it gave the illusion of depth in a way similar to the comic Bone by Jeff Smith. However, your backgrounds tended to have a lot of detail that becomes washed out by its lack of definition and drawing the eyes to the characters, despite how much detail was put into some of them.
Your new design is better because it defines the backgrounds, and is also probably much easier to draw. However, all the background lines are now just as thick as the foreground lines which makes the whole image look flat, and as a consequence the characters don’t leap from the image as they did before. If you make the background lines thin or non-existent (clouds, distant hills/mountains) mid-ground elements with moderate lines (houses, fences) and the foreground characters with the thick lines you used now, then it would keep it’s old visual appeal while drawing the eyes to the background as well.
Actually, while what you’ve said is accurate, I’m also missing some of the subtle gradients that the previous style used, especially in the scenery/background. There are also some character details which seem…odd – the fact that the brown patch on Bino’s back is outlined threw me a bit. Some of the detail stuff is probably because he is getting used to a new tool, but…the proportions do feel a little funky, none the less.
I’d add some shading if I were you. The thick lines really add to much contrast and it creates a really flat feeling.
Not sure if i like this style..
It has less details. But looks more ‘comic’
Well, nothing that is done or said will ever make me stop reading and enjoying these comics. Admittedly RG, I’m uncertain with this new look. Having been so used to the previous medium, it comes as a mild surprise at the change. However, I’m also a great fan of different iinnovations and moving ahead with an up-and-at-them personification. This new medium, while harsher and coarser then the previous, does have its merits and brings to the fore details that I would have previously overlooked given that I would have been more focused on the story rather than the art. While I throughly enjoy the art, I haven’t fully appreciated the depth you put into it until now.
Yes, you’ve added a comment button, Rick. Thank you!!!!
On topic: Hrrmmmm… I like the old style better.
People have always been able to comment on comics…
*facepalm* Tfh, you can only comment on the last two comics produced!
I don’t understand how you missed the comment button… plus theres a big section at the bottom just for commenting.