He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

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Ebly
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Ebly »

I'm going to be one of the odd ones out and actually give some semblance of encouragement. Wow.
(Oh, sarcasm. How witty.)

But seriously though, I've never really commented on how the comic actually -looks-, beyond quick one-adjective comments ('oh PB is cute, GJ is funny, i like the art, it's so pretty'), so this will be a first for me and I'll probably say all kinds of wrong or uncalled for or nitpicky or I have no idea things. I know I like the style, in both its manifestations, so I'll be saying good things, probably. But I'll be sure to punctuate it with harsh niggling about stuff like eyes, just because that has got to be the most commented on thing, from what I've seen.
As far as the change itself goes, I don't really mind either way in as much as you can do what you like with Housepets! and I for one would keep reading. Unless you started bashing everyone I know and love or something.
Anyway, Imma get started on thinking. /effortface
Surprise, I'm not a visual artist, so I'm not going to pick up on the same things a visual artist would, or use the same terminology a visual artist would. U:
...wow this is going to be so completely and utterly self-absorbed isn't it. OH THIS IS MY OPINION YEAH IT'S SPECIAL. U: fffffff i'm stupid.
You know what I'm going to say right now that I'm probably a dick and I'm really sorry because I actually like the comic. A lot. And its art is amazing and I could never do that because I'm not amazing. Ux


So as for the Zap! arc:

Bzzt
I remember how, at first glance, I thought this comic was a guest comic. Oh, heeheehee. Yeah, I was really not keeping up with HP! updates back then. I blame school. U: Either way, I thought it was a completely different person who drew it. I remember my first impression was that it was, well, impressing. Ahaha. I did like it. Come to think of it, do you still redraw characters even if they haven't moved from the last panel? Ah, but still. I'll give it to you that the colouring is just in flats, but I still thought Grape's ears looked a little off, because I forgot how thin cats ears actually are or something? Maybe I was expecting shading or something to indicate depth, but that's not really going to happen in flats. Either way, it looked odd to me. It looks better to me now. I've noticed that the dogs' noses have gotten smaller since that comic. I kind of prefer the larger nose, if I really think about it, because somehow it makes them seem more puppyish and cute, but honestly? It's a nose. The difference isn't really large enough to matter. I really like how their collars are done, too. They don't remind me of giraffes. I mean, they didn't before either, but... well. U: Shut up. More realistic neck-sizes. I like that. And big thick collars look cute.

Delayed Reaction
I like Peanut's eyes here. I have to admit that even though you can achieve a better range of angles with the new style, they still look best in good ol' 3/4ths, which is what this strip is. Entirely. U: Except for Bino's head in two of his three panels, but. Uh. ; n; Anyway, of the things I didn't like so much, I thought that Bino's eyes looked odd in the first two panels, but I really couldn't put my finger on why 'cause it's not really affecting my enjoyment of the strip enough to care. Though in the second panel, Bino's mouth confused me, and now when I think on it I can see what's wrong - his teeth. In theory his mouth is wide open, like Peanut's is in the first panel of the next strip, right? Or at least that's how it seems to me. If he had his mouth that far open, we should be able to see teeth... I dunno. Either way. Just teeth. And I don't think that's even something really stylistic. Have I mentioned that Peanut's colouring is really, really nice yet? U: I don't think I ever have. ; ∆; He looks absolutely adorable in the third panel.

Well… That's Over Then
Peanut is pure and simple cuteness in this strip. ; 3; I've seen lots of people commenting on Grape's eyes, pretty much consistently from this strip onwards. I actually like them a lot, here. Her expression in the first panel fits to what I'd expect (I was a but confused by people saying they thought she looked weird), having just shown up Peanut by not actually being asleep for once when he came crying her name. It gives off a "yesthat'srighti'mbetterthanyou" feeling if you ask me. U: Anyway. Second and third panel, Peanut continues being sweeter than syrup, and Grape made me giggle because I find annoyed cats funny. U: So sue me. Last panel, I find the positioning of her ears to be a little odd. She was annoyed in the fourth panel and she has them down - but not back. And that's what I find looks odd. I'm used to cats putting them back moreso than down when they get annoyed, so as if you're looking straight on you can't even really see their inside hair of their ear. Maybe that's just my cats though, and it's just a case of reality does not look like reality. I dunno. I don't look at other peoples' cats much, to be honest.


And then onto the Fall of the Pridelands arc we goooooooooo:

Book Smarts
I like this strip the absolute best for me in terms of the new style. I love her smile in the first panel, it give the perfect impression of the fanaticism of Grape. o 3o To be honest, I have nothing but good things to say about this strip in terms of how it looks, which means I can't really say much to help you improve, beyond "keep doing this!" It does seem a little toonier than some, though. Not as toony as Delayed Reaction though, which you also mentioned as particularly toony. Yay, well done Ebly for picking that up. <3 /proudface (Man, we need synonyms for toony that aren't cartoony or else I'll use the same adjective three times in a row again.)
Feline eye candy. <3 I want some.

Hey, It's That Cat Again
Man. I forgot who Fiddler was at first, so I checked the taglink, and boy that was a trip. I can't believe how it's changed. I remember it being a lot less toony than that for some reason. That was amazing. U: Like a complete and utter. I dunno. Insert your own colloquial phrase here. Either way. Wow, yeah. I wonder how Keys would look, too. Anyway. In the first panel, Peanut's right eye (actual right, not viewer's right) looks too tall. Grape's eyes look fine to me. Fiddler's eyes look fine to me too, they make him look a little more feminine, but not really like a straight up girl. I find it just mostly looks to me like he's of a different breed, or glaring, or both. The second of which I would be doing too if someone was standing on a part of me for five minutes and not even paying enough attention to notice.

Impenetrable Wall Of Text
Same thing in the first panel as last time. The actual right eye seems off, but not for the same reason - this one looks at the right height, i just don't think that it's wide enough. U: It doesn't really matter, though, these are all small things. I find the things that I don't like are all shaping up to be little things and nothing actually affected by the style. Though I have to admit, it appears as though the ears have gotten taller and thinner, and I don't really like it much, compared to before - though that's probably me just perceiving it weirdly, I still think the ears would look better if they were changed a little. A-ah, excited Grape and Max conversation is making me giggle again. ; n; The collars appear to have gotten thinner. I dunno if that's again just how it appears to me or if they actually have, but I would prefer them thicker.

Five Weeks Of Allowance Down The Drain
Oh man, five weeks of allowance. I could buy something really nice with that. U': Poor Peanut. I have to admit, I like these eyes more than earlier ones, but I like these in the sense that my own cats appear closer to this in terms of eye shape. I have nothing negative to say about this one besides what's been mentioned in the last one, really. The collars seem to have gotten thicker again, which gives me the impression that I was just looking at the previous comic wrong. U: I bet the cat eyes must be hard to deal with. As you said, they're not as mutable... but really, thinking about it, we're comparing these eyes to the dog's eyes, as well as the eyes from the old style, and that's not really right. It's just that we're not used to it. If people were to compare angry Grape eyes to happy Grape eyes, they'd see a huge difference. If people were to compare happy Grape eyes to happy Peanut eyes, it wouldn't be fair, because Grape and Peanut are totally different animals, so totally different eyes. U:
GRAPE LAST PANEL FFFFFF HOW IS IT THAT STICKING OUT A -TONGUE- MAKE EVERYTHING FIVE TIMES CUTER U:


I'm noting now that in your comments of the latest strip you said that the compromised eyes are difficult to get balanced, so that would explain Impenetrable Wall Of Text.
Man, Marvin. And one of the Bigglesworths. <3 I remember that the two BWs whose collars we actually saw had stop signs on them, or something red and seemingly octagonal at least. o 3o I'm proud that I remember that. xD
To be honest, the bookworms I know? If someone were to shout out something like that, yeah, they'd get the snot beaten out of them. But, the thing is, if they then proceeded to say 'just kidding, i actually haven't read it', they'd get the snot and the tar beaten out of them. Not because they were joking, but because they hadn't read it. U: But that's by far just the people I know personally. = 3=

yeah i have no idea why i put the links in really
ebly why did you do that
i don't know okay
ebly you're stupid
i know okay
okay
okay
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U:



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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by FerretWithASpork »

Too long, didn't read :3

I'm sure it makes a lot of sense and I will probably read it eventually when I'm bored, but not right now :D

So... As for the almond eyes, I really would like to encourage you to just make the cat's eyes the same as the dog's eyes. You changed the general shape of the animal's faces and that makes them distinctive enough.

EDIT: I actually think that the almond eyes look great on the Siamese cat XD racism FTL. It just doesn't work for grape.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by merkamerka »

Someone in the comments hit it on the nail. I did enjoy the cartoonish feel of it a lot more then it's current art style, I'm going to be straight out and say this but the realism ruins the original cuteness of the comic. At first when I saw it I was like, meh it's just a change to make it a little bit more detailed, but no, over the last panels or so (I have no idea whether it was just him practicing or what) but it looked... bad.

There.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Ebly »

In effect, "he changed it and now it sucks." U:
I was going to make a joke but then I did.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Ebly »

FerretWithASpork wrote:Too long, didn't read :3
Definitely a TL;DR thing.
Halfway through i was like
this is too long
i wouldn't want to read this
i don't want to write this
but i made myself anyway.
I was going to make a joke but then I did.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by merkamerka »

I don't know, I loved the uncolored version of the comic, adored the colored version, and pretty much appreciate the more detailed one, but out of the 3 (I like the uncolored one best but there were difficulties with that) I have to say to be the colored version.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by rickgriffin »

Ebly wrote: Definitely a TL;DR thing.
Halfway through i was like
this is too long
i wouldn't want to read this
i don't want to write this
but i made myself anyway.
Well I have to say, at least you tried much better than "I don't like this for some reason, change it back to the way it used to be"
I'm sure the cold hand of science will be able to overcome his magical powers
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by merkamerka »

Hey hey hey now, I don't want you to change it back, I just prefer the older style(s).
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Ebly »

rickgriffin wrote:
Ebly wrote: Definitely a TL;DR thing.
Halfway through i was like
this is too long
i wouldn't want to read this
i don't want to write this
but i made myself anyway.
Well I have to say, at least you tried much better than "I don't like this for some reason, change it back to the way it used to be"
Man, I still hope I wasn't mean... ; n; I hate being mean without intending to.
I was going to make a joke but then I did.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by merkamerka »

Ebly wrote:
rickgriffin wrote:
Ebly wrote: Definitely a TL;DR thing.
Halfway through i was like
this is too long
i wouldn't want to read this
i don't want to write this
but i made myself anyway.
Well I have to say, at least you tried much better than "I don't like this for some reason, change it back to the way it used to be"
Man, I still hope I wasn't mean... ; n; I hate being mean without intending to.

... Ebly, if you don't realize you're being a jerk or rude it usually means you WEREN'T being one. Especially you. you're just too... Modest.. and passive to be the type of agressive character.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by rickgriffin »

Yeah I don't think you have to worry about that. You're fine.
I'm sure the cold hand of science will be able to overcome his magical powers
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by icarus »

hello again forum...long time no see.

i like the new designs a lot, personally. the ears are adorable, especially on the cats. and the almond eyes just plain look cool.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by TOPCATDIGIANIMEFAN »

Uh ACTUALLY I Prefer Their Older Character Design's Especially On FIDO.PEANUT.GRAPE.DALLAS. Joey Bino. And KING. No Offense Mr Rick Griffin".
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Buster »

did you seriously revive a thread that had been dead for almost a decade? why?
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Obbl »

Because he had an opinion to share on a thread asking about opinions

I'm very much a fan of the character designs now, though the Housepets! 2.0 designs will always hold a special place in my heart. :D
The original designs have their own charm, but I am a fan of the style shift that has occurred. Less cartoony, more stylized. ;)
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Douglas Collier »

The 2nd gen designs were good, but I like the designs now - with the exception of the dropped eye colors. I really miss the eye colors! :(
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by 007a83 »

Douglas Collier wrote:The 2nd gen designs were good, but I like the designs now - with the exception of the dropped eye colors. I really miss the eye colors! :(
I had completely forgot about the eye color. Time to go re-read again.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by NHWestoN »

Aw, C'mon, Buster. Just bringin' back the "oldies", right? I think it's kinda interesting...
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by TOPCATDIGIANIMEFAN »

Thanks Obbl I Have A Reason Why I Prefer Their Original Character Design Style When Thier Sad Or Happy It's More Belivebale Like When Grape Had That Talk With Peanut At The End Of IMAGINATE 2 She Looks Genuinely Sorry And Sad About Inviting Max To Play IMAGINATE Without Asking Peanut And In The First Valentine's Arc When Bino Gave Away Some Of His Stuff He Looked Like Actually Sweet Like He Was Happy And Blushing You Can Feel The Emotion That They Would Feel If They Were Real
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by KJOokami »

I've always been a fan of the design changes as they happened because they reflect the natural progression of Rick's improvement as an artist. I just love how I can look back on strips from any given year and pick out details that have been improved upon since then.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by NHWestoN »

Change is the one thing in life that doesn't change.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Sleet »

The original designs were so hard to tell characters apart anyway.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by TOPCATDIGIANIMEFAN »

Not For Me"
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Champion Wallace »

I would like to preface this with Rick Griffin you are a much better artist then me and in almost every case changes have been for the better... but, you did title this "He Changed It And Now It Sucks" so here goes.
I don't like the current design for Sasha. The semi-transparent long headfur just doesn't work for me. I preferred how she looked here. I also liked more prominent eye colors. Not only did the help to tell similar characters apart, it also added more... well, character to the characters.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by D-Rock »

I agree on the more pronounced eye color.

I disagree on the headfur on Sasha. I rather like how it looks, enough to give it a shot on an OC, though that one was opaque.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by NHWestoN »

Yeah, I like Sasha's new coiffure, too.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by KJOokami »

Also agree on the eye color thing. I don't mind hugely because the new eyes still look just as expressive, but I'm a child and I like colors. Hahaha.

And I never noticed before, but I actually sort of agree on the thing with Sasha. I do like the longer look, but I feel like it might look better if he were to fully commit to it and just make it cover her eye entirely instead of going with the anime transparent hair thing.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by NHWestoN »

The beautifuller the better, it's Sasha, after all !
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by NHWestoN »

Now let's see how it looks on Daisy ... or Sabrina ... or Bailey ... or, heck, even Tarot. Even Marion!
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Just hope when the comic comes back he doesn't make them ALL that long! It works with some characters but now with others.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by NHWestoN »

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see if Rick has picked up any new techniques to startle us with.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

He might have improved a significant amount with his artwork since he hasn't stopped doing art and just put the comic on hiatus. Though I don't think he has anything else that he can surprise us with since he will probably be focused on getting the comic up and running again.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by NHWestoN »

Can't fault your logic, Amazz. I'm afraid a lot of his readership has wandered away over the months.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by GameCobra »

Oh, we'll be back. with a vengeance :3

It doesn't hurt to talk about how much we enjoy the comic, but I do think taking a break from the comic for a change is a good way to realize how much I enjoyed it over the years, especially with how the comic ended recently.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

I have no doubt that people will come back when the comic starts up again though my fear is that it might NOT. I know Rick got slammed by a ton of readers for how he ended HECKRAISER REVELATIONS and that might have made him decide that the comic isn't worth it anymore.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by NHWestoN »

Another one of his story comics - A & H Club has also ceased for over a year and, perhaps, is in cartooning limbo also.
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Re: He Changed It And Now It Sucks: Character Design

Post by Amazee Dayzee »

Something tells me that A & H Club is probably gonna ned up coming back first. I don't know why but I just feel like it is the case.
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