Kanira Baxter Preview

[RocketGirl]

So...for a while now, I've been thinking seriously about turning one of my story ideas into a comic, probably on the web; the idea is to tell a comic book style story, rather than a newspaper strip. The Adventures of Kanira Baxter, it'll be called.
I've tried many different media to attempt to get the stories in my head out in a form which other people can see; though I'd rather do video, it takes forever to get a story told that way all by yourself. A comic, on the other hand...you're not dealing with long render times, huge files, getting voice actors, doing tedious, tedious lip-sync...if I had several tens of millions and a team of hundreds, I might try to get a story as big as this one told in movie form...but...I really, really don't. And this way, I only need to make as much as I need for the next page before I have something to show; much more practical.

I've been talking about this for a while; now, I'm finally ready to really make this happen. Not completely--there are some revisions I simply have to make to these characters, little corrections and revisions, and their ship isn't 100% complete; I'd like to have several weeks worth of pages ready before I start publishing a damn thing--but really, really getting there.

In fact, I have a sample first page ready to show:


I believe I've already stated before that the premise here is, "What about Star Trek would have to change in order for me to like it?"...well, you're looking at it, so far. Visually speaking, I've gone for a cross between Googie and Streamline Moderne styles, coupled with bog-standard sci-fi; I'm thinking Star Wars-meets-the-Jetsons, here.

Anyway...comments welcome. It'll be a while yet before I'm really, really ready to show this to the general public, but I figured, hey...let's get a little feedback before I finalize anything.

[bluepencil]

Um... I don't mean to offend, as everything else is excellent, but the face...! It's just uncanny. ~_~ They're far too almond-shaped to be animesque, and as such don't get the moe feel despite inhuman proportions.

Which is a pity, since I saw that the bodies and technical details are really impressive. You've done great in other works, and yet...

Just my opinion.

[RocketGirl]

Originally Posted by bluepencil

Um... I don't mean to offend, as everything else is excellent, but the face...! It's just uncanny. ~_~ They're far too almond-shaped to be animesque, and as such don't get the moe feel despite inhuman proportions.

I guess I just...don't react that way. I'm having a hard time relating to this reaction.

...but then, I also happen to think that these guys are bloody awesome:



I've even got a tattoo of one on my back...so...

Which is a pity, since I saw that the bodies and technical details are really impressive. You've done great in other works, and yet...

But...Kanira Baxter is the exact same model as Sandra from my Rational Station vids...

Just my opinion.

Well, fair enough. I really don't see myself making too many changes to this style; I rather like it, and it's fairly distinctly my own...so I guess I'd just better hope that the story is enough to carry it despite this reaction, neh?

[RocketGirl]

Right...so let's see what people think of a second page:



I'm...really enjoying this. I may have to go looking for hosting soon, cuz this is a story I really wanna get outta me...

More feedback, please; and yes, there will be more story-heavy pages before long...this is set-up, please bear with me.

[Ryan]

Looks awesome so far. the way the comics are done are much different then other comics I've read, but that isn't exactly a high number, so... And the story so far looks cool, though there isn't much to say about that part yet.

I would be excited to see the more 'story heavy' bits that you said your making. does this mean more strips, or the same number with more dialogue? Or a combination of both?

Anyway, thread subscribed, hoping to see updates in the near future!


Also, that picture, is that... you? as in, THE real you? or is this some form of deception?

[RocketGirl]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Looks awesome so far.

Thanks!

the way the comics are done are much different then other comics I've read, but that isn't exactly a high number, so...

Well, I'm going for that "graphic novel" look; most of the online comics I've read have been like comedy newspaper strips, but there are a few online graphic novels out there.

And the story so far looks cool, though there isn't much to say about that part yet.

True. I do have a plot arc, though, and plenty of character development in my head; it'll come out eventually.

I would be excited to see the more 'story heavy' bits that you said your making. does this mean more strips, or the same number with more dialogue? Or a combination of both?

Well, the pages will be the same size, and mostly the panels will be, too. So basically there'll just be more dialogue per panel.

Also, that picture, is that... you? as in, THE real you? or is this some form of deception?

Um...what picture? Oh, the one of my tattoo? Cuz, yeah, that's my back.

[mackon]

Cool, I like the alien next to Kanira in the bottom frame of the first page, nice detail. The whole thing looks great somehow the bright and shiny world of ST but the characters are already showing more emotion than you usually see in that rather monotone universe.

[RocketGirl]

Originally Posted by mackon

Cool, I like the alien next to Kanira in the bottom frame of the first page, nice detail.

Thanks!
That's Meglen, the ship's pilot. His species evolved from something not too unlike a flying squirrel, so they have great 3D spacial sense and make great pilots.
I...only have a vague mental image of how he and Kanira become friends and ultimately teammates, but I know it was something like one rescued the other during an adventure on some alien planet. Very Han and Chewbacca, really, only Meglen can speak English.

The whole thing looks great somehow the bright and shiny world of ST but the characters are already showing more emotion than you usually see in that rather monotone universe.

Funny you should mention ST. This whole project started because, well...my hatred of Star Trek is semi-legendary here on SB, but a while back I realized that it isn't the premise of Star Trek that I hate; I LOVE the notion of a ship going out and exploring the galaxy, I think that's awesome. No...I just don't care for the execution of Star Trek; there are a LOT of things about that universe and how the stories are told that just bug me.
So I said to myself, "Okay...what about Star Trek would have to change in order for me to like it?" And thus, Kanira Baxter was born.

Sure, she's a bounty hunter with a heart of gold now, but her parents are scientists and she wants very badly to be one herself. The problem was that when her parents went out on these Trek-style ships, and when Kanira was in the Academy-equivalent in the Kaniraverse, she found out that there are very few first-contact situations, that doing science is mostly collecting soil samples and taking spectrum analyses of the local star and stuff; boooorrrring!
So she took some money she had, pooled it with like-minded friends, bought a ship, and got started as a bounty hunter. But she only goes after real criminals, or rescuing people and stuff; hero work. She's no Boba Fett, no mercenary, doing anything for money; she's a hero, that's her job.

And that's where the story begins...

[bluepencil]

Well, it's all very well done, but... I can't really express opinion on what's not happening. Your artist level is way over my head, I feel I don't have the right to even make comments on that. I'd just like to see the next page, then. ^_^ Please?

There's really great background there that you've thought up, but without the story that uses it...

[RocketGirl]

Originally Posted by bluepencil

Well, it's all very well done, but... I can't really express opinion on what's not happening. Your artist level is way over my head, I feel I don't have the right to even make comments on that.

Awww, even if you don't grok the technical stuff, you can always say, "Love the lighting," or "Why'd you choose those colors for that uniform?"

I'd just like to see the next page, then. ^_^ Please?

Working on it...four panels done; probably finish it tomorrow.

But that's the last preview until I go find wbecomic hosting and start posting them regularly. I wanna get a bunch of pages ahead before I make it official, yanno?

There's really great background there that you've thought up, but without the story that uses it...

Thanks...um...working on it. There's actually a LOT more to it, but that's, like, story-arc stuff that needs to get revealed as the plot unfolds. But I have a beginning, middle, and end in mind for this thing, kinna Babylon 5-style.

[Damar]

The Westley char's eyes on the last panel of the first page scare me.

[RocketGirl]

Originally Posted by Damar

The Westley char's eyes on the last panel of the first page scare me.

Westley? There's no one in here from The Princess Bride.

[Damar]

Originally Posted by RocketGirl

Westley? There's no one in here from The Princess Bride.

That would be inconceivable. I meant Wesley Crusher, whom's presence is also inconceivable for a Trek hater.

[RocketGirl]

Originally Posted by Damar

That would be inconceivable. I meant Wesley Crusher, whom's presence is also inconceivable for a Trek hater.

Yes, well, that character's name is Jonas.

And, like I said, the premise here is, "What about Star Trek would have to change in order for me to like it?" Obviously, if a Crusher-like character is present, then that's not something that needed to change.

[bluepencil]

By the way, those eyebrows... are they separate or part of the model? By that I mean the ease of moving them around. Are the figures their own 3D designs or in Poser?

I must admit, I don't understand how much more difficult it would be to make expressions outside of this program. If the characters are a distinct form and have to be manually changed for scenes, then let me say I'm seriously impressed. The rest, even the faces,... well, artistic license. ^_^ It's your theme, so more power to you and I'll just wait for the plot to develop.


Oh, and the landing ramp; the lack of either shadows or reflections from the floor makes it seem odd to me.

[RocketGirl]

Originally Posted by bluepencil

By the way, those eyebrows... are they separate or part of the model? By that I mean the ease of moving them around.

No, they're integrated into the model.

Are the figures their own 3D designs or in Poser?

I made them from scratch.

I must admit, I don't understand how much more difficult it would be to make expressions outside of this program. If the characters are a distinct form and have to be manually changed for scenes, then let me say I'm seriously impressed.

Aww, it's pretty easy, actually. And with the Morpher modifier, you can save any expression you make for later use

Oh, and the landing ramp; the lack of either shadows or reflections from the floor makes it seem odd to me.

One thing MAX handles funky are shadows...sometimes they look great, other times, I just have no idea what's going on.

[RocketGirl]

Okay, here it is...but this is the last preview you get until I'm ready to present this comic for real:

[Kerrus]

it's curious because of all the characters, the terrorist guy has the most realistically proportioned face.

Oh, also, but.... do you like... have multiple copies of your 'dudes in the ship interior' models?

I'm asking because from a perspective perspective, I can't see how the captain, command chair and all could move from the middle back to the middle fore as shown in frames 2 and 3 of the first panel without actually altering the model itself.

[RocketGirl]

Originally Posted by Kerrus

it's curious because of all the characters, the terrorist guy has the most realistically proportioned face.

It only looks that way because of the headband.

Oh, also, but.... do you like... have multiple copies of your 'dudes in the ship interior' models?

I'm asking because from a perspective perspective, I can't see how the captain, command chair and all could move from the middle back to the middle fore as shown in frames 2 and 3 of the first panel without actually altering the model itself.

Ah...in fact, no; it's not like that at all.
There's no chair; she's walking.

On another topic, what good is a hijacker without hostages? Here's one of them; I'm calling her Betty:



Going for that retro Jetsons look...I think I hit it fairly well.

[RocketGirl]

Meet Captain Janstrom, captain of the cruise ship those hijackers took over.

[Major Diarrhia]

I think he needs a magnificent mustache to balance out his face. Or, much larger eyebrows.

[Mad Luddite]

My god... for the last 2 years I've remembered it as "Karina". I feel like dumb.

[RocketGirl]

Originally Posted by Mad Luddite

My god... for the last 2 years I've remembered it as "Karina". I feel like dumb.

Aw, it's okay...I think Karina is a real name, while Kanira is just something I made up.

[meloncov]

Having so much facial detail while lacking proper eyelids puts him rather firmly in uncanny valley.

[MJ12 Commando]

Wait a minute. Why are hostage negotiators... armed? At all?

That's a real wall-banger. You do not send armed personnel at all unless you've got an entire special forces team ready to siege the place. SWAT generally uses ten-twenty men to neutralize one or two guys with hostages.

Besides it's more fun if the protagonist has to think a way out instead of blasting with wild abandon.