Crush...Yiff...Destroy!

Fluffy · Recusant Joined: 21 Oct 2004 Posts: 12

The author is white and from Texas, but she claims her comics are "anime." They really look anything but. Some of the stories used to be interesting, but her art has really digressed (all the human characters have squished up assymetrical faces) and now all her characters act like whiny little girls (even the male ones) in a soap opera. She'd probably be a decent artist (some of her earlier stuff actually was okay) but she does like 20-some comics and never focuses on the same ones.

Has anyone else here seen it?

Quantum Coyote · Prattler Joined: 12 May 2004 Posts: 143

Link???

Fluffy · Recusant Joined: 21 Oct 2004 Posts: 12

www.shivae.com

Rankin · Needs to get out more Joined: 03 Jan 2004 Posts: 891

She's either twelve to fourteen, or a future Mrs. Gonterman.

Fluffy · Recusant Joined: 21 Oct 2004 Posts: 12

She's either twelve to fourteen, or a future Mrs. Gonterman.

NO, she is an adult in her late 20s (I'm not making this up). That's why it's even more strange.

Anonymous · Vociferator Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Posts: 766

Her comics would definatly be of higher quality is she justed focused more. I mean, if you're churning out nearly 2 comics a day (and who knows, maybe more than that), then you need to slow down thereee.

Anonymous · Vociferator Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Posts: 766

I needn't speak the joke.

ZenZhu · Needs to get out more Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 897

Yet another in a long line if kids thinking that slapping big eyes on their little scribbles without any real comprehension of why things appear the way they do.. or why characters do what the do from a cultural perspective makes their chickenscratches "anime."

One one hand, "anime" being the Japanese derivative of "animation" (they have a thing for taking English words and shortening them.. e.g. "sci-fi" is most commonly "SF"). So, you could get technical and just say that it's "anime" from that standpoint... being it's all cartooning.

On the other hand, "anime" being a word we use to refer specifically to animation from Japan (and China to a lesser extent).. complete with the production methods and by-products of the culture producing it (e.g., flashing the "peace" sign as a kind of thumbs up).. then, basically, no person drawing outside of the Asian animation market will ever truly produce "anime." Not to say one must be Asian.. I caucasian could certainly grow up over there and get into the biz... though I kinda think they'd have a hard time being accepted as authentic.

Kadius · Vociferator Joined: 10 Feb 2004 Posts: 370

Yet another in a long line if kids thinking that slapping big eyes on their little scribbles without any real comprehension of why things appear the way they do.. or why characters do what the do from a cultural perspective makes their chickenscratches "anime."

I like how if you slap the 'anime' eye style onto something, it automaticly becomes anime in most people's eyes. While there's nothing wrong with doing that. It's ultimately a bastardization of both american and japanese animation/drawing. It really clashes with those that know both. Just look at the Teen Titans cartoon on cartoon network.

Anonymous · Vociferator Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Posts: 766

IT R ANIME, DON'T SPREAD RUMORS ON THE INTERNETS.
http://www.rumorsontheinternets.com/

But, Jesus does that show's animation royally suck.

Fluffy · Recusant Joined: 21 Oct 2004 Posts: 12

Yet another in a long line if kids thinking that slapping big eyes on their little scribbles without any real comprehension of why things appear the way they do.. or why characters do what the do from a cultural perspective makes their chickenscratches "anime."

Okay, if it was a kid, it'd be one thing--but this is an adult. :shock:

I used to actually like some of the stuff she did (before this year) but it's like she's hired a 12-year old or something.

Yet another in a long line if kids thinking that slapping big eyes on their little scribbles without any real comprehension of why things appear the way they do.. or why characters do what the do from a cultural perspective makes their chickenscratches "anime."

I like how if you slap the 'anime' eye style onto something, it automaticly becomes anime in most people's eyes. While there's nothing wrong with doing that. It's ultimately a bastardization of both american and japanese animation/drawing. It really clashes with those that know both. Just look at the Teen Titans cartoon on cartoon network.

From a mediocre comic book to a shitty cartoon. I detest Teen Titans from it's annoying intro on crack to the stupid anime slapstick ripoffs (just say no to giant heads!).

Anonymous · Vociferator Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Posts: 766

I PUT T3h RED LINES, SHE R BLUSHING LOL

Venya · Recusant Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Posts: 2

Seems like harmless enough stuff. It has an anime-ish look to it without, thankfully, the freakishly-huge-eyeball, noseless, tiny-mouth-in-a-triangular-skull we see in many another anime. I only scanned a few comics, but as I said, it seems harmless enough. Not terribly well drawn, but not offensive. How did it earn a thread here?

Rankin · Needs to get out more Joined: 03 Jan 2004 Posts: 891

How did it earn a thread here?

Same as every other thread. Some new schmuck wants to fit in and decides to spout off. Being that we have nothing better to do with our lives, we take a look. :cry:

BAliBASE · Rasophore Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 52

Maybe she should take community college art classes? Obviously she has no technique besides cookie-cutter anime style.

Anonymous · Vociferator Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Posts: 766

mmmmmmmm, no.

Shmeckopolis · Venter Joined: 31 Mar 2004 Posts: 234

It may be entirely possible for an anime or manga to be American-born (technically, there already was one--Robotech), but to do that, these dopey teenie-bopper-esque fans need to get past appearances and pick up on the why's and how's of the genre. However, this dumbass bitch can't get past her "doki-doki kawaii desu ne" feel of the genre, and simply craps out cookie-cutter BS in an anime-esque style.

MagKnightX · Venter Joined: 04 Dec 2003 Posts: 286

As an arteeeeeeeeeeest by hobby, I think that there is a major problem with this trend towards anime-style art. You see, every young kid I see who can draw is drawing something between Gonterman and some nameless animator at Gainax. Nobody I know can even draw in any of the more Western styles anymore, except for those few who are devoted realists. I think it'll lead to the eventual near-death of Western art styles.

As that guy said in that movie, "Japan failed to take over the US with planes and bombs, but we succeeded with VCRs and computers." Or something to that effect. And also add cars and cartoons.

Mitch · Vociferator Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Posts: 362

Yet another in a long line if kids thinking that slapping big eyes on their little scribbles without any real comprehension of why things appear the way they do.. or why characters do what the do from a cultural perspective makes their chickenscratches "anime."

One one hand, "anime" being the Japanese derivative of "animation" (they have a thing for taking English words and shortening them.. e.g. "sci-fi" is most commonly "SF"). So, you could get technical and just say that it's "anime" from that standpoint... being it's all cartooning.

What what what?? "SF" and "Sci-fi" are both Western terms; "SF" is "real" science fiction, and "sci-fi" is used (usually in a derogatory way) to describe all the horrid lowbrow "pulp" type science fiction, like Star Trek, Babylon 5, Robotech, Dan Brown novels, etcetera

Paul · Venter Joined: 01 Feb 2004 Posts: 297

As an arteeeeeeeeeeest by hobby, I think that there is a major problem with this trend towards anime-style art. You see, every young kid I see who can draw is drawing something between Gonterman and some nameless animator at Gainax. Nobody I know can even draw in any of the more Western styles anymore, except for those few who are devoted realists. I think it'll lead to the eventual near-death of Western art styles.

That's a bleak view, and I don't think it holds up. Young wannabe artists often start out by trying to emulate whatever's hot, and anime and manga is the hot thing now. But seriously, there are many people who draw in all manner of styles - drawing style being for most artists a matter of personal expression rather than just a competition for who best can draw in a way that looks like something from DragonBall X or Sonic the Hedgehog - which, granted, seems to be the current ideals for a lot of twelve year olds posting crap art on the net.

Fluffy · Recusant Joined: 21 Oct 2004 Posts: 12

How did it earn a thread here?

Same as every other thread. Some new schmuck wants to fit in and decides to spout off. Being that we have nothing better to do with our lives, we take a look. :cry:

First off, I'm not "new." I've lurked here for over a year and even posted here before, but lost my password (yep, I emailed for it and it never came to me)--so I had to start a new account. Second, I don't give a flying fuck about fitting in here or anywhere else (boo-f'n-hoo - the "regular" doesn't accept me -- WAH) besides having basic manners. I generally try to be respectful to other members...unless some "schmuck" is rude to me.

Shivae Studios is actually a popular comic site, and much of the content is furry (it even has had guests from other furry comics in the past) so I don't see how anyone can say it shouldn't be here as a topic? It's an interesting example of a comic that gets worse instead of better. I actually read some of it for a year (yes, it had good stories and the art used to be much better), but now the artist has sort of lost it.

But I guess I'm not "good enough" to start a topic here. Well, deal with it. :P

Mitch · Vociferator Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Posts: 362

How did it earn a thread here?

Same as every other thread. Some new schmuck wants to fit in and decides to spout off. Being that we have nothing better to do with our lives, we take a look. :cry:

First off, I'm not "new." I've lurked here for over a year and even posted here before, but lost my password (yep, I emailed for it and it never came to me)--so I had to start a new account. Second, I don't give a flying fuck about fitting in here or anywhere else (boo-f'n-hoo - the "regular" doesn't accept me -- WAH) besides having basic manners. I generally try to be respectful to other members...unless some "schmuck" is rude to me.

Shivae Studios is actually a popular comic site, and much of the content is furry (it even has had guests from other furry comics in the past) so I don't see how anyone can say it shouldn't be here as a topic? It's an interesting example of a comic that gets worse instead of better. I actually read some of it for a year (yes, it had good stories and the art used to be much better), but now the artist has sort of lost it.

But I guess I'm not "good enough" to start a topic here. Well, deal with it. :P

Thread moved because it seemed to mostly be about anime and if anything is OT it's anime.

ZenZhu · Needs to get out more Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 897

From a mediocre comic book to a shitty cartoon. I detest Teen Titans from it's annoying intro on crack to the stupid anime slapstick ripoffs (just say no to giant heads!).

I'm not big on the cartoon itself. It looks like someone was taking Bruce Timm's style and trying to make it more anime for the younger audiences... like DC Comics meets Jet Set Radio. If it's done by the same company that did Batman: The Animated Series, it actually is animated in Japan. They were the same crew that animated Big O.

I find the intro pretty infectious, though. I like it's retro style with a kind of 70's setup to it.. like something from Baretta or Starsky & Hutch. I wouldn't mind a single of the song, though Pufi Ami Yumi's singer's voices are little too tinny for me. A better example of wannabe anime is the French cartoon Totally Spies.

It may be entirely possible for an anime or manga to be American-born (technically, there already was one--Robotech)

Robotech was actually three unrelated anime series brought over to the U.S. If I remember, they were Macross, Calvary of the Southern Cross and Hill Climber Mospeda. They were redubbed in a kind of chop-shop fashion to string them together into what we know over here as Robotech. It's kind of like what Saban did with Power Rangers, but without rejects from The Real World doing leaping kicks spliced in.

As an arteeeeeeeeeeest by hobby, I think that there is a major problem with this trend towards anime-style art. You see, every young kid I see who can draw is drawing something between Gonterman and some nameless animator at Gainax. Nobody I know can even draw in any of the more Western styles anymore, except for those few who are devoted realists. I think it'll lead to the eventual near-death of Western art styles.

I think some of it isn't necessarily the hip-factor of anime right now, but the persistently un-hip factor attached to American comics. Anime and manga are actually currently enjoying a popularity that Marvel and DC Comics have never really had. The recent movies like Spider-Man 1 and 2 and Daredevil have put them on the scene a little more.. but more so the characters than the comics themselves. Folks may be buying spider-print Hawaiian shirts and not give a flip about the comics. Superman, likewise, has always enjoyed some status as a cultural icon. But, American comics are still seen as kind of nerdy. Show up to high school in an Inuyasha shirt and you stand a slightly better chance of not getting laughed out of the room than if you showed up in an X-Men shirt.

European comics have always kind of had a quiet niche here in the states. I've usually seen them tauted as kind of the "arty" subset of your regular comic collection. But, most American comics have been, and continue to be, viewed as campy by all but the real enthusiasts.

I think some of it is the diversity of story types in manga. Western comics are thought of mostly as bulky guys and buxom gals running around in multi-hued spandex, whereas manga is known to a larger public as having stories about sci-fi, fantasy, romance, and even sports comics like King of Tennis or even topics out in left field like Iron Wok Jan. That's not to say American comics don't cover more than just Captain Marvel and She-Hulk.. but the public at large continues to view them that way. Of course, much of manga was really an offshoot of American comics. The sentai (no, not hentai) genre.. as I understand it.. is the one consisting of your standard collection of five or so characters, each with their representative primary color (e.g., the Power Rangers) mincing about and doing flip kicks. That whole group of manga/anime is pretty much the offspring of American comics.

One of the things that really separates the actual anime artists from the wannabes here in the states is the work put into a drawing. While the characters may often be very stylized, they're still subject to drafting and the general "rules" of the "construction method." The backgrounds, of course, are where it's really evident someone went apeshit with the ruler and rapidiographs. Of course, this isn't always the rule. Rumiko Takahashi.. author of Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura (Lum) and Inuyasha has a much looser style than the production team associated with Masamune Shirow, creator of Appleseed, Black Magic M-66, and Ghost in the Shell. Still, when you look at the stuff drawn by these anime wannabes like Shivae, and everything looks all wobbly, the perspective is off, and the sense of proportion suggests they mostly drew the outlines of the form without really constructing it (i.e., egg shape for the head.. dividing lines.. cylinders for the arms, etc.)... it just makes it further stand out that they're producing something that looks vaugely similar without any real sense of the work that goes into the genuine article.

That's another thing that separates the real comic artists from the folks that can draw a fairly standard and semi-competent picture of Batman crouching on a gargoyle without any real background. The real comic artists, both Western and Eastern, can draw just about anything.... a person, a furry, a sword, a gun, a car, a cactus, a sombrero, a litterbox, a CD player, a bush, a herring..... anything either from practice, experience, or just having developed the skill of observing and capturing the details about something that make it look like what it is. Your hack artists that are just doing a comic for their 15 minutes of fame can maybe draw a modestly decent figure... if even that... and then everything else goes to hell.

What what what?? "SF" and "Sci-fi" are both Western terms; "SF" is "real" science fiction, and "sci-fi" is used (usually in a derogatory way) to describe all the horrid lowbrow "pulp" type science fiction, like Star Trek, Babylon 5, Robotech, Dan Brown novels, etcetera

(they have a thing for taking English words and shortening them.. e.g. "sci-fi" is most commonly "SF".

Hence why I pointed out they have a tendency to take What I meant was "SF" is used over there as the catch-all phrase, rather than "science fiction", "sci-fi" or any kind of native equivalent. "SF" is their derivative for all science fiction, whereas here, it's almost an acronym for what you described.

A better example of how they take western terms and condense them for their own purposes is "heavy metal," which is something like hebimeta over there. Some of that also results from their use of a phonetic writing system. Katakana is the system used for "loan words." So, hebimeta is an easier approximation of the term than trying to come up with something like "hefi metaru." (Not to mention the way "f" is pronounced in Japanese makes the "b" sound their best equivalent of our "v".)

Oh, and uhm... furries suck! (Keepin' it OT, boss. :D)

Jerry Collins · Venter Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 210

Good luck to the kid,just wait till she has to deal with the FREEEEEks in publishing..poor thing....Few fan artists survive the "Stark fist of removal" or the "Crow-bar of harsh reality"....poor kid...