HOME | DD
kevinbolk — The Dark Allure of Copy and Paste
Published: 2011-11-28 05:45:29 +0000 UTC; Views: 73346; Favourites: 2485; Downloads: 331
Redirect to original
Description
So I prepared a couple of new slides for my "10 Things I Hate About Webcomics" presentation at Anime USA. The idea behind the whole thing was to poke fun at common webcomics tropes, cliches, and/or bad habits and to help new creators recognize them and then either avoid them or exploit them (because anything, even tropes, done well can still make for good entertainment). This stuff can be applied to a lot of other media as well and I think most creators (myself included) have been guilty of them at one point or another.This one illustrates copy & paste abuse. I often tell people that a little bit of C&P for background elements, certain gags, and tight deadlines is okay. However, repeated use of this will not only make your comics boring, but it can really handicap you as an artist. Learning to draw things consistently is an essential skill for anyone considering a serious career in cartooning and it's a skill you can only learn through MASSIVE amounts of practice. Remember, kids, you learn to draw by drawing!
Check out some of my previously posted art slides for the webcomics presentation below:
Related content
Comments: 212
As soon as I can find them, I'll link them to you.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Actually, Azuma uses it well for comedic effect in my opinion. I think that's totally different from an artist who is just being lazy.
Then again, I'm a huge fan of his work so I'm more than a little biased.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh, I love his stuff too, I've just noticed that he uses the same image for a few panels quite a bit.
I was kind of just saying he seems fond of it, not that he uses it badly.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Statistics
Comments: 134
Favourites: 2,035 [who?]
Views: 30,891 (27,947 today)
Downloads: 61 (53 today)
Sad Artists who don't know what a 3 digit number is let alone a 5: #INF
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
"Are we dead?" "Perhaps on the inside."
I cracked up at that! xD
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I lol'd. It took me too long to realize it was copied and pasted by the way, LOL. :I
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
i find it humorous because i can definately picture my friends and I playing marco-polo without moving.
....... yea, we're weird.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
If they are adults and playing Marco polo, they are defiantly dead inside
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I ,love how happy their faces are even when he says that at the end. XD
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Wait, let me comment after I'm done having a good laugh.
I pretty much agree with what you said and this comic conveys it rather well. Two thumbs up.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I'm guilty of this, but as you say.. it CAN be funny.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
lol, this is sadly, very true.（＞△＜）
artists beware! I shall have my eyes peeled!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Having a degree in 'Ctrl+C/V' must be the easiest get rich quick scheme ever.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
lol, i wanna 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
now that i think about it, thats a good point. i never realized that people could do that!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
"Are we dead?"
"Perhaps on the inside."
Favorite part.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
It's wrong to say somethings so morbid while looking so happy...
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Even in regular comics I see it. It's crazy... they'll copy and paste the same picture, like, 5 times...
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Sadly, I remember reading a manga (I won't mention which one) and I saw a close up in volume 33 or so and thought, "Hey! Wait a minute! Wasn't this in volume 12!?!" (Or some one near the beginning). It was sad because it wasn't a main part of the original picture, but I still knew... XD
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Every time you do one of these, the same web comic author screams into my head.
I won't say who for fear of reprisal.
Regardless, these always make me laugh. You're one of the web comics that consistently makes me smile.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Im just wondering Im not trying to insult you but do you use copy and paste on some of your mascot comics? Is a little bit of C&P ok just don't overuse it?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
On occasion, yes. Usually when I'm being crushed by deadlines but I try not to make it too obvious. A little of just about anything is okay.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's some good, funny advice if I ever want to do my own webcomic.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
She shouldn't have bought that time stopping pocket watch.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Is this an allusion to that Calvin and Hobbes strip?
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Proof of just how much dialogue adds to a comic.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Ha! you can't fool me! I see the miniscule differences between each of the four frames! At a glance they appear to be the same, but closer inspection proves each frame is in itself a painstakingly crafted image. The extra fold in the tabel cloth, the almost inperceptible line quality variations in panel #3. And the extra hair point on the gal in panel #4. You are most clever Mr. Bolk, but you can trick the trickster!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Shit! He's on to me. CHEESE IT!!!
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
You can hide but you can't run!! Oh...wait...Uh...think I got that backwards...
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
wtf. u mean to tell me that he's right, and you actually did re-draw every scene o_O?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
| Next =>