Hauksbee

It's a dark and dirty business...but someone has to do it.

Here's another Comics Benchmark: start with a dramatic Splash Panel. It sucks you into the story and sets the stage for where this is all happening. When I started drawing for the Undergrounds, my first problem was, 'how do I get these big pictures into those little boxes?' because I was trying to get [for example] a pilot, a plane, some clouds, the other two planes and some background into each box. Then I realized that the artists were creating a panel with background [like a city] and for the next ten panels they showed only faces, or partial figures, or a car [if the characters were riding]...and memory filled in the cityscape. Another thing is the 'cimematic-slice shot' [my term] The planes along the bottom are all chopped out of a single pic., but with the pilot's face inserted, you get a sense of time passing while he thinks. Somewhere in my comics portfolios, there's a page I copied from a fanzine. It was drawn by Wally Wood and had somewhere around a dozen panels. Each panel was a technique for making the minimum amount of artwork give the maximum amount of information. Like a single object in a white panel [a car] with a speech balloon. Or a very close sillouette. I'll look through the archive in the coming days and send it on. EDIT: Just realized, that with today's computer printing, there's no real need to go black-and-white unless it's an aesthetic decision.

COMICS? TURN BACK, RED-DOG!! THEREIN LIES MADNESS! And... a lot of fun too. One of the first things you find out is that every square inch on the page is precious. When you start fitting narrative and pictures together, there's always more you want to say, another dramatic camera angle that 'just has to' go in. You are embarking on the ultimate jig-saw puzzle. Word balloons: Steer clear of exotic, or antique, typefaces. People gravitate to them because they are unusual, or have a period feel. They're great for headlines and chapter titles, but they become unreadable when set in text. I've used Comic Sans MS. It was designed to look like a hand-lettered comic book face and comes bundled on all Windows machines. Page Layouts: There's as many ways to do this as there are people. As you'll note, I came up in the Olde School. The Young Turks of comics these days like to stretch page layout into shapes that most nearly resemble destructive testing. The Japanese Manga artists like to vertically stack four or five page-width panels. [well...it's taken a few trips to the computer to get this all written, and I see that others have covered the main points. Push on, and good luck.]

Are there any of us using rudder pedals? I'm using a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro stick. It has crummy rudder control and there are times when a little extra rudder makes all the difference. I'd like to hear some opinions. I'd like to know if you can use them to cross the controls and side-slip? [The History Channel "Dogfights" frequently touts this as a way to slam on the brakes and force an adversary to overshoot.]

It brings new meaning to the term "crash and burn". That was a spectacular flammer, and then, flying off into the sunset. Outstanding.

Now we seem to have a fairly split decision. This will take some investigation. Thanks all!

OKOKOK! You got me! I am learning, [the hard way] not to trust the History Channel. I expect them to stretch the facts to fill an hour, or shade the significance of an event, but I was really disappointed to see them flat-out lie about the Albert Brooks furball. And the 'experts'? I find that documentaries hew to a fixed formula. First, the narrator explains something to you. Then the 'expert' repeats it. Sometimes the experts have real credentials and will manage to expand on the subject. Most often, the expert is just somebody who's written a book and doesn't supply information, but merely enthusiasm. [ Oh yeah! It was the worst thing that could happen to a pilot in 1916!!] What would I ever have done without THAT revelation? But the side-slip? It did seem plausible. True, you lose momentum, but with someone on your 6, about to open up, your choices are limited. Still, I think I'll pass on the pedals. Olham: I'll check out the Thrustmaster. While we're on 'momentum', there's a name I've been trying to remember. An Air Force instructor, [at Nellis AFB, I think] did an extensive study on power curves. At the beginning of each new class, he made a standing offer which was: He, and any member of the class would take their planes to altitude for a dogfight. The student would start off on the instructor's 6. If the instructor was not on the student's 6 in 40 seconds, he'd pay $40. [and this was when $40 bought something.] Can anyone remember the instructor's name?

Every time I return from QC the program want to update me on the fate of non-existant squadron mates. This screen always comes up just as I'm about to click on a new plane and return to QC, or, when I about to close out. Is there a way to disable this?

Oh. OK. [Damn! That was a close one! 'Could'a gotten killed.] Bullethead: I guess if that's the price we have to pay to hang out in 1916, we'll just have to live with it. [LOL]

Ah now, be careful what you wish for....

Yes, I saw that and wondered the same.

I'm running Vista 64, 1.28 patch, [i live in QC] and you're the first person to mention this glitch [if a glitch it is] As long as it happens when you're leaving QC, it should be a small annoyance. Still, you might try re-installing OFF.

Interesting. Thanks. Did I just not opt for the correct Albatros in QC?

Allright! Well done!

You certainly are getting the feel of open cockpit flying...and then you come back to base and get into another open cockpit for recreation? You d' Man! What's it like strolling through the bazaars? Do the Afghanis seem friendly, or do they regard you as being from another planet?

Afghanistan, is it? Well, you're definitely in Campaign mode; out where the flak is real. What's the chance of them giving you some stick-time on a Predator to practice your gunnery? Take care, and get back soon.

I just finished building a Mk.V in one of my 3D programs. A friend stopped by, saw it and asked: "What was the weight of that beast?" I thought a quick 'net search would answer it, but despite all the info turned up, the weight eluds me. "Little Willie", its prototype, weighed somewhere around 16.5 tons, if I recall correctly. But...does anyone know the weight of Mk.V?

Excellent! Thanks. [Wikipedia? How did I miss that?]

Strange but nice. What other filters are available?

Nah. My comix days are behind me. Red-Dog: I think I have a few copies of "The Last Award" issue. Give me an address and I'll post a copy to you.

Go to it! I don't bring my earliest efforts out into the light of day. I probably never would have published at all if a girlfriend hadn't said, "Pick up the phone. Call some printers. Get some quotes. You've got to get this stuff in circulation." And so it happened.

Good start. Needs more panels though, and bigger type in the balloons. What are you going to do about pilots, people etc.?

No, I was never that good.

And so it is! But be ready for A LOT of work. I did a turn at drawing comics in the twilight of the Undergound comics in the 70's. You will never have the exact angle, or view, of the plane you want. You'll spend hours chasing the right moment of action. You'll start cutting pictures apart in Photoshop and pasting them together to arrive at the right scene... Very rewarding when it all comes together, but a blue, screamin' b***h until it does.

Best one yet, Jammer! Love the way the music so frequently swells dramatically just as your guns are coming to bear.