How do you feel about webcomics?

[thepiewasdelicious]

...you love them, don't you?  Don't lie to yourself, you know you do.

I mean, Hello!  Long time lurker, first time poster; and what's more, I come with a question in mind.  I'm working on making a web-comic using sprites from FFT (because they're awesome and psudo-chibi, and I've played my game so much that the disk is all but unreadable by this point...), and I wanted to know if any of you spriters would give me permission (with full acknowledgement that is due to you) to use some of your custom-made designs in my work.  I'm very reluctant to ask, but seeing what you guys have come up with...  it just blows my mind how good most the stuff in the custom sprite section is, and I couldn't not.

Now, just to make things clear, I need to write out a little list of facts:

1) If anyone says no, or otherwise does not answer yes (including not answering), I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT use anything that they've created (not even for inspiration, where I can help it).  Unless someone clearly says "Yes, you may use my sprite(s)", you won't find your creations on my pages.  I've not asked Square/Enix, but I don't plan to make any money off of this, and if a company wants to sue me so be it.  Then again, if they didn't go after 8-bit theatre...  

B) I'm not asking to copy-and-paste your work onto a page, slap some goofy dialogue above their heads and call it a day.  I'm re-drawing each and every character in a 3:1 proportion (like, one pixel in a game sprite would be the same as a 3x3 block of pixels in mine; this makes for much more detailed characters, and gives me much more room to throw in subtle  little things like facial expressions, textures, and [most importantly] a greater variety of poses and stances by giving me more room to fiddle around with the finer points of the characters).  That being said, if you say Yes to my strange request, your designs would not be changed or mangled or even re-coloured (beyond the previously mentioned minor changes for the sake of expressions, poses, quality of artwork... ect) unless I ask you specifically.  I believe that information should be free, but I don't want anyone to think that I'm out to disrespect anyone else's achievements (and the sprites you've made look so good that they can be called nothing less).

III) I know that I'm a nobody asking for everything, but I'm not just going for a snatch-and-grab here.  You guys seem like the kind of people who enjoy FFT (no, really?), and as I'm starting up (or am leaving the planning stages of) a comic that uses sprites from the game (and eventually, once I get the hang of producing pixel art in that style, my own work), I'd like to find a little niche here to share my endeavours with you all.  

Vier) I'm not just some snot-nosed teen hacking away at the interwebs with a pickax, trying to make a comic because everybody else is doing it.  I'm a lit student reacting to a lifetime of reading, watching, and studying, and rather than writing another book I want to do something visual.  I can't afford to hire an artist to go along with my writing (because I'm a lit student; we're a poor breed of vagabonds, am I right?), so I decided to take matters into my own hands.  Thinking long and hard about what I wanted this whole project to look like I kept imagining the characters as sprites from the 'Tactics.  So I decided "Why the h*ck not?", and set to work making this possible.  Besides, sprite-based web-comics get a bad rap in the circles I run in (and have seen on the 'net), and I hope to change that.

Uh... what number was I on?) If you 're not too comfortable with the idea of turning over your work to the hands of a strange, faceless person on the internet, I don't blame you.  You don't have to say Yes right away; I'll be (if you'll let me) posting my plans for the story, the themes, as well as some of my practice pieces in an effort to share something that's (hopefully) awesome with you guys and gals.  If I'm not chased from this forum with pitchforks and torches, I'll try to show you what I'm hoping to bring to the long-past world of this awesome game.  




I haven't posted before, because until now I had nothing to contribute; I run a linux system, and can barely get my emulator to work, let alone use the hacking and spriting programs on this site.  Though I can't make sprites that will work on my game (i can barely run 1.3), I can draw them in the many nifty programs that Ubuntu has to offer; and while I can't play with any sprites you or I create in-game, I can use them to tell a story that will hopefully leave you entertained and stimulated (mentally - get your mind out of the gutter o_O)

Anyway, respond to this as you will.  If I get no takers, then my story will be filled with generic characters until I'm experienced enough to build my own characters from scratch, and that's not a bad thing either.  

Thanks for your time!  Hope this thread doesn't get deleted ("WTF is this spam?")
~thepiewasdelicious ^_^)


P.S.
 
hehe, that's cute (and violent at the same time)

[Xifanie]

Now, are you are aware that all sprite webcomics suck?

Even 8bit theater which started as a sprite webcomic was bad because of that. Drawing your work is an unquestionable leap in quality. I'm saying this especially because you plan to rework sprites on triple size. If you have a good artistic sense, you should just draw, and if you don't, even reworked sprites will look like crap.

[Jon]

Hmmm, I read that giant speech up there and I say, so long as you don't make it look like crap, you can use my Cannoneer if you want, but only the Cannoneer and none of the other things. Not the Dark Knight at least >_>
I havta agree with Zodiac, I never read sprite web comics, and I don't plan on starting, but if you could somehow animate them like gif files it might spice it up a bit. Up to you though thepiewasdelicious.

[thepiewasdelicious]

Sprite comics DO generally suck (though they can be hilarious); fortunately, what I'm doing is less of a sprite webcomic and more of a thesis set to sprites that I hope to post online.  Unfortunately for me, however, I've spent the past seven years scribbling away at stories and essays rather than putting pen to paper to develop any kind of drawing skill...

Wait a minute.  You know, I was going to defend my idea, but the only real way to defend a thought over the internet is by producing factual verifiable evidence.  I'll tell you what; give me a month (owing to some computer issues o_O), and I'll come back with an example of my work.  After having seen what I intend to do, and what I've already produced, then you can decide if you want your designs to be a part of my project.  

Before I go - Thank you, Jon!  I'll keep your Cannoneer in mind (and my hands off of your other work ^_^), but as I've said I do think that I'd like to show you what I have to offer before I do anything else.  The way I approached this was kind of stupid of me; I just get caught up in the excitement of the moment and occasionally jump the gun a bit.  

You can let this thread die, or delete it.  I should have brought something to the table before I leapt in to bargain, anyway
Peace ^_^)