Belief in Magic

[Darklord Bright]

Belief in Magic

Planned Update Schedule (based on New Zealand time, so check days accordingly): 'Bonus Updates' will be on Mondays from time to time, but otherwise updates will happen on Fridays.

Hail and well met, friends. This is the place of the comic that I plan on doing in my spare time. The concept behind this comic is fairly simple: This is a fantasy world populated near-entirely by humans (Because elves, dwarves, etc are cool but overused in my opinion). What makes this different, however, is the way I plan on dealing with magic.

Magic is a rare thing, only taught by certain masters. Magic itself, however is confined to minor tricks and illusions (Like modern day magicians, except really happening) unless there is enough belief in magic in the nearby area. Someone who believes in magic will be affected by major spells, whereas someone who believes it is all con tricks will be unfased by the strongest of spells.

Without further ado, the comic.

Comics
Prologue
Strip 1
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic1.png
Strip 2
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic2.png
Strip 3
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic3.png
Strip 4
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic4.png
Strip 5
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic5.png
Chapter 1: Inquiries
Strip 6
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic6.png
Strip 7
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic7.png
Strip 8
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/BeliefComic8.png
Strip 9
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/BeliefComic9.png
Strip 10
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/BeliefComic10.png
Strip 11
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/scan0005.png
Strip 12
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/scan0007.png
Strip 13
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/scan0008.png
Chapter 2: Relations
Strip 14
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/scan0009.png
Strip 15
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/Bim15.png
Strip 16
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/Bim16.png
Strip 17
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3212/scan0005.png
Strip 18
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/2562/scan0007.png
Strip 19
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/1460/scan0008.png
Strip 20
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7489/bim20.png
Strip 21
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9228/bim21.png
Strip 22
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/600/bim22.png
Strip 23
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/2450/bim23.png
Strip 24
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/799/bim24.png
Chapter 3: Stronghold
Strip 25
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7754/bim25.png

Character Art.

Marie
http://fc08.deviantart.com/fs43/f/2009/128/0/f/Marie___Belief_in_Magic_by_Overlord_Kay.png
Ardent
http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs44/f/2009/128/a/e/Ardent___Belief_in_Magic_by_Overlord_Kay.png
Dema
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9979/scan0006.png

Comments and criticism apprieciated.

[-skimmer-]

Huh, I noticed just now:smallbiggrin:

Very interesting, I'll keep watching this one:smallsmile:

[Nameless]

Looks interesting.
I shall be reading! :smallbiggrin:

[Traker]

Its cool, I'll keep an eye on it

[Lemming]

Hooray! You have a comic! :smallbiggrin: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif
That monster is so cute. :smallsmile: :smalltongue:
I want one... :smallfrown: :smallredface:

[MethosH]

I like your style :smallbiggrin:

[Darklord Bright]

Ho-ha! And here the thread is! Terrific.
Alright, I had another comic I made while I was waiting for this to get approved, so here it is:

Page 3
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic3.png

And yes, I am aware that my text is too big and is taking up more space then necessary. Now that I am aware of how large the text ends up being, the next comics text will be smaller until I find a good size.

On another note: Marie and Mariette are the same name, Will's just being a dork.

[Szilard]

I just noticed this comic.
It's good.:smallbiggrin:

[Darklord Bright]

And here's another for today.

Page 4
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic4.png

[SinisterPenguin]

This looks like it could turn out to be pretty good. I really like your art style as well. :smallsmile:

[Mina Kobold]

reat comic Brightie:smallsmile: I'll be following it:smile:

[Nameless]

This thread contains Awesomesauce.

I like Awesomesauce.

[Darklord Bright]

I apprieciate all the nice comments, guys! :smallsmile:

Unfortunately, the updates are gonna slow down from now on now that Term 2 of school is starting up again. Means you aren't likely to see much going on when you're awake due to me being in the Southern Hemisphere.

I'll try to update from now on at least once a week if I have time. Hope to see you guys along for the ride.

[Nameless]

And that's why you should've made all those comics, and posted them once a day or once every two days. :smallsmile:

[Darklord Bright]

And that's why you should've made all those comics, and posted them once a day or once every two days. :smallsmile:

But I didn't wanna keep everyone waiting. I wanna get the prologue out of the way quicker so I can move on...

[Trizap]

"magic without belief" hmmmmm....... "magic real or tricks...."

"inspection, where they come to see if anyone has magical talent"

...........from this I can extrapolate that magic is not widely accepted in this world and that not everyone recognizes it existence, and/or that there is a misconception that it can only be done in certain way like believing in a god or something, it doesn't seem to be treated like a normal aspect of life like usual fantasy...............

your sir have interested me

[Keris]

@^: Your grammar, sir, disgusts me. :smallyuk:

@DLB: Interesting comic, I'll be following it.

[Kuma Da]

Fantastic concept. There are a lot of ways you can develop that. I kinda wish I'd thought of it first.:smalltongue:

As far as the art goes, it reminds me a lot of keychain of destiny. Reasonably simple, but solid. Which means you can crank out strips pretty fast. This is a good thing, since you definitely should.:smallbiggrin:

[Trizap]

@^: Your grammar, sir, disgusts me. :smallyuk:



I do not care. I like to break rules anyways. those who like grammar can go correct their own, I like my post the way it is, thank you very much.

[Shades of Gray]

Fantastic concept. There are a lot of ways you can develop that. I kinda wish I'd thought of it first.:smalltongue:

As far as the art goes, it reminds me a lot of keychain of Creation.

Creation. CREATION!

If we're both thinking of Jukashi's exalted comic.

[Nameless]

I do not care. I like to break rules anyways. those who like grammar can go correct their own, I like my post the way it is, thank you very much.

Yeah! Can’t you see he likes making his posts illegible!
God, Keris, you’re so mean. :smallmad:

:smalltongue:

[Darklord Bright]

Strip 5
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic5.png

Not much to see here, I'm afraid. Introducing our inquisitors.

(And in other news, I see this as PROLOGUE END.)

[Lemming]

His shoes are funny. :smallbiggrin:

[Darklord Bright]

Now begins
Chapter One: Inquiries

Strip 6
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic6.png

I have this chapter's groundwork laid out, I'm just a lazy jerk.

[Trizap]

Yeah! Can’t you see he likes making his posts illegible!
God, Keris, you’re so mean. :smallmad:

:smalltongue:

.........nice try, your form needs work though. :smalltongue:

[Darklord Bright]

Strip 7
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/BeliefComic7.png

I liked this one when writing it during math class.

[Darklord Bright]

D-D-DOUBLE UPDATE.

Strip 8
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/BeliefComic8.png

Strip 9
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/BeliefComic9.png

Really would apprieciate comments and speculations, I dislike double posting even when I'm allowed to do it :smallredface:

[Dallas-Dakota]

Hmm, why doesn't she have a right leg in the last few comics?:smallconfused:

Also, keep on going. I know it can be hard to continue something artistic, like writing or doing a webcomic without comments.

[Darklord Bright]

Hmm, why doesn't she have a right leg in the last few comics?:smallconfused:

Also, keep on going. I know it can be hard to continue something artistic, like writing or doing a webcomic without comments.

Quiet, you! I was messing with the layers and her leg disappeared. Figured no one would notice, guess I was wrong.

[Darklord Bright]

Got a working scanner. Here are a few proper drawings.

Marie
http://fc08.deviantart.com/fs43/f/2009/128/0/f/Marie___Belief_in_Magic_by_Overlord_Kay.png

Ardent
http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs44/f/2009/128/a/e/Ardent___Belief_in_Magic_by_Overlord_Kay.png

Enjoy this to tide you over till the next comic.

[Falgorn]

I understand why Will likes Marie. :smallwink: It's cause of her giant *BAN*

Anyways, keep up the good work. Nice comic and art. :smallbiggrin: You get approved.

[Darklord Bright]

Oddly enough, doing these was quicker than making a comic.... :smallconfused:

[Falgorn]

Oddly enough, doing these was quicker than making a comic.... :smallconfused:

I think it's the thought that goes into the actual comic making. Dialogue isn't easy to think of. You're a great artist, though.

[Darklord Bright]

I think it's the thought that goes into the actual comic making. Dialogue isn't easy to think of. You're a great artist, though.

Is it weird that I actually like her nose in the front on shot more than her, er... assets, just below?

[Falgorn]

Is it weird that I actually like her nose in the front on shot more than her, er... assets, just below?

Nice word choice. :smalltongue: She must have one big nose! But in all seriousness, it looks good. If it's wrong for noses to look like that, then I don't wanna be right. It makes her...assets not seem like jumbo jets, since there is something to compare it to. Keep up the fanservice artwork.

[Darklord Bright]

Strip 10
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/BeliefComic10.png

After that fanservice, I only see it fit to reward you all with a cliffhanger.

[Szilard]

O noes!:smalltongue::smalleek:

[SinisterPenguin]

Strip 10
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/BeliefComic10.png

After that fanservice, I only see it fit to reward you all with a cliffhanger.

Hm...this seems suspicious. I suspect that he plans to incite Marie into using her magic and thus revealing herself by pretending to be about to execute Will.

[Blayze]

Of course, there could always be subversion afoot...

[Darklord Bright]

Well, after a LONG hiatus, this is sorta back. Actually scribbling it up now.

Unfortunately, I lost my notes, so I have no pre-written dialogue to tell me where I was taking this. :smalleek:

Strip 11
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/scan0005.png
Strip 12
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/scan0007.png
Excuse the sub-par art... I'm kinda tired and not used to drawing these characters. It'll shape up.

[Green-Shirt Q]

Excellent! It's back!

I like the new art style. It makes the Marie hotter. :smallwink: :smallbiggrin:

[Cizak]

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa....

Lois this is not my Batman-glass!

No, wait, that was wrong... what I meant to say was:

Why have you started drawing instead of the other way?

[Darklord Bright]

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa....

Lois this is not my Batman-glass!

No, wait, that was wrong... what I meant to say was:

Why have you started drawing instead of the other way?

Quicker, and I don't like inkscape. More freedom in what I can make them do without having to fiddle for a few minutes to make a mouth the right shape or something.

[Rowsen]

Interesting stuff. I'll definitely frequent this comic.

[Mina Kobold]

Great comic, the inquisitors logic is just as flawed as the real ones :smalltongue: (You know, if it's impossible to learn magic without a teacher then how did the first one get magic)

[Darklord Bright]

Big one this time, and so word-heavy that I actually cut down on the dialogue, made the comic a whole row larger, and it STILL obscures the characters.

Strip 13
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/scan0008.png

End Chapter 1.

[Darklord Bright]

Chapter 2 - Relations
(Sorry it took so long.)

Strip 14
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/scan0009.png

Strip 15
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/Bim15.png

Strip 16
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm136/OverlordK/Belief/Bim16.png

[Darklord Bright]

Alright! After another long absence, I finally have a new comic page and a schedule plan. I will try to have a new page up once a week. I'll try to shoot for my Fridays, but as I am in New Zealand, that will be Thursday for a lot of you northerners.

Strip 17
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3212/scan0005.png

[BRC]

I kind of lost track of this, but very nice job. Love the artwork.

[Darklord Bright]

I kind of lost track of this, but very nice job. Love the artwork.

Thanks. I kinda slowly improved it without saying anything a couple times, and I think this is where I'll settle for now.

[Darklord Bright]

There will be a bonus page this week.

But for now, I will simply give this thread a little teaser for the upcoming strips. Who is this 'Dema', and why is she significant to the plot? Find out in the next comic!
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9979/scan0006.png

[Darklord Bright]

Strip 18
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/2562/scan0007.png

And so begins our first real action scene. Had to use a lot of reference for this one, and I'm still not really satisfied with it. I like the 7th panel though.

[Darklord Bright]

Strip 19
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/1460/scan0008.png
Slowing down to just the Friday update this coming week due to practice exams.

[kpenguin]

Wow, quadruple post. Careful, Bright, you might end up like Lying and be having 20 posts in a row.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I have my own forum for page discussion though, that's a might different.

[Darklord Bright]

Strip 20
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7489/bim20.png
Before you say a word about it, the bowstring isn't drawn with the arrow because I changed the angle of the picture halfway through - I'm just going to say she's still nocking it.

[Darklord Bright]

Early Bonus Update!

Strip 21
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9228/bim21.png
Who needs Spiderman?

[Darklord Bright]

Strip 22
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/600/bim22.png

Really would apprieciate comments on these so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself, guys... :smallsmile:

[Hacktor]

contructive criticism it is then :D

- put a little more effort into the art. I know myself how hard it is to draw slowly when you have 50-smthing strips worth of ideeas in your head. But please work on your art.

- don't update with one panel splash pages (not with doodles anyway). If you want to do a one-panel consider the details and color it more.

All things considered the best thing you could do is keep updating. It's the only way to learn how to do these things properly.

good luck :smallbiggrin:

[Darklord Bright]

contructive criticism it is then :D

- put a little more effort into the art. I know myself how hard it is to draw slowly when you have 50-smthing strips worth of ideeas in your head. But please work on your art.

- don't update with one panel splash pages (not with doodles anyway). If you want to do a one-panel consider the details and color it more.

All things considered the best thing you could do is keep updating. It's the only way to learn how to do these things properly.

good luck :smallbiggrin:

"A little more effort into the art" seems to be a recurring theme, despite the fact that I generally put my all into this stuff... duly noted.
Now, here's the thing, not only do I not have the tools to colour it myself, as I am drawing these by hand and don't have photoshop, but I've yet to really find anyone who wants to do it for me.
I'm constantly trying to improve my art naturally, but these are generally the best I have at the time. Once or twice the quality goes down either due to being rushed or simply not having any good reference for what I am trying to do.

I see a lot of decent webcomics do ''One page splash images" as updates, so I just sort of figured no one had anything wrong with it. The one pagers tend to be better quality because I can actually fit it all on, I will however keep note of this. The first time it was done it was a bonus update anyways, so the proper update had already happened, making it less of a "One page update" and more of a "One page filler strip".
I've been trying to constantly have at least one comic in reserve to keep the schedule going. I generally make two at a time.

I'm glad for the critisism, really, but in all honesty there isn't much I can do about the art. I've don't take any art classes, so I knida have to learn from myself or real life most of the time, which has made it a challenge to keep this decent quality. I am aware that some of the panels have been pretty shoddy, but that's more an issue with trying a new perspective or angle and failing miserably.

I was kinda looking for more talk on the actual comic, but I suppose this was good, too.

[Reading over this before I post it, Sorry if I came off as defensive.]

[Hacktor]

believe me you are better than this... You can't tell me that this is your best because some of the panels\comics are better than the rest.. you can see where you put a lot of effort into it and where you have not.

Personally I don't color my hand drawings either (check fan-art section of Shards of Siberys), it was just a hint at maybe making it better. If not, at least get the shading down.

as for the actual comic I can't say anything constructive about it because I don't have the skills to make an effective analysis. Art's my thing, not writing and that sort of stuff.

Have you tried Inkscape? Believe me you're just a short tutorial away from being a vector graphics artist. People with no hand-drawing background are not very good at Inskape(some exceptions of course), but people with some skill [like you] there are best suited (I usually draw a rough sketch of what my inkscape art will be like [although the sketches look a lot like your comics do now, after processing they turn into something easier to read])

I will never stop advocating inkscape because I'm convinced it's the best for webcomics.

[sorry if I come out to agresive here but I like to think it's for the best, aka constructive] :smallbiggrin:

oh, and one more thing.. If you do take on Inkscape (free, download off their site) I promice I'll help with any problem you face while learning it... just PM me. You have the potential and right now you are displaying your sketches instead of the finish products - coloring is done with a single button too.:smallamused:

[Darklord Bright]

believe me you are better than this... You can't tell me that this is your best because some of the panels\comics are better than the rest.. you can see where you put a lot of effort into it and where you have not.

Personally I don't color my hand drawings either (check fan-art section of Shards of Siberys), it was just a hint at maybe making it better. If not, at least get the shading down.

as for the actual comic I can't say anything constructive about it because I don't have the skills to make an effective analysis. Art's my thing, not writing and that sort of stuff.

Have you tried Inkscape? Believe me you're just a short tutorial away from being a vector graphics artist. People with no hand-drawing background are not very good at Inskape(some exceptions of course), but people with some skill [like you] there are best suited (I usually draw a rough sketch of what my inkscape art will be like [although the sketches look a lot like your comics do now, after processing they turn into something easier to read])

I will never stop advocating inkscape because I'm convinced it's the best for webcomics.

[sorry if I come out to agresive here but I like to think it's for the best, aka constructive] :smallbiggrin:

oh, and one more thing.. If you do take on Inkscape (free, download off their site) I promice I'll help with any problem you face while learning it... just PM me. You have the potential and right now you are displaying your sketches instead of the finish products - coloring is done with a single button too.:smallamused:

Have inkscape, despise it. The original comics were made with it before I actually got good at it, but just because I'm good at it doesn't mean I have to like it. If ever I try to produce something like these in it, they take twice the time and lose twice the quality. I have no tablet to make them smooth drawings, so they look awful.

Edit: also, just thought I should mention that the images are about 2 1/2 times the size I draw them, so the really small panels lost a lot of quality... some of them look really silly because I couldn't see what the hells I was doing :smalltongue:.

[Green-Shirt Q]

"A little more effort into the art" seems to be a recurring theme, despite the fact that I generally put my all into this stuff... duly noted.

Don't listen to him. He's insane. :smallsmile:

Although, now that he mentions it, I realize I do sometimes have trouble telling two characters apart in your comic. And I can barely tell what the heck is going on in it.

And I think the females can be slightly sexier. :smalltongue:

Then again, I have those complaints about nearly EVERY comic on these forums. That might have more to do with me then you. :smallwink:

[CrimsonAngel]

Hacktor, you didn't see the first half of the comics did you? :smalltongue:

[Hacktor]

...I did but I though the artist gave up on him half way through...

Also .. you don't need a tablet... just work with basic shapes and then Boolean\edit\ etc.. them... no talent needed.. :smallwink:

Well then. Have it your way then. I wish you luck.

[The Gremlin]

Heh, like this comic. Keep up the good work!

[Darklord Bright]

In apology for the poor quality of this first one (It was a rush job done a couple weeks ago while sitting in my school library), I have gone ahead and included the endchapter as well, wherein I begun attempting to alter the facial stuff to make them more recogniseable.

Strip 23
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/2450/bim23.png

Strip 24
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/799/bim24.png

[The Gremlin]

Crap. :smalleek:

[Darklord Bright]

Strip 25
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7754/bim25.png
Entering the second week of my holiday, totally almost forgot that I don't have buffer anymore... At least I remembered.