Invisibility Spell(s)

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Something that's been bugging me since the strip was posted:

When Xykon showed up on his zombie dragon, he used Greater Invisibility (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0429.html), and was hidden until Saangwan used True Seeing. But before then, he was completely invisible.

Today, when the Elven Strike Team Guy and the Samurai attacked, the ESTG was invisible with just an outline, while the Samurai was just eyes... Different spells? Is there a "Lesser Invisibility" spell? Or did the outline get dropped from the art program?

The only "Lesser Invisibility" spell I know is a joke: This ring turns you invisible when nobody is looking at you.

[licoot]

i thought that it was them re-appearing, rather then what they had just looked like.

[Draconi Redfir]

i figured it was just a way to show there were two pepole that were both invisible there, and not have a tangled mess of outlines between them.


that, or humans and Elves each get a diffrent "invisible" artwork. V and the Elvin insergint both had outlines, and the only invisible human we have "seen" was just a pair of floating eyes,.

[Occasional Sage]

I think if the invisible people weren't shown in 706, some folks'd've been confused in the second panel when they appeared. I think it's a matter of storytelling economy; with Xykon and his shiny ride, it read better to have him actually invisible.

The different looks of the two ambushers... well, I'd chalk it up to artistic license and making sense of the scene.

[Gift Jeraff]

I think the Azurite may be a ninja, hence the different artwork.

that, or humans and Elves each get a diffrent "invisible" artwork. V and the Elvin insergint both had outlines, and the only invisible human we have "seen" was just a pair of floating eyes,.
Nah, because V was not seen when used Invisibility during the Battle of Azure City, and the whole Order was unseen when V cast Invisibility Sphere.

[NerfTW]

Given that they fade into view over those three panels, I assumed it was showing the spell being broken during an attack. The elf attacked first, so he was an outline, while the samurai went second, so he's one step behind the elf in becoming visible again.

That, and two outlines right on top of eachother would be a bit messy in an already crowded panel.

[Roderick_BR]

It's because he had lightly bumped into the goblin, so his outline glew with his team's colors for a second before dropping his cloak :smallamused:

[Darakonis]

May also be a matter of Point of View.

Since we're seeing things from the point of view of the insurgents, we "saw" them "being invisible."

If the roles were reversed, such as with Xykon, we likely would not have seen them.

Peace,
-Darakonis

[TriForce]

i thought that it was them re-appearing, rather then what they had just looked like.

agreed, they were becoming visable becouse they attacked

[Scoot]

It's because he had lightly bumped into the goblin, so his outline glew with his team's colors for a second before dropping his cloak :smallamused:

Shoulda used the Dead Ringer.

And ya I have to agree with the point of view argument.

Mostly because when it does show them attacking, they're slightly transparent, like they're just then becoming visible.

[factotum]

It could just be a matter of Rich having better drawing techniques which allowed him to show the outlines, just as he did with Vaarsuvius when he was trying to escape from Xykon after losing the splices. I would agree that it also made sense from a story point of view that the invisible Xykon did not appear until Sangwaan True Saw him, because his appearance there was supposed to be a surprise to the readers as well as the Order; the elven strike team didn't need to be hidden in the same way.

[Studoku]

May also be a matter of Point of View.

Since we're seeing things from the point of view of the insurgents, we "saw" them "being invisible."

If the roles were reversed, such as with Xykon, we likely would not have seen them.

Peace,
-Darakonis

This.

Illusion spells seem to do a similar thing. When we know they're illusions, they appear transparent. When we don't, they're opaque.

[The Giant]

Basically, I change the nature of how I show invisibility based on the demands of the narrative. Without the outlines in the first panel, the second panel becomes visually confusing. Did they fly up? Did they teleport? Did they cast Ghostform? Are they actual ghosts? With the outlines in place, there's significantly less doubt.

I had to invent the "Space Ghost effect" during the Darth V arc because I needed to show the pivotal moment when Vaarsuvius decided to go back and help O-Chul. The scene just didn't work without seeing V's face, but he needed to be invisible. At the time, I used the fiends' TV as an excuse for the change but now that I've used it once, I saw no reason not to use it again if it made the story clearer.

In short, utility trumps consistency.

[TheBibliophile]

Basically, I change the nature of how I show invisibility based on the demands of the narrative. Without the outlines in the first panel, the second panel becomes visually confusing. Did they fly up? Did they teleport? Did they cast Ghostform? Are they actual ghosts? With the outlines in place, there's significantly less doubt.

I had to invent the "Space Ghost effect" during the Darth V arc because I needed to show the pivotal moment when Vaarsuvius decided to go back and help O-Chul. The scene just didn't work without seeing V's face, but he needed to be invisible. At the time, I used the fiends' TV as an excuse for the change but now that I've used it once, I saw no reason not to use it again if it made the story clearer.

In short, utility trumps consistency.

Thus he spake, and thus it shall be!

:smallwink:

[Fitzclowningham]

Before I saw Rich's comment, I was all set to say that the elf in panel 1 was Invisible, and that the Azurite (?) was using Hide in Plain Sight (or maybe just Hide?).

[Herald Alberich]

But why, then, does the elf have a Space Ghost outline, and the Azurite just his eyes?

[Watcher]

But why, then, does the elf have a Space Ghost outline, and the Azurite just his eyes?
Clashing outlines don't look good.

[PallElendro]

Clashing outlines don't look good.

True dat. :amused: