In praise of the one-line eyebrow

[PontificatusRex]

I just want to make a shout out to the art in strip #1218, though we've seen it in art throughout the entire history of the strip. With art as simple as that of OotS, almost all modes of expressing mood are a matter of head tilt, mouth shape, and the eyebrows, and this latest strip use the eyebrows masterfully. It really stands out in panel #13 with Elan concentrating but trying to figure things out, he's not completely confidant of his reasoning so the eyebrow has a squiggle. Contrast that to panel #10 directly above it where Roy has his head tilted down and the eyebrow is a strait line, indicating serious mental processing going on. And in panel #8, Haley is making her case with the down-word curved eyebrow - it indicates "I'm not trying to be aggressive or dominate the conversation, but this is my opinion" while Belkar's straight eyebrow is harsher, because he's contracting Haley. Then in the next panel the eyebrows are reversed - Belkar is making his case without actually attacking or belittling anyone so he has the curved-downward eyebrow, and Haley has the straight line and is showing her disagreement with him.

Of course there are great examples of the brows being two lines, such as V's "Huh?" expression in panel #11 and Elan's final "Oh no!" in the last panel.

You can pretty much analyze the emotional content of every panel with those three factors, it's pretty awesome.

[Mariele]

Charlie Brown expressions always win me over, too.

Agreed. The expressions in this comic have always been well done--out of necessity. :)

[Alcore]

It has only gotten better with age...

Stick Figure art has never looked so good!

[hamishspence]

It really stands out in panel #13 with Elan concentrating but trying to figure things out, he's not completely confidant of his reasoning so the eyebrow has a squiggle. Contrast that to panel #10 directly above it where Roy has his head tilted down and the eyebrow is a strait line, indicating serious mental processing going on.

I think Elan's expression is a variant of "one raised eyebrow" - so it's "One raised eyebrow plus a slight scowl."

Roy's brow has a very slight curve here - it's not completely straight.

[Ionathus]

It has only gotten better with age...

Stick Figure art has never looked so good!

There's something so very evocative about it -- I love how Rich uses simple stick figures to convey such complex expressions! Although he's made a few cracks about "why did I think it was good to pick an intentionally-bad art style", these last two books have really stretched what he can do with the form.

It's also a big reason I love the paper minis in A Monster for Every Season: sure, 3D printed minis can suit your needs, but the expressions on AMFES really take it over the top for me. If I want a badass paladin, or a pensive paladin, or an angry paladin, or even a sassy paladin, there are always more personality options. His style puts a lot more character into the designs, and that directly improves how I feel about the NPCs and the immersion of the game...even if paper cartoon minis are much less realistic than 3D printed and painted ones!

[Alcore]

There's something so very evocative about it -- I love how Rich uses simple stick figures to convey such complex expressions! Although he's made a few cracks about "why did I think it was good to pick an intentionally-bad art style", these last two books have really stretched what he can do with the form.

It's also a big reason I love the paper minis in A Monster for Every Season: sure, 3D printed minis can suit your needs, but the expressions on AMFES really take it over the top for me. If I want a badass paladin, or a pensive paladin, or an angry paladin, or even a sassy paladin, there are always more personality options. His style puts a lot more character into the designs, and that directly improves how I feel about the NPCs and the immersion of the game...even if paper cartoon minis are much less realistic than 3D printed and painted ones!

art is art.

Normally stick figure art is considered juvenile in the extreme even his first book, as crude as it is in comparison to now, is still several steps above that. The level of professionalism is high and the story was great. We pay money and some can't understand why. Rich has shown us what happens when someone applies themselves to the art form and that stick figures can stand up with the other styles with pride.


Some people will hate it because stick figures. Just like how some hate anime style because anime.


I have enjoyed the art as much as the story. Keep it coming Giant :)