Without wanting to say too much, would you believe the person on the left is King Richard the Lionheart?
Also, if viewing this under the comic, you may need to click on the "Comic Caption 2" link in order to see the image. Blame Reinder's WordPress setup; I'm sure it seemed a good idea at the time =P
Put your captions in the comments! (Note that you may not be able to see the image if you're on the RoCR mainpage - just click the "Caption Contest" link to come to the main blog and you'll see it.)
In my previous post, I estimated the main part of the process of preparing stuff artwork for the Corby Tribe remasters (reassembling the coloured art, DTP and web preparation) at 45 minutes per original. This is down from an hour per original two weeks ago, but it is still very long for what is very simple DTP and image processing work. What's making it take so long?
The earlier time per update of one hour was partly due to the problems I had using Scribus as described in a previous post: the built-in text editing functionality in Scribus caused me to spend a lot of time entering quote marks and apostrophes, which the software would then destroy in a wide range of interesting ways. I have since worked around this by editing the text in OpenOffice.org and importing the OpenOffice files into Scribus using the Acquire Text feature. This works a lot better, though there is one further complication: while Scribus, by default, prompts the user to ask whether the text formatting from the imported file should be used, unchecking the relevant boxes in the prompt makes no difference and the formatting from the file is used. This leads to the absurd situation that most of the DTP leg work for text formatting is done in OpenOffice, and the only thing that the DTP software adds is the ability to put the text in a box and separate it into two columns. If I had known, I'd just have done all the work in OpenOffice from the start.
In any case, this workaround works well enough and getting the text processed and adding the curly quotes I want now takes up very little time*) The other source of long production times is simple waste, especially to rework. The rework rate on this weekend's batch was about 150%, meaning that every file had to be redone at least once after I thought it was done with it. Some had to be redone three times. The cause of this rework is that I am very very bad at keeping track of the wide range of source items that go into the updates: numbered line art files in one folder, numbered color files in another, numbered text files in a third, resulting in numbered dtp files in a fourth, which all carry a differentnumber in their internal text (the update number relative to the very first ROCR comic whereas the files are numbered from the start of the storyline. It's easy even for a person with a mind for numbers to lose track; since I have a terrible mind for numbers, I end up with a high enough error rate to result in having to fix every file after DTP is technically complete.
So far, I have worked by saving each DTP file after completion and then Saving As with a new number and then importing the appropriate image master file and text file. This may seem like an easy and convenient way to work, and it does have the advantage that it is pretty much impossible to skip a number. But if I lose concentration just for a moment (make that when I lose concentration), I risk keeping the old image file or replacing the image file twice so it's a number ahead, or adding the wrong in-text update number. So it is probably worth the extra time to go back to the template for each update so that I start each new file with a clean slate. I have already decided to stop doing these large batches for a while because getting as far ahead as I want that way has turned out to be undoable, but when I do go back to the process, that's what I'll do.
In my day job, I've been translating some learning materials about Lean Manufacturing. In this approach, rework is one of the Seven Wastes to be avoided, and keeping track of the extra time and frustration involved has been instructive as to just how wasteful it can be. It strikes me that both the decision to spend time learning a DTP program when it would be easier just to use the page layout features in my word processor also fits into one category of waste (overprocessing - using a sledgehammer to put in a nail) as does the use of a visible number inside the update in imitation of the way Marten Toonder's old newspaper comics were added (also overprocessing, but by a more generalised definition of adding a feature that the readers aren't interested in. On the other hand, as a young reader I always loved gimmicks like that, so maybe).
*) Note: For years, I avoided curly quotes despite the fact that not using them is considered a serious sin in desktop publishing. I was doing work for display on the web and for a long time, display of curly quotes on web sites was unreliable because of character set issues. However, that seems to be mostly remedied now and as more blogging software provides for curly quotes, it was time to switch.
Confusingly, in my day job in localisation, I am instructed to make minimal use of any kind of quote marks, and only to use straight quotes in those situations where I do use quotes.
I was going to make this a voter incentive, but I'm going to show this to everyone instead as it explains some of the reasons why I'm spending so much time on the reruns:
(Click image for full view)
This is from the 40th page of the Corby Tribe serial that is currently running on the Drunk Duck mirror. So far, re-runs have involved only minor tweaks, but this one involves some major reworkings. I was never happy with that panel, and the original version as published on the site is actually much darker than shown here in a desperate attempt to hide Krakatoa's body. The pose gave me difficulties and still does, but I think the new version is much improved.
Most panels are not actually re-drawn, but the work still involves the following:
I can only predict the time per page for the final three operations, and that alone comes out at 45 minutes per update, nevermind what comes before. So we're still at an hour per update, and that means that to get far enough ahead to cover for the two months I'll be away starting in two weeks, I have to expend 60 hours, which I don't have. This weekend I managed 12 updates, and then had to switch to managing financial stuff related to me leaving the studio 9 months ago, which took up the rest of Sunday afternoon. Work on tomorrow's Feral update hasn't even started, so there will not in fact be an update. Again.
The good news here is that as getting as far ahead as I want to be is practically impossible, I'm going to stop trying next week. Instead I will gather up the materials I need to continue doing the work during my next stay with Aggie in the United States and spend as much time as possible cranking out Feral updates in whatever spare time I can find. So hopefully the days of fortnightly updates will soon be over.
Thumbnail of a character sketch for the spin-off character Fnord. Click to vote for Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan on Top Web Comics and see the full sketch
I haven't been working on this spin-off lately - the Corby Tribe remasters have been taking up all the time I was going to set aside for that. I need to get at least two whole months ahead with that project to assure daily updates without interruptions (not being able to run a re-run without interruptions would just embarrass me to death). Also, the simpler work process of the latest Feral update has made the workload of that seem less daunting and I now think I'll be able to keep up with weekly updates again. But the project is still on.
To vote, click on the link. You will be asked to click a button twice to confirm that you are voting for this comic and that you're not a bot or script that automates voting (you will be shocked and scandalized to hear that people have apparently done that in the past). The final page in the process has the vote incentive image. Vote incentive images will only be available until they are replaced, so you will have to vote today to see these sketches; there will be new incentive art up tomorrow.
(Or if you've come to this post via a web search, why not simply visit the comic this post is promoting, Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan?)
Chad Orzel at Uncertain Principles has started what looks like a series of posts on the physics of fairy tales. The first one, The Faulty Thermodynamics of Children's Stories, discusses the bowls of porridge in Goldilocks and the Three Bears:
After all, the Papa Bear, being the biggest, presumably has the largest bowl of porridge. Here, the story fits what we know about thermodynamics, as the largest bowl should take the longest time to cool, and thus should be the hottest at any time before the porridge bowls reach thermal equilibrium with their environment.
The description provided of the other two bowls, though, is not consistent with known physics. The Mama Bear, as the other adult, ought to have the second-largest bowl of porridge, which, in turn, ought to be the second-warmest bowl of porridge (assuming that equilibrium has not been reached). But the story says that this bowl is too cold! Meanwhile, the Baby Bear, who ought to have the smallest portion of porridge, has a bowl that is "just right," neither too not nor too cold. As the smallest bowl, though, the Baby Bear's porridge ought to be the coldest of the three (until equilibrium is reached, of course). There is no way for the bowls as described to have the temperatures described, while being consistent with the known laws of thermodynamics.
The only way that the story can make sense is if, for some reason, the Mama Bear has the smallest portion of porridge. In which case, this is a story with a very different moral than the original-- it's a story about the oppression of the Mama Bear, either because the patriarchy is forcing her to eat only the scraps left behind after her husband and child have had their fill, or because the unhealthy woodland media culture has saddled her with a negative body image, leading to an eating disorder.
and several dozen commenters fall over one another to deliver alternative explanations for this thermodynamical conundrum and challenging the underlying assumptions that the bowls were identical apart from their dimensions or that the three servings of porridge were served at the same temperature to begin with. I love this literal-minded kind of stuff. Show me a website that demonstrates empirically exactly how useless a chocolate teapot is, and I'm a happy nerd.
Prof. Orzel has already followed up with Fairy-Tale Physics 2: Spinning Gold which is about the nuclear physics of Rumpelstiltskin. Meanwhile, fellow Scienceblogger Matt Springer of Built on Facts has followed Prof. Orzel's lead and disusses The Physics of Rapunzel, specifically how much the mechanical problems of dropping that much hair down and bearing the weight of the Prince on it.
Elsewhere, and on a completely different subject, Robert Farley at Lawyers, Guns and Money has finally taken the time to write the post I've needed for years, one in which the stereotype of the French as having a cowardly military is examined and debunked. Actually, most of the debunking is done by the commenters - there's some excellent historical debate in that there post. So read both the post and the comments, pretty much all of them.
Thumbnail of some weirdness found on my hard drive. Click to vote for ROCR on Top Web Comics and see the weirdness in its full glory!
I first became aware of the fact that this file was damaged about a year ago when I was sorting through the master files for the wallpapers on the wallpapers and other downloads page, which is a very popular part of the site that needed revamping. At the time I thought "that looks weird", went on looking for an uncorrupted version, and found none. I did have multiple formats for the published files though. The only real consequence is that I will be unable to make new versions as more and more people go to widescreen, so the wallpaper itself will reach its end-of-life a little earlier than the others.
Upon seeing it again today, I thought "Hey, that actually looks interesting in a freaky way", so I decided to call it art and show it to you as a vote incentive. It may even be possible to convert it into a new psychedelic wallpaper if people are interested...
To vote, click on the link. You will be asked to click a button twice to confirm that you are voting for this comic and that you're not a bot or script that automates voting (you will lose what is left of your already tenuous faith in humanity upon hearing that people have apparently done that in the past). The final page in the process has the vote incentive image. Vote incentive images will only be available until they are replaced, so you will have to vote today to see these sketches; there will be new incentive art up tomorrow.
(Or if you've come to this post via a web search, why not simply visit the comic this post is promoting, Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan?)
Thumbnail of one panel from the comic I did for Webcomics Awareness Day 2003. Click to vote for ROCR on Top Web Comics and see the whole crazy thing!
"Web Comics What?", I hear you ask.
"Web Comics Awareness Day", I answer. Yes, there once was such an event, crazy though it may seem now, or indeed back then. Once upon a time, I was a member of a mailinglist for webcartoonists, and one of the ideas that came from that group in about 2001 was that the work webcartoonists put into their comics wasn't always appreciated enough even by the small minority of the population that read them, and that the unfamiliarity of the new medium was hurting it among non-readers. If you told your great-auntie Gladys your hobby was making webcomics, she'd go "Huh?", and if you told it to your future father in law while asking his daughter's hand in marriage, he'd pull out his shotgun and chase you out of the house and the engagement would be off and everyone would be very sorry. Meanwhile, your readers would be getting on your case to update every day, on time and at perfect quality, no matter how much of your night's sleep you'd lose or how badly your former future father in law had injured you with his shotgun, but they wouldn't pay you for your time and/or your product. So a lot of us webcartoonists were feeling very misunderstood and sorry for ourselves. So someone got the idea that they'd declare one day of the year, May 5, "Webcomics Awareness Day" and all participating webcartoonists would do special comics explaining what a webcomic was, how it was different from regular comics and how much largely unrewarded work went into making one, and you'd damned well better appreciate us, you non-webcomic-making proles in the audience. Amazingly, the event lasted four years.
I took part in 2003, when I was sharing a studio with another webcartoonist, Jeroen Jager who was making Capn at the time. I told him I was making something for Webcomics Awareness Day and he went "Huh?". He was right. The whole idea was stupid. But I did get a nice comic out of it, and some incoming hits from the website on the day itself and some weeks after. Please note that the image is much larger than most vote incentives so far and will take some time to load.
To vote, click on the link. You will be asked to click a button twice to confirm that you are voting for this comic and that you're not a bot or script that automates voting (you will lose what is left of your already tenuous faith in humanity upon hearing that people have apparently done that in the past). The final page in the process has the vote incentive image. Vote incentive images will only be available until they are replaced, so you will have to vote today to see these sketches; there will be new incentive art up tomorrow.
(Or if you've come to this post via a web search, why not simply visit the comic this post is promoting, Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan?)
Thumbnail of a line art version of the Gnomian Institute wallpaper. Click to vote for Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan on Top Web Comics to see the full image
Despite infrequent additions, the wallpapers and other downloads are still a very successful part of the site. I really ought to add to them some time. I keep meaning to do more downloadable comics but for some reason I always have a hard time doing the final bit of work - the cover art and final production. Compared to a few years ago, the master files are in much better shape for it, so a flood of e-books is not unlikely over time.
To vote, click on the link. You will be asked to click a button twice to confirm that you are voting for this comic and that you're not a bot or script that automates voting (shockingly, people have apparently done that in the past). The final page in the process has the vote incentive image. Vote incentive images will only be available until they are replaced, so you will have to vote today to see these sketches; there will be new incentive art up tomorrow.
(Or if you've come to this post via a web search, why not simply visit the comic this post is promoting, Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan?)
Thumbnail of the line art for the Grimborg illustration. Click to vote for Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan on Top Web Comics and see the full drawing.
Despite infrequent additions, the wallpapers and other downloads are still a very successful part of the site. I really ought to add to them some time. I keep meaning to do more downloadable comics but for some reason I always have a hard time doing the final bit of work - the cover art and final production. Compared to a few years ago, the master files are in much better shape for it, so a flood of e-books is not unlikely over time.
To vote, click on the link. You will be asked to click a button twice to confirm that you are voting for this comic and that you're not a bot or script that automates voting (you will lose what is left of your already tenuous faith in humanity upon hearing that people have apparently done that in the past). The final page in the process has the vote incentive image. Vote incentive images will only be available until they are replaced, so you will have to vote today to see these sketches; there will be new incentive art up tomorrow.
(Or if you've come to this post via a web search, why not simply visit the comic this post is promoting, Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan?)
Reinder Dijkhuis is a translator and cartoonist living in Hoogezand, the Netherlands. He is married, with two stepkids, a dog and cat, and a bevvy of sporadic co-bloggers.
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