[.ethereality]

[[NovaPirate]]

[.ethereality] by [NovaPirate] also known as [.npProductions]​

I'm not entirely sure what got you to look at this thread (Maybe the cool title, or the fact that you had never seen it before), but since this is my thread, I'm pretty darn happy that you're looking at it. Well, this is a sprite comic. Although I'm not notorious for created sprite comics of a tad higher quality that eventually crash-and-buuurn, that's pretty much what happens. So, I'm hoping that with a tight fanbase I might be coaxed into not ditching this. I also hope at reviving this place, but that's going to come later. Anyway, without much further ado, I give you [.ethereality]...

Alright. [.ethereality] follows the story of a group of young trainers-to-be with hopes of traveling all over an aged Kanto and battling the remaining gyms. However, they soon discover that things are not what they seem, and that Kanto has aged in very different ways, giving many strange results. They start on a grand standard journey, but will soon find themselves being one of the last hopes of Kanto and stuck in a quest to stop the forces of evil before reality becomes a thing of the distant past.

[.season 0]

-[Pilot 1][0.1][Grand Adventures]
[The group starts off. I know there are some errors, but the comic was a bit rushed. I know they're there, but what I want is whether you think this comic is good enough to continue.]


A lot of stuff is going to be added to the page as time progresses. Character Information (Of course), a sign up sheet (Yes, you'll see why there will be a need for a sign up sheet as time progresses), etc. But for now, let me get to work on things, especially the comic itself. As things settle down and I can work out a consistently available block of time I'll start working on the thread sporadically. As for sign ups, they should come either midway or towards the end of the first season, which is around ten 'episodes' long, although not exactly.

[.notes]
Anytime I make a significant update to the page, or someone makes a reasonable suggestion I will post it in the notes section, just so you can see what's changed, and I can remember if anyone has said something I probably need to remember. It's for both amusement and for actual use. Enjoy it. It will be refreshed every two months, if it gets as long as I suspect it will. It will work alongside the page update below the post.

- 5.2.09 Page created
-- Pilot posted, notes section added, credits section added

[.sign ups][.CLOSED]
For now, sign ups are closed. Please do not ask to join, because I will not make exceptions. Sign ups are divided into three categories, depending on what I need. Either Main Characters [Self-explanatory], Recurring characters [Will appear every once in a while, may join party for an arc], and cameos [Will appear in cities or as random gym battlers. Pop up every once in a while]. You will need a character sheet with original sprites made/edited [They must be original in some way] by YOU [I don't care if you have the creator's permission, I'm trying to avoid all kinds of theft entirely], and Pokemon must be realistic and at a similar level to the heroes, with the exception of some cameos. You must provide all sprites, and post non-spammy posts consistently after your character joins, or else you will join the legion of characters sent away to 'The Farm.'


[.credits]

Spoiler:

-Beco [For inspiration, and I might have stolen his style with Ben's hair :DD]
-tSR [For most of my maps and sprites]
--In specific, I would like to thank the following rippers
-silentninja [Fr/Lg Overworlds]
-Sapphire_Draon [For Saffron & Silph Co. [aka Oak Industries]]
-redblueyellow [PMD2 Sprites]
-Lemon [Ranger Attack Effects]
--Pikachu Trainer [Also for Ranger attack effects, although Lemon ripped many more]

 

[Robert Conley]

good starting id relly like to see where this story goes

 

[mangaroll]

^Exactly.=p

Can't wait to see how this stuff looks like.=p

 

[[NovaPirate]]

Thankies, although you could be a bit more specific with what you like and don't like.
I'm working on the second pilot right now, so that should be up evening [My time].

 

[Involuntary Twitch]

Fun! I do rather wish you'd edited the characters beyond the default hero sprites... even just a recolor would do. :/ But, whatever-- your comic's presentation is auspicious and interesting, I have high hopes for it. :3

One thing I'd suggest fixing quick is your text boxes-- I actually like the partial transparency you've got going, but the "tails" seem awkwardly thin, y'know what I mean? Make them thicker from where they originate at the speech bubble and then tapering off as they reach towards the character. Also, when you have loads and loads of characters like that, I'd reccommend giving each person a different color for talking, especially when it gets cluttered.

I'm keeping an eye on this thread!~

 

[[NovaPirate]]

Default hero sprites? Did you you not notice Ben?
I intend on editing each hero in turn, making them colorful and more like Ben, except I intend on getting rid of one or two early on.
As for the colors, I guess I can do that post-pilot, when I start fixing things.
But for the speech tails are staying the way they are, just a pixel bigger than now.
Thanks for the crit and everything tho.

 

[Matt Silver]

.Interesting... note the "." before the interesting part!

Man, I gotta say I'm intrigued so far by your plot synopsis. And I'm intrigued that someone actually posted a comic on this old forum.

Few spelling errors and the like, but nothing glaringly awful. I like the speech bubbles, with the different look and all. I'll stick around and watch this space, why not! Keep it up, then.

 

[Gary the Magic Fairy]

Hm.. I can't say I'm very interested in this, based on the first one. Not much really happens. Of course, it's only the first, so I'm sure things will get better in the next few comics.

Also, I agree with ZephyrPlusle on the speech bubbles needing work. Those tails blend in too much with the background. I had to look around the edges to find out who was talking. If you insist on keeping them that way, I would recommend at least making the tails opaque. Though I think making them 2 pixels thick would also make them a bit easier to follow.

Your speech bubbles themselves look.. cramped. I believe it's mostly due to the fact that, in some places, there is only 1 pixel from the text to the edge of the bubble. In the bubbles where there are at least 2 pixels between them, it looks much nicer.

Other than that, I can't really find any other visual problems.. except maybe that blue person. The colors don't seem to go well with the rest. They look bright and out of place, and the outlines are too light and almost make him blend in with the background. Not a huge issue, but he stands out way more than the rest... and not necessarily in a good way.

The dialogue, while not having very many grammatical errors, is.. slightly awkward.

Gaah. Such a normal day for Saffron. It's weird!

I don't know what he's talking about. Is it normal? Is it weird? Is being "normal" weird? That "!" also puts an odd emphasis on the "It's weird" part. I don't know why that part would be shouted or said in excitement, but the "Gaah" wouldn't.

Of course, excluding the parade of young boys marching towards the Oak Labs building.

So wait, that part isn't weird? or it is weird, and therefore, normal? There's so many little contradictions in this first panel. Also, "The Oak Labs building"? That "the" kinda threw me off. Why not just call it "Oak's Lab"? or "Oak's Lab building"?
The second panel's 2nd & 3rd bubbles seem odd to me, too. I don't get why he thinks they shouldn't have showed up at his house. I mean, isn't it on the way to the lab? And then, Michelle says that they did need to? It just seems strange.
Also, you forgot to bold "Michelle."
My biggest confusion was from the next 2 panels: 3 & 4.

"I don't know which I'm gonna pick..."
"Err.. what?"
"Oops! I meant I don't know which starter I will pick."

Ok, wtf else is there to "pick" at Oak's lab? Is Alyx just a complete idiot? Because that really isn't that confusing. And why does she say "Oops!"? That seems like an overreaction to someone not understanding you. It seems like a simple "Oh," would've sufficed.
Nothing really wrong in panel 5, except a tiny grammar error. There should be a comma after "Well".
As for 6.. the end is sorta anticlimactic. That would be a good place for a "!"