"I don't see any perceptible detriment. I have enjoyed the evolution of the various expressions you have developed for your 'Housepets' characters, and I can see you apply it to these more anthropomorphized ladies."

Nothing seems to be going right with the mother kangaroo. (Can't help but feel sorry for troubled characters like her).

It's a natural process. Don't worry about it. Over time your characters' looks evolve, and the changes are so subtle nobody notices them until they go back and look at the earliest work. Happens to every cartoonist.
Just look at Blacksad 1 http://www.livressedesmots.com/wp-c.....cksad1plan.jpg versus Blacksad 4: http://www.bdgest.com/prepub/Planches/746_P8.jpg

From this angle your doin just fine Rick.

i love your style ^.^

oh ouch! hehe but she too forget problem closet! X3

in a comic going off model isn't as big a deal as it would be in an animated production. That of course is in reference to mistakes and inconstancies (aka undesired changes), not in reference to the natural evolution of any given creators style over time, which of course is just a natural part of the process.


when in doubt, just remember your overall goal (which I presume is to tell a story), as long as an inconstancy isn't enough to distract or detract from telling the said story, then it is one you should forgive yourself for.

DON'T ask moment hehe

I have a feeling that these two may get close, really close... Just a feeling...

I wasn't aware that it was possible to stay on model :D

Well if you have six dozen line production assistants like you do in animation . . .

I think this is going very well in story flow and styling. A few panels are a bit off for character builds but nothing severe. I could point out what tweaks and bugs there are but I really don't see it as enough to warrant anything more then a general note. Your skill and talent is far superior to anything I could make X3. Keep learning and growing as an artist and writer and everything will just get better. Doing rather well as it is ^.^

I like the background. Reminds me of newspaper strip comics.

looks fine to me.

Everything looks great. :D

why worry about it personally i like the artistic evolution in your comics cause to me its like watching them grow up and mature...

Makes them feel real.

I have the same problems, but I really feel that, as long as it's a gradual change and the audience can follow which character is which in a comic, it's good to go off model. I look back on the graphic novel I'm working on now (I decided to do a complete draft before working on any finalized pages, which I am SOOOOO glad I did!), and the characters look so different, but now they look so much better! In comics and non-animated cartoons, going off model to some degree is perfectly acceptable, in my opinion.

I'm not much of an artist, especially when it comes to figures, but I don't think a few minor changes in model will irk anybody. Personality and actions make a character, not there appearance. An example of this is taking an iconic character, like Fisk Black of Better Days, no one would mistake him for a different character just because of the artists evolving style. The opposite would be the original re-design for Cole McGrath for inFamous 2, which looked nothing like the original Cole. People pointed this out and complained, so they improved it to actually look like the original characters.

It looks like you've been following the model sheets you designed for your characters, there are no major changes in their appearances, they're on model. They will change as you continue your story, but it looks to me that those changes will be subtile instead of radical. If you do more stories with them, they will evolve in the drawing process. All cartoon characters change over the years. The Popeye of 1929 looked almost nothing like the Popeye of 1933. The Simpsons of 1989 look absolutely nothing like the Simpsons of 2014. Out of curiosity, have you worked in animation?

I have not worked in animation!

Just wondering. It looks to me like you might've done some storyboarding somewhere along the line. By the way, page 17 is a funny payoff to the previous 6 pages. But then you set up the payoff gag on page 12. Kudos to you, I'm really looking forward to the rest of your story.

PS- S'funny you think you're a novice. Your drawing and writing skills are certainly professional. Believe me, I would know. Until I retired, I was one myself.

Perception of self is often skewed. I see myself as a novice because I'm comparing my numbers to made-up imaginary numbers I think are required to be professional.

The conventional definition of being a "professional" is that you make a living off your skills. However, over the years I've meet many creative people whose output is professional in every way shape and form, yet have chosen not to cash in on it for fear that making a living off their skills would destroy the joy of creativity for them. There's something to this. I used to work in animation, and met people who were unbelievable artists, but would not pick up a pencil once 5 o'clock rolled around, and would do anything except draw in their spare time. Too long in the trenches. Too much hack work done to survive. Too many disappointed expectations. Explanations all, but if they can cause blocks keeping you from creating except for money, they can also create a "hack" mentality- Your work is only barely as good as it needs to be and no better, and sometimes not even that. I remember my first job on a show called "Camp Candy"- The show's prop designer had given up completely. He wouldn't anything new, he'd just trace
something from a loose-leaf file binder, make minor adjustments to it, then turn it in to the director. And yet once he was a very creative guy. Now, I don't know if you're making a living off your work like Phil "Girl Genius" Folio does, but even if your aren't, by all standards your work is professional. You know what you're doing, and you do it exceptionally well. I'm not saying this as rank flattery, only to honor someone who's work I admire. And if you're making a living off your own work, more power to you, Rick. Being your own man is better than working for someone else, even if the weekly pay check is good and fat. So don't question yourself... You've got a lot on the ball. And I speak as a professional, though an ex-one- For the time being.

Your comic brings a tear to my eyes. I love them so much

your style is amazing and so detailed.

I think any worry about consistency in terms of character's and "..going off model..," will resolve itself with time.

But, frankly as a viewer I like what I see. If you're worried that the characters (being young so-to-speak) aren't looking the same each time, don't be. Frankly I think any natural variability just adds to the uniqueness of the comic here.

I was wondering what a "coif" for a carpet was.
A coif is a type of cap, popular in Christopher Columbus's era of medieval Europe... so I don't get how it applies to a carpet.

Short for coiffure: "a person's hairstyle, typically an elaborate one."

I don't notice anything for my perception, so your variance is probably well withing the realm of "difference of angles". Good you notice and try to push yourself forward! But your work is more than "good enough"; you're great.

If your characters change over time, that's called "getting even better", and it's not something bad.

I see no problem, here.

Hey man, staying "On model" is all part of the process. Some days you got it, some days you don't. Why does that happen, who knows, but when you're doing sequential art your bound to have a drawing day where nothing is hitting the mark how you want it to. It's natural.

PS. you're also going to find, the more you draw these characters for this comic the more they will indeed visual change over time as you'll consciously or subconsciously begin tweaking them, so your initial modelsheets are going to become more suggestions than hard fact rules of thumb as time goes on.