How far do you go with onomatopoeias? (+poll!)

[DokiDokiTsuna]

This is the first discussion topic I've started in over a month (and it's very similar to a topic I started long ago)...looks like I'm in a rut again. ^^; Hopefully this will be the first step out of it.

• Level 0: NO onomatopoeias of any kind! Convey events with either pictures or dialogue; NO in-between!
• Level 1: I might throw in a 'BOOM' for an explosion or some other kind of extreme sound, but that's about it.
• Level 2: Creaking doors, falling rain, and mysterious footsteps deserve recognition!
• Level 3: If my character turns their head, I WILL write 'turn'.

Show results

I am a strict Level 1. I hate that onomatopoeias are a thing that has to exist; in my own words 'they are a necessary evil'. I use as few as I can get away with...

No disrespect to those who are Level 2's and 3's, though. My dislike for using onomatopoeias is more of a personal preference thing, like my dislike for drawing backgrounds. For some people, it's more or less part of their style.

And of course, onomatopoeias are more prevalent in manga, just in general, particularly the Level 3 things like 'turn', 'glance', and 'step'. So if you learned your craft from manga, even if you're a Western artist, it's understandable that techniques like that would seep into your work. I still draw vertically-oriented speech bubbles; I know the struggle. XD Old habits die hard...

[PaulieBlade]

I feel pretty much the same way as you do, @DokiDokiTsuna - I wish my art spoke for itself and only use onomatopeias when they are necessary - such as phone ringing. I don't really hate them, though... Perhaps my biggest problem is that I feel that my own designs are just bad and I don't want to use presets.

[rmdooley]

Level 2.

Only because I'm not bold enough for Level 3.

[azzy-m]

I'd say I'm Level 1, but sometimes if it's unclear what the character's doing I might write "turn", or something similar.

[DualDragons]

As the option says, i only use it for notable sounds like explosions, flames and such

[Iris-Grimoire]

I'm at level 2/3 - as long as that's the sound I want to be focusing on, be that a foot tapping or rain, I'll write onomatopoeia, but also proportional to how important it actually is to the scene. You don't have to have chatter fill the screen unless the characters are screaming over it, but a scene where everyone's quiet and they hear footsteps loses all its punch if people just suddenly turn around to the source of the "sound".

I don't like unsound effects though. We can see turning, the page gutter or an identical frame can replace "blinks", and uhh awakening isn't a noise but some people use it anyway, and it feels like page filler. It has to make a sound, like someone breathing heavily doing a 'huff...', not "breathe".

[Hodge]

Ahh I see. I tend to really want to do Level 3 but it feels so awkward writing it, so I'm more of a Level 1/2.

[kaiyaweird]

Firm Level 2. For now, although I don't necessarily see myself going to 3.

[AilyneGouveia]

I think i'm level 2 ^.^

[nathanKmcwilliams]

I go level 3 for comedic effect but usually stay at 2. I love the cheesy sfx from Silver Age comics so I have no shame xD

[IndigoShirtProd]

I'm a level 2 though I think it's because of manga. Manga has tons of sfx on every page so I try to replicate that. It's not as distracting as one might think.

[AVXP]

Damn, this is a well-written poll and you actually have ALL the choices. lol
I like them. It's one of those things that make comics look like comics.
That and the speech balloons. double lol.

Perhaps my biggest problem is that I feel that my own designs are just bad and I don't want to use presets.

I had a product on the way that was going to be a sound effect library, but I found that I needed to make them in 40 different styles or leave them plain enough for customization, which also seems to defeat the purpose.

For some books, I have each one and tweak it a bit for every use and others, I created a style and can simply use that style with every sound. Making a hard decision on technique helps a lot.

I remember, early in, trying to think "What font looks like a flame sound?"
Yuck.

[MrTwennysebben]

I'm about a 1.5 if I'm honest. I don't think absolutely every action needs a sound effect but if a phone is ringing or if characters are performing actions that would usually result in a noticeable noise then yeah, I'm putting onomatopoeia in the comic. Just looking through my last few strips I'm noticing "clink!" "psht" "tunk" "boop boop" and "boodle-oodle" are all included, but I won't normally do more than that.

I do, however, like it when people include onomatopoeia when it's something absurd. I don't remember where I saw it but a character was sporting a monocle, and when they were surprised by something the monocle popped off of their face with the sound effect literally being "MONOCLE!" so from time to time I'll throw in something like "slump" or "stretch" for emphasis.

Edit: Oh! Found it.

[Rhonder]

I'm a low-to-mid level 2, I think. I don't use tons and tons of onomatopoeia in general, but I do do them for a variety of things beyond just basic explosions and such. Although I did notice that when I started my one shot I was doing like a looooot of it and then kinda toned it down over time lol. Like the first few pages have all sorts of sounds in almost every panel:

Later I started toning it down and trying to be a little more selective, or use it to frame things or move eyes around the page instead of being there just to be there:

Although still with a healthy amount of booms where applicable lol

and then most rarely I'll emphasize an action with level 3'ish stuff like this, but not at all often:

So yeah, like level 2-ish

[PaulieBlade]

I came to the conclusion that whenever I need an onomatopoeia, I will try to use my own handwriting rather than rely on fonts (one of the reason being not being sure which one would be proper). Maybe that's not the smartest decision, but I would like to believe the result can be alright:

[AVXP]

I sometimes feel, when they are used too much- that they describe EVERY sound that occurs and then NOT using them denotes silence. It actually seems to have the opposite effect and removes sound from the location.

Especially when you do unimportant sounds, like creaks and taps. (obviously, unimportant in context)
Writing out motions is a new thing.
I haven't gotten use to that.

But it's also weird to use real (properly spelled) words for sound effects...
Like the above crash...is it the sound of a crashing object or the description of a crashing object?

Like Crashing the bottle over someones' head
or
the bottle made a crashing noise as it shattered against the garbage can.

I tend to make the sound for real and then try to write/sound out- what it would be spelled like.

[PaulieBlade]

I see your point and in a way I agree, but I am not a native English speaker and trust me, if I tried to replicate an actual sound and spell it in a "believable English way" it would turn out grotesque.

[AVXP]

Well, I think- as long as you're consistent, your audience will learn your rules.
Is it BOOM every time there's an explosion?

Or BA-WOOM - or BA-BOOM or KA-BOOM or Ka-BLAU or
KRAKla-BOOM - Kra-KOW - Ba-ZOW etc....

I guess that's called consistent variety. lol

[Darth_Biomech]

I try to use them sparingly. Often if I feel that it is necessary to help understand what's happening, or helps to add to the reading experience, or can't be conveyed through the image alone, so something like Level 1.3-1.5, I think? I'll round up, so let's call that Level 2.