Would you qualify this as a comic or not?

[xkdeSskf]

This is definitely something very interesting and worth looking into!
According to google, a comic is "a periodical containing comic strips(intended chiefly for children)". Although that is the definition, I don't think this won't be counted as a comic entirely.
Sure, there are not exactly 'comic strips' but most importantly there are characters with conversations drawn all out with a plot.
So for me, it'll be a comic!

[Gabbi]

Comics are a much bigger medium than most people realize.
Comics or 'sequential art' are basically just images in an order that tells a story.
This kind of comic is definitely unsual, but also very interesting!

[adkahdj]

Thank you both for your replies.

What you say make me a comic book creator and I hardly feel like one! It would feel awkward if I was to say that I create comic books in my free time. And people would have expectations that would not match what I actually do.

Anyway, it's interesting to have different opinions

I use this format because my drawing skills are very poor. I found arranging pixel art tiles and sprites created by real designers a good way to illustrates my stories and be a bit creative.

[adkahdj]

I never think about it a comic but this might fit your defintions as well in that case (it reads from top to bottom).

[TroyVSTheWorld]

Is it a comic? Eh, you might debate the definition. Is it a WEBCOMIC? Oh, without a doubt!

[redfish]

I think that's a very unique approach and def can be called a webcomic!

[darthmongoose]

If Homestuck can be considered a Webcomic, this definitely can!

[adkahdj]

Webcomic it will be then. Thanks all for your replies.

I think that's a very unique approach

It is actually even more unique than you think because the illustrations are not images but 'code' (CSS box shadows. The bigger illustrations on the left are actually a set of tiles each represented by a div - for those in the know).

@darthmongoose I can't believe I never heard about homestuck before. I have had a look at the site and the wikipedia page and it's definitely something I will explore.

[Mar_Sadeh]

Homestuck frightens me. This is not a joke. Every time I hear about it from people who like it, it can be described as something like, "I hate Homestuck. I love Homestuck. I'm obsessed with it. It ruined my life. It's amazing. It's terrible. Read it now. Run away as fast as you can. It will destroy you." Such a bizarre reaction has frankly made me too scared to be willing to look into it beyond the most cursory of glances.

[darthmongoose]

Hahahaha, I mean... speaking as somebody who did track art on two of the official albums and has been an admin and voice actor on the most popular unofficial dub of the series for over a decade (Let's Read Homestuck. Our dub legit has Dante Basco in it somehow )... I'd definitely say it's kind of one of those things that tends to create a passionate, intense reaction in people. For some people it's intense aversion, and for others it kind of deeply resonates. There's nothing quite like Homestuck, and honestly it's an experience I'd recommend to at least try once, though keeping in mind that it hasn't aged well in places!

....Don't read the epilogues or especially Homestuck^2 though. They will bring you only sadness and not the closure you'll want.

[TroyVSTheWorld]

The exact point of reference I was thinking of. Webcomics can do what normal comics can't, so remember to push what you can do on this platform!

[Mar_Sadeh]

You misunderstand slightly. I mean when I talk to someone about it, they say both those things. Not that person A is deeply enthralled and person B despises it, but somehow person A experiences both things at once. The only word I can think of to describe this is "bipolar" in its classical sense, that being "of two extremes" (not the mental disorder, which is why I didn't use the word in my initial post).

[TroyVSTheWorld]

It's because the comic introduces a large cast of both human and alien characters, as well as a unique romance system for said aliens. So, basically there's a huge investment for shippers, and chances are there's gonna be a character you really like that gets killed off. It's known to impact it's readers a lot.

[RedLenai]

More than a comic, which I believe it could be despite it's uniqueness. I'm in part a bit more inclined to call it a visual novel since... well, it kind of reminds me of them, you mostly read but click to achieve more parts of a story but, since it is not a game but a game-looking image narrating events and the sequences/panels are done within the classic NES RPG style...

Then yes! It is a comic!

[adkahdj]

Webcomics can do what normal comics can't, so remember to push what you can do on this platform!

This quote is from a comment that was in a reply to darthmongoose but since I have read it I have been wondering if this specific part was directed to me ? Because even if it wasn't I am now thinking of 'pushing what I can on this platform'.

[TroyVSTheWorld]

Well, for example, you can use animated gif images, or transparency and layers (which, okay, semantics, you can technically do that with traditional art). Here, specifically, you have an endlessly scrolling canvas instead of pages to flip through. And, if we were off of tapas and talking HTML, what if, say, this retro-video-game-styled comic had options for you to click on, and/or accompanying chiptune music in the background? Fundamentally it's all just a little bit different, comics being both created AND read on a digital format instead of a traditional style.

I advocate for artists to try and push the boundaries of their creativity because someone just might discover SOMETHING. Sometimes things right beneath everyone's noses, too. Anywho, this idea you've got already seems fairly innovative enough, so try not to think about it too much. If you're working on a page and have a new idea, just don't be afraid to test it out!

[adkahdj]

Thanks for your reply and the encouragement. I have been mostly sharing my work on Japanese learning communities and joining this community of comic creators is refreshing.

I don't want to get too much into the details but I have set a rule that what I'm creating is a story and it will only be composed of static pages. I already have enough work planned for the next decade so I don't want to add tech stuff to it !

[powerplantanimations]

I just want to let you know that this is the one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen in comics. Ngl I'm really jealous I didn't come up with this lmao. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

[adkahdj]

Thanks for the compliment @powerplantanimations . It's so good that I doubt it is for me! As I said somewhere else on this forum, my drawing skills are the ones of a 6 years old and I really wanted to be able to illustrate my stories.

The idea of the format first came when I was trying to create an illustrated version of Final Fantasy 7 in easy Japanese (See below the English version).

I was already using pixel art converted to CSS on my site like this ( using this tool).

I once asked on a forum dedicated to learning Japanese (90% of Japanese learners are software developpers) if someone would be interested in making me a tool that could be used to combine the output of the tool mentioned above. TheCodingFox came back a few days later with this amazing tool.

All I have to do to create the illustrations is :
- buy or download for free video game tiles from dedicated websites,
- import them to pixelartcss
- copy the css output into TheCodingFox tool
- and then I can place the tiles on a grid and export the result as a webpage.

You can find the result here https://drdru.github.io/twc.html

The workflow could be improved but it's overall very smooth.

[system]

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