Bud Backer Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 This is brilliant. Again.Yeah, saw the white smoke. Couldn't see anything on the wheels and tracks, but after scrutinizing it seems you blurred them a little to make a "moving" motion in a still picture?Or do I need new glasses?I should post a reminder in my opening post for people to click on the images to get them full screen. You'll be positive it isn't your glasses then! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 Cool, a new one. Looking forward to it. They keep getting better with each iteration.Bud, Yep, looking good. We are back in the CAAR business. Always a welcome sight.Heinrich505Great stuff! Love AARs!I'm hooked Bud, can't wait for more!Yes, here we go again. Woohoo.Thanks a lot, guys, your enthusiasm makes it all worthwhile. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) Bud, Yes, very nice blur effect to them both. Good effect. Hauptmann Warner needs to get Annaliese OUT of Konigsberg now...oh wait, this is September 1944. Well, it is probably too late... The horror has already hit at the end of August. Most of the city and much of the population has been incinerated by now from a bombing raid. No wonder he hasn't heard anything from Annaliese. If she has survived, under no circumstances should she go to Gotenhafen and board the MV Wilhelm Gustloff in the coming months. Heinrich505Glad you like the effects, Heinrich. I must give some credit to @Bil Hardenberger for giving me some ideas. I am trying constantly to learn and evolve, and this comic is a bit of an exercise in simplicity. You may have caught on that there are a great deal fewer onomatopoeia on each panel, as I try to let the scene show what is happening rather than spelling it all out. It's an experiment I hope works out ok. As for Annaliese Warner, it's a delight that you caught the reference to what was happening at this point in the war on the Eastern Front. Edited March 8, 2016 by Bud Backer 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnarly Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Did you guys see the wheels and tracks on the Panther in the last panel, and the exhaust smoke? Very nice; I totally missed it; I think because that panel had a 'conversation pane' (old friends reminiscing) I wasn't looking at the detail, because my mind wasn't expecting 'action'... Though I do remember being surprised that you didn't have a 'Grrrr' noise to enunciate the tank rotating into position. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 Very nice; I totally missed it; I think because that panel had a 'conversation pane' (old friends reminiscing) I wasn't looking at the detail, because my mind wasn't expecting 'action'... Though I do remember being surprised that you didn't have a 'Grrrr' noise to enunciate the tank rotating into position.Yeah, no Rrrrmmmmmbbbllll for reasons mention in my reply to Heinrich above. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baneman Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Another eager reader here of course. Getting better all the time.Sometimes I think I should try and learn PS or somesuch because my AAR(s) are going to be left in the dust by all this quality work.( OTOH, do I want to increase the time-sink ? ) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 Another eager reader here of course. Getting better all the time.Sometimes I think I should try and learn PS or somesuch because my AAR(s) are going to be left in the dust by all this quality work.( OTOH, do I want to increase the time-sink ? )Your AARs have my attention. I don't think they want for anything. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hank24 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Followed all your CAAR's, this one looks phantastic, even in black & white. Nice way to show the flashback. But I hope the colour to come back sometime later ...Thank you for all the effort, can't wait for the next panel. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 Followed all your CAAR's, this one looks phantastic, even in black & white. Nice way to show the flashback. But I hope the colour to come back sometime later ...Thank you for all the effort, can't wait for the next panel.Thank you, Hank. I hope to have a chance to prepare the next group tonight. Regarding my colour (or lack thereof) choices:When I think of the battle for Normandy, I visualize things often in colour. There seems to be an abundance of colour photographs from that campaign and that makes it easy. But when I visualize North Africa, I see it almost exclusively in black and white. Colour photos of the North African campaign to me were incredibly rare. So much so that when I saw Eliot Elisophon's colour photographs from when he accompanied Patton on the Tunisian campaign, I felt they had an unreal quality to them. There was something wrong about them. Now I'm not at all knocking his skills, or talent. I'd have had the same problem with anyone taking colour photos from the North African campaign. Just the way my minds eye sees that part of the war. That is why I've eschewed the colour look for our little adventure near Tobruk. It is interesting, because I took exactly the same screenshot and made a good colour enhancement, and a black and white version to compare, before I made a decision. While the human mind prefers colour as we see in that fashion the world around us, the black and white version stood out as somehow less like a shot from a game and more like a photo. I actually let someone else look at the same thing and make the same comparison, and without my saying what my preference was, they said exactly the same thing. Of course, this is my vision, and not everyone will agree and I naturally respect that. I could well be making a terrible mistake in how this is presented. I guess we'll see? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 I like the B&W style. Perhaps a starker contrast can give the feel of the blazing sun and heat. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Regarding my colour (or lack thereof) choices:When I think of the battle for Normandy, I visualize things often in colour. There seems to be an abundance of colour photographs from that campaign and that makes it easy. But when I visualize North Africa, I see it almost exclusively in black and white. Colour photos of the North African campaign to me were incredibly rare. So much so that when I saw Eliot Elisophon's colour photographs from when he accompanied Patton on the Tunisian campaign, I felt they had an unreal quality to them. There was something wrong about them. Now I'm not at all knocking his skills, or talent. I'd have had the same problem with anyone taking colour photos from the North African campaign. Just the way my minds eye sees that part of the war. That is why I've eschewed the colour look for our little adventure near Tobruk. It is interesting, because I took exactly the same screenshot and made a good colour enhancement, and a black and white version to compare, before I made a decision. While the human mind prefers colour as we see in that fashion the world around us, the black and white version stood out as somehow less like a shot from a game and more like a photo. I actually let someone else look at the same thing and make the same comparison, and without my saying what my preference was, they said exactly the same thing. Of course, this is my vision, and not everyone will agree and I naturally respect that. I could well be making a terrible mistake in how this is presented. I guess we'll see? FWIW, I concur. The vast majority of photos of the war are B&W and nearly all from NA prior to Operation Torch are B&W, especially the most interesting, dramatic, and historically significant ones are. So they are what we see in books. After Torch, when the US Army became engaged in significant numbers, more color photos begin to enter the stream and there are many memorable ones from Tunisia. Still, again, the overwhelming majority of photos of the war are B&W.BTW as a side note, several years ago I bought a DVD from the Digital Archives or whatever it was called, that had thousands of B&W photos of the war. It had pretty complete coverage of every campaign of the war and I don't believe I ever got around to viewing even half of them. I'll poke around and see if I still have it. I used to receive e-mails from the company once or twice a month with offers, but it has been well over a year since the last time I heard from them, so I don't know if they have shut down their operation or not.Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 I like the B&W style. Perhaps a starker contrast can give the feel of the blazing sun and heat.That had crossed my mind as well as I looked at the finished panels. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 ^^^Interesting I was thinking that the posts you already made showed the sun and heat really well.I like the B&W as a way of showing the flash back. BTW doing a flash back does kinda give away that our main character survives. Not that I think that is a problem or anything. Although after watching Legends a while back perhaps not... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 ^^^Interesting I was thinking that the posts you already made showed the sun and heat really well.Yeah, I think I misread the comment - I thought he meant the higher contrast already made it look like sunny and hot. I've played with the contrast and while I could boost it more, and make it look like some photos from the period, it will also reduce detail and impact comprehension of what is happening and what is it one is seeing. It's easy enough when one shoots a PzIII racing in the desert relatively close up, but to show a scene comprising dozens of men and vehicles the reader may struggle to make out what is happening.of course, as I do this comic I'll learn and explore stuff that I can apply to the next one where I repeat the black and white presentation. I like the B&W as a way of showing the flash back. BTW doing a flash back does kinda give away that our main character survives. Not that I think that is a problem or anything. Although after watching Legends a while back perhaps not...Yeah, because it's a flashback I've reduce the worry-factor for the reader. Damn. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baneman Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Yeah, because it's a flashback I've reduce the worry-factor for the reader. Damn. He could still conceivably receive a "red-base" WIA ... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 He could still conceivably receive a "red-base" WIA ... But the comic is in black and white! There is no red! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnarly Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) I'm quite enjoying the black and white TBH. BTW, I did see the motion blur of the armored car wheels this time... Not sure if I'm a fan of sending the armoured car off by itself like that though...... I do love the 'wide angle' shot of the whole recce group hull down in the wadi; it really immerses you in the North Africa environment (I only just watched 'Sahara' (1943) a month ago for the first time!). Edited March 9, 2016 by gnarly 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Not sure if I'm a fan of sending the armoured car off by itself like that though......That was not at all uncommon in the desert where means were scarce and the area to be covered was huge. A single AC or other vehicle would be given a sector to watch or patrol. This they would do until they made contact with the enemy, when they would report and then either break off and run like hell or shadow from a safe distance. It would be up to the guys with the heavy gear to engage or not. Only if what they spotted was something like a small unescorted convoy would they plunge in and shoot it up.Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnarly Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 That was not at all uncommon in the desert where means were scarce and the area to be covered was huge. A single AC or other vehicle would be given a sector to watch or patrol. This they would do until they made contact with the enemy, when they would report and then either break off and run like hell or shadow from a safe distance. It would be up to the guys with the heavy gear to engage or not. Only if what they spotted was something like a small unescorted convoy would they plunge in and shoot it up.MichaelGood to know, but I guess I'd personally feel more comfortable sending off a couple of less 'valuable' halftracks for pure recon, and keep the best firepower at home. If the AC gets picked off by say an 88, no-one will know (unless they spot the smoke plume in 30 minutes!), and there goes the recce groups most powerful (and only) AC... If the group had say 3 AC's I'd be more comfortable. But then, everyone has their style/approach! And I don't own a CM WW2 game yet, so take my opinions with a pork barrel of salt! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 I'm quite enjoying the black and white TBH.Great! And the fact you caught the wheels of the armoured car is great news as well. The images are supposed to be quite sharp, to make any such motion blur stand out. I do love the 'wide angle' shot of the whole recce group hull down in the wadi; it really immerses you in the North Africa environment (I only just watched 'Sahara' (1943) a month ago for the first time!).Ah, yes, the "vista" shot - that was its purpose. In a sense it's like photography, this stuff: trying to make a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional world be sufficient to impart a great sense of space and emptiness but not have the viewer lose themselves looking for what is supposed to catch their attention. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 That was not at all uncommon in the desert where means were scarce and the area to be covered was huge. A single AC or other vehicle would be given a sector to watch or patrol. This they would do until they made contact with the enemy, when they would report and then either break off and run like hell or shadow from a safe distance. It would be up to the guys with the heavy gear to engage or not. Only if what they spotted was something like a small unescorted convoy would they plunge in and shoot it up.MichaelSpot on; thanks, Michael. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Backer Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 Good to know, but I guess I'd personally feel more comfortable sending off a couple of less 'valuable' halftracks for pure recon, and keep the best firepower at home. If the AC gets picked off by say an 88, no-one will know (unless they spot the smoke plume in 30 minutes!), and there goes the recce groups most powerful (and only) AC...If an 88 shoots it, then there is a German gun crew in BIG trouble for a friendly fire incident. Not only is the 8-rad (8 wheeler) the only AC, it's the thing with the biggest gun in the unit. Well, except for that Pak38 towed behind one Opel, anyway...If the group had say 3 AC's I'd be more comfortable. But then, everyone has their style/approach! And I don't own a CM WW2 game yet, so take my opinions with a pork barrel of salt!They generally didn't operate in packs in this environment. So Schäfer's use of this one is not ahistorical. And you don't have to own a WWII game to have thoughts on tactics. Just a brain will do. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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