Application for Nexus Comics

[ChaosArchivist]

preferred user name: Nexus Comics
e-mail relating to Dark Hunt or general questions: chaosarchivistATyahooDOTcom (e-mail yes or no to this address please)
e-mail relating to Shadow Search: orderchroniclerATyahooDOTcom

Reason for applying to Xepher.net: First off, there is always the money factor, with Xepher.net having free hosting without ads, it seems to be a nice place to host a website that is done more for the joy of creative expression, rather than any profit.  Also, the recent hack aside, Xepher.net has a good track record of being a secure place to host a site, in as far as I know.  Finally, most of the motavation for me to restart my webcomic came from Xepher.net sites, so this is my way of trying to contribute back some.

Nexus Comics would be a dual- person website, with my brother and I being the two people posting items on it.  Although the basis for the site is posting webcomics, there would be other art and writing posted, most relating to the comics in some way.  Since two people would be running the site updates, I will cover this application ini two sections, the fisrt covering Shadow Search, my brother's web comic, and the second covering Dark Hunt, my web comic idea.
Oh, before that, here is a partial screen shot of the main page connecting the two comics:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/LeonusDune/Webcomic/Sample.jpg
OK! I got a free website that doe not use HTML, so I could program a site up.  The site address is below, please note that the Front Page this links to will not be what the actual site looks like, primarily since the main site image could not be posted.  The appropriate links are Dark Hunt and Shadow Search.
http://chaosguard.pbwiki.com/

Ok, new display site is up/ has been found!  The site is on deviantArt and right now is mostly Dark Hunt Art, but Shadow  Search art will come as it is finished (colored, texted, etc.).
http://leonusdune.deviantart.com/

Shadow Search:
Basic Info: Shadow Search is based on the worlds of Sereem and Vernerar, and is centered on a war between the races of Vernerar and the humans of Sereem.  The action focuses on a young woman named Aurora, her partner Aegis and their boss, Z, head of Clandestine, an organization dedicated to the protection of humanity against the creatures of Sereem, particularly the werewolves and vampires.  The comic also includes several villians, such as the Ageless Specter, Vampire Lord Draco, Lord Xivor and other assorted people from the vampires, werewolves and the shadowy Illuminati.

Below are the first three pages of the comic (color will be added for the site, when I have time)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/LeonusDune/Webcomic/page_1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/LeonusDune/Webcomic/page_2.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/LeonusDune/Webcomic/page_3.jpg

Dark Hunt:
Basic Info: Dark Hunt takes place in a future universe where Earth has been destroyed and a fraction of humanity now lives on a new planet, called Veil.  Unfortunately, the planet was already inhabited by the Sentient Races, a variety of races that used to live on Veil but decided to move their homes to pocket dimensions in order to avoid humans.  The comic covers the story of Howler, Eldritch and Lora as they seek to protect their world and themselves from the darker elements of their races.  As in Shadow Search, the Ageless Specter makes an appearance as a villian (he can travel between dimensions, FYI.  More info on him in the comics); as well as the Werewolf Slayer; Graynge, a rogue vampire lord; and quite a few other villians, insane or otherwise.

Below are the first five pages of the comics (I actually had time to color them), where you meet the first villian, Genisis:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/LeonusDune/Webcomic/page_1color.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/LeonusDune/Webcomic/page_2color.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/LeonusDune/Webcomic/page_3color.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/LeonusDune/Webcomic/page_4color.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/LeonusDune/Webcomic/page_5color.jpg

Further additions to the comic preview, these are later on, but I wanted to show my art is getting better, I hope.
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32075408/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32075834/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32076112/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32076367/

Also, a preview of a future cycle (what each section relating to one plot is called in my comic)
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/26414252/

Other notes:
Right now, it looks as if both comics will be updated once a week, perhaps more if there is time.  Also, although the two comics start off with similar premises, they will diverge greatly in terms of their content.
As for violence and pornography, we do not intend to have either in our sites, although there will be several fights, but the most violence we'll show is probably red lines for cuts and maybe darkened clothing or skin (but not a lot of that probably).  (This is just added as an FYI, to get a feel the ratings on the comics)
Hopefully, our art will improve as time goes on.

Notes on site sharing:
As it is, I have as much skill in website design as a rock, so my brother has agreed to do the programming (it is in html) in exchange for me coloring and finalizing the comics for posting.

OK, I realize this is probably pretty long, but I wanted to cover as much material as I could.  I would appreciate any comments, and if you have any questions you would rather not ask on the forum, feel free to e-mail me.

[Databits]

You should provide a link to the images rather than displaying them in the application. It makes it difficult to actually see the application itself.

[ChaosArchivist]

Thanks, I did fix that and I believe the links work.

[Lei]

well, the length of the application is honestly not a bad thing; the longer the better. Some of the best ones can go on for a good long time.

 But regarding your content... First off, could you make your site preview a little bigger? I should take up a good portion of our screen so we can see it clearly. Better yet, post the site online somewhere, so we can go through and test it out.

 secondly, while your arts is okay I'd really preferr it if you tried a couple more techniques and styles before you decide to make a webcomic. Playing with the layout of the pages, for one; changing the size of the panels and shapes. Also, use more angles and play around with anatomy. The lines should be a little crisper, too.

 Sorry, but I think you need more time before you can apply to Xepher. But that's just my personal opinion. You can wait around to see what the others think too, and I am by no means Xepher

[ChaosArchivist]

Lei, thanks for the input, it is appreciated.
Right now, I do not have access to the website data (that is my brother's deparment, but I'll ask him and see what I can get).  As for the art styles, I actually have done a bit of experimenting with different styles, and I felt this one had the most potential to improve upon.  AS for techniques, I am working on shading and texturing, but I do not feel they are good enough yet.
Also, just as a side note, please note that two separate people are drawing for the site, so it would help us if you said which one your comment is meant for (just a general request).

[Lei]

Well for both of you I noticed the only angles you have your your characters are full-on face, side view and back view. While this works, if that's all you're going to have for an entire comic, it's going to get pretty repetitive.  Shading might help the art pop out, and try not to fit too many panels into one page. It just crowds it up and makes it hard for the eye to focus.

  With larger panels you can also fit more conversation into it without being crowded. For your brother's comic, I'd say if you could get just a little bit more variety into the text it would help quite a bit. For your comic Everything seems crowded and bunched up. Perhaps using a text tool will clean things up a bit more, and variety is nice too.

 Don't get me wrong on this one, though. I'm not telling you to get photoshop or paintshop Pro and go crazy on the effects. I'm saying that while it's nice, everything is very repetitive. If you look at professional comices (I'm not just referring to manga, I mean the old time Superman comics too) There's a lot of different kinds of speech bubbles, texts and angles they draw from. Also, the panelling changes to fit the scene, and the images sometimes reach out of the panels.

 I noticed this in both of your comics, so they're meant for the both of you. I suggest to take a look see at some profesional comics... if not japanese manga (which I suggest cause they're just so easy to get a hold of!) then marvel comics and compare them to yours. You'll see what I mean a lot better.

 Also, somebody else help me out here cause I'm horrible at explaining things XD

[ChaosArchivist]

Oh, no, I do understand what you are talking about... and actually, future comics will have more variety in terms of the angles the characters are drawn from (still working the kinks out of some so they look better), and I do plan on more variety in general, as for my brother, well, I cannot speak for him.
As for why I posted now, it is because I know the application process can take awhile, and I may lose the ability to access the internet except for school work and on weekends, so this was the best time to apply.

[ChaosArchivist]

Ok, as of today (11-27-05) I finally found a website that I can program in (namely, one without HTML or any other basic programming languages).  Unfortunately, I had to program it so it does not look like the planned website.  Other than that, I've been really busy (school, work, family) so I haven't finished coloring any new pages and the actual website has been halted in its development (my brother's busy as well).  As for how I managed to put up this new website, it was mostly copy and paste from available files on my computer, so some of the data is lacking.  Hopefully, with Christmas approaching, I'll be able to get more done.

[ChaosArchivist]

Ok, this post is a little early, but I bring good news.  I decided to post art from both webcomics on deviantArt for now.  Newest posting will be today, in the scraps section.  The address is listed above in the application, but I also have posted it down here so it is easier to find.
http://leonusdune.deviantart.com/

[ChaosArchivist]

This stuff is also in the main application now, but I put it down here so it's easier to find, without having to look through the entire application.  Also, further coloring is up on my dA account and the Shadow Search comics shown in the application are colored, they just need to be posted.
LEI, if you happen to read this, you provided some good critique earlier, and we would appreciate it again.  Although my art may not be professional grade (yet), that is because my brother and I are self taught artists, so we need good feedback so we know what to work on.

Further additions to the comic preview, these are later on, but I wanted to show my art is getting better, I hope.
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32075408/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32075834/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32076112/
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32076367/

Also, a preview of a future cycle (what each section relating to one plot is called in my comic)
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/26414252/

[ChaosArchivist]

It's that time of month again, the time where I post here to let everyone know I'm alive and still interested...
Incidentally, I don't mind the wait, it gives me lots of time to build up a large buffer of comics, as well as separate the truely dedicated from those with just a passing interest.  I'm just trying to be an optimist.
Anyways, no new pictures posted to the thread this time, but I do request that you check out my deviantArt account.  Most new pages will go there, but an occassional new page will be linked directly to this page should I really like it.
In related news, my brother has created several more comics which I will be posting here over the next several days by editing this post (if I can).

[ChaosArchivist]

Hey, early post this month.  Sorry I have not updated as planned, Final exams, work and other obligations have prevented me from getting online a lot recently so not much time to do updates.  But, now that I've got some more free time, I should be able to start updating again.

Edit on June 12:
Work has started to get busy, I'm working a lot of overtime right now...  Updates will be coming as soon as I get the time, and a website (in html) might also be in the works, I'm not entirely sure on this point though, my brother is the one in charge of that and while he has been working on it, I'm not sure how much he was able to get done during school.  In any case, expect more news next actual update.

[ChaosArchivist]

Ok, another monthly update with some good news and some bad...

Bad news first:
Some one attempted to use my art and claim it was their own (the only reason I know is a internet search I did ended up finding my stuff where it did not belong)...  Thankfully, they apologized and removed the pilfered artwork after I reminded them of a few legal issues.  I'm not pressing charges unless it happens again, but at the same time, I am not going to be posting any new artwork probably.

Good news:
The art I already have up will remain online, at least for the colored pages...  As for the black and white art, I'm going to be moving it to a Photobucket account probably so people do not have as much free access.  Expect that to happen here over the next couple of weeks and the links to be updated afterward.  Hopefully that will work.

In any case, I have been rather busy so it is hard to get as much accomplished on my webcomic as I would like, but summers are always really busy for me now so I kind of knew it was going to happen.  As for my brother, his summer is just as busy...  Otherwise, we're both still interested and will continue working on or art as we wait.

See everyone again in a month unless others post here...

[Xepher]

You are the most persistent person I've ever had apply. I mean... last october, I never gave a response, and you're still here. Which makes me just feel a thousand times worse for having to say this, but... I'm denying your application. I'm really sorry, after you spent so long here, but it's just not up to par in quality. You are, of course, welcome to keep hanging out in the forums if you wish, but no blame if you don't.

[ChaosArchivist]

Eh, I guess I can try my luck on Comic Genesis...  I'll still hang around, not as much since I won't need to be checking this thread every week, but still...
If my art improves over time (which I'd like to think it has and will continue to) could we try our luck here again?