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Scott Kurtz

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ThinkDifferent:
That's exactly why I have a lot of respect and liking for artists like Jeph and Ian McConville: they're not whiny, pissy mofos like Fred. Of course, it helps that when Jeph and Ian tweak their art it's for the better, so they don't really get a lot of criticism. The pupils thing - I've commented on that on the MT forums and escaped Fred's notice, fortunately. Seriously, though - how hard can it be to draw black dots in people's eyes, Fred? Give people what they want!

Honestly, though - the day Ian McConville starts working on Mac Hall full-time will be the best day of my life. OK, maybe not. But a pretty awesome day, anyway. I wish both him and Jeph luck in the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards. They both richly deserve more recognition than they get.

crazybritishsteve:
As a huge mt fan, i guess it's up to me to stick up for poor fred. He isn't the best artist, but he IS good. I love mt. Yeah, he can get pissy if you point out when he's done something bellow his usual standard, but you know what? So do i. Then i'll go away, think about it and go 'shit, they were right'. I think that's what fred does too. He does what i think all good artists do naturally: he tries to evolve and make his art better. Okay, his drawing hasn't changed that much, but he does try to do new things with his story. Recently he did a strip where one of the main characters spoke entirely in japanese (kinda). You couldn't understand a word she was saying, but he got across her emotions and meaning with his drawing.

If your gonna say that Ian is good, you have to say that Hawk is damn good to. Yeah, he started by ripping off Ian (he's admitted it himself!), but just like any good artist, he's evolving. Jeph's drawing is evolving all the time too, yet another good artist.

I think that's why Kurtz can not be said to be a good 'artist', but he is a good 'cartoonist'. His skill just doesn't seem to evolve. He doesn't try to improve anything. He's really predictable. I'll bet next week we see a return of the panda attack.

ThinkDifferent:
Let me clarify: I love Megatokyo and pretty much everything about it. The art is great (though I've seen better) and the story is the best of any webcomic I've ever seen. The only thing I don't like about MT is its update frequency. There are a lot of Dead Piro Days and Shirt Guy Dom strips.

What I don't like is Fred Gallagher, the person. I respect him as a talented artist and writer, but I don't like him, for reasons I already explained.

Sideways:
Yes, Hawk (www.applegeeks.com) is a fantastic artist, but while I'm wowed by his art on occasion, It's never to the same degree as Ian's.

Hawk has anime-styled drawing perfected, with his own quirky style thrown-in... and he is an EXCELLENT colourist... but I've never seen someone digitally paint the way Ian does.  The guy uses light in new and exciting ways!

:P

ThinkDifferent:
Well, I'd never seen Applegeeks before (except for a Megatokyo guest strip) and I have to say that's some seriously impressive art. I agree with Sideways, though: Ian McConville is still teh win. McConville's sense of light and shadow is unparalleled, and his technique of blurring backgrounds is just the most visually astounding thing I've seen in any webcomic. The first two panels of this are what I'm talking about. The background is indistinct, yet just defined enough that you can get an idea of where they are. JM's face has hard lighting on one side and soft lighting on the other, suggesting light reflecting off the paper he's holding. Same with his hair. It's almost photorealistic in terms of lighting. Also, JM's expression is just perfect. (Of course, that comic shifts into total lazy-bum mode in the next two panels, but that's excusable.)

I have to say I liked McConville's art better when it had outlines, though, as opposed to now. I recognize that it takes a hell of a lot of talent to do what he's doing now, but my preference is for the earlier days of inked outlines.

And I know he's got a lot of other commitments, but I wish Ian'd get MH on some fixed schedule, even if it is only once a week.

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