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Yes, this a prototype and definitely not for everyone. It has many downsides. I agree Photoshop gives you full pixel control. I think it has some upsides too.
by dr_win 14y ago
Yes, this a prototype and definitely not for everyone. It has many downsides. I agree Photoshop gives you full pixel control.
I think it has some upsides too. You may treat comix source as html code and apply tools we have for coding today, eg. diffs, version control, collaboration via github. People may also collaborate on library of items, actors and their poses, so you don't have to re-create them or copy&pase all the time. Also localisation will be a snap. And it will possibly allow animations in the future.
Actually I built this for a bigger project. I want to explain Bitcoin technically in the form of XKCD comix. This won't be one-off comix strip. This will be something like wiki/book which will evolve and I hope it will attract other contributors (not necessarily graphic designers).
- eggbrain 14y agoI agree it has some great upsides. I love the idea of localization, and version control is nice to easily revert changes, etc. Having a scalable comic that can change text on the fly is something that I've been hoping for for a long time. But I think you're strongest element is the WYSIWYG editor, as most people aren't going to be coding from only the HTML view (unless they know what pose="-11,9|-5,117|-11,99" will look like in their heads). But the WYSIWIG interface is still pretty anemic, meaning I'm going to run into roadblocks faster (such as -- how do I create something like a tree? How can I add a hat to the man?).
- dr_win 14y agoI want to provide a nice blend between visual editing and source code editing (I'm a developer). Poses and transformations should be edited visually, but scene structure should be edited by hand via the code. This way you get total control over document structure. Creating good visual-only editor would require too much work and maybe it is not possible at all. Do you know any successful FrontPage-style HTML editor? Quite frankly, I don't need it myself, so that is the primary reason, I'm probably not going to build it at this point. Heads should be customizable in the future: https://github.com/darwin/cmx.js/blob/master/app/lib/cmx/entities/actor.coffee#L88 https://github.com/darwin/cmx.js/blob/master/app/lib/cmx/ent... Actually the system already supports attach points, so you can attach items to hands, foots and necks (right now the bubble is attached by default to a head bone). The last generic piece which is missing will be <drawing> element. Right now it just allows you to specify lines. In the future it will enable you to insert any SVG which is convertible down to paths. I will just resample them and convert them into XKCD-style lines while keeping other styling. This will enable you to insert arbitrary SVG drawings in the scene. I won't create web-based photoshop for SVGs, I will let you import SVG created in other tools as long it is convertible to paths. Imagine it as embedding bitmap images into HTML files. This will be similar idea.
- tarr11 14y agoOP is missing the point - the markup idea is brilliant. The WYSIWIG will come in it's million forms later and you shouldn't focus on it. I just need comix.vim and I'm good. I'm imagining real time comics. Chat comics. Comic discussion forums. It's endless! ;)
- jack-r-abbit 14y ago> And it will possibly allow animations in the future. That was my first thought when I saw the markup. Brilliant work!