Would you be interested in this kind of style?

IllRepute

Newbie
Jan 16, 2021
83
33
ComicStyle1.png
I have been toying around conveying the dialogue in a VN or Comic. My question is, do you like this style? Does it make sense? Do you prefer to read text on a box at the bottom of the image like Ren'py games?
 

whizwart

Member
Apr 11, 2022
433
793
So it might be because I'm on mobile, but I'm sure the page is fully loaded and I can't see anything.
 

whizwart

Member
Apr 11, 2022
433
793
On desktop now, see it fine.

You basic idea is ok. The two things I would say are:

1) The multi-colored boxes are a little hard on the eyes. I think you're color coding for each voice, which makes sense, but it may just be better to color the speech

2. I'm not sure if you intend for the boxes to all be on screen at once. If so, it's a bit much and visually jumbly. I suspect, though, you mean for each box to show up in sequence. That would work better since its easier for me to figure out were to look.
 
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IllRepute

Newbie
Jan 16, 2021
83
33
On desktop now, see it fine.

You basic idea is ok. The two things I would say are:

1) The multi-colored boxes are a little hard on the eyes. I think you're color coding for each voice, which makes sense, but it may just be better to color the speech

2. I'm not sure if you intend for the boxes to all be on screen at once. If so, it's a bit much and visually jumbly. I suspect, though, you mean for each box to show up in sequence. That would work better since its easier for me to figure out were to look.
View attachment Redtalk.webp

View attachment BlueTalk.webp
So blue for the blue alien and red for the red alien. Not sure if the black or white speech bubbles(For lack of a better word) is as aesthetically pleasing as colored boxes, but it is probably more important people can read and understand the dialogue.
 
Jul 11, 2017
39
85
Suggestions:

Standardize things. Don't use a bunch of different fonts or typefaces. Use the same font. Standardize the text size. Standardize the background colors. If you want to differentiate between things like speech and thought or narration, maybe try making minor adjustments, like italicization of text, or the style of bubble (e.g. rounded bubble vs squared bubble), but whatever you do, keep it simple and limit your variation lest it becomes too confusing.

Don't use a typeface or font that is too stylized. Try something minimalist and simple. Also, I'd probably try to avoid using bold by default, especially if the typeface is already rather thicc.

Color choices. Don't use solid black or white as a background for your text bubble. Use more neutral colors, like charcoal greys or off whites. Your text colors will depend on your background color choices, but generally I wouldn't suggest super saturated text color.

Your color choices should stand out from your render colors, too. For example, in the BlueTalk attachment image your text color is very close to the dominant color of the render, which is the alien woman's skin color. IMO, you should avoid doing that.

Also, think about composition, or to put it a bit simply, the way our eyes are drawn across the image before us. Again, using the BlueTalk attachment image, your text is at the same height in the image as the woman's face, and is right beside her face, so the eyes are naturally drawn more to her face even while reading the text. Good composition tends to direct the eyes of the audience naturally across the whole image, usually in a triangular or circular motion. The RedTalk attachment image has a more comfortable composition and ease than the BlueTalk.

I'd also suggest depth of field effects for your images and renders if you're going to put dialogue and text into the renders like this. Noisy backgrounds will make things harder to focus on, but using some depth of field blur will probably help to alleviate some of that, and better control your audience's eye path and attention.

Idea: Maybe instead of just using a solid colored background for your text, you use a background that is just heavily gaussian blurred.
 

IllRepute

Newbie
Jan 16, 2021
83
33
Suggestions:

Standardize things. Don't use a bunch of different fonts or typefaces. Use the same font. Standardize the text size. Standardize the background colors. If you want to differentiate between things like speech and thought or narration, maybe try making minor adjustments, like italicization of text, or the style of bubble (e.g. rounded bubble vs squared bubble), but whatever you do, keep it simple and limit your variation lest it becomes too confusing.

Don't use a typeface or font that is too stylized. Try something minimalist and simple. Also, I'd probably try to avoid using bold by default, especially if the typeface is already rather thicc.

Color choices. Don't use solid black or white as a background for your text bubble. Use more neutral colors, like charcoal greys or off whites. Your text colors will depend on your background color choices, but generally I wouldn't suggest super saturated text color.

Your color choices should stand out from your render colors, too. For example, in the BlueTalk attachment image your text color is very close to the dominant color of the render, which is the alien woman's skin color. IMO, you should avoid doing that.

Also, think about composition, or to put it a bit simply, the way our eyes are drawn across the image before us. Again, using the BlueTalk attachment image, your text is at the same height in the image as the woman's face, and is right beside her face, so the eyes are naturally drawn more to her face even while reading the text. Good composition tends to direct the eyes of the audience naturally across the whole image, usually in a triangular or circular motion. The RedTalk attachment image has a more comfortable composition and ease than the BlueTalk.

I'd also suggest depth of field effects for your images and renders if you're going to put dialogue and text into the renders like this. Noisy backgrounds will make things harder to focus on, but using some depth of field blur will probably help to alleviate some of that, and better control your audience's eye path and attention.

Idea: Maybe instead of just using a solid colored background for your text, you use a background that is just heavily gaussian blurred.
Lots of good information that I love.
Thank you for all the excellent suggestions. I will reflect on it.