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Mercury Hat posted:June is officially unofficially NaNoMango part 2! Nanomango is the comic counterpart to Nanowrimo, but less stringent in the "rules". I chickened out super hard in November, because I was scrub tier in every respect and realized it when attempting to prepare for it. But not this time! Since January I've been drawing most days and vowed months ago that I would actually do it this time. I have set myself the goal of pencilling 30 pages, so I have something unfinished but complete and readable, and I can then bone up on the things I still have a really poor grasp on (like shading and colouring). Tomorrow I am polishing off thumbnails, doing a bunch of character sketches to get myself limbered up and on Monday I shall sit my rear end down and draw a god drat comic. I haven't drawn a comic since I was 7 and I procrastinate heavily, but I work best under pressure and am going to see this through come hell or high water, so let's do this poo poo!
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# ? May 31, 2015 00:01 |
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# ? Mar 28, 2024 16:23 |
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Alright, I'm in. If I don't do this, I'll probably have done nothing productive this year. So, yeah. Going for 10 pages.
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# ? May 31, 2015 00:07 |
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sweeperbravo posted:I like to read people's thoughts on worldbuilding because I personally hate doing it and as a result only ever write realistic fiction. A few times I've had an idea for a more fantastical story and have given up after getting maybe a few paragraphs into it because I realized the amount of (to me, unenjoyable) poo poo I'd have to create to actually support the story. Hell, a few years ago I got around to making a map of the town where my comic started off taking place and that alone, while rewarding, was really strenuous. And if copyrights bother you, use public-domain woldks like Wonderland or Oz. Doctor_Fruitbat posted:I haven't drawn a comic since I was 7 and I procrastinate heavily, but I work best under pressure and am going to see this through come hell or high water, so let's do this poo poo! (honestly I have no idea if I can do it)
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# ? May 31, 2015 00:46 |
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I'd like to NanoMango a 10-page test for a long-form story. Full color, etc.
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# ? May 31, 2015 02:53 |
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thousandcranes posted:I watched Stripped last night, and A Softer World was one of the featured comics. The last act was about the digital revolution and the bright future of web comics. While it's hard to argue against this, most of these guys do manage to survive. But there is one area on here you're not mentioning and I'm not going to name artists afflicted but... There are a handful of very popular webcomics artists with very serious mental illness. Most of them do receive some kind of health care benefits of some kind, but doing comics gives them enough income to live a life and keep taking their medication (by virtue of paying for it or not selling it for money), effectively giving them an outlet doing something they love and stabilizing their lives simultaneously. You can paint that as bleak but it's actually really positive for those individuals because it gives them a community and support system. There are also many examples. Obviously doesn't work for all cases.
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# ? May 31, 2015 04:49 |
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Huh, I didn't know that it wasn't a hard and fast limit on 30 pages. I'm going to see how many pages I actually thumbnail, then revise my goal afterwards. It might end up being 24, which to be honest seemed like a more natural length when planning things in my head.
Doctor_Fruitbat fucked around with this message at 11:34 on May 31, 2015 |
# ? May 31, 2015 11:32 |
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Finally watched Stripped yesterday. It was a real shock to the system for me, in a good way. For the last few years I've been kind of frustrated and confused about how I want to make comics. I don't relate to most comic books--I've never been into the superhero/mainstream comics, but I also have liked very few of the indie graphic novels I've read, even when they're unimaginably beautiful. Even when I know they're good, they don't typically "hit me where I live." I don't know why, but I'm just a comic strip person. I can read someone's graphic novel that is a masterwork of layout, color, story, whatever -- and it won't give me as much of a warm fuzzy feeling as a dumb stupid four-panel Peanuts comic from 1962. When I did my last comic, I spent a while thinking that it would be a vertical-format graphic novel type comic, because the story was self-contained and scripted from the beginning. But after about 15 pages or so, I realized I needed to switch it to horizontal Sunday comic layout, because that's just the format I relate to. The webcomics I like most are the ones that have the newspaper strip model. Maybe it's stupid but it helps me to sort through the different branches of the medium. It explained for me why I've had such awful writer's block this past year: I'd been trying to write for a genre that I don't really connect with. Then this morning I revisited a strip that I started in high school and wrote 3 weeks worth of material for rebooting it.
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# ? May 31, 2015 15:51 |
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windex posted:While it's hard to argue against this, most of these guys do manage to survive. But there is one area on here you're not mentioning and I'm not going to name artists afflicted but... Living with mental illness and earning a living from webcomics are vastly separate topics. There should be a more robust safety net for people with mental illnesses. When people with mental illnesses live in poverty, it is a broader indictment of society as a whole. The webcomic earnings problem is a combo of a bad monetization model, the lack of business training of most artists, and a devaluation of visual arts by both consumers and artists. The living on starvation money, homelessness, or otherwise impoverished mentally ill person is a total failure of society to protect those who are most vulnerable. The arts can help people with mental illnesses. It's clear that some people greatly benefit from their webcomics through self expression, validation, or emotional and financial support from their readers. However, it isn't a purely positive thing due to the LOADS of counterexamples exist. There are so many counterexamples that I can't imagine that the mental illness + internet combo is anything other than a wash. I won't post a list of names either, but how many mentally ill artists have been targeted for being a "lolcow," who insufficiently incorporates contradictory and often incoherent "constructive criticism?" How many were unable to deal with a spotlight, or having their work policed for anything "problematic?" How many couldn't handle the commitments that follow a successful kickstarter? How many are burning themselves out over an update schedule? neonnoodle posted:Maybe it's stupid but it helps me to sort through the different branches of the medium. It explained for me why I've had such awful writer's block this past year: I'd been trying to write for a genre that I don't really connect with. Then this morning I revisited a strip that I started in high school and wrote 3 weeks worth of material for rebooting it. Really excited to hear this, I liked one of your previous comics thousandcranes fucked around with this message at 16:11 on May 31, 2015 |
# ? May 31, 2015 16:09 |
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Nessa posted:Very nice colour choices, though I'm a sucker for warm scenes like this. A few things though.... Thank you so much for the great critique! I read and put it into action: I didn't know about the planes. I read through your link and WHOA the gears have clicked. And I didn't think about the inking making directions. I got a bit confused by the window placement and was trying to imagine where they would be off screen. I really appreciate this. My next work will be better thanks to you! ^_^ Viga fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Jun 1, 2015 |
# ? Jun 1, 2015 02:16 |
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I'm a bit late to the whole worldbuilding discussion, but here's my 2 cents-- Basically, in regards to worldbuilding, I don't actually do that much. That is, it's never a thing which I consciously set out to do, it just kind of happens as I ponder about the stories and the characters. I encounter various things in my daily life, and sometimes ponder "I wonder what this would be like in my story?" and then go about answering that question. I think that more than anything else, just doing basic research about the issues and settings that your story is about is sufficient enough "world-building", in that you can always find a real-world analogy to what's happening in the story and adapt it to your setting in some way. So for me it never really gets to the point where I sit down at the computer and hammer out a document that explains everything about the world, because most of the time it's all just things that I ponder about and incorporate into the drawings or dialogue in some fashion. EDIT: I suppose it also depends on the sort of story you're trying to tell, and the setting it takes place in. Mine is a little simpler, because it's essentially fantasy alt-universe Europe, circa 1820. So the whole political setting, down to the culture and climate, are roughly based on the situation in Central Europe during the dawn of the Industrial Age. It was easy to build up the story from there, since all I had to do was read up on history and learn about the history and economics of industrialization. I suppose it'd be a bit different, and the world building more extensive, had I wanted to build an entirely different sci-fi or fantasy universe out of whole cloth. DrSunshine fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Jun 1, 2015 |
# ? Jun 1, 2015 16:28 |
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Here's a Weird Worldbuilding Trick: If you set it in present-day earth, the worldbuilding is already done for you!
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# ? Jun 1, 2015 22:27 |
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FunkyAl posted:Here's a Weird Worldbuilding Trick: If you set it in present-day earth, the worldbuilding is already done for you! I keep trying to write about present day earth, but by the time I start writing about the present it's already the past. PLEASE ADVISE.
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# ? Jun 1, 2015 22:55 |
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Space-Bird posted:I keep trying to write about present day earth, but by the time I start writing about the present it's already the past. PLEASE ADVISE. Watch this scene, then try to apply the lessons you learn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5drjr9PmTMA
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# ? Jun 1, 2015 23:20 |
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Six loosely sketched pages down; I'm learning a lot on the fly, like how much to shove on a page (some of them ended up being obscenely underpopulated, so they ended up getting rejigged) or how an establishing shot should look: Anyhoo, I'll post some thumbnails as I go along and once I'm done, assuming no-one points out any glaringly terrible things I should fix, I can start the pages proper.
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# ? Jun 2, 2015 00:35 |
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FunkyAl posted:Here's a Weird Worldbuilding Trick: If you set it in present-day earth, the worldbuilding is already done for you! Man, I can't write wizard battles with this.
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# ? Jun 2, 2015 03:04 |
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Rethy posted:Man, I can't write wizard battles with this. Exactly what are you trying to say about wizards, here? Did you not SEE the Harry Potter Movie? Space-Bird posted:I keep trying to write about present day earth, but by the time I start writing about the present it's already the past. PLEASE ADVISE. Instead of "drawing" your comics, perform them live over internet simulcast
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# ? Jun 2, 2015 04:04 |
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I was being entirely facetious back there, but if we're really honest with ourselves, JK isn't the strongest world builder out there. Like, all transactions are performed with three denominations of pocket money? Which can be forged by school children? In the gold standard? Horrifying! That's in no way a slight on her ability as a storyteller, or the phenomenon of the series, so I guess the takeaway for us all is you don't need to sweat the small stuff! FunkyAl posted:Instead of "drawing" your comics, perform them live over internet simulcast Wh- Where can I invest?
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# ? Jun 2, 2015 04:25 |
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Rethy posted:I was being entirely facetious back there, but if we're really honest with ourselves, JK isn't the strongest world builder out there. Like, all transactions are performed with three denominations of pocket money? Which can be forged by school children? In the gold standard? Horrifying! Yeah exactly! I like to joke about worldbuilding, as expressed just a few posts ago, but the reader is going to bring a ton of assumptions about how things operate in the real world to your comic, as you the author brought those same assumptions into the creation of your world. So it's like, you can just COAST on ten thousand years of human civilization, no problem. It's like, Marvel Cinematic Universe? Big deal!! All movies ALREADY take place in the same cinematic universe: ours. (which is also basically true on the level of movies and other works of art constantly informing and referencing each other so ayyyyyy)
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# ? Jun 2, 2015 05:05 |
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FunkyAl posted:Yeah exactly! I like to joke about worldbuilding, as expressed just a few posts ago, but the reader is going to bring a ton of assumptions about how things operate in the real world to your comic, as you the author brought those same assumptions into the creation of your world. So it's like, you can just COAST on ten thousand years of human civilization, no problem. I'm sort of confused as to what you're saying here. Every person has a different experience, and every story needs a setting, and as an author you have to explain it, regardless of wizard fights of something 'real'. If you're saying we only have our own experiences to draw upon to tell a story, real or imagined, sure. I guess people get really funny about the phrase 'world building' in general. I dunno. You gotta tell a story, so you gotta build some worlds...but building a world isn't story telling, just part of it. I guess. Mercury Hat posted:Watch this scene, then try to apply the lessons you learn. Yea right. Where am I supposed to find a VCR in 2015. Nice try.
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# ? Jun 2, 2015 06:00 |
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People get their backs up about worldbuilding because it's such a pitfall for amateurs, but obviously it's not impossible to do well. I do think you need to be able to stand outside yourself, and recognize where your worldbuilding is leading you to make choices that are unsatisfying to readers who lack context, and just mercilessly butcher whatever backstory you had in mind to make those bits read better. Which is really really difficult, especially when you're first learning to write and it feels like this one story will be the only one you'll ever tell. Kill 6 Billion Demons is constantly derailing its story for the sake of worldbuilding, and yet the exposition is so poetic and beautifully rendered that it becomes enjoyable for its own sake. That's something I really admire and try to learn from.
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# ? Jun 2, 2015 13:14 |
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How 2 Worldbuild: -Use Earth map, put magic in -Pick your favorite animal to make big for use as mounts instead of horses -Generate MacGuffins so characters have excuse to trek all over magic!Earth
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# ? Jun 2, 2015 23:55 |
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GreatJob posted:How 2 Worldbuild:
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# ? Jun 3, 2015 04:57 |
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GreatJob posted:How 2 Worldbuild: Preferably a series of MacGuffins that have an easily applied template, repeatable storyline after storyline.
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# ? Jun 3, 2015 16:05 |
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Bonus points: Use your builded world to show off a niche skill or obsession that doesn't go on your résumé.
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# ? Jun 3, 2015 18:17 |
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Space-Bird posted:I'm sort of confused as to what you're saying here. Every person has a different experience, and every story needs a setting, and as an author you have to explain it, regardless of wizard fights of something 'real'. If you're saying we only have our own experiences to draw upon to tell a story, real or imagined, sure. I guess people get really funny about the phrase 'world building' in general. I dunno. You gotta tell a story, so you gotta build some worlds...but building a world isn't story telling, just part of it. I guess. I'm mostly joking, but I guess what I'm saying is that your own experience colors everything you're doing anyway (worldbuilding included) so character decisions and themes based around your own experience go a long way.
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# ? Jun 4, 2015 18:08 |
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Five days in, 18 out of 24 pages scripted and thumbnailed, so I'm off to run around a forest for the next three days and get absolutely nothing comic-related done whatsoever. Good times!
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# ? Jun 5, 2015 00:19 |
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Honestly the worst thing is 'scifi worldbuilding' where everyone just kinda decides that humans are most important and aliens are bad blahblahblah here comes Punch Rockgroin. please give me my award for making the next star district effect Diabetes Forecast fucked around with this message at 07:41 on Jun 5, 2015 |
# ? Jun 5, 2015 07:38 |
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I just finished thumbnailing my next chapter, 12 pages this time. That should take me through to at least the middle of the month. Keep it up, guys .
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# ? Jun 6, 2015 02:38 |
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Here's the first page of the thing I've been working on. I'm planning to put it up tomorrow.
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# ? Jun 6, 2015 23:04 |
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The site's up now: http://www.atthezoocomic.com
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# ? Jun 8, 2015 17:24 |
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Something to consider.... http://www.webtoons.com/en/contest Basically it's some korean company expanding into western webcomics. They are looking for creators to submit 3 chapters (as in a collection of pages) of a scifi work by July 7, and then one more chapter per week until August. Top prize is $30k. quote:The Science Fiction Comics Contest is a global competition that was created to celebrate unknown and up-and-coming comic artists. A grand prize winner will win $30,000 and the second place winner will receive $10,000. Both winning artists, along with the third and fourth place winners, will also have the opportunity to become paid, featured LINE Webtoon artists. Fangz fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Jun 9, 2015 |
# ? Jun 9, 2015 17:41 |
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That smells of spec work. It's sort of a gray area because webcomic artists routinely give away their work online anyway, but it's still "SUBMIT FOR CONTEST! $$$" and that kind of poo poo is most frequently predatory and awful.
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# ? Jun 9, 2015 18:10 |
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neonnoodle posted:That smells of spec work. It's sort of a gray area because webcomic artists routinely give away their work online anyway, but it's still "SUBMIT FOR CONTEST! $$$" and that kind of poo poo is most frequently predatory and awful. Can you explain further? The rules seem fairly legit, and you do keep ownership of your entry. You don't submit more than three chapters unless you get on to the top 16 shortlist.
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# ? Jun 9, 2015 18:29 |
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How's everyone going on their Nanomango? I got started a few days ago and have managed three pages so far. I won't be able to keep up that pace, but it's a nice jumpstart to the chapter. This one's set right in Washington DC so I had a lot of fun trying to draw the landmarks and fudging a lot of the details.
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# ? Jun 9, 2015 22:24 |
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Mercury Hat posted:How's everyone going on their Nanomango? I got started a few days ago and have managed three pages so far. I won't be able to keep up that pace, but it's a nice jumpstart to the chapter. This one's set right in Washington DC so I had a lot of fun trying to draw the landmarks and fudging a lot of the details. I'm on a pathetic 1.5
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# ? Jun 9, 2015 22:26 |
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Fangz posted:Can you explain further? The rules seem fairly legit, and you do keep ownership of your entry. You don't submit more than three chapters unless you get on to the top 16 shortlist. LINE's last winner seems really excited about the webtoon format. Hopefully he gets around to writing that essay as to why. I heard that the webcomics/webtoons ecosystem is different in Korea, where LINE's stuff is based, and that there are films and tv series based off some webtoons.
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# ? Jun 10, 2015 05:57 |
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Junko posted:LINE's last winner seems really excited about the webtoon format. Hopefully he gets around to writing that essay as to why. I heard that the webcomics/webtoons ecosystem is different in Korea, where LINE's stuff is based, and that there are films and tv series based off some webtoons. That is encouraging. Typically the idea of an "art contest" sets off alarm bells to me, but as long as people are already creating the work, I guess it's good for them to have a place to submit it for wider recognition.
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# ? Jun 10, 2015 17:02 |
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I can't quite figure out what they're looking for - the entry size says " The cartoon image must be less than 800px wide and 1280px long. (JPG only)" . Does this mean they want 3 regular pages before July 7?
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# ? Jun 10, 2015 17:26 |
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Squidster posted:I can't quite figure out what they're looking for - the entry size says " The cartoon image must be less than 800px wide and 1280px long. (JPG only)" . Does this mean they want 3 regular pages before July 7? I think they want something in the Asian style of web comics, with chapters consisting of individual images - each only a very few panels, strung together vertically. You can see examples on the site. Fangz fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Jun 10, 2015 |
# ? Jun 10, 2015 17:46 |
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# ? Mar 28, 2024 16:23 |
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On closer examination, I see they also say "You decide the length of each episode and when to submit each episode during the Preliminary Period and Tournament Period", so I assume it's a stack of pages in that vertical 800x1200 strip format. That sounds daunting to do weekly.
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# ? Jun 10, 2015 19:32 |