Question about Kimono Troops and BAM Comix setting

Will it ever be revealed, what happened to Doctor X?

I have been thinking. As Kimono Troop Command said in the OSF threat, that things started out as a post apocalyptic setting, I was reminded of the Cyberpunk 2020 sourcebook about the collapse of the USA, hit by plague and that it created a whole movement of Neo-Nomands and raiders that roam the deserts. I still think I can fit that into the setting, as my idea had the US go into civil war and then rebuild itself, there would still be areas where Raiders could operate and where Neo-Tribal Nomads travel around. Could make for some interesting storylines.

A bit of Cyberpunk Mad Max never hurt. I mean, we also dont know what's going on in places like Mexico, other than that there is a fictional border town that was build by with the help of British Companies.

What do you guys think?

ZeroDelta wrote:

Will it ever be revealed, what happened to Doctor X?

Well, as you may recall, My Doctor X disappeared through a dimensional void sometime back down in Dinosaur Valley. However, he isn't dead, and may be making a return at some point .

ZeroDelta wrote:

I have been thinking. As Kimono Troop Command said in the OSF threat, that things started out as a post apocalyptic setting, I was reminded of the Cyberpunk 2020 sourcebook about the collapse of the USA, hit by plague and that it created a whole movement of Neo-Nomands and raiders that roam the deserts. I still think I can fit that into the setting, as my idea had the US go into civil war and then rebuild itself, there would still be areas where Raiders could operate and where Neo-Tribal Nomads travel around. Could make for some interesting storylines.

A bit of Cyberpunk Mad Max never hurt. I mean, we also dont know what's going on in places like Mexico, other than that there is a fictional border town that was build by with the help of British Companies.

What do you guys think?

When I had originally envisioned my K-Troop universe, before I got mixed up in AMMO or Hidden In The Shadows, I devised a very detailed setting near Roswell in New Mexico, studied maps, figured out an economy, drew up a fairly detailed scenario, and planned to build an army of Mad-Maxish road bandits. It was completely overthought; I never created a single road bandit figure, and staging a New Mexico desert setting was entirely beyond my budget or ability. Which is why I say with remarkable confidence, that you are probably also overthinking things that you will find prohibitively expensive to stage on a limited budget. The broader your universe, the more detailed it is, the harder it will be to stage and the more of it will become extraneous detail. We're not writing novels here. Comics are more like movies; they are more visually oriented and time the more space you have to spend explaining background to the reader, the less you will have for the story itself. My suggestion is that you carve yourself out a little operational niche in one part of the world, detail it only as much as you absolutely need to for your stories to make sense, and stick to that. That's what the rest of us do.

I suppose you are right. I think I will have to focus mostly wooden areas and such, basically Central Europe and the Balkans then, because I dont think I have anything that could be used as a tropical jungle either. I will have to do some location scouting soon or try myself in diorama construction.

ZeroDelta wrote:

I suppose you are right. I think I will have to focus mostly wooden areas and such, basically Central Europe and the Balkans then, because I dont think I have anything that could be used as a tropical jungle either. I will  have to do some location scouting soon or try myself in diorama construction.

For quick, easy backgrounds, either buy digital files from a stock photo agency and have them printed on mat paper, or even go out and shoot some yourself if you can be reasonably certain not to get people in the frame. Clip these to a piece of plywood or hardboard and prop it up. Position your figures 20cm or more away from them and be careful that no shadow from the lighting falls on you background. This is can work very well if you are on a budget.

Page_14 by Gary Menten, on Flickr

Page_12 by Gary Menten, on Flickr

What size is your backdrop? 16 x 20?

TNshooter wrote:

What size is your backdrop? 16 x 20?

Something like that, yeah.

I often combine it with more plastic vegetation and or styrofoam wall sections. selective focus is your friend.

_DSC0021_0040 copy by Gary Menten, on Flickr

sunset Kamiko by Gary Menten, on Flickr

_DSC0019_0039 copy by Gary Menten, on Flickr

ambush by Gary Menten, on Flickr

love the set up photo
thats quite a set-up

JohnnyE4 wrote:

love the set up photo
thats quite a set-up

It's actually meant to show how minimalist the set up is, and what you can achieve through careful framing of the image and selective focus.

That is indeed, a very nice setup, I just have to find the space to do it in. I do need furniture for the various offices and all. I did find a few nice tutorial vids on YouTube on how to make back alleys and such, they are in 1:12 scale, but that should still work for 1:6

I still wonder for what tech level I should go. I do like the Cyberpunk/Post-Cyberpunk/Cyberprep aesthetic a lot, with its mix of cassette futurism and stuff like flat screens and holograms, I just wonder how to translate that into the setting.

ZeroDelta wrote:

That is indeed, a very nice setup, I just have to find the space to do it in. I do need furniture for the various offices and all. I did find a few nice tutorial vids on YouTube on how to make back alleys and such, they are in 1:12 scale, but that should still work for 1:6

I still wonder for what tech level I should go. I do like the Cyberpunk/Post-Cyberpunk/Cyberprep aesthetic a lot, with its mix of cassette futurism and stuff like flat screens and holograms, I just wonder how to translate that into the setting.

I suggest you stick to what is least complicated and easiest to do accomplish with parts you already have or are easily available.  Get some figures built up, photograph them, and if you don't totally like their look, just change it as you go along. Several of mine have gone through changes in wardrobe over time. Get a few figures done, start shooting photos--go outdoors if you have to--and shoot a few very short stories...3-5 panels to introduce your characters and the setting. Don't worry about perfection that this point.  You can work refinements later. Don't wait until you finish an office to start shooting. Shoot photos in operational settings to get you started. Experiment with lighting, photo framing and so on. It will all pay off in the long run.

see examples of simple settings


And Some Of Them Are Vulcans by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

crumpled and stained brown paper to simulate rock face.

Page_11 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Minimalist office set inside an underground bunker using styrofoam, foam board and bits of junk.  The flooring is bamboo floor mat.


Very Interesting by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Same set up, but lit with lights covered with blue and red gelatin filters available from any photographic supply house.

Nicht Schiessen by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Same place, different lighting

Page_5 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Tightly cropped outdoor shot, taken at the edge of a stone retaining wall in a park across the street from me.

Page_1 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Same place

Page_10 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Fake spaceship interior created with foam board, spray paint, small studs, and bits of junk,

_DSC0046 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

_DSC0042 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Cardboard packaging material spray painted in rust primer and gun metal, lit with blue lighting on one side, and slightly greenish on the other.

Body Snatchers by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

crumpled paper rock face, ears of corn for the alien pods, Spanish moss from hobby store and plastic plants from dollar store

2 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

3 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Same corner of retaining wall as before


Welcome to Altair IV by Gary  Menten, on Flickr


crumpled paper lit by blue lighting on paper, white lighting on figures with small hand-held LED flashlight

The Caves of Planet X by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Crumpled paper wall, lit in magenta on one side, blue on the other.

So the gist of my advice to you, is to start experimenting with photos right away. Even if your figures are not complete, or even with entirely different one than the ones you will use in your stories. The experience you gain will pay off in a big way down the line. Don't bother trying to tell complex stories at this point. Just go out, have some fun and get some practice both at building and lighting simple, cheap and small indoor sets and if possible, in suitable outdoor locations as well.

I have a question on Comic Life. One thing I haven't been able to ascertain is if there is a way
to set the size for the template?

Does the image size make the size of the template?

TNshooter wrote:

I have a question on Comic Life. One thing I haven't been able to ascertain is if there is a way
to set the size for the template?

Does the image size make the size of the template?

Comic Life allows for a variety of different page sizes, North American, ISO, photo paper sizes, piles it has a variety of comic template sizes in which panels can be adjusted, moved re-sized, etc, and finally, you can take blank pages, insert, resize and reposition your panels. It is very versatile.

But how are the pages re-sized? The tutorial that comes with the program seems a
bit underwhelming.

TNshooter wrote:

But how are the pages re-sized? The tutorial that comes with the program seems a
bit underwhelming.

I find that with mine anyway, the pages are set at A4 size. I either drag across the box templates or make my own? Personally, I've never adjusted the page size? I just use as is.

TNshooter wrote:

But how are the pages re-sized? The tutorial that comes with the program seems a
bit underwhelming.

At tbe far right of the top toolbar, click on the "Inepsector" icon.

This opens up a new dialogue box with a tiny little toolbar at the top. Click on the second icon from left (Document) , which looks like a tiny little page with four squares on it. from there, click on the "Page Setup" tab, and choose your page size and orientation.

Another thing about Comic Life, is that when you are going to be posting multiple panels per page, you have to think quite far ahead about the photos and cropping of the images, even though you can crop them within Comic Life as you are fitting them into the bland spaces. Example.

Page_1 by Gary Menten, on Flickr

It doesn't matter whether you are using a standard template or making the layout yourself. You have to think about how much you want to show in that image, and also leave room for speech balloons. Finally, remember that the convention in western culture is that we read from left to right and top to bottom, so the order of speaking should be left to right. For illustrators, this isn't a problem; they can compose the image however they want to and show it from whatever perspective they need to. We however photographing things in fixed locations and dioramas. We don't have the freedom the illustrator does in choosing our perspective or the viewpoint. Finally, I find it practical to shoot wide and then crop down to size. This practice is very forgiving for leaving space for speech balloons, and makes it easier to manage depth of field and make keep multiple figures in sharp focus.

To keep things easier for short comics, I tend to put only one or two panels per page. On longer stories, I will put several but this takes time and practice to master.

Page_1 by Gary Menten, on Flickr


A final tip, is that it's always better to shoot more photos than you think you'll need for your story.

That is actually very helpful advice. Thank you

ZeroDelta wrote:

That is actually very helpful advice. Thank you

The easiest way to start is with the crumpled paper rock face / cave sides. You need something hard and flat like a piece of thin plywood to clip it to with butterfly clips.  If you want to add interest, try getting some Spanish moss or plastic vines to hang off it.  Take some figures, start shooting photos. Get some practice. If you don't have Comic Life yet, I suggest you get it. The learning curve on the software is gentle, but the learning curving on just creating comics is somewhat harder. The more you practice, the better.

So, I finally managed to kitbash 2 enemy Soldiers. Would have been a third, if I did not run into some issues. Will post images soon. Some more are in the works. I think I should rename this thread as well, or maybe create a new one just so I can post my creations in them

ZeroDelta wrote:

So, I finally managed to kitbash 2 enemy Soldiers. Would have been a third, if I did not run into some issues. Will post images soon. Some more are in the works. I think I should rename this thread as well, or maybe create a new one just so I can post my creations in them

Best to create a new thread. I’m eager to see what you have created.

Nice photos & info!