MindChamber 2011-02-18 15:27:36

Haha nice work on your she hulk submission it was pretty funny.

As for your opinion poll, art isn't as important in a comedy skit as it is in say a dramatic piece. So really the script defines how loose you can be with the art

Desknight 2011-02-18 15:32:06

The value of art goes down with how comical a series is.
However even in a comedy I think script is VERY important!
If the joke sucks, IT SUCKS! No matter how pretty the art is, the entire point of the video isn't there.

So my answer to the poll is writing.

Ockeroid 2011-02-18 15:55:54

Aww, you know I love you, bro!

Enjoy the NY meet up, man! They fucking rock. You'll have to have an extra drink for me since I can't be there to drink it myself

I love good art, but script all the way.
It's the funny jokes and good stories and ideas that we remember and that make us want to show other people. As animators we have to remember that not everyone gets as excited by our craft as we do.

And I think I'd rather have someone be touched by a story idea than think "That looked amazing! But what was the point?"

DemiseAnimation 2011-02-18 16:20:25

Art can make up for script, but lack of good script kills an animation entirely.

Egoraptor 2011-02-18 16:29:57

I don't think it's so black and white. Coming from a comedy perspective, I've had it where the script lacked and I killed it with funny art, and conversely I've had it where the script was really good so the art didn't really matter.

If we're talking about stories, I think that script is really key... but you aren't going to sell something as effectively with crayon drawings unless that was the intention. And by sell I mean affect someone. Tone is important, pacing is important, I mean... it's movie-making for a reason. If you didn't want to focus on art in animation then you should just write a book or an editorial.

NeroGeist 2011-02-18 16:38:37

Good art plays a good part, but with a crappy script, it all backfires. Trust me, I know. :/

Smorgishmorg 2011-02-18 17:35:56

In many cases
Script > Graphics
<a href="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/555812">http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view /555812</a>

sirjeffofshort 2011-02-18 17:52:12

Art is always what draws me in at first, but the script is what keeps me there for more than ten seconds. The two really need to work together, but if forced to choose I think script is more important to me. I'm more likely to watch a great story with iffy artwork than vice versa.

tilman 2011-02-18 17:53:56

OH SNAP! :D

Sephtis 2011-02-18 20:22:28

I prefere good artwork over a script. Of course you need a decent script as well, but art is where it's at :D.

*not cus I can't think up scripts...>_>....not at all*

Emrox 2011-02-18 20:43:04

Script, of course.

Aqlex 2011-02-18 21:10:55

I'm going to have to say script. If the art is good, but the story can't keep me engaged, I'm too bored to enjoy the art. The script is what engages me the most.

Kirbopher 2011-02-18 22:47:28

I think it's important to keep a solid balance of both, but I'd learn towards the side of scripting a smidge more than the art. I say that because I feel like when there's too much emphasis put on the visuals, the story is non-existent. However, that's coming from the perspective of a guy who's NOT impressed or gives a crap about "how good the special effects are" in movies...-still- haven't watched James Cameron's Avatar.

kmau 2011-02-18 23:14:56

I'd say the mix is important (if you have to set priorities that is).

JohnnyUtah 2011-02-19 02:26:06

i love my art, but where animation is concerned you desperately need a decent script.

JohnnyUtah 2011-02-19 02:26:27

p.s. i love your she hulk voice.

SpamClamberton 2011-02-19 03:08:42

In comedy, a good script is important if the joke comes from the dialogue, which seems to be what people think of when they think comedy. But of course that would make sense, because if you're using that kind of format then you've already made sure the words are taking the lead.
If you were going to make a story which was told by visuals however, then graphics are more important. I didn't write the Pigpen, I drew it. It's all delivered with visuals. Facial expressions, body language, stuff like that. People think that visually entertaining animation comes from trying to be like John Kricfalusi and just making everything over-the-top and wacky. You know, which is fine, but I personally think a mix of extreme and subtle bring things to life more.
Of course there's a difference between a script and a storyline. If you're asking which is more important out of a storyline and art, then well that's silly. Good books don't need artwork and good artwork doesn't need to tell a story. When it comes to animation, there's great animations with no effort in the art, and there's great animations where story has been abandoned for the sake of a visual feast (Catoblepas's stuff is a good example).
So the trick is, if the story or joke or whatever is verbal, then you focus on getting the words right, dummy. If the story is based on actions, then you focus on the visuals. If the story is delivered by both, then both need to be good.

JohnnyUtah's jokes usually rely more on the writing, but he makes the visuals good anyway because HE'S A HOT GUY. It just lends it more and gives it multiple levels of humour. In his Iron Man thing, the words made it funny, but subtlety in the visuals made it funnier than everyone elses. Iron Man's greasy looks, sitting in the chair with the wine and the bare legs, the dead girl licking her lips, and him holding the shovel when he says he's into dead girls. It made it so much funnier.
In fact, when I think of Flashes I've seen on here, I like a mixture of both, but the ones that I come back to and watch again and again are the one's where the visuals lend a hand in creating a setting. Creating a verbal comedy is fine, but most of those here seem to have blue sky and green grass and fluffy clouds, and the people will be two men in plain t-shirts and identical heads. You don't need to be a master artist to inject some atmosphere into it.

SpamClamberton 2011-02-19 03:11:27

(I'm still going)
David Firth for example isn't the best at drawing things, but he can do comedy with hints of horror or horror with hints of comedy, and he manages to have these multiple angles by making both the words and the art both pull their weight. You don't have to frame-by-frame like a God, you just need some original characters and some distinctive qualities. Or at least some colour-scheming. All it takes is some damn colour scheming.

SpamClamberton 2011-02-19 03:12:03

AND ANOTHER THING,

HNT 2011-02-19 04:24:08

even with a bad script, you just need to add a half naked babe, to make the piece good.
Just ask hollywood producers.
"Damn this script sucks," "well just get jessica alba in it half naked and drenched with blood" "you know that would work" sigh