PXFIRE Comics

**Pokemon Trainer Sarah** · 06-27-2017, 05:54 AM

COMICS

Ah, comics! The perfect blend of art and writing! Whether you're an old pro or a comic novice, come have a go at PXFIRE's comics section! It's more fun than you might think!

Rules

Entries must be your own work and made during the event. You can't use something you've made previously.
Entries may be made using sprites, images, brushes, fonts, patterns, etc. not made by you, but please post credit when submitting your entry if credit is required by the person who made the stuff you're using.
Comics using official sprites or artwork edited by you are allowed, but will not get marks for the art section of the judging criteria. Even if you can't draw, we still encourage you to have a go if you'd like to! This is just as much about storytelling as about art! Comics made using sprites you have made yourself or heavily edited may still receive some art points at the judge's discretion.
Entries may be drawn by hand and scanned/photographed or be drawn/put together digitally on the computer.
Everyone who submits an entry will receive at least 1 point, provided the rules above are followed. PXFIRE points will be distributed based on the judging criteria below.

Judging Criteria
WEEK ONE:
Character artwork (/10):
Amount of effort and skill put into the artwork itself. Is there nice linework, colouring and shading? Are the features in proportion? etc.

Character description: (/10):
Are all aspects of the character fleshed out?

Originality and interestingness (/10):
Does this character seem interesting and unique? Are common cliches avoided?

WEEK TWO - FOUR:
Comic artwork (/10):
Amount of effort and skill put into the artwork itself. Is there nice linework, colouring and shading? Are there backgrounds? Are features in proportion? etc.

Technical skills (/10):
Are the panels and text boxes of a reasonable size? Is the flow of the comic easy to see and not confusing? Do the fonts and colors used work well together?

Fits the Theme (/10):
Does the comic fit all the requirements and the theme of this challenge? Was the character designed in week 1 included in the comic?

Story (/10):
How engaging was the story? Is there enough detail to get your character's personality across? Does the text have any spelling errors?

Overall feel (/10):
Was the comic interesting overall? Did I leave wanting more? Were the characters engaging?

WEEK 1 THEME

Spoiler:

WEEK 2-4 THEME
It's time to make a short comic! If you entered last week, your comic should include the character you made as the main character. You don't have to do this but you will lose points for following the theme. Likewise if you didn't enter last week, you can use whatever characters you want but again will not be able to nab those bonus theme points!

Your comic must have at least 3 panels. There is no maximum number of panels but try and be efficient and get your story across with as few as possible. I'd like you to only submit ONE page (but it can be as big as you like, NO SIZE LIMIT! I just don't want people submitting multiple images). It can be clear that the comic is supposed to continue or that things have been happening before and after, but that one page should have a little self contained story or joke or whatever you're trying to get across. For example, maybe you could go for a funny page showing off an aspect of your character's personality or likes/dislikes, or maybe you'll explore a life-changing moment in your character's past. Perhaps you'll write a suspense-filled prologue to a longer comic! Whatever you choose, try and stick to one event and make sure you get enough "story" in there for the reader to get an idea of your character's personality. Short one-shot type comics or comic strip style comics are fine as well!

For theme points, I'd also like you to incorporate at least one of the following elements in your comic:
-one of your character's likes or dislikes
-your character's "interesting fact" submitted in week one
-your character's special ability

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm totally find with anything really. As long as your comic fits the grading criteria, you'll get points. Feel free to be creative. :)

You will have three weeks to submit your comic, so you have until the end of PXFIRE to work on it!

Good luck!

**VeloJello** · 07-03-2017, 08:10 PM

Question! Can we design a character we've made (and therefore, for the most part, designed) prior to this contest? I have a character from a previous comic project of mine who I'd like to develop more and I'd like to use her, if that's okay (and won't dock me points).

**Pokemon Trainer Sarah** · 07-03-2017, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by Velocity

Question! Can we design a character we've made (and therefore, for the most part, designed) prior to this contest? I have a character from a previous comic project of mine who I'd like to develop more and I'd like to use her, if that's okay (and won't dock me points).

That's fine, as long as you have new images and text to submit :)

**VeloJello** · 07-06-2017, 03:25 AM

Image of design: Alana!
Name: Alana Faber.
Species: Human (spark wielder).
Personality: Alana has got a lot of spunk! By nature, she’s upbeat, energetic, and outgoing, and she genuinely cares about others and has a lot of personal drive. However, most of the time, she tries to keep up a mask of stoicism and seriousness, which doesn’t work much of the time because her emotions tend to be very strong and bombastic. She feels like she’s weaker than she should be, and hates both this feeling of weakness and the idea that others might see her that way. As a result, she tends to fight harder, overcompensating for her insecurities. Her main guide is her sense of right and wrong, and she’s very protective, often leaping into fighting if she thinks that someone is in danger of being hurt or wronged.
Background: Alana’s parents never really had time for her, and when they did, they were rather emotionally distant. As a result of this and her natural energy - one of her favorite activities at school was hunting down bullies and picking fights with them - she got into a fair bit of trouble. Her parents never really cracked down on her, but her teachers did, and she became resentful that they didn’t care why she did what she did, or stepped in between her and people who she believed delivered punishment. When the Spark began to appear in the world, Alana was one of the first to get it. She found out about it when she accidentally zapped someone with it - a nonfatal but serious injury - and got in serious trouble, due to the panic surrounding the electrical powers appearing out of seemingly nowhere. Lately, more ostracized than ever by her school and parents, she’s began to drift away entirely, spending much of her time wandering the streets and looking after other Spark users where she can.
Special Abilities: Alana is a Spark user, meaning that she can shoot an energy that strongly resembles lightning from her hands. Spark-based “lightning” isn’t as destructive as true lightning, and is amplified by strong anger, fear, or happiness. Spark users who are touching will amplify each other’s power, and they will also share emotions while they’re touching. Rumors say that Spark users also have access to a power called Smog, a mysterious smoke-based ability that drains emotions and life, but if that’s true, Alana hasn’t figured out how to use it and doesn’t want to.
Likes: Big clothing, the color red, warm weather, reading, running.
Dislikes: Rainy days, authority, prejudice, shorts, tight spaces.
One interesting fact about them: Her theme is “Fire N Gold” by Bea Miller.
Notes: Spark has only existed in this world for about a year and a half.
She has a gap between her front teeth and I can scientifically confirm she looks weird without it.
She almost never wears her scarf as a scarf; instead, she usually uses it to cover her mouth when she doesn't want to be recognized.

**Noblejanobii** · 07-06-2017, 02:51 PM

Image of design: Here you go!
Name: Panchajanya "PJ" Fierté
Species: Pichu
Personality: PJ is an innocent and optimistic kid. He sees the best in everyone, believing that deep down, everyone has some form of kindness within them. He admires all of those older him, but especially his big brother, Lucky the Shiny Eevee. He often tries to tag along with his brother on adventures, and Lucky usually obliges, but more recently these adventures have been a bit too dangerous for the pichu so Lucky does his best to try to spend quality time with PJ when he can. PJ wants to become a member of an exploration team one day, like his older brother. He fantasizes about catching outlaws, rescuing lost pokémon, and become a world famous explorer like his parents. In order to prepare for this, PJ always lends a helping hand to those around town that need his help.
Background: Though PJ doesn't know it yet, he's actually in the middle of the apocalypse. Born a few years before it started, PJ has been shielded from reality by his parents and older sibling in order to keep his child-like innocence in tack. Still, PJ wants to become an explorer one day like his older brother. As a result, from a very young age he started training daily in order to get a better handle on his moves, his older brother even taking the time to work with him when he could. When he was six, PJ demanded to be enrolled in the explorer training classes hosted at his mother's guild, Avalon Guild. His parents were wary at first, but eventually, through PJ's continual begging and Lucky's faith in his younger brother, PJ was enrolled. There he met the girl he decided was going to be his future explorer partner, Gracie the Bounsweet. The two were instant best friends, both determined to become the best explorers they could be and save the world. They even decided on a team name, Team Wacan. Both have completed four years of schooling now, but the two ten year olds have yet to go on their first mission, which will be coming soon.
Special Abilities: Because of PJ's unique heritage, PJ is able to use a variety of egg moves. As a result of his mother being a Raichu, PJ was able to learn Volt Tackle. As a result of his father being an Umbreon, PJ was able to learn Foul Play. And, because of both of them knowing the move, PJ also was born with the move Iron Tail. PJ was also able to learn Swift thanks to his brother, Lucky, showing him how. Despite having these powerful attacks, PJ is actually not very good at controlling them, with the only move he has mastered being Swift. He practices all of them when he can, but PJ often wears out fairly easily because he is still very young.
Likes: His family, especially his older brother Lucky, Gracie, sweet foods, especially Watmel berries, his scarf and goggles, exploring, adventures, fantasty stories, rainy days, the color green
Dislikes: Bitter foods, bullies, outlaws, secrets, not being able to control his moves, really hot days
One interesting fact about them: PJ has a nickname for two reasons. Firstly, because his real name is very difficult to pronounce (courtesy of his father). Secondly, and more important, it's because PJ admires his older brother, Lucky, quite a bit. So when Lucky started going by his nickname rather than his actual name, well PJ decided he would too!
Notes: Lucky, the shiny Eevee, from my comic, is PJ's older brother. Also PJ isn't shiny, his cheeks are just red because I didn't have a pink colored pencil.

**Scytherwolf** · 07-09-2017, 02:00 AM

Going to use the character I made for the PMD Crossroads contest since I still really like her and want to do something with her.

Image of design:

Spoiler:

Name: Ruby
Species: Yanma
Personality: Ruby is, for the most part, outgoing and friendly toward other pokemon. Sometimes too outgoing, to the point that others may find her annoying. She can be naive and too trusting at times, generally assuming that everyone has good intentions. However, she isn't stupid, and can usually find out pretty quickly if someone hasn't been truthful to her. She can also be very blunt when speaking with others, though she doesn't intend to be rude. She's bad at directions and tends to have the bad luck of getting into dangerous situations or getting lost. She has a lot of energy and like most yanma is very skilled at flying. However, her battling skills are lacking. She also paints. Her paintings are really just blotches of color, but Ruby considers them masterpieces.
Background: Ruby's parents were wild pokemon who fought for survival in a forest mystery dungeon. Her egg was found by a wandering rescue team who decided to take it and bring it back to their town's guild. Since none of the rescue teams had time to bother with the egg, she was sent to a daycare where young pokemon and eggs were raised safely. She grew up there, never knowing who her parents were and yet wanting to one day find them, despite other pokemons' insistence that they were feral pokemon and wouldn't recognize her anyway. When she outgrew the daycare, she ended up doing odd jobs around the town before finally deciding she wanted to join the guild. However, she needed a teammate first, so she hasn't yet been able to join.
Special Abilities: Ruby knows the move psychic thanks to a TM she was lucky to find by chance during one of the times she got lost in a mystery dungeon. She is not very skilled with it, and doesn't really know how to use it in battle, but she can and does sometimes use it to move objects around.
Likes: Painting, being considered helpful, bright and warm days, water and forests, pretending she works for the guild
Dislikes: Rainy days, cold, enclosed spaces where she can't use her wings, darkness, being considered weak or useless
One interesting fact about them: Ruby wanted to learn how to paint after watching a smeargle create paintings around the town. She insists she's just as good as he is.
Notes: Here is my old art of Ruby:

Spoiler:

**Steel Lunpara** · 07-09-2017, 05:23 AM

Spoiler:

Name: "Revo"
Species: Machine, Synthetic Type
Personality: Revo is almost comically serious; he takes his job and his goals with a very single minded pursuit, only speaking when necessary and letting his few words carry through the room. He seems to prefer blending into a crowd when there's a lot of talking happening, but when one-on-one, he opens up more. No matter the situation, however, he seems to dislike talking about himself, usually providing either the most useless or irrelevant but technically true information possible when confronted directly. Still, despite the hard exterior, he's got a strong sense of empathy, known to help others when he can, whether that means inconveniencing himself or giving away his rations for the day. Though his circle of friends is rather small, the bonds he forms with those few tend to be unbreakable, making his recent desertion and severance of ties with these comrades rather uncharacteristic of him.
Background: Revo comes from an area currently being torn apart by a war between the current regime run by organic life, and a very diverse group of intelligent machines, from a broad variety of builders and purposes. Machines of their level of intelligence have only been invented for the last decade or so. In the interest of freedom, a number of machines took up arms and fought to form their own nation, Revo being among their number. Due to his quiet nature and lack of interest in talking about himself, his history before joining the rebellion is mostly unknown, even to his comrade and apparent friend "Null." The two found a form of brotherhood in their rivalry, to the point that they started treating the fighting as a game, keeping score and such, though only the two of them seem to be able to keep track of the game. However, for reasons only known to Revo himself, several weeks ago, the man left his post without a word, and did not return. Despite the penalty for desertion being death, the resources, time, and manpower it would take to track an absolute nobody as himself don't exactly justify the effort. If seen consorting with the enemy, he will be killed on sight, but as of now, it's best to simply leave him be, wherever it is he's hiding.
Special Abilities: Revo is known to use spears with exceptional skill. Like all machines, he is unable to cast any magic, but displays the ability to jump particularly long distances, the mechanisms behind which are not entirely known. Aside from this "Dragoon Jump" as he calls it, his abilities line up fairly well with his peers.
Likes: Exercise, working with machinery, junk food, boxing, messing with people
Dislikes: Idle time, Poker, heat, lazy people, parties
One interesting fact about them: Revo's most prized possession is a dusty old book, filled with notes about summoning magic. He refuses to let anyone read or even touch it.
Notes: "Synthetic Type Machine" refers to a machine made of artificial muscle, bone, and organs, rather than just a mechanical robot.

**Neo Emolga** · 07-09-2017, 03:21 PM

Please note this goes completely against what I originally had in mind, but hey, we know how many times that happens!

Image of design:

Spoiler:

Name: Jangnan
Species: Well, Jirachi of course!

Personality: For one week every thousand years, Jirachi, or as his lesser-known name "Jangnan" goes, has to put on a show and pretend to be the sweetest, kindest, most sincere wish-granting Pokémon he can be. He'll happily grant childhood dreams, restore natural balance, and whatever provided the wish actually makes sense.

And then when said week is over, well, he just has to make everyone think he's snoozing while he can go do whatever the frick he wants! It's a very, very easy gig and so far no one suspects a thing! He gets caught every now and then, but no one's added it up that "hey, didn't so-and-so see Jirachi awake a few months ago? But I thought..." No one's put it together yet.

So what does Jangnan the Jirachi do with so much free time? Lots and lots of online gaming! Now, just like real people, Jangnan can get carried away and if he gets killed just a little too often in whatever game he's playing, that's where... a little wish power can run amuck. So if John thousands of miles away in Kalos killed Jangnan in Pledge of Steel just one too many times, well, he'd better hope he backed up his hard drive. Or at least knows someone that can somehow undo being turned into a Torchic and having only a beak to play a first person shooter with. It's hard.

Background: Jangnan the Jirachi was originally set up to kind of be a last resort Pokémon. Oh, humans nuked the world to a wasteland? Well, we can kind of wish for that to be undone. Zombie apocalypse? Well, wish that away. Thing is, Arceus didn't want this to be done so many times and for it to be too obvious to the point where it became an everyday reliance. Again, last resort wish-granting powers just to keep the world intact. It's kind of like working in an information technology role where you're just there in case things go really wrong. And because for most of the year they don't, you can kind of kick back and relax, chew gum, sleepily scroll though emails, check the weather, play solitaire, you know the deal.

So now you know that legend that states Jirachi sleeps for a thousand years and only wakes up for a week is a total frickin' lie. The real truth is Jangnan is off doing other things that other legendary Pokémon wouldn't even consider during that huge chunk of downtime. Things like all-night gaming, first person shooters, listening to thrash and power metal, guzzling energy drinks, and using the magical anonymous nature of the internet to hide his real identity. He doesn't venture out very often, so the chances of him getting caught awake are very seldom. And even if he does, well, he'll grant a quickie wish to whoever spots him and be on his way. And usually because he just wants to get back to gaming, sometimes said wish is rushed and ends up not exactly being the thing the person wanted. Be careful what you wish for! Especially when your wish granter has a game to get back to.

So the next time you play against "ShadowSlayerJ" or "XxCooldude385xX" in an online game, ask yourself... who are you really playing against?

Special Abilities: Wish granting! Only... he can get carried away with it and it can get impulsive sometimes. And if he loses just a little too often and gets trolled for it or someone criticizes his aggressive and hasty play style... beware!

Likes: Online gaming, first person shooters, energy drinks, metal music, graphic t-shirts, and many other hidden, not-quite-so-obvious passions surrounding computers, gaming, and "geeky" stuff like that!

Dislikes: Formality, really complicated and what-the-fudge-are-you-asking-for wishes, instant message windows popping up while he's in the middle of a game, busted hardware, trolling after losing a game, and anyone who dares say "gg ez" when they win against him. Saying "gg ez" is very, very dangerous and totally sets him off!

One interesting fact about them: "Jangnan" actually means "mischief" in Korean (and South Korea is extremely big into gaming)! And so a legend was born!

Notes: Any comics with Jangnan the Jirachi will be more like your Sunday newspaper comics where they're a quick funny gag of only a single page or a few panels. I don't really have plans to make a long, deep storyline with this, but more of a collection of quick, funny goodies. >:3

**arnisd** · 07-09-2017, 05:14 PM

Image of design:

Name: Dzeta
Species: Half dragon familiar
Personality: Dzeta gets along well with most things others would rather fight against, feeling more connected to them, than the proclaimed righteouss races. Dzeta can't handle build up quite well, not that Dzeta gets nervous or excited, but moreso annoyed at the string of menial tasks at hand. Dzeta would rather finish something with one blow, than toy around with weaker foes. Dzeta would even like to finish stronger opponents in the same manner, with one grandiose attack, but that hardly ever happens. Dzeta is concerned about the future, the well being of Dzeta's current partner being an important aspect to Dzeta's readiness for it.

Background:
Dzeta is a familiar created through a blessings ritual of the guardian dragons. Bound to a young adventurer and wanna be hero, Dzeta has little choice but to follow her around, while trying to get her stronger, Dzeta's growth slowed down by to the weakness of Dzeta's partner. In comparison to other familiars Dzeta wasn't blessed by the usual wisdom granted by a dragon, this making Dzeta unable to give tips and advice to Dzeta's partner like a normal familiar, rather having to wing it.
Though just a familiar and unbeknownst to anyone but Dzeta's partner, Dzeta's been chosen as the successor of the fallen dragon. Dzeta one of the last powers of the dragon actively involved in the world, willing or not the world would survive without the fallen one, but it would never be the same again if Dzeta doesn't rise up to take up the torch.
Dzeta goes on many adventures and heroic quests, as Dzeta's partner tries to build up her name and strength. Dzeta coming into contact with both things Dzeta's destined to destroy, surpress or save.

Special Abilities: All familiars have powers granted by their dragon, they're not the most unique, but variations occur. In Dzeta's case, Dzeta can use aspects of the dragon. Magic designed to boost the body amongst other things.

Likes: Being prepared, interacting with less common races, staring into the distant skyline.

Dislikes: Familiars boasting their superiority, pain for the sake of pain.

One interesting fact about them: Dzeta has no gender, it's an uncommon side effect of the blessing ritual.

Notes:
The world is in turmoil, the guardian dragons feel the end of their lives approaching and ancient forces surpressed by them strengthening. For now the chaos is controlled by valiant adventurers each blessed by their chosen dragon, able to do things normal people would take years in order to learn. Magic learned in a day... strength to lift an ox, merely a weeks worth of training. The second blessing these individuals receive is a personal familiar. These familiars being animals infused with the magic of a dragon, the ritual to create them only able to take place while still unborn. Wisdom, strength and fastened growth gifted during the ritual. Common animals used for the rituals are ones that lay eggs, this because the mammal mothers usually don't survive the ritual. Humanoid rituals have been deemed forbidden, almost all of these resulting in an uncontrollable horror, that often kills everyone involved in the ritual before dying off as quickly, as it was created.
The rituals and heros however will never be able to balance out the world, they were never intedned to be able to do so from the get go. Successors need to appear for each dragon, to replace them and decide upon the path of the world again.

**Shruikan** · 07-09-2017, 07:37 PM

Image of design: Here:

Spoiler:

Name: Rowan
Species: Dragon
Personality: On the surface Rowan seems happy and excitable, always willing to join in and try new things or just hang out in general. She can seem a tad self centred at times, boasting about how powerful her magic is, but all in all she gets along with just about everyone. However, when around others of her kind, her true self begins to show, as her act crumbles away. She shrinks back into herself and become shy and nervous, worrying every moment about what everyone will think of her, and getting so stressed that she makes more mistakes and gets even more stressed out in an endless circle.
Background: Ever since she first hatched, Rowan has had trouble flying. The rest of her kind can instinctually read the winds and navigate the updraughts from moments after they first broke free of their shell, but even fully grown, Rowan is barely able to stay in control for more than a few seconds before plummeting to the ground. As a result, she always felt inferior to the other dragons and tended to spend all her time either holed up reading ancient spellbooks or exploring the nearby wilderness alone.
In one such trip, she came across a group of stringy looking two legged creatures who called themselves "Humans." She found that she fit in much more amongst these land-bound creatures, and eventually after cajoling her parents, moved to a human city to become an apprentice magician. She became a celebrity almost overnight, being the only dragon in the kingdom to live with humans, and a pretty good magician to boot. But even with her newfound popularity, Rowan couldn't help thinking that if there were any other dragons here then she'd be forgotten instantly, that her friend didn't really like her, just the idea of being friends with a dragon...
Special Abilities: Apart from the lack of flying instincts, Rowan's firebreath is lacklustre, less like fire and more like light warmth, unable to even light a campfire 9 times out of ten. She is quite skilled at brewing up potions though, from many days spent studying various recipes.
Likes: Magic, being popular, gardening, studying, spicy foods, strange animals.
Dislikes: Heights, anything that can fly, being disliked or hated, knights and other "Dragonslayers," cold days.
One interesting fact about them: She once mistook a bag of runes for candy, and for the next week swore that her dreams were visions of the future. Even the one about the cat uprising in their flying machines made of rice.
Notes: Rowan is a merely a translation of her real name, as her true name is unpronounceable to human vocal cords.