The Drunk Duck Quackcast

Character trajectories are really interesting- in terms of character alignment, like a good guy that slowly turns into a bad guy through a whole bunch of bad decisions and incidents. A great example from popular media is Walter White from Breaking Bad. He starts out as an ordinary guy, but soon sets out on a path that takes him down the road to becoming a super-villian. Characters can start out bad and go good or even good, go bad and then redeem themselves... Star Wars has a lot of character trajectories of varying quality depending on the movies... Characters do no need to have a trajectory, they can start of bad or good and stay that way, that's perfectly fine! But it's interesting to show how they go that way. Thanks to Tantz's newspost for inspiring the cast this week. For our Patreon vid this week we celebrated the winners of a the DD Awards! Tantz got a swag and even Banes and I one some! So if you're a Patron at any level check out the vid :) This week Gunwallace has given us the theme to Area 5 Point 1 - Quiet, subtle, grooving away as you trip down the city street, like a coool cat. Flicking your fingers, tilting your cap, looking fly! A thick, warm baseline, flows like warm caramel, twangy guitar and keyboard sparkles away on top and drum beats powerfully flavour the rest like chocolate chips. Topics and shownotes Links The DD 2020 Awards! - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Drunk_Duck_Awards_2020/5645439/ Tantz's newspost on character trajectory - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2020/nov/13/the-highway-to-hell/ Featured comic: Whispers of the Past - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2020/nov/10/featured-comic-whispers-of-the-past/ Featured music: Area 5 Point 1 - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Area_5_point_1/, - by Area 5 1, rated E. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Pitface - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/PIT_FACE/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

Today we're talking about the idea that entertainment aimed at kids can only be enjoyed by kids and the reason that adults often don't like kids things is because adults just don't “get” them. I contend that everyone, of all ages should be able to enjoy General or kid rated media and the true reason we don't is not because it “isn't meant for us”, it's because it's simply badly written - specifically, it's not the content that's annoying, it's the structure. The reason why some kid's shows are so boring and awful to an adult audience is mainly because the creators are lazy with their use of tropes, cliches, plotting etc, which they do because they're underestimating their audience. They don't think their audience is worth the time and trouble to write a decent story for so they reuse plots and take shortcuts. To some extent they can get away with it because children don't have the experience to spot a lot of that but it really doesn't take long till they do and then they quickly become bored. I contend that producing such media for kids is criminal because the media we consume as children informs us creatively and culturally as adults as we remember back on our early influences. By foisting trash on kids we're doing them a horrible disservice. How can we judge this stuff? Well, if a show aimed at kids can be enjoyed just as easily by an adult, then it's a success. Great examples are things like Bug's Bunny, Tom and Jerry, Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls, Total Drama Island, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Cinderella, the Muppet Show, etc. These things are well written and have extra layers that can be enjoyed by different age groups simultaneously. This week Gunwallace has given us the theme to Filaments a Kerbop Story - The mysterious, dark shadowy reaches of space, glowing tendrils of a pink gassy nebula, dimly seen, distant stars, shadowy pockmarked asteroids turning lazily… a happily little junty turn plucked out on strings winds its way through the gloom, spreading cheer and light! Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: Small Gods - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2020/sep/15/featured-comic-small-gods/ Featured music: Filaments a Kerbop Story - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Filaments_a_KerBop_story/, by Caliway, rated E. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Pitface - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/PIT_FACE/ Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

This week we mine Banes's ideas about damaged protagonists. Does having physiologically damaged protagonists (as opposed to merely flawed), make them more realistic or relatable? I think we came to the conclusion that this isn't necessarily the case at all, in fact it can mean the opposite sometimes. Where that sort of “damage” can come in useful it making your character more interesting, in that they can make unusual choices that serve the story nicely and stop it being too predictable. Where “damaged” characters were used badly was in popular mainstream comics where the idea became something of a fad and therefore a cliche, and so uninteresting and trite. This week Gunwallce has given us the theme to Doc2DWho. It has the apprehensive feel of oldschool Doctor Who, entering the darkness and unknown, this music is spatial and atmospheric. THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO DONATED TO OUR INDIEGOGG! Topics and shownotes Featured comic: ArGH ZoMBiE - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2018/jan/17/featured-comic-argh-zombie/ Banes's Damaged Protagonist newspost - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2018/jan/17/damaged-protagonists/ Special thanks to: Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com Kawaiidaigakusei - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei/ PitFace - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/PIT_FACE/ Tantz Aerine - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Featured music: Doc2DWho - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Doc2DWho/, by Skreem, rated E.

This Quackcast was inspired by a remark about a certain character trait in fiction and not meeting anyone like that in reality. It stuck a chord with me because people often complain on the internet about fictional tropes that "don't exist in reality", and yet in my lifetime I've frequently met representatives of most tropes in the real world. So I thought we'd chat about popular character tropes and their real life versions. One of the biggest "fiction only" character tropes that the internet loved to deride was "the magical pixie dreamgirl", which was explained away as a mythical creature invented by horny middle-aged male screenwriters who want to recapture their youth by having a dalliance with this fantasy female stereotype. In my life I've met many real life women AND men that commonly match this trope precisely: people who behave and speak whimsically, have an "alternative appearance" with dyed hair and a whimsical fashion style, a childish sense of humour, act chaotically, don't fit in with normal societal rules, go on adventures, are arty and poetic etc. Many people find it fun to live like that for a while, it's performative, and if their situation means they have less responsibility (because they're a student for example), it's much easier sustain that way of life. I think the real reason why people think that certain tropes are mythical is because they're unsustainable in the long term so real people can only behave that way for a limited period, which limits the chance that you'll encounter a person like that; the manic pixie is a great example. Also certain tropes only exist from specific points of view so unless you have the POV you won't see them: the sexy, suave male seducer, or the inappropriate sexual harasser guy for example- they target their behaviour specifically towards certain women, so that to most men those character types seem fictional, because they simply don't encounter the full brunt of it, and conversely the sexy femme fatale seductress can seem like a fictional product of the "male gaze" to many women because it's not behaviour typically aimed at them. As a young person I learned about many character tropes through the media, especially American TV and movies, where certain traits were dominant: Nerds, dorks, jocks, preppies, the popular kids, etc. And yet where I was growing up, in Australia in the 80s we didn't quite have those types of people in reality. I began to think of them as a strange fictional American invention. Even when I went to the USA for the first time in 2010 and went to San Diego Comic Con, which according to American media is ground zero for "nerds", I found it full of actors, porn stars, MMA fighters, weirdos, and families. I encountered one true, genuine nerd stereotype there and it was the most precious and interesting experience to have finally seen one after all these years. One last thing: outdated tropes. Tropes that existed at one time in reality but are now extinct so that then we see them in fiction we interpret them incorrectly or just don't understand them. Sam and Frodo in The Lord of the Rings are a great example of this, their relationship is the typical officer and his batman, the upper-class man and his devoted rural working class servant. A relationship where people are connected through a formal working arrangement and separated by class, education, and social convention but nevertheless manage bridge that through shared experience and become friends anyway. This was something that would happen particularly during WW1. The social and class situation that caused that to exist has utterly changed now so people can't understand it anymore and instead misinterpret it in their own ways. What are some "fictional" tropes you've seen in reality, or even some that you've never seen outside of fiction? In recent times I've been shocked at the rise of the bad cartoon villains in the USA and now I WISH they had remained in fiction. This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's - Lola - Where am I? Where…? The essence of cool, grooving into the night, dressed in cool white, all eyes on you, bathed in soft pastel light. Restless feet, throbbing, pulsing sound, stepping to the beat. Originally from Quackcast 316, 27th of March 2017 Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: Summer to Winter - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/mar/03/featured-comic-summer-to-winter/ Featured music: Lola - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Lola/ by Alejkhan, rated T. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

Our Quackcast this week was inspired by a post I made in the DD forums asking about songs that had a big impact on people in their formative teen years. This sort of thing is such a pertinent subject in 2026 when stupid people are thinking they can replace creativity with the soulless pastiches created by AI- Real humans are the sum of their creative influences, jumbled into a gooey mental soup as their brains were forming, getting all mixed up and mis-remembered and joined with other stuff based on emotional resonance and the context of what was going on at the time. Ai on the other hand is a machine created by a corporation that's fed stollen IP from illegal sources, which then regurgitates simplistic, meaningless mashups based on nothing but the superficial similarities of aspects of the stollen source material - it has absolutely NONE of that soulful creative depth. It's a world "learned from books" as opposed to one experienced in reality, but even worse because even a person learning things from nothing but books has emotional connections with aspects of what they read based on past experience. When I can see that sort of depth of inspiration and history in people's creations I LOVE it. With this in mind we chatted about songs that had made an impact on us as teens and how they still influence us. What songs influenced you as a teen and why? This week our best-off from Gunwallace is It's Permanent - Old school southern rock, laconic, melodic, hard drinkin', late night, whisky, beer and cigarettes. Play your cards right and you'll be going home with the prettiest cowgirl… Originally from Quackcast 387, the 7th of August, 2018 Topics and shownotes Song thread - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/180214/?page=1#latest Influential music for us: Ozoneocean Heart - These Dreams - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41P8UxneDJE All Fired Up - Pat Benatar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsnYrH3BUP8 Tantz El Condor Pasa - YMA SUMAC (1971) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlPOldBxxVs&list=RDDlPOldBxxVs&start_radio=1 ΜΙΚΡΑ ΑΣΙΑ ΑΠ - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1518A0450D00882B Banes Archie - Everything's Archie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBK1k9CM26s Meat Loaf - Paradise By The Dashboard Light- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C11MzbEcHlw Featured comic: Jack and the Beanstalk - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/feb/22/featured-comic-jack-and-the-beanstalk/ Featured music: It's Permanent - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Its_Permanent/ - by UltimateZ, rated M. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

We're doing a cast on background colouring. There are a million was to do colour for your backgrounds, the only important thing is the finished result, it really doesn't matter how you get there, as long as it's not with AI, but learning how others do things can always be helpful. For myself I got where I did by looking at the great work of others and trying to get the same results, plus a LOT of trial and error. I'll outline here a very simplified version of what I do. I have two main comic styles: a flat cartoony cell shaded style for Bottomless Waitress and a more painterly pseudo realistic style for Pinky TA. These tips apply to both but mainly Pinky TA. First up I work digitally and my lineart is top layer in grey or black, set to "Multiply" so all the non-lines parts are transparent and can show through the colour of the bottom layers. I create about 2 to 4 background layers, depending how complex I want to be. The very bottom layer is my simple fill layer. Usually I decide on a simple gradient for each panel. The gradient is usually made up of no more that 3 colours. It's a good way to very quickly add a sense of depth and visual interest to an image. I usually pick a colour to represent the feeling of the emotional vibe of the scene or something that fits realistically with the image. On the layer above that I'll colour objects, buildings, and things in the background. I find It's very important to know that the colours of your backgrounds influence the colours of the things within it, especially your characters (if you're doing a more realistic style), and lighting is a massive part of that because without light there is no colour or vision, so know where your light is coming from and what kind of light it is: sunlight, lamps, windows, candles, spotlights, moonlight, universal light etc. That will also infleunce how hard, distinct and dark to make your shadows. On a layer above those two I'll colour my figures. I take cues from the main background colours on how to colour my characters so that they fit better with the scene, and I also light them the same way. They will still be coloured in their standard colours mostly but the panel colour influences how their shadow colours look. Finally in another layer above the line art I will have an "effects "layer which will go over everything. This could be for bloom effects around bright lights or fire, it could be for smoke or fog, or often I use it for a trick to create "atmospheric perfective": this is where things that are further away become dimmer or faded and it's a very easy way to add depth. To do this I just add a gradient of a single colour- usually white, and set its opacity to fade to zero, with the zero opacity part of the gradient over the foreground and the full white over the background in the distance, then I set the opacity of that layer to be quite low, maybe 15%. So that's one of my methods. I hope you are able to get something helpful from it! In the cast Tantz and Banes also outline some of their very different techniques. How do you work? This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's - Miss Sisyphus - Slow, faded monochrome ennui, colour bleeds in gradually, like a stain on paper, filing with life, danger, adventure, futuristic exploration, like a dull and dusty bud, blossoming into a gorgeous flower, full of colour and heady scent. Originally from Quackcast 558, 23rd of November, 2021. Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: Nemutions Heart - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/feb/17/featured-comic-nemutions-heart/ Featured music: Miss Sisyphus - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Miss_Sisyphus/ - by SinisterDuck, rated M. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

This Quackcast was recorded on the 14th of February so our cast was about Valentines day and romantic love stuff! A day named after a martyred Christian from the latter days of Rome who was beaten and then beheaded. Apparently he advocated for the right of Roman Legionaries to marry so that's where the love and romance association comes from… Which is interestingly ironic to me because the true meaning of "romance" and "romantic" isn't lovey dovey stuff, but rather it refers to things that are associated with ancient Rome, or are evocative of the idealised memory of it, hence people who're obsessed with ideals used to be called "romantics". The concept of "romance" has since been simplified and bastardised to only mean lovehearts and Hallmark type commercial ideas of people courting - chocolates, flowers and all the rest. We chat about that and actual lovely dovey comics and movies and books and things. Out of the three of us much of Banes' work has more of a focus on love than anything else. He even has a comic called "Kaiju Valentine", which has a fantastic love story at its centre between a giant woman and a normal sized man, you should really read it! But his other comics like Typical Strange and Bottomless Waitress that he works with me also feature significant love plots. Some of my fave love stories are the movie Joe Vs the Volcano, and the books Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, and The Rowan, all of them because although love is the focus they use it to explore other things: Destiny and self realisation of Joe Vs the Volcano, dangerous, nasty toxic passion in Wuthering Heights, class politics in Pride and Prejudice, and becoming a whole, accepted person in The Rowan. Do you enjoy love stories or do one yourself? This week our best-off from Gunwallace is Kaiju Valentine - Stomp meets a big stomping monster woman as she bops and bounces heavily to this cool, percussive and yet somewhat ethereal sound. It's party time here in Kaiju land! This is an infectious dance number! Originally from Quackcast 714, 19th of November 2024 Topics and shownotes Tantz Valentines newspost - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/feb/13/love-is-in-the-air/ Featured comic: Abnormal Alliance - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/feb/09/featured-comic-abnormal-alliance/ Featured music: Kaiju Valentine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Kaiju_Valentine/ - by Banes, rated M. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

Myths and legends are a massive part of our culture. We have the original versions of them that still stay with us, mostly intact, but because of how important and well known they are we're always getting new versions of them that are changed and added to to reflect our contemporary culture. Big stories like King Arthur, Robin Hood, Beowulf, the Odyssey, The Journey to the West and many other stories keep getting new versions in our modern world. The Greek myths beings quite old, very detailed, and well written get a LOT of different versions, which has been happening since antiquity. Even the Romans like Ovid revised them, his versions were made to reflect his own cultural and political realities. Most recently there's the Nolan version of the Odyssey coming out. Some are annoyed at the various non-white people in certain roles, but that's a trend that's been popular for about 30-40 years or so and simply reflects our modern diverse cultural and ethnic makeup. The only thing that irks me are the stupid costumes and reinterpretation of the armour, but also the silly commentary concerning it- on one hand you have supporters of the crude fantasy styles in the film and on the other supporters of ancient Mycenaean styles. The thing is though that Ancient Greeks ALWAYS depicted their mythological figures armoured like hoplites (or naked), with Corinthian helmets. That wasn't a case of them showing the figures in contemporary fashions either- hundreds of years after those styles were dead they were still used for the characters. So there was never a need to reinterpret them OR imagine them in archaic "historically accurate" styles, they should always be shown as classical Greek warriors. /rant Beowulf shows up in various ways, there are direct and indirect interpretations. One of the interesting aspects is that people use the monster, Grendel, for their indirect interpretations- Everything from Friday the 13th (the first one), to Frankenstein (at least as an inspiration to the various adaptations), Jaws, The 13th Warrior, Split Second (a monster in futuristic flooded London), you could even include Predator and Alien. Journey to the West is a very important story to many cultures in eastern Asia because it's tied closely with Buddhism and the spread of that religion on the continent. It was important to me when I grew up with endless TV repeats of the dubbed Japanese series Monkey Magic, starring Masaaki Sakai, Japanese pop sensation (The Spiders), and perennial charismatic TV personality. It featured comedy, endless fighting with demons and monsters, and the retelling of various stories. This version was so popular that people have remade it rather than just the myth itself, and it's inspired films and TV shows with the costumes it used for the characters. Many others now know the myth through the Dragon Ball anime and Manga, with Goku as the Monkey King. Disney's anthro version of Robin Hood had a gigantic impact on the creation of furry culture. The King Arthur myth, focussing on the heroic journey of a random, scruffy orphan into a prophesied king of a nation shows up everywhere in fantasy and Scifi, examples include Star Wars and the fantasy series The Belgariad and Malloreon by David Eddings and many others, including more direct versions like Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, Disney's Sword in the Stone, and the fantastic Excalibur. The Jewish myth of David and the giant Goliath show up over and over in things too because of the focus on an underdog who triumphs despite huge odds and then goes on to become a famous ruler. What are your fave myths that keep on inspiring popular culture (directly and indirectly), and what is your fave version? This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's - Ripping off King Arthur - We're all preparing for the big event here with this theme. It's a weird mixture of a Rocky theme, fantasy epic, and 8 bit video game music… as if were were about to see a pixelated, medieval fantasy themed version of Mortal Kombat! The fight showdown to end all fight showdowns! - I chose this because it mentions King Arthur, a mythical figure. Originally from: Quackcast 451, 4th of Nov, 2019. Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: Exposure - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/feb/03/featured-comic-exposure/ Featured music: Ripping off King Arthur - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Ripping_Off_King_Arthur/ - by Arspitzer, rated M. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

Today we're talking about bad feedback. This was inspired by Tantz's newspost about the webcomic management site Hivemind two weeks ago that used belittling tactics and bad feedback to break down and control the webcomic artists who were managed by the site. Bad feedback can be extremely harmful to a creator. We're not talking about harsh criticism, we're talking about useless criticism who's only purpose is to make a creator feel bad about their creation. The cover image here is from a picture by me. I had it up on the fantasy art site "Epilogue" back in the day. That site had started out as a cool place to post fantasy art and I had been invited to display my art there in the early 2000s, but by the time I posted that pic it had a weird system in place where they had people reviewing the art before it was allowed to be displayed. I remember that some entitled idiot gave me useless feedback that was something along the lines of "This isn't good enough for this site yet, it needs fixing…" -That's paraphrased. Basically it was pointless, unhelpful gatekeeping on a site that was there for creators, on which I'd been invited to participate with. Creators need to be supported and helped. That doesn't mean telling them extra-positive lies, just as it doesn't mean unhelpful pseudo-criticism It means praising them for what they did right, for the effort and the bravery of creation, and being genuinely helpful with advice and criticism in a way that they can use and be receptive. If you can't do that then learn HOW to. What's the most helpful or unhelpful criticism you have received? This week Gunwallace has given us a great little theme to Through the Window - Flamenco, Latin, fast stepping, toe tapping, heel stomping to this powerful rhythm that wants to get your body up and moving, swaying and spinning on the dance floor, shimmying with your partner, fast and intense! Originally from Quackcast 427, 20th of May, 2017. Topics and shownotes Tantz Feedback newspost - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/jan/16/on-feedback/ Featured comic: Gruna the Barbarian - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/jan/26/featured-comic-gruna-the-barbarian/ Featured music: Through the Window - - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Through_the_Window/ - by Andore Mordre, rated E. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

We're doing another Quackcast on the separation of the art from the artist, which was inspired this time by Gunwallace's Thursday newspost about the death of Dilbert comic artist Scott Adams. I can usually separate the art from the artist and I used to really enjoy Dilbert but he seemed to have a sudden personality change into strange politics and conspiracy thinking during the 2016 US presidential election. It got so bad that I couldn't support reading new Dilbert strips as my daily comics read anymore because I knew that directly supported him, so I wasn't able to separate the art from the artist in that instance. Can you separate the art from the artist? If not in all cases, are you able to do it in some? We also chat abut how some creators make themselves more important than their work, so that in the end they almost become the main creation themselves and their work is secondary. That leads us into the territory of the "influencer". So called influencers have always existed but it's only during our modern social media dominated age when it's become such a popular phenomena. It can be very annoying when real creators crossover into becoming "influencers" but that usually actually makes it easier to separate their creations from them because as products the art and the artist become very different things. Tantz poses the question during the cast, asking if we can separate her from her work, and I wasn't sure if I could. After listening to the Quackcast can you separate us from our art? Can people separate you from your art? This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's Dragons in Civilized Lands - Compelling, foreboding, panoramic, an epic landscape is slowly revealed below as you swoop on down through the grey clouds… the view spreads, wider and wider… cold mountains rear, vast stretches of icefields, patchwork fields, and a huge carpet of forest, past the occasional fort high on a hill, we narrow in on a clash between two brightly armoured hoards. Bright crimson flecks the shiny armour, brightly coloured pendants wave in the wind. Horses snort, men shout and scream… all fades to black. Originally from: Quackcast 445, 23rd of September, 2019. Topics and shownotes Links Gunwallace's newspost about the death of Scott Adams - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/jan/19/scott-adams-1957-2026/ Featured comic: Penny Dreary - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/jan/20/featured-comic-penny-dreary/ Featured music: Dragons in Civilized Lands - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Dragons_in_Civilized_Lands/ - by RobertRVeith, rated T. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

We're talking about the glory of war, or rather the hollowness of it. Not just war though but the symbols of power and violence associated with any kind of conflict, from something like a sword or pistol, all the way up to fighter jets, tanks and warships. These are all objects that viscerally symbolise power more than anything else, whatever appeal they have is rooted in their ability to enable their wielder to actively make changes in the world and set themselves above others. But why "hollow"? Because war, injury and the exercise of power over others is NOT sexy or at all glorious, rather it's the worst possible thing you can experience. We talk about that contradiction. War and violence is often sexualised, and I use that term correctly in this instance unlike the people who talk about the "sexualisation of women"- adult people are sexual by definition and cannot be "sexualised", what they actually mean is "eroticised", the distinction is important. How is war and violence sexualised? We gender weapons in obvious ways, relating them to male and female genitalia, we name them and refer to them in gendered ways, we also strongly associate war and weapon imagery with gendered things- think of Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, bare muscled, sweating chest, thick, shaggy hair, an M-60 machine gun cradled in one arm blasting away while a chain of ammunition is draped across the other. Or the actors in Top Gun being all young, handsome, virile men, playing beach volleyball shirtless. Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, rippling with muscle, expertly handling assault rifles. The recruits in Starship Troopers, male and female, hitting the showers together. Wonder Woman pulling a sword from the back of her evening dress… All this imagery ensures we associate the exercise of power with adult sexuality and virility. The superficial interpretation is to see power, weapons, and war as all "masculine", but that is inadequate and facile because the lust for power, it's use and exercise is not limited by gender in any way, it's only been skewed to the masculine through historical sexism. As a young person I was seduced by the glorious imagery of war and weaponry through TV shows like Robotech and Starblazers, animes that make a specific point of venerating giant weapons in the form of transforming fighter jets, beweaponed mecha, and massive space battleships bristling with guns. Then of course there were things like the sword wielding Conan, The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, King Arthur, Asterix and Obelix and their powerful fists, and all the heroes in WW2 movies fighting the good fight. It wasn't till adulthood when I began to question the appeal and allure of these things and realise the darkness they actually represent. But even though I better understand it now, I also realise that the attractiveness of power imagery is baked into my brain so it will always strike a chord with me, which is why I'm always exploring both sides of the equation in my comic Piny TA. As Tantz says in the Quackcast though: "The way to win is not to play". Wise words for two reasons; the best use of any type of weaponry from swords, to guns, to fighter-jets, to warships, or even nuclear missiles is to only have them for the purpose of intimidation, if you can achieve your objective without ever committing violence and horror you've truly won because you didn't destroy resources, create further issues, damage your weapon, lose lives from either side, risk losing, or create many further complications and the risk of reprisal. The other reason is based on another interpretation: don't play, don't venerate the exercise of power through the use of war and violence focussed imagery and symbolism, then you won't perpetuate it. Have you ever been at all moved by "heroic" imagery, the power fantasy of holding a weapon, or the imagery of "righteous war"? Braveheart and Lord of the Rings are two that many love because of this topic. This week Gunwallace has given us a great little theme to - The Starry Ladders - An introspective, high action rock song with a fun little twist. Soaring electric guitars and weird electronica flavoured with a car alarm? At least that's what the musicians think! It features Banes, Tantz, and I was the comic characters. Topics and shownotes Featured comic: Bel Dozer - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/jan/12/featured-comic-bel-dozer Featured music: The Starry Ladders - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/The_Starry_Ladders/, by Helterskelter1995, rated T. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

Murder mysteries are a very popular genre, in fact they're one of the main fiction genres and probably one of the biggest. They generally consist of one or more murders, people who try to find the identity of the mysterious murderer, their motive, method, and weapon, and a few red herrings to hopefully keep you guessing till the denouement (the big reveal), at the end! There are a lot of different ways of structuring them but however it's done they usually have a lot in common with each other. Why murders? Murders are a horrible thing and hopefully not something that many of us have much if any direct experience with in our lives. They're a high stakes event though that we can all relate to because none of us want to have that experience so it's something to be feared and also morbidly curious about. In action and horror genres the death of anyone but the main characters tends to be pretty meaningless and often common, but murder mysteries rightfully treat any single death as extremely serious things so that makes them much closer to real life in that way, along with the emotional resonance such things can have. We chat about what defines the genre and some of our fave examples, from the Chinese "Coroner's Diary", anything by Agatha Christy, the "knives Out" series, to the excellent "Nero Wolfe Mysteries" adapted by Timothy Hutton in 2001 and more. What are your fave examples of the genre? Have you ever tried writing one? This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's Mindfold, which is newly finished! It completed its 10 year run on December the 26th. Mindfold - A tune that fits very well with its title! You can feel your mind folding with this gorgeous, echoing, evocative multicultural influenced sound, featuring all manner of crystalline ringing synths, soaring violins, drums and so much more. This would fit well with a high concept cyberpunk anime. Originally from 336 August the 21st 2017 Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: Crazy Guy in Monster Suit - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2026/jan/06/featured-comic-crazy-guy-in-monster-suit/ Featured music: Mindfold - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Mindfold/ - by FallopianCrusader, Rated M. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

We commonly think of conflicts as being good guys versus the bad guys, especially when we look back at history. When we learn more about them we see that things are in shades of grey rather than black and white, and clever war fiction will include quite a bit of that greyness. But the funny thing is that when it comes to real world conflicts, people involved in them often do not have the luxury of seeing things in grey, they often HAVE to pick a side, even if it's not one they personally support because it means their survival, the survival of their family, or their community. I find that aspect very interesting. The side we are on is often dictated by our family, our community, or our country, even if we don't support everything they do, sometimes they have our loyalty regardless. How do you handle war and divided loyalties in fiction, or even reality? This week Gunwallace is another best-off Gunwallace and I chose: Busty Solar - A heavenly pink cloudy future world of strawberry scented mists, dancing, sparkling lights, and golden rays of pure morning sunshine angling through. Originally from Quackcast 235, 7th of September 2015. Topics and shownotes Featured comic: Captain Tempest - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/dec/29/featured-comic-captain-tempest/ Featured music: Busty Solar - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Busty_Solar/ by Prototype, rated A. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

This is our final Quackcast for 2025. It's been a year all right… but we've done ok here at DD despite our ups and downs and the ups and downs of the rest of the planet. In other news Alexey our programmer is getting closer to sorting out the new version of DD. As part of that process I chatted to Emma Claire who is doing the visual designs for it and ended up meeting her and her hubby for lunch and coffee the other day, so that was very cool. Always a pleasure to meet more DDers! This year was a tricky one for me for sure because on Christmas eve last year my cat broke his leg and all five bones in that part of the leg were cleanly snapped through as if they had been cut with a ghostly knife that sliced the bones but didn't touch skin, muscle or tendon… after recovering from an expensive operation to repair them all with stainless steel rods, his stomach was ruptured open because of the painkillers, which necessitated emergency surgery and two weeks stay in a vet hospital which cost as much as a new car. When he finally came home he had to stay for 3 months in a small room so he couldn't jump on anything and damage his healing leg. Which meant I had to stay with him in there night and day as much as I could to keep him calm. Thankfully he's all good now! Tantz, Banes and I chat about silly place names around the world and other fun things on the cast and stuff we've done and watched over the year of 2025. Have you done anything cool in 2025, has anything big and important happened for you? Are there silly place names where you are? BTW our Patreon video this week is free for all to watch on Patreon: - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's Necroblivion - The raw, buzzing fuzz of distorted electric guitar over calm, almost celebratory rhythm driven music brings to mind the sounds of North African Tuareg band Tinariwen. This is quite a positive vibe and a very African sound. - Originally from Quackcast 535, 15th June 2021 Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: Dragon Garage - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/dec/19/featured-comic-dragon-garage/ Featured music: Necroblivion - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Necroblivion/ - by Paneltastic, rated M. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

Happy Christmas! This is our penultimate cast of the year. We use this time to reflect on the year as it's been, chat about our comics, movies and TV shows. Our DD site will hopefully be updated soon to the new look too so that's something to look forward to! And there's the secret santa gift art thread to check out for seasonal art as well. Did you watch anything cool this year? Reach important comic milestones? What's you fave Christmas carol or Christmas song? Mine is Good King Wenceslas. This week Gunwallace is another best-off Gunwallace and I chose: The Archer and the Squirrel - launching abruptly, like an arrow springing from a bow, this tune follows a beautiful arching path against a bright blue sky of melodic, rhythmic flute that begs you to dance a jig with a great big grin on your face! Originally from Quackcast 310, 13th February 2017. Topics and shownotes Secret Santa gift art thread - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/180178/ Featured comic: What's Going On - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/dec/16/featured-comic-whats-going-on/ Featured music: The Archer and the Squirrel - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/The_Archer_and_the_Squirrel/, by Tieback, rated E. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS ——— We got up to here - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/180165/#3027076

This is the second and final part of our discussion on blending improvisation with solid story plotting/structure as you carry on drawing a comic. The esteemed and famous John Celestri put the question to us: "Are you a plotter or pantser?" i.e. do you work out what's going on in your comic in advance or do you improvise when you go to create the page? Many DDers responded and we read those out as well as lending our own insights and going a bit off topic. The main thing we gained from this is that most people fall somewhere in the middle because webcomicing is all about retaining the passion and the fun of the work, especially when you're working alone. That means you have to nurture the flame of that passion: plotting things too far in advance can kill it because it takes away all the fun and inspiration and the exercise of creation becomes too much like work. Improvising everything as you go can maximise the fun and joy of creation but it can eat up all your inspiration SUPER quickly and leave you empty and unable to continue with more pages so that your comic dies, hence finding a middle ground is desirable! Try to plan and plot but leave a lot of room open for inspiration. This week we have another best off from Gunwallace and this time it's Mechaniko - The sound of nodes on a neural network firing, connecting, and cascading with shared knowledge: Multilayered, technological robo-future rock. - Originally from 308, 30th January 2017 Topics and shownotes Links Topic based on a thread by John Celestri - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/180165/ Content from: Marcorossi - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/marcorossi/ TheJagged - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/TheJagged/ Bravo1102 - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/bravo1102/ Casscade - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Casscade/ J_Scarbrough - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/J_Scarbrough/ JohnCelestri - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/JohnCelestri/ plymayer - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/plymayer/ Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ BarakoThePirate - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/BarakoThePirate/ Featured comic: Sandbox - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/dec/10/featured-comic-sandbox/ Featured music: Mechaniko - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Mechaniko/ - by Yves Ker Ambrun, rated E. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

Blending improvisation with solid story plotting/structure as you carry on drawing a comic. In the words of noted professional animator John Celestri: I'll start this conversation by asking the question "Are you a Pantser or a Plotter?" In other words, do you write your comic as you go along or do you have a detailed story structure before you start drawing Page 1? John put this question to the DD forum and many creators responded. It's an interesting question. I don't think many of us are on the extreme ends of the spectrum but they do exist. The more you plot things out in advance the better and more refined your comic will be, the trouble is though that tends to be the least enjoyable way to work and can suck all the fun out of the process, which is why most of us do webcomics to begin with: the fun. While completely pantsing your work ("flying by the seat of your pants"), and coming up with each new page or strip in the moment that you work on it can be invigorating and fresh, it can also cause you to very quickly run out of all ideas and motivation and lead to a block that ends your comic for good. I think most of us fall somewhere along the middle between these two extremes: We plan a bit but leave some room open for improvisation and change when we work on the finished page, whether that's with the textual part of the comic, the art, both things, or even the plotting and story structure. For my comic Pinky TA I have tried planning and plotting in advance and sticking with that, I've also tried creating each new page with no forward planning in mind. The way that works best for me is to broadly outline a story in advance and roughly plot out what happens on each page, which leaves me free to create the art and dialogue in whatever way I want to properly express the story. For Bottomless Waitress and Key of Dreams my role there is just as the artist, which means all the page planning is done in advance for me, that leaves me free to improvise with the art however I choose, if I choose. I can't change the overall story but I can influence it and add in new jokes and things simply using the art. It's the best of both worlds for me. We only got through half the contributions on the thread so we'll be doing a part 2 on this interesting topic next week! Feel free to tell us how you work and why? Also, you can contribute to the thread linked bellow. This week Gunwallace has given us the theme to Hell Monkey by - A growing, throbbing, electronic pulsing theme with rhythms disturbingly out of time which gives you a growing sense of unease and discomfort as the music slowly expands to become a complex wall of interweaving sonic vines, blossoming and releasing their heady yet toxic fragrances in this hothouse of sound. Topics and shownotes Links Topic based on a thread by John Celestri - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/180165/ Content from: JohnCelestri - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/JohnCelestri/ J_Scarbrough - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/J_Scarbrough/ Andreas_Helixfinger - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Andreas_Helixfinger/ Dpat57 - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/dpat57/ Ironscarf - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Ironscarf/ Marcorossi - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/marcorossi/ Bravo1102 - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/bravo1102/ Othosmops - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Othosmops/ Furwerk studio - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Furwerk%20studio/ TheJagged - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/TheJagged/ Spooky Kitsune- https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Spooky%20Kitsune/ Featured comic: Unhallowed - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/dec/01/featured-comic-unhallowed/ Featured music: Hell Monkey - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Hell_Monkey/, by Nichemode, rated M. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS ——— We got up to here - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/180165/#3027076 Next half next week.

Today it's sort of a fun one, we're talking about avatars that people use to represent themselves when they communicate online. It's an important part of communication because it influences how we represent ourselves and how we relate to others. I've been on Drunk Duck over 20 years and in that time I've had many different avatars as I've changed my role on the site and chosen to represent myself in different ways. The same with Tantz Aerine and Banes, as well as our avatars for Google, Twitter/X, Facebook, and all other social media. Over time many corporate interests have seen the value of people's need for avatars and they've sort to co-opt it and market in opportunistic and cynical ways. The most typical is to limit your choice of avatars to images they have licenses for so they can advertise, like Netflix and Disney Plus. Another common way to do it is Snapchat's method and something Meta tries when you create a "3D" avatars that are roughly based on yourself, dressed in items of clothing they create, with hairstyles and facial expressions etc. they they offer so that you have a limited illusion of personalisation and representation. Their goal is to hopefully make you buy special features for that avatar to make you stand out more. Personally I hate anything that takes away true freedom of expression. It goes much further than that though: the whole reason why Meta (owner of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and more), is even called "Meta" is because their ultimate goal was to change the internet so we all communicate via a 3D interface with 3D avatars to represent us all, with clothing and designs that were bought via NFPs. Test versions of that were already in place before it ultimately failed, but not before people spent quite a bit of money on their silly character's appearances. How did YOU come to use your particular avatar and how long have you been using it? Do you use art you've created, a selfie photo, or something you saved from your online activities? This week Gunwallace game us a lovely musical theme to - Destruction Inc - A hidden, mysterious, technical, cyber world with code and sparkling neural pathways… this electronic tune is quite intimidating and alien though the notes of a piano serve to humanise it, as does the driving beat. Topics and shownotes Links Next week: Blending improvisation with solid story plotting/structure as you carry on drawing a comic. - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/180165/ Featured comic: Faerie Tales - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/nov/25/featured-comic-faerie-tales/ Featured music: Destruction Inc - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Destruction_Inc/ - by ThatDarnFoxCreations, rated M. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

We chat about how your characters evolve over the years. Webcomics are typically projects that extend over many years or even decades, slowly evolving as they go. Your characters change over that time due to all sorts of factors: you forget how to draw them between pages (I've done that so many times), you want to try out new things or popular styles, you use the wrong references, you change how you feel about certain things, or you change how you write them for various reasons. For me I've been drawing my character Pinky since the late 90s, Pinky has been going for 27 years now in various forms and the characters in Bottomless Waitress have been around for over 10 years. In those comics I now take months between drawing new pages so it's easy to forget how I'm suppose to draw them, I have to look up the last 4 pages every time and research how they're supposed to look, I remember most of it but it's easy to get details wrong. Because of that the characters evolve over time when I make little mistakes that become embedded and then reiterated. Other changes happen when I just decide I don't like older styles and want to try new things: less cartoony, more cartoony, more realistic, more manga influenced, more painterly etc. Pinky and the rest of the characters in her comic have gone through so many changes over the years and I'm grateful that the webcomic format allows me to have that freedom. Bottomless Waitress is a collaboration with Banes so I don't change the writing of the characters, but I change the look of them just as much and experiment with new styles. I do not understand how ANY of their hairstyles work so those change slightly all the time because of that. Character bibles would help but who has time for that crap? haha! How have your characters changed and why? This week Gunwallace has given us the theme to Base Reality - A demonic game of Pac-man that gets more and more intense till reality is destroyed, we head on up into the afterlife, then float around in purgatory for a while before becoming reborn into Pac-man! An intense electronic journey into metaphysics! Next week we'll be talking about Avatars and selfies self images. Week after: Blending improvisation with solid story plotting/structure as you carry on drawing a comic Topics and shownotes Links Featured comic: Shimmer Redux - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/nov/17/featured-comic-shimmer-redux/ Featured music: Base Reality https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Base_Reality/, by Stever_Blotto, rated T. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS

This cast is about supporting the individual and interesting creator in the face of crappy, generic Ai produced slop. Because individuality, human mistakes, and human weirdness are so much more interesting than averaged out, smoothed down, generic pablum that's produced by "generative" Ai. I must apologise though because I slept through the usual Quackcast time (I was sick), and it took my brave, loyal and helpful cat almost 2 hours to finally wake me up and get me ready for the cast! So my brain wasn't fully awake and I was a dopey ditz for most of the cast. Gunwallace joined our crew for this cast. He's always a welcome member to the team. These big Ai models work by stealing text and images from all over the place and giving us averaged out versions of them. The text and images they churn out are typically bland and often wrong because they are an average of both bad and good information that are delivered in an entirely overconfident manner. AI is a great real-time example of the Dunning-Kruger effect in action. The blandness is key though- this is why as a creator you shouldn't feel disheartened, the novelty and creativity of you work is still wake makes it interesting in the face of all this generic glurge. As Ai use increases, genuine creatives will adapt to it and make it their own as just another of their tools. The people who think they can replace creatives will be disabused of that fantasy just like they were with things like photography and synthesisers: Photography didn't replace the artist like people feared, good photos still take a lot of skill, experience, talent, and training to produce. Synthesisers didn't replace musicians, you still needed to know what you're doing to make music with them. Ai is much the same in that the generic images and text produced by inane "prompts" are generic garbage based on stolen content and the more they're produced the more generic people will see them to be, unless true creatives come along who know how to manipulate them to produce interesting things instead of simply simulacra of interesting things. It is already starting with people who forgo Ai trained with stolen IP and instead use their own work for the training models. And to a much lessor extent for people who use prompted Ai creations as the basis for further creative work of their own. In the mean time though fully creator produced work will always have value. This week we have a best-off Gunwallace - Awfully decent fellows - JAMES FREAKIN' BOND. That's all I originally wrote. This is one of my faves that I often listen to. Originally from Quackcast 195 14th of December 2014. Topics and shownotes Links How people become dumber through the use of Ai - https://bsky.app/profile/cozmicsoulfire.bsky.social/post/3lzkwart27k2z Featured comic: Trip And Tessa - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/nov/12/featured-comic-trip-and-tessa/ Featured music: Awfully decent fellows - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Awfully_Decent_Fellows/ - by Ironscraf, rated E. Special thanks to: Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/ Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/ Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/ VIDEO exclusive! Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks! - https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts! Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS