2009 24hr Challenge Official Q&A Thread

[maggie]

If you have questions or concerns for the organizers or judges, post them here!

FYI - I'm just creating the thread. Troy Kealley is the main organizer this year along with King Ive and any manner of assorted n'er do wells.

[naminote]

Hey hey,

How or when do we get the three words?

[antains]

Hi naminote,

From memory, the words are posted on the forum at the start of each 24-hour period over the weekend.

However, I think Troy and rumpusroomie posted terms every hour, last year.

Hmm, memories and maybes. I probably shouldn't have answered this question.

Ask me what the highest mountain in Russia was as per the 1986 World Book Encyclopedia. I know that one.


Edit: typos.

[Egofreaky]

Troy, I'm rallying OzTAKU to get in on this.Do you mind if we re-post the words over there as well?

[antains]

Hi grasshopper,

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the impending challenge.

The first three words you see are all you need to work with. That way, you can spend at least five minutes writing a story around or about or including or referencing those three words.

As for the time zones, the short answer is 'Yes.' There's no real limitation that I have ever noticed. Just as long as you intend to finish no more than 24 hours after the hour that you start and that you're using words posted at the hour that you start.

Anyway, given the amount of Perthians that participate, if any argy-bargy did arise and it came down to a vote, then the Eastern seaboard would only have 22 hours in which to do a comic.


Edit: gussying up my English.

[Troy Kealley]

Just to confirm:

Random words will be posted in a special announcement thread over the weekend.

You can start any time up from 11am Saturday to 11pm Sunday night, as long as you finish 24 hours later. The hour you start determines the words you use. For instance if you start at 11am (Eastern Standard Time), you first check the announcement thread and look at the 11am words, and those will be what you need to incorporate into your story.

For convenience we will post all timezones in the thread - so you'll see in the post, for example, '11 am words (9am WA, 10:30 SA)' or something along those lines. Last year it worked fine so I'm sure you'll work it out!

Avi - be my guest! And welcome to all the Oztaku people joining the challenge!

[amanda]

So... I'm a total noob with lots of questions...

I'm hosting my own images. If I post them to the forum, is that it... locked... no more changes? Or can I come back and update those images within the 24 hours if I have time? I guess I'm asking, should I just post finished pages or can I post sketches, then replace those with inked, then replace those with inked with backgrounds, etc?

What strategies do people have for choosing a starting hour? Do you plan to give yourself a sleep in the middle? Do you check every hour and only start when you see three words that inspire you?

[antains]

I have to be honest, I'm not really that helpful. I'm just trying to increase my post count...

Or is it actually more to do with my attention span, so I keep coming back to the forum?

I'm going to preface my real reply with Do what suits you.

Last year was the first year we had hourly updates of terms, so there's no formal practice there. Indeed, some people started again once they saw terms they felt were better to work with.

Sketches are fine. A lot of people post about their progress. As long as you don't exceed 24 hours working on your comic (assuming you're aiming for competition eligibility). Tracking others' progress, for me, really helps sustain me throughout the day.

As for starting-time strategies and rest breaks, do what suits you. I have started at the official start time, the last two years and worked the whole time through, aided by caffeine, sugar and fear of being tampered with by the other people in the room (I'm looking at you, rumpusroomie and lil' breachy). Other people have napped.

You'll figure it out.

[amanda]

Thanks for the advice

Oh I am SO going to sleep I just wanted to know if people had a plan for putting their sleep time near the start, middle, or end of their 24 hours.

Another question - is there an easily accessible list anywhere of the terms that were given last time so we have a taste of what to expect?
Edit - Oh, it's OK I found them! http://comikaze24.com/items if anyone else missed them.

[jacen_c]

I'm hosting my own images. If I post them to the forum, is that it... locked... no more changes? Or can I come back and update those images within the 24 hours if I have time? I guess I'm asking, should I just post finished pages or can I post sketches, then replace those with inked, then replace those with inked with backgrounds, etc?

What strategies do people have for choosing a starting hour? Do you plan to give yourself a sleep in the middle? Do you check every hour and only start when you see three words that inspire you?

Welcome to the forum amanda. You're more than welcome to post each stage of your work (sketch, inked, backgrounds etc) as long as all the work is done in the 24 hour period. It's actually kind of cool to see the "behind the scenes" progress of each persons work. If you have enough room, post all three versions for everyone to see! In the past I would try to pencil and ink my characters, scan the images, put in backgrounds and a bit of computer colouring and then finally insert speech bubbles and fonts. It normally takes me an hour for each page, but with a few splash pages (which take far less time) you can easily do 24 pages in 24 hours. Trev Wood and Jen Breach did an amazing 24 comic in what seemed liked 24 seconds last year and came back for a few more comics in the same period (but they're freaks!) This year I'll be doing my entry completely digitally unlike previous years, so I'm hoping that will speed the process up...although I have to go to a baby "naming ceremony" at 12:30 for an hour on Saturday so my advantage is straight out the window. How dare someone name their child on the 24hr comikaze weekend!!

Strategy wise, I'm normally as giddy as a schoolboy on the morning of the challenge and will start with the first three words of the day (but I have been known to incorporate other hourly words into my work as I go as well as other random things suggested by form users and from previous challenges). There's no real challenge if you wait for words that are inspiring (they may never come) and if you start at 11am on Saturday then you're done and dusted before Sunday lunch and can enjoy the public holiday on Monday (depending on what State you're in) to read everyone's fine work.

Sleeping? During a 24 hour challenge? Who can sleep? I'm normally that hepped up on Pepsi Max, ice coffee and adrenaline, I can't sleep for another 24 hours after the challenge (plus I always want to check out everyone else's work). Loud music helps when you hit the wall (for me, normally around page 12 or 13). Plus interacting and commenting on everyone else's work keeps you going.

[amanda]

Ooh lots of good advice there, thanks jacen_c!

[Wanno]

Will there be an early option for entries like last year? I think some random words were posted on Friday night for those who wanted to start earlier if they had things to do on the sunday..?

CHeers

[khajiit]

Hi guys, another newbie here :3

My friend just told me about this competition but im already super excited to start tomorrow!

Anyways just a couple quick questions: 1) does a cover page get included in the overall page count? 2) when it comes time to post pages, should they all be edited into the first post at some point? 3) if we're doing a manga, is right to left reading order and untranslated japanese sound fx ok?

[Troy Kealley]

Will there be an early option for entries like last year? I think some random words were posted on Friday night for those who wanted to start earlier if they had things to do on the sunday..?

CHeers

Best I can do is get you started tonight at 10pm EST - if you've a had a good night's sleep last night! Let me know ASAP.

Hi guys, another newbie here :3

My friend just told me about this competition but im already super excited to start tomorrow!

Anyways just a couple quick questions: 1) does a cover page get included in the overall page count? 2) when it comes time to post pages, should they all be edited into the first post at some point? 3) if we're doing a manga, is right to left reading order and untranslated japanese sound fx ok?

1. Yes a cover page can be included in the count as long as it's soemthing that took some work - not just a blank page with a title :P
2. You can if you want but mosy people just add the pages as posts to thier thread as they go. You can tidy it up at the end but all work must be completed in the 24 hour period.
3. Hmm, sounds tricky to us Gaijins - but im sure that will be fine!

[Wanno]

Hi Troy, thanks for the offer but I think we will be able to manage the saturday start now

I have bought about a tonne of junkfood in preparation.