Aroace
#ffa100
Name Colour
𝕱𝖑𝖚𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖆𝖑𝖑
Villain Enjoyer
Taking a break from the forums because my cat died. Will probably be back mid to late October.
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Post by 𝕱𝖑𝖚𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖆𝖑𝖑 on Sept 29, 2023 2:51:14 GMT -5
There is a "1" placed beside the words "Graphic Novel" near the bottom right corner of the book, so I assume that it's more than one book. If that's the case, I wonder how many books it's gonna take for them to get through TPB. tbh, I hope it's not too many and that they condense things down a bit, mostly because I'm hoping that when they're done with TPB, they'll make GNs for the other arcs lol 6 books would be ideal in this regard (since the main arcs all have that amount for each one as well). But some things (scenes and such) would have to be cut out or at least changed/shortened for it to be condensed enough into one GN each per TPB book.
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Post by Sand on Sept 29, 2023 3:26:50 GMT -5
This looks likes it’s worth reading. I assume it’s Firestar on the cover.
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Post by dahliadove - #1 nightpelt fan on Sept 29, 2023 3:38:13 GMT -5
MORE NIGHTSTAR LETS GOOOOOOOO
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2023 16:18:03 GMT -5
Hyped, I'm super excited!!
Colorpoints, oh, we might see calicos!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, my fingers aren't typing as fast as my brain is thinking. All I can here is AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS
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#add8e6
Name Colour
*Ravenpaw*
Warrior Fanatic
*reads books in a corner*
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Post by *Ravenpaw* on Sept 29, 2023 21:25:20 GMT -5
Can't wait to read it!
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Post by ✖ Ꮮꭼꭺꮲꮶꮖꭲ ✖ on Sept 30, 2023 4:36:45 GMT -5
As excited as I actually am for this I have arrived to poop on the party. That is, mostly to express my sheer dissatisfaction with the cover art. It's roasting time babey. Before I get to some of the character details that I think were expressed poorly I'd first like to talk about the art itself. First thing being what the hell is that ear? I can tell that what they were trying to do was make it look like the ear was more flat back, but they didn't suceed in doing that, so he just looks like he has a weirdly small ear. When a cats ears flatten, they don't go straight back, they go more to the sides and "earplane" and you wouldnt be able to see any of the inner ear, only maybe some of the ear fluff if it's long enough. Here's an example image I found of a cat making roughly the same expression, and an orange tabby to boot: Notice how the cat's ears extend farther past it's cheeks. The cover art does not do that and instead of looking at a reference image, like an artist should even if they decide to draw in a more comic book/cartoon style, they decided to wing it and make it look like it is going dynamically backwards, which actually brings me to my second point that even if it is behind the head and smaller because it is farther away: it isn't shaded properly. I have been looking at this thing for a really long time cause I could tell something was just off but not exactly what and the first thing I realized beyond just the ear is like. Where is the light source coming from? Under him? above him? to the side of him? If the light is under him, as I am guessing should be the case from the shadows that are on the top of his head and such, then the inner ear would be lit, while the rest is shaded, his lower lip would not have a shadow underneath it, his nose would not have the shine line on the top, but more on the bottom and up his nostril, his upper cheek would also have a shadow under the eye, but his under eyebrow would be light and casting a shadow above the eyebrow where it would curve. Circled, to show what I mean. Very simply: remember to use reference images and think about where your light source is instead of just shading wherver you feel like it. These are rookie artist mistakes, not professional published-as-cover-art mistakes. If this was art posted on like, the art board by a fan or someone just starting out I wouldn't be nearly as harsh as I am being right now but this is work for a beloved series that was paid for. Come on. Pray that this is just, a mock up and not what will go to print. I looked up the illustrators other work and I see that they can do better and have, so I really wonder where did drawing a cat go wrong? -- The following is purely Warrior Cat Purist Opinions(tm) rather than art critique though so feel free to write them off at your own descretion. I don't like the expression chosen for how (i'm assuming Firepaw/heart/star) looks in general, if this is the beginning of the series I feel like more of an expression of some wide-eyed wonder would really fit the first book and themes much better. This is a young cat finding a whole world he never knew about before, with a lot of curiosity and mystery. A much more attentive Fireheart would have illustrated that a lot better than being so angry/determined just yet. An expression like that seems like it might be better suited for later on rather than as cover art imo. Or the cover art for the next book. Maybe even have the reflection of another cat in his eyes, like Greypaw or Bluestar or just a silouhette of a cat, if the detail is too much so it shows or alludes to their first meeting. I also just don't like that he's a tabby. Or at least not that dark of a tabby. The angry/serious expression mixed with the dark stripes almost makes him look like he's the villain combined with the fang and the fact that dark tabbies are usually reserved for villain characters to the point of being a trope. I think the fang is supposed to be like cute or look like warrior cats fan art from like the early years because everybody was having their 'rawr xD' phase and putting fangs on everything but I dont think you should be playing with the original designs on official things, cats dont usually have protruding fangs and if they do they usually get some prefix or suffix to their name to note their unusual appearance something-fang -tooth etc. or it gets mentioned somewhere else because it's a noticeable trait that would be pointed out to distinguish the character to the reader from other characters. I know "cat genetics" would make him realistically be a tabby, but the first cover never made him one and he was never mentioned as being a tabby, just orange. Fan headcanons and "real" genetics don't matter as much as source material to me. I do know now a lot of art also gives him faint tabby striping but that's the thing: it is fainter light stripes, or in terms of the other graphic novellas it was just a couple triangle lines on the face, and not dark brown on orange. This is honestly a thing that has annoyed me about several other details of the recent published art is that it seems to take fan interpretation into the designs, instead of what is literally described in the books. Ultimately it's a fantasy story, and if we said "oh well cat genetics" to everything, we would need to basically write everything from scratch and completely change entire characters designs or family trees from the bottom up. I think it's fine to have them be a little unrealistic. I think it's fine to let it be and not need to completely rationalize, and argue, and headcanon things away to make them "real". So if the book says he's orange then by StarClan, he is just orange.
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Post by {Azure} on Sept 30, 2023 6:49:56 GMT -5
i never have and never will in my life write that much over a book cover. although i see your points i still think it looks adorable
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Post by ✖ Ꮮꭼꭺꮲꮶꮖꭲ ✖ on Sept 30, 2023 16:18:21 GMT -5
i never have and never will in my life write that much over a book cover. although i see your points i still think it looks adorable That's fine. I'm just literally insane. 😌
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#a3c5e6
Name Colour
𝓣𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓿𝓲𝓮𝓵
Warrior Fanatic
All hail me, the flower-flushing queen of Prague
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Post by 𝓣𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓿𝓲𝓮𝓵 on Sept 30, 2023 16:37:34 GMT -5
✖ Ꮮꭼꭺꮲꮶꮖꭲ ✖ Glad I wasn't the only who thought the cover looked off! I don't have a kitty and know nothing about art, so you definitely put it into far better words than I ever could! ^^" I especially agree with the part about the expression; that's something that would probably be better associated with Fire star, if not Fire heart, and even then, probably late into the first arc. Not little newcomer Rusty/Firepaw. Something like the Traditional Chinese reprint, for example. To be fair about the tabby thing though, he is depicted as such on some official things, but you're right about him not being called a tabby anywhere in the text itself.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2023 16:51:05 GMT -5
I would assume the more serious expression is to try and grab the attention of an older audience, specifically those that have not read Warriors before. Someone looking for something more mature is more likely to pick up a book with a serious looking cat on the cover vs. a cute and happy looking cat.
On the other side of that, a more serious looking cat on the cover is likely to help parents avoid making the mistake of thinking it's a cute little cat story and pick it up for their kid who may not be the proper target age for this story. A Warriors graphic novel will absolutely have blood depicted visually. The Prophecies Begin especially has some brutal deaths and injuries.
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Post by ✖ Ꮮꭼꭺꮲꮶꮖꭲ ✖ on Sept 30, 2023 16:54:28 GMT -5
I would assume the more serious expression is to try and grab the attention of an older audience, specifically those that have not read Warriors before. Someone looking for something more mature is more likely to pick up a book with a serious looking cat on the cover vs. a cute and happy looking cat. On the other side of that, a more serious looking cat on the cover is likely to help parents avoid making the mistake of thinking it's a cute little cat story and pick it up for their kid who may not be the proper target age for this story. A Warriors graphic novel will absolutely have blood depicted visually. The Prophecies Begin especially has some brutal deaths and injuries. That's a good point actually, though I also think a sort of trigger warning on the back/front cover might also suffice without getting into spoiler territory. Like just a little yellow box that is like "Hey this story has depictions of cats fighting, being severely injured, and death read at your own discretion"
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2023 16:59:27 GMT -5
I would assume the more serious expression is to try and grab the attention of an older audience, specifically those that have not read Warriors before. Someone looking for something more mature is more likely to pick up a book with a serious looking cat on the cover vs. a cute and happy looking cat. On the other side of that, a more serious looking cat on the cover is likely to help parents avoid making the mistake of thinking it's a cute little cat story and pick it up for their kid who may not be the proper target age for this story. A Warriors graphic novel will absolutely have blood depicted visually. The Prophecies Begin especially has some brutal deaths and injuries. That's a good point actually, though I also think a sort of trigger warning on the back/front cover might also suffice without getting into spoiler territory. Like just a little yellow box that is like "Hey this story has depictions of cats fighting, being severely injured, and death read at your own discretion" It still certainly could, but unfortunately there are countless instances of parents not looking over what they give their kids. They see the cover, that suffices well enough for them. And then if it's not what they thought they kick up a stink towards the company. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I think the cover being more serious is a beneficial marketing strategy.
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#a3c5e6
Name Colour
𝓣𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓿𝓲𝓮𝓵
Warrior Fanatic
All hail me, the flower-flushing queen of Prague
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Post by 𝓣𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓿𝓲𝓮𝓵 on Sept 30, 2023 17:21:01 GMT -5
I would assume the more serious expression is to try and grab the attention of an older audience, specifically those that have not read Warriors before. Someone looking for something more mature is more likely to pick up a book with a serious looking cat on the cover vs. a cute and happy looking cat. On the other side of that, a more serious looking cat on the cover is likely to help parents avoid making the mistake of thinking it's a cute little cat story and pick it up for their kid who may not be the proper target age for this story. A Warriors graphic novel will absolutely have blood depicted visually. The Prophecies Begin especially has some brutal deaths and injuries. That's a good point actually, though I also think a sort of trigger warning on the back/front cover might also suffice without getting into spoiler territory. Like just a little yellow box that is like "Hey this story has depictions of cats fighting, being severely injured, and death read at your own discretion" Yeah, basically this. Like, I'd guessed it was a marketing thing and I completely get it, especially when we have other xenofiction covers to compare it to (ex: look at the cover for new graphic novel for Watership Down), but for what's supposed to be an adaptation of the first book (unless the first volume overlaps)... eh. Hopefully the other character designs will be nice, but after reading James' graphic novels for so long, this art style will definitely take some time to get used to.
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Post by Saint Ambrosef on Oct 1, 2023 22:17:21 GMT -5
i doubt this is the official cover. its likely just promotional art for the announcement.
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Post by Snowfire on Oct 2, 2023 8:46:30 GMT -5
James announced that A Thief in ThunderClan will be his last GN for the series.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2023 9:04:58 GMT -5
No, really?
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Post by Snowfire on Oct 2, 2023 9:06:13 GMT -5
Yeah, just posted the link to his announcement in a separate post.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2023 9:10:17 GMT -5
Aww
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Post by {Azure} on Oct 2, 2023 9:58:18 GMT -5
James announced that A Thief in ThunderClan will be his last GN for the series. noooooooo!!!
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