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    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Surfing HalfOrc's Avatar

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    Default Invisibility Spell(s)

    Something that's been bugging me since the strip was posted:

    When Xykon showed up on his zombie dragon, he used Greater Invisibility, and was hidden until Saangwan used True Seeing. But before then, he was completely invisible.

    Today, when the Elven Strike Team Guy and the Samurai attacked, the ESTG was invisible with just an outline, while the Samurai was just eyes... Different spells? Is there a "Lesser Invisibility" spell? Or did the outline get dropped from the art program?

    The only "Lesser Invisibility" spell I know is a joke: This ring turns you invisible when nobody is looking at you.
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    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    licoot's Avatar

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    i thought that it was them re-appearing, rather then what they had just looked like.
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    Draconi Redfir's Avatar

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    i figured it was just a way to show there were two pepole that were both invisible there, and not have a tangled mess of outlines between them.


    that, or humans and Elves each get a diffrent "invisible" artwork. V and the Elvin insergint both had outlines, and the only invisible human we have "seen" was just a pair of floating eyes,.
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    Occasional Sage's Avatar

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    I think if the invisible people weren't shown in 706, some folks'd've been confused in the second panel when they appeared. I think it's a matter of storytelling economy; with Xykon and his shiny ride, it read better to have him actually invisible.

    The different looks of the two ambushers... well, I'd chalk it up to artistic license and making sense of the scene.
    Last edited by Occasional Sage; 2010-03-12 at 06:13 PM.
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    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    I think the Azurite may be a ninja, hence the different artwork.
    Quote Originally Posted by Gicko View Post
    that, or humans and Elves each get a diffrent "invisible" artwork. V and the Elvin insergint both had outlines, and the only invisible human we have "seen" was just a pair of floating eyes,.
    Nah, because V was not seen when used Invisibility during the Battle of Azure City, and the whole Order was unseen when V cast Invisibility Sphere.
    Last edited by Gift Jeraff; 2010-03-12 at 06:12 PM.
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    NerfTW's Avatar

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    Given that they fade into view over those three panels, I assumed it was showing the spell being broken during an attack. The elf attacked first, so he was an outline, while the samurai went second, so he's one step behind the elf in becoming visible again.

    That, and two outlines right on top of eachother would be a bit messy in an already crowded panel.
    Last edited by NerfTW; 2010-03-12 at 07:17 PM.

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    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    It's because he had lightly bumped into the goblin, so his outline glew with his team's colors for a second before dropping his cloak

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    May also be a matter of Point of View.

    Since we're seeing things from the point of view of the insurgents, we "saw" them "being invisible."

    If the roles were reversed, such as with Xykon, we likely would not have seen them.

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    Orc in the Playground
     
    PaladinGuy

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by licoot View Post
    i thought that it was them re-appearing, rather then what they had just looked like.
    agreed, they were becoming visable becouse they attacked

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    Orc in the Playground
     
    Scoot's Avatar

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by Roderick_BR View Post
    It's because he had lightly bumped into the goblin, so his outline glew with his team's colors for a second before dropping his cloak
    Shoulda used the Dead Ringer.

    And ya I have to agree with the point of view argument.

    Mostly because when it does show them attacking, they're slightly transparent, like they're just then becoming visible.
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    BlackDragon

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    It could just be a matter of Rich having better drawing techniques which allowed him to show the outlines, just as he did with Vaarsuvius when he was trying to escape from Xykon after losing the splices. I would agree that it also made sense from a story point of view that the invisible Xykon did not appear until Sangwaan True Saw him, because his appearance there was supposed to be a surprise to the readers as well as the Order; the elven strike team didn't need to be hidden in the same way.

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    Flumph

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by Darakonis View Post
    May also be a matter of Point of View.

    Since we're seeing things from the point of view of the insurgents, we "saw" them "being invisible."

    If the roles were reversed, such as with Xykon, we likely would not have seen them.

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    This.

    Illusion spells seem to do a similar thing. When we know they're illusions, they appear transparent. When we don't, they're opaque.

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    Giant in the Playground Administrator
     
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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    Basically, I change the nature of how I show invisibility based on the demands of the narrative. Without the outlines in the first panel, the second panel becomes visually confusing. Did they fly up? Did they teleport? Did they cast Ghostform? Are they actual ghosts? With the outlines in place, there's significantly less doubt.

    I had to invent the "Space Ghost effect" during the Darth V arc because I needed to show the pivotal moment when Vaarsuvius decided to go back and help O-Chul. The scene just didn't work without seeing V's face, but he needed to be invisible. At the time, I used the fiends' TV as an excuse for the change but now that I've used it once, I saw no reason not to use it again if it made the story clearer.

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    TheBibliophile's Avatar

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Basically, I change the nature of how I show invisibility based on the demands of the narrative. Without the outlines in the first panel, the second panel becomes visually confusing. Did they fly up? Did they teleport? Did they cast Ghostform? Are they actual ghosts? With the outlines in place, there's significantly less doubt.

    I had to invent the "Space Ghost effect" during the Darth V arc because I needed to show the pivotal moment when Vaarsuvius decided to go back and help O-Chul. The scene just didn't work without seeing V's face, but he needed to be invisible. At the time, I used the fiends' TV as an excuse for the change but now that I've used it once, I saw no reason not to use it again if it made the story clearer.

    In short, utility trumps consistency.
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    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    BardGuy

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    Before I saw Rich's comment, I was all set to say that the elf in panel 1 was Invisible, and that the Azurite (?) was using Hide in Plain Sight (or maybe just Hide?).

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    But why, then, does the elf have a Space Ghost outline, and the Azurite just his eyes?
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    DwarfClericGuy

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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by Herald Alberich View Post
    But why, then, does the elf have a Space Ghost outline, and the Azurite just his eyes?
    Clashing outlines don't look good.
    Last edited by Watcher; 2010-03-15 at 08:23 PM.

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    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: Invisibility Spell(s)

    Quote Originally Posted by OdinsWatcher View Post
    Clashing outlines don't look good.
    True dat.
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