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The QuackCast

The QuackCast

By: Michael Morris
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 The QuackCast features Ozoneocean, Banes, Tantz Aerine, and Pitface, talking about writing, movies, webcomics, art, politics, philosophy, sexuality, and everything else! We're the hosts of the oldest webcomic host on the net, Drunkduck.com, aka theduckwebcomics. 20 years this year!WOWIO, Inc. Art
Episodes
  • Quackcast 770 - Plotting or Pantsing2

    Quackcast 770 - Plotting or Pantsing2
    Dec 16 2025
    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
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Quackcast 769 - Plotting or Pantsing?

    Quackcast 769 - Plotting or Pantsing?
    Dec 9 2025
    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.
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    1 hr
  • Quackcast 768 - Avatars

    Quackcast 768 - Avatars
    Dec 2 2025

    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
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    1 hr and 2 mins
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