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- Feb 7, 2014
I'm pretty sure I could come up with a more appropriate voice for the Woggle-Bug right now, and I'm four beers into a case.
🎨 Artcow WogglebugLoveProductions / Cynthia Hanson / Cherie Anne Hapney - One Womanchild's Fruitless Quest to Make Her Cockroach Husbando a Household Name
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I'm pretty sure I could come up with a more appropriate voice for the Woggle-Bug right now, and I'm four beers into a case.
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2013
I can do I a creepy loli voice So I'll voice the sue.
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
I actually think A-Log is better at doing voices than this guy. A-Log for Wogglebug! It'll surely be his breakout role!
Voice acting is a lot of fun. It's the only part of the industry I miss and I still sometimes consider getting some lessons to polish up and trying to get back into it. Stuff like this, however, makes me glad I retired with some dignity... as tempting as it is to troll suethors to bring their sues to life.
Voice acting is a lot of fun. It's the only part of the industry I miss and I still sometimes consider getting some lessons to polish up and trying to get back into it. Stuff like this, however, makes me glad I retired with some dignity... as tempting as it is to troll suethors to bring their sues to life.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2014
...
I will never run out of nightmare fuel for Wiffle ball and his friends.
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
WHY DOES EVERYTHING ALWAYS LOOK SO 'BAD TOUCH'?
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2013
...
I will never run out of nightmare fuel for Wiffle ball and his friends.
Thanks to that earlier posting, every time I see the Wobblebutt with the two girls, I think of PedoBear.
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2014
...
I will never run out of nightmare fuel for Wiffle ball and his friends.
Eeehhhh... This Version of Wog-Sothoth doesn't seem as pants-shittingly horrifying as the 3D one. It looks like someone deliberately softened his weird pointy bits and tried to humanize him. It didn't work, but I can tell someone tried.
Froggy is still just sort of a weird afterthought, tho.
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2014
Yeah I actually prefer this Wiffleball over the 3D one, myself. What got me to make the nightmare fuel comment was the Frogman. @Pancake put it succinctly but Frogman really, really creeps me out in these pictures.
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2013
The frogman looks like he is waiting for his chance to eat the wogglebug.
...
I will never run out of nightmare fuel for Wiffle ball and his friends.
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2013
Maybe he meant Sutter Cane.
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
I was thinking about it, and I reckon I've worked out some of the reasons the whole thing comes across as so wrong. WBL, if you still read here PLEASE read this as it is intended as constructive criticism.
1. Inappropriate actions and dialogue.
If you look at kiddie media these days, there are several things you never see. One, is adult figures telling unrelated children 'I love you'. You don't see random adults giving random kids hugs and you certainly don't hear them asking the child to hold hands or embracing them. It has also become rare to see children going off for adventures with strangers, especially adults.
There's a reason for that: No parent wants their kid to think these actions are okay coming from an unfamiliar/unrelated adult. If Wogglebug was an adult man who did those things and it happened in the real world, the parents of the child would be rightfully suspicious that their child was being groomed. You have to take the modern world and its conventions and rules into consideration.
2. The artwork
Although the art has definitely improved, the Wogglebug is never going to be seen as adorable for a few reasons. Most people react with disgust to insects, cockroaches in particular. Therefore most people will have an instant aversion to the character. If their first thought when they see it is 'what the hell is that' or 'that thing looks like a cockroach!' they're not going to want to find out more about the character. Character designs and artwork need to be intriguing and appealing to the masses so that they will be drawn into learning more. People buy kids' books based on the cover art and if it's not appealing to them, they won't buy it.
The same can be said for the frogman. A lot of people find amphibians gross. The character needs to be cuter for people to find it appealing.
3. The writing
I know the story is kind of old work now and you continually revise it, but there are a lot of problems with it. Perhaps the biggest one is how blatantly it echos The Neverending Story. You have the entire world of Oz to draw from, and also your imagination. Use those rather than copying other stories. There were times where you actually slipped up and used the name of the landmark from The Neverending Story in place of your own landmark's name. Maybe take some creative writing classes at a community college, or attend some workshops. They can be very low cost and give you invaluable help in creating original content and fixing problems with pacing and grammar.
Also consider what I said before about thinking how things will come across. I suggested you put Mr. Wogglebug in the place of a adult human male in the context of the real world and test out their interactions. I think that would help a lot. If they could be misconstrued between an adult male and a child in this world, it's probably not appropriate for your children's book.
4. The voices
I'm not sure how the part of the little girl was recorded, but it sounds stilted and mechanical. I think you voiced her yourself? Consider using an actor for the part. If you can't afford to pay another actor the salary you paid the actor playing Wogglebug (he is overcharging you, by the way. He should not be paid by the minute and $750 for half an hour's dialogue is far too much for an actor who is not going through an agent, or a guild/union, for an amateur production) then there are many websites with people who will work for free and are desperate for a chance. You can hold an audition and find the perfect voice actor for the character.
As for the Wogglebug voice work, I know that you're very happy with him but I think that it would help if he didn't sound nasal. A pompous English accent is a great idea, but the nasal quality is off-putting (if you watch cartoons you'll notice that protagonists very rarely have nasal voices and when they do, it's usually part of a joke that they're annoying like Angela Anaconda). At least consider trying to find another Wogglebug actor online. I think a deeper voice would create warmth and also make him seem wiser and more learned.
You might just dismiss this all as trolling, and if you do, it's your loss. This is constructive criticism, you actually have a great idea on your hands. I've worked as a professional voice actor so I have experience in this area and I know what I'm talking about. I also own a copy of your novel on Kindle, so I have read it.
1. Inappropriate actions and dialogue.
If you look at kiddie media these days, there are several things you never see. One, is adult figures telling unrelated children 'I love you'. You don't see random adults giving random kids hugs and you certainly don't hear them asking the child to hold hands or embracing them. It has also become rare to see children going off for adventures with strangers, especially adults.
There's a reason for that: No parent wants their kid to think these actions are okay coming from an unfamiliar/unrelated adult. If Wogglebug was an adult man who did those things and it happened in the real world, the parents of the child would be rightfully suspicious that their child was being groomed. You have to take the modern world and its conventions and rules into consideration.
2. The artwork
Although the art has definitely improved, the Wogglebug is never going to be seen as adorable for a few reasons. Most people react with disgust to insects, cockroaches in particular. Therefore most people will have an instant aversion to the character. If their first thought when they see it is 'what the hell is that' or 'that thing looks like a cockroach!' they're not going to want to find out more about the character. Character designs and artwork need to be intriguing and appealing to the masses so that they will be drawn into learning more. People buy kids' books based on the cover art and if it's not appealing to them, they won't buy it.
The same can be said for the frogman. A lot of people find amphibians gross. The character needs to be cuter for people to find it appealing.
3. The writing
I know the story is kind of old work now and you continually revise it, but there are a lot of problems with it. Perhaps the biggest one is how blatantly it echos The Neverending Story. You have the entire world of Oz to draw from, and also your imagination. Use those rather than copying other stories. There were times where you actually slipped up and used the name of the landmark from The Neverending Story in place of your own landmark's name. Maybe take some creative writing classes at a community college, or attend some workshops. They can be very low cost and give you invaluable help in creating original content and fixing problems with pacing and grammar.
Also consider what I said before about thinking how things will come across. I suggested you put Mr. Wogglebug in the place of a adult human male in the context of the real world and test out their interactions. I think that would help a lot. If they could be misconstrued between an adult male and a child in this world, it's probably not appropriate for your children's book.
4. The voices
I'm not sure how the part of the little girl was recorded, but it sounds stilted and mechanical. I think you voiced her yourself? Consider using an actor for the part. If you can't afford to pay another actor the salary you paid the actor playing Wogglebug (he is overcharging you, by the way. He should not be paid by the minute and $750 for half an hour's dialogue is far too much for an actor who is not going through an agent, or a guild/union, for an amateur production) then there are many websites with people who will work for free and are desperate for a chance. You can hold an audition and find the perfect voice actor for the character.
As for the Wogglebug voice work, I know that you're very happy with him but I think that it would help if he didn't sound nasal. A pompous English accent is a great idea, but the nasal quality is off-putting (if you watch cartoons you'll notice that protagonists very rarely have nasal voices and when they do, it's usually part of a joke that they're annoying like Angela Anaconda). At least consider trying to find another Wogglebug actor online. I think a deeper voice would create warmth and also make him seem wiser and more learned.
You might just dismiss this all as trolling, and if you do, it's your loss. This is constructive criticism, you actually have a great idea on your hands. I've worked as a professional voice actor so I have experience in this area and I know what I'm talking about. I also own a copy of your novel on Kindle, so I have read it.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2013
Dammit. Really?
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2013
It's amazing how bizarre and unnatural those characters look all together like that. It's just creepy and artificial.
(I know what a minor nitpick that is but seriously, looks like them bitches was all just pasted in without any thought to making them interact or anything.)
(I know what a minor nitpick that is but seriously, looks like them bitches was all just pasted in without any thought to making them interact or anything.)
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2013
I get so many pedophile vibes from those "cutesy" pictures. Especially the second one. Why are Wogglefuck and Frogman bursting into the home of two young girls playing together? Their body language says "OH 'ELLO DARLINGS WE'VE COME TO TOUCH YOUR PEE-PEES." Not to mention the girls don't even seem to notice them, which makes it even creepier.
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