I owe a big, overdue public “mahalo” to Randy and Yorick for their generous donations. As always, the donations will go towards site advertising and Poser content purchases. Also, to everyone who has taken the time to post a comment or give feedback: I apologize if I haven’t acknowledged or responded. I’ve been swamped by my real job and have not been able to give Nikki the attention she deserves (!) aside from keeping up with the weekly comic pages and some occasional new wallpapers. (Okay, I have to admit that the finale of Lost also factored into my overloaded schedule.) Your comments are all greatly appreciated and enjoyed -even the constructive criticism I’ve received from readers offering suggestions to improve this webcomic.
Speaking of criticism, I’ve gotten some negative feedback about the heavy fanservice here. But I’ve also received an equal amount of positive feedback. I have to admit that when I launched this site, I was unsure about where to draw the fanservice line. Ultimately, I decided to include nudity and very suggestive themes but to stop short of explicit content. (And for the record: no, I don’t consider full frontal nudity or Ashley’s selicious actions to be explicit. R-rated, yes. Explicit, no.) But I often still second guess whether NikkiSprite.com would be better if I backed off a bit -which leads me to a new poll: Which content rating do you prefer? Your votes will determine whether Nikki continues as is or adopts a slightly more modest look -which may include retrofitting a few of the existing page images with clothes 🙂
As always, thanks for taking the time to visit here. Please don’t forget to vote! (BTW, since Pita’s Pajamas Poll has crossed the thousand mark, and since the start of the sleepover is only 3 pages away, I think her poll can be safely closed.) -TK
[polldaddy poll=”3257466″]
Mh, hard to vote … a *little* covering of the privatest parts is ok, but not as much as in the “PG-13” example. The right one is too much nudity, even for a fanservice comic.
For me a combination of the two above is ok: Make the leaves smaller or skip them unless the breasts grow too big but cover her lower parts (sorry, won’t use any too sexual descriptions here). Like she would say “I’m not shy but I don’t know you that good to show you all!”.
I think for the sprites, the clothes seem if not better then at least more appropriate. It seems like you’re going out of your way to provide fan service. That’s all fine and dandy, but don’t let it put you in a place that you don’t want to go. It’s your comic.
If you don’t like putting fan service in the comic but you still want it around, you could always go with the tried and true method of making it separate.
Ha, I made my comment to “justme” on the comic page before even seeing this poll. I’ve made my preference clear before (the spicier the better as far as I’m concerned — safe, PG-13 fantasy strips are easy to come by, but something for us grown-ups is very welcome indeed), but I completely agree with Glen. It’s your strip, TK, so steer it where you will.
(That said, your “extras” on DA, indicate there’s a deviously adult mind behind Nikki’s story and it would be a shame to water that down.)
you know, normally I really like nudity [1] but I have to agree with the others. The little bit of clothing ads bit more spice and interest. I’ve noticed this phenomenon in other cases. For example, many times a woman is more interesting with a miniskirt on then even just a bikini. Your imagination lets what is not visible look much better than it does in real life. You can just imagine what a burqa does for the mind…
[1](except in those cases where you want put your eyes out like after seeing fat Germans bathing nude at Mediterranean beaches. On the other hand, they may have been wearing Speedo’s that got lost in the fat)
Personally I approve of the nudity. What we’ve seen thus far seems more of a natural thing than anything done for salacious reasons. Nudity is just a natural state of being, and it makes sense that nature fairies wouldn’t necessarily bother with clothing. Making them dress up for the sake of squeamish readers just seems wrong. If people are offended by nudity they’re not obligated to read the comic. There are plenty of adult fans who will.
Ashley’s behavior and comments, that’s a little less innocent. She’s a horny college girl and she’s not shy about showing it. For me that’s more of a PG-13 vs. R thing than the innocent nudity of the fairies. Now I don’t mind Ashley’s behavior one bit. In fact I love it. She’s my kind of gal. 🙂 If you wanna try to reign in Ashley’s sexual frankness for the sake of a vocal subset of your potential readership, good luck to ya! LOL!
Seriously though, it’d be a shame to water down your artistic vision by censoring your characters that way. Sure, you could continue to write this story with the mature themes edited out, and I’d keep reading it either way. Those elements aren’t essential to your story. Still, I enjoy the fact that Nikki Sprite isn’t just the next Barbie story, and from the look of the poll it seems a lot of your readers agree with me, by quite a wide margin in fact.
Bottom line for me, you do what you want to do with this story. I’ll keep coming back no matter what, but I’ll be a much bigger fan if you keep on doing it the way you have been.
69 votes for fanservice… Is it just me, or is that an awesome amount of votes?
Not to be down on the survey, but it’s a bit skewed.
1) You’re getting input from only people who volunteer
2) You’re only getting input from people who already visit this site
By sticking with what’s on your survey, you’re strengthening your current fan-base. However, if you go pg-13, you’re diversifying your fan-base.
Again, it’s all what you want to do and how you want to do it. Really, there’s no wrong answer. (How many times have you heard that?)
Interesting point, Glen, but I don’t think TK is going for global consensus. He’s hearing from those who already visit the site – and those who volunteer – because those are the people who already know and care about the comic. The opinions of somebody unfamiliar with or unreceptive to Nikki’s story would hardly serve.
Lot’s of good feedback -thanks for taking the time to think about and comment on the poll. The opinions on both sides are well stated. Glen has a valid point that the survey may be self fulfilling since the comic is already attracting a mature audience. Be that as it may, the early results certainly show overwhelming support of fanservice. I’ll be interested to see if, like Pita’s survey, the early percentages carry through as the voting continues.
By the way, when I opened the Pita Poll, I promised to make a wallpaper of Pita in the winning jammies. For anyone interested, the wallpaper in now in the gallery section. Cheers -TK
Been reading from near the beginning; love it. Voted for fan service, but will prolly read anyway. It’s your story, and effort, and I think all of us should be happy you’re willing to share. As it is your story, let it go where it and you are comfortable. thanks again.
*sigh* I actually think this poll is kind of ridiculous (as is the term ‘fanservice’ for display of nudity). Why is public display of violence perfectly okay, but public display of nudity needs to be censored? Shouldn’t it be the other way around… nudity should be perfectly natural (so yes, please do include full frontal nudity), and violence is bad and should be kept far from a young audience! So yes, I like the fact that I finally found a comic that has more nudity and less violence. In fact, this comic is what I would call ‘child friendly’!
Please keep it that way!
Come on! Just put a warning in the title… oh… it’s there already… hmmm, right.
Now seriously, nudity is part of everyday life (and fairies don’t wear leaves). Your comic is going fine and you shouldn’t change the way it is just because some people are easily offended. Just focus on the story and if nudity is needed then go for it (frontal, lateral, back, upside down…).
If you decide to change, I will read the story anyway, but it will be a great loss to the “grown ups’ comic” we had.
To the offended people: This isn’t Disney, if you want clothed fairies try Tinkerbell.
I honestly can’t vote in the poll, because I like BOTH prints equaly! I like the comic as is, simply because the art is so good. I often find that nudity for the sake of just showing something is of no intrest. But when it is a natural part of the story, is either very sexy or shocking depending on what is happening. I aggree with something somebody has already said – If you want to provide R rated drawings for us to enjoy out of the context of the story just put them in the extra section. Thanks for the great art, and an intresting story.
I think if you let your sense of good taste guide you you’ll be fine. As whattamaroon said, there’s plenty of PG-13 comics around. But hell, the last thing you want is to listen to us! What the hell to we know? Listening to an opposition of voices will only lead you to mediocrity. If it feels right, go for it!
I love heavy fanservice! I am an adult and nudity doesn’t bother me. Leave it as-is! Heck, do even more of it! I know that some people have their hangups about it but seriously, if it bothers you that much, do you avoid looking at yourself in the mirror? If so, your problem lay elsewhere…
I am no fan of gratuitous nudity. Never have been. The movies or shows or books that have the “five second scene” so they can get viewers annoy me to no end. There has to be a STORY to fit it. Whatever you do, there has to be a STORY, a REASON for it that does not include “we want men to watch us.” That said, in cases where there is a story to include it, I think that TASTEFUL nudity is the way to go.
As noted above by others, the fairies I see no reason to be covered. The humans are a different “story.” 😉 In most cases. 😉
All of that said, there is a difference between gratuitous fan service and storyline nudity. Your gallery I think aims at the former. The comic goes more towards the later. I would suggest keeping that in mind when doing the story.
Now, one option of having the story line nudity would be to have “careful” perspectives. Movies take advantage of this a lot. In direct answer to the poll above, while I voted for the second option because I thought the first one was not natural, the second one I did think was a bit too far. As others noted, mystery is a science all its own. 😉 To that end, I might suggest careful perspectives in the camera work, OR the strategically placed word bubble, that do not reveal the full frontal while at the same time making it clear that that IS the way things are.
Of course, the problem of the strategically placed word bubble is that it is an obvious cheat that can get annoying. That is why I think the tasteful camera perspectives could help the story a LOT more.
In the end, the story is the king, and you have to be true to the story. And the story is yours.
One more thing. I note that some of the people here don’t have their names here. I do. This IS my full and unique internet name and a search on google will show the places I am at on the internet, including HERE. I’ve done the search. You need to ask yourself what kind of audience you want for this story. The kind who will sign their name on the dotted line because they are happy to have their name associated with something, or the kind that hides their purchase in a paper bag while wearing shades and a trenchcoat. 😉
I have not yet decided where I am on this comic. I am intrigued by the art style, the good writing, and the story. I am…uncertain about the tastefulness of the nudity. The gallery is too much I think. The comic is just about right I think. Time will tell if I remain a viewer.
Let’s put it this way. You are not yet on my list of links that I check each day. I simply remember to check every once in a while. In time I will decide whether to place you on a bookmark list or not. Your story and everything it includes will make me make that decision.
In the meantime, these are my opinions, and my name, publicly posted, for anyone with google to see. You have an intriguing enough story that I think it deserves that.
Wow, Medron, pat yourself on the back. Your personal choice regarding internet anonymity certainly does raise your opinions to quite a lofty height. Believe it or not, a protective pseudonym can actually boost one’s inclination towards absolute honesty.
I, WhattaMaroon, can honestly state that I enjoy Nikki Sprite on many levels. I’m a comics fan and a fan of fantasy story tropes – and Nikki (while it has still only teased at the full fantasy plot to come) satisfies on that level. I enjoy character-based comedy and Nikki provides this as well. I am also a graphic artist (2D) and I can appreciate the layouts and design that TK puts into each and every page.
I, WhattaMaroon, as an adult male (one specific adult male, I should say), also really like naked ladies. I like stories with an erotic bent. I don’t find them shameful or less valid than non-erotic work, if they’re done well. I realize that everyone’s tastes are subjective (I, for instance, draw the line at degrading sexuality or displays of brutality or non-consensual sex, not to mention anything involving children – and, sadly, these are prevalent in a lot of Asian erotic manga), but Nikki Sprite suggests that it has, as one of its strengths and pillars, a playful, fun, healthy and, yes, hot thread of sex running through it. By design, I believe, though I always defer to the creator on intent.
I, WhattaMaroon (that’s me), support any decision TK makes and am grateful he’s asked for feedback. I think it’s helpful for him, though I trust he will stay true to his own vision regardless. And, for all of my snark, I do appreciate your honesty and statements, Medron, as it’s useful to hear from the 6% who have, so far, voted to keeping Nikki chaste.
What maroons…
By the nature of Medron Pryde not (I’m making the rash assumption) being his real name nor an identity by which he/she/it can be identified outside of the internet, it is relatively anonymous. That being said, I’m neither inclined nor… declined… to take his/her/its approach. My first name works just fine. There are enough Glens in the world.
By the way, apparently Medron USED to have a facebook, for anyone who was wondering and hasn’t bothered to look on google.
As for what Medron is saying, I understand where he’s coming from, but I am not fully appreciative of how he says it. Yes, giving hints can be better than the real thing. Women in bikinis don’t get nearly as old as fast as fully nude women (IMHO). Or another example could be that horror movies without gore can be more scary and more intense than horror movies without gore, e.g. Psycho.
No, this is not Psycho. No, full frontal nudity isn’t going to kill anybody.
Also, I think that Medron shouldn’t have harped on the gallery. The gallery is separate from the comic for a reason. If you think that the comic has enough nudity, then don’t go in the gallery section! Like, DUH!
TK, there is merit to whatever course you take with this comic. Don’t let people who are full of themselves, nor people who are snarky, nor people who play devil’s advocate all the time tell you what to do. We don’t want you to turn into a self-depricating mess trying to please all of the various people who post on here.
As you can see, it’s not the norm to be heavily opinionated on this forum. Most people are behind YOU and YOUR decision.
By the way, that isn’t to say that you can turn your back on us. If you do, we’ll find you and use Whattamaroon’s head as a battering ram to get through your door. We like (well, I like and I assume others do too) talking to you. We like you bouncing stuff off of us, even if it doesn’t really matter, or the end result is basically in your mind as absolute. It’s nice to have a line of contact between customer and service provider so to speak. So don’t stop.
Glen, I agree -the dialog is great. I love hearing from everyone, even though I can’t always respond as often as I would like. Jumping up to Melissa’s comment, I have to agree 100%. Why is it that a little nudity in a movie means nobody under 17 can see it, but it’s okay for kids to see someone getting their head bashed by a tire iron? Something is definitely wrong with that picture…
Ironically, I agree fully. The cultural morals of this country are decidedly…helter skelter. 🙂
In addition to being able to post Poll comments here, Polldaddy allows you to comment on the Polldaddy site. Since that feedback is not directly viewable on this comic blog, I am reposting the 6 Polldaddy comments below. -TK
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Pretty conclusive, I should think.
Posted by Arden on May 29th 2010, 11:58am
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Surely noone above the age of eight can be offended by a naked fairy?
It’s not as if the author has depicted any character in an explicit or sexual situation.
Posted by Nash on May 29th 2010, 11:42pm
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Fanservice FTW. heck, its the reason i started reading this comic
Posted by Joobaloob56 on May 31st 2010, 1:52am
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To be honest, I do not see any reason to why a bit of nudity should bother anyone. As long as the comic itself doesn’t turn into one big sex show, I have no complains. (It’s okay to do whatever will please ya with any other stuff though [like deviantart], people have a choice whether to look or not to look at such stuff, unrelated to whether they want to read the comic.)
Posted by Tessa on June 3rd 2010, 6:18pm
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Mature audience webcomics are very rare, it would be a real shame for this one to go away.
P.S. For those looking for another mature webcomic you might try http://www.soulgeek.com/comics/zona/
Posted by Doctor Zuber on June 19th 2010, 11:26pm
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As much as I enjoy the fan service I’m willing to accept what ever you post. Your happiness with story and art will give us, your readers, happiness.
Thanks for the story and the art. Love the character designs. I don’t remember, did you custom design your girls and fae or are you using pre-builts that you are modifying? Of course, I could just re-read your tut.
Keep up the good work, enjoy everything so far (page 35). <;,>< Posted by Medik47 on June 25th 2010, 6:05am
I think you should be like Peter Is The Wolf of White Lightning Productions & have both with a direction window – one way: Naughty; the other way: Nice. It’s a bit more difficult to arrange, (Check out their source code!) but well worth it.