COMIC STRIPS QUIDELINES

Comic strips “… eye candy, or food for thought?”

COMIC STRIPS Storytelling Creativity Self expression Problem solving Sequencing Artistic skills Computer skills Decision making

DEFINITION

FORM & USE O It is a medium which combines text and visual information O It has the form of a collated sequence of drawings or pictures arranged in interrelated panels to display with text in balloons and captions. O It is used to express ideas, brief humor or form a narrative: It can be humorous or satirical but also may take the form of adventure story and even soap-opera continuity strip. O When used to tell a story it has the 3 main parts of a story: (Setting, Characters, Plot)

WHERE o Often published in daily newspapers, with horizontal strips, printed in black-and-white. Sunday newspapers offered longer sequences in special colour section. o Web comics/online comics/internet comics, are available on the Internet and reach large audiences. Web comics can make use of an infinite canvas thus not constrained by size or dimensions of a page.

common stip creators O Strips are written and drawn by a comics artist or cartoonist O Today due to technology more and more people express themselves via comic strips O mixed media and digital technology have become common.

specialists  Typically one creator produces the whole strip.  Sometimes a writer carries out the script and an artist (with or without additional assistant artists) the drawing of the art. In some cases, one artist draws key figures/the characters while another does only backgrounds (common in Japan).  In American superhero comic books, a penciller lays out the artwork in pencil; an inker finishes the artwork in ink; a colourist applies colours a letterer adds the captions and speech balloons. Even if many strips are the work of two people, one signature is displayed

Cartoon Strip as a Medium A comic strip is considered to be a page-based story-telling through a sequence of frames similar to a filmed sequence of shots so All strips use the basic film conventions: angle (high, straight, low, canted) zoom in/out shot-reverse shot eyeline match Direction: left-right, top-bottom (in West) Colour: black and white or coloured use of shot distance (ELS, LS, MS, MCU, CU, ECU)

Structures (1) Micro-structures: inter-frame relationships:  shot-reverse shot  zoom in/out  repetition, contrast  Q/A  moment-moment  action-action  subject-subject  scene-scene  aspect-aspect  non-sequitur  flash-forwards  flashback

Structures (2) Macro-structures : Consistent style: narrative structure e.g. beginning (setting/ characters/ actions) middle (problem, effect) possible solution/ cliffhanger OR similar to a mainstream film and television e.g. 4-act structure  setup,  complication,  development,  resolution From Marchant, S. (2006) The Computer Cartoon Kit (with CD-ROM of images). Lewes: Ilex. Digital images & instructions provided!

THE MAIN FEATURES TITLE PANEL/FRAME GUTTER MOTION LINES SPEECH BUBBLE A CAPTION :A BOX (USUALLY RECTANGULAR) USED FOR NARRATION TEXT IS USUALLY IN CAPITALS

FEATURES (1) O arranged in “panels” or boxes. O separated out by the “gutter” the empty space surrounding them. The story (in form of pictures or drawings) is

FEATURES (2) O The narratives are shown in caption boxes, usually coloured, to differentiate from speech.

O Speech bubbles, usually round or square, use a tail pointing to the character’s mouth to indicate speaking out loud. O Text, usually all in capitals I HAVE THE SOLUTION.. FEATURES (3)

FEATURES (4) O A scream bubble, with a jagged outline or a thicker line and usually larger O Text, bolder than normal letters (the character is screaming). WHAAAAA

FEATURES (5) o Broadcast bubbles, with a jagged tail like a lightning flash shape o Text, letters sometimes italicised to indicate communication through an electronic device (telephone, radio, TV) …cartoon time…

FEATURES (6) O A whisper bubble, with a dashed/dotted outline O Text, smaller letters and a paler (grey) writing (the speaker is talking in a softer or quieter tone). …AND THEN SHE…

FEATURES (7) O Thought bubbles, cloud-shaped word bubbles (the character is not talking loud) HMMMM!

FEATURES (8)

Analysing a Comic Strip Identify modal elements & their reasons for use Identify target reader and genre Identify stages in the narrative Evaluate artistry Evaluate representations e.g. stereotypes, non- stereotypes

Creating a comic strip 1. Planning Identify purpose, target audience and genre Create draft storyboard Decide on characters,settings, pros 2. Producing Collect/shoot/scan/upload images/photos Create writing content Use appropriate software to edit comic strip 3. Sharing Save in format for distribution (e.g. pdf) Print /share

TERMINOLOGY TITLE: the name of the creation PANEL/FRAME: individual images containing a segment of action often surrounded by a border CAPTION: a box (usually rectangular) for narration. Captions can give voice to a narrator, convey characters' dialogue or thoughts, or indicate place or time SOUND EFFECT/SFX or ONOMATOPOEIA: The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle) SYMBOLS/EMANATA: graphic signs used to convey information that goes beyond what could be perceived visually : e.g. sweat beads (for fear or anxiety), light bulb (for idea) GUTTER: the gap among panels to indicate narrative and temporality; the major place for meaning making. SPEECH /BUBBLE balloons: indicate dialogue (or thought MOTION LINES /movement lines /action lines /speed lines/ zip ribbons : the abstract lines that appear behind a moving object or person, parallel to its direction of movement, to make it appear as if it is moving quickly. MANGA: Japanese graphic novels, telling translated tales of romance, adventure, and politics. ENCAPSULATION: the process through which prime moments in a narrative are broken down into panels. CARICATURE: an exaggeration of personal characteristics, usually in picture form PERSONIFICATION: attributing human characteristics to animals or objects

RECOURCES Glykeria Gkouvatsou