![]() What if you created a panel with an unusual shape, like a star or cloud? How might that shape convey mood and emotion? Learn more about layout in this article from the series. At the same time, the long shape of the last panel at the bottom helps create movement. Does every panel look the same, or is one more prominent than another? How do they work together?įor example, larger panels, like the fourth and fifth panels in this excerpt from a comic strip by Lyonel Feininger, help convey the excitement felt by the characters when they catch a big fish. How can you bring a reader’s attention to these parts in your story through your comic’s layout? Think about the shapes, sizes, and framing of each panel. Once you know the basic parts of your story and the amount of panels you’ll use, start mapping your comic’s structure while considering what parts of your story feel most exciting, impactful, or emotional. For first-time comics makers, we recommend three to six panels (this number will still allow for a rich story, with a clear beginning, middle, and end, that’s not too overwhelming). What happened first, second, and so on? How many scenes are in your story? What do you see as the beginning, middle, and end of your narrative? Breaking a story down into its most essential parts will help you determine how many panels you might need in your comic. Every day, the artist sent two picture postcards to friends or colleagues, writing on the back of each card a message that began with “I got up,” followed by the time he arose from bed.īegin by sequencing your story. On Kawara, on the other hand, captured simple details in his life in a series called I Got Up…. Lawrence’s parents and his other relatives made up one of many families who migrated north. Jacob Lawrence tells the story of the Great Migration, a period following World War I when an exodus of African Americans moved from the rural South to northern cities. ![]() What if you told a story about going to the grocery store, but focused on the way your emotions shifted during the trip? But they can also recount small moments in your day. Your personal stories could be about large and important events in your life or family stories passed down through generations. The first question you might want to ask is, what is my comic going to be about? When working with students or beginning your comic, telling a personal story can be the easiest way to speak in a genuine voice and connect with readers. Even the most experienced comic artists and authors go through multiple drafts and versions before arriving at a final draft. Try out different elements to see how your story changes. ![]() Throughout the process, ask your friends and family for feedback. No mark or idea needs to be final until you decide it is. Our hope is that this article might inspire your creativity and self-expression.Īnd one final note: even though this guide is written sequentially, you can change, adapt, and adjust your story as you go through the process. While this guide is written with students and teachers in mind, many of these activities and ideas can be adapted for people of all ages. The most important thing is experimenting and telling stories in a way that works for you! We’ll continue using examples from MoMA’s collection to spark and demonstrate ideas because, as Chris discussed earlier, many works in MoMA’s collection are in the comics form-that is, they tell stories by pairing images.Īs you go through this article and begin making your own works, remember that rules and conventions can be broken. There are many ways to approach making comics, as Chris outlined in the third article in this series, but for our purposes, we are using the story-first approach, since it can easily tie into an English language arts, history, or English as a new language curriculum. This sequence of activities is based on a series of lessons Larissa led several years ago with a group of high school English language learners, in which the students used the comics form to tell the story of their first day in New York. To conclude the How to Make Comics series, we wanted to offer a step-by-step approach you can follow in order to transform that blank sheet into a visual story that’s all your own. Still, for many of us, starting with a blank sheet of paper can be daunting-even when we know the basic ideas for filling in the page. Over the course of three articles, writer and comics scholar Chris Gavaler helped us understand what comics are, the potential of the art form, and some of the many approaches to making comics.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |