The DC Comics Guide to Creating Comics

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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataPotts,Carl.The DC Comics guide to creating comics : inside the art of visual storytelling / Carl Potts ; foreword by Jim Lee.— First[edition].Includesindex.1.Comicbooks,strips,etc.—Authorship.2.Comicbooks,strips,etc.—Technique.I.Title.PN6710.P682013741.5′1—dc232012050026

ISBN978-0-385-34472-2eISBN:978-0-38534473-9

TextdesignbyKenCrosslandCoverdesignbyKenCrosslandCoverartbyJimLee(topimages,frontandback)andBillReinhold(bottom)Half-titlepage:ArtbyAdamHughesTitlepage:ArtbyIvanReisThispageandthispage:ComposedusingartassetsfromDCComicsStyleGuides

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Tothosewholovecomicbooks/graphicnovelsandwishtocreate

themortobetterappreciatewhycomicsaresuchapowerful

storytellingmedium.

Thanks

Anumberofpeopleextendedthemselvestohelpmakethisbookareality.Iwould like to thank JimLee, PatrickBarb, CandaceRaney, JoshAnderson,WhilcePortacio,BillReinhold,WillRosado,PhilJimenez,DennyO’Neil,andMarieJavins!ThanksalsotoMarcoDiLeonardo,MichaelWooten,FredRuiz,Shelley Eiber, Jeanette Winley, Wanda Phillips, and Steve Korte for theirefforts.

CONTENTSCover

TitlePage

Copyright

Dedication

Thanks

ForewordbyJimLee

Introduction

PartOne:TheArtattheHeartofComics

ChapterOne:ComicsandSequentialVisualStorytelling

ChapterTwo:YourBrainonComics!

ChapterThree:GoalsandPrinciplesofSequentialVisualStorytelling

PartTwo:AffectingtheReader’sExperience

ChapterFour:Reduction,Encapsulation,andJuxtaposition

ChapterFive:AllAboutPanels

ChapterSix:Pages:TheBigPicture

ChapterSeven:WhereAreWe?

ChapterEight:MoreWaystoEnthrallReaders

PartThree:Narrative+Art

ChapterNine:Narrative:WritingforVisualStorytelling

ChapterTen:Art:DrawingforVisualStorytelling

PartFour:PuttingItAllintoPractice

ChapterEleven:AStep-by-StepProcessforArtists

ChapterTwelve:WatchingtheProsWork

Afterword

GlossaryofComicsTerminology

Contributors

AlsoAvailablefromtheDCComicsGuideSeries

Index

FOREWORDNothinggivesmegreaterpleasurethanintroducingtheartofvisualstorytellingaspresentedbymymentorandartguru,CarlPotts.Forthemostpart,everythingIlearnedaboutcreatingcomicscanbedividedintotwoperiods:thetimeBC—alsoknownas“BeforeCarl”—andthetimeafter,whichIcall“conqueringthedeep,darkvoid.”Inyears1to22BC,Istruggledtolearntheartofvisualstorytelling.Justbecauseyouhavealoveforreadingcomicsandsomeinnatedrawingtalent,thatdoesnotmeanyouautomaticallyqualifyasacomicbookartist.Infact,Ithinkitworksagainstyou,becauseyouthinkyouknowmorethanyouactuallydo.Youthinkthatyoudrawbetterthanyourleastfavoriteprofessionalartistevenifyoucan’tcompleteanentirepageofpanel-to-panelcontinuitybyyourself.Ever.Thatwasme.Butsomewheredeepinside,IrealizedIneededtoimprove.(Because

noonewasgivingmeanywork,right?)SoIlearnedallIcouldaboutcomicsandvisualstorytellingthroughthefewbooksthatwereavailableatthelocallibrary.However,itwasn’tuntilImetCarlthroughanotherMarvelComicseditor—thelate,greatArchieGoodwin—thatIstartedonmytruepathtowardenlightenmentinthedeep,darkvoid.Becausethat’swhatartcanbewhenyourealizeyouneedtostartalloveragain.Youhavetodropanyartificeordefensiveshields(theonesyoucreatetopreemptivelyprotectyourselffromcruelcriticism)andacceptthefactthatthere’salotmoretothisartformthanmeetstheeye.Youhavetolearnthebasicsalloveragain.Forrealthistime.Withfeeling.Waxon,waxoff.Andthat’swhereCarlservedasmyguide.Mysensei.MyJedimaster.

Andteachmehedid:everythingfrom“the22panelsthatalwayswork”byWallyWoodto“hownottocrosstheline.”Hegavemetelephonebook–thicktomesofphotocopiesfrombooksexplainingalltheinsandoutsofcinematicterminologyandvisualstorytelling.CarlpassedalonghandwrittenmemosexplainingwhatIdidwell(notmuch)andwhatIdidwrong(thoughconstructivelypolite)asIturnedintryoutpageaftertryoutpage.CarllaidoutseveralofmybiggestprojectssothatIcould

tryoutpage.CarllaidoutseveralofmybiggestprojectssothatIcouldworkoverhisthumbnails.IabsorbedallthoselessonsuntilIthoughtIwasreadytosnatchthestonefromhishand—theinitiationallnewartistshadtoendureandcompletetotakeaplaceatthevauntedtableofprofessionals.Ormaybeitwaspickinguptheburningwhite-hoturnwithyourforearmsandcarryingittothegatesofthedojo.Ormaybeheofferedmeoneoftwopillsinhishands—oneblue,onered.Idon’trecallthatwithgreataccuracy;theendlesstraininghasthateffectonyourmind.Butwhatevertheprocess,itworked.Iemergedacomicsprofessional,trainedfortheveryfirsttime—onceagain.IjokeabouttheZenmysticismofthewholeprocess,butintruth,thereismuchseriousnesstoitall.Ilearnedagreatdealatthehandsofmymentor,Carl.TheyearsworkingwithhimsetthebaselineandfoundationformuchofmyworkevenasIexperimented,grew,andbroketheveryrulesIwasinitiallytaught.Becausethefinallessonforallthingscreativeiswrittenthusly:Justbecauseitworksforyou,thatdoesn’tmeanit’stheonlywayofdoingsomething.AndIthinkthatwasCarl’sultimatelessonimpartedtomeandonethatistriplyclearinthisfantasticbookyouholdinyourhands.Therearerulesandlessonstobelearned,butcomicsarecalledartforareason.Thesubjectivityofitisasclearandtrueasitsobjectivity,andthatrelationshipisexploredanddemonstratedclearlyinthechaptersahead.Whattookmeyearstolearncannowbeyourstoenjoyinmeredays.Mayyourownjourneyinthedeep,darkvoidbeshortandsweet.

JimLeeBurbank,California

ArtbyJimLeeandScottWilliams.

INTRODUCTIONFromaveryyoungage,Idevouredallformsofstorytelling,especiallyvisualstorytelling.Icouldn’tgetenoughoffilms,TV,andcomicbooks.Asanadolescent,I’dwatchSaturdaymorningcartoonsonTVbefore

headingoutsidetomowlawns.MostofthemoneyIearnedbycutting,raking,andbagginggrassclippingsquicklyfounditswayintothecashregistersofthelocalstoresthatcarriedcomics.TheworksofcomicsmastersJackKirby,SteveDitko,andJoeKubert,

alongwithmanyothers,entertainedandfascinatedme.Ireadandrereadmycomicsuntiltheybegantofray.MyearlydrawingswereofteninspiredbythecomicsIconsumed,but

thosesketchesconsistedmostlyofsingleimages.Myinitialattemptstostringtogethersequencesofpanelsoften

resultedinfrustration.Connectingpanelstotellastoryprovedmuchmoredifficultthangeneratingindividualandunconnecteddrawings.TherewassomethingIhadn’tyetgraspedaboutcreatingcomics,

somethingvitalthatwasrelatedtobutdistinctfromtheindividualpaneldrawingsandthewriters’words.Althoughitwasinplainsight,thiselusivevitalelementofcomicbookcreationwasdifficulttopindown.ThoughmygenreandsubjecttastesexpandedasIgotolder,my

passionforallformsofstorytelling,especiallycomics,remainedstrong.Thethoughtofbecomingacomicscreatorevolvedfromafunfantasytoacareergoal.Insteadofproducingonlyindividualdrawings,Iagainbegantotrytotellstoriesinsequentialpanels.

ComposedusingartassetsfromDCComicsStyleGuides.

Iencounteredthetermvisualstorytellingincomicbookfanzines.Itreferredtosomethingcomicbookartistsdidtopresentastoryinsequentialpictures.I’ddiscoveredatermfortheelusiveelementthathelpedmakecomicssuchanexcitingmedium.Therewas,however,nocleardefinitionofthetermandlittleinformationontheprocesscomicscreatorsusedtotellclear,dynamic,andcompellingtales.Thiselusivenessresultedbecausemanycomicscreatorsuseinstinctor

theirgutfeelingswhenpickingwhichscenestoshowand,justasimportant,whichvisualsnottoshow.Theyalsousetheircreativeinstinctswhenframing,cropping,andsizingtheselectedvisuals.Instinctagainplaysaheavyrolewhencreatorspickwhichanglestouse,arrangethesequencingofpanels,anddecideontherelativeemphasistogiveeachofthevisualelementsonacomicspage.BythetimeIbeganmyprofessionalcareerasacomicsartist,Iwas

occasionallyabletousesomeofthosesequentialvisualstorytellinginstincts.Moreoftenthannot,IwastappingintothesubconsciouslessonsI’dpickedupwhileconsumingtheworksofcomicsmastersandgreatfilmmakers.Earlyinmycareer,whiledrawingcomicsforNealAdamsandDick

Giordano’sContinuityStudios,IalsobegandrawingtelevisioncommercialstoryboardsforNewYorkadagencies.Thisworkforcedmetolearntouseveryclearandstraightforwardvisualstorytelling.IstartedutilizingthetechniquesIpickedupfrommystoryboardwork

whenIdrewmycomicsassignments.Icould“feel”whenthestorytelling

whenIdrewmycomicsassignments.Icould“feel”whenthestorytellingwasorwasn’tright,butIcouldn’talwaystranslatethereasonintowords.WhenIwashiredasacomicbookeditoratMarvelComics,itbecamevitalthatIcommunicateclearlywithmycollaboratorstoarticulateeffectivelywhyavisualstorytellingsequencewasnotworkingandtobeabletosuggestviablewaystoimprovethework.Icloselyexaminedthetechniquesthatcomicsstorytellersutilizedinstinctively.IalsostudiedfilmandTVcinematographytechniquesandspokeatlengthwithothercomicsprofessionals,gainingandsharinginsights.Inparticular,theexchangesIhadwithArchieGoodwin,JimShooter,JimStarlin,WalterSimonson,andAllenMilgromcontributedtomybaseofvisualstorytellingknowledge.Later,severalbooks,includingthosebyJosephV.Mascelli,WillEisner,andScottMcCloud,furtherexpandedmyknowledge.Mythanksandatipofthehattoallthepeoplenamedaboveforhelpingmegraspandarticulatevariousaspectsofsequentialvisualstorytellingmoreclearly.Withthenumerousaspects,pointsofview,andpersonalaestheticsinvolvedinvisualstorytelling,thesubjectcontinuallygeneratesnewconceptstoexploreandopinionstoconsider.Thisistruemorethaneverastoolsevolverapidly,asdoprintanddigitalformatsforcomics.Comicscreatorswhoarewellversedinthesubjectofsequentialvisualstorytellingareableto:

•Tellclear,compelling,andentertainingcomicbookandgraphicnovelstories•Communicateeffectivelywiththeircollaborators•Thinktheirwayoutofcreativeproblemswheninstinctfails•Seenewwaysofapproachingvisualstorytellingscenariosinsteadofrelyingontheapproachtowhichtheynormallydefault

Mostbooksoncreatingcomicsconcentrateondrawingand/orwriting.Withsomenotableexceptions,thesubjectofsequentialvisualstorytellingusuallyistouchedononlybriefly.InTheDCComicsGuidetoCreatingComics:InsidetheArtofVisualStorytelling,Iwillcoverallthemajorcreativeelementsthatmake

comics,withaprimaryfocusonsequentialvisualstorytelling.Thegoalofthisbookistohelpcomicscreators,especiallydevelopingartistsandwriters,quicklygainasolidfoundationinthebasicprinciplesandtechniquesofsequentialvisualstorytelling,theartattheheartofcomics.IfthebookhelpsreadersavoidthefrustrationandlosttimethatIexperiencedasadevelopingcomicscreator,itsmissionwillhavebeenachieved.

YOURCOMICSPRIMERThisselectionofbookswillgiveyouagreatoverviewofmostofthecreative,historical,andculturalaspectsofthecomicsmedium.

The Power of Comics by RandyDuncan andMatthew J. Smith(BloomsburyAcademic)

The Five C’s of Cinematography: Motion Picture FilmingTechniquesbyJosephV.Mascelli(Silman-JamesPress)

UnderstandingComicsbyScottMcCloud(WilliamMorrow)

Framed Ink—Drawing and Composition for Visual StorytellersbyMarcosMateu-Mestre(DesignStudioPress)

ArtbyJoséLuisGarcia-LópezandKevinNowlan.

PARTONE

THEARTattheHEARTofCOMICS

Sequentialvisualstorytelling(SVS)istheartattheheartofcomics.WithoutSVS,prosecombinedwithpicturesisjustanillustratedstory.Illustratedstoriesaregreat,butifcreatorswanttomakecomics,theyneedtolearntoincorporatetheprinciplesandtechniquesofSVSintotheirwork.

CHAPTERONECOMICSandSEQUENTIALVISUALSTORYTELLING

Manyattemptshavebeenmadetodefinewhatthecomicbookformisandisnot.Allsequentialvisualmedia,includingfilm,TV,storyboards,andelectronicgames,havemanyelementsincommon.Eachmedium,however,hasitsownuniquecharacteristics.

Fornow,let’sconcentrateonthecreativeelementsthathavetobepresentforaworktobeconsideredacomic,whetherornotthoseelementsareuniquetothecomicsform.Threekeyelementscombinetomakecomics:

Narrative+Art+SequentialVisualStorytelling=Comics

Narrativeisusuallyastory,butcomicsalsoincludemoodpieces,charactersketches,abstractworks,andinstructionalcontent.Artinacomicgenerallyconsistsofdrawings,paintings,orphotos.Narrativeandartwithoutsequentialvisualstorytelling(SVS)isnot

comics.SVSistheartattheheartofcomicsandothersequentialvisualmedia.SowhatisSVS?Basically,itconsistsof:

•Thevisualsacomicscreatorchoosestoshow(andnotshow)•Theframing,angle,layout,andrenderingofthevisualelements•Thejuxtaposition,order,andsequenceofthevisualelements•Theemphasisthatthevisualelementsaregivenrelativetooneanother

Nomatterhowwelltheydraw,artistswhowanttocreatecomicsneedtoemploytheprinciplesandtechniquesofSVSinordertotellclearandcompellingstories.Pictures,evenbeautifullydrawnpictures,thatdonot

compellingstories.Pictures,evenbeautifullydrawnpictures,thatdonotproperlyrelatetooneanotherinanarrativesequencedonotmakegoodcomics.ComicswritersalsoneedtounderstandSVSinordertogeneratescriptsfromwhichtheirartistcollaboratorscaneasilywork.Newwriterssometimesdonotthinkvisuallyandincludeinappropriateinstructionsintheirscripts.Forexample,anaivewritermayinstructtheartisttoshowacharacterrisingfromachair,runningacrossaroom,openingadoor,andthenexitingtheroom—allinonesmallpanel.UnlessthisisastorythatfeaturestheFlashandistoldwithmultipleimagesofthecharactermovingthroughoutthepanel,itwillbeimpracticalfortheartisttoshowthissetofactionseffectivelyinonepanel.WriterssteepedinSVSareabletocommunicateeffectivelywiththeircollaboratorsandcantailortheirtalestotakefulladvantageofthecomicsmedium.Comics*areanextremelyversatilemedium.Theycantargetandappealtoanyaudiencedemographic.

*Inthisbook,thetermscomicsandcomicbookswillcovergraphicnovelsandmangaaswell.

Allcomicscreatorsneedtounderstandhowtovisuallytellclearandcompellingstories.

PhotobyE.Potts.

WhatAreComics?InhisgroundbreakingworkUnderstandingComics:TheInvisibleArt,ScottMcClouddefinescomicsas“juxtaposedpictorialandotherimagesindeliberatesequence,intendedtoconveyinformationand/ortoproduceanaestheticresponseintheviewer.”Notethateventhoughwenormallyassumethatcomicsarea

combinationofwordsandpictures,McCloud’sdefinitiondoesnotmentionwords.Invisualstorytellingmediait’simportantnottoconfusewritingwithwords.Awritercanproduceastorythatistotally“silent,”withnowordsonthepage.Wordlesscomicsarestillcomics,iftheycontainanarrativesequence.Thatsaid,thecomicsformgenerallyinvolvesthemarriageofwordsandpictures.Thetermscomicbooksandcomicsareholdoversfromthe1930s,

whencomicsfirstappeared.Earlycomicswerecollectionsofhumor-basednewspaperstrips.Thesetwotermsstuckevenwhennewmaterialthatencompassedawiderrangeofgenresandsubjectstookoverthecomicbookformat.

Likeothervisualstorytellingmedia(film,TV,videogames,theWeb),comicscantellstoriesinany

genreandeffectivelyportrayalmostanysubject.

Thereare,however,somesubjectsforwhichthecomicsformatisnotparticularlywellsuited.Sometimesthesuspenseandwonderofseeinganeventhappenliveinfrontofyouisessentialtotheenjoymentoftheperformance.Insuchcases,thecomicsformmayhavedifficultycapturingandconveyingthatessentialsuspensefulliveelement.Whenyouwatchastagemagicianlive,amajorpartofthethrillisbeingfooledandsurprisedinrealtime,withnomediabarriersbetweenyoureyesandthemagician.Magicshowsthereforelosesomeoftheirappealonmovie,TV,orcomputerscreens,sincethereisalwaysthepossibilityofafter-the-factspecialeffectsandeditingbeingused.Therefore,theoddsarethatyouwillnotseeacomicbookversionofalivestagemagicshow

orajugglingactorsimilarperformancesthatrelyheavilyontheliveelement.

ComicsversusMovingMediaSomeofthedifferencesbetweencomicsandmovingmediasuchasfilmandTVinclude:

•Stillmediacanonlysuggestmotion.•Movingpicturescanshowbothtimeandspace.•Movingmediaformatsusuallyhaveaconsistentlysizedandproportionedframe/screen,whereascomicspanelsoftenvaryinsizeandshape.

Thatlastpoint—theabilitytochangepanelsizesandshapes—givescomicsamajorstorytellingadvantagewhenitcomestovisualdesign,storypacing,andtheabilitytoemphasizeordeemphasizeapanel’scontent.

CHAPTERTWOYOURBRAINonCOMICS!

Whenwereadcomics,thebrainprocessesthepictorialandtextualinformation,withbothsidesofthebrainoperatingsimultaneously.Weinternallyverbalizethewordswhilepickingupmuchofthevisualcontentsubconsciously,essentiallycreatingamovieinourbrains.

VisualLiteracyContemporarysocietyisextremelyvisuallyoriented.Soonaftercomingintothemodernworld,childrenareexposedtoawidevarietyofvisualmedia,includingTV,movies,videogames,computers,tablets,printandelectronicstorybooks,magazines,andbillboards.Visualliteracy—thedeciphering,utilizing,andcraftingofvisualcommunications—isoftenvitaltothesuccessofpersonalorprofessionalendeavorsintoday’sworld.Readingcomicsrequiresandhelpsdevelopvisualliteracy.Readersofcomicbooksexpecttoexperienceanentertainingstorytold

inaclearandengagingway.Thatmeanscomicbookcreatorshavetoknowhowtostructureacompellingstoryandcreateinterestingcharactersandplots.Mostimportant,theyhavetotellthetaleinsequentialpanels,usingvisualliteracyskillstocombinegraphicswithwords.


TheReader’sExperienceConsumersenjoythereadingexperienceonagutlevel,usuallywithoutconsciouslyregistering:

•Whethertheyfirstreadthecaptions/balloonsorlookatthevisualsinapanel•Whatinformationtheypickupfromsurroundingpanelsoradjoiningpageswithintheirperipheralvision•Whatassumptionstheymakeaboutthestoryfromthelimitedvisualsandwordsthecomicscreatorhaschosentopresent

Thisishowitshouldbe,atleastupontheinitialreading.Ifthereadershavetostoptosortoutsomeconfusingaspectofthevisualstorytelling,theyaretakenoutoftheflowofthestory—somethingcomicscreatorsstrivetoavoid.Itisusuallyduringsubsequentreadingsofacomicthattheaudiencebeginstolookbehindthecurtainabit,takingmorenoticeofcomicscreators’techniques.Generally,comicbookconsumersabsorbvastamountsofvisual

informationwithoutbeingfullyawareofit.

Readerspickupalotofinformationwhilereadingcomics,muchofitonasubconsciouslevel.Using

onlythevisuals,atotalnovicetocomicsandtheDCUniversecanpickupalotofinformation,even

fromthisrelativelyuneventfulsplashpagefromJusticeLeague#3(November2011).


ReaderControlWhentheywereviewingtheatricalfilmsand,untilrelativelyrecently,televisionshows,consumershadnocontroloverthepaceoftheirviewingexperience.Eachpersonintheaudiencereceivedalinearexperiencedeliveredatthesamepace.Eventhoughcomicsgenerallyareproducedtobeenjoyedasalinear

experience(thispageisread,followedbythispage,andsoon),comicsreadershavetheoptiontostart,stop,pause(“freezeframe”),goback(review),andjumpforward(preview)withease.Evenifallthereadersofaparticularcomicdecidedtoreadthestorylinearly,eachreaderwouldstillcontrolthepaceatwhichheorshedigestedthestory,drankinthedetails,and(thecreatorshope)enjoyedtheexperience.Comicscreatorshavetoolstheycanusetotrytocontrolthereaders’

pacethroughthestory,andI’llsharetheminPartTwo.

TheReductive/AdditiveRelationshipbetweenArtistandAudienceAlargepartoftheworkofcomicbookartistsisreductive.Outofallthepossiblescenes,characters,andactionstoshowtheaudiencetoadvancethenarrative,theartistspickonlythosetheyfeeldothebestjoboftellingthestory.Artistsmustusetheircreativesensibilitieswithinthepracticallimitationsoftheformattoconveythetale.Forexample,ifthescriptcallsfor“WonderWomanleapingovera

car,”theartistcanbreakdowntheactioninseveralways.Insomecases,thesereductionchoicesarepurelycreativedecisionson

theartist’spart.Inothercases,thenumberofpagesthestoryisrestrictedtoplaysaroleinthecreativedecisionmaking.Thoughmostreadersexperiencecomicsonagutlevel,comicscreators

shouldtrytounderstandhowtheaudienceprocessesthereadingexperience.Doingthiswillallowthecreatorstoaffecttheaudiencemoreeffectively.If,afterlearningtheprinciplesandtechniquesofSVS,comicscreators

prefertocontinuetoproducetheirworkusingonlytheirgutinstincts,theycanstilldothat.Then,ifthecreatorsrunintostorytellingproblemsthattheirinstinctscan’tsolve,theywillhavethetoolstoanalyzetheworkintellectually,ideallyleadingtoaviablesolution.TheprinciplesandtechniquesofSVSalsocanhelpcreatorsspotareaswheretheyarenottakingadvantageofthecomicsformandtocommunicatebetterwiththeircollaborators.LearningtheprinciplesofSVSalsowillhelpbeginningcomicscreators

savealotoftrial-and-errortime!

ThecomicsartistcanshownumerousimagesofWonderWomanateverystageofpreparingtojump,

jumping,soaringoverthecar,landing,andcontinuingonherpath,similartothesequentialframes

inafilm.

ArtbyWillRosado.

Alternatively,theartistcanchoosetoshowfarfewerselectedimagesofWonderWomanmakingthe

leap.

ArtbyWillRosado.

Ifdesired,theartistcanshowonlyoneframetovisuallyexpressthejumpoverthecar.Thefewer

figuresthatareshown,themoreimportanteachfigurebecomes.Whenusingasinglefigurefroma

largesequence,itisvitaltoselectthefigurethatbestcapturesthefullaction,thefigurethatallows

thereadertoimagineeasilytheactionstakingplacebeforeandaftertheselectedfigure.

ArtbyWillRosado.

FillingintheGapsAlthoughthecomicartist’sworkisreductive,thecomicsreader’sexperienceisadditive.Relyingonthevisualsinthecomic,thereadershavetofillinthegaps—theyhavetoimaginewhatistakingplaceintheguttersbetweenpanels.Thereaderfillsinwhattakesplaceintheguttersbyusingthe

informationsuppliedinthestoryand,atleastinpart,byreferringtohisorherpersonalexperiences.Forexample,iftheartistcreatesamartialartsfightsequence,areaderwithmartialartstrainingmayfillinthegapswithmentalimagesthataredifferentfromthosesuppliedbysomeonewhohasneversetfootinadojo.Similarly,areadertrainedintraditionalkaratemayfillinthegapswithvisualsdifferentfromthoseofareadertrainedinkungfu.Touseanimperfectparallelfromtraditionalcelanimation,thecomics

creatorisdrawingkeyframesandthereaderisthein-betweener,fillingintheactionbetweenthekeyframestheartistcreated.Thisadditiveactivityoffillinginthegapssometimescreates

memorableimagesinthemindofthereader.Itisfairlycommonforcomicsreaderstoretainclearimagesfromafavoritecomicbookstoryformanyyears.Whenthereadersfinallyreviewtheactualcomic,theyaresurprisedtofindthatnotallofthevisualstheyrememberedactuallyexistedonthepage.Thereadersmentallygeneratedsomeofthememorablevisualswhenfillinginthegapsbetweenpanels.Thisdemonstratesthepowerofthecomicsmediumandthepowerthatcomicscreatorshave.

Iftheyarepresentedwiththerightvisuals,properlyjuxtaposed,readerscanfillinthegapsofwhat

occursbetweenpanelswithnoconsciouseffort.Onthebasisofthetwoimagesinthisexample,

readerscaneasilyimaginethein-betweenactionsasSupermanascendswhilethrowingapunch.In

hisgroundbreakingbookUnderstandingComics,ScottMcCloudreferstothereader’simaginingof

what’soccurringbetweenpanelsas“closure.”


CHAPTERTHREEGOALSandPRINCIPLESofSEQUENTIALVISUALSTORYTELLING

Sequentialvisualstorytellingisnotanexactart,butthereareconsistentconcepts,goals,principles,andtechniquesthathaveevolved.

Betrulyobjectiveinjudginganew[visualstorytelling]methodoridea.Tryit.Ifitplays—ifitisacceptable—andtheaudiencecomprehendsandenjoysit—useit.Ifitsimplyconfuses,teasesorevendistractstheaudiencefromthenarrative—discardit!

—JosephV.Mascelli

Theprinciplesofsequentialvisualstorytellingarenothardandfastrules.Sincethereareusuallymultiplewaystomeeteachprinciple’sobjectives,differentartistscandrawthesamestory,eachutilizingtheprinciplesofSVS,butproduceverydifferentinterpretationsofthestory.Theprinciplesliberatecomicscreatorstotelltheirstoriesaseffectivelyaspossiblewhilemaintainingeachcreator’suniqueapproach,voice,andstyle.AsolidfoundationinSVSprinciplesallowscreatorstoexperiment

fromabaseofknowledgeinsteadoffromnaiveté(anicewordforignorance!).Itisfineto“violate”theprinciplesoccasionallyaslongasdoingsoisaconsciousdecisionmadetoimpartaspecificeffectintheserviceofthestorybeingtold.Picasso’sabstractworkprobablywouldnothavebeenaspowerfulor

compellingifhehadnothadsuchasolidgroundinginrepresentationalart.Hisknowledgeofrepresentationaldrawinggavehimafirmbasefromwhichtoabstract—heknewwhathewasabstractingfrom.ThesameconceptappliestoexperimentalSVS.Ifyouknowthebasicprinciples,youcanexperimentinwaysthatstillkeepthereaderimmersedinyournarrative.Forallthreeelementsthatcombinetomakecomics(narrative+art

+SVS)itisbesttokeepabalancebetweentheconventionalandtheinventional.(Aninventionalapproachutilizesunconventionalorunexpectedpaneldesign,layout,drawingtechniques,orothervisualapproaches.)Thatmeanscomicscreatorscanutilizethestandardsandconventionsofthecomicsmediumthatenabletheaudiencetoeasilyfollowandunderstandthestorywhileoccasionallydoingsomethingoutsidethenormaslongasitaddstotheaudience’sexperiencewithoutbeingtoodistracting.I’llexploretheconceptofbalancingtheconventionalwiththeinventionalmoreinPartThree.Theoverallguidinggoalforthesequentialvisualstorytelleris:

Keepthereaderimmersedinthestoryornarrative.

Thegoalisthatsimple.Executingtheworktosupportthatgoalisnotsosimple!Therearesomekeyprinciplesthatcomicscreatorscanobservetohelpthemreachthegoaloftellingclearandcompellingstories.

DCComicstitleslikeLegionofSuper-Heroesstrivetokeepthereaderimmersedinthestory.

PhotobyE.Potts.

ThePrimaryPrinciple

MakeAllCreativeDecisionsintheServiceoftheStory.

Allthedecisionsthatcomicscreatorsmake(whattoencapsulateandjuxtaposefromtherangeofvisualstorytellingpossibilities),alongwiththeexecutionsoftheartwork(drawing,design,script,color,lettering,etc.),shouldsupportthegoalofkeepingthereaderimmersed.Whenreadersentertheworldofthestory,theysuspendtheirdisbelief

andareimmersedinthenarrative.Creativedecisionsandexecutionsthatareattheexpenseofstorytellingrisktakingreadersoutoftheflowofthestoryandbreakingthatsuspensionofdisbelief.AsJosephV.Mascelliindicatesinthequoteatthebeginningofthischapter,thisshouldbeavoided.Theexampleofconfusingpanelandcontentlayoutshownonthis

pageisnotfromaDCcomic,butthepagelayout,paneldesigns,andfigureplacementhavebeenre-createdfaithfullyfromDCComicsStyleGuideart.Onlythetopthirdofthepage’scontentandthemiddletierpaneloutlineshavebeenre-createdtoillustratetheproblems.However,therestofthepagecontinuedwithastringofsimilarissues.Comicsartistsaresometimestemptedtoshowofftheirdrawing

abilitiesattheexpenseofstorytelling.Thecommercialviabilityoforiginalart,unfortunately,sometimesplaysarolewhenartistsdecidewhattoincludeonapage.Originalcomicsartpageswithlargepinupshotsofmajorcharactersaregenerallymoremarketablethan“quieter”pagesoforiginalart.However,buildingapagearoundalarge,beautifullyrenderedpinup

shotofacharacterwhenthestoryneedsanestablishingshotforanewscenedeprivestheviewerofinformationheorshewillneedlatertogetaquickandclearunderstandingofwhat’shappeninginthestory.Anartist’stoppriorityshouldalwaysbetokeepthereaderimmersed

inthestory.Inconsistentdrawinglevelsandstylesalsocaninterruptthereaders’

immersion.DrawingabilityandconsistencywillbecoveredinmoredetailinPartThree.

Thepanelandcontentdesignforthisexamplepresentanumberofconfusingeye-pathissuesforthe

reader.


SupportingPrincipleOne:BeClearComicscreatorsshouldmakesurethatreaders:

•Arevisuallysuppliedwithalltheinformationnecessarytostayimmersedinthestory•Donothavetobreaktheirsuspensionofdisbelieftotrytofigureoutwheretheireyesaresupposedtogotonextorwhattheartisportraying•Don’tencounterunnecessaryordistractingelements

Onoccasion,thecreatormaywanttobepurposefullyunclearorconfusing.Forexample,ifacharacterisdelusionalordisorientedandthecreatorwantsthereadertoexperiencewhatthecharacterisgoingthrough,thevisualcontentand/orthereader’seyepathcanreflectthecharacter’sconfusion.Artistsshouldstrivetoestablishthecast,environment,andscenario

clearlyandkeeptheestablishedenvironmentsconsistent.Unlessthereisastoryreasonformakinganychangestotheenvironmentasurprisetothereader,alterationstoascenesettingshouldbeclearlyestablishedvisually.

ThisisanestablishingshotofGothamCityatnight.


Inthisreestablishingshot,thesamesectionofGothamthatwasshownearlierinthestoryisnow

ablaze.Showingsuchalargeandpreviouslyestablishedareaofthecityonfiremakesitimmediately

clearthattheinfernoisnotconfinedtooneortwobuildings.


MAKINGCHARACTERACTIONSCLEARMakingtheactionsofthecharacterscleartothereaderisvital.Whateveraction(orinaction)acharacterisinvolvedinneedstobeshownfromthecorrectanglesothattheactionisimmediatelycleartotheviewer.

shownfromthecorrectanglesothattheactionisimmediatelycleartotheviewer.IfthescriptcallsforashotofBatmanleapingupwhileholdingaBataranginonehandandhistetherlineintheother,anartistneedstofigureoutthebestposeandthebestangleonthatposetoshowtheactionclearly.Intheimagebelow,usingaDCDirectstatueinspiredbyTonyDaniel’sartfromtheBatmanBlackandWhiteseriesandsculptedbyJamesShoop,youcanviewapossibleposefromavarietyofanglestoseewhichonesbestshowtheactionclearly.Manyartistsdothisbyimaginingaposeandmentallycirclingaroundittoseewhichanglebestexpressestheaction.Thefirstandsecondanglesarebothfairlyclear,butthefirstanglelooksmoredynamicandtheshapesofBatman’shead,thearmwiththetether,andmostoftheBatarangareclear.InthethirdangleyouseelittleofBatman’sbodyandthecapecoverstheleapingaction,makingBatman’sactionunclear.Thefourthangleisinteresting,butBatman’sleftarmisalignedwithandcoveringhistorso.Also,asaresultoftheoverallsimilarityinthedarktonesofBatman’scostumeandequipment,theBatarang’sshapeisnotclearinthisanglesincemostoftheBatarangoverlapsBatman’scape.Inthefifthangle,notonlyistheBatarang’sshapelostbuttheshapeofBatman’swholeheadislost.Thefirstanglelookslikethebestchoice.Partofkeepingacharacter’sactionsclearinvolveskeepingthecharacter’sdirectiononthe“stage”consistent.Ifacharacterisestablishedmovingfromrighttoleftwithinapanelframe,ideally,subsequentpanelsshowingthatcharacter’scontinuingactionwillmaintainaright-to-leftaxis.Maintainingthisactionflowcontinuityisanimportantconceptthatdoesnotgetasmuchattentionincomicsasitusedto.Thisisdueinparttotheinfluenceofchaotic,quick-cut,documentary-likemusicvideosand3Dgameenvironmentsthathaveaffectedfilm,TV,andcomics.PartTwowillgointothissubjectinmoredepth.

Youcanshowactionfromavarietyofanglesanddistances.Generally,comicsartistsshouldpickthe

shotthatmostclearlydisplaystheactiontothereader.

PhotobyE.Potts.

Onthispage,Batman’smovementineachpanelconsistentlyhasaleft-to-rightbias,makingitclear

thatheisnotchangingdirectionashetravelsthroughthissequence.

ArtbyJimLeeandScottWilliamsfromDCComicsStyleGuides.

SupportingPrincipleTwo:BeInvisibleGoodvisualstorytellingisusuallyinvisibletothereader.Thatis,ifcomicscreatorsaredoingtheirjobswell,thereaderwillbeimmersedinthestoriesandwillnotbeconsciouslyawareofthevisualstorytellingtechniquesthecomicscreatorsuse.Distractingpagedesignorconfusingpanellayoutsthatdrawtoomuch

attentiontothemselvesmaybepleasingforthecreatorandthevieweronsomelevels.However,ifthesetechniquesdrawthereader’sattentionawayfromthestory,theycanbreakthereader’ssuspensionofdisbeliefandnegativelyaffectenjoymentofthetale.Whenitcomestomakingtheireffortsinvisible,comicscreatorscan

looktoballetforaparallel.Accomplishedballetdancersputtremendouseffortintotheirperformances.Manyofthemovestheyexecuteareverystressfulandpainful.However,thebestdancersmaketheirperformanceslookeffortless.Theydonotwanttheaudiencetonoticehowhardtheyareworkingorhowmuchpaintheyfeel.Dancerswhodoshowtheireffortorsufferingduringaperformancemaygetsomesympathyfromtheaudience.However,bydrawingattentiontotheireffort,thesedancerspulltheviewersoutoftheperformance’sbeautyanditsnarrative.Artistssometimesspendalotoftimefiguringoutthebestwayto

presentastoryandmaketheirdrawingsjustright.Theycanhavemanyfrustratingfalsestartsandtrashalotofworkbeforearrivingatstorytellingdecisionsandexecutionswithwhichtheyarehappy.Likegreatballetdancers,comicsartistsshouldstrivetokeeptheaudiencefromseeingtheblood,sweat,tears,strain,andpaintheysometimesundergowhenperformingorcreating.Ifcreatorsdotheirjobswell,thereaderswillhavenoideaofthe

difficultiesthecreatorsenduredwhileproducingthestories.Thecreators’choicesandexecutionwillappearseamless—seeminglyself-evidentasthebestwaytoexecutethestories!That’sthewayitshouldbe.

SupportingPrincipleThree:Show,Don’tTellClearlyshowallthevisualinformationsothatthescriptdoesnothavetoincludedescriptiveinformation.Thatway,thescript,ifanyisneeded,canconcentrateonnonvisualinformation,additionaldetail,andsubtext.Intheexampleonthefollowingpages,thescriptcallsforthe

following:

“BatmanridestheBatcycledownaGothamsidestreet,

straighttowardthereader.Thesunsetskyburnsredasa

Gothampoliceairshiphoversjustabovethebuilding

tops,itssearchlightonBatman.”

Formoststories,thevisualstorytellingchoicesandexecutionshouldenabletheviewertotellwhatishappeningfromthevisualsalone.Formostcomics,thislevelofclearvisualstorytellingishighlydesirable.Partofshowingandnottellingis“settingupandpayingoff”:

establishingvisualelementsinthestoryaheadoftimeiftheywillaffectthenarrativedirectly.Ifacharacterentersaroom,theestablishingshotshouldshowwhereeverythinginthatroomisinrelationtothecharacterandtoalltheotherobjectsintheroom.Includedintheestablishingshotshouldbeanyvisualelementthatwillappearlaterinthesequence.Forexample,iflaterinthestoryacharacterretrievesalaptopcomputerthatwassittingonhiscoffeetable,thelaptoponthetableshouldbeincludedinthescene’soriginalestablishingshot.Themoodofasceneoracharactercanbesetupinadvancesothatitpaysofflaterwhenthatmoodmoredirectlyaffectsthenarrative.

Itisawkwardwhencopyhastocoverforinformationthatshouldhavebeensuppliedvisually.


Whenalltheneededinformationissuppliedvisually,thecopycanconcentrateonsubtextand/or

informationthatvisualscan’teasilyimpart.


ArtbyBillReinhold.

PARTTWO

AFFECTINGtheREADER’SEXPERIENCE

Formostcomicsprojects,theartisthasmorepowertoaffecttheaudiencethandohisorhercounterpartswhoworkinothercollaborativevisualmedia.Thatisthecasebecausethecomicsartistoftenservesanumberofrolesthatusuallyaresplitupbetweendifferentpeopleinothervisualmedia,includingthe:DirectorCinematographerCastingdirectorLightingdirectorSetdesignerIftheartistisalsothewriterofthecomic,heorsheservesasthe

screenwriteraswell.Whentheartistdesignsthesoundeffects,heorsheservesasaFoley(soundeffects)engineertoo.Thus,comicscreators,whoarenotstrangerstotheconceptofpower

beingcoupledwithresponsibility,havetowieldallthatvisualstorytellingprowessforgood!Let’stakealookatsomeofthewayscomicscreatorscanaffectthewaysreadersexperiencetheirstories.

CHAPTERFOURREDUCTION,ENCAPSULATION,andJUXTAPOSITION

Toalargedegree,sequentialvisualstorytellingisaccomplishedthroughthecreativechoicescomicscreatorsmakeregardingreduction,encapsulation,andjuxtaposition.

ReductionAsstatedearlier,amajorpartofacomicscreator’sworkconsistsofselecting“snapshots”fromtheoverallnarrativetoshowthereader.Theartistmustreducethepossibilitiestoavisual,orasequenceofvisuals,thatareencapsulatedintopanels.Manycomicscreatorsrelyoninstincttochoosewhichmomentsto

encapsulate.Relyingoninstinctalone,however,maycausecreatorstofallintoastorytellingrut,executingsimilarscenesthesamewaytimeaftertime.Analyzinghowandwhytoencapsulatesomepartsofanarrativeandleaveotherparts“betweenthegutters”canhelpcreatorsstayfreshandinnovative.Evenifthecreatorwantedto,showingallthestory’seventsinrelative

realtimewouldbeimpracticalandmightresultinboringstorytelling.Forexample,inawarstory,muchofasoldier’stimeisspentdiggingandwaitinginfoxholes,cleaningweapons,standingguardduty,eatingrations,andsoon.Relativelylittleofthescenario’stimespanwillincludetheexcitingexternalactionofcombatordramaticinterpersonalconflictthatisusuallythefocusofthestory.Thatsaid,importantmomentsinastoryoftenincludesceneswith

littleexternalaction.Iftheysupportthestory,panelsthatshowlandscapes,charactersinsilentcontemplation,orother“quiet”scenesareatleastasimportantasthosefeaturingdramaticexternalaction.Forexample,itmaybeimportantinawarstorytoshowandcontrasttheextensiveperiodsofinactivitywiththeburstsofterrifyingaction.Insuchcases,thecomicscreatorneedstodecidehowbesttoshowthosemundanemomentsinavisuallyinterestingwayandhowmuchspacetodevotetothemrelativetotherestofthestory.Thestoryteller’sgoalshouldbetoisolateandshowthemovements

thatbestsupportthenarrativeandbuildthestoryarc.Anythingthatdoesnotcontributetothatgoalispossiblysuperfluousandprobablyexpendable.

Differentartistsmaymakedifferentdecisionsabouthowtoreduceonthebasisoftheirpersonal

creativepreferences:whichvisualstheyfeelbestconveyandpropelthestoryatthepaceatwhich

theywanttotellit.

ArtbyWillRosado.

Whendecidingwhattoshowandnotshow,comicscreatorshavetodeterminewhichpartsofthe

overallnarrativeareexpendable.Sometimes,eveninactiongenres,periodsofrelativeinactivitycan

giveinsightsintocharacters,addmood,andprovideacontrasttothescenesofovertaction.Suchis

thecaseinthisSgt.Rockscenedrawnbythelatelegendaryartist,editor,andteacherJoeKubert.

EncapsulationComicscreatorsneedtoconsideranumberoffactorswhendecidingwhattoencapsulatefromanarrative.Thesefactorsinclude(butarenotlimitedto):•Advancingthestory:–Showingtheinformationnecessarytomovetheplotforward.•Establishingorreestablishingascene,characters,orotherinformation:–Inmostcases,thefirsttimeasettingisseeninastoryorissue,theartistneedstoestablishthescene’scharactersandphysicalenvironmentclearly.Also,whenanestablishedenvironmentorcharacterhasnotbeenseenbythereaderforawhileduringthecourseofanissue,itisgoodtoreestablishthatsceneorcharacterwhenthefocusreturnstothatlocaleorcharacter.Thisremindsreadersofinformationtheymayhaveforgottenandalsoshowsthemiftherehavebeenchangessincethesceneorcharacterswerelastseen.Inadditiontotheneedtoestablishphysicalenvironments,creators

needtoestablishthemoodofthescene.•Suspense/tension:–Doesthecreatorwishtoconcealoronlypartiallyrevealsomeinformationtobuildsuspense?

•Emphasis:–Whatinformationshouldbestressedormadeblatanttothereaderandwhatinformationshouldberevealedsubtlyorsubconsciouslyorevenwithheld?

•Pacing:–Atwhatpacedoesthecreatorwishthereadertoexperiencethevariousaspectsofthestory?

•Marketing:–Coversandsomesplashpagesaredesigned,atleastinpart,toenticetheviewertopickupandpurchaseacomic.Ifthewritercreatesafullscript,itishisorherjobtomakeallthe

reductiondecisions,sortingoutwhichmomentstoshowineachpanel.Fullscriptsincludedescriptionsofthevisualcontentsforeverypaneloneachpage,alongwithalldialogue,captions,andsoundeffects.Thisispartofthereasonwritersneedtounderstandtheprinciplesandtechniquesofsequentialvisualstorytelling.Insomecases,writersalsomakeencapsulationdecisions,describinghowfarthe“camera”willbefromthesubjectorsubjectsinthepanel,howtheshotwillbecropped,howthepanelwillbeshaped,framed,lit,andsoon.However,inmanycases,whenworkingfromafullscriptthatdoesnotgodeeplyintopaneldescriptions,itistheartistwhowillmakethebulkoftheencapsulationdecisions.Iftheartistisalsothewriterorisworkingfromanotherwriter’splot(asopposedtoafullscript),itwillbehisorherjobtodecidewhattoencapsulateandemphasizepanelbypanel.Doingsoinvolvesanothergroupofdecisions:

•Howcloseorfarwillthecamerabefromthesubject(s)?•Atwhatanglewillthesubject(s)beseen?•Whichsubjectswillbeofprimaryfocusandwhichoneswillbesecondary?•Inwhatshapeandsizewillthepanelbeinwhichthesubjectisencapsulated?•Howwillthesubjectorscenebecroppedandframed?•Howwillthesubjectbelitandrendered?•Whatsortofdesignbalanceworksbest?

IfartistsneedtoshowSupermanflyingoverMetropolisinasinglepanel,theyhavetodecidehowtoframethatscene:theangleoftheshot,howtocropit,andhowmuchofthepage’s“realestate”itwilloccupy.Forthispage,theplotcallsforfivepanels:

1.SupermanflyingoverMetropolisinthedaytime.2.Close-upofSuperman.Somethinghascaughthisattention.3.Amilitaryhelicopterisfallingfromtheskynearabridge.Ittrailssmoke.4.Supermanstreakstowardthehelicopter5.Hesupportsthehelicopterfromunderneath,lettingitdescendsafely.

Ifartistsdecidetoopenupthescenetogivethereadermoreofafeelingofscope(andhavethepagespaceavailabletodoso),theymayusemorespaceandalterthenumberofpanelstoachievethiseffect.Intheversionofthepagehere,thefirstpanelisopeneduptogivethereaderabetterfeelofthescopeofthecitysceneasSupermanfliesoverMetropolis.Theactionsinthesecondandthirdpanelsarecombined,asarethefourthandfifthpanels.Thelastpanelbleedsoffthebottomandsidesofthepage,givingitgreaterscopeandimpact.Therearenumerouswaystogetacrossthesameinformationandtopromptresponsesinthereader.Aslongasthestoryistoldinaclearandcompellingmanner,thedecisionsonhowtoencapsulatethecontentfor

compellingmanner,thedecisionsonhowtoencapsulatethecontentforeachpanelareamatteroftheartist’spersonalaesthetics.

Thelevelofimportanceartistsplaceonasceneandthenumberofpagestheyhavetoplaywithboth

affectthewayartistsframethescene.


Ifpagecountandspaceallow,theartist(withhisorhereditor’sblessing)mayuselargerand/or

morevisualstogivethesceneasenseofscope,elapsedtime,and/oremphasis.


JuxtapositionTheartistmustcombinetheencapsulatedvisuals(panels)intoasequenceonthepagebyjuxtaposingthemnexttooneanotherinadesiredorder.Theorderinwhichthepanelsaremeanttobereadshouldbeclear.If

areader’seyepathdoesnotfollowtheonethattheartistintended,thereaderwillexperienceaverydifferent,andprobablyconfusing,story.Inadditiontojuxtaposingthepanels,comicscreatorsjuxtaposethe

copyelements(captions,wordballoons,soundeffects)withthevisualsandwithotherelementswithineachpanel.Theadditionofwordstoapanelcreatesajuxtapositionthatcanresult

inarangeofeffects.Thejuxtapositionofthechosenpanelsandothervisualelementstells

thestoryforthereaders,alongwiththevisualinformationthereadersconjureintheirheadswhenfillinginthegapsbetweenthejuxtaposedpanels.

Sometimesthewordsareredundantandsimplyreinforcewhatthevisualshows.Generally,thisis

notconsideredgoodformandusuallyisreservedfortitlesaimedatayoungaudienceorforscenesin

whichapointhastobemadeabsolutelyclear.

Complementaryjuxtapositionbetweenartandwordscreatesafuller“picture”ofthescenarioforthe

reader,goingbeyondwhateitherthevisualorthewordscouldproducealone.

Whenthejuxtapositioniscontrasting,thevisualandthetextgenerateopposingfeelingsorpresent

contradictoryinformationand/orsentiments.

Whenthejuxtapositionappearstobeunrelated,havingnoobviousconnection,thereadermay

experienceconfusion,transcendence,profoundinsight—ormakeapoeticassociation.

AllimagescomposedusingartassetsfromDCComicsStyleGuides.

CHAPTERFIVEALLABOUTPANELS

Acomicspanelisvisualcontentthatencapsulatesamomentfromalargernarrative.Panelsusuallyjuxtaposevisualcontentwithwords.

Theedgesofapanelareoftendefinedbyaborderandareusually,butnotalways,rectangularin

shape.

Sometimesapanelwillhavenoborderorbecontainedonlypartiallybyaborder.

Vignettesarepanelscontainingartthatfadesattheedgesofthevisualarea.

Insetpanelsareplacedinsideorsuperimposedontheframeofalargerpanel.

AllimagescomposedusingartassetsfromDCComicsStyleGuides.

Panel-to-PanelTransitionTypesThereareanumberoftypesoftransitionsthatoccurbetweencomicspanels.Thesecanbeusedtoelicitvaryingreactionsfromreaders.ComicsscholarScottMcCloudestablishedthefollowingcategories:

Moment-to-moment:Thesetypesoftransitionsrequireverylittleclosureonthepartoftheviewer.

Closurereferstotheactiontakingplacebetweenpanelsthatisimaginedbyreaders.


Action-to-action:Followingtheactionofthesamesubjectorsubjectsfrompaneltopanel.


Subject-to-subject:Switchingthefocusfromonesubjecttoanotherwithinthesamegeneralscene.

Requiresmoreworkfromtheviewertoachieveclosure.


Scene-to-scene:Transitionsacrosslargedistancesoftimeandspacecanrequirealotofworkonthe

partoftheviewertogenerateclosure.Suchtransitionsareoftenaidedbycaptionsordialogue.


Aspect-to-aspect:Panelsfocusingondifferentelementsofanidea,scene,mood,andsoforth.


Nonsequitur:Thesetransitionsdonothaveanimmediatelogicalconnectionbetweenthecontentof

theirpanels.

Panel1:ComposedusingartassetsfromDCComicsStyleGuides.

Panel2:ArtbyCarlPotts.

NeilCohn,avisuallanguageresearcher,identifiedseveralmoretransitioncategories:

Inclusionarytransitionsusepanelswithinpanelsand/orconceptswithinconceptstodrawattention

toelementsthatarepartofalargerpanel.


Inoverlaytransitions,asuperimposedvisualelementaffectsseveralpanels.Thesuperimposed

elementcanbeapanel,anisolatedobject,orcopy(balloon,caption,soundeffect).Inthiscase,the

fallingGreenLanternringoverlapsallthreepanelsandisthefocusofthedifferentcharacters

appearingineachpanel.


Embeddedtransitionsfollowmultipleimagesofthesamesubjectthroughasinglepanelscene.This

examplehasnopanelbordersseparatingeachincarnationofClarkKent’stransitiontoSuperman

withintheoverallscene.

ArtbyPhilJimenez.

Inthisgreatexampleofanembeddedtransition,topHollywoodstoryboardartistandgraphic

novelistMarcosMateu-Mestreusespanelborders,breakingupthecharacter’sdescentofthefire

escape.

ArtbyMarcosMateu-MestrefromhisbookFramedInk.©DesignStudioPress.

PanelSizesThesizeandshapeofapanelcanaffectthereader’simpressionofelapsingtime,theimportanceofthepanel’scontents,andthepanel-to-paneltransitioncategorythatistakingplace.

Ifapanelisprecededbyand/orfollowedbysmallerpanels,itimpliesthatthelargerpanelcontains

themostimportantordramaticinformationinthatsequenceofpanels.

Longhorizontalpanelscangivetheimpressionofaslowpaceduetotherelativelylongdistanceour

eyestravelbetweenleftandrightpaneledges.

Thinverticalpanelsgivetheimpressionofafastpaceasaresultoftherelativelyshortdistancethe

eyesmovebetweentheleftandrightpaneledges.

Ofcourse,thepanelcontentcanhaveadramaticeffectonthesenseoftime.Theuseofaseriesof

longverticalformatpanels,showingthesametreeasitchangesthroughthefourseasons,indicates

timepassingveryslowlydespitetheshorthorizontalspaceineachpanel.

IntheclassicepicWatchmen,theartistDaveGibbonsoftenusedpagescomposedofninepanelsinthreetiers,witheachtierhavingthreeidenticallysizedpanels.Thissetaveryeven“pace”formostofthestory.ItalsomadetheinstanceswhereGibbonsvariedfromthenine-panelgridgreatlyaffectthereader’ssenseofthestory’spacing,aswellastheimportanceofeachpanel’scontent.

Agridofnineidenticallysized/shapedpanelsisusedforkeepingasteadypace.

Inthisexample,differingpanelsizesareusedtoshowthingsslowingdown,speedingup,andfinally

slowingdowntoendonalongbeat.

PanelBordersDifferentpanelbordersandgutterscangivevariousimpressions.Theborder’smeaningoftenisaffectedbythepanelcontentsandviceversa.Somepossibleimpressionsthatborderscanimply:normality,emphasisorimportance,casualness,fantasy/dream,explosiveness(emotionallyorphysically).

Thesamevisualjuxtaposedwithdifferentborderstylescanalterreaders’impressionsofthecontent.


PanelArrangementsonthePageMakingsurethatpageandpaneldesignsareintunewiththereaders’naturaleyepathisvital.Thereadershouldbeabletofollowthepanel-to-panelsequenceintuitively.Theremayberarecasesinwhichacomicscreatorwillpurposely

arrangepanelsinawaythatconfusesthereader’seyepathforaspecificstorytellingeffect,suchasimpartingthesamesenseofdisorientationthatacharacterinthestoryisexperiencing.However,inmostcasesinwhichtheeyepathonapageisconfusing,theartistwascareless,assumingthathisorherthoughtprocesswhenlayingoutthepagewouldbecleartothereader.

IntheWest,theeyepathisfromlefttorightandthentoptobottom.

Stackingpanelsontheleftsideofthepagecreatesuncertaintyinthereadersaboutwheretheireyes

aresupposedtogonext.

OVERLAPPINGPANELSWhenneededordesired,overlappingcanhelpleadtheeyeorestablishconnections.Panels,objects,copy,andsoundeffectscanoverlaponthepage.

Inapinch,overlappinghelpsdirecttheeyeontothecorrectpathwhenthepanelarrangementonthe

pagedoesnotmaketheeyepathclearonitsown.Suchoverlappingis,however,aninelegant

solutionandisbestavoidedbynotstackingpanelsontheleftsideofthepage.

INSETPANELSInsetpanelsareplacedinsideoroverlapamainpaneltoaddemphasis,focusondetail,cuttoaparallelaction,and/oralternatethepointofview.

Makesuretheplacementofinsetpanelsworkswiththereader’sinstinctualeyepath.

TypesofShotsTherearemanyconsiderationsindecidinghowbesttopresentthevisualcontentforeachpanelinasequentialnarrative.AsJosephV.MascellistatesinTheFiveC’sofCinematography,“Proper

cameraanglescanmakethedifferencebetweenaudienceappreciationandindifference.Everychangeincameraangleshouldcount.Visualvarietyshouldbethekeynote,sothattheaudienceiskeptinterestedinwhat’shappeningandwhatwillhappennext.”

DISTANCEHere,categorizedbythedistanceofthesubjecttothecamera,aresomegeneralizationsaboutthedifferenttypesofshotsthatareusedtoencapsulate.Keepinmindthatthesearebroadgeneralizationsandthattherearecountlesssituationsinwhichthesevariousdistancecategoriesareusedindifferentwaysintheserviceofclearandcompellingstorytelling.However,intryingtofigureoutawaytoapproachencapsulatingthevisualelementsspecifiedinascript,thesebroadguidelinesmayprovehelpful.

LongShotsGenerallyusedtoestablishorreestablishascene,longshotsshowasmuchofanenvironmentasisneededtoestablishwherealltheobjectsandcharactersareinrelationtooneanother.Theseshotssetupwherethefollowingsequencetakesplaceandserveasamapofthescenesothatnomatterwherethecameramovesinsucceedingpanelsorwherethecharactersmovewithintheenvironment,theenvironmentalelementswillbeconsistent.

Artistsoftenuselongshotstoestablishascene,showingwhereeverythingandeveryoneisin

relationtoeachother.InthiscasereadersareintroducedtoBatman(infullfigure)seeminglyalone

intheBatcave.Helooksdeterminedandseriousashemarchesdownthestairs.Readersdon’tsee

thewholeBatcaveyet,buttheyseeenoughtotellit’salargeunfinishednaturalcavernwith

installationsofmodernindustrialstyleworkareasandequipment,includingagargantuancomputer

console.


Often,therewillbemorethanoneestablishingshotatthebeginningofascene:onefromaverylongdistance(theexteriorofabuildingsituatedinitssurroundings)andaclosershotinwhichthecharactersareestablishedwithintheenvironment(oftenaroomwithinthebuilding).Occasionally,theorderisreversed.Whenthestoryreturnstoapreviouslyestablishedsceneafterbeingawayfromthatsceneforawhile,itishelpfultoreestablishthescenewithanotherlongshot.Areestablishinglongshotletstheviewersknowwheretheyarewithouttheneedforacaptionandrevealsanychangestheenvironmentmayhavesustainedsinceitwaslastseen.

Sometimestwolong/establishingshotsareusedtointroducethescene.Herereadersareintroduced

tothefactthatWayneManorsitsatoptheBatcave.

MediumShotsOftenusedtoshowaction,mediumshotsareclosertothesubjectorsubjectsinapanel.Whenpeoplearethesubjectofamediumshot,theyusuallyareshownfromatleastmidthightothetopofthehead,ifnotinfullfigure.Mediumshotscanthereforeshowcharactersinactionveryclearly,assumingtheartistisdepictingtheactionfromasuitableangle.Actiondoesnotjustmeanlarge,dynamicphysicalactions;itcanrefer

tomuchmoresubtleacts,suchaspickingupapen,walkingacrossaroom,orpullingonashirt.

Mediumshotsoftenareusedtoshowactionclearly.That’swhymanyoftheshotsusedinsports

coverage,especiallyinstantreplaysofmajorgameactions,arefromamediumdepth.Here

Catwomanleapsdownontothecomputerconsoleinnearfullfigure.

Close-UpShotsClose-upsaregreatforshowingreactionordetail.Whenthefocusisonthecharacters,close-upscanbeshotsfocusingonthemidtorsotothetopoftheheadorcanbepanelsthatfocustotallyontheheadorface.Whentheshotissotightthatthefacefillstheframe,orclosetoit,itiscalledanextremeclose-up.Close-upsalsoareusedtoshowdetail,includingsuchthingsasthe

writingonanotepad,smallitemskeptinadeskdrawer,andthebuttonsonacellphone.

Artistsoftenuseclose-upstoshowcharacters’reactionstoaprecedingevent.Herewegetan

unexpectedreactionoutofBatmantoCatwoman’sinvasionofhissecretsanctuary.


Inextremeclose-ups,afaceorthepanel’ssubjectfillsmostorallofthepanel.


SequencesByproperlycombiningthesebasictypesofshots—long/establishing,medium/action,andclose-up/reaction—comicscreatorsgeneratepanelsequencesthatrangefromsimpletoverycomplex.

Artistscanjuxtaposethethreebasicdistanceshotcategoriestocreatenarrativesequences.Herewe

beginwithexteriorandinteriorestablishingshots,moveontoamediumactionshot,andfinishwith

aclose-upreactionshot.


POINTOFVIEWComicscreatorscanshowthereadersthestoryworldthroughtwodifferentsetsof“eyes.”

ObjectiveShotsMostpanelsarefromanobjectiveview,meaningthecameraisplacedwhereverintheenvironmentthecomicscreatordeemsappropriateandisunseenbyanycharacter.Itistheeyeofaninvisibleobserver.

Mostshotsareobjective,fromthepointofviewofaninvisibleandomnipresentobserver.


SubjectiveShotsWhenthecontentsofapanelareseenthroughtheeyesof(orovertheshoulderof)acharacter,theyarecalledsubjectiveshots.Theyaretakenfromthepointofview(POV)ofaparticularcharacter.

Subjectiveshotsletthereaderexperiencewhatthecharacterisseeing.AslongasaPOVsequenceof

panelsismaintained,thereadercanseeonlywhatthecharacterseesandisunawareofwhateverthe

charactercannotsee.


HEIGHTANGLESSeveralcategoriesareusedtodescribetheheightlevelofthecamerawhencomposingashot.Thetermanglealsoreferstothepositionfromwhichthecamerais

seeingasubject,irrespectiveofheight.

HighAngleShotsWhenitislookingdownonasubject,apaneliscategorizedasbeingahigh-angleorbird’s-eyeviewshot.

Highanglesgivetheimpressionofagodlikeperspectiveonthecharactersandenvironment.They

alsocancreatesteepperspectiveandforeshortening(drawinganobjecttoappearshorterthanit

actuallyis,whenangledtowardtheviewer).


MediumAngleShotsIfthecameraandthehorizonlineofapanelarenearthecenteroftheframe,itisamedium-angleshot.

Mediumanglespresentafairlyobjectiveviewofthescaleofvariouscharactersandobjects.Subjects

advancingorrecedingindistancestillcreateforeshortening.


LowAngleShotsInalow-angleorworm’s-eyeviewshot,thesceneisseenfromaverylowlevel.

Lowanglescancausesteepforeshorteningandmakecharactersandobjectslooktallandimposing.


TiltAngleShotsInatiltshot,thehorizonlineisshiftedsothatit’snolongerata90-degreeangletothepage.Thiscaninstillasenseofsuspenseorunease.

Creatorsshouldusetiltanglessparinglysincetheiroverusewillkilltheiruniquenessandbecome

annoyingtothereader.


MOVESComicsdonotcreatetheillusionofmovementthatfilmandTVdo.However,sequentialcomicspanelscanemulatesomeofthecameramovesusedinmovingmedia.

ZoomShotsWhenaseriesofpanelsprogressivelymoveinonasubject,itiscalledzoomingin.Ifthesequencegoesinreverseorder,withthesubjectprogressivelygettingfartherawayfromthecamera,itiscalledzoomingout.Zoomshotscanbeeitherobjectiveorsubjective.

Zoominginoroutonasubjectinamultipanelsequencecanaddextramood,action,oremotional

emphasistoascene.Zoomscanfocusonstillormovingsubjects.

ArtbyWillRosado.

TrackingShotsIf,inaseriesofpanels,thecameramoveswithinanenvironment,itiscalledatrackingshot.

Trackingshotsoftenareusedtofollowamovingsubjectthroughanenvironment,asseeninthis

examplefromSgt.Rock.

ArtbyJoeKubert.

PanShotsIfthecamerapivotsinplace,revealingaseriesofshotsinanarc,itiscalledapanshot.

Whenthecamerapivotsinplaceduringasequence,itiscreatingapanshot.Theaboveexampleis

alsofromSgt.Rock.

ArtbyJoeKubert.

MontageAmontageconsistsofvisualsfromdifferentscenes,usuallyborderlessvignettes,arrangedtogetherinapaneloronawholepage.Ideally,thevisualelementsshouldbearrangedinawaythatleadsthe

viewer’seyethroughthevariousvignettes.Amontageisoftenusedtoreviewalotofhistoryorinformationor

summarizepreviouseventsquickly.Sometimesamontageisusedtogivetheimpressionofacharacterexperiencinginformationoverload,hallucinations,ordreams.

Thetopandbottomsectionsofthistwo-pagespreadfromBatwoman#1(September2011)are

montages.

ArtbyJ.H.WilliamsIII.

CombinationsEachpageinastorycontainsacombinationofpanelcategories.

OnthispagefromBatman#3(November2011),pencillerGregCapulloemploysanicevarietyof

shots.

ArtbyGregCapulloandJonathanGlapion.

CHAPTERSIXPAGES:TheBIGPICTURE

Creatingpagescontainingaseriesofjuxtaposedpanelsrequiresastrongsenseofdesigntokeeptheaudienceimmersedinthenarrative.

StoryPagesEachpageofastoryusuallycontainsmultiplepanelsarrangedinawaythat:

•Propelsthestoryforwardinaclearandcompellingway•Keepsthereader’seyesmovinginthecorrectpath•Isasemi-self-containedunitofdesign•Isalsopartofalargersequence

Thekeyistomakethereader’seyepathclearwhiletellingthetaleinawaythat

compelsthereaderforward.

InSwampThing#1(September2011),artistYanickPaquetteusesstablerectangularpanelsasthe

storybeginsinthecity.Hethenusesavarietyofmorecomplexpanelsizes,shapes,and

arrangementsasheintroducesthesupernaturalelements.

ScriptbyScottSnyder,artbyYanickPaquette.

InventionalPanelArrangementsSometimesanunusualpanelarrangementcanhelpconveyinformationeffectively.

Thetricktoinventionalpanel/pagedesignistouseanunusualarrangementthatdoesthe

storytellingjobwithoutbeingovertlydisruptingtothereader’sexperience.

ScriptbyW.HadenBlackmanandJ.H.WilliamsIII,artbyJ.H.WilliamsIII.

J.H.Williams’stwo-pagespreadfromBatwoman#12(August2012)isanotherexampleofhis

inventionalvisualstorytelling.Searchingwithinafun-housemirrormazewherewarpedreflections

mirrortheirconfusion,thecharactersliterallycirclearoundthesameissuethatWonderWomanis

tacklingelsewhere.Thepanellayout,alongwiththearrowsbuiltintothefun-housefloor,ensures

thatthereader’seyepathisclear.

ScriptbyW.HadenBlackmanandJ.H.WilliamsIII,artbyJ.H.WilliamsIII.

CoversThebiggestmarketingtoolacomicscreatororpublisherhasisthecover.Acovershouldenticepotentialbuyerstograbthatcomicandtakeittothecheckout,whetherinphysicalshopsoronline.Usually,thecoverhastograbthepotentialbuyer’sattentionwhile

competingwithnumerousothercoverssurroundingitonphysicalorvirtualracks.Covercontentusuallyfallsintoseveralcategories.

Adynamicordramaticscenefromthestorycontainedinthecomic.

ArtbyTonyDanielandJulioFerreira.

Asymboliccoverthatpresentsthecharactersand/orasituationthatmayormaynotrelatedirectly

tothestoryinsidethatissue.Pinup-typeshotsofcharactersindramaticposesorengagedina

dynamicphysicalactionfallintothiscategory.

ArtbyBrettBoothandNormRapmund.

Amontageofelementsfromtheinteriorstory.

ArtbyWalterSimonson.

Thecoverforeachissueofatitleneedstohavesomeconsistencysothatregularreaderscaneasilyfindeachmonth’snewissueontheracks.Theconsistencyshouldincludethelogodesign.However,thecoversforaseriesshouldbedifferentenoughsothatcoversforsuccessiveissuesarenotconfusedwithoneanother.Iftwocoversinarowfeatureapinup-styleshotoftheleadcharacter

orcharactersinasimilaractionpose,coloredinasimilarfashion,buyersscanningtheracksmayassumetheyhaveboughtthelatestissueofthattitleevenwhenthatisnotthecase.Unlessthereisacompellingcreativeormarketingreasonnotto,

logos,whileretainingthesamedesignineveryissue,shouldvaryin

coloringfromissuetoissue.Thishelpspreventthe“Ialreadyhavethatissue”mistakefromhappening,especiallyonsomestylesofphysicalrackswhereonlytheupperpartsofthecoverareviewable.Ifthereisatrendinthemarkettodocoverswithlotsofdetailedbackgroundsandhighlyrendereddarkcoloring,acoverthathaslotsoflight,opennegativespacewillstandout.Ifthestoreracksarefilledwithlotsofcoversdisplayingmediumshotsofcharactersincombat,acoverfeaturingareallygreatclose-upofaleadcharacter(especiallyifthatcharacterhasacaptivatingexpression)canhelpacomicstandout.Inmostcases,acomicscreatororeditorcan’ttellinadvancewhatthecompetitivecomicscoverlandscapewillbelikewhenaparticularissuehitstheracks.Therefore,whilemaintainingaconsistentlogodesign,it’sagoodideafortheartonthecoversofanongoingseriestovarythetypesofshots,designbalance,levelofpositive/negativespace,andcolorpalettefromissuetoissue.Thatwaytheconsumercaneasilydifferentiatethevariousissuesofatitle.

Sometimesabigeventtakingplaceacrossanumberoftitleswillpromptapublishertouseasimilar

layout,ortradedress,acrosstheassociatedtitles.Thismakesiteasierforbuyerswhoaretryingto

obtainalltheissuesinvolvedintheevent.

CHAPTERSEVENWHEREAreWE?

Characters,vehicles,andothersubjectsoftenareshownmovingthroughenvironmentsinsequencescomposedofnumerouspanels.Makingsurethedirectioninwhichasubjectismovingremainsclearcanbetrickywhenawidevarietyofshotsandanglesareemployedoverasequenceofpanels.Therearetechniquescomicscreatorscanusetokeepthosesubjectsandthereaderproperlyoriented.

MapOrientationSequentialvisualstorytellingmediauserectangularformats,usuallyintheformofhorizontalrectangles.Theaudiencehasgrownuplookingatrectangularmapswherenorth

isatthetop,southonthebottom,easttotheright,andwesttotheleft.Viewersofvisualstorytellingmediahavethismaporientationstoredintheirsubconscious,andcreatorsofvisualnarrativescanuseittotheiradvantage.Ifit’simportanttothestorythatthecharacter,thevehicle,orany

subjectistravelinginaspecificcompassdirection,comicscreatorscanpositionthatobjectintheframetoreflectthatdirection.Thiswillresonatewiththemaporientationintheaudience’sheads.Forexample,cinematographersanddirectorsofoldWesternfilms

usuallyshowedwagontrainsmovingwestwitharight-to-leftbiaswithintheframe,echoingthewesterndirectionofamap.

Subconsciously,mostoftheaudienceassociatesanorth-on-topdirectionalorientationwith

rectangularformats.

WagontrainsdepartedfromMissouriandheadedwesttowardCaliforniaandOregon.Thatiswhy,in

manyWesternfilms,thewagonsareshotheadingtotheleft,orwest.

ArtbyWillRosado.

Ifthewagonsgaveupandheadedbackeast,thedirectionalbiasofthewagons’movementwould

changetoleft-to-right.

ArtbyWillRosado.

It’susuallybesttokeeptheactiondirectioninasceneconsistent.Ifaright-to-leftflowisestablishedinascene,allsubsequentshotsinthatsceneshouldfollowtheright-to-leftdirectionunlessanewdirectionisclearlyestablished.Whentheactionmovesdirectlytowardorawayfromtheviewer,itis

calledaneutralshot.Neutralshotscanbeusedinanysequence,nomatterwhichdirectionhasbeenestablishedforthescene’sactionbias.However,whenusinganeutralshot,itisbesttoestablishtheactionflowbiasbeforetheneutralshotorshotsandthenreestablishtheaction’sbiasafteraneutralshotorshots.

Allshotsinasequenceofawagonmovingwest—long,medium,andclose-up—shouldmaintainthe

right-to-leftactionbias.

ArtbyWillRosado.

Directionallyneutralshotsshowactionmovingdirectlytowardordirectlyawayfromthecamera.

Notethatinthispanel,eventhoughthehorsesaremovingdirectlyawayfromtheviewer,thedirt

trailtheyfollowbendsfromrighttoleft,maintainingthesequence’sactionflowbias.

ArtbyWillRosado.

ActionFlowContinuityActionflowcontinuityinvolvesestablishingandmaintainingthemovementdirectionofcharacters,vehicles,andotherobjectsinthestoryenvironment.Evenwhentheviewerdoesn’tconsciouslyregistercontradictory

actionflow,itcanbeunsettlingonanunconsciouslevel.If,inastory,acharactermadlydashesaround,lookingalloverfor

somethinginachaoticfashion,showingthecharacterchangingdirectionfrompaneltopanelinthefranticsearchsequenceisactuallygoodstorytelling.Otherwise,itisbesttoestablishandmaintaineachcharacter’sactionflowcontinuity.InfilmandTV,thisconceptisreferredtoasthe180-degreerule.Whenfilmingonastageoraset,filmmakersusuallyestablishaline,

anactionaxisthatrunsthroughthescene.Tokeeptheactionflowcontinuityconsistent,theykeepthecameraononesideoftheactionaxis.Theydonotcrosstheline.Itcanhelptothinkofthesceneasbeingonatheaterstage.Theaction

axisrunsalongtherearwallofthestage,andsomovingthecamerabeyondthatlineisimpossible.

It’simportanttomaintaintheproperactionflowcontinuitywhencharactersheadtowardeachother

foraclash.Inthefirstsequence,BatmanandKillerCrocheadtowardeachother,resultingintheir

meetingandclashing.Inthesecondexample,inconsistentactionflowinthepanelsleadingupto

theclashmakesituncleariftheyareheadedtowardeachother.


Ifacharacterisestablishedmovingfromrighttoleftinapanel,succeedingpanelsshouldmaintain

thatright-to-leftbias.If,duringaseriesofpanels,thecharacter’smovementkeepschanging,itcan

causeconfusionforthereaders.Theymaywonderifthecharacterhaschangeddirectionevenifthat

wasnotthecomicscreator’sintent.


IfBatmanispursuingKillerCroc,then,asisshowninthefirstexampleabove,bothcharactersshould

maintainthesameactiondirectionbiasinthesequence.Iftheinconsistentactionflowofthesecond

exampleisused,itisunclearifonecharacterisinpursuitoftheotheroriftheyareheadedtowardor

awayfromeachother.


Thegrayareaonthefloorshowsthesemicirclethatgivesthe180degreeruleitsname.Theflatside

ofthegrayareaistheactionaxis.Ascanbeseenbythepositionsofcameras1,2,and3,filmmakers

generallydonotmovethecameraovertheactionaxis.Ifacameramovesbeyondtheactionaxis

(camera4view),itmakesthecharactersorobjectsintheenvironmentswitchthesideofthescreen

theyarefacing.Camera4’sviewmakesitappearasthoughBatmanisrunningawayfromhisfoe.


Inasequenceinwhichthesubjectisestablishedasmovinginonedirection,theBatmobiletraveling

righttoleftinthiscase,alltheshotsinthesequence,nomatterwhatthedistanceorangle,should

ideallymaintaintheestablisheddirectionorbedirectionallyneutral.

ArtbyWillRosado.

Whentheactionflowdirectionisnotmaintained,itcangivethereaderstheimpression(consciously

orsubconsciously)thatthesubjectischangingdirection.

ArtbyWillRosado.

ESTABLISHINGACHANGEINDIRECTIONIfinthecourseofastoryacharacterorvehiclechangesdirectioninitsenvironment,itisbesttoshowthatchangeclearly.Ideally,comicsartistsshouldshowtheturnrelativetothepreviousdirectionandestablishthenewdirection.

establishthenewdirection.

Whenasubjectchangesdirectioninastory,theartistshouldshowtheturn(thirdpanel)and

establishthesubject’snewdirectionalbias.

ArtbyWillRosado.

REVERSEANGLESTherearetimeswhenthecamerahastotravelacrosstheactionaxis.Inthosecases,therearewaystominimizeanydisconcertingeffectsonthereaders.

Often,thesereverseanglesaredoneduringsequenceswithmultiplecharactersconversingwhilesittingandfacingthesamedirection.Theymaybeseatednexttoeachotherinarestaurantbooth,inacar,onatrain,inaplane,oronasofa.Afterestablishingtheactiondirection,focusonacharacterwhoisfacingtheestablisheddirection.Thenreversetheangle(hoptotheothersideoftheactionaxis)tofocusonanothercharacterwhenheorsheisspeakingorisotherwisethefocusoftheshot.Endthesequencebyreestablishingtheoriginalactionflowdirection.Includingreverseanglesinsequencesthatare“bookended”byshotsoftheestablishedactionflowdirectionhelpskeeptheaudiencedirectionallyoriented.

Whenitisdonecarefully,actionflowcontinuitycanbemaintainedwhileincorporatingreverse

angles.

ArtbyWillRosado.

Ifpossible,whenusingreverseangles,keepthecharactersonthesamesidesofthepanelaswas

establishedoriginally.Inbothofthesepanels,eventhoughtheyareonoppositesidesoftheaction

axis,RobinremainsontheleftofthepanelandBatmanstaysontheright.

ArtbyWillRosado.

MOREOBSERVATIONSONDIRECTIONALCONTINUITYThereareseveralotherwaysvisualstorytellerscanthinkaboutandutilizeactionflow.Usingtheactiondirectioninapicturetohelptellastoryisaveryold

concept.Alternatively,acreatormighthavealltheprotagonistsinastorymovewiththatnaturalleft-to-righteyeflowuntiltheprotagonistexperiencesadefeat,hitsanobstruction,orexperiencesareversalinhisorherjourney.Whenthatoccurs,thecharacterchangesdirectionandmovesfromrighttoleftintheframe—againstthenaturaleyepath.Theantagonistsinthestorywouldmoveinthedirectionoppositetothatinwhichtheprotagonistsmove.Thisisaninterestingapproach,butitcanbetoorestricting.Whateveractionflowapproachtheartistuses,theactionflowcontinuityshouldbeaconsciousandconsistenteffortandnothaphazard.Dowhateverworkstotellthestoryinaclearandcompellingway.

CulturalConsiderationsAsreadersofJapanesemangaareaware,insomecultures,peoplearetrainedtoreadfromrighttoleftbeforereadingfromtoptobottom.Thus,ifacomicscreatorisproducingworkforaforeignaudience,itisagoodideatocheckonthereadingconventionsofthatculture.

THEIMPORTANCEANDRELEVANCEOFACTIONFLOWCONTINUITYTODAYMaintainingactionflowcontinuitymaybemoreimportantinmovingmediathanitisinstillmedia.Itis,however,aconceptthatmanycomicsartistsandeditorsdonotpayenoughattentionto.Unlessthereisaconsciousdecisionbyacomicscreatortoviolate

actionflowcontinuityforareasonheorshefeelssupersedestheneedtomaintainthatcontinuity,itisbesttopracticeconsistentactionflow.Whymightacomicscreatorpurposelygoagainsttheestablished

actionflowbiasinasequence?Onepossibilityisthattheartistfeltthatpromptingthereadertothenextpanelorthenextpagebyusingthedirectionofapanel’sactionflowwasmoreimportantthanmaintainingtheactionflowcontinuitywithinasequence.Inrecentyears,theuseof—oreventheknowledgeof—actionflow

continuityorthe180-degreerulehasdiminished.Thisseemstobethecaseacrossallsequentialvisualmedia.Atonepoint,maintainingactionflowcontinuitywassuchapriority

thatifafilmdirectorscreweduptheactionbiaswhileshooting,filmeditorswouldflop(createamirrorimageof)theinconsistentshotstomakethesequenceconsistent.However,doingthatcouldgenerateotherproblems.Aleft-handedcharactermightsuddenlyusehisrighthandforawhile,oracharacterwithascarononesideofherfacemightappeartohaveascarthatmigratedfromonesideofthefacetotheotherandback!Insuchsituations,theeditorhadtochoosewhichwasthelesseroftwoevils—inconsistentactioncontinuityortheissuescreatedwhenamirrorimagewasmadeofthenegative.

Sometimesartistsfeelitisimportanttourgethereadertogotothenextpagebyhavingtheactionin

thelastpanelofapagemovefromlefttoright.

ScriptbyGrantMorrison,artbyRagsMoralesandRickBryant.

Whyisactionflowcontinuity/the180-degreerulenotobservedasmuchtodayasindecadespast?Herearesomepossibilities:

•Classicvisualstorytellingandcinematographyskillsarenottaughtasoftenorpassedonbymentorsasmuchasinthepast.•WhenviewingmodernGPS,radar,orsonarandwhenexperiencing3D

•WhenviewingmodernGPS,radar,orsonarandwhenexperiencing3Dgameenvironmentmaps,thedirectionatthetopoftheframeorscreeniswhateverdirectiontheuserisheadedatthemoment.Thus,ifadriverisheadedsouth,thetopoftheGPSscreenwillbesouth,notnorth.Thismaygraduallycreateanaudiencethatcancopewithsomeactioncontinuityinconsistenciesbetterthancouldthoseinthepast.•Film/videomakingtechnologyandthe“surfaceflash”ofquickcutsandotherfilm/videotechniquesthathelpgeneratevisualexcitementseemtohavetakenprecedence.MTVgothotinthemid-1980sbyshowingmusicvideos,andmanyofthevideodirectorsusedadocumentaryapproachmarriedtoexcitingsurfaceflashtechniques.

However,unlessthereisacompellingreasonnottoobserveconsistentactionflowcontinuityinanyvisualstorytellingmedium,itshouldbemaintained.Doingthiswillhelpreadersstayorientedontheconsciousandsubconsciouslevels.

Ifamirrorimageiscreatedofacharactertomakeitconformtotheestablishedactionflowbias,

sometimesproblemsarise.Acharacterwithanasymmetricalcostumedesign,asisthecasewith

Firestorm’schesticon(correctintheleft-handimage),willhavehisorhercostumedesignflopped.If

acharacternormallycarriesaweaponintherighthand,creatingamirrorimagewillcausethe

weapontoswitchhands.


CHAPTEREIGHTMOREWAYStoENTHRALLREADERS

Inadditiontoeverythingcoveredsofar,comicscreatorshaveevenmoretechniquesattheirdisposalforaffectingreaders.

VisualMetaphorsorThemesIftheyareusedinanartfulway,designmetaphorsorvisualthemescanaddanextralayerofcreativitytovisualstorytelling.Thismayinvolveusingavisualelementorelementsthatrepeat

throughouttheworktoforeshadoworreinforceaspecificmoodorevent.Creatorscanuseweather,lighting,color,setting,panelborderdesign,lettering,andothervisualelementstodothis.Water,especiallyfallingwaterasseenindrearyrainyweatherand

tears,isacommonmetaphorforsadnessinfilm,TV,andcomics.Sometimesit’sinterestingtogoagainsttheusualorclichéd

expectationsoftheaudience.Ifrainandtearsaretypicallyassociatedwithdepressingsituations,tryturningthatexpectationonitshead.Visualstorytellersalsocanusefallingwaterasasymbolofrebirthandjoy,aswhenspringshowershelpgrowalushgreenlandscapeorwhentearsflowasamotherandchildarereunited.It’susuallybettertoberestrainedwhenusingdesignmetaphorsthan

togooverthetop,hittingthereadersovertheheadwithyourclevernessanddrawingattentionfromthestoryinsteadofenhancingit.InhisBatmanBlackandWhitestory“GoodEvening,Midnight,”Klaus

Jansonusedseveralvisualmetaphorsandthemes.Foodwasusedasasymbolofloveatthebeginningandendofthestory.Eachofthethreesettingsinthetalehaditsowndistinctweather.Echoingthroughoutthestoryareparents’hopesforandfearsaboutthevulnerabilityoftheirchildren.(SeeChapter15ofJanson’sTheDCComicsGuidetoPencillingComicstolearnmoreabouthisthoughtsandprocessforcreatingthisstory.)

KlausJanson’s“GoodEvening,Midnight”usesvisualmetaphorsandthemestoenhancethe

effectivenessofthestory.

ScriptandartbyKlausJanson.

Action/ReactionDuringsequenceswithtwoormorecharactersinteracting,whethertheyareinaconversationorashootout,somecomicscreatorstendtocutbackandforthbetweenthecharacters,rarelyshowingbothorallofthecharactersinthesameshot.Ifthesequencedoesnotincludeshotswithbothorallcharactersin

thesamepanel,itbecomesdifficultforreaderstoknowwherethecharactersareinrelationtoeachotherandtheenvironment.Forexample,inagunfightbetweentwocharacters,iftheartistdoes

notoccasionallyshowwherebothshootersareinrelationtoeachotherandtheenvironment,itwillnotbeclearhowfarawaytheshootersarefromeachother,whatenvironmentalobjectsarenearby,orwherethecharactersaremovingwithintheenvironmentasthesceneprogresses.Relatedtothatpoint,someartistshaveatendencytoseparateeach

action/reactioncombinationwhentheyshouldatleastoccasionallycombineactionandreactioninonepanel.Onecharactercanshootaweapon,andinthesamepanel,anothercharactercanreacttobeinghitbytheshot.Oronecharactercanverballyrevealsomesurprisingnews,andinthesamepanel,anothercharactercanreacttothenews.Therearetimeswhenanartistmaywanttoseparatetheactionand

reactiontocreateabitofsuspense.Forinstance,afteronecharacterfiresshots,itisnotclearifthetargetwashitforabeatortwo.Bypickingfromandskillfullyutilizingallthevisualstorytelling

techniquesattheirdisposal,comicscreatorshaveawiderangeofsubtletoblatantwaystoaffectreadersemotionallyandpropelthemforwardthroughthestory.

Whenactionsandreactionsinasequencearealwayspresentedinseparatepanels,thereadercan

losetrackofwherethecharactersare(howclose)inrelationtoeachotherandthesetting.Inthis

examplefromaKamandistorywrittenbyDaveGibbonsandillustratedbyRyanSookinthe

WednesdayComicsanthology,Sook’soriginalartwascroppedtohelpmakeapoint.Thenextgraphic

showsSook’soriginalpanelcomposition.

ScriptbyDaveGibbons,artbyRyanSook.

Whenactionandreactionareshowninthesamepanelduringasequence,thereaderstaysinformed

abouttheproximityofthecharactersandtheartistcancutdownonthenumberofpanelsneededto

presenttheinformation.

ScriptbyDaveGibbons,artbyRyanSook.

ArtbyPhilJimenezandAndyLanning.

PARTTHREE

NARRATIVE+ART

Rememberthatnarrative+art+sequentialvisualstorytelling=comics.I’vediscussedSVS,sonowthefocusturnstonarrative(story)andart.Mostcomicsnarrativesarebuiltarounddramaticarcs,andsostory

structurewillbeamajortopic.Somecomicsutilizephotosorothervisualelementsfortheirart.

However,thevastmajorityofcomicsaredrawnusinglineart,andthat’swhatI’llconcentrateon.

CHAPTERNINENARRATIVE:WRITINGforVISUALSTORYTELLING

Evenifcomicbookartistsdonotplantowrite,theyneedtobeabletoworkandcommunicateeffectivelywithwriters.Therefore,allcomicsartistshavetoknowthebasicsofstorystructure,characterization,pacing,andothercreativeelementsoftellingtales.Thefirstbookinthisseries,TheDCComicsGuidetoWritingComicsbyDennyO’Neil,isagreatresourceforwritersandishighlyrecommended.WhatfollowsaresomeofmyownthoughtstogoalongwithDenny’s

insights.

ClassicStoryArcNomatterwhatformofmediaisusedtotellit,astoryusuallyhasaclassicarcstructure.Thevastmajorityofstoriesyou’vereadorseenincorporateaclassicstoryarc.Comicscanemployothertypesofnarrativetoo,includingmood

pieces,charactersketches,abstracttales,andinstructionalandeducationalpieces.However,moststoriesgenerallyfollowanarcinwhich:

•Oneormoreprotagonistsencounteracatalyticincidentthatdisturbstheirstatusquo.•Thatincidentpropelstheprotagonistorprotagonistsactivelyintoanescalatingseriesofeventsorconflictswithoneormoreantagonistsand/orotherobstacles,whetherphysicaloremotional.•Theeventsreachaclimaxinwhichtheconflictbetweentheprotagonistandtheantagonistisresolved(atleasttemporarily)andtheramificationsoftheresolutionareshown(thenewstatusquo).

Therearemanycelebratedworksoffictionthatdonotfollowtheclassicstoryarc.However,themajorityoftalesthathavestoodthetestoftimeaswellasthemostpopularcontemporaryworksoffictiongenerallyfollowthisbasicarc.

FormerDCComicseditorthelate,greatArchieGoodwingaveusahumorousinsightintohiscreative

process.

Copyright2013by“TheEstateofArchieGoodwin.”

Ifyouwanttoproduceastorywiththehighestchanceofreachingandaffectingthelargestpossibleaudience,youshoulduseaclassicstoryarc.Theclassicarcallowsforanattractivecombinationoftheconventional

andtheinventional.Withinthefamiliarclassicstoryarctherearecountlesswaystogeneratetension,jeopardy,novelty,mystery,andsoon,thussatisfyingpeople’scontradictoryneedsforstructureandnovelty.Classicstructureisthemostgratifyingstoryformatforthelargestpossibleaudienceandthereforethemostpopulartypeoffictionstructure.Writersneedtogivereaderswhattheyexpect,butnotinthewaythey

expectit.Characters(includingtheirabilities,weaknesses,andknowledge),storysituations,objectsofpower,andenvironmentsallshouldbesetupasthestoryprogresses.Attheclimax,someoftheelementsthathavebeensetupshouldbeusedinasurprisingwaythatisstilllogicalinthecontextofthestory.Theknowledge,ability,and/orweaponsthattheprotagonistpickedupalongthecourseofthejourneycanbeusedinanunexpectedcombinationattheclimax.

THEPROTAGONISTAprotagonististhemaincharacterinandfocusofthestory.Mostprotagonistshaveheroiccharacteristicsthatarerevealed,puttothetest,and/orchangedduringthecourseofthestory.Therearesomestoriesinwhichtheprotagonistisanantihero.Inthosecases,theprotagonistisoftenpittedagainstheroicantagonistsoragainstothernonheroiccharacters.Usually,theprotagonistischangedinsomewaybyhisorherstory

experience.Attheveryleast,theeventsofthestoryshouldreinforcethecharacter’soriginalpointofview.Iftheprotagonistemergesvictorious,thestoryhasahappyending.

Iftheprotagonistloses,thetalehasasadending.Iftheendingisamixtureofpositiveandnegativeoutcomesfortheprotagonist,thestoryhasanironicending.

Inmostcases,theprotagonistisacharacterthereadercanidentifywithononeormore

levels,helpingthereadervicariouslysharetheaspirations,dangers,andadventuresthatthe

protagonistembodiesandexperiences.


GenreExpectationsInthevariousaction/adventuregenres(Western,superhero,detective,swordandsorcery,etc.),thereisalmostalwaysafinalshowdownbetweenthemainprotagonistandtheprimaryantagonist.Theaudienceexpectsitandwouldbedisappointedifthestorydidnotcontainasatisfyingshowdown.Thetrickistoaddinventionalelementstotheexpectedshowdowntomakeitnovelandunexpected.InfilmWesterns,theshowdownoftentakesplaceinthedustystreetof

asmalltown.SamuraifilmsareverysimilartoWesterns.TheclassicAkiraKurosawafilmYojimbo,starringToshiroMifune,wasoneofseveralsamuraifilmsremadeintoAmericanWesterns.SergioLeonetookYojimboandturneditintoAFistfulofDollarsstarringClintEastwood.InYojimbo,theviewerknowsthatthebadguyistheonlycharacterwithahandgunandthatMifune’sprotagonisthasonlyaknifeandasword.Beforetheshowdown,weseeMifune’scharacterinadilapidatedshed.Asastrongwindhowlsthroughthesplinteredwallsoftheshed,hepassesthetimebythrowingtheknife,pinningleavesthatblowaroundtheshedinunpredictableways.Later,astheprotagonistandthemainantagonistapproacheachother

onthestreetfortheshowdown,weexpectMifune’scharactertoseekcoverasthebadguybeginstoslowlydrawtherevolverfromthelargesleeveofhiskimono.Insteadofrunningorhidingbehindcover,Mifuneunexpectedly

charges,allowinghimtogetcloseenoughtothebadguytothrowtheknife.Thebladeslicesintothebadguy’smovinggunhandbeforeafatalshotcanbefired.Theaudienceknewitwasgoingtocomedowntoafightbetweenthe

goodguyandthebadguy,buttheexecutionofthefightprovidedatwisttheywerenotexpecting,eventhoughitwassetupbythescenesofMifunepracticingknifethrowingonthewind-blownleaves.Theaudiencegottheshowdowntheyexpected,butnotinthewaytheyexpectedit:amixoftheconventionalandtheinventional.

InternalandExternalDesiresandConflictsMostcharactersshouldhavebothconsciousandsubconsciousdesiresthatmotivatethem.Often,thosedesiresareinconflict.Forexample,acharacterwhoconsciouslywishesthathisorheractionswereappreciatedbyothersmaysubconsciouslyfeelthatheorsheisnotworthyoftheadmirationofothers.Thisinnerconflictcansparkorintensifythecharacter’sconflictswithothers.Let’slookatBatmanforanexample.Judgingfromthebulkofthe

character’spublishinghistory,it’sclearthatheisusuallymorecomfortableasBatmanthanheisasBruceWayne.IfyouexplorethereasonsforthisdisconnectbetweentheBatmanandBruceWaynepersonas,oddsarethatyou’lldiscoveroneormoreconflictsbetweenthecharacter’sinternalandexternaldesires.Batman’sconsciousmission,hisobsession,istoendcrimeandprotect

innocentlives,especiallyyounglives.Witnessingthedeathofhisparentsasachildgavebirthtothisobsession.Thecharacterhasfewcloserelationships.EvenAlfred,theperson

closesttohim,usuallyiskeptatarm’slength.Inpart,thisisbecauseBatman’sobsessivefightagainstGothamCity’scriminalelementdoesnotallowhimenoughtimeormentalbandwidthforcloserelationships.Suchrelationshipswoulddistracthimfromhismission.Also,thelossofhisparentswassoemotionallytraumaticthatBatmandoesnotwanttobeinapositiontofeelthatlossagain,andsohekeepsmostothersatadistance.Havingmaintainedthissocialdistancingformanyyears,thecharacter

haslimitedsocialskills.Outsidetheexternalformalitiesofpubliceventsandappearances,BruceWayneusuallyfeelsawkwardinprivatepersonalencounters.HeiscomfortableonlyasBatman.OnemightsumupBatman’sconflictingdesiresintheseterms:

•Hisexternal(conscious)desireistoeradicatecrime(particularlyinGotham).•Hisinner(unconscious)desireisnevertostopfightingcrime.

Batman’sdesiresareinconflict.IfBatmanactuallyeliminatedcrime,hewouldhavetostopbeingBatman,stopplayingthedifficultbutlargelyrewardingself-maderoleatwhichheexcels.Instead,he’dbeleft

hewouldhavetostopbeingBatman,stopplayingthedifficultbutlargelyrewardingself-maderoleatwhichheexcels.Instead,he’dbeleftasthecivilianwhowashandedafortunealongwithaninabilitytodealwithothers.Inaway,theconflictisillogicalsincethereisnowayBatman,howeverhardworkingandefficienthewas,couldtotallyeradicatecrime.However,itmayexplainwhyBatmanspendsmoretimeandresourcesliterallyfightingcriminalsthantryingtoaddresstheconditionsthathelpfostercriminalactivity.TheconflictbetweenthesetwodesirestakesshapewhenBatmanoccasionallytriestostrikeuparelationshipwithawoman.Whenhedoesgetinvolvedwithwomen(Catwoman,TaliaalGhūl),thewomenareusuallyatleastasdamagedemotionallyasBatman/Wayneis.Theserelationshipsarethereforedoomed.Also,hisexternaldesireleaveshimnotimetolearnhowtohavea“normal”healthyrelationship.WhetherornotyouagreewiththespecificsofthisparticularBatmanexample,youcanuseitasaguideforhowtofigureouttheconflict(s)betweentheexternalandinternalmotivationsofthecharactersyouwrite.Twocharacterswhoshareasimilarexternal/consciousdesirecanbequitedisparatebecauseoftheirdifferinginner/subconsciousdesiresandtheresultingconflictsbetweentheirexternalandinternaldesires.Characterswhoarethefocusoflong-runningseriesusuallyevolveovertheyearstoreflectthetimesandtheinclinationsofthechangingcreativeandeditorialpersonneltellingthetales.Whetheryouareworkingonanestablishedcharacterorcreatinganewone,figuringoutthecharacter’sconflictingdesireswillhelpmakethecharactermoreinteresting.Thisalsowillhelpyougeneratealotofstoriesthatconsistentlyringtrueforthecharacterandtheaudience.

Batman/BruceWayne’sconflictinginternalandexternaldesiresdrivethecharacter.

ScriptbyScottSnyder,artbyGregCapulloandJonathanGlapion.

WHATABOUTROBIN?IfBatmanisdevotedtoprotectingtheyoung,howdoweexplainhisteamingupwithRobin?Perhaps,subconsciously,Batmanrationalizesthatexposingaboytodangeronnumerouscrime-fightingmissionsismorethanbalancedbytheconceptthatifyoungBruceWaynehadpossessedRobin’sabilities,hemighthavebeenabletopreventhisparents’deaths.


ThemeEverycomicbookseriesandeachstoryinaseriesshouldhaveaunifyingtheme.Athemeshouldbesomethingmorespecificthannebulousmusingsabout“beinghuman”orexploring“whatfreedomis”orsimilarmeanderings.Athematicstatementisbest.Itshouldbeoneortwosentencesatmost,anditshouldbearealstatement.Ifastoryworksonmultiplelevels,therecanbemorethanonevalidthematicstatement.Onlyonethematicstatementisneeded,however,tomakesurealltheplotelementstieintoitandunifythetale.Ideally,thethemewillcontaina“primal”element,somethingaboutsurvival,freedom,love,oranotherbasichumanneedordesire.Keepinginmindwhatwasdiscussedearlierinthischapterabout

Batman’sinternalandexternaldesires,thethemeforaBatmanseriesmightbe:“Obsessionforanever-endingmissionwill,outofnecessity,causetheobsessedto‘shortchange’otherpeopleintheirlives(notbereadilyavailable)anddenythemselvestheexperiences,pleasurableandotherwise,thatmostpeopleexperienceduringtheirlives.”Batmanwashandedafortunebutnofamily.Alfredisasurrogate

fatherbutalsoanemployee.Batmanhasnorolemodelsfortraditionalfamilystructureormiddle-class/lower-classfinancialvalues.Inotherwords,heisdisconnectedfromtheexperiencessharedbymostothers.WhatwouldBatmandoiftherewerenocrime?Beingobsessedallows

Batmantoavoidsomeoftheareasofcivilianlifewithwhichheisnotcomfortable.Inmanyways,asBatman,heisamorebalancedpersonalitythanheis

asBruceWayne.AsBatman,heisanintellectualdetectivedrawingonabroadrangeofknowledgewhilealsobeinganeliteathletewhoincorporatescutting-edgetechnologyintohiswork.TheoriginalWatchmenserieswasalongandverycomplextalewith

multiplethemes.Ifeellikelivingdangerously,sohereisanattempttonaildownoneofthemajorthematicstatementsoftheseries:

Powerfulauthoritiesarepredisposedtohypocrisyandcorruptionandinneed

ofcontrollingsupervisionthemselves—creatingmultiplelayersofsupervision,confusion,waste,and,ultimately,the

instabilitythatmostauthoritystrivestoavoid.Or,astheRomanpoetJuvenalsaid:Quiscustodietipsoscustodes?(Whowatches

thewatchmen?)

Whenworkingonaplotforastory,seeifyoucancomeupwithoneormorethematicstatementsthatallthestoryelementssupport.Thiswillhelpassurethattheworkwillfeelconsistentandwholetothereader.

Self-ContainedandSerialStoryStructureAself-containedstoryisjustthat:asingletalemeanttostandonitsown.Areadershouldbeabletoreadthatparticularstoryandexperienceafullandsatisfyingstoryarc.Eachissueinanongoingorminiseriescomicbooktitleshouldhavea

serialstorystructure.Ideally,eachissuehasitsownarcwhilefillingitsroleintheoverallarcoftheseries.DennyO’Neil(withPaulLevitz)coversserialstorystructureinTheDCComicsGuidetoWritingComics.Attractingandretainingnewreadersisvitaltothefutureofthe

comicsbusiness.Withindustrysalesafractionofwhattheywerefifteenyearsago,it’smoreimportantthanevertomakeeachissueofaseriesasatisfyingandwelcomingexperienceforanewreadereveniftheissueispartofalarger,multi-issuestoryarc.Comicscreatorsshouldbecarefulnottoassumethattheirreaders

haveyearsofseriescontinuityintheirheads.Evenifacomicsseriesultimatelywillbecollectedintoatradepaperback,eachissueoftheinitialseriesshouldbestructuredtoprovideasatisfyingexperienceforreaders,bothnewandreturning.Everyissue,whenevercharacters,eveniconiccharacters,arebrought

“onstage,”theyshouldbeintroducedbynamethroughdialogue,captions,signage,andthelike.Theiractions(includingbodylanguage)andspeechshouldgiveclearindicationsoftheirpersonalities,motivations,andshort-termstatusquo.Avisualintroductiontotheirpowersshouldbemade.Everyissueofacomicissomeone’sfirstissueofthattitleandshould

bestructuredtobewelcomingtonewreadersaswellasentertainingtolong-termreaders.Ifanewreadertriestosampleanissueofanongoingtitlethatisnot

structuredtobeasatisfyingandinformativeexperienceonitsown,thereisagoodchancethatthatreaderwillfeelalienatedandnotcontinuewiththeseries.

TheDarkKnight’scomicsembodythemesthatkeepthecharacterandhismissionconsistentacross

multipletitlesgeneratedbyanumberofdifferentcreators.

ArtbyAlexRoss.

LettingtheStoryWriteItselfSomewritersliketocomeupwithabasicpremiseforastoryandthenbeginwriting,assumingthatthestorywillwriteitselfandthatasolidendingwillevolvealongtheway.Veryfewwritersareabletopullthisoffconsistently.Manywriterswhothinktheycandoitarefoolingthemselves.Theirstoriesoftenmeanderand/ortheendingsareunsatisfyingfortheaudience.Formanywriters,beforetheywriteafirstdraft,itisimportantthat

theinitialstoryconceptincludeadefiniteending.Asthewritingprogressesandthestoryevolves,thatendingmaychange.However,thereneedstobeanendtargettoshootforatthebeginningorthestorymaywanderaimlessly.Thinkofacartrip:YouwanttodrivefromNewYorkCitytoSanFranciscoandplantostopinChicagoandDenveralongtheway.Youmapoutandfollowthemostefficientroute.Ontheroadwest,youdiscoverparks,museums,events,orotherdistractions.Eventhoughyoudidn’toriginallyplantostopattheseinterestingplaces,itwastherouteyouweretakingtowardaplanneddestinationthatexposedyoutothem.Ifyou’djustgotteninthecaranddrivenhaphazardly,youwouldnothavefoundthoseparticularpointsofinterestandtheywouldnothavehadthesamecontextwithintheoveralltripexperience.It’spossiblethatinDenveryoumeetsomeonewhotellsyouhowfantasticMontereyis.YoudecidetomakeMontereyyourfinaldestinationinsteadofSanFrancisco.It’sbecauseyou’dplannedtogotoSanFranciscotobeginwiththatyoufoundoutthatyou’dprefertogotoMonterey.Changingtheendingofthestoryisokayifitmakessense,butinmostcaseswritersneedtohaveaninitialdestinationinmindwhentheybegintheirjourneyinordertoreachthedestinationandmakesureitstaysincontextwiththerestofthestory.

Mostwritersneedtohaveaplotoutlinedbeforetheybeginwritingthefirstdraftofthescript.That

outlineshouldincludeanendingevenifthewriterlaterdecidestochangetheending.

PhotobyE.Potts.

WritingApproachDifferentwritershavevaryingpreferencesforthewaytheyapproachwriting.Eachwriterneedstodowhatworksbestforhimorher.Thatsaid,becarefulthatwhatworksbestforyoudoesnotbecomeanexcusetotaketheeasywayoutortofollowthesamecomfortablerouteyou’vetraveledmanytimesbefore.Dothepreliminarywork(workoutabasicplotorpitch,gatherandabsorbtheresearch,etc.)beforeyouhammerawayatthefirstdraft.Afteryouhaveyourstorypitch,writethefirstdraftfromthegut

withoutobsessingaboutwhetheritconformstoaclassicstoryarcstructure.Oddsare,ifyouarefamiliarwithclassicstructure(instinctuallyorintellectually),youwillbeusingalotofthatknowledgesubconsciouslyasyouwriteanyway.Whatyoudon’twanttodoatthisstageinthewritingprocessisget

roboticabouthittingeachplotpointinaclassicarc.Doingthismayresultinadry,mechanicalscriptandinhibitsomeofyourinventionalimpulses.Italsomaypreventyoufromcomingupwithsomethingvaluablebecausetheideadidn’tinitiallyfitintoastrictstructuremodel.

WRITER’SPROCESSHere’sastep-by-stepapproachthatworkswellforsomewriters:

•Beforebeginningworkonthescript,draftaroughstoryoutlinethatincludesaspecificconclusion.•Doanyneededresearchandmakenotes.•Writethefirstdraftofthescriptfromyourgut.Ifthestoryveerssomewhatfromtheoutline,explorethenewdirection.Youcanalwaysgobacklaterandtryadraftinwhichyousticktotheoriginaloutline.•Whenyoufinishthefirstdraft,matchthemajorplotelementsinthescriptwithoneormoreoftheclassicstorystructuremodelsandseewhereyourstorydepartsfromthemodel.*•Whereveryourstorydepartsfromtheclassicarcmodel,askyourselfashonestlyaspossibleifthestorywouldbebetterifitwasalteredtobemoreinlinewiththeclassicmodel—orifyourinitialapproachisthebestwaytotellthestoryinthemostcompellingandcreatively

bestwaytotellthestoryinthemostcompellingandcreativelysatisfyingmanner.Usually,theformerwillbethecase.However,onceinawhile,itisnot.Youmaycomeupwithaninventionalstorystructurevariationthattellsyourparticularstoryinamorecompellingwaythanthemoretraditionalstorystructurecould.Amajorconsiderationhereiswhetheryouarewritingsolelyforyourownsatisfactionandexpressionorwritingtograbtheattentionofalargeraudience.

*Whenworkingonserialstories,thestructurewillbealteredsomewhatfromthatusedforastand-alonework.SeeDennisO’NeilandPaulLevitz’scommentsonserialstorystructureinTheDCComicsGuidetoWritingComics.

FORMOREONSTORYSTRUCTUREANDWRITING,CHECKOUT…

TheWritersJourney:MythicStructureforWritersbyChristopherVogler(MichaelWieseProductions)

Story:Substance,Structure,Style,andthePrinciplesofScreenwritingbyRobertMcKee(ReganBooks)

TheDCComicsGuidetoWritingComicsbyDennisO’Neil(Watson-Guptill)

Adventure,Mystery,andRomancebyJohnG.Cawelti(UniversityofChicagoPress)

CLASSICSTORYARCSIMPLIFIEDBasedonauthor,lecturer,andHollywoodstoryconsultantChristopherVogler’swork,hereisasimplifiedversionofaclassicarc:

•Thestorybeginsintheprotagonist’sordinaryworld.•Theprotagonistreceivesacalltoadventure.•Often,theprotagonistinitiallyrefusesthecall.•Sometimestheprotagonistmeetsamentorwhohelpsconvincetheprotagonisttodotherightthing.

•Theprotagonistcrossesathresholdofsomesortandentersaspecialworld.

•Inthespecialworld,theprotagonistencounterstests,allies,andenemies.

•Theprotagonist(andallies)approachthemajorchallengeinthespecialworld.

•Anordealisexperiencedbytheprotagonistwherehe/shefacesdeathonsomelevel.

•Aftersuccessfullydealingwiththeordeal,theprotagonisttakespossessionofarewardofsomesort(savedalife,gainedkeyinformation,destroyedenemy’sresources,etc.).However,thedangeroflosingtherewardstillexists.

•Intheroadbacktobringtherewardtotheordinaryworld,theprotagonistisoftenchasedandingreatdanger.

•Whenabouttocrossthethresholdtoreturnhome,theprotagonistisonceagainseverelytested.He/shehasacloserbrushwithdeathandischangedorexperiencesaresurrectiononsomelevel.

•Havingbeentransformedbytheexperience,theprotagonistreturnshomewiththeelixirorthereward.

ReprintedwithpermissionbyMichaelWieseProductions

TheWriter’sJourney,3rdedition,copyright©2007byChristopherVogler,www.mwp.com

http://www.mwp.com

CHAPTERTENART:DRAWINGforVISUALSTORYTELLING

Thesecondandthirdbooksinthisseries,TheDCComicsGuidetoPencillingComicsandTheDCGuidetoInkingComics,bothbyKlausJanson,aregreatresourcesforcomicsartists.NotonlyisJansonahighlyrespectedveteranofthecomicsbusinesswithcreditsonmanymajorprojects,hehastaughtstudentsatNewYork’sprestigiousSchoolofVisualArtsformanyyears.MygoalinthischapteristocomplementandexpandontheinformationinJanson’sbooks.

DrawingAbilityAnyartmeantforconsumerviewingthatisnotwelldrawncannegativelyaffectthereader’sexperience.Whethertheworkisahumorstorytoldina“cartoony”styleoran

interpersonaldramadrawninarepresentationalstyle,thereaderoftheworkneedstobeabletoidentifyallcharacters,environments,andobjectsimmediately.Ifthedrawingisweakandreaderskeepbeingpulledoutofthestoryexperiencetotrytofigureoutwhattheyareviewing,thecomicscreatorhasfailedinthemissiontokeepthemimmersedinthenarrative.Ifawell-drawnmanisnexttoaverypoorlydrawncar,thedifference

indrawinglevelswillcatchtheattentionofmanyreaders,distractingthemfromtheflowofthestory.Also,artistswhorelyonalotofphotoreferenceneedtohaveenoughdrawingabilitytomakesureallthephoto-referencedartmesheswellwiththeunreferenceddrawings.Theartmustdisplayaconsistentlevelofdrawingknowledge,detail,andrendering.Acomicsartisthastobemoreversatilethanjustaboutanyother

categoryofvisualartist.Mostfineartistsandcommercialartistsspecializeinonesubjectorafewsubjects.Theyconcentrateonportraitsorstill-lifesubjects,landscapes,productshots,andsoforth.Agoodcomicsartisthastobeabletodrawanythingrealorimagined

withthesamehighlevelofconvincingness.Anexercisethatpromptsartiststotackleandconquerdifficult

subjectsbeginswhentheygeneratealistoftheobjectstheytendtoavoiddrawing.Thelistsusuallyconsistofobjectstheydonotenjoydrawingbecauseofdeficienciesintheircurrentdrawingskills.Often,thelistsincludeanimalsofvarioustypes,vehicles,andcomplexscenesofbuildingsinperspective.Theartiststhentackleeachitemonthelist,drawingitfromdifferentangles.Thefeelingofaccomplishmentafterconqueringaformerlyavoidedsubjectisfantastic.Sometimes,asubjectthatartistsusedtoavoidbecomesaspecialtythattheyeagerlylookforwardtodrawing.Earlyinmycareerasanartist,Ididnotpayenoughattentionto

exteriorsettings,whethertheywereurbanorrural.Ifapanelcalledfor

buildingsorfoliageinthebackground,I’deithermakethemup(notveryconvincingly)orfindaphotoreferencefromwhichtowork.Littlethoughtwasgiventothenature,age,andmoodofthebuildingsorthetypesoftrees.IthenhadthegoodfortunetobeaskedtoinkseveralissuesofaseriesKevinNowlanpencilled.Kevin’spencilswereverytightandwelldrawn.Ilearnedalotbyinkinghispages.OneofthemanythingsKevindidwellwasgivetheurbanbuildingsinthestoryalotofcharacter.Theslumbuildingswereslightly“outofsquare”(theperspectivewaspurposelyoffabit),brickswerechipped,wallssagged,andtheawningsweretattered.Thedecayingbuildingscastforebodingshadows.Whenthescenesshiftedtothemodernsectionsofthecity,allthebuildingswerestraight,shiningbeaconsofsteel,masonry,andglass,verydifferentinfeelfromtheslums.InkingNowlan’sworkinspiredmetothinkaboutsettingsmoreascharacters.

STORYTELLINGLAYOUTSBYNONARTISTSToproduceroughvisualstorytellinglayouts,comicscreatorsdonothavetobehighlypolishedartists.It’sfairlyrare,butsometimes,withtheapprovaloftheircollaborators,writerswilldothumbnailbreakdownsofthestorytoaccompanythescriptorplot.Aslongasthewritercangeneraterecognizableenvironmentsandcharacters(evenaslabeledstickfigures)andhasaknackforcreatingstrongvisualnarratives,heorshecancreateroughsfromwhichmorepolishedartistscanproducethefinishedart.

TheNatureofLineMostcomicartisrenderedinline.Whatdoourlinesrepresent?InSuccessfulDrawing,therenownedillustrator,teacher,andauthor

AndrewLoomissays,“Theeyeperceivesformmuchmorereadilybycontouroredgethanby…modeling.Yetthereisreallynooutlineonform;rather,thereisasilhouetteofcontour,encompassingasmuchoftheformaswecanseefromasingleviewpoint.Wemustoutofnecessitylimitthatforminsomeway.Sowedrawaline—anoutline.”Linealsoisusedtorenderformswithintheoutlineofthefigure,

representingtextureandshadingonforms.Lineoftenisuseddecorativelyaswell.Often,tothenonartist,theartthatlookslikeithasthesimplestorthe

leastlineworklookslessimpressivethanartrenderedwithlotsoflines.However,thelowerthenumberoflinesanartistuses,themore

importanteachlinebecomes.Thisisbecausemuchmoreinformationhastobetransmittedtotheviewerthrougheachlinewhentherearefewerofthem.ArtistssuchasAlexTothweremastersofconveyinglotsofdrawingknowledgeandinformationwithrelativelyfewlines.

InthismoodyBatmanillustration,JimLeeusesthebuildingsofGothamalmostascharacters,

reinforcingthemoodoftheprotagonist.

DrawingStyleIdeally,anartist’sdrawingstyleshouldconsistofthedesignandrenderingapproachheorshechoosesthatbestfitsaparticularproject.Formanyartists,however,drawingstyleisinpartcomposedoftricks

theyusetogetaroundtheirdrawingweaknesses.Sometimesthese“cheats”consistofahighlydetailedor“busy”surfacerenderingstylethat,ironically,representsanattempttocamouflageordisguisetheirweakknowledgeofanatomyand/ordrapery.Sometimesartistswillusealotofblackareasintheirart,nottocreatemoodsomuchastocoverupareastheydon’tfeelcomfortabledrawing.Artistswithstrongdrawingknowledgecanuseintensedetailand/or

lotsofblackintheirworktogreatadvantagesincetheyareusingthesetechniquesonthebasisofknowledgeandnottocoverupweaknesses.Examplesofartistswithverystrongdrawingskillswhohaveabusy

surfacestyleorwhousealotofblackareasincludeArtAdamsandMikeMignola,respectively.Nomatterwhatstyleorstylesartistsuse,theyshouldendeavorto

gainasmuchdrawingknowledgeastheycansothattheirstyleisinformedbyknowledgeandnotusedasasmokescreentocoveruplackofknowledge.

FORMOREONCOMICSARTANDDRAWING,CHECKOUT…

Fordrawingcomicsspecifically:

The DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics by Klaus Janson(Watson-Guptill)

The DC Comics Guide to Inking Comics by Klaus Janson(Watson-Guptill)

The DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics by FreddieWilliamsII(Watson-Guptill)

Fordrawingingeneral:

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by BettyEdwards(Tarcher)

SuccessfulDrawingbyAndrewLoomis(TitanBooks)

Todraweffectivelywithfewerand“simpler”linestakesasmuchormoredrawingknowledgeas

drawingconvincinglyusingdetailedrendering.Hereyoucanseeexamplesbymastersofboth

approaches.

ArtontopbyAlexToth.ArtonbottombyJimLeeandScottWilliams.

AnintimateknowledgeofdrawingunderliesArtAdams’shighlydetailedstyle.

WHYCOPYINGSOMEONEELSE’SARTFORPRACTICEISADOUBLE-EDGEDSWORD

Thefactthatsurfacestyleispartiallyanattempttocoverupdrawingdeficienciesisoneofthemanyreasonscopyinganotherartist’sdrawingstylecanbeproblematic.Inexperiencedartiststendtoemulatethesurfacestyleoftheartisttheyarecopying,amplifyingbothartists’drawingweaknesses.Therearecertainlyalotofthingsyoucanlearnbyobservingthe

workofothers,emulatinganotherartist’sapproachtodrawing,andevendoingsomecopying.Asageneralrule,thebestacomicscreatorcanbewhencopying

thestyleoractualdrawingsofanotherartistisasecond-rateversionoftheartistbeingcopied.Artistswhoabandoncopyingthesurfacestyleofanotherartisttobeefuptheirskillsandforgetheirowncreativepathhaveachancetosurpasstheiridol’saccomplishments.Sometimes,asatrainingexercise,ithelpstocopythewaysothers

havesimplifiedcomplexfiguresorobjects,renderedvarioustextures,orcomposedvisualelementsusingmethodsthatarenewtotheless-accomplishedartist.Whencopyingtheworkofanotherartistasalearningexercise,comicscreatorsneedtomakesurethatthey:•Picktheworkofartistswithrealdrawingknowledge.•Studyhowfaces,figures,animals,buildings,orvehiclesareconstructed,lit,andrenderedsotheycandraw(punintended)uponthatknowledgelaterwithouttheneedtocopy.

MikeMignola’suseofblackasadesignandstorytellingtoolrequiresahighlevelofdrawingability.

DrawingExercisesDrawingexercisescanimprovedrawingknowledge.Hereareacoupleofthem:

•Makealistofallthesubjectstheartistnormallyavoidsdrawing.Everyweek,theartisttacklesoneofthosesubjects,drawingitfromavarietyofanglesuntilheorshegetscomfortabledrawingthesubject.•Atleastafewtimesaweek,theartistpicksadifferentsubject(person,landscape,householdobject—whatever)anddrawsthatsubjectinatleastfivetotallydifferentstylesand/ormedia.Thestylesmightinclude:–Drybrush–Blindcontourdrawing(akaleading-edgecontourdrawing)–CharcoalorConté–Penandink–Highcontrast–Sculpture(clayorsimilarmalleablemedium):Sculptingisakeypartofthisexercise.Artistssometimesgetcomfortabledrawingasubjectfromacertainangleandunderspecificlightingconditions.Bysculptingahumanfigure,artistscan:+Learnwheretheirdrawingknowledgeisweakandneedsbeefingup.(Artistscan’tcoveruptheirknowledgegapsaseasilyona3Dsculptureastheycanbyusingrenderingstylesona2Ddrawing.)

+Learnhowthefigurelooksfromallangles,includingtheanglestheartistconsciouslyorunconsciouslyavoidswhendrawing.Thisexpandsthenumberofanglestheartistwillfeelcomfortabledrawingthefigurefrominthefuture.

+Upgradetheciphersfor“objectivereality”thatartistsprogramtheirbrainswithsothattheycandrawfrom“outoftheirheads”(withoutreference)moreconvincingly.

+Seehowthesubjectlooksunderavarietyoflightingconditions.

StyleSuitabilitySometimesourinitialassumptionsaboutwhichartstylesareorarenotsuitedtowhichsubjectscanbeoverlylimiting.BeforeArtSpiegelman’sgroundbreakinggraphicnovelMauswaspublished,ifIhadbeentoldthathewasdoingaseriousstoryabouttheHolocaustinacartoonyartstylewithmiceandcatsinplaceofhumans,Iwouldhavebeenskeptical,tosaytheleast.Maus,however,turnedouttobeanamazingandsuccessfulwork

ofcomicartthatappealedtoamuchwideraudiencethandomostcomicsorgraphicnovelprojects.

Drawingthesamesubjectinavarietyofstylescanhelpartistsbreakoutoftheirdefaultrendering

approach.Here,aphotoofJohnF.Kennedywasrenderedinpenandinkcross-hatching,blind

contourline,andhighcontrast.

NegativeSpaceNegativespaceisthepartofthevisualinapanelthatisoutsideandbetweenthemainareasoffocus.Itcanbeopen,unoccupiedspaceorlargeareasofwhiteorblackspace,butitisoftenpartofanobject(suchasawall)thatiscroppedandlitinawaythatdrawsattentiontotheareasofpositivespaceinsteadoftoitself.

Negativespacegivestheeyerelieffromtheclutteroftoomuchpositivespaceandwhenused

properlycanhelpdirecttheeyetothemostimportantpartofthepanel.


Manynewartiststendtofillallofthepanelandpagespacetheycanwithobjectsandlinework.Designingpanelsandpageswithnegativespacecangivethereader’seyesomerelief,focusthereaderontheimportantpositivespaceareas,andmakelifeabiteasierfortheartist.Artistsneedtomakesurethattheydonotusenegativespaceasa

crutchtogetoutofdrawingobjectsnecessarytoestablishasceneor

crutchtogetoutofdrawingobjectsnecessarytoestablishasceneorpropelthestoryforward.Comicsartistsshouldmakeaconsciousefforttousenegativespaceinsupportoftheirvisualstorytelling.Whenawould-becomicsartistshowsmeworkthatconsistentlylacksnegativespace,I’lldrawanemptyhorizontalrectangularpanelandaskhim/hertosketch“amansittinginaroombeinglonely.”Themajorityofthetime,theartistwillsketchafigurethatisdeadcenterintheframe.Usually,thatfigurewillfillmuchofthepanel.Usingthebasicposetheartistsketched,I’lldrawthesamerectangularframe,reducethesizeofthefigureandpushitofftoonecornerofthepanel.Justreducingthesizeofthefigurehelpsimpartafeelingofloneliness.Thenegativespaceaddstothesenseofisolation.Doingthisexercisehelpsillustrate(punintended)howutilizingnegativespaceisnotonlypleasingfromadesignstandpoint,itcanplayahugeroleinthestorytelling.

Theslumpingfigureisofftothesideinanasymmetricaldesignwiththewallandfloorcreatingalot

ofisolatingnegativespace.Evenwiththeinclusionofthebed,window,andmirror,thedesignleaves

alotof“open”space.Thewallandfloorperspectivelinesalsoleadtheeyetofocusonthefigure.

SpottingBlacksThepatternofblackareasinapaneloronapageshouldmakeaninterestingpatternthatalsohelpssteertheeyetothemainsubjectareas.Arrangingtheseblackareasisreferredtoasspottingblacks.Artistscaneasilycheckhowthepatternofblackareasonapagethey

areworkingonwilllook.Byputtingapieceoftracingpaperorvellumovertheworkinprogressandusingathickblackmarkertofillinalltheanticipatedblackareas,anartistcanplanblackareapatternsforthepage.Iftheresultingpatternisn’tpleasingorfunctional,theartistcanredothemwithoutharmingthelayoutortheoriginalart.Ifartistsareworkingdigitally,theycanaddanewtransparentlayertotheartfileandfillintheblackareasonthatnewlayertoseehowtheywork.Sometimes,ifsomeofthenegativespaceinapanelisblack,theblack

areasmayoverlapsomeorallofthepanel’snegativespace.

Placingavellumortracingpaperoverlayonapageroughandusingthickmarkersisagreatwayto

testoutpossibleblackpatternsforthepage.Ifworkingdigitally,theartistcantestoutblackareason

aseparatelayer.

DepthofFieldInmostcases,artistsshouldclearlydefinetheforeground,middleground,andbackgroundplanestocreateafeelingofdimensionaldepth.Theycanuse:

•Tonalorcolorcontrast•Atmosphericblur•Differencesinoutlinecontourthicknessand/orinlevelofdetail•Acombinationofthesetechniques

TonalorColorContrast

Theforegroundconsistsofdarkcoolcolors.Asyougofartherintothebackground,thecolorsget

increasinglywarmerandlighter.


AtmosphericBlur

Addinganatmosphericblurorhazeoverthebackgroundcontributestothesenseofdistance.


OutlineContourThicknessandLevelofDetail

Usingathickeroutercontourlineonobjectsintheforegroundhelpspoptheseobjectsforward.To

makeobjectsinthebackgroundappearfartheraway,tryreducingthethicknessand/ortoneofthe

lines.Reducingthelevelofdetailonobjectsinthebackgroundalsohelpscreateasenseofdepth.


Combination

Oftencombinationsofthesetechniquesareused.


Therearetimeswhenartistsmaypurposelywanttomeldorflattentheforeground,middleground,andbackgroundplanes.

Batmanisa“creatureofthenight”andoftenuseshisdarkcostumetoblendintoGothamCity’s

nocturnalurbanenvironment.Toshowthis,artistssometimespurposelymeldtheforeground,

middleground,andbackgroundplanes.

ArtbyJorgeZaffino.

TangentsAtangentoccurswhentheedgesoftwoormoreobjectsinapaneljusttouchoraresoclosethattheyarealmosttouching.Itisbettertohaveobjectseitheroverlapsignificantly(whichcanhelp

createafeelingofdepth)orseparatethemsothatthereisasignificantdistancebetweenthem.

Tangentsarevisuallyawkwardareaswheretheedgesofobjectsjusttouchoralmosttouch.Here,the

topofBatman’scowlearstouchthelineoftheroofinthebackground.TheangleofBatman’sears

alsomatchestheedgeoftheroofline.Additionally,Catwoman’sheeljusttouchestheouteredgeof

theroofline.


Manycomicscreatorsareabitblindtothetangentsintheirownwork.However,theycanspottangentsreadilyintheworkofothers.Therefore,artistscanhelponeanotherbycheckingeachother’sworkfor

tangents.Holdingtheworkuptoamirrororfloppingtheimagebyusingimagingsoftwarealsohelpsanartistspottangentsandotherdrawingissues.

Throughoverlappingand/orseparation,youcaneliminateawkwardtangents.


CroppingFiguresAsageneralrule,whenyouarecroppingafigure,strivetoavoidcroppingatamajorbodyjoint.Itlooksawkwardwhenanarmiscroppedattheshoulder,elbow,orwristorwhenafigureiscroppedatthewaistorneck.

Croppingafigureatmajorjoints(shoulder,neck,elbows,waist,knees,wrists,andankles)createsan

awkwardlook.


Itusuallylooksbetterwhenthefigureiscroppedbetweenmajorjoints.Whyitlooksawkwardorunsettlingforafiguretobecroppedatamajorjointisunclear.Thereasonmaywellbemorepsychologicalthanaesthetic.

Whencroppingafigure,dosobetweenmajorjointsofthebody.Inthisexample,thefigure’sarmis

croppedbetweenelbowandwristandthelegiscroppedbetweenkneeandankle.


DesignBalanceThetwomaintermsdescribingthewaysubjectsarearrangedorbalancedwithinapicturearesymmetricalandasymmetrical.Symmetricalbalanceoccurswhenalltheobjects/positivespacesarein

themiddleofthepanelorareevenlydistributedthroughoutthepicture.Asymmetricalbalanceoccurswhenobjects/positivespacesare

distributedoffcenterand/orunevenlywithinthepanel.

Symmetricalbalance:Allvisualelementsareevenlydistributedthroughouttheframe.


Asymmetricalbalance:Thevisualelementsareunevenlydistributedthroughouttheframe.


UNDERSTANDINGBALANCESymmetricaldesignsoftenimpartafeelingofformality,stiffness,orsolemnity.Asymmetricaldesigncanimpartawiderangeoffeelings.Tograsptheconceptofdesignbalance,ithelpstohavealiteral

interpretationofthetermbalance.

Imaginethebottomofthepictureframeasthesurfaceofaseesaworteeter-totterwithafulcrum

underthemiddle

Nowimaginethatallthepositivespaceobjectswithinthepanelfalltothebottomofthepanel,

pushingtheirrelativesizesandweightsdownontheteeter-totter.

Keepinmindthatthefartherawayfromthecenter/fulcrumthatanobjectis,themoredownward

pressureitwillexertontheteeter-totter.

Inthiscase,theseesawinthepanelaboveremainsbalancedsinceallthepositiveelementsare

evenlydistributed.Theseesawinthepaneltothelefttipstooneside,meaningthatithas

asymmetricaldesign.


Youcancounterbalancealargeobjectnearthecenterofframewithsmallerobjectspositionedfarthertotheoppositesideoftheframe.

Thesame-sizeobject,whenplacedslightlyoffcenterofthefulcrum,doesnotexertasmuch

immediatedownwardpressureontheseesawasdoesthesameobjectplacedfarouttothesideon

theendoftheseesaw.


Asaresultofleverageontheseesaw’sfulcrum,thebigheavyhelicopter,placedslightlyoffcenter,

wouldtheoreticallybebalancedbyBatmanstandingonthefaroppositeendoftheseesaw.


BalancedAsymmetricalDesignThereisasubcategorytoasymmetricaldesign:theseeminglyoxymoronicbalancedasymmetricaldesign.Balancedasymmetricaldesignoccurswhenthepositivespaceelementsarearrangedunevenlythroughouttheframebutwouldstillbalanceouttheseesawbecauseofthewaythevariousobjectsizesareplacedinrelationtothefulcrum.Asnotedabove,thefartherawayfromthefulcrumanobjectis,themoredownwardleverageithas.Thus,alargeobjectclosetothefulcrumcanbebalancedoutbysmallerobjectsthatarefartherawayfromthefulcrum.

Themediumandsmallervisualelements,whenplacedfartooneside,canbalancealargeelement

thatisslightlyoffcenteroftheseesaw’sfulcrum.Whenanartistisdoingearlypaneldesignsketches,

breakingthevisualelementsdowntodifferent-sizegeometricformscanmakethebalancingact

easier.


DESIGNBALANCEVARIETYComicsartistsshouldincorporateavarietyofdesignbalancesinastorysothattheworkdoesn’tfallintoavisualrut.Also,artistscanusethedifferenttypesofbalancetoaddemphasisandaidstorytelling.Forexample,artistsmayuseaseriesofbalancedpanels,butwhenthecharactersreachanupsettingconclusion,theartistsswitchtoanasymmetricaldesigntoemphasizethemood.Ortheartistsmayintroduceasceneofadictator’srallywithstarksymmetryandshowaragtaggroupofheroesgoingupagainstthedictatorinasymmetricallydesignedpanels.

TheRuleofThirdsFormanycenturies,therehavebeentheoriesonhowtodividespaceinthemostaestheticallypleasingway.SinceatleastthetimeofancientGreece,thegoldensection(akagoldenratio)hasbeentoutedasanidealtostrivefor.Looselyrelatedtothegoldensectionandeasiertounderstandisthe

ruleofthirds.AsMarcosMateu-MestrenotesinhisexcellentbookFramedInk,dividingtheframeintothirdsbothhorizontallyandverticallyshowsthestrongcompositionalpointsforplacingsubjectswithintheframe.ThecroptoolinrecentversionsofAdobe’sPhotoshopshowsthe

divisionsbythirdsasusersadjusttheselectedareatoberetainedafterthecrop.

Agoldenrectanglecanbecutintoasquareandasmallerrectanglewiththesameaspectratio

(proportionalrelationshipbetweenwidthandheight).

Afterdividingtheframeintohorizontalandverticalthirds,tryplacingoneormorecharactersor

majorobjectsoffocuswhere(ornearwhere)thelinesintersect.Thiscanhelpcreatestrong

compositions.


ThelinesinPhotoshop’scroptoolthatdividetheimageintothirdshorizontallyandverticallyhelp

theusereasilycroptheartinawaythatplacesthemajorvisualelementsattheintersectionsifso

desired.


FacingPagesIntheWest,whenreadersopenacomicinwhichtwostorypagesareviewablesimultaneously,theygenerallyreadthepagesinthecorrectorder,processingthepageontheleftbeforemovingtothepageontheright.However,areader’speripheralvisionmaypickupinformationfrom

therightpageasheorshereadstheleftpage.Therefore,somecomicscreatorsmaywishtomovemajorplottwists,bigreveals,orothervisualsurprisesfromthelatterpartofapageontherightsidetothenextpage.Thiswillpreventthatvisualinformationfrombeingpickedupbythereadersuntiltheyturnthepage.Itisnotalwayspossibleforartiststotellforsurewhichpagesina

storywillfaceeachother.Somecomicshavescatteredadvertising,promotion,publicservice,andletterspages.Theplacementofthesenonstorypagesisoftennotintheartist’scontrol,andtheirpositioninthecomicmaynotremainconsistentfromissuetoissue.

Mostfacingpagesaremeanttobereadindividually,leftpagefirstandthentherightpage.Good

pagedesignmakessurethereader’seyepathisintuitive.

ScriptbyScottSnyder,artbyGregCapulloandJonathanGlapion.

Double-PageSpreadsOccasionally,astorymaycallforadouble-pagespreadwherethetwofacingpagesaredesignedtobeonelargepage.Thisrequiresthattheartistcheckwithhisorhereditortomakeabsolutelysurethatthefacingpagesneededforthedouble-pagespreadwillindeedbefacingeachother.Somedouble-pagespreadsconsistofonegiantpanelthatspansboth

pages.Otherdouble-pagespreadscontainmultiplepanels.

Thistwo-pageJusticeLeaguespreadwithartbyJimLeeandScottWilliamsisonelargepanel,

creatingabigimpactonthereader.

Thistwo-pagespreadwithartbyJimLeeandScottWilliams,alsofromJusticeLeague,createsabig

impactwhilecontainingmultiplepanels.

BleedPagesAbleediswheretheartextendstotheveryedgeofthepageinsteadofbeingcontainedintheframethatnormallyisrecessedinfromthepage’sedge.

Thebottompanelartruns,orbleeds,offtheprintedpageonthebottomandsides.


Likemostspecialeffects,bleedpagescanbeoverused.Whentheyareusedtoooften,thespecialnessandemphasisthatableedlendstoapanelorapageislessened;itbecomestheruleinsteadoftheexception.Anotherproblemoccurswhenfacingpagesbleedintoeachotherina

waythatconfusesthereader’seyepath.Readersmayhavetostopmomentarilytodecideiftheartististryingtoleadthemacrossbothpagesasthoughtheyareonegiantpageorifeachpageshouldbereadindividuallyinthecustomaryway.

Ifindividualfacingpagesbothhavebleedartthatmeetsinthemiddleofthespread,eachpage

shouldhaveitsowndistinctivecolorschemeandpanellayout.Otherwise,asisthecasewiththetop

panelsinthisexample,readersmayhavetostopmomentarilytodecideiftheyshouldreadacross

bothpagesorifeachpageshouldbereadindividually.

ScriptbyGeoffJohns,artbyJimLeeandScottWilliams.

CaptionandBalloonPlacementColoringandletteringgreatlyaffectmood,characterization,andstorytelling.ReadMarkChiarelloandToddKlein’sTheDCComicsGuidetoColoringandLetteringComicsforalotofin-depthinformationonthesetopics.Therearetwomainapproachesforplacingcopyelementsinapanel.Thefirstapproachbuttscopyupagainstpanelborders:

Somecreatorspreferthatcaptionsandballoonsbepushedupagainstpanelborderstopreserveas

muchofthepanel’srealestatefortheartaspossible.


Thesecondapproachrecessescopyawayfrompanelborders:

Othercreatorslikehavingcaptionsandballoons“floating”infromtheborders,surroundingthecopy

elementswiththeartorcolorwithinthepanel.Thetheoryhereisthatrecessingallowsthereader’s

eyestofillinthecopyareaswiththesurroundingartwhenthereaderisnotactivelyreadingthecopy.


Whenballoonsandcaptionsarebuttedupagainstapanelborder,ineffect,theybecomepartofthe

border,creatinganodd-shapedframeforthepanel’svisualcontent.

Recessingballoonsandcaptionsinalittlefromthepanelbordermaintainsthepanelborder’s

originalcleanrectangularshape.

Thecaptionandballoonplacementapproachacreatorusescanaffectthe“frame”formatofapanel.Thereisnorightorwrongapproach.It’samatterofpersonalaesthetic

taste.Comicscreatorsshouldconsciouslydecideonthecopyplacementstyletheywanttouseinsteadofplacingcopyhaphazardly.

ICONSANDSYMBOLSSymbolsandiconsjuxtaposedwiththeartand/orwordsinapanelcanaddanotherlayerofmeaning.Emanataisatermusedtodescribemarksoriconsthatexpressa

thought,emotion,oraction.Sometimestheyarecontainedinaballoon,butoftentheyhovernearacharacterwithoutaballoonorothercontainment.

Emanatajuxtaposedwithavisualcanimpartadistinctfeeling.


ArtbyWhilcePortacioandRichardFriend.

PARTFOUR

PUTTINGITALLintoPRACTICE

Newcomicsartistsareoftenunsurehowtotakeascriptandturnitintoacomic.Therearemanydecisionstobemadeonwhatvisualinformationtoshowandhowbesttoshowit.Confusionandfrustrationcanresult.Havingaclearmethodologycanhelpalleviatethatfrustrationand

streamlinetheprocess.

CHAPTERELEVENASTEP-by-STEPPROCESSforARTISTS

Okay,rollupyoursleeves,grabapencil,andgetreadytolearntheprocessforturningascriptoraplotintoacomic.

WorkingfromaFullScriptWhenworkingfromafullscript,thenumberofstorypages,thenumberofpanelsperpage,anddescriptionsofthevisualscontainedineachpanelarespelledoutfortheartist.Sometimestheartistwillenvisionchangestothestoryorfeelthat

rearrangingthepacingwillimprovetheproject.Theartistshouldgetapprovalfromhisorhereditororcollaboratorsbeforemakingchanges.Whenworkingonthestorytellinglayoutsfromafullscript,themain

compositionaldecisionsanartistwillhavetomakeinclude:

•Angles,layout,dynamics,depthoffield,andsoon•Wheretoprovideroomforlettering,alongwithsomeaspectsofthejuxtapositionofvisualsandcopy•Relativeemphasisofthepanelsandtheircontentoneachpage•Pacing,primarilythroughpanelsizesandshapessincethepanelcountperpagealreadyhasbeendecidedbythewriter•Paneldesignbalance,negativespace,primary/secondaryfocus,blackpatterns

Thoughmany,butnotall,ofthecreativedecisionswillhavebeenmadefortheartistbythescripter,thecomicsartistwillstillhavetoexecute—todrawthestory.

WorkingfromaPlotWhenworkingfromaplotorfromahybridbetweenaplotandascript,artistshavealotmoreinputintothestory,itsexecution,anditspresentationthantheydowhenworkingfromafullscript.Remember,whenworkingfromaplot,theartistwillbemakingthe

decisionsonwhatvisualstoencapsulateandshowtheaudienceaswellaswhatvisualstoleaveout.

Step-by-StepMethodforArtistsThefollowingstep-by-stepmethodologymaybehelpfulwhenanartistisworkingfromaplotoraloosescript.Ithighlightsmanyofthedecisionsthatartistshavetomake.Thesedecisionsandtheresultingcreativeexecutionsdeterminehowtheaudienceexperiencesthestory.Remember,theultimategoalofthevisualstorytelleristokeeptheaudienceimmersedinthestory.

•Readtheplotthoroughly:–Makenotesofanyquestionsyoumighthaveaboutthestory.–Highlightallinformationthatcan/shouldbeshownvisually.(Lookforthenounsandverbs!)–Ifinitialideasforvisualshityou,dosmall,simplethumbnailsketches.

•Ifneeded,communicatewiththecollaborator/editortogetresponsestoanyquestionsyouhaveaboutthestory.•Writestorypagenumbersontheplot,roughlyfiguringouthowmuchofthepreviouslyhighlightedinformationcancomfortablyfitoneachpageofthecomic.Ifyouhaven’tusedupallthepagesallowedforthejob,gobackanddecidewhatstoryelementsyouwanttogivemorespaceto.Ifyourunoutofpagestoworkwithbeforetheentirestoryisaccountedfor,figureoutwhichstoryelementscanbecombined,editeddown,orcutaltogether.•Doasecondreadingoftheplot:–Ifyoudidnotdosouponthefirstreading,drawthumbnailsketchesofideasforanyvisualsthatpopintoyourhead,includingideasforpanelarrangementsonthepages,scenes,andcharacterposes.–Noteanyvisualreferenceyou’llneedtoresearch.•Identifythekeyvisualsthateachsequencewillneedtopropelthestoryforward.•Drawroughpageschematics(emptypanelarrangements)indicatinghowmanypanelseachscenewillneedperpage:–Rememberthatatorverynearthebeginningofeachscene,there

shouldbeanestablishingscene.–Whenacharacterisintroducedforthefirsttimeintheissue,includeafull-figureshotofthatcharacter.Ifpossiblewithinthecontextofthestory,trytointroducecharactersactivelytoestablishtheirpersonalities,moods,andabilitiesvisually.Also,soonafteracharactercomesonstage,includeaclose-up.–Identifyinformationthatneedstobevisuallyestablishedorsetupearlierinthestorysothatitcanplayalargerpartlaterinthetale.–Thatway,whenyouarethroughexaminingthescript,youcanrevisitthesketchesanddecidehowviablethoseinitialvisualthoughtswere.

•Drawthumbnailsofideasforpanelcontentsonthebasisofthevisualinformationthatwashighlightedearlier.•Arrangethepanelthumbnailstocomposepagesthatarebasedonthepageschematics:–Adjustwhereneededtomakepagedesignandeyeflowwork.–Workoutwherecaptions,wordballoons,andallotherletteringwillgo,makingsureallwillbeintuitivelyreadinthecorrectorder.

•Lookupneededvisualreference.•Designcharactersandsettingenvironments,ifneeded.•Createpageroughsforeachstorypageon8½-inch×11-inchpaper.•Dofinishedpencilledartonafull-sizedartboardoronthecomputer.

THUMBNAILINGAstheyreadaprosenovel,screenplay,orcomicbookscript,mostartistsgeneratementalvisuals—theycan’thelpit!Astheyreadascriptorplot,comicsartistsoftendrawverysimplethumbnails(smallroughsketches)tomakearecordoftheseinitialmentalvisuals.Thesketchescanbeinthemarginsoftheplot/scriptoronaseparatesheetofpaper.Thumbnailingisaformofbrainstorming.Aswithallformsof

brainstorming,manyoftheinitialideasmaynotproveusefultothestoryforvariousreasons(e.g.,poordesign,wrongangle,tooclichéd).However,someofthenonusefulthumbnailedideasmayactasspringboards,spawningotherideasthatcouldbemorehelpful.

REFININGTHEROUGHSAfterworkingouttheinitialvisualstorytellingonpageroughsandbeforemovingontodrawingfinishedpencilsonfull-sizeartboards,artistsshouldreviewtheroughstomakesurethatthey:

•Selectedthebestangle,eye-levelheight,anddistanceforeachshottoconveyaccuratelythevisualinfotomovetheplotforward,showactionclearly,andindicatethemood(happy,sad,ironic,suspenseful,horrified,humorous,etc.).•Clearlyestablishedthecastofcharactersandtheenvironmentsandreestablishedthemwhentheywerereintroducedafterbeingoffstageforawhile.•Keptthefocusofeachpanel/pageontheprimaryinformationand/oractionwhileincludingelementsthatareloweronthescaleofimmediateimportance.•Maintainedconsistencyofestablishedvisualinformation(didn’tcontradictorignoreestablishedenvironments).•Createdtherightstorypacingbyusinginternalpanelcompositionalongwiththesize,shape,and/ornumberofpanelsineachsequence.•Usedaninterestingvarietyofdesignbalances,compositions,blackpatterns,andopen/negativespace.

patterns,andopen/negativespace.•Establishedandmaintainedactionflowcontinuity.•Leftappropriateandwell-designedroomfortitles,wordballoons,captions,soundeffects,credits,andotherlettering.•Effectivelyusedadesignmetaphororvisualtheme(ifonewasused).•Didnotcreateawkwardtangentsorcrops.

ESTABLISHING-SCENEBASICSRememberthebasicsforestablishingascene:

•Usuallyrequiresalongshot.•Establishthecastinfullfigure.•Makeclearwhereeveryoneandeverythingisinrelationtoeachother.

•Setupthescenesothatsubsequentpanelswillbeabletomaintainactionflowcontinuitywithintheestablishedenvironment.

•Sometimeshavetwoshots:oneexteriorshowingadwellinganditssurroundingsandthenaninteriorshotwheremostofthesequencewilltakeplace.

Doingpageroughson8½-inchx11-inchpaperiseasierwheneachsheethasapageborderwith

marginswideenoughtoshowbleeds,andonwhichstandardpanelborderdividershavebeen

indicated.Drawoneupanduseacopymachinetoprintasmanyasyou’llneed.

PhotobyE.Potts.

TRANSFERRINGFROMPAGEROUGHSTOBOARDSThereareseveralwaysinwhichanartistcantransferthepageroughsontothefull-sizeartboardtoproducethefinishedpencildrawingsforapage.Theartistcan:

•Replicatethepageroughsbydrawingthemfreehandontothefull-sizeboard.

•Blowupthepageroughsinacopiersothatthemainartareais10inchesx15inches,andthenlight-boxtheroughsontothefull-sizeartboard.

•Useanopaqueprojectortocastanenlargedimageoftheroughsontothefull-sizeboardfortheartisttotracefrom.

•ScanthepageroughsintoacomputeranddrawfinishedartinlayersontopoftheroughsusingPhotoshop,MangaStudio,orothergraphicssoftware.

Asartistsgrowinexperienceandconfidence,theycanbegintoskipthepage-roughstage,jumpingfromthethumbnailstagetoworkingonthefull-sizefinishedart.Someexperiencedcomicscreatorscanmentallyimageandorganizesowellthattheycangofromreadingtheplottoimmediatelydrawingonthefull-sizeartboardswithgreatresults.Otherspreferthemoremethodicalstagedapproachoutlinedonthispage.

Forsketchingthumbnails,thisarrangementoffourpagesonasinglesheetof8½-inchx11-inch

paperishandy.

Forthosewhopreferdoinglargerthumbnailsorwholiketoworktheirwayupfromsmall

thumbnails,tolargerlayouts,tofull-sizefinishedart,thissingle-pagetemplateonan8½-inchx11-

inchsheetisveryhelpful.

CHAPTERTWELVEWATCHINGthePROSWORK

Inthischapter,threehighlyaccomplishedcomicbookartistshavedrawnthesamethree-pagesequence,showinghowpersonalanddifferenteachartist’sworkcanbewhileobservingthesameprinciplesofstrongvisualstorytelling.Attheendofthischapter,Ihavealsoincludedmyinterpretationofthesequence.

Seehoweachartisttransformsapageofwordsintodynamicvisualstorytelling.

TheArtists•WhilcePortacio•BillReinhold•PhilJimenez

FromScript

Theartists’workincludestheircommentsonthedecisionstheymade,includingif,when,andwhytheyfeltthatagoaltheyweregoingforrequiredthattheydosomethingoutsidethegeneralstorytellingprinciplesandtechniquesoutlinedinthisbook.Hereisthethree-pageplotfromwhichalltheartistsworked.Examineandlearnfromthesimilaritiesandthedifferencesamongthevariousartists’interpretationsofthisplot.

WhilcePortacioVersionWhilcePortaciowasborninthePhilippinesandspenttimeinHawaii,MidwayIsland,andNewMexicobeforesettlingintheSanDiegoarea.Breakingintocomics’professionalranksin1984,WhilcebeganinkingoverthepencilsofFrankCirocco,ChrisWarner,andArtAdamsatMarvel.HisfirstprofessionalpencillingworkwasonashortsequencecontainedinthefirstissueofStrikeforce:Morituri.Afterthat,hereceivedaseriesofincreasinglyhigh-profileassignmentsatMarvel,includingThePunisher,X-Factor,andTheUncannyX-Men,becomingoneofthemostpopularcomicscreatorsintheprocess.AsoneofthefoundersofImageComics,Whilcecreatedandproduced

Wetworksandseveralothertitlesforthatimprint.Morerecently,hehasdrawnhighlysuccessfulrunsforvariousBatman

projects,Spawn,JourneyintoMystery,andTheIncredibleHulk.Hecurrentlyisworkingonanewcreator-ownedtitle,Non-Humans.

WHILCEPORTACIO’SCOMMENTSThefirstthingIdoisreadthewholeplotfromareader’spointofviewjusttoenjoythestory.Idothistogetafeelforwhatbasicemotion(s)thewritermaywanttoconveywiththestory.WhenIreaditthesecondtime,Igoslowlyandcarefully,asanartist,

toseehowIwanttovisualizethewrittenstory.ImentallyvisualizetheimagesIwanttodraw.Generally,ifIcaneasily“see”astoryinmyheadasIread,itmeanstherewillbeampleroomonthepagetovisualizeit.Ofcoursethisistheperfectsituation.Inmostcases,however,therewillbesomescenes,sometimeswholeplots,whichwillrequirealotofpanelstoconveytheactionproperly.Insteadofsketchingsmalllayouts,Iliketodomyroughsonthefull-

sizedoriginalartboard.ThatwayIgetanexactfeelforhowIamfillingthepage.Duringthisfirstpencilonpaperstage,IamlessinterestedintheflowofthepagethanIaminworkingoutthecorrectnumberofpanelsneededtoconveytheactionthatthestorycallsfor.Forme,visuallyconveyingclearactionismoreimportantthanflowonthepage.IamconfidentthatifIlaterfeelthereisamajor“flow”problem,Icanfixitbyreworkingthecompositionofthatpanel.Myfirstattemptatlayingoutthestoryisbasedoninstinctand

Myfirstattemptatlayingoutthestoryisbasedoninstinctandconcentratesonmakingtheactionclear.Ireadthescenedescriptionandaskmyselfwhatpanelsareneededtotelltheaction.EvenatthisstageItrytothinkofwhichactionsaretrulynecessarytoshowandwhichcanbepushedtothebackground—orwhichwecandowithout.AteverystageofthislayoutprocessIstrivetoidentifytheactionsthatIcaneditoutandstillhavethestoryremainclear.This,hopefully,allowsmetohavethemaximumspacetodrawthestoryIwant.

Itisquicklyevidentthereisatremendousamountofactionandbackgrounddetailinthisplot.Igointoeditingmodeandtrytosqueezeactiontogether.Thisisespeciallythecaseonthelasttwopages,wherethereissomuchactionthatIfearlosinganyemotionalgriponthereaderbecauseeverypanelmustbesosmallandtechnical(interactionofcars,trucks,andbuildings).Sothereareveryfewpanelsofourheroashestrugglestosavetheday.Sincethefirstpageisrelativelysimple,I

trytogetinmybigshotsoftheherothereincaseIwon’thavespacelater.

AsIgetintothelasttwopages,Iseethereisverylittlespacetohavepanelsthatcutbacktoourhero.Ikeepthisinthebackofmymind.Atthispointtheclearnessofactionisthetoppriority.InvariablyIendupwithpagescontainingpanelsofsimilarsize.This

canberemediedinthenextstage.Nowthatalltheactionisonthepage,IcanclearlyseewhereIneedtoadjustmylayouts.Next,ItakethelayoutsintoPhotoshopsinceit’sfastertoeditandshift

panelsdigitallythantoredraweverythingbyhand.(Deadline,deadline—alwaysinthebackofthemind.)Iaddemotionalfeelingandalterthe

panelsdigitallythantoredraweverythingbyhand.(Deadline,deadline—alwaysinthebackofthemind.)Iaddemotionalfeelingandalterthepacingbyadjustingpanelsizeandcompositionand,insomecases,combiningtwopanelsintoone.OverallIamhappywiththelayouts.Therewasn’tasmuchofasqueezeforspaceasIanticipated,butIamworriedabouttwopoints:

1.ThereislittleroomtomakethestorypersonalbyshowingBatmaninthelasttwopages.

2.Theendpanelsareverysmall,givingthemverylittlesignificanceasaresolution.

NowImustlookoverthelayoutsandtrytoreclaimsomespacetoremedythesetwopoints.

PAGE1ADJUSTMENTSPanel1:Theplotasksforalottobeestablishedhere.Thebestwaytotrytohandletherequiredelementsistodistributethemondifferentvisuallayers.Theorderofpriorityis:

•BatmanandGordon•Thepolicemen/cars•Thefueltruck

NoticethatIdrawoneboardinggateinfullinthefarbackgroundandthensuggestothergatesbyshowingjustpartsofthem.Ialsodon’tneedtoclearlyshowthreepolicecars.Panel2:Thisisatypicalestablishingshotofanairporttowerandairplaneonapproach.Ikeepinmindtheneedtocomposethepanelsinawaythatallowsspaceforthewritertoaddcaptionsand/ordialogueballoons.IfIleavelittleroomtoaddcaptionsorballoons,thecopymayendupcoveringimportantpartsofthedrawing.Panel3:KnowingIwillhavepreciouslittlespacetoshowBatman,IchoosetoinserthisandGordon’sfaceshereinanunconventionalway.Itmakesthemstandoutandthereforehopefullygivesthemprominenceonpage1sothatthereadersarelessawaretheyseeverylittleofBatmanlateron.Panel4:SinceIamtryingtogainspaceinpages2and3,Itransfer

Panel4:SinceIamtryingtogainspaceinpages2and3,Itransferpanel1frompage2(theplanelandingpanel)tohere.Becauseitisnexttoafullshotoftheairplane,Idon’thavetoshowthefullplaneinthispanel,justthelandingwheelstouchingground.

PAGE2ADJUSTMENTSPanel1:Intheoriginalversion,panel1andthispanelplayedrealwellwitheachother.Intheoriginalpanel1(nowthelastpanelonpage1),theplanelandsontheleft-handsideofthepanel.Withthispanel,theplaneisnowfullyonthegroundandisinthemiddleofthepanel,indicatingithastraveledfartherinspacethanitwasinthepriorpanel.IwouldhaveanoteforthewritertomakesureGordonsays“theplaneispassingusby”justtobeclear.

passingusby”justtobeclear.Panel2:Nowwehavethefueltruckhittingthebaggagetruck,andtomakesureweunderstandtherelationshipofthisactionwiththeplane,Ichoosetousethesameangleoftheplaneinthepriorpanel,justzoomedinabit.Panel3:ThisisashotoftheBatmobilehittingthefueltruckwiththepolicecarsbehindshowingtherelationshiptheplotcalledfor.NoticethatImakesurethefueltruckisorientedinadirectiontowardtheestablisheddirectionofthetaxiingairplanewithBatmancominginfromtheoppositedirection.Panel4:Asthetruckisflyingupintotheair,Istarttochangethepositionofthecamera.Atthispointinthestorythedramaisabouttoswitchfromtheairplanebeinghitbythefueltrucktothefueltruckslidingintothepassengerterminal.Panel5:Thecamerapositionhasnowcompleteditsmovementandisshowingthatthedangerisnowpointedtowardthepassengerterminal.Panel6:Thispanelwastransferredtothispagefrompage3.Thepanelvisuallyplaysbetterherebecauseitzoomsinonthepreviouspanel,showingthetruedangerBatmanmustavert.

PAGE3ADJUSTMENTSPanels1,2,3,4,and5:ImoveupallthesepanelstofillintheextraspaceInowhave.ForactionclarityImakesurethefueltruckisalwaysgoinglefttorightandBatmanisgoingtheoppositeway.Panel6:NowwithroomforanewshotofBatmanIchoosetoendthe

scenewithBatmaninhisBatmobileandthecheeringcrowdbehindhim;noticeagainBatmanorientedrighttoleft.

AUTHOR’SCOMMENTSONWHILCEPORTACIO’SPENCILSWhilcefirstestablishestheairportterminalandintroducesthecharactersindramaticfullfigure.Hechosetoestablishtheincomingplaneseparately.WegetahintoftheBatmobileontheright.Onthelowersectionofthepage,Whilceutilizesavariationofan

overlaytransition.WiththeBatmanandGordonfiguresseparatefrombutoverlappingthesecondandthirdpanels,theimpressionisthatthecharactersareobservingtheeventsinthosetwopanelseventhough

charactersareobservingtheeventsinthosetwopanelseventhougheachpanelisfromadifferentangleandtheactionhappenssequentially,notsimultaneously.

Sincethepolicevehicleswerenotshownonthefirstpage,Whilceestablishesthatpolicecarsarepresentinthefirstpanel.Thereisalotofcontentandinformationinthispanel.Ideally,itwouldhavebeenniceiftheBatmobileontheleftwerefartherfromthecamera.ThiswouldallowustoseemoreoftheBatmobileandclearlyestablishthevehicle.Whilceestablishestheplane,baggagetrain,andfueltankerinthefirstpanel.Becausetheartistmaintainstherelativepositionsofthevarious

vehicles(planeontheleft,baggagetraininthemiddle,tankerontheright),theactiontakingplaceinthesecondpanelisclear.Ifthesecondpanelshothadbeenpositionedfromtheothersideoftheactionaxis,therelativepositioningofthevehicleswouldhavechanged,verypossiblyconfusingthereader.Whilcemakessurethereaderdoesn’tencounteranysuchproblems.Bymovingthefirstpanelfromthethirdpagetothebottomofthesecondpage,Whilcenotonlygavehimselfmoreroomtoworkwithonthethirdpagebutendedthesecondpagewithamorepersonalandemotionalthreattotheciviliansintheterminal.

Onthethirdpage,WhilceclearlyshowstheBatmobileskiddinginfrontoftheslidingfueltankerwiththefrontofthevehicleangledtotheleft.Thatdirectionalbiasismaintainedthroughouttherestofthepage,helpingtheviewerfollowtheactionthroughavarietyofshotsandangles.Heendsthepagewithapanelprojectingasenseofaccomplishmentto

wrapupthesequence.ItincludesarelativelylargeheadshotofBatman,somethingtheaction-packedplothadn’tallowedforsincethefirstpage.

somethingtheaction-packedplothadn’tallowedforsincethefirstpage.

BillReinholdVersionAlifelongIllinoisresident,BillReinholdgraduatedfromChicago’sAmericanAcademyofArtin1982.Afterheworkedforseveralsmallercomicspublishers,Bill’sprofileinthecomicsbusinessbegantorisewithhisworkonTheBadgerforFirstComicsinthemid-1980s.Hisworkcaughttheattentionofeditorsatlargerpublishers,andBill

wassoonreceivingpencillingandinkingassignmentsfromMarvelonThePunisher,TheSilverSurfer,Daredevil,TheProwler,theEarthXtrilogy,andSpider-Man.AlongwithwriterMikeBaron,Billco-createdSpykeforMarvel’sEpiclineofcreator-ownedtitles.AtDCComics,Billhasproducedartforavarietyoftitles,including

Batman:LegendsoftheDarkKnight,TheBookofFate,ChallengersoftheUnknown,GreenArrow,andTheBraveandtheBold.HepencilledandinkedtherecentrevivalofMagnus,RobotFighterfor

DarkHorseComics.Bill’sworkoftenincorporatesimpressivedrybrushandinkwash

techniques.Forthisthree-pagestory,Billdemonstrateshisstart-to-finishart

process,frominitialthumbnailstopagelayouts,topencils,andfinallytofinishedinkedpages.

BILLREINHOLD’SCOMMENTSWhenIfirstgetascript,Iliketoreaditstraightthroughtogetanunderstandingandfeelforthestory.Igenerallysavenotetakingorroughsketchingforasecondread.Ifit’safullscript,alotofthepanel-to-panelstorytellinghasbeen

doneunderthewriter’scontrol.Asanartist,workingfromaplotorroughscriptcanbeveryrewarding.Thefreedomofchoicescanreallyfueltheimagination.OnmyfirstattemptatthumbnaillayoutsforastoryIdon’tworry

aboutpanelsizeorpagedesign.Ijusttrytovisualizeeachscenefromdifferentangles.Isometimesclosemyeyesandimaginebeingacamerarevolvingaroundascenelookingfortherightshot.Ihaveevenusedprops,toys,andsoon,tosimulateascenesoIcanlookatitfromdifferentangles.HowmanypagesIhaveforanyscenewillhelpmedecidewhatbesttoemphasize.Icouldusetenpanelstoshowaplane

decidewhatbesttoemphasize.Icouldusetenpanelstoshowaplanelanding,orjustone.Thenthereistheentertainmentvalue.Alotofsmallpanelscanbefunandtellastory,butsometimesalargeshotisbestfordramaorthecoolfactor.It’sallaboutmakingchoicesthatwillservethestorybest.ThisshortBatmansequencehadmanychallenges.Carl’splothasaverycinematicfeelthatmadeitalotoffuntodraw.Alotofreferencewasrequiredforairports,planes,police,andthediversecrowdattheairport.Forreference,IusedeverythingfrommaterialsI’vecollectedovertheyearstoonlinevideosofplaneslanding.Ialsousedamirrortoworkoutposesforthecharacters.Page1:Ichosetotakehalfthepagetoshowtheexpanseoftheairportandadetailedviewofbuildings,vehicles,andanoverviewofourplayers.However,asIcontinuedonthestory,IfeltthatBatmanandCommissionerGordonweregettingtoolittleattention.WithalongerstoryIcouldhaveeasilydetailedthesceneandshownourplayersdramatically.ButIhadtochoose.Asmallerfirstpanelwouldstilltellthestoryandestablishthescene,leavingmeroomforalargerpanelwithBatman,Gordon,andthepolicewatchingtheplaneland.Ithinkthisbetterputthevieweratthescene.Page2:Webeginwiththeplanepassingthegateandeveryonegoingintoaction.BatmanisalreadylonggonebythetimeGordonyellsathisofficerstopursue.AfterIestablishedthechasesceneandallplayers,insteadofanotheroutsideobjectiveview,ItookusinsidetheBatmobile,gettingBatman’sPOVofthetankerrammingtheluggagetrain.AftertheBatmobileslamsintothefueltruck,IsetupthenextpageastheBatmobiletravelsaroundtheslidingtanker.Page3:Asthetruck’scabdislodgesfromthetanker,theBatmobileslidesintoplace,attemptingtoblockthetankerfromsmashingintotheairportterminal.Insidetheterminalweviewthepanickingcrowd.TheBatmobile’sstrainingbrakeslockitssmokingtires.IdecidetogetpersonalagainwithinsetpanelsportrayingapanickedgirlandadeterminedBatmanstrainingtostopthetanker’smomentum.ForthelastpanelIfirstchosetoshowBatman’ssuccessfromthecheeringcrowd’sPOV.InsteadIdecidedtoshowthehaltedtankerandatriumphantBatmanwithGordonapproaching.Smokestillbillowsfrom

triumphantBatmanwithGordonapproaching.Smokestillbillowsfromthebrakesandtires.IimaginethatBatmanissummingupthesituationasheandGordondecidetheirnextmove.I’msurethetankerdriverisbeinghandcuffedastheyspeak.WhenI’llbeinkingmyownwork,Iprefertodrawinaloosepencilstyle.ThatwayIcanseealotofmyunderdrawing,helpingmemakefinalstructure,lineweight,andblackplacementchoiceswhileI’minking.

AUTHOR’SCOMMENTSONBILLREINHOLD’STHUMBNAILS

Bill’sinitialtinythumbnailscombinedroughideasformajorpanelsandsimpleschematicsshowinghowthepanelswouldbearrangedonthepage.

Nexttomanyofthesketcheshenotedtheinformationcontainedineachpanel,makingsurethathecapturedalltheinformationfromthescript.

Ashedidonthepage3thumbnails,Billsometimeswilltrysketchingthesameshotfromseveralanglestofindthebestonetoshowtheactioninawaythatisbothclearanddynamic.

Author’sCommentsonBillReinhold’sLayoutsBillmovesontodotighterlayouts,drawingeachpageat5inches×7inches.Onthefirstpage,thesplashpanelclearlyestablishestheairportand

wherethevariouscharacters,buildings,andvehiclesare.Thissetsupallthevisualelementsthatwillsooncomeintoplay.Eventhougheachpanelispackedwithvisualelements,Bill

incorporatesroomfordialogueandcaptionsaswellasleavingsomeopenspaceforeyerelief.Sincethefirstpanelissuchalongshot,Billcomesinprogressively

tighterinthenexttwopanels,fullyestablishingthetwomajorcharacters,BatmanandCommissionerGordon,whileadvancingtheactionoftheplane’slanding,taxiing,andturning.

Onthesecondpage,Billusesaninsetpanelwithaclose-upofGordonreactingtotheplanemovingawayfromitsassignedgate.AfterestablishingthattheBatmobileistotheleftofthefueltanker

truckinthesecondpanel,BillmaintainsthatrelationshipinthethirdpaneluntilclearlyshowingBatmanmaneuveringhisvehiclearoundtherightendoftheskiddingtanker.Onallthreepages,Billhadtodealwithcompressedtime—depictinga

lotoftimeandactioninaverytightpageandpanelcount.Thissituationwasperhapsmostextremeonthethirdpage.AsBillstatedregardingthesequenceinwhichBatmanusestheBatmobile’sbrakestostopthetankerfromcrashingintothecrowdedterminal,“Icould’veusedfiveormorepanelsforthatscene,demonstratingmovementwithvariousclose-ups.”Artistsoftenareforcedtorevealalotofactionandinformationinlessspacethantheywouldlike.Whenfacedwithsuchsituations,thebetterartistsfindawaytopullitoff,asBilldidhere.Lesservisualstorytellerswillshowpartoftheactionandhopethewriterwillcoverthegapsinvisualclarity.

Onpage3,inthemiddletierofpanels,BillincorporatestwoinsetpanelsoverasceneofBatmandesperatelytryingtostopthetankerfromcrashingintotheterminal.ThefirstinsetshowsseveralofthehelplessinnocentcivilianswhomBatman,inthesecondinset,strugglessodeterminedlytoprotectfromthepotentialdisaster.

Author’sCommentsonBillReinhold’sPencilsAftertheyaredonetohissatisfaction,Billcopiesthelayouts,enlargingthemtothestandard10-inch×15-inchoriginalartsize.Usingalightboxtotracethework,Billtransfersthelayoutstothefinishedartboards.Whenthebasicformshavebeentransferredtotheboards,Billtightensthepencils.However,wheninkinghisownwork,heusuallydoesnotpencilverytightly.Forthisjob,heproducedtighterpencilsthanhenormallydoes.

Whenitcomestofiguringouttheplacementofblackareas(spottingblacks),Billsays,“Itvariesforme.Ifitstrikesmeinthethumbnail/roughstage,I’llsketchintheblackareas;otherwiseI’llworkthemoutinthepencils.”

Author’sCommentsonBillReinhold’sInksBillinkedhispages,givingreadersacleardemonstrationofthestepsforcreatingcomicartfromstarttofinish.Wheninkinghisownpencils,Billsometimesusesinkwash,adifficult

andsomewhatlosttechniqueinwhichtheartistusesdilutedinktomakeagraytonepainting.Billalsooccasionallyusesadrybrushinkingtechniquetoaddtexture

tohiswork.Drybrushinvolvesdrainingthebrushofmuchofitsinkbeforeapplyingittothepagesothatinsteadofacleanblacklineflowingoffthebrush,theinkbreaksupintoroughstreaksandspots.Youseesomeofthisonpage1inBatman’scapeinpanel3andinthecastshadowtowardthebottomofthepage.

PhilJimenezVersionAnativeofLosAngeles,PhilJimenezmovedtoNewYorkCityandattendedtheSchoolofVisualArts.HisfirstprofessionalworkwasforDCComicsin1991,whenhecontributedafewpagestotheWaroftheGodsminiseries.Phil’s’highlydetailedstylecombinedwithhissolidstorytellingsoon

wontheadmirationoffansandfellowprosalike.AtDCComics,Philhasdrawnandwrittenformanyhighlypopular

projects,includingNewTitans,JLA/Titans,Planetary/TheAuthority,Tempest,WonderWoman,AdventureComics(featuringtheLegionofSuper-Heroes),andthemegaseriesInfiniteCrisis.HehasrecentlyworkedonFairestforDC’sVertigoimprint.Previous

workforVertigoincludedTheInvisibles,SwampThing,andOtherworld.ForMarvel,PhilhasproducedworkonAstonishingX-Men,NewX-Men,

andTheAmazingSpider-Man.Acomicscreatordedicatedtosharinghisknowledgewithothers,Phil

servesasaninstructorathisalmamater,theSchoolofVisualArts,whereheteacheslifedrawing.HeisalsoamentorfordesignstudentsattheCooper-HewittNationalDesignMuseum.Forthethree-pageBatmansequence,Phildidtightlayoutsandshared

histhoughtsonhisprocess.

PHILJIMENEZ’SCOMMENTSWhenIfirstreadacomicscript,Itendtoavoidthedialogue,asit’snotmygeneralinterestsoearlyon.WhatI’minitiallylookingforisplot,action,locales,and

numbers/typesofcharactersI’llbeexpectedtodraw,becauseIthinkaboutandapproachaction-heavyscenesdifferentlythanImightintimateconversationalscenesandbecausethosedifferenceswillaffecttheamountoftimeI’llbesittingatmydrawingtable.Thatistosay,Itrytobudgetmytimeandenergydependingonwhat

I’llbeexpectedtodrawandhowmuchresearchand“thoughttime”willbedevotedtoeachpage.(Theirony,ofcourse,isthatnomatterwhatI’mexpectedtodraw,Ineverreallygetanysortofheadstartonthematerial;Itendtodoalotof“thinking”andlotsofresearchuntilIhavenochoicebuttostart,andinvariably,I’venotleftmyselfenoughtimeto

nochoicebuttostart,andinvariably,I’venotleftmyselfenoughtimetocompletetheassignmentandthereforerushthroughtotheend.)ThefirstthingInoticedreadingthisscriptwashowreference-heavythepageswereandhowIwouldn’tevenbeabletoblockouttheactionwithoutfindingthereferencefirst—thespecificsinthereferencewouldactuallydeterminecompositiononsomeofthepages,soIneededtoknowthesize,scale,andlookofthelocationsbeforeIbrokethepagesdowninthumbnails.Thus,IstartedscouringmybooksandtheInternettofindphotographsofairportsandairportterminals,planes,andthefueltruckthatIcouldusewhilebreakingthepagesdown.

Page1:Iloveestablishingshots.Ilovecreatingenvironmentsforcharacterstointeractwith.It’ssortoflikegivingactorsastageorsettoplayon;themoreofaworldIgivethemtoreactto,themoreemotionandrangeIcangetoutofthemandthebetterandmoreclearthestorytellingexperienceforthereader.Onthispage,Itooktheopportunitytobreakatwo-panelpageinto

three,whichmayormaynothavebeennecessary.ButIwantedtogiveadistancedshotoftheairporttoshowustheterminalandGothamCitybehind,aswellasestablishtheairplanelanding,whichwasan

adistancedshotoftheairporttoshowustheterminalandGothamCitybehind,aswellasestablishtheairplanelanding,whichwasanimportantpartofthescript.Intheestablishingshot,Iscribbledinsomeforegroundobjectsfromthereferencefirst,thenplacedBatmanandCommissionerGordoninthescene,backstous—onceagain,atascalethathelpedestablishsize,distancebetweenobjects,andthecharacters’relationshipstotheobjectsaroundthem.Also,onmyinitialthumbnails,Istartedlayinginareasofsolidblackwithasimpleblackmarkertostartbuildingasenseofdepthandspaceandmassandanoverall“graphicness”tothepage.Inthethirdpanel,IwentincloseonBatmanandGordonataslightworm’s-eyeview.Mytendencyistotrytodrawatleastoneclose-upoftheleadcharactersearlyontoreallygivereadersaconnectiontothem.Also,it’scompositionallyoppositetothelarger,distance-establishingshot—creatingtwosimpleshapestooppose/contrastthemultitudeoffiguresandnumerousshapeshappeninginthepanelabove.

Page2:Page2holdsanenormousamountofaction.Itwastrickybreakingthepagedown,andittookseveralpassesbeforeIwasabletofigureouthowtogetitallinafewpanels.PartofitisjustgettingtheactiondowninasmanypanelsasIthinkit

requires.I’mfiguringouttheactioninmyheadbyfiguringitoutonthepage.Notethattheplanethatweestablisharrivingattheairportonpage1,

panel1,landsonpage2,panel1.I’mparallelingactionandpanelshapetoprovidecontinuitybetweenpanels.

panel1,landsonpage2,panel1.I’mparallelingactionandpanelshapetoprovidecontinuitybetweenpanels.Ultimately,Ipulledthecamerabackandup—wayup—togivereadersanotherestablishingshotoftheplane,thepolicecars,andtheairportterminalitself.TheseareBIGobjectsthatdwarfhumanbeings,andIwantedtoremindreadersofthatbygivingthemanothersenseofscope,eveninasmallishpanel.Close-uponBatmanandGordonagain.Incontrasttothethirdpanelofpage1,thecharactersarenowreacting,turningastheyhearsomethingroaringatthemoffpanel.Ikeptthepanelsandshapesherelongandrectangular;partofthisistomimicthe“widescreen”effectthathasbecomesopopularincomics.Also,anysortofornatedesignwouldhavemadeitnearlyimpossibletocompresstheactionintothepageandstillmakeitclear.Simplepanelshapesandasimplenarrativestreamgivethereadersthemostbangfortheirbuck.Imovedsomeactionfrompage1topage2togiveitmore“surprise.”ThisiswhatBatmanandGordonarereactingto—atruckbarrelingthroughaluggagecarrier,whichistornapartbythetruckcabin.BatmanleapsintotheBatmobileinthenextpanel—notehowIdrewGordonintheforegroundbutleftplentyofroomforBatman’scapeandtheBatmobile.Also,innearlyallofthesepanels,Itrytoincludecompeting“invisiblediagonals”compositionallybycockingthecameraandlayinginthevehiclesandfiguresatdiscernibleangles.Thesecreateatensionthatelevatesthesenseofmovementandexcitementonthepageeventhoughthepanelsaresosimplylaidout.Thelasttwopanelsarelongandbig;thisiswheretheBatmobilesideswipesthetruckandknocksitover.Becausecaractionishyperdependentonmovementandbecausethereisnomovementonthestaticcomicpage(whyIgenerallyeschewthatkindofactioninacomicbook),Iwantedtocreatelongshapesandusespeedlinestosuggestthekineticfrenzyoftheaction.Ialsowantedtoleavethebiggestpanelforlasttoshowcasetheexplosiveoutcomeofthecollision.

Page3:Aneasierpagecompositionally,soIendedupgoingbigagain.Fourpanelsorso.Thefirstpanelisbigtoshowcasetheinterioroftheterminalandthepeoplethreatenedwithin.Throughthewindows,weseeGothamCityinthebackground,onceagainremindingthereaderwherethecharactersareinrelationtothelargerworldaroundthem(andgivingtheairportaproperGothic,creepybackdrop).Therestofthepageservesthestoryfairlysimplywithanoverhead

shotoftheBatmobilepushingthetrailertoitscompletehalt.Ichoseabird’s-eyeviewhereforbothcompositionandeaseofstorytelling

shotoftheBatmobilepushingthetrailertoitscompletehalt.Ichoseabird’s-eyeviewhereforbothcompositionandeaseofstorytellingreasons.Thenwehavethefinalshotofthecheeringpassengersintheterminal.Onceagain,Ichosefairlytightclose-upsofthehumanbeingsinthestorytoconnectreaderstothepeoplethey’rereadingaboutandhopefullybringallthatactionhomeonamorehumanlevel.

AUTHOR’SCOMMENTSONPHILJIMENEZ’SLAYOUTSPhillikestoincorporatecompositionaldiagonalsthathelpleadreaders’eyesbackandforthacrossthepage.Forexample,onpage1,theapproachingplanetravelslefttoright.Inthesecondpanel,theangleoftherunwayandterminalperspectivemovetheeyerighttoleft.Inthethirdpanel,thedirectionofthecharacter’sgazepromptsreaderstomovelefttorightonceagainandontothenextpage.Onthebottomofpage2,againPhilusesthediagonalcreatedbythevehiclestoleadthereadertothenextpage.Thelastpanelofpage3,however,isaneutralshotoftherelievedcrowdofpassengers.Thisstopsreaders’eyes,signifyingtheendoftheactionsequenceandallowingreaderstocatchtheirbreathmomentarily.Philsometimesplacesahigherpriorityonleadingtheeyewithpagedesignthanonmaintainingconsistentactionflowcontinuity.However,ifthestorytellinggenerallyremainsclear,emphasizingdesignelementsbecomesamatterofcreativepreference.

Author’sVersionIknewthisplotwasjam-packedwithalotofinformationforthreepages.Itwasn’tuntilItrieddoingroughlayoutsforthesequencemyself,however,thatIrealizedjusthowdifficultataskitwasgoingtobe.Tryingtoshoweverythingclearlyinthespaceallowedwasdaunting.Page1:Thefirstpanel,thesplashpanel,isalsoanestablishingshot.

Myfirstinclinationwastodoalongshotfromabovetheairporttogivethereaderaclearlookattheairport’slayoutandsetupthesequence’sfutureaction.However,suchalongshotwouldmeanthatthecharacterswouldbeseentoosmalltoreallyestablishclearly.Thatwouldmeanhavingtoestablishthecharactersfullyinsucceedingpanels.Toestablishboththecharactersandtheairportsettingsimultaneously,Isettledonthislayout.Theground-levelangleallowedmetoestablishdepthbymeansof

overlappingandscale.Theskylineofamajorcityisseeninthebackground.Batman’scape,

CommissionerGordon’scoatandhair,andtheflagonthecontroltowershowusthatit’swindy.Cloudsstreamacrossthesky.WeseesomeoftheBatmobilebehindBatman,butprobablynot

enoughtoreallyestablishthevehicle,especiallysinceitisamajorelementintheactionthatfollows.IwouldpulltheBatmobileouttotheleftabittoshowmoreofitifItooktheselayoutstofullpencils.TheangleoftheterminalbuildingandGordon’spositiontotheright

ofBatmanhelpcreateanasymmetricalpyramiddesignwithBatman’sheadattheapex.Sincewereadlefttoright,eventhelandingplane’swinghelpsleadtheeyetowardthemaincharacters,asdoesthedirectionoftheascendingplaneinthebackground.Oneofthevisualstorytellingproblemswashowtogetacrossthatthe

planeislanding.Planesassumethesamenose-uppositionwhentakingoffandwhenlanding(thewheelsunderthewingstouchdownfirst,andthenthenosedescendsandthefrontwheelsmakecontactwiththeground).Sincetheplane’spositionalonecouldn’tindicatewhetheritwaslandingortakingoff,Iusedanupwardcurveonthecontrailsandengineexhausttoindicatethattheplanewasdescending.Thepanelfitsinalloftheestablishingsceneinformationwhilestill

havingafairamountofopenspace(sky).Thereisroomforatitleandcredits.

havingafairamountofopenspace(sky).Thereisroomforatitleandcredits.Thisisacasewherethereaderwilllookatthepanelforafewmoments,absorbtheinfo(mostlysubconsciously),andthenmoveonwithoutrealizinghowmuchwentintoworkingoutthestorytellingandcompositionofthepanel.Thisishowitshouldbe.Thesecondpanelestablishesthefacesofthetwomainprotagonistsandgivesthemspacetofillthereaderinonnonvisualaspectsofthescenariothroughtheirdialogue.Thethirdpanelwiththegroundtrafficdirectorintheforegroundsetsupthetaxiingplane’sturnandusestheant-sizedprotagoniststofillinmoredetails.

Page2:Inpanel1,IwantedtoshowtheplaneclearlychangingdirectionanditsorientationtowhereBatmanandtheGothamlawmenwerestationedontherunway.Todothis,Iusedalongdownshot.Eventhoughit’sverysmall,thejetfueltruckisalsosetup,positionedbetweentheboardingdocks.Theclose-upofGordoninthesecondpanelshowshisreactiontothe

planemissingitsgateandcontinuingdownthetarmac.It’shardtotellinthesepencilroughs,buttheplaneisreflectedinhisglasses.Inthethirdpanel,Gordonandhismenscrambletogetintotheircars

inthesepencilroughs,buttheplaneisreflectedinhisglasses.Inthethirdpanel,Gordonandhismenscrambletogetintotheircarstofollowtheplane.Batman,however,isalreadyroaringaftertheplaneintheBatmobile.Ontheright,thefueltruckbeginsmovingtowardtheplaneastheaircraftfinallyturnstodockatagatefartherdowntheterminal.Farinthebackground,atractor-towedbaggagetrainisalsopullingout,headedforthearrivingplane.Thefueltruckplowsthroughthebaggagetraininthefourthpanel,sendingthetractor,driver,andluggageflying.Thisshotcouldbeseenasazoominonthefueltruckandbaggagetrainfromthepreviouspanel.IttookawhiletofigureoutagoodangletoshowtheBatmobileslammingintothetruck’scabanddivertingit.I’mstillnotsureifthisisthebestsolution.Inthesixthpanel,theBatmobileslidesinfrontoftherollingfueltanker.BillReinholdpulledoffasimilarshotmuchbetterinhisversionofthestory.Thehandintheforegroundleadsustothenextpage,where…

Page3:…oneofthepanickedpassengershashishandplasteredagainstthewindowwhileheyellsawarningtotheothersintheterminal.Togetsomedepthandgivetheimpressionofalotofpanickedpeople,

IusedcroppedoverlappingfiguresreactingastheBatmobileattemptstostopthefueltankerfromslammingintotheterminal.ToshowtheskiddingBatmobileandfueltankerapproachingthe

terminalwiththeGothampoliceinpursuit,inpanel2Iusedanotherlongdownshot.ThepreviousshotsofthetankerandtheBatmobile

terminalwiththeGothampoliceinpursuit,inpanel2Iusedanotherlongdownshot.ThepreviousshotsofthetankerandtheBatmobileheadingtowardtheterminalhadtheactionmovingrightatthereader.It’snoteasytoconveymosttypesofmovementwhentheactioniscomingstraightatthereader.Therefore,Ifeltitwaspasttimetomaketheactionclearer.WeseethepursuingGothampolicecarschasingtheskiddingtanker.IwastemptedtoincludeaninsetpanelofBatman’sfootpushinghardontheBatmobile’sbrakepedal.Withsomuchinfoandactioncrammedintothreepages,itwashardtofigureouthowtoshowtheBatmobilesuccessfullybrakingtoahalt.Itmaybehardtotellintheroughs,butpanels3through6focusonaBatmobilewheelasitprogressivelyslowstoastop.Themulti-imagingofthewheel/tiredecreasesoverthesequence,andthesmokefromtheburningtiresstopsstreamingbackasthecarcomestoahalt.Sincethecarisnolongermovinginpanel6,thesmokedriftsstraightup.GordonandhisuniformedcopsarriveafterBatmanhasexitedhisvehicle.Thebatteredtankersitsstill.Theamountofinformationinthisthree-pagesequencecouldeasilyhavefilledtwicethenumberofpages.However,comicsartistsdon’talwayshavetheluxuryoftellingthetaleinthespacetheyfeelisideal.

AFTERWORDThesedays,thepotentialcomicaudiencehasanearlylimitlessarrayofdiversionsthatvieforitsattentionanddollars,includingmovies,TV,videogames,andtheInternet.Tograbtheattentionofalargeaudiencetoday,whetherinprintordigitalformats,comicscreatorsneedtohavetheskillstotellgreatstoriesininteresting,clear,andcompellingways.Polisheddrawingandrenderingskillsaregreat,butunlesstheyare

combinedwithstrongstoriesandsequentialvisualstorytellingskills,theshortattentionspanoftoday’scomicsaudiencemaywellcausesalestofadeinsteadofgrow.Greatstories,welltold,willhelpcompelalargeaudiencetospendits

moneyanditstimeoncomics.Whenindoubtaboutwhetheryourvisualstorytellingdecisionsare

solid,rememberthatyourultimategoalistokeepthereaderimmersedinthenarrative.Anythingthatdetractsfromthatshouldprobablybeavoided.Nowthatyouhaveasolidgroundinginthebasicprinciplesand

techniquesofSVS,continuetoexpandyourvisualstorytellingknowledgeandskills.Readthesourcessuggestedthroughoutthisbookanddiscovernewsourcesofinformation.Ifyouhavesomenewinsights,pleaseletmeknow.Iamalwayslookingtoexpandmyknowledge.Youcanreachmeatcpotts1@hotmail.com.Youalsocanleave

messagesonmyblog,“GeneralEclectic”—justgotowww.carlpotts.com.Lookingforwardtohearingfromyou!

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.carlpotts.com

ArtbyAlexRoss.

ArtbySteveDitko.

GLOSSARYofCOMICSTERMINOLOGY

Creatorsworkinginothersequentialvisualmedia—includingfilm,television,andelectronicgames—sharemanyconceptsandtermswiththosewhoworkincomics.Termsforcertainrelatedconceptsbetweenmediaaresometimesused

synonymouslyeventhoughtheydonotmeanquitethesamething.Thesetermsincludeframeandpanelaswellasshotandangle.

AngleTheviewpointfromwhichthecreatorchoosestoshowashot.Majorcategoriesincludebird’s-eye/aerialshot,medium/neutralshot,andworm’s-eye/lowshot.Tiltshots(akacantedangleshots)occurwhenthehorizontalframeisnotparallelwiththehorizon.

BalanceAdesignterm.Therearethreemaincategoriesofbalance:symmetrical/balanced,asymmetrical/unbalanced,andbalancedasymmetrical.Mostoftenreferstothedesignbalancewithinapanelbutalsocanrefertothedesignofapageorspread.

BleedApanelorimagethat“bleeds”offtheedgeoredgesofapage.Theartiscroppedbythephysicaledgeoftheprintedpageinsteadofbyaborderrecessedfromtheedgeoftheprintedpage.

BorderAlinethatdefinestheoutsideedgesofapanelorpage.Differentstylesofborderscanaffectareader’sperceptionofthepanel’scontents,indicatingwhetherthecontentsrepresent“normalreality,”adream,aflashback,afantasy,andsoforth.

ContinuityMaintainingconsistencyofallnarrativeelementssothattherearenodiscrepancies.Canrefertoconsistencyinplot,series,fictionaluniverse,characterization,environments,actionflowdirection,andsoforth.Alsoreferstothesequentialorderofthenarrative.

CrosscuttingAlternatingpanelsorsequencesbetweentwoormorescenestoindicateparallelaction.

EmanataAtermcoinedbyBeetleBaileycreatorMortWalker.Marksoriconsthatexpressathought,emotion,oraction.Sometimescontainedinaballoonbutoftenhovernearacharacterwithoutaballoonorothercontainment.

EncapsulateTopickandencaseakeymomentofanarrativetoshowinapanel.Canalsoimplycondensingaswellasencapsulatingamoment.

EstablishingShotUsuallyalongshotatornearthestartofascenetoestablishwhoandwhereallthecharactersareinrelationtooneanotherandthescene’senvironment.Italsocanestablishthegeneralmoodandsituationofthescene.Scenesusuallyneedtobereestablishedwhentheyarereturnedtoafterasignificantabsence.

FrameOftenusedsynonymouslywithpanel.Italsocanmeanasingleframefromafilm.However,forbothfilmandcomics,thetermalsocanapplytothepartofalargervisualthattheartisthaschosentoshowthereader—along,medium,orclose-upshot—andfromwhatangle.Theframeisdefinedbytheoutsideedgesofapanelthattypicallyisestablishedbyaborder.

GutterThespacebetweenpanels.Thespaceisusuallywhiteornegativespace,butinsomecasesitmayconsistofpositivespaceifthegutterisbetweenpanelsthatareinsetorsuperimposedoveralargerpanel.

IconAvisualelement,usuallyasimplifieddrawingorsymbol,thatrepresentsanidea,person,place,thing,oraction.

InsetPanelApanelplacedinsideorsuperimposedoveranotherpanel.

JuxtaposeToplacepanelsnexttoeachother,thuscreatingarelationshipbetweenthepanelsandmodifyingthemeaningofeachpanel’scontentsthroughitsassociationwithaneighboringpanelorpanels.Thetermalsoreferstothecombinationofwordsandpictorialelementswithinapanelandincomicsingeneral.Themeaningsofthe

juxtaposedtextandpictorialelementsaremodifiedthroughtheirassociation.

MontageAnarrangementof“independent”visualsorvignettesinthesamepanel.Oftenusedtorepresenteventsoractionsthatarebeingcondensedandsummarized.Sometimesindicatesvariouseventshappeningsimultaneously.

MotionLinesorSpeedLinesLinesthatindicatemovementofacharacterorobject.Canbeappliedtotheobjectinmotion(usuallyseenintheWest)ortothesurroundingenvironment(oftendoneinmanga).

NeutralShotWherethemainactioninapanelmovesdirectlytowardordirectlyawayfromtheviewer.Sometimesreferredtoasheadortailshots.

PageAnentireleafofaprintedcomicbook(approximately6 ½inchesby10inchesinthetraditionalAmericancomicsformat).Forelectronicmedia,apageiswhateverfitsonadisplayscreenatonetime(includingscrollableareas).

PanWhenthe“camera”pivotsononespottorevealmoreofascene,ortofollowtheactionofasubjectinanarc.

PanelAvisual,oftenaccompaniedwithwords,whichencapsulatesamomentfromanarrative.Usuallyarectangularboxandoftencontainedbyaborder.Panelssometimeshavenoborderorareonlypartiallycontainedbyaborder.Occasionally,panelcontentwilloverlapotherpagevisualelementsorfadeattheedges(vignette).

PlanesThedepththatthevisualelementsinapanelhaveinrelationtoeachotherandtothecamera.Thedepthlevels,orplanes,usuallyarebrokendownasforeground,middleground,andbackground.

ReverseAngleApanelthatis“shot”approximately180degreesfromthepreviouspanel.Oftenusedwhentwocharactersinvolvedinconversationaresittingnexttoeachotherwhilefacinginthesamedirection(asinacar,plane,train,etc.).

SequenceAseriesofsequentialpanelsthatconstituteasceneoraneventinanarrative.

ShotThedistanceatwhichthecreatorchoosestoshowasubjectorscene.Themajorcategoriesarethelongshot,mediumshot,andclose-up.Movingshotsareshotsmodifiedbytracking(sequentiallyindicatinglateralmovementacrossasubjectorscene),zoom(sequentiallymovinginoroutfromasubjectorscene),fade(sequentiallyclarifyingorobscuringasubjectorscene),andsoon.

SplashAlargepanel,oftenafullpage,atornearthebeginningofastoryorissue.Oftenservesasthebeginningofthestory(evenifitisprecededbyaprologue).Thetitleandcreativeteamcreditsforastoryoftenappearonasplashpage.

SpreadPanel(s)orvisualsthatspreadacrosstwofacingpages.

SubjectiveShotShowsaviewthroughacharacter’seyesorovertheshoulder(OTS).Similartotheviewfor“first-personshooter”games.

TierAhorizontalrowofpanels.

TravelingShotWhenthe“camera”movesthroughspace.

CONTRIBUTORSArthurAdams,JoeBennett,W.H.HadenBlackman,BrettBooth,DougBraithwaite,RickBryant,GregCapullo,NickCardy,TonyDaniel,JohnDell,SteveDitko,JulioFerreira,MarkFredrickson,RichardFriend,JoséLuisGarcia-Lopez,DaveGibbons,JonathanGlapion,GeneHa,RussHeath,Hi-FiDesign,SandraHope,AdamHughes,KlausJanson,PhilJimenez,GeoffJohns,J.G.Jones,ScottKolins,JoeKubert,AndyLanning,JimLee,FrancisManapul,MarcosMateu-Mestre,MikeMignola,RagsMorales,Moritat,GrantMorrison,KevinNowlan,EddieNunez,YanickPaquette,GeorgePerez,WhilcePortacio,E.Potts,NormRapmund,BillReinhold,IvanReis,EduardoRisso,WillRosado,AlexRoss,P.CraigRussell,MiguelSepulveda,JamesShoop,WalterSimonson,ScottSnyder,RyanSook,ArdianSyaf,AlexToth,J.H.WilliamsIII,ScottWilliams,JorgeZaffino

ArtbyDougBraithwaiteandBillReinhold.

AlsoAvailablefromtheDCComicsGuideSeries

TheDCComicsGuidetoColoringandLetteringComics

TheDCComicsGuidetoPencillingComics

TheDCComicsGuidetoInkingComics

TheDCComicsGuidetoWritingComics

TheDCComicsGuidetoDigitallyDrawingComics

INDEX

Aabstractworks,1.1,9.1actionaxis,7.1,7.2ActionComicsactiondirectionactionflowcontinuity,3.1,7.1,7.2action/reactionAdams,Art,10.1,10.2,12.1Adams,NealAdventureComicsAdventure,Mystery,andRomance(Cawelti)angles,itr.1,3.1,10.1,11.1highangleshotslowangleshotsmediumangleshotsreversetiltangleshots

antagonistsart,1.1,8.1,10.1bleedpagescaptionandballoonplacementcopyingsomeoneelse’scroppingfiguresdepthoffielddesignbalance,10.1,11.1double-pagespreadsdrawingability,3.1,10.1drawingexercisesdrawingstylefacingpages

iconsandsymbolsnatureoflinenegativespaceruleofthirdsspottingblacksstorytellinglayoutsbynon-artistsstylesuitabilitytangentsasymmetrical/unbalanceddesignbalancedatmosphericblur,10.1,10.2

Bbalanceasymmetrical/unbalanceddesignbalancedasymmetricaldesignbetweenconventionalandinventional,3.1,9.1,9.2symmetrical/balanceddesignballoonandcaptionplacementBaron,MikeBatman,internalandexternaldesiresofBatman:LegendsoftheDarkKnightBatmanBlackandWhiteseries,3.1,8.1BatmanConfidentialBatman#3,5.1,10.1Batwoman#12Blackman,W.Haden,6.1,6.2bleedpagesBookofFate,TheBooth,Brettborders,5.1,5.2,5.3,5.4brainstormingBraithwaite,DougieBraveandtheBold,TheBryant,Rick

CcaptionandballoonplacementCapullo,Greg,5.1,10.1castingdirectorChallengersoftheUnknowncharactersketches,1.1,9.1characterizationChiarello,MarkcinematographerCirocco,Frankclassicstoryarc,9.1,9.2close-up/reactionshots,5.1,5.2comics,definedcommercialartistscomplementaryjuxtapositioncontinuity,3.1,7.1,7.2conventionalandinventional,balancebetween,3.1,9.1,9.2coverscreativedecisions,inserviceofstorycroppingfigures

DDaniel,Tony,3.1,6.1DCComicsGuidetoColoringandLetteringComics,The(Chiarelloand

Klein),10.1DCComicsGuidetoDigitallyDrawingComics,The(Williams)DCComicsGuidetoInkingComics,The(Janson),10.1,10.2DCComicsGuidetoPencillingComics,The(Janson),8.1,10.1,10.2DCComicsGuidetoWritingComics,The(O’NeilandLevitz),9.1,9.2,9.3DCComicsStyleGuides,2.1,3.1,3.2,3.3,4.1,5.1,5.2,5.3,5.4,7.1,

7.2,9.1,10.1,10.2,10.3,10.4,10.5,10.6,10.7,10.8depthoffield,10.1,11.1designbalance,10.1,11.1direction,establishingchangeindirectordistancecategories

Ditko,Steve,itr.1,afw.1documentaryfilms,7.1,7.2double-pagespreadsdrawingability,3.1,10.1drawingstyledrybrushinkingtechniqueDuncan,Randy

EEastwood,ClinteducationalpiecesEdwards,BettyEisner,Willemanataencapsulation,3.1,4.1,4.2establishingshots,5.1,5.2extremeclose-ups

FfacingpagesFairestFerreira,Juliofilm,differencesbetweencomicsandfineartistsFirstComicsfirstdrafts,9.1,9.2FiveC’sofCinematography,The:MotionPictureFilmingTechniques

(Mascelli),itr.1,5.1Foley(soundeffects)engineerforeshorteningFramedInk—DrawingandCompositionforVisualStorytellers(Mateu-

Mestre),itr.1,5.1,10.1frames(seePanels)Friend,Richardfullscript,workingfrom

GGarcia-Lopez,JoséLuisgenreexpectationsGibbons,Dave,5.1,8.1Giordano,DickGlapion,Jonathan,5.1,10.1goldensectionGoodwin,Archie,itr.1,9.1graphicssoftwareGreenArrowgutters,2.1,4.1,5.1

Hhappyendingsheightangleshighangle(bird’s-eyeview)shots

IiconsImageComicsinbetweener,readerasInfiniteCrisis,8.1,12.1inkwashinsetpanels,5.1,7.1instinct,itr.1,2.1,4.1instructionalcontent,1.1,9.1internalandexternaldesiresandconflictsinventionalandconventional,balancebetween,3.1,9.1,9.2invisibility,ofgoodvisualstorytellingInvisibles,Theironicendings

JJanson,Klaus,8.1,10.1,10.2Japanesemanga

Jimenez,Phil,5.1,8.1,12.1,12.2JLA/TitansJohns,Geoff,10.1,10.2,10.3JudasCoin,TheJusticeLeague,2.1,10.1,10.2Juvenaljuxtaposition,1.1,2.1,3.1,4.1,10.1

KkeyframesKirby,JackKlein,ToddKubert,Joe,itr.1,4.1,5.1Kurosawa,Akira

LLanning,AndyLee,Jim,fow.1,2.1,3.1,10.1,10.2,10.3,10.4,10.5left-to-rightbias,3.1,7.1LegionofSuper-HeroesLeone,SergioLevitz,Paul,9.1,9.2lightingdirectorline,natureoflineartlogoslong/establishingshots,5.1,5.2Loomis,Andrew,10.1,10.2lowangle(worm’s-eyeview)shots

MmagicshowsmaporientationMascelli,JosephV.,itr.1,3.1,3.2,5.1Mateu-Mestre,Marcos,itr.1,5.1,10.1McCloud,Scott,itr.1,1.1,2.1,5.1

McKee,Robertmedium/actionshots,5.1,5.2mediumangleshotsMifune,ToshiroMignola,Mike,10.1,10.2Milgrom,Allenmirrorimagemontage,5.1,6.1moodpieces,1.1,9.1Moore,AlanMorales,RagsMorrison,Grant

Nnarrative,1.1,1.2,3.1,8.1classicstoryarc,9.1,9.2genreexpectationsinternalandexternaldesiresandconflictsnegationofthenegationprotagonists,9.1,9.2self-containedandserialstructurestorypitch(logline)themewritingapproach

negativespace,10.1,11.1neutralshots,7.1,7.2NewDrawingontheRightSideoftheBrain,The(Edwards)NewTitansnonsequiturNowlan,Kevin,itr.1,10.1

Oobjectiveshots180-degreerule,7.1,7.2,7.3O’Neil,Denny,9.1,9.2,9.3outlinecolorthickness,differencesin,10.1,10.2

overlappingpanels

Ppacing,9.1,11.1pages,(seealsostep-by-stepprocessforartists)bleedcoversdouble-pagespreadsfacingpanelarrangementson,5.1,6.1panshotspanels,itr.1,1.1,1.2,3.1,3.2,4.1,4.2,4.3,5.1(seealsostep-by-step

processforartists)actiondirectionaction/reactionarrangementsonpageborders,5.1,5.2,5.3,5.4cameramovescaptionandballoonplacementcombinationsdesignbalance,10.1,11.1double-pagespreadsgutters,2.1,4.1,5.1heightanglesinset,5.1,7.1inventionalpanelarrangementsmontagenegativespaceoverlappingpointofviewsequences,1.1,5.1sizesandshapestransitiontypestypesofshots,5.1,7.1vignettes,5.1,5.2,5.3Paquette,YanickPicasso,PabloPlanetary/TheAuthority

plot,workingfrompointofviewPortacio,Whilce,10.1,12.1,12.2Potts,CarlPotts,E.,3.1,3.2,9.1,11.1PowerofComics,The(DuncanandSmith)protagonists,9.1,9.2

RRapmund,Normrectangularformatsreduction,4.1,4.2reductive/additiverelationshipbetweenartistandaudience,2.1,2.2reestablishingshotsReinhold,Bill,3.1,12.1,12.2,con.1reverseanglesright-to-leftbias,7.1,7.2Rosado,Will,2.1,4.1,5.1,7.1,7.2,7.3Ross,Alexroughs,refiningruleofthirds

SsadendingsSamuraifilmsscenebasics,establishingscreenwritersculptingsequences,1.1,5.1sequentialvisualstorytelling(SVS),(seealsopages;panels)components

ofencapsulation,3.1,4.1,4.2goalsandprinciplesofreduction,4.1,4.2setdesignersettingupandpayingoff

Sgt.Rock,4.1,5.1,5.2Shoop,JamesShooter,Jimshots,typesofSimonson,Walter,itr.1,6.1sizesandshapesofpanelsSmith,MatthewJ.Snyder,Scott,6.1,10.1Sook,RyanSpiegelman,Artsplashpagespottingblacks,10.1,12.1spreadsSpykeStarlin,Jimstatement,thematicstep-by-stepprocessforartistsestablishingscenebasicsJimenezexamplePortacioexamplerefiningroughsReinholdexamplethumbnailing,11.1,11.2transferringfrompageroughstoboardsworkingfromfullscriptworkingfromplot

storypitch(logline)storystructure,8.1,9.1,9.2,9.3storyboardssubjectiveshotsSuccessfulDrawing(Loomis),10.1,10.2SwampThing,6.1,12.1symboliccoverssymbolssymmetrical/balanceddesign

TtangentsTempestthemethumbnailing,11.1,11.2tiltangleshotstonalorcolorcontrast,10.1,10.2Toth,Alextrackingshotstradedresstransitionsbetweenactionsbetweenelementsbetweenmomentsbetweenscenesbetweensubjectsbetweenunrelatedelementsinnerpanel-in-panelsuperimposed

TV,differencesbetweencomicsand

UUnderstandingComics:TheInvisibleArt(McCloud),itr.1,1.1,2.1,5.1

VVertigoimprintvignettes,5.1,5.2,5.3visualliteracyvisualmetaphorsandthemesVogler,Christopher

WWaroftheGodsWarner,Chris

Watchmenseries,5.1,9.1WednesdayComicsWesternfilms,7.1,9.1Williams,Freddie,IIWilliams,J.H.,III,6.1,6.2Williams,Scott,2.1,3.1,10.1,10.2,10.3,10.4WonderWomanWritersJourney,The:MythicStructureforWriters(Vogler)writingapproach

ZZaffino,Jorgezoomshots

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