Art & Story 85 – The Big Visual Narrative
April 8, 2009 by Jerzy
Filed under Art & Story, Podcast, Uncategorized
[private]It’s all about narrative through visuals this week, as Mark and I highlight some techniques we enjoy using to create immersive comics storytelling.
We broke the discussion into the following topics, with examples of our own work to show that we practice what we preach:
Bleed behind panels
• Moment hold
• Serves similar purpose to a splash, but more economical
• Can be used for mid-page transitions
Examples:
The Front: Rebirth, Chapter 4, pg 31
Equalizers of the Divide, page 6
Nested Panels
• Simultaneity
• Economical storytelling
• Clarity
Examples:
The Cosmic Adventures of Gena Kranz, page 1
Ambiguous Layouts
• Invites multiple interpretations of the narrative flow
• Not as clear as a traditional reading experience – May confuse readers
• Lends a more expansive sense of time
Examples:
The Origin of Jared, page 5
The Front: Rebirth, Chapter 2, page 18
John Oxbow: Man out of Time
Composition: Panel Flow
• Leads the eye in a smooth and intuitive fashion
• Can lend clarity to an otherwise cluttered page
• Provides a unique reading experience beyond “1-2-3-4″ panels
• Great way to express story pacing
Examples:
The Front: Rebirth, Chapter 3, page 36
Closing Doors, Part 2, page 47
Equalizers of the Divide, page 24
Composition: Panel Interiors
• Like Panel Flow, leads the eye around the page in an intuitive fashion
• When used well, can bolster emphatic moments or story rhythms
• Can be used together to provide an overall page composition
Examples:
Switch Runners, page 6
The Replacements, Book 2, page 39
The Cosmic Adventures of Gena Kranz, page 4
Composition: Word Balloons
• Can lead the eye in an intuitive fashion around the page
• Can lend clarity to an otherwise ambiguous sequence
• Adds to the overall visual rhythm of the page
• When used effectively, can lend to the overall composition of the page as a whole
Examples:
Switch Runners, page 4
Through The Cracks, page 4
For more comics that use these techniques (much more effectively than we do!) check out the following books:
Links mentioned in this episode:
• Naomi Jardine’s Flatland on Sugary Serials, as well as the Saturday Supercast interview I did with her about the comic.
• Matt Munn’s excellent Zed Reckoning comic
• Big Illustration Party Time, a fantastic podcast about freelance illustration
• Javiland, another terrific comics podcast
• Kids Read Comics Convention
These links, as well as links mentioned in past episodes, can also be found on the Art & Story Delicious page.
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Please do a part 2 on this with the rest of those notes. It’s a very important subject that should be covered in-depth, and if it gets boring to some listeners, well… they should listen to it anyway, because it’s good for them.
Also, I’m not sure what kind of other feedback you get on the subject, but I don’t think you need to be so apologetic about referencing visuals on an audio podcast – the subject matter demands it. You two have consistently done a good enough job of describing things that visual aides are not necessary.
Thanks Tony! Yes, I kept my notes covering the material we didn’t get to this week, so we’ll definitely record a Part 2 on this topic in the near future.
Glad to hear that our nerdy fascinations continue to be of use to you guys!