Comm 343 - Graphic Novel Influences

For my second and third graphic novels that I read for class, I chose Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' "Watchmen" and "The Walking Dead" by Robert Kirkman. Both of these novels gave me inspiration for my own graphic novel in different ways.

"Watchmen" was interesting because it utilized single colors as a way to color the comic. I've been struggling with how to color my own work, how to do it quickly but in a way that doesn't take away from the overall quality of the work.

Here, we see Rorschach colored pink. He takes up the majority of the panel and all the focus is on him. This is a simple way to draw attention to the main character without having to make the coloring overly complicated.

In other cases, the characters themselves were absent from the panels although there was dialogue. This helped set the scene and gave the readers the ability to understand setting before getting into the action.

As seen in the first part, the illustrator and author also worked with the speech bubbles so that someone who is unstable, like Rorschach, has speech bubbles that are also unstable.

The second novel I read, "The Walking Dead," had a lot of detail and interesting design work that influenced my work. Although mine certainly isn't as detailed, I could see the importance of detail work, especially when attempting to make the scene look gritty or busy.

The illustrator also worked a lot with perspective, which is something I hope to bring into my own work.

This graphic novel, as well as others I've read, are sure to fill up all the blank space unless it is deliberately left blank. In some cases, less is more, but having a lot of empty space for no reason can be distracting. "The Walking Dead" used space really well.

Even moments like this where Carl shoots Shane and Shane only takes up a third of the panel, the illustrator adds blood exploding out as well as action words behind. 

Blog 10 - Animation and Communication

For me, the words "animation" and "communication" mean a lot. Separately, they don't seem to have a lot in common, but with a closer look, communication plays a pivotal role in animation. In fact, animation wouldn't be possible without key elements of communication. It simply wouldn't work.

In animation, communicating to the audience is key to making it seem "real." Without body language and movement and an understanding of basic emotions, animation would appear flat and boring, incapable of appealing to an audience. However, with communication and the ability to talk to an audience through body language and movement, the audience becomes interested and emotional involved in the animation, the characters, and the scenes.

Blog 9 - The Illusion of Life

The authors of the book "The Illusion of Life" use animation as a means of imitating reality to create something other than reality. The Illusion of Life is the ability of animators to draw characters and scenes wherein the audience believes it is or could really happen, despite it not being live action. This comes about through different elements of animation, shortcuts and rules that dictate how best to create the illusion of life.

The metaphors of "illusion" and "life" seem apt given what is happening in animation. "Illusion" indicates the "trickery" that is happening within animation - it is giving off the impression of life, but nothing is actually alive. "Life," likewise, is apt because it is movement, emotion, and language (vocal and bodily) that define "life." The animators create all of these things in their characters.

Blog 8 - Building Emotion

There are nine economical ways that animation can build emotion in the imagination of the audience.

1. Rear View - Here, the audience gets to fill in what they believe the characters are feeling, taking the pressure off of the animator. Mufasa and Simba sit and study the African landscape.

2. Shadows - By only showing the shadow of a character, the animator saves time showing detail to the audience while still evoking emotions - usually of suspense. Peter Pan sneaks around Wendy's house.

3. Shadows over the character - Having the main action be conveyed in the shadows over another character who reacts is a good way to show emotion economically.

4. Overlays - Having characters covered by debris or leafy brush during a scene can portray just as much emotion as drawing the character alone.

5. Dramatic layout - Sometimes the background can show more emotion or set the tone for a small character in a large setting. Belle and the beast dance around his castle, his castle taking up most of the frame in its elegance and class.

6. Pictorial shot - Along the same lines as number five, showing a desired goal in the background can show a character's emotion better than the character itself. The adventurers study Atlantis.

7. Effects animation - Showing nature moving instead of the characters can evoke emotion - either what the character sees or what the audience should feel.

8. Held drawing with camera moves - Zooming in or out or panning with the camera can create emotion rather than animating the character itself.

9. Offstage sounds - A simple background with relevant sounds are enough to create emotion.

Blog 7: Fred's 14 Points of Animation

1. Appeal of Drawing
Are the characters interesting, relatable, and believable?
In Frozen, the main characters of Elsa and Anna are relatable and interesting.

2. Staging
This is the animator's way of showing the audience what to look at and what to pay attention to given the scene.
Elsa's ice castle takes the stage in this scene.

3. Most Interesting Way (Would Anyone Other Than Your Mother Want to See It?)
The storyline must be interesting and captivating to a demographic, not just you.
The themes of family, love and betrayal are widely appealing.

4. Is It the Most Entertaining Way?
An animator must choose which of the infinite number of ways a scene can be presented is the most captivating - which is the best.
Many of the scenes in Frozen are aesthetically pleasing and captivating due to their presentation.

5. Are You In Character?
The animator must feel what the character feels and really think like the character so that the character comes off as consistent and realistic.
Elsa and Anna stay consistent throughout the movie given their personalities.

6. Are You Advancing Your Character?
Characters must develop and change along with the story to keep it interesting and believable.
Both Elsa and Anna grow as characters and develop so that they are significantly different at the end of the story.

7. Is This the Simplest Statement of the Main Idea of the Scene?
The story doesn't need to be complicated to be good - sometimes simple is best.
Having an entire change of Elsa didn't have to be complicated - a new dress and letting down her hair show how she feels.

8. Is the Story Point Clear?
The story must be capable of being followed by a demographic.
Again, Frozen has a wide appeal and is easy to follow.

9. Are the Secondary Actions Working With the Main Action?
Secondary actions (hands moving while walking, etc.) make the animation realistic.
Anna runs and her hair moves as well as her arms in this scene.

10. Is the Presentation Best for the Medium?
Which type of animation - CGI, 2-D, 3-D - best fits the story and the animator's needs.
Frozen's presentation in CGI was deemed best because of its versatility and more realistic feel than 2-D animation.

11. Does it Have the Two-Dimensional Clarity?
The animation must be clear and defined.
The characters are well defined and easy to see.

12. Does it Have Three-Dimensional Solidity?
Anatomy, composition, physics, et al. must go into the animation to make it realistic.
Given its 3-dimensional look, it looks significantly more realistic than 2-D.

13. Does it Have Four-Dimensional Drawing? (drag and follow through)
Giving the impression that the characters follow the laws of physics help the audience suspend their disbelief.
Here, Hans' legs and arms follow through even after he swings his sword.

14. Are You Trying to Do Something That Shouldn't Be Attempted? (like trying to show the top of Mickey's head)
Some scenes may be difficult and unnecessary. Again, simple can be best.
Some scenes should be big and spectacular, but others can be minimal, such as Elsa walking across the lake in this scene.

Blog 6: Appeal

While I believe much of mass media does use the lowest common denominator (LCD) to appeal to a wide demographic, many movies and television shows are situated so that their appeal is more centered on a specific demographic. That being said, most smaller genres (children's movies, for example) have elements for those who are closely related, such as more adult jokes set out for parents who will inevitably be watching children movies with their kids.

The LCD is also said to dumb down mass media so that larger audiences can understand. I disagree with this sentiment in general, but Disney does tend to do this if only because their audiences are children who won't get the nuances of filmography and animation. Perhaps a few complicated elements would be added for parents' sake, but with their kids being the main demographic, the story is not going to be incredibly complicated. The "dumbing down" seen with Disney is less about appealing to a mass audience and more about appealing to children.

For example, although Disney caters to a young audience, they also have all four the Pirates of the Caribbean movies made for adults with complicated storylines and multifaceted character.

Looking at typical Disney films, however, such as the new film "Frozen," the story line is fairly simple. However, and as proved by its long-standing run in theatres, it appeals to a wide audience. Its overall theme of familial love applies to a mass demographic, without finding the LCD to make the story less interesting. In fact, there are spells and trolls and betrayals throughout that a five-year-old may not be able to keep up with, but the songs and visuals are enough to keep their attention.

Blog 5: Mood

Body language is everything in real life as well as animation. In animation, it is the driving force behind the mood of a scene. A character's reaction to a scenario is pivotal to understanding the scene itself.

For example, in this scene, Kida's initial reaction (shock) is represented by wide eyes, raised eyebrows, and a lowered mouth. This quickly changes to anger seen by a scrunched face, lowered eyebrows, and bared teeth. She then punches Mole.

The punch can be anticipated simply by studying her facial expressions, seeing the shock and anger before expecting a punch. Even the arm being pulled back before the punch itself is indicative of what is to come. The body language sets the mood, shows the audience what is going to happen, and allows the audience a look into what is happening, what is going to happen and how they should be feeling given the scenario.