Beta comic - Britta Frazier

Heavy Liquid - Britta Frazier

Analyze: Character - Secondary

The character is definitely a main focus of the story but for it to be primary the story would have to be focused on a significant change in the character's personality. For the most part S remains the same throughout the story. The events he goes through don't necessarily make him better or worse. And if he does go through any change of character it is not a central part of the story. Idea or Event would be considered primary.

Rating: PG-13/R

For language (5 F words), violence, and drug use. Drug use especially is a main theme of this comic.

Springboard: Paul Pope would have to be familiar with different languages since some of his characters speak Spanish, and French. Either he'd need to speak them himself or use something like Google translate. Also, since the story takes place mostly in a large, crowded city, good reference would be needed. I for one cannot draw buildings from imagination alone, but since Pope lives in New York City good building reference is right on hand.

The story takes place in the future, but the car/trains and stuff still look very modern day. I did some follow up research on bullet trains (since a few scenes take place in trains), just to see what they look like inside and out. I can see what kinds of designs Pope stuck with and what he modified to help his story visually.

Apply: I've been struggling with figuring out the kind of line quality/style I want to use in my own comic.. Heavy Liquid was an excellent example of how to effectively use bold, think, and messy (but controlled) lines. It's unique and has a distinct visual impact. Probably not what I want to use in my comic, but it's good to see options.

Making Comics - Heavy Liquid

In Making Comics there is a lot of discussion about the importance of the background, especially establishing shots. Here Paul Pope uses 3 panels to set the scene of the crowded bar, in a busy city. The panels all bleed off the page, and there is very little framing giving the reader the feeling of being immersed in the crowd. There is minimal use of word bubbles so that the focus is on the scene itself.

Making Comics - All Star Superman

On pg 130 of Making Comics it goes over the different types of word/picture combinations. The top 4 panels on pg. 136 of All Star Superman are a good example of picture-specific panels. If you take out the word bubbles you still understand that Superman is playing catch with Krypto. The picture tells you all you need to know, the words just add some extra interest.

Travis Walton - Penciling

Travis Walton gave 3 specific points when it comes to penciling:

1. Pre-visualization - You need to determine the details, like how will I draw this characters nose from every angle? How will the texture on this costume look? How long will this character's hair be? This is where you lay down the ground rules and figure out rock solid character designs that will look consistent in every panel.

2. Clarity - Obviously the reader needs to know what is going on in your image, so make things comprehensible

3. Continuity - Your character has to look the same in every panel, props have to stay in their given location, we have to feel like everything is grounded in a real place.

All Star Superman - Britta Frazier

1. Idea - Secondary

*Spoilers* To me one of the big ideas in the story is coping with death. In the first episode (as they're called) Superman flies too close to the sun and damages his cells beyond repair, the affect is now slowly killing him. Episode 6 is all about the death of Superman's human dad, and how Superman copes with it. It's an overarching theme but not front-stage enough to be called primary.

2. PG - For frightening images and very brief partial nudity. Any teenager would be fine with this but a younger kid may be a bit frightened by some of the aliens/monsters. Gross monsters pgs. 14, 19, 21, 22, 60-62, 99-102, 118-125, 144, 147-149. Partial nudity pg 42.

3. Springboard - One thing the artist would need to have is a knowledge of how to draw buildings and architecture. I mention this because it is one of my weaknesses. Most scenes take place in the city or inside spaceships or buildings. Also, and more importantly, the writer/artist needs an immense knowledge of the Superman universe, including character's from older series. I decided to do some research on a character that was a bit of a mystery to me but seemed to have deep root in the Superman world, Jimmy Olsen.

Apparently Jimmy Olsen was a recurring small character in the original tv series Adventures of Superman. Apparently he was prone to humorous transformations, in one episode even becoming a Giant Turtle Boy. Which may explain the existence of this photo in All Star Superman.

It would also explain Jimmy's enthusiasm for dressing up. For a while Jimmy had his own comic series called Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.

4. Apply - I learned a lot just by examining the style of this book. I struggle with making panels look to empty. I noticed that many panels in this comic have very little filling them, but they feel full because of small details and textures put on the characters and objects. Lack of a background does not have to make the panel feel empty.

Making Comics - Tout Seul

In Making Comics Scott McCloud talks about the importance of facial expressions that your character shows. On this page in Tout Seul everything you need to know about the intereaction of these two characters is shown in their facial expressions. The words here just add extra clarity. If your character's interaction is not clear in their facial expressions it will be much harder to make it convincing through words alone.

Tout Seul - Britta Frazier

1. Falling Action -*Spoilers* The climax of this story seems to be when the deformed man reads the word "Prison" in his dictionary, this finally pushes him to make changes in his life which leads to the story's falling action. He frees his fish, throws his beloved dictionary out to sea and ultimately decides to leave the lighthouse. This is the action that leads towards the resolution of getting off the lighthouse island for good.

2. PG. For language (but only if you read the translation), and the deformed man's appearance would be frightening to a younger audience. No violence, no nudity.

3. Springboard - The artist would need a good eye for drawing technical things like ships and lighthouses. I've never been very good with inorganic stuff like that so I know I'd need lots of reference. Also, even though the year is not really important the artist would need to have a good idea of his story's timeframe to make sure the technology of the boats was on par.

4. Apply - I really admired this artists ability to create bautifully interesting moment to moment shots. Large portions of the book are just panels of birds flying or waves crashing but he has them placed so that they really help the timing and flow of the entire story. It's a good reference.

Story - Britta Frazier

1. Idea

-Classic western with a role reversal, the mysterious sharpshooting stranger who wanders into town (and always seems to be played by Clint Eastwood) is a woman.

-A person that can only be seen in water (in the rain/in a lake).

I'm pretty sure the first idea was directly inspired by this picture:

I haven't actually seen the Good the Bad and the Ugly, but I love this costume so much. I drew a character wearing a more fashionable female version of this outfit and thought hey, there could be a story here.

The second idea I've had for a long time. Noticing that it's almost mandatory for chick-flicks to have a kissing scene in the rain...

...I thought "What if you were in love with someone who you could literally only see in the rain?" That got my mind wandering and creating this odd species of human that is

invisible when not in water. But I think for this story I don't want to use this rain person as a romantic interest.

2. Story

1) A mysterious woman wanders into a small old west town, not long after arriving she manages to tick off the town's small but violent gang 2) She has come in search of her father's killer, the elusive invisible man who can only be seen or harmed in water 3) She

knows that the weather changes wherever the invisible man goes, staying in one place causes severe droughts followed by severe thunderstorms, if she can wait it out a thunderstorm will arrive and she can face the invisible man 4) until the storm

arrives she has to keep the man from leaving town and try to outsmart the gang that trying to drive her out. 5) She has a showdown with the invisible man, but the few town's people she's befriended have taught her kindness and she shows him mercy, releasing him from his spell instead of carrying out her revenge. (c) Britta Frazier 2011

3. Panels

Making Comics - Solanin

On pg 70 of "Making Comics" Scott McCloud talks about the need for variety and distinction in your character designs. In Solanin the characters each have unique features that make them easily recognizable. There is dainty little Meiko, Kato the tubby guy, and Rip the tall hairy guy. They each are distinct so the reader doesn't have to stop and wonder "who is that again?" However they are also all similar enough in design that you know they all come from the same story and belong in the same world.

Solanin - Britta Frazier

1.Event: Secondary. *Spoilers* The biggest event that happens in this book is Taneda's death. It doesn't happen til half way through the book but it sets a lot of action in motion. It's the event that makes all the characters start reconsidering what's important in their lives. It's also the event that makes Meiko decide to learn the guitar and join Taneda's band. However the event is secondary to the characters themselves and their emotional journey.

2. Rating: PG-13. But specifically for older teens. Mild language. One panel of bare breasts on pg 20. Bed scene pg 58-59. The main character is living with a boy she's not married to, some people may find that inappropriate.

3. Springboard: The artist would have to be pretty familiar with the Japanese college culture, specifically with college music clubs. It plays a major part in the story and it seems to be fairly unique to the culture. Also, a in depth knowledge the technicalities of music and instruments would be needed (drawing guitars is hard!)

4. Apply: After having Jake Parker come and talk to us about comic panels I became really aware of how they were used in Solanin. The biggest thing I noticed was that the stale look of panel after panel is broken up by the placement of the word bubbles. Almost all the world bubbles overlap the panels, helping move the reader's eye and make the whole page feel more unified. It gave the comic an appealing aesthetic and I'm going to keep that in mind when drawing my own comic.

Jake Parker - Panels

Christina already covered a lot of this, but Jake Parker had lots of good info on comic panels. One thing he mentioned specifically was that the shape of the panel itself can convey information. Not every panel has to be just a square or rectangle. A tilted or unbalanced panel can create the feeling of chaos. A long vertical or horizontal panel can depict movement in that direction. Be creative with your panel shapes, use some variation.

This brought to mind a fantastic web comic called Hanna is Not a Boy's Name. The artist is very liberal with her use of panels and finds some very creative alternatives to just square and rectangles.

Making Comics - Hellboy: Conquerer Worm

On pg. 50 of Making Comics it talks about the need for variation. Although an artist may be tempted to take every panel of their comic to the extreme, making every single shot action packed creates uniformity. And uniformity is usually boring. Variation creates impact. On this particular page in Hellboy the very first panel does so much to help the rest of the page. The large-paneled wide shot contrasts so nicely to the tightly-framed action shots that follow. The relative stillness in the first panel creates the necessary anticipation to really make you feel like Hellboy is getting wailed on in the next three panels.

"Hellboy: Conquerer Worm" - Britta Frazier

1. Analyze: Event-Secondary - The event that gets things moving in this story is the arrival of a comet in the earth's atmosphere that is actually an old Nazis spacecraft. It has been altering it's course (proving it's not just space junk) and is aimed to land right on top of an old Nazi fortress. Coincidence? I think not. So Hellboy and a small team have to investigate it to see if its dangerous.

Obviously the event is what get the action moving, and the story concludes when the conflict created by the event is resolved. But I call it secondary because Hellboy's inner struggle about sacrifice and the possibility of having to kill his own team member makes it primarily a character story.

2. Rating: PG-13. This is a very mild PG-13 rating, for some frightening and disturbing images. On several pages there are rotting and disfigured corpses that kids would probably be frightened by. Near the end there is a naked woman, but she is drawn in such a stylized way that it makes the nudity very mild.

3. Springboard - Mignola would have to know about World War II history, primarily the Nazis. Along with this he'd have to have researched clothing and uniforms of the time to make his characters accurate. Also, some knowledge on Norse mythology would be useful since the Nazi space programs have mythological names.

I did a little research to see if the Nazis actually had a space program. They never did officially, but conspiracies abound saying that the German rocket engineer Werner von Braun (who later developed the Saturn V rocket for NASA that got man to the moon) was a central figure in the development of a secret Nazi space program.

"Moving Pictures" - Britta Frazier

* edit* 1. Millieu - secondary *edit*

Although the setting for this story is unique and creates a lot of the story' conflict it does not make it a Millieu story. The focus of the story is not on the specific world the characters are discovering and/or escaping, the focus is on the characters themselves. The environment is important but just for added realism to the rest of the story.

1. Milieu - primary

This story takes place during World War II in Nazi-occupied France. The setting of this story probably has equal importance with the characters themselves, because everything the characters do is in response to their current environment of war. The whole reason our main character, a minor curator in a major museum, is so devoted to protecting her museum's art is because of the danger posed by war.

2. Rating - PG

Some depictions of classic art show bare breasted women (pg. 67, Venus de Milo pg. 19). In one scene a woman has a blanket wrapped around her and the man with her has an unbuttoned shirt, implying they've been sleeping together (pgs. 83-96 There is nothing explicit or suggestive about the scene). Another scene shows a woman as she's dressing, no nudity, just undergarments (127-131).

3. Springboard

This story is historical fiction and takes place specifically in World War II Nazi-occupied France. The writer would have to know enough about history to know how citizens of France were affected by occupation: where could they go, how easy was it to travel, was food scarce, was there violence in the streets, were there bombings in their city, where could people work? For visual accuracy they'd have to know what people wore back then. And, since works of art play an important role, the location of specific pieces during WWII would need to be researched.

Something I learned: During Nazi occupation the Germans seized about half of the French meat production, 20% of the produce, and 80% of the champagne. Interesting hierarchy of importance.

Making Comic - Moving Pictures

Aspect-to-aspect shots are used several times in this book. They appear between scene changes and are used to establish a new location and often a new time frame (the past or present). Aspect-to-aspect is used instead of scene-to-scene shots to give the story better pacing. Things do not happen abruptly in this story, the pacing is slow and methodical and the aspect shots help to keep that pace. Also, when we see these aspect-to-aspect shots it is often a segue to the main character remembering a past event. The shots are a way of visually seeing what the character is remembering about a specific place and time.

Jake Wyatt - for the win!

I particularly liked Jake's comparison between storyboards, comics, and illustrations. I'd never considered them the way he did.

• Storyboards are blueprints for a film. They have to show time progression, but there is less burden on them because they will later be interpreted as moving pictures.
• Illustrations can be stand alone pieces of art, but they will be accompanied by a narrative that helps explain them. Illustrations usually do not need to show time progression.
• Comics have to stand alone. They have to show time progression without the luxury of film, and they have to tell a story without a lengthy narrative. The key is finding the balance between words and pictures. How much is too much? What is necessary for clarity? Also, a unique concern with comics is that you have to worry about real estate, how much space is each frame of the story taking up? You need to figure out how each panel fits with it's neighbor and how their size affects their importance.

Syllabus

The reason I signed up for this class is because I know NOTHING about comics. I've never even read an american comic book, just some mangas. I've noticed more and more in my animation classes that comic books and specific artists come up in conversation, and I really feel like I need a basic foundation of comic book knowledge for this industry. Also, there have been times that I've wanted to read comics (like Batman) but there seem to be so many different series that I really have no idea where to start. So one thing I want to get out of this class is a LOT of good recommendations for comics to read, and a basic knowledge of where to start. Also, I'd like to know what comic artists (and series) have been the most influential and groundbreaking. Basically, who is worth looking up.

After our class discussion I realized that there will be a lot more to this class than just comic book history. I would like to get some practical knowledge for myself out of this class, like how to be a better visual storyteller. I also really liked the idea of this class being a place where we can share story ideas and have them critiqued and made better. I think that would be incredibly beneficial.

Best Coolest - Britta Frazier

http://britta-art.blogspot.com/2011/04/best-coolest.html - I'm from Orem, Utah