Something I’ve been paying extra attention to lately is how comic artists change space by using different visual clues. Obviously we can tell when a face is shown close up because it is larger, it fills more of the picture plane. But also there tends to be more inclusion of detail. Or, by the converse, that detail is lost in a medium or wide shot, which results in cute little dot eyes and much simpler shapes. I kind of like those little dot eyes, but in a close shot they can look ridiculous. I first noticed it years ago when I was reading Craig Thompson’s Blankets. His medium shots feature dot eyes, and then there was this page where he suddenly cut to a close up of the main female’s eyes in stark detail. It was gorgeous. But I mean, it was Craig Thompson.
Well, anyway, it’s fun to play with this stuff.
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I want to read Blankets so badly but it seems to be out of print. One of my professors was a big fan of it.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this one. I like the execution
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Have you ever read Scott McCloud’s books? They would, I think, help explain some of the drawing notions you’re wrestling with…
-t
Laura, I bet they would have Blankets at your library. It’s fantastic. And it takes place in Wisconsin!
Tony, I love Scott McCloud. I’ve read Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics… I think Making Comics is the most useful to me at this point and should probably purchase it (I read it from the library) and yeah, I know it addresses a lot of the visual theory and could probably save me some fumbling around!
Heh, my local library leaves a lot to be desired. I’ll certainly pursue it this summer though. If I need to i can always try E-bay
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Also, have you ever read anything by Daniel Clowes, specifically Ghost World? It has some of my favorite art from a graphic novel, especially in respect to how the characters are drawn.
good to see you challenging yourself to grow, and thanks for letting us watch the process
I really like the new site header. have a good weekend!
Thanks Jason! I meant to center it but then I kind of liked it off center, so we’ll see… actually, there is a possible design-overhaul in the making, if I feel brave enough.
You have a great weekend too!
Hm, yeah maybe try half.com too. Yes, my copy of Ghost World is well loved and even autographed by Dan Clowes… my friends and I were really into that movie for a while too. I agree, his drawing style is awesome. Have you read anything by Adrian Tomine? (Optic Nerve, shortcomings… others…) I feel his and Clowes’ drawing style have some similarities.
I like dot eyes!
I like simpler shapes.
But maybe what this means is that I like long and medium shots?
I had never heard of Blankets, but this past weekend I was staying with a friend and there it was sitting on her coffee table. I read through about 300 pgs. of it before I had to come back today. I need to get to the library so I can find out what happens! I really liked his drawing style