1. COMIC STRIPS QUIDELINES

2. Comic strips “… eye candy, or food for thought?”

3. COMIC STRIPS Storytelling Creativity Self expression Problem solving Sequencing Artistic skills Computer skills Decision making

4. DEFINITION

5. FORM & USE O It is a medium which combines text and visual information O It has the form of a collated sequence of drawings or pictures arranged in interrelated panels to display with text in balloons and captions. O It is used to express ideas, brief humor or form a narrative: It can be humorous or satirical but also may take the form of adventure story and even soap-opera continuity strip. O When used to tell a story it has the 3 main parts of a story: (Setting, Characters, Plot)

6. WHERE o Often published in daily newspapers, with horizontal strips, printed in black-and-white. Sunday newspapers offered longer sequences in special colour section. o Web comics/online comics/internet comics, are available on the Internet and reach large audiences. Web comics can make use of an infinite canvas thus not constrained by size or dimensions of a page.

7. common stip creators O Strips are written and drawn by a comics artist or cartoonist O Today due to technology more and more people express themselves via comic strips O mixed media and digital technology have become common.

8. specialists  Typically one creator produces the whole strip.  Sometimes a writer carries out the script and an artist (with or without additional assistant artists) the drawing of the art. In some cases, one artist draws key figures/the characters while another does only backgrounds (common in Japan).  In American superhero comic books, a penciller lays out the artwork in pencil; an inker finishes the artwork in ink; a colourist applies colours a letterer adds the captions and speech balloons. Even if many strips are the work of two people, one signature is displayed

9. Cartoon Strip as a Medium A comic strip is considered to be a page-based story-telling through a sequence of frames similar to a filmed sequence of shots so All strips use the basic film conventions: angle (high, straight, low, canted) zoom in/out shot-reverse shot eyeline match Direction: left-right, top-bottom (in West) Colour: black and white or coloured use of shot distance (ELS, LS, MS, MCU, CU, ECU)

10. Structures (1) Micro-structures: inter-frame relationships:  shot-reverse shot  zoom in/out  repetition, contrast  Q/A  moment-moment  action-action  subject-subject  scene-scene  aspect-aspect  non-sequitur  flash-forwards  flashback

11. Structures (2) Macro-structures : Consistent style: narrative structure e.g. beginning (setting/ characters/ actions) middle (problem, effect) possible solution/ cliffhanger OR similar to a mainstream film and television e.g. 4-act structure  setup,  complication,  development,  resolution From Marchant, S. (2006) The Computer Cartoon Kit (with CD-ROM of images). Lewes: Ilex. Digital images & instructions provided!

12. THE MAIN FEATURES TITLE PANEL/FRAME GUTTER MOTION LINES SPEECH BUBBLE A CAPTION :A BOX (USUALLY RECTANGULAR) USED FOR NARRATION TEXT IS USUALLY IN CAPITALS

13. FEATURES (1) O arranged in “panels” or boxes. O separated out by the “gutter” the empty space surrounding them. The story (in form of pictures or drawings) is

14. FEATURES (2) O The narratives are shown in caption boxes, usually coloured, to differentiate from speech.

15. O Speech bubbles, usually round or square, use a tail pointing to the character’s mouth to indicate speaking out loud. O Text, usually all in capitals I HAVE THE SOLUTION.. FEATURES (3)

16. FEATURES (4) O A scream bubble, with a jagged outline or a thicker line and usually larger O Text, bolder than normal letters (the character is screaming). WHAAAAA

17. FEATURES (5) o Broadcast bubbles, with a jagged tail like a lightning flash shape o Text, letters sometimes italicised to indicate communication through an electronic device (telephone, radio, TV) …cartoon time…

18. FEATURES (6) O A whisper bubble, with a dashed/dotted outline O Text, smaller letters and a paler (grey) writing (the speaker is talking in a softer or quieter tone). …AND THEN SHE…

19. FEATURES (7) O Thought bubbles, cloud-shaped word bubbles (the character is not talking loud) HMMMM!

20. FEATURES (8)

21. Analysing a Comic Strip Identify modal elements & their reasons for use Identify target reader and genre Identify stages in the narrative Evaluate artistry Evaluate representations e.g. stereotypes, non- stereotypes

22. Creating a comic strip 1. Planning Identify purpose, target audience and genre Create draft storyboard Decide on characters,settings, pros 2. Producing Collect/shoot/scan/upload images/photos Create writing content Use appropriate software to edit comic strip 3. Sharing Save in format for distribution (e.g. pdf) Print /share

23. TERMINOLOGY TITLE: the name of the creation PANEL/FRAME: individual images containing a segment of action often surrounded by a border CAPTION: a box (usually rectangular) for narration. Captions can give voice to a narrator, convey characters' dialogue or thoughts, or indicate place or time SOUND EFFECT/SFX or ONOMATOPOEIA: The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle) SYMBOLS/EMANATA: graphic signs used to convey information that goes beyond what could be perceived visually : e.g. sweat beads (for fear or anxiety), light bulb (for idea) GUTTER: the gap among panels to indicate narrative and temporality; the major place for meaning making. SPEECH /BUBBLE balloons: indicate dialogue (or thought MOTION LINES /movement lines /action lines /speed lines/ zip ribbons : the abstract lines that appear behind a moving object or person, parallel to its direction of movement, to make it appear as if it is moving quickly. MANGA: Japanese graphic novels, telling translated tales of romance, adventure, and politics. ENCAPSULATION: the process through which prime moments in a narrative are broken down into panels. CARICATURE: an exaggeration of personal characteristics, usually in picture form PERSONIFICATION: attributing human characteristics to animals or objects

24. RECOURCES Glykeria Gkouvatsou