Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: Making Comics: Manga, Graphic Novels, and Beyond
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"A gold mine of essential information for every aspiring comics artist. Highly recommended." --Scott McCloud Drawing Words and Writing Pictures is a course on comic creation – for college classes or for independent study – that centers on storytelling and concludes with making a finished comic. With chapters on lettering, story structure, and panel layout, the fifteen lessons offered – each complete with homework, extra credit activities and supplementary reading suggestions – provide a solid introduction for people interested in making their own comics. Additional resources, lessons, and after-class help are available on the accompanying website, www.dw-wp.com. Drawing Words and Writing Pictures was created by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden and based on their classes at the School of Visual Arts. They are editors of the Best American Comics series and each has created a number of groundbreaking graphic novels, including Madden's 99 Ways to Tell a Story and Abel's La Perdida. An Eisner Award Nominee Additional resources, lessons, and after-class help are available on the accompanying website, www.dw-wp.com. PREFACE The tsunami of comics: coming to a town near you Comics education: the time is now Enter Drawing Words & Writing Pictures A note on the title Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION Who is this book for? Sidebar: Forming a Nomad group Organization of the book Special features Companion website for students and instructors 1. BUILDING BLOCKS—A working definition of comics, with an introduction to the most frequently used comics terms. 1.1 Know 'em when you see 'em Defining "comics" Will Eisner Scott McCloud David Kunzle What we talk about when we talk about comics Sidebar: What's in a name? 1.2 Comics terminology Frequently used terms Sidebar: Emanata Sidebar: Can't Draw? Read this Activity: Drawing time Homework: Drawing in action Extra credit: Directed jam comic 2. EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY—A look at the single-panel comic and how it works. 2.1 Word and image The juxtaposition of word and image The single-panel comic A closer look: Cartoons and beyond Activity: Gag reflex Sidebar: Putting pen to paper Homework: Gag me Extra credit: Sum of its parts 3. THE STRIP CLUB—A discussion of how multi-panel strips work to tell simple stories, plus an overview of thumbnails. 3.1 A comic a day Creating a comic strip Variations in rhythm and pacing A closer look: Three strips in action Bud Fisher's Mud and Jeff Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs Tony Millionaire's Maakies Activity: The wrong planet 3.2 Thumbnails Writing pictures Creating thumbnails Homework: Strip it down Extra Credit: How to read Nancy 4. BRIDGING THE GAP—An introduction to what goes on between comics panels—in other words, panel transitions. 4.1 Reading between the lines Transitions and closure Seven types of panel transitions Activity: Comic Jumble Homework: Closure Comics Extra credit: Five-card Nancy 5. PENCILING—An investigation of the pitfalls and strategies of penciling comics, plus a brief look at the basics of drawing the human figure. 5.1 Penciling comics Ladies and gentlemen, sharpen your pencils! Penciling pitfalls Penciling strategies Blue Pencil Colored pencil Map it Photocopying or scanning up thumbs Drawing outside the box Preparatory drawings Tracing Sidebar: Penciling toolbox Sidebar: A master cartoonist's penciling method Activity: Pencil one panel three different ways 5.2 Figuring out the figure 1: sticking to the basics Using "figurettes" Homework: Penciling Extra credit: Practice drawing figurettes Extra credit: Drawing figurettes by tracing photos 6. GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE—An examination of one-page comics and composition at the page level, plus a tutorial in laying out pages, tiers, and panels. 6.1 Elbow room The one-pager A closer look: Two masters of the Sunday page Segar: The page as story Herriman: The page as design Elements of page design The grind More approaches to page design Reading order Title design 6.2 Laying out pages, tiers, and panels Laying out a page Live area Inside the live area Original art size Page ratio Gutters Tiers Activity: Lay out your live area Homework: "A month of Sundays" thumbnails Extra credit: Comic book book report: Sunday page 7. LETTERING—A focus on lettering, both as an art form and as a technical skill, plus a lesson on using the photocopier effectively. 7.1 Hand lettering Drawing words Lettering is not handwriting What's with the antique technology? A case for upper- and lower-case lettering Lettering styles Other lettering concerns Welcome to Ames Activity: Make lettering guidelines and practice lettering Sidebar: Making word balloons Activity: A comic with no pictures 7.2 The photocopier The good, the bad, and the ugly Sidebar: Ruling a straight line: some tools that will help Homework: "A month of Sundays" penciling and lettering Extra credit: Lettering that speaks for itself 8. INKING THE DEAL—A look at inking with a nib pen, and making corrections to final artwork. 8.1 Inking with a nib pen What is inking for? What's a nib pen? Why nib pens? Selecting a nib Two basic kinds of nibs Bowl-pointed nibs The thumbnail test Nib characteristics Buying nib sets Handling a nib pen Drawing with a nib pen Troubleshooting nibs Sidebar: Inking tools Sidebar: A word on posture Activity: Ink your own drawings with a nib 8.2 Making corrections Basic corrections Major corrections: Tracing and pasting Tracing Pasting Sidebar: Making your corrections stick Homework: "A month of Sundays" inking Sidebar: More nib examples in this book Extra credit: Line for line 9. STRUCTURING STORY—An introduction to the narrative arc, the most fundamental type of story structure. 9.1 The narrative arc Uncovering story structure: Jessica's tale The narrative arc Why so traditional? Why conflict? Other narrative structures 9.2 The elements of a narrative arc The five essential ingredients 1. The protagonist 2. The spark 3. The escalation 4. The climax 5. The denouement
Learn to create your own comics with Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, a richly illustrated collection of 15 in-depth lessons that cover everything from crafting your story to lettering and laying out panels. Take a Look Inside Drawing Words and Writing Pictures
Three Panels That Move Beyond the Grid
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