The Secret Language of Comics

Tag: triptych

SK5 Reflection

Student Posts

This was the most enjoyable assignment that I have completed in this course so far. The process of creating my triptych started with me trying to conceptualize a moment that I could capture in 3 panels. Once I narrowed it down to a single idea, I thought of how I would best express that moment in drawing. In this case, I chose to over exaggerate an exchange between friends where one friend asks “Wyd rn” to which friend 2 replies, “Nun fr” implying that he’s not busy with anything. The irony of this moment hits viewers when the 3rd panel shows the full setting of panel 2 from which we see friend 2 is about to jump out of a plane. Through this series I wanted to communicate the power of perspective and also how people down play their circumstances. The most challenging part of this process was finding this moment but an honorable mention definitely goes to trying to express what I wanted to with limited drawing skill. It makes it much more difficult to express what I want when the language of drawing is sub par to my proficiency in brainstorming. This struggle to bridge the gap between the two elements of creativity is similar to my processes with the rest of the sketches we were asked to produce.

Whisked Away – More Like Forked Away

Student Posts

I gained inspiration for this comic while I was scrolling on Fizz and kept seeing memes about the DCT. I’d imagine I’m not the only one who sometimes struggles to find a fork, and there’s nothing more humbling than eating chicken with a spoon (no hate to the kitchen staff, their hard work is much appreciated). These three panels took way more time to draw than I expected, but I’m thoroughly satisfied by the end results – especially the title. I had a clear vision of what I was going to draw, but I ran into some difficulty trying to draw the classic comic book cloud fight. I had to practice a few times on a piece of scratch paper, but I think it gets across the idea. One aspect I like about this narrative is how it tells a funny story without changing locations or angles, and only one person(me) is actually seen in frame throughout. I found this to be pretty different than most of the other assignments because it required a clear vision of what it would look like before even starting. When completing other assignments, I felt as though having a full understanding of what I was trying to accomplish wasn’t necessary at the beginning because part of the process was coming up with new ideas as I worked.

Sketch 5: Triptych

Sketches

Due: 9/24

Tag: sk5

In How to Read Nancy: The Elements of Comics in Three Easy Panels, Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden carry out an extended discussion of comics through repeated analysis of the single Nancy strip by Ernie Bushmiller from August 8, 1959 (at the top of this post). They explain that “one of the least tangible yet most significant implements in the cartoonist’s toolbox is the varied use of rhythms.[…] One repetition makes a pair. But add another and the repetitions have become a series, the basic building block of all rhythm. A set of three has the smallest number of elements that can establish a pattern (as well as violate it). Three implies more to come” (134).

For this week’s sketch assignment, create your own triptych comic. As you compose your triptych, I most want you to focus on creating a story with a very clear beginning, middle, and end. Your story can be minimalist, impressionistic, comic, dark, weird or whatever you want it to be — but make sure that each panel of the triptych moves that story forward from beginning to middle to end.

i smile more when i belong

You can draw your triptych, or create one using photographs, maybe along similar lines as the webcomic A Softer World, which ran weekly for about twelve years starting in Feb 2003. Emily and Joey published 1248 comics in that time, each consisting of three panels with photographs and words superimposed on them – often it seems to be a single image cropped into three panels, but sometimes it’s three photos taken as a series – and then the title of the comic appears when you hover your mouse over the comic (creating space for a sort of fourth panel or commentary). The comics tend to be quite dark.

I’m looking for compact and playful storytelling through both images and words. It’s an opportunity for you to play with irony, humor, and/or wit.

Add a paragraph reflecting on your triptych comic. What choices did you make in crafting your narrative? Describe the composition process a little bit. What was challenging about this assignment? How is crafting this sort of comic strip different or similar to other writing you’ve done this semester?

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