Comics
Comics
Comics
"Comics" is used in the
singular, in the way the
words "politics" or
"economics" are, to refer
to the medium, so that
one refers to the "comics
industry" rather than the
"comic industry".
"Comic" as an adjective also
has the meaning of "funny",
or as pertaining to
comedians, which can cause
confusion and is usually
avoided in most cases
Other terms used as
synonyms for "comics"
are "sequential art", a
term coined and
“Comix” is a term first popularized by Will
Eisner, and graphic
popularized by cartoonists novel, although this
in the underground comix usage is not consistent
movement of the 1960s and is normally used to
denote book-form
and 1970s in an attempt comics.
to move the word away
from its etymological
origins.
Comix
A Typical
comic page
Layout
A is a Panel
B is a Borderless
Panel
are the Gutters
are the Tiers
Panels are used to
break up and
encapsulate sequences
of events in a
A panel, frame or box is one drawing narrative.
on a page, and contains a segment of What occurs in a panel
action. may be asynchronous,
A page may have one or many meaning that not
panels, and panels are frequently, everything that occurs
but not always, surrounded by a in a single panel
border or outline, whose shape can
be altered to indicate emotion,
necessarily occurs at
tension or flashback sequences. one time.
The size, shape and style of a
panel, as well as the placement of
figures and speech balloons inside it,
affect the timing or pacing of a
story.
Panel
The gutter is
the space
between panels
A tier is a single
row of panels
Gutter &
Tier
Title - Name of
the comic or story.
Credits – Names of
the writers and
artists of the comic.
Title and
Credit
A splash or splash page is a
large, often full-page illustration
which opens and introduces a
story."
It is rarely less than half a page,
and occasionally covers two
pages.
Often designed as a decorative
unit, its purpose is to capture
the reader's attention, and can
be used to establish time, place
and mood
Splash
Page
A spread is an image
that spans more than
one page. The two-page
spread is the most
common, but there are
spreads that span more
pages, often by making
use of a foldout (or
gatefold).
Spread
Elements of
a Comics
Caption
speech balloons.
Sound effects
In a caption, words appear in a box
separated from the rest of the
panel or page, usually to give voice
to a narrator, but sometimes used
for the characters' thoughts or
dialogue.
In some comics, where speech
balloons are not used, the caption
provide the reader with text about
what is happening in the images.
This genre is called text comics.
Caption
Sound effects or
onomatopoeia are
words that mimic
sounds. They are non-
vocal sound images,
from the subtle to
the forceful.
Sound
Effects
A speech/word/dialogue balloon
or speech/word/dialogue bubble
is a speech indicator, containing
the characters' dialogue.
The indicator from the balloon
that points at the speaker is
called a pointer or tail.
The bubbles indicate which
character is thinking.
Speech
Bubble
The speech balloon bridges the gap
between word and image—"the
word made image",
In early renderings, speech
balloons were no more than
ribbons emanating from their
speakers' mouths, but as it evolved
and became more sophisticated, it
became a more expressive device.
Its shape came to convey meaning
as well.
Speech
Bubble
Types of Speech
Bubbles/Balloons
Thought Balloon
Spike Balloon
Dripping Balloon
Scream Bubbles
Broadcast bubble
Icicle Bubble
Whisper Bubble
Monster Bubble
Colored Bubble
A thought balloon
contains copy expressing a
character's unvoiced
thoughts, usually shaped
like a cloud, with bubbles
as a pointer.
Thought
Balloon
spiked balloons can
indicate shouting.
Spike
Balloon
Dripping Balloon
indicates sarcasm.
Dripping
Balloon
It indicate that a
character is screaming
or shouting, usually
with a jagged outline
or a thicker line which
can be colored.
Their lettering is
usually larger or bolder
than normal.
Scream
bubble
It may have a jagged tail like
the conventional drawing of a
lightning flash and either a
squared-off or jagged outline.
Letters are sometimes italicized
without also being bold.
Broadcast bubbles indicate that
the speaker is communicating
through an electronic device,
such as a radio or television, or
is robotic.
Broadcast
Bubble
Icicle bubbles have
jagged "icicles" on the
lower edge,
representing "cold"
hostility.
Icicle
Bubble
Whisper bubbles are
usually drawn with a
dashed (dotted)
outline, smaller font
or gray lettering to
indicate the tone is
softer, as most speech
is printed in black.
Whisper
Bubble
Monster bubbles
have blood or slime
dripping from them.
Monster
Bubble
Colored bubbles
convey the emotion
that goes with the
speech, such as red
for anger or green
for envy. This style
is seldom used in
modern comics.
Colored
Bubbles
Closure Encapsulation
CFor the artist, encapsulation
involves choosing what will be
The reader performs closure presented in which panels, how
by using background knowledge many panels will be used to
and an understanding of panel present the action, and the size
and layout of the panels.
relations to combine panels
mentally into events
Concepts
interact with each other to the
reader.
This interaction can lend more
meaning to the panels than
what they have individually.
Encapsulation is distinctive to
comics, and an essential
consideration in the creation of
a work of comics.
Comics
Division of Labor
1. The Cartoonist
2. The Artist
3. The Writer
4. The Letterer
• A cartoonist may
refer to a person
who does most or all
of the art duties,
and frequently, but
not always, implies
that the artist is
also the writer
Cartoonist
• The artist is the person
who handles the visuals.
• This job may be broken
down further into:
a. Penciller
b. Inker
c. Colourist
Artist
• The penciller or penciler
lays down the basic
artwork for a page,
deciding on panel placement
and the placement of
figures and settings in the
panels, the backgrounds,
and the characters' facial
expressions and poses
Penciller
• An inker or finisher "finishes", and
sometimes enhances, the pencilled
artwork using ink (traditionally
India ink) and a pen or brush to
create a high-contrast image for
photographing and printing.
• The extent of the inker's job varies
depending on how tight the
penciller's work is, but nonetheless
requires the skill of an artist, and
is more or less active depending on
the completeness of the pencils
provided
Inker/Finisher
• The colourist or colorist
adds colours to the
finished artwork, which
can have an effect on
mood and meaning.
Colourists have to work
with a variety of media,
such as rubylith (in the
past), paints, and
computers
Colourist
• Sometimes also called scripter or
plotter, the writer (or writers)
script the work, which may
plot, dialogue and action in a
way that the artist (or artists)
can interpret the story into
visuals for the reader. Writers
can communicate their stories in
varying amounts of detail to the
artist(s) and in a number of
ways, including verbally, by
script, or by thumbnail layout
Writer
• Normally separate from the writer, the
letterer is the person who fills (and
possibly places) speech balloons and
captions with the dialogue and other words
meant to be read.
• Letterers may also provide the lettering
for sound, although this is often done by
the artist even when a letterer is present.
• In the West, comics have traditionally been
hand-lettered, although computer
typesetting has become increasingly
common. The manner in which the letterer
letters the text has an impact on how the
message is interpreted by the reader, and
the letterer can suggest the paralanguage
of dialogue by varying the weight, size and
Letterer
shape of the lettering.
• Comic books are an endless source
of escape and fun for millions of
avid readers around the globe.
Take the
• The vast array of characters,
superpowers, amazing locations and
wonderful stories within them
quiz
allow readers to forget about the
world, and their troubles within
it, indulge in a fantasy beyond the
realms of their wildest dreams and
imagine what it might be like to
be a superhero.
Good Luck!