Comic
Timings
Richard McGuire, Here, 1989.
Overview(Borrowed from Ivan Brunetti)
Not unlike the marks that form letters and words, we can also think of the lines of our drawing as having a “sound”; they can be cacophonous, flow melodiously, or even evoke silence. Think of a thin, curved dotted line, a harshly jagged scrawl, or a thick droop of ink. Can you hear them in your head? Just as calligraphy can represent sound, so too can composition within a panel represent sound: a few horizontal and vertical lines can suggest the repose and stillness of a quiet room, while a jumble of diagonal lines can suggest an unruly, loud mob. Extrapolating from this, we see that a sequence of panels also has a sound, a rhythm, some might even say a “music.” This week we will begin to think of panels in relation to each other. First, let us loosen up with a little drawing exercise.
Instructions(Borrowed from Ivan Brunetti)
“You will need 12 index cards and the pen/pencil of your choice. Draw one panel per card, spending no more than 3–4 minutes per card. Do not use any words.
Draw the following scenarios: (A) The beginning of the world; (B) The end of the world; (C) A self-portrait, including your entire body; (D) Something that happened at lunchtime (or breakfast, if it’s still morning); (E) An image from a dream you had recently; (F) Something that happened in the middle of the world’ existence, i.e., between drawings A and B; (G) What happened right after that?; (H) Something that happened early this morning; (I) Something that has yet to happen; (J) Pick any of the above panels and draw something that happened immediately afterward; (K) Draw a “riff” on panel J; for example, a different perspective, another character’s viewpoint, something that happened off-panel, or a close-up on some detail or aspect of the drawing; (L) Finally, draw something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything else you have drawn in the other panels.
Spread the 12 panels out in front of you. Try to create a comic strip by choosing 4 of the panels in any order. Mix and match them however you wish. Observe how the emotional rhythm or “timing” changes when panels are rearranged. Choose a four panel sequence that “reads” best to you. Think about why that might be. What kind of narrative do you prefer? Do the panels flow seamlessly? Are there visual elements that clearly connect one panel to the next? Do you see any abrupt breaks in the narrative? What about re-ordering the strip so that it reads in the opposite direction?
Experiment with as many different narratives as you can muster. Pay attention to what happens to the story when the point of view changes or the scale shifts. Note how easy it is to completely change the intent or meaning of the strip by substituting or moving even one panel.”
Once you have a four-panel comic that you like, write a description of what kind of change is implied in the space between panls, otherwise known as the “gutter.”
Relevant Tutorials
Ivan Brunetti, Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice, Week 3: Four Panel Strips, p. 37-40.
Required Reading:
Augustine, Time and Eternity, 397.
Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics, Chapter 3: Blood in the Gutter, 1993.
Optional Reading:
Ivan Brunetti, Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice, Yale, New Haven, 2001.
Other References:
How Panel Sizes Convey Time in Comics