Posts Tagged ‘mixed media’

Graphic Novels & developing a story.

Posted: April 9, 2011 in Uncategorized
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comic colouring

Setting a consistent colour palette and feel.

I have used in this image what I would think is a more traditional palette of colours in a graphic novel or science fiction comic. The more I read graphic novels the more I realise that each image pulls , much like sentences,  and propels the viewer (reader) forward into the story.  They are essential pieces of ‘direction’ the author is using to draw us deeper into the characters predicaments. Each frame is an edit as in film making, except graphic novels use one still frame rather than 24/25fps to tell a story.  This by definition requires a strong collection of relevant still images, to create the believable environments the character occupies. Populating the environment with the character themselves is another precise matter of timing, gesture and appropriate dialogue.

I think the graphic novel offers a real challenge and requires tremendous discipline for the author. It enables her to think far more deeply about the world she is trying to create for her characters, and in doing so, this enables her to find out more about the characters themselves and she also learns how these created environments reflect a deeper understanding of them as individuals.  You live their lives because you have to connect in a real concrete and physical way with the environments they occupy.  You must create them not in your head but in physical space and I feel that is why graphic novels excel at creating memorable rich characters. Many comic characters have reached iconic status often more so than figures directly taken from literature.  The characters seem equally to continue to find ways of interacting with each new generation of readers.

This doesn’t have to be complicated. I for example take a small environment, in this case the example image is one I drew and photographed of Wembley central underground station in London. There are a huge variety of textures in this one environment; metal, wood, plastic, paper, concrete and so on. There are also; gates, bars, steps,  rails, seats, roofs, passageways and so forth. This is all within one vicinity. I have an 8GB memory card and one spare battery fully charged. I can take thousands of full size images before needing to connect these into a computer.  The story could be set here in this small place but in your graphic novel it  can seem like a huge world to the reader.

I like reading graphic novels and I like the discipline they bring in terms of thinking about a characters physical world and ultimately sharing that in a real way with her. I think it is also a good lesson in transmedia thinking as stories seem to have a much more immersive mixed media future now as publishing changes and authors access to the tools of production and distribution continue to expand each day. Random House for example have just signed a deal with a computer games partner and are looking at a new range of graphic novels to follow soon.

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