The Week Of Critiquing Dangerously

 A typical 'small group critique.' Detail from Garden of Earthly Delights, Hieronymus Bosch, c1503

I'd like to talk to folks in small groups about their work, so...

If you are ready for it, let's do it. I'll take two groups of five-six on Tuesday, May 27 and two groups of five-six on Thursday, May 29. We'll crit each group for an hour and see what we come up with. If you are not in the current critique group, you are welcome to sit in on the critiques, hang out and draw, hit the lab, or wander the earth in search of love and adventure (a.k.a. working on your damn comics!!).

'Quiet Week' (a.k.a. 'We are unable to countenance contemplation of the end of our own lives and are under the illusion we will all live forever' week) will be time for you to bring your projects in for a landing. Shift your focus from minute scribblin' to big picture stuff... getting nice clean copies, making sure you have clear narrative structure (if your stuff is supposed to make sense), non-idiotic-looking-lettering, finished 'inks' (analog or digital), and all the other stuff we've been talking about. Your goal is to make something you can keep on your shelf for the next 80 years, so don't worry about individual panels, and think about your book as a complete object.

Our final is 1:00 Tuesday, June 10. Bring 5 copies of your work for us to read to the final critique. One copy of your work will become a part of the SOU Art 349 Reading Rainbow BiblioBeatDown Van. Yes, for the love of god, go ahead and bring in work you did earlier in the quarter, and/or include in your final project. If you are spending thousands of dollars having your work hand-transcribed by monks, all five copies do not have to be so elaborately duplicated. Finally, update your blogs. Digital archiving is also a good thing... just not as glorious as good old fashioned paper.

Bodelian Library, Oxford

Thursday Field Trip!!!!

Holy cow. It's beautiful. You live in a beautiful place. The weather is beautiful. You've all seen Gravity, right? Let's make the most out of not being stranded in an endless, cold, indifferent vacuum.
We'll meet up in 101 and then trek out to More Fun comics downtown. Bring $ to buy comics and coffee, and dandy-ish clothing and accessories appropriate to the flaneur/boulvardier!

Tuesday Dummy check in.

Michael Dunn as Doctor Loveless

Bring in a dummy of your final project, dummy.

Be ready to give us a short pitch of your idea.

BreakDownThursday

• Go to a place you've never been before and write.
• Take your writing and do a one-page breakdown or picture book dummy. Edit. Cut. Rearrange.
• Add drawings and lettering.
• Finish it and bring 5 copies to class on Thursday, May Develop your pitch13.
• Also! Bring in your final project work in progress ... Develop your pitch...

Breakdown Tuesday

Take a passage of text... a poem, a journal entry, a friend's letter, a set of instructions, a childhood story, a few sentences from Thucydides... and do three different breakdowns.

A breakdown is breaking up a text into a configuration of panels/pages. This can have a definitive effect on how the text is interpreted.

After you've done the breakdowns, add visuals and bust out a page for Tuesday, May 13.

Project 6: One Page... 4 Days... 5 Copies...

Quick turn around time for this one.
Do a 1-pager... Finish it by Tuesday. Bring in 5 copies...
While you're at it, bring in your dummy for your final comique!
And Jesse Dewyer will be here to talk coloring, yay!

Project 5: MIDTERM

Okay. Hard Deadline Time!
For Thursday, April 24, bring in a finished page of your work for critique. 
For Thursday, May 1, your first 8-page FINISHED comic is due. Make three copies, one of which will be turned in to me. Note: this is the first 8-pager that was originally due April 21. You'll continue working on your second 8-page dummy as well...

Print 'em up nice...

Project 4: A Finished 8 Page Comic and a New 8 Pager Dummy

Dummy of new project due Tuesday, April 21
Finished 8 pager due Tuesday, April 21
Side by Side due Tuesday, April 21

Special guest stars!

Ian Chachere!

Ezra Butt!

Jesse Dewyer!

Project 3: Cool It Down!

Okay, take a deep breath. You've actually done a decent amount of work!

Now, let's take some time to refine it...
Refinement might involve any combination of things...

• Tightening up the story/script
• Developing page layout
• Improving panel compositions
• Clarifying transitions
• Cleaning up lettering
• Developing Artwork
• Some folks might be ready to add more pages

Base your refinements on self-assessment and group critique.
Take self-crit notes and take notes during group crit.
Write up what you'll be tacklin' on your blog.
Do it and post side-by-side comparisons and write about the process.

On Thursday, bring in 5 new copies of your improved work for an in progress critique. Make sure you show us the olde work as well.

We'll look at final results on Tuesday.

Brody's Ghost by Mark Crilley

Project 2: A 4 Page Comic

John Choi, Six Types of Movie Shots, johnchoidesign.com

Research.

1. Read some comics.
2. Find some aspects of the comic you like. Page layout, gutters, transitions, designs, lettering, etc.
3. Incorporate them into your own work.
4. Post the sources and your own work side-by-side on your blog.
Example by Miles.

Make a 4 page comic.
Fold it.
Staple it.
Make 5 copies.

Use the following devices at least once.

1. A wordless panel.
2. A caption.
3. An establishing shot.
4. An extreme close up.

Use the following transitions...

1. Aspect to aspect.
2. Action to action.
3. Keyframe to keyframe.
4. Change of hour.
5. Longer-term change of time.

Welcome 2014 Spring Comic Folk

The great Chris Ware shows us how it's done!

Let's do it.

Project 1: Create a 1 page comic. Print 10 copies. Due Thursday, April 3.

Grading. Doing the work. Doing it on time. Doing it in QUANTITY and DRAFTS.

First half of quarter will be developing techniques and experience.
Second half of quarter will be your own project.

Analogue vs. Digital.
Your choice. Mix n' match. Whatever!

Lettering...
Digital lettering is pretty bad.
Hand lettering is bad, unless it is drawn well.