Political Art

 

With the events in the last 24 hours I felt like this was a topic that was very important to me to share.  As a political turmoil begins to boil over I witnessed many creators desperately wanting to share opinions.  As artists we have a very loud voice which acts as a double edged sword.  As the things we speak about echo loudly so will their responses.  It is important for artist to realize that opinions can create or destroy careers.

Without going into much detail about the tragic events that have occurred there is a strong bias in the air.  There is also a call for violence that has been answered.  Many people are affected by these recent events and are looking towards public opinion in support or disapproval.  This article is about neither, but the actions of artists and the power and consequence of art.

Art is a powerful tool.  It has the power to move people and to generate opinion.  It has unlimited potential to express ideas and statements.  As artists we have a very strong emotional connection to events and people and we tend to express our selves through our art.  It is our best medium of communication.  We release all those feelings into our art.  But political art has a price.

Political art to express one's opinion about an event has a risk.  You will make friends or enemies very quickly and if you do not do your due diligence you may make a foolish mistake that could cost your a lot of fans.  I know what some of you are thinking... I draw for me and if they like it they like it and if not that's their problem.  Nothing wrong with that unless you plan to make money out of it.  Remember artists, just like their art, are remembered and many people will keep you categorized around your opinions and views.  Sadly that is the art world and many artist take up philosophy to cover that base.  

I'm not saying don't voice your opinion about something powerful through your art, I am saying once you do you become committed because the general public does not accept apologies.  Stand by your guns and take the consequences or stay neutral.  

Panel Flow

Understanding panel flow is a particular art form that you need to become very familiar with if you design comics.   This is the relation between your reader and their viewing path throughout your story.  Viewers follow particular cues that help form the path in which they read your comic.  The better you become at identifying and designing that path, the more enjoyable your comics will become.

With this in mind lets understand how a reader follows cues or clues.  We are all animals of habits.  People tend to look at each other and wonder what each of us is seeing so its normal for people to follow eyes.  That means your reader looks at the direction of where your characters are staring at.  Its a natural flow to follow the direction everyone is looking at so keep that in mind when positioning your characters.

Next is the action flow.  In real life people tend to go towards the same direction as where the crowds go. call it an instinct.   People want to know where someone or something is headed to.  This also becomes a natural focal point.  Aim towards pushing the action towards the next panel or word balloon.

Lastly, people have to read your comic book story so they will be looking for those captions and dialogue balloons.

Use a combination of these to lead your reader as gradual as possible through your comic book pages.  It will enhance your reader's comic experience while enjoying your story. 

Going Places

 

Many readers want to find an escape from their everyday world through your comic.  Its part of the fantasy.  Don't shy away from creating amazing back grounds, profound panoramic panels, and beautiful open splash pages used as the establishing point.  Make it a habit of drawing and including back grounds and establishing points throughout your story.

The open establishing shot, as the picture on the top of this blog.  It conveys a strong opening message and welcomes the reader to your adventure.  The establishing shot is usually a panel displaying the current setting or location of the story.  There should be one every time you change locations in your story.  This will help the reader understand that they have traveled elsewhere in the story.    

 Establishing shots can be full page splash page, two page spread, a panoramic scene panel, or a regular panel size; it all depends on the effect you're going for.  Take your time and think about the impact that you want that specific panel to have on your audience one they reach it.  Give it a high amount of detail.  You want the reader to be left mesmerized as they look at all there is to see.

Use references.  Look at scenes similar to what you're planning.  There is a lot to consider.  Perspective and point of view are among the first that come to mind, but think about the mood, the color scheme, even the items and architecture.  Do your due diligence when it comes to designing the space for the scene.  Be creative.