WEEK 15 _ Conclusions

Hi folks! This snow day really throws a monkey-wrench in the schedule. Since we're gonna have to compress more into our final class meeting on Wednesday I wanted to lay out some info on what to expect.

Between Now and Weds. 

• Please take a moment to complete the SPOT teaching evaluation for this class through Canvas. Your feedback is helpful in improving the course over time.
• Complete your Short Story Comic and any outstanding exercises from the Week 7/8/9 Menus in your Composition Notebook. 

Wednesday, Dec. 10 = Final Class Meeting (there will be donuts)

Here's the agenda for Wednesday (with a rough timeline of what to expect)

1.) Short Story Comic Discussion (1 hour)
PART 1 _   Written Feedback [7 minutes total]
Do this for the two classmates that follow you in numerical order around the circle.
 
Favorite Element: Spend a moment writing about the strongest aspect of this comic for you as the reader. What quality or element is the best thing? (Examples include but are not limited to; compositional awareness, inking technique, figurative stylization, characterization/personality, mood/tone, lettering, pacing, camera angles, dialog/narration, approach to environments, etc.)
 
Review the comments you received, then >
 
PART 2 _ Discussion
Reflections: (brief personal reflections by each student)
·      talk about the distance between where you started this semester and where you’re ending
·      some aspect of your final comic that you are excited to expand upon or improve upon in your next

Finish by 4:30

LEAVE SHORT STORY COMICS (and comp. book resubmissions) WITH ME. I will grade and scan them and return them to your cubby by Friday, 12/12 at 10:00am. (If your travel plans require an earlier return talk with me about the timing.)

 

2.) GROUP ZINES _ assembly

I will demonstrate assembly for one from start to finish. Then you will work in your groups to bind all your copies assembly-line style (each person takes a role and knock it out together). 

Group members get first dibs on selection from their own books. > Then we do the full exchange. (This is because some copies may be nicer than others depending on printing and assembly imperfections.) 

 

3.) WRAPPING UP.  Redistribution of attendance cards.

CUBBIE CLEANOUT should be completed no later than Sat., Dec. 13. Anything left behind will be discarded during the final studio cleanup. 

CANVAS RESUBMISSIONS _ Saturday, Dec. 13 at 11:59pm is the deadline to submit documentation of anything that you've failed to submit so far this semester or anything that you have reworked since critique. 

Once you have uploaded your files to canvas please email me a list of all of your resubmissions so that I will know to look and update your score in those units...otherwise I won't know.

Group Project: Anthology Zine Exchange

 

Group Project: Anthology Zine Exchange

Each group will be collectively responsible for designing, printing, and assembling a ZINE that contains representative work samples by each member. (4 groups of 4 members each) We will shoot for 20 copies of each zine so that everyone can exchange.

Form: Black and White, 8 pages, 8.5 x 11”, risograph printed

Content: You will select from work that you have completed this semester. Every member of your group must have 2 pages of content in your book. (Artists should be identified with their work. You may use a “persona/pen name” if you wish.)

Roles: You will share responsibility for the successful completion of your group’s ZINE but it makes sense to divide up some specific roles based on sensibility and demonstrated aptitude.

• Ext. cover design
• Int. cover design (contributions/Contents) 
• FILE PREP: scanning and documentation // layout and interior page design
• Printing and assembly

STEP 1: Monday, 11/17

1.) Work together to curate the contents of the ZINE. > Get out everything that you’ve made and identify the best work by each group member. Think about relationships and themes between the pieces. Identify work that would be better with minimal editing (through corrections or just more development). Remember that you are trying to arrive at 8 total interior pages. Everything that is going into the book should be complete and here in the studio ready to scan on Wednesday 11/19.  I’ll work with the group file prep person on Weds. to scan and go over file requirements.

2.) Define roles based on who’s good at what. > i.e. If your computer doesn’t have Photoshop and you’re not good with documentation /editing then you’re not the best selection for File Prep.

3.) Discuss Cover Design and Title. > Brainstorm this. Identify your Interior and Exterior Cover Designers (each of whom should be able to work fast and decisively) who will get busy working on the cover design right away. Cover designs are due Monday 12/1.

STEP 2: Scan work and Prep Files 

After all files are scanned (Weds., 11/19) file prep and page layout may begin.

File Prep & Individual Page Prep Demos (Note: Download all original files to your own hard drive before these steps.)

STEP 3: All Zine content is DUE Monday, 12/1.

This includes:

• Exterior Cover Design
• Interior Cover Design
• Interior Pages (cleaned up and saved individually according to file spec requirements)

STEP 4: RISO Printing will begin Weds., 12/3

After the interior layout has been assembled and proofed I will work with your designated group member to print the book.  

During the last week we will work together to fold, collate, assemble and staple zines.  

Week 12 _ Introduction for Final Project: Short Story Comic

Today I introduced the final project details and timeline. Details below.

Final Project _ Short Story Comic

Content: Use one of your autobiographical in-class exercises or composition book entries as a “point of departure”. In the end, the proportion of fiction-to-truth is at your discretion. Feel free to diverge from memory in the interest of building a better story. 

 

Form: 2-4 pages, Bristol board (11 x 14”), penciled then inked. Black, white, and gray. 

 

Timeline:  

Weds, 11.19   Full Rough Draft Thumbnails due for small group discussion 

 

Weds, 12.3  Penciled Pages due _ Cold Read group activity. 

 

Weds, 12.10 All pages inked _ Critique

GETTING STARTED

Today we conducted an extended exercise that resulted in a story-skeleton. “It can be helpful to build a story in fragments that tend to knit their own connections.” This approach suggests an alternative to the more traditional method of outlining a story, planning characters, and knowing the end before we begin. There’s something in these exercises that allows for the story to emerge. And allows for discovery (as opposed to preconception and strict illustration) on the part of the artist. 

 

A story creates its own blueprint as it unfolds. As Robert Frost put it: “No tears for the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn’t know I knew.”

You may decide to adapt this week’s exercise into a 2-4 page comic. OR, If you liked the way these exercises generated stories but want to use a different subject/memory go back and apply them to an earlier entry from your comp. book.

 

However you choose to go about this, you need to generate a full rough draft (thumbnail stage) by Weds., Nov. 19. This will serve as the first version for initial feedback from peers during a structured small-group activity.

What do you mean by Full Rough Draft Thumbnails? 

• Use a single sheet of 8.5 x 11” paper for each page of the story. 
• Draw a rough version of the page, broken into panels. 
• Use margin for notes, dialog, important contextual info, transition info, etc.  

Example >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

WEEK 12 _ Assignment: One-Page Collage Comic

Please review the Collage Comic Assignment Details PDF for instructions and timeline. 

[CANVAS > FILES > COLLAGE COMIC _ ASSIGNMENT]

Week 10 _ Page Layout (The "Hierarchical" Grid)

Assignment:  One Pager _ (Hierarchical grid layout)

Materials: 11 x 14” Bristol board, ruler, eraser, blue pencil, flair pen/brushpen/micron

1.Convert a Diary Entry* one-page comic. Any layout and any number of panels, so long as there is some variation in panel size. (*Choose from any entry that you’ve done EXCEPT the one that you are doing for the democratic one-pager.) 

2.As with our previous comic, lay out your “live area” by penciling a line 1” from the edge all the way around the page creating a 9 x 12” live area. Use ¼” gutters.

3.This is a black and white comic.

4.You may use dialog (speech and thought bubbles) and silent panels.

5.Give your comic a title. This may follow some of the simple forms we discussed Monday or it may be integrated into the page design as with the examples that we reviewed earlier. 

Your goal is to condense your story such that the entire “episode” fits into this single page.

DUE Monday Nov. 3:       - completed Democratic Grid One-pager &

                                          - completed Hierarchical Grid One-pager

We will critique both 1-page comics together on Monday. 

Week 9 _ Page Layout (The "Democratic" Grid)

Activity:  One Pager _ (Democratic grid layout)

Materials: Bristol board 11 x 14”, ruler, eraser, blue pencil, flair/micron/fudenoseke pens

You will create a one-page comic in the democratic grid format (all panels the same size). Use an X-page story OR one of your Whole Life Diary entries as the point of departure for the story. Note that the goal is to tell a complete episode in this single page. Take this into consideration in choosing your story.

1.Lay out your “live area” by drawing a line 1” all the way around the page. Then draw a simple grid of 9, 12, or 16 panels of equal size. Remember that the panels go all the way up to the edge of the “live area.” Make your gutters ¼” in width. (This will involve a little math.)

2.This is a black and white comic. 

3.You may use dialog (speech and thought bubbles).

4.Use the first panel for your hand drawn title. 

Start this in class today and continue for Homework. Approach this like our in-class exercises in terms of time and investment. (3-5 minutes per panel = 45 – 90 minutes total.)

Timeline: Monday, 10/27 = completely penciled, partially inked

WEEK 8 _ Comp. Notebook Menu

As usual you can find all of this, plus a plain-text version on CANVAS > FILES > WEEKLY MENUS.

Due date for WEEKs 7&8 (at 100%) and Last Chance Points for Weeks 5&6 (at 50%) =  Weds., October 29.