Graphic novel progress.

I've really been enjoying working on my graphic novel, especially because this is the first time I've ever done a project like this. The most difficult thing for me was trying to find a variety of panel styles to use so that the pages don't come across as boring and takes away from the story line. I was able to find a few styles that I like and incorporated them in to the novel.I am very pleased with how things are turning out. One thng I would have done differently was started a little earlier with production. I also would have drew more during the semester so that I would have felt more comfortable with my drawings. This is definitely something I am interested in keeping up and perusing.

The Influences of Graphic Novels

Something that really stuck out to me in Seymour Chwast's adaptation of Chaucer's 'The Canterbury tales" is the drawings. The simplicity of the drawings really apealed to me.

I really like how the images are all hand drawn from the characters to the panels. Thisis really influential on my novel because I am drawing everyhting by hand. It is nice to see how Chwast utilized the page space. This is very helpful because I can see the various ways the panels are used and drawn to give me more ideas as to how I would layout my novel. Something else that's really appealing is the fact that it is all done in black and white. I am able to see how Chwast used shading to his advantage and it will help me figure out what I want to do and what items should be shaded and to what degree of shading. In the Graphic Novel V For Vendetta I was more or less drawn to the amount of detail that was included in the drawings. Although my novel will be in black and white, I like how the details in this novel will be just as good if they were to be in black and white. I was more interested in the composition of characters in the panels because I have panels that will include multiple characters and seeing how I could place them next to each other in various ways really helps with the drawing process.

I am also interested in the panel usage and the variety of panels that are being used throughout this novel. Because I have some panels that will show close ups of characters, I was really interested in the page above and how much detail was included in a close up. Seeing this paneling style will also help aid me in my novel because I won't get stuck using a repetitive paneling sequence that could take away from the story. I'm actually glad I chose to read these two novels because they have proven to be not only great reads, but very beneficial to my drawing style and paneling style.

"The Illusion of Life"

I think the metaphors "illusion" and "life" are the best possible metaphors because they sum up completely what the animators of Disney strove to create. They strove to create realistic situations through animation so that they could convey messages to a wide range of audiences. Creating characters with life life emotions and human like motions and thoughts helped create the illusion of life in a completely different would that was introduced to the real world. Taking something that started out so simple in form and evolving it to become something so influential in the human world has worked well for Disney. A lot of times people do not like to face problems or address issues in the real world but when put into an animation the problems and issues become more appealing because the characters experiencing them aren't real, but the problems are. This shows appeal and allows the audience to establish a relationship with the character creating "The illusion of life."

9 Economical ways that animation builds emotion

The animated short I viewed was Walt Disney's "Education for Death" This film is used to highlight some of the most difficult times in history. This film uses a sensitive subject such as the Holocaust and incorporates the story of a young Boy who grows up and becomes less of an individual by attending Hitler’s school for young boys to breed into a Nazi Solider. In the end, Hans and the rest of the German soldiers march off to war. They fade into indistinguishable rows with nothing on them except a swastika and a helmet perched. This concludes Hans' “education for death." 1. Rear View a. The audience is brought in to imagine what the characters are thinking. i. The narrator of this film tells the audience what is happening 2. Shadows a. Added to associate suspense or drama. i. This is apparent when the couple walks in to get their son's name approved. the room is dim. 3. Shadows over the character a. Used to convey attitude in a character. i. This is used around 2:30 where the prince comes in and saves the day. He is nothing but a silhouette which conveys mystery about the character until his reveal. 4. Overlays a. Shows a 3d effect within the background i.Did not see anything that would apply 5. Dramatic layout a. Overpowering shapes can add dramatic feelings. i. The unnaturally skinny size of Hitler and the prince and the overbearing size of Germany as the princess at 3:18 6. Pictorial shot a. A background with a strong mood can save difficult animation. i. I would say one example of the pictorial shot was when the photos of Hitler is hanging on the wall at 5:21 with the children standing beneath it addressing him. 7. Effects animation a. Effects can establish a mood either by symbolism or showing what the character sees. i. at 5:51 when the lesson is being taught. Hans' answers incorrectly and is sent to the dunce chair and watches as his class mates give a more "brutal" and "right" answer. 8. Held drawing with camera moves a. Emotion can be strengthened through camera moves to establish an emotion. i. at 7:51 the camera moves and shows the entire class being interested in what the teacher is saying. Because of the young age of the children this conveyed disbelief and sadness towards the corrupted youth. 9. Offstage sounds a. Offstage sounds can draw in an audience into the scene by just targeting their emotions. i. Throughout this short music is played in the background to better convey things such as fear and anger. Points to Remember 1. Make sure the emotional state of the character is clearly defined. a. The emotional state is clearly defined by the corruptness of Hitler instilling fear and anger 2. The thought process reveals the feeling. Sometimes it can be shown with a single, held drawing or a simple move. Other times there should be gestures, body moves, or full action. Determine which is best in each case. a. The feeling is carried throughout the entire short. but the best one is conveyed at 7:26 when Hans catches on to the lesson and is infuriated with the rabbit being weak. . 3. Be alert to use of cutting and camera in helping to accentuate the emotion. a. Quick close-ups reveal the emotion of each character. 4. Ask yourself constantly: a. What am I trying to say here? i. The influence of one man with charisma is very powerful. b. What do I really want to show? i. how absurd the ideas are, but how much impact they've had on the world as a whole. c. How do I want the audience to react? i. Sympathize with Hans because he's a child all while seeing the ridiculousness of Hitler as he is shown as a goof. 5. Use the element of time wisely: a. To establish the emotion of the character i. Again, from beginning to end the emotional state is clearly defined. b. To convey it to the viewers i. Same as a. c. To let them savor the situation i. Same as a.

14 Points, 12 more points

Fred’s 14 points of animation 1. Appeal in drawing a. Characters must be eye friendly. i. The seven dwarfs facial expressions. 2. Staging a. Having a basic outline of what needs drawn i. Story board 3. Most interesting way? a. Is the scene get inside the audience’s mind? i. Feelings for the character 4. Is it the most entertaining way? a. Does the scene grab the audience’s attention? i. A sudden action or act that gets the audience excited. 5. Are you in character? a. Get inside the mind of the character…would they do this? i. Page 214 shows an example of a dog trying to block out sound. 6. Are you advancing the character? a. Is the action you’re drawing moving the story along. i. Mickey riding in the steamboat to the next destination (next scene) 7. Is this the simplest statement of the main idea of the scene? a. Dummy down the main idea so even children can understand. i. The seven dwarfs singing about what kind of work they do. 8. Is the story point clear? a. Repeat of #7 i. Repeat of #7 9. Are the secondary actions working with the main action? a. The little things added to create a scene must work well with the character to not draw attention away from the main idea. i. Birds on Snow White. 10. Is the presentation best for the medium? a. Are you thinking about your surrounding environment (audience)? They need to be interested in your work or you won’t be making a second. i. Audiences went crazy over the presentation of Aladdin. 11. Does it have 2 dimensional clarity? a. Sometimes used in a “held” drawing, the 2d effect allows animators to coast into a final pose to show the audience the emotion of the character. i. Page 61 shows Elmer Elephants’ attitude. 12. Does it have 3 dimensional solidity? a. Drawings must have weight, depth, and balance. i. Twins could occur without following these three principles. 13. Does it have 4 dimensional drawing? a. A 3D drawing this is dragged to a 4th dimension i. The scene is so well drawn, it seems real to the audience. (Drag and follow through) 14. Are you trying to do something that shouldn’t be attempted? a. Keep the audience in mind, “why would they want to look at this?” i. Trying to show the top of Mickey’s head. The additional 12 points 1. Inner feelings and emotion a. Repeat of Fred’s #5 i. #5 2. Acting with clear and definite action a. Repeat of Fred’s #7 i. #7 3. Character and personality a. Repeat of Fred’s #5 i. #5 4. Thought process through expression changes a. Repeat of Fred’s #1 i. #1 5. Ability to analyze a. Repeat of Fred’s #7 i. #7 6. Clear staging a. Repeat of Fred’s #2 i. #2 7. Good composition a. Repeat of Fred’s #7 i. #7 8. Timing a. The timing must be correct or the audience may not understand the “punch line.” i. Having a joke too early before the main character can lead up to it. 9. Solidity in drawing a. Repeat of Fred’s #1 i. #1 10. Power in drawing a. Repeat of Fred’s #10 i. #10 11. Strength in movement a. Repeat of Fred’s #6 i. #6 12. Imagination a. Any animator needs an imagination. You be think like the character, act like the character…most importantly…be the character. i. Norm Ferguson acting out Pluto on page 93.

APPEAL

An animator that is able to fully grasp the idea of warming the heart is Fred Moore. His ideas lead to bringing forth Disney's appeal that would be used to create films that would last a lifetime. Fred Moore did not follow severe scrutiny of how people move or walk or talk. He was able to show things from facial expressions to changing the shape of a character in order for them to have accurate “human-like” movements. Fred Moore showed accurate and realistic character movements within his work , something that came natural to him in his drawings. The warming up of the heart analogy versus “dumbding down” is a way Disney was able to allow the audience to relate and sympathize with the character, even though the character is not real. Moore knew that the audience was interested in seeing the characters think and feel as humans do and in order to make this happen the audience had to establish a relationship with the character which leads to the warming o the heart. One of the 14 points of animation that was a chart constructed by Moore relates to the “dumbing down.” Point 7 of the 14 principles reads “Is this the simplest statement of the main idea of the scene?” This is not because the audience as a whole would not understand, but it was made simple so that the age range of the audience would be greater and the message would be sure to reach everyone on the same cognitive level. Although adults may understand situations and plots in a movie, the children who are also a target audience should also be able to understand and enjoy a movie.

Mood

Walt Disney said, “In most instances, the driving force behind the action is the mood, the personality, the attitude of the character--or else all three. Therefore the mind is the pilot. We think of things before the body does them.” The Disney artist meant that the mood is what creates the flow of the character. If the character is in a happy mood then his personality will be much more accepting and he will have a positive attitude. Because emotions stem from the mind we therefore think before we give action. A person is in a good mood and is happy, the mind then gives off a signal to the mouth telling it to smile, thus being the driving force or pilot behind the outwardly shown good mood of a character. On pages 100-101 of "The Illusion of Life” there is a sequence of drawings that shows Pluto’s mood which is portrayed through his actions. At the top of page 100 Pluto is standing in a crouch position while smiling. He then sits down and is smiling for the next two frames. He then realizes he sat on something that is stuck to his bottom and has a look of shock on his face. In the next fram his ears are pointed straight up showing his alarmed face. “