Week 11

Asterios Pulp was probably one of the most interesting comics i've seen so far. The way it is able to carry the reader through the story with such strong and visually pleasing visuals is something that I find to be incredibly impressive!

There is this type of distortion that occurs quite frequently in this type. It's not only noticeable in the illustrations, but also the typography. For example, the title of the comics is handled in this manner.

Color and line is expressed quite energetically throughout this piece as well. A color palette is also established and is kept pretty consistent through the comic as well. The colors pink, purple, blue and yellow are the colors expressed here. Large shapes further this strong, graphic style as well.

Shape language can not only be seen in the characters, but also in the architecture as well. One of my favorite pages where it shows this is in the beginning where the building is burning down. The way the artists simplifies the shapes of building while still ensuring that it reads correctly is amazing.

Clarity is another thing that happens successfully in the as well. Even with a limited palette, the artist is able to still keep things looking readable. In the sequence of inside a burning building, they use only purple and yellow. Even with wild lines being introduced to the composition, we can still see clearly what's going on.

This is continued throughout the rest of the comic and I enjoyed looking through this and taking inspiration from it as well.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Arrival + Image Translation

The stylistic approach to this particular comic is one that is easily understood by anyone. It is for this reason that The Arrival can be successfully told without the use of words. More specifically, this comic uses a style that is more rendered and realistic. This approach helps the reader identify specific shapes, tones, and shadows that are all seen in real life. In addition to this, Tan uses clear depictions in the beginning of the story of items that many of us know of. These items include things such as clocks, bowls, paper cranes, etc. These items don't need an explanation for what they are. This obviously changes further into the story, but that is a tool used purposely to put us into the characters place of feeling confused and uncertain about his surroundings later on. Furthermore, Tan illustrates facial expressions and physical gestures in a very successful way. There is always a clear depiction of what type of emotion each character is feeling (sad, angry, happy, c
Read more

Week 2: Understanding Comics

Growing up, I never read comics. It was never because I disliked them, it's just that I never had the chance to ever read one until I reached middle school. Studying them now, though, I'm surprised at just how much it takes to create and comic. It isn't just pictures and words. Comics require lots of careful planning and time in order to flow properly and make sense overall to the reader. One of the most significant things that stood out to me while reading Understanding Comics was the section about gutters. I found it really interesting how easy it is to sit and watch TV or a movie and have every second filled in - there is never a gap that leaves us guessing. That's probably due to the pacing of everything. With comics, though, it's different. The pacing is completely unique to the reader and the "gutter" allows for the second of interpretation as to what could happen next. In addition to gutters, I also found the different types of closure for com
Read more

Peanuts

For this weeks reading, I decided to read some of the panels from the Peanuts collection. Though I never really grew up reading or watching anything relating to the Peanuts characters, I did find myself enjoying these comic strips quite a lot! I think one of the first things I enjoyed about this comic was that is was so simplistic. It doesn't need a whole lot for it to be entertaining or impressive. As long as it tells a decent story, I'm happy. In a series of four panels, the reader is able to get a quick understanding of what's happening, which I prefer in comics. Something that's even more impressive to me is the simplicity in art style. The characters and their environments aren't colored and aren't super rendered either - yet, it's still just as fun to read and look at. In addition to this, I really enjoyed the characters themselves. They each portray such relatable characteristics of myself, people I know, or people I wish I didn't know. The li
Read more