What could you do with a few extra panels?  Most of the comic pages you put together probably have between 6 and 9 panels.  What if you use 20 or more?  How does using more panels affect the passage of time?  Will you use more panels to show more time passing, or will you use them to show more details all happening in the same amount of time? 

How is dialogue and action affected when there is more space to work with?  Scale of the panel sizes will also be extra noticeable.  A page with 20 panels of the same size will convey a feeling of repetition, while 19 small panels and one large panel will make the largest panel extremely important.

Homework for Artists and Writers:
Write and draw a one page comic with twenty or more panels.  You’ll instantly realize that you have a lot less real estate to work with, so drastically simplifying your artwork may help!  Simple, clean lines and minimal, carefully chosen dialogue will be crucial.

Extra Credit: 
Now that you’ve practiced small panels of super simple drawings and subtle writing, put together a flip book!  Grab a stack of Post-It Notes and start at the back.  Never animated before?  Give it a shot and have fun.  Put what you know about comic making into your flip book and then flip through and see your drawings come to life.

References and Examples:
Google Image Search “Quimby the Mouse” or check your local library or book store for the Fantagraphics Collection.  Chris Ware shows us how it’s done with his stylish simplicity, but also notice how he uses the panel layouts, the shapes of the panels themselves as well as “non-panels” of text, elaborate titles and even pages shapes to complete the overall look, design and flow of each page.

There’s something special about you — we can just tell. Whether it’s the ability to make red lights turn green, or a certain knack for predicting NFL scores, it’s time to come clean and tell the world about your own mundane “super power.” Even better, tell us how you got it!

Homework for Artists & Writers:
Write and Draw a 1-2 page comic about your own “super power” and how you got it. Your super power can be realistic or completely made up, but pulling actual autobiographical elements into the fantasy will make it fun and interesting. Have fun!

Extra Credit:
Add an extra 2-4 pages showing an example where your “super power” has helped you save the day, solve a mystery or caused you extra trouble.

References and Examples:
You may recall reading a short story called The Secret Life of Walter Mitty back in an english class and discussing escapist fantasy. In comics, we’re all familiar with Snoopy’s fantasies of being a World War I flying ace and fighting against the Red Baron, and Calvin imagining himself as Spaceman Spiff, Stupdendous Man, or a “Calvinosaurus.”

Read through some of your old collections to see how Schultz and Watterson compared and contrasted what was “actually happening” with the fantasy that was going through Snoopy or Calvin’s head. The elements that tied the two together added contrast and irony and made the strips funny and so fun to read.

Sorry for the delay, kids - we’ll be updating with extra info and finishing up the site this weekend. Monday, August 20 we will launch Challenge #1!