Week 6 - Assignment 1 Finalisation Workshop

This session your mission is to finish the assets which you will be using to create your Graphic Narrative Treatment (Assignment 1)

LO1: Be able to produce assets in response to a brief

The assets that you will need are:

1. A clear storyline and descriptions of your characters.
2. Market research which explains the appeal of your idea to your target audience using published examples
3. Character designs (e.g images of your character in an appropriate setting.

Week 5: Market research for your creative treatment

LO1: Be able to source examples of graphic narrative products that share the same market space as your product.

LO2: Be able to use industry examples to clearly and persuasively present the reasons that your idea will appeal to your audience.

Task1: Brain storm search terms / sources that you could use within your research.

Task 2: Use on-line research )or physical examples if relevant) to identity published 

Points to cover:

Existing Audience: 

• Examples of published Graphic narrative with similar themes.
• Explain the themes covered by your examples and who their audience is (your own ideas or even better quotes / data who the audience is. 
• WHY YOU NEED THIS: When we’re pitching in industry we use this to make the point that there is an existing audience for the product.

Target Audience: 

• Ideas about the target audience for YOUR graphic narrative. 
• When describing YOUR audience you should refer to the readership of the published examples that you used above. You could also consider any ‘cross over’ appeal that it might have.
• EXAMPLE: If you are looking at examples of science-fiction comics but your Graphic Narrative idea blends in elements of urban music then it could could cross over to appeal to an urban music audience too. Its strongest appeal will be the 'niche market' who enjoy both things (see Czarface example below)...

USP: 

• Ideas about the original twists that you have brought to your story/characters which will give your product its USP. (Unique Selling Point). 
• WHY YOU NEED THIS: This is essential to your pitch as it explains how your Graphic Narrative will stand out from what is already out there
• Example: As above your idea might blend two genres to create a new/less exploited sub-genre - e.g. Urban music - driven-sciencefiction (see the Czarfacepost below)

Rap Album Launched with Collectable Comic Book Element

This is a link to an article about a Rap collaboration who've created a Sci-fi character as a face to represent all three members. As part of the album package a collectable comic introduces the character and their back story.

Rap’s Czarface Comes to Life Through Throwback Vinyl-Comic Combo

http://www.cbr.com/czarface-first-weapon-drawn-preview-interview/

Unit 55 Graphic Narrative - Week 4

You have two weeks remaining to complete your first assignment.(A 'Creative Treatment' pitching your graphic narrative idea).

Your focus this week should be to complete at least one character design AND to produce imagery which gives a taste of the visual style that you will be aiming for.

What you should have ready by the end if this week:

• At least 1 image showing your character in a suitable location (green screen / printed background)
• At least 1 example of this imagery with any filters or style treatments applied.
• Examples of fonts or other graphic items that form part of your intended style.

Monday PM: Session Targets

LO1: Be able to finalise an original character design.

LO2: Be able to source suitable background imagery using online resources.

TECH TIP :PRINTED BACKGROUNDS:

If you are planning to print a background to photograph your character in front of (e.g because you want to use atmospheric lighting) the source file that you use should be as large as possible. You can use the google search tools to make sure you are only looking at large images. See example below. Click on an image to check the pixels dimensions to see which image is largest (e.g 2560x1600 on the bottom example) This example should scale up to A2 without becoming too blurry.

Once you have chosen an image (or images) put them in a folder on your G-drive and also email / share them to your tutor for printing. If you send them today we will try and print them for you to use tomorrow.

 

Assignment 1 workshop 2 (Character Design)

Session Objective: Be able to design an original Graphic Narrative Character using 2/3D techniques.

Task 1: Using a technique of your choice (The options that you've tried are 3D plasticine model, adapted figure, 3D Collage etc) produce a design for an original character which features in your story idea

Task 2 / Extension:  Produce a "style frame" featuring your character in an appropriate setting for your story. Pay careful attention to the final visual style using filters or other image adjustments to achieve the right look for your theme and audience.

For those of you choosing to make a 3D model, here's how to make a positionable body:

Interesting article about links between rap & comics

Comics rule everything around me: Rap & Superheroes

"Rap shares one very important thing with superheroes: it’s all about building a larger than life persona and entertaining people. What better way to do that than to take on a heroic persona? Dozens of rappers, if not more, have taken names directly from superheroes. Jean Grae, Big Pun, David Banner, and MF DOOM all took their names from comics, with Jean Grey, Frank Castle, The Incredible Hulk, and Dr. Doom, respectively, lending their names to the cause".

Read it here:
http://comicsalliance.com/50-cent-and-superheroes-rap/

Music Inspired Graphic Narrative

Welcome Nathan & Akram :) for you and anyone else who is wondering how to use your music to get ideas for a Graphic Narrative ...

1) Comic Books telling the story of a musical genre / artist bios 

Grime Comic

Hip Hop Family Tree

2 - Music Artists as super heroes and alter-egos

Eminem has a comic book version of himself..

Eminem The Punisher

So do the Wu Tang Clan

Wu Tang Clan Comic

Assignment : Getting Started

Session 3: Graphic Narrative 'Formats' & 'Conventions'

LO1: Be able to discuss examples of graphic narrative formats AND their 'conventions'

L02: Be able to use research to identify formats, theme, styles of graphic narrative that you would like to explore yourself.

   

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Task 1: Refresh your memory on the 'Graphic Narrative Formats' discussed last week by taking part in a quick group discussion about the 'conventions' of each format.

• Comic Strip
• Adult Graphic Novel
• Children’s Graphic Novel
• Children’s Book
• Fine Art

Task 2: Working on an Ipad finish off the post begun last session to make sure that you have an example for each of the formats above. Add notes about the 'conventions' of each format using the questions below to guide you

• Who is do you think is the target audience for this example? (be as specific as possible)

• What is the theme / topic - does this follow or break the conventions of this format?

• Describe the visual style of this example. Do you think it supports the story/theme? Would it appeal to the target audience - why?  Does this visual style follow or break the conventions of this format?

Extension: Begin a post identifying (and giving examples of) Graphic narrative story topics that you might like to explore yourself AND formats that appeal to you.

Unit 33 Graphic Narrative: Session 1 Character Types

Character Types:

Protagonist or Antagonist? Flat or Round?

Tia Dalma - Chosen by Joely


Tia Dalma, played by Naomie Harris, is a fictional character from the films Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It is revealed in At World's End that she is the sea goddess Calypso.

Deadpool - Chosen by Brandon


A fast-talking mercenary with a morbid sense of humor is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers and a quest for revenge.

Uncle Ruckus- Chosen by Isaiah


Uncle Ruckus (also known as Rev. Uncle Ruckus, Rev. Fr. Uncle Ruckus, and Uncle Ruckus, no relation). An angry man who claims to have had a disease that started when he was a baby turning his skin color from white to black, he disassociates himself from other African Americans as much as possible as a result of this excuse, and is outspoken in his support of what Huey calls the "white supremacist power structure." He is voiced by Gary Anthony Williams.[2]

Batman - Chosen by Titus


Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger,[4][5] and first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (1939). Originally named the "Bat-Man", the character is also referred to by such epithets as the Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight, and the World's Greatest Detective.[6]
Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and owner of Wayne Enterprises. After witnessing the murder of his parents Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne as a child, he swore vengeance against criminals, an oath tempered by a sense of justice. Bruce Wayne trains himself physically and intellectually and crafts a bat-inspired persona to fight crime

Brian Griffin - Chosen by Courtney

Brian Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated television series Family Guy. An anthropomorphic white dog voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is one of the show's main characters as a member of the Griffin family.

Tank Girl - Chosen by Izzy



Tank Girl (Rebecca Buck - later revealed to have been born as Fonzie Rebecca Buckler) drives a tank, which is also her home. She undertakes a series of missions for a nebulous organization before making a serious mistake and being declared an outlaw for her sexual inclinations and her substance abuse. The comic centres on her misadventures with her boyfriend, Booga, a mutant kangaroo. The comic's style is heavily influenced by punk visual art, and strips are frequently deeply disorganized, anarchic, absurdist, and psychedelic.

Natsu Dragneel - Chosen by Caesar

Natsu Dragneel is a wizard with the powers of a dragonslayer who is searching for his adoptive dragon father Igneel, and Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial wizard who joins the Fairy Tail guild. In the early part of the series, they form a team including: Happy, a flying cat and best friend of Natsu; Gray Fullbuster, an ice wizard; and Erza Scarlet, a knight who specializes in using various magic weapons and armors. Throughout the series, Lucy and Natsu interact with and befriend other wizards and guilds in Fiore.

Tasks for this session:

1 - Participate in group discussion about character types.

2 - Work solo or with a partner to produce a 1 page comic strip conversation about character types.

3 - Upload your final page to your college G-drive.

OBJECTIVE: By the end of the session you should feel confident to talk about some basic character types AND feel use a simple creative technique for graphic narrative.