Triple Threat Inc.

My collection of works for ENC3375. I'm a college student. I'm fueled by comics, coffee, and crying. Welcome. 

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Workshop Postings

These workshops were definitely beneficial to get a sense of what everyone is doing and how others are going about their planning phases. I think everyone in the class really wants to support each other, so being able to discuss and trade advice was useful to me as a creator. 

I’m looking forward to the other projects. 

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Some character sketches for my final project! I decided to try my hand at my Goofus type character - Basic Brenda. I wanted to attempt a few different emotions and shot angles, including from behind. I need to work on maintaining a constant style and focus on selecting a few defining characteristics to make this character recognizable between panels, and to differentiate her from the other icons present in the work.

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Journal Posting 8

My concept for the final project is a Guide to Starbucks. I’ve worked at Starbucks for four years now, and there are some common problems, confusions, and general nonsense that would translate well to this kind of medium. 

My vision for this project is to introduce some of the more basic aspects: explanations of sizes, the difference between X and Y drinks, and some helpful hints, and then go in to some (lighthearted) customer training. That section will, likely, take on an old school Goofus and Gallant feel, with comparisons of how to act, and how not to act. I’m thinking, name wise, “Basic Brenda/Brad” and “Savy Sandra/Sam” and am brainstorming character looks for all these characters. I have heard it all over the years, and I think there are things that customers just do not think about. 

My audience for this comic is, in my mind, customers and baristas alike. I want it to be fun enough that customers will not feel attacked, and subtly snarky enough that baristas will relate to the pain. 

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Discovery Task 10 - Travel

"I wouldn't say I'm superstitious. But I am a little stitious."

There’s a cemetery on the way to my boyfriend’s house, and I am just superstitious enough to hold my breath when I drive past a graveyard. So, when you were listing possible options for this assignment and mentioned graveyards I decided why the hell not? 

I’m actually very happy with how this turned out. I went to the cemetery and took a ton of photos. It was almost sundown, and it was peaceful, and I wanted to capture that in my comic. I used colors a lot to show my changing relationship with the place. The first two panels are very drab, the grass in the opening panel is almost yellow and the sky is gray. In contrast, the final panel has flowers on tombstones and the sunset colors are warm. I wanted to capture the kind of specific love that a graveyard can possess. The one tombstone that is featured was one of the first I came upon and there is nothing about it that is not heartbreaking. I would want a reader to process the panel, and understand exactly what is happening. I have several more photos of individual headstones, and I could definitely see myself expanding on this project. 

I decided to use aspect to aspect transitions because I want my audience to feel like they are walking through this place themselves. The scale of things actually felt fairly successful, as I was working from photo reference. Below is the reference for the fourth panel. 

My relationship with this place has changed through this project, and I will no longer hold my breath passing this cemetery. Just this one, though. 

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Journal Posting 6 - Things to Steal

I really loved Adrian Tomine’s “Translated, from the Japanese” in Best American Comics. It was stylistically beautiful and engaged with a lot of techniques I want to further in my own work.

I’m not great at drawing people - but what Tomine’s comic clarifies, particularly this page (57) is that an impactful story does not require human visuals, but rather a tone of humanity. Tomine’s decent in to a washed out palette here speaks volumes to what is being conveyed. The sky in these panels is almost completely grey, while just two pages ago (55) is was a bright and beautiful blue surrounding the airplane. Here, color is being used to unsettle the reader, and to make us aware that being on the ground in this country is less free to the narrator.

The placement of the text is interesting as well, as there are no true boxes. Unlike the preceding page (56) the text on this page is free floating, yet manages to seem extremely rigid and allows the reader to imagine boxes surrounding it. This is, again, indicative of the narrator’s feelings of being trapped. This page develops boundaries and barriers being experienced, without the narrator explicitly stating their feelings.

I want to use the coloring tactic in particular in my upcoming Discovery Task 10, to reveal a shift in feelings regarding a certain place. Tomine’s panels highlight that it is not only a shift from black & white to color that can be impactful, but the transition between different color palettes in general that can provide a feel to a comic.  

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Journal Posting 5 - “my evolving process”

My process for this “high stakes” assignment was certainly more involved than with the Discovery Tasks. However, since I’ve now actually gone through the process of planning fully and panel sketching and “story boarding” to an extent, I find that it is a very useful step. For Discovery Task 10 I will be employing it, and have already planned and sketched my final product. Throughout the Adaptation Project I really wanted to find the right arcs and devote the appropriate amount of time to each item on the pages concerning panel size and transitions. This planning made it much more relaxed when it came time to actually draw the final product, as I had a reference of what I wanted to be doing. 

A purpose-driven comic certainly had more satisfying elements of creation, as a true narrative was in place, while some of the Discovery Tasks have been more expansive and generalized. I did not necessarily feel constrained by the project, just given guidelines and allowed to fill in the mandated space. 

Adaptation was enjoyable to me, as it provided a baseline. Coming up with the visual aspects of a comic from scratch is still challenging, but adaptation allowed for certain parameters to already be in place. With my adaptation of the stand up comedy piece, there as a clarity of general setting, characters, and important visuals. For example, Brian’s claim of going to Yale led to that being incorporated. That was necessary, and provided to me. I didn’t have to weigh out which college someone would lie about going to, or decide whether the coloration of Yale over Stanford had a hidden rhetorical purpose; Brian goes to Yale because that is what is in the adaptation, and what must be adapted. 

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Adaptation Workshop Post

1. I’ve shifted which source I’m using for my Adaptation Project. Instead of pineapples, I’ll be adapting Iliza Shlesinger’s stand-up comedy routine and my general vision is to break it down the story to its basic arcs and devote one page to each. I utilized the transcription feature on YouTube to get the full text of the video, which was super convenient and a great tool for accessibility. 

2. I want to adapt most of the text, because the narrative is important for the comedy. I have the transcript broken up into color coded sections here 

Page 1 will consist of the set-up of Iliza’s rule for flying, the “meet-cute”, Brian’s revelation about his mother’s health, and the beginning of their relationship. Two important panels on this page will be my depiction of Brian and Iliza. I plan to use the techniques from Mapping to convey the base character traits provided to them both in the source  Brian: about my age, clean cut.” “and he seemed normal” “my name is Brian. I work at a hedge fund and I went to Yale." four with money I will likely have a panel devoted to a drawing of Brian, holding a Yale pennant, with these words surrounding him. Iliza’s “Nerd Alert” will feature as well. 

Iliza: My name's Iliza, I'm a standup comedian, and I struggle with being attractive, yet accessible. seven without makeup I want to include Iliza’s full text about herself, because this is her narrative. 

I will shift the number ranking into these panels, as it makes the most sense to develop the narrative without taking up a bunch of extra space. 

"We can't hang out today. My mother has been diagnosed with cancer."  - This statement will be in its own black-out panel, similar to the one I utilized in Discovery Task 6. It is a moment the entire story hinges on, and is the point of tonal shift. 

And then things got weird.  - this line will be in a text box in the bottom right corner of the last panel leading in to page to, or potentially, the top left of the first panel on Page 2. I haven’t decided yet. 

Page 2 

This page will see more mapping, as I want to incorporate that technique into Iliza’s description of where Brian is living, versus where he has led her to believe he lives. We also hear from Iliza’s mother, and I’m not sure what I’m doing with that yet. There’s a distinct look she’ll need to have, but I haven’t latched on to it yet. 

Important lines: Looking for context clues. Looking for some things of his, Yale context clues, right? Plaid, mallards, pennants, minorities chained to a window, something. And none of that was in there.  - this is so visual, it needs to be included. I’ll probably to a panel split, with a diagonal line with half the room in Yale decoration, and the other half how is was in reality, or my estimation of the reality. 

"Fine, double dog dare me not to be crazy. I'll take that bet. Fine."   This is the closing line of this page, and I want it in a text box in the last panel. That last panel will likely be Brian offering Iliza the address and phone number.  

Page 3

This is the crash-and-burn page, and the emotion Iliza is feeling is really going to need to come through. Maybe they misspelled Brian over there at Yale. "Maybe they wrote Brain. Maybe they made a mistake and he did go there. This line in particular is incredibly important to the narrative, because it shows how much Iliza wants to convince herself that this man is trustworthy and not a ridiculous monster.  Two panels on this page will mirror the intro panels of Brian and Iliza from the first page. So...

Brian: he wasn't black Irish."I can't do this anymore. "Um... "I didn't go to Yale. "And I never bought a house.” Also... My mother doesn't have cancer." I want these new details like arrows, accusing him of these things. 

Ilisa: standup comedian who has access to a national television show. Go fuck yourself, Brian [bleep]. My concept for this panel is Iliza reclaiming herself. Maybe middle fingers up. 

3. I really like the art style of Relish, as I think it succeeds in that fine mash up of simplistic human shapes but recognizable. The panel of the mother with the arrow text boxes is almost exactly what I’m picturing for the Page 1/3 Panels of Brian and Iliza, so it’s a really solid reference. I’m also including a full body reference which shows the eye style I’d like to use. I always have a hard time drawing full eyes, and I think Knisley’s style will be useful to me. Also these panels detail the difference in the way men and women are drawn in this comic. Since the difference between Brian and Iliza and important, this subtle technique will be beneficial to the tone of my adaptation. 

4. 

This is my rough sketch of Page 1. 

This is a rough sketch of how I’ll be utilizing Knisley’s art style. This is Iliza, holding the cupcake pan she used to make cupcakes for Brian. 

I definitely want to show the story, rather than draw Iliza just standing on a stage telling it because that’s the point of adaptation. To add to it. So this will be very aspect to aspect heavy, and scene to scene. There are also significant time jumps to account for, and panel length will be important to that, as seen in the 2/3 of a page long “falling in love” sequence at the end of Page 1. I want very much to adapt all of the text, but not to necessarily use every piece of the text in its original form. 

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Venom Annual #1 - “Nobody Does it Better” (2018)

written by Jeff Loveness art by Tigh Walker & Rachelle Rosenberg

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Venom is a punk.

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Discovery Task 9 - Maps and Diagrams

Since this is our last Discovery Task, I wanted to explore my love of comics. As I’ve said in class, I’ve always loved comics and thinking about it, that starts with my Dad. Growing up we had collected volumes of Calvin and Hobbes, Far Side, and Opus. My Dad would read me Calvin and Hobbes every night, along with fairy tales and Dopey Loses the Diamonds. I wanted to map how I’m influenced by what I was read still today. My current love of Archie, and my Dad’s financial support of my Double Digest habits as a kid. Everything is cyclical, and a lot of who I am today is because of my Dad. Also, I’m going to show him this comic and he will probably cry. #goals 

I decided to use a bubble map, because I like them. I think a bubble map could be used in my Adaptation project by highlighting how different aspects relate to other things and ultimately come together. For example, in this Task the first two bubble off shoots deal with my Dad, and they connect in my final panel with my discussing that aspect. It is an effective way to separate and connect things as needed. I liked interacting with all of the space on the page, with side notes and comments on what was being drawn. 

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Discovery Task 8 - Collage Comic

So, we talked about Comics Activism a little bit this week, and that’s what my piece is trying to speak out to. The confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh hits hard, and the fear and pain I’ve seen from women around me these past few weeks is enough to break a heart. My sequential aspect of this piece is the maintaining of a central figure, the girl to woman character, as she navigates these stories, these movements, and the comments from people in her life. 

I utilized a lot of interesting techniques within this. The images of the woman were drawn separately and transferred on to my final page with consideration of the arrangement of all the pieces. The piece in the final right hand corner actually has burned edges, because fire is what is needed right now. This piece is angry, no doubt, but there is hope at the end. A thank-you to Dr. Ford, a reminder to vote, and the quote in the final corner is from Emma Gonzalez, one of the Parkland High School survivors. 

If I were to do this piece again, I would probably try to arrange the articles a little better and not start gluing before I had everything settled. Ultimately, though, I’m extremely happy with this piece. I put a lot in to it, and I think that the result is what I want from my comics in general. I want to say something, something worth saying. 

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Journal Posting 4

My current plan for the adaptation project is one of the "How To" Guides. I want to draw something a little lighter and more hopeful, so the Bob Ross or the pineapple growing seem most fun. They're both focusing on the creation of something, and they could be used by someone looking for that. For comics, I think the audience cannot ignore children and both these guides could be accessible to that group. A leaflet given to them with the comic could provide instructions on how to garden. It's basically low stakes guide with room for warmth and humor.

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Discovery Task 7 This one was tricky. Figuring out how and what to adapt and attempting to develop my art style. I think I was successful overall, but I want to utilize more angles and viewpoints going forward.

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Discovery Task 6 : How To Live

I decided to do a comic about living with depression as a step-by-step guide. I’m extremely open about my depression and anxiety, because I think the stigma surrounding those conditions contributes to them. I wasn’t necessarily surprised by my ability to complete this task, but I am surprised that I was able to, I think, communicate how depression feels within certain panels, particularly seven. 

I really liked the nine-panel grid, but I’m glad that I turned the template on its side because the narrow vertical wasn’t working for me. I wouldn’t say I necessarily maximized its potential, but I certainly made it work for what I wanted to accomplish. Defined gutters have been missing from my hand-drawn comics, and I think they definitely add something to this comic. Beats in between each step, maybe? 

Panel Seven is my favorite by far. I wanted to invert the colors and use negative space to show how topsy-turvy things can get. I don’t think any images fell flat, but panel six could be stronger to show human connection as a need for progress. 

Depression is different for everyone. This comic is an accurate representation of how I live with it every day. I also touched on some key pieces of advice for people with depression, such as manageable goals and finding reasons to keep going. Living with depression is a process, a constant work in progress. That’s why step eight is really step infinity, because you have to repeat it every day and choose it, every day. I feel this comic was accurate. 

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Journal Posting #3

Finals??? Already???

NO. Just ideas, weary traveler. 

- An adaptation comic of Kate Chopin’s The Story of An Hour 

        I’ve always loved this story, and visualize it clearly every time I read it. I think there is a lot of fantastic imagery that could be developed through the narrative lens of the comic. 

- A guide to being a Starbucks barista

- A guide to ordering at Starbucks (there’s the potential for a lot of humor here) 

These are just a few ideas I have kicking around. I think that a guide could pull from a lot of the material we have seen already, as McCloud’s Understanding Comics is a teaching manual. But I enjoyed the other adaptation comic so much, that could be fulfilling too. I am hoping to keep it light, but the upcoming Discovery Task might pull me in a different direction and allow for a development of the piece I’m working on for that. I have a lot of ideas and plans going on right now. 

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Journal Posting #2

"Things I've Learned/ Things to Steal"

As a writer, I think this is the most challenging journal post. All writers steal, as T.S. Eliot famously said “Good writers borrow, great writers steal.” But the acknowledgement of that can be challenging. With comics as a medium, many things are borrowed, and the influence of art can be a little clearly viewed rather than the prose of someone who just really likes Hemingway. 

The thing I’ve admired most from the readings so far is the limited use of text, and how meaningful it can make a story. I think my go-to is to over-text something, as I am used to traditional prose. But the selection from Chris Ware’s Building Stories in The Best American Comics 2014 uses no text. The panel I’m including here encapsulates the entire tone of the story, with no words! I want to utilize those small details and careful images to convey my meaning within my own comics. In Mom’s Cancer we see this again in the multi-page spread following the revelation that only 5% of people survive. Limited text, but one of the most gut-wrenching sequences in the entire book. Letting my art speak for itself, and being confident in clear in my use of images to reveal what I want my reader to understand will be my biggest challenge, but will also have the most reward I think. 

I think I am also realizing that comics can be simplistic and still be good. Building Stories and Mom’s Cancer has a simplistic art style, but are some of the most emotional pieces we’ve read so far. Even The Photographer had a simple style when it came down to it, since I was able to copy it within much trouble. The backgrounds don’t have to be Rococo furniture and individual kitchen tiles. Simplistic backgrounds and art allow the reader to focus on the story, and what is being communicated without getting bogged down noticing background details that might not have any bearing on the narrative.