Emory Washburn

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Journal Posting #8

some ideas:

I was contemplating revising my adaptation project for my “Final Project”. Elements of my adaptation project didn't turn out as I had initially planned, due to revising and doubt (doubt that it was a bit too weird. It still is probably). My audience being the hardest critique, I would need to find an audience and re-build my project around that. I think the general message would be unaltered, until I build further on it I’m not sure.

I am recently involved in American sign language, and share this intrigue with my girlfriend. I wanted to introduce comics and Deafness together, but I’m afraid not being Deaf makes it hard to make something like that. I thought an Etiquette comic would be informative and inviting to their community/life style. Designed like a pamphlet, people could easily read it and feel more confident in talking to someone who’s Deaf..

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Discovery task #10

My space was a friends parent’s backyard. I was helping his dad put up a fence and a bee flew by my head. It was a funny time so I set that spot to be my comic. I liked the idea of the bee having beef with me, which is why I gave him the sword and aggressive fighting stance.

A hat-tip to a natives warding settlers type of comic. I think the comic came together well, I am pleased with the contrast of each panel and their boarders as well as the simple yet descriptive art-style.

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Journal Post #7

In the beginning this looked pretty easy. Garfield didn’t seem too difficult to recreate, but when it came to actually making the comic I was surprised. I am pretty happy with my imitation, capturing the essence of the comic without the artistic prowess perhaps. When it came to my comic I wanted keep the idea similar. Thought a dog hiding in the middle of the pool would be both a good and bad place.

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Journal Post #6

This page of The Photographer reminded me of showing more than telling. The prior panels establish the girl and her condition briefly, while the subsequent images piece together a scene of medical treatment. Each panel has a level of complexity but the subtle changes of position and expression in each image drives the story forward. The color contrast mutes how invested we can become, while the anguish in the little girls face keeps you captivated. This approach allows Guibert and Lefèvre to show precisely what sort of procedure transpired without having to write a word.

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My Evolving Process post #5

Having completed my Adaptation project I would say that my process remains true to it’s original form, except in respects to postulating artistic decisions or the way I go about visually or textually establishing a message. For example, where I started in my Adaptation project and when I finished were relatively the same field. My artistic intent hardly altered in the re-invention of Cathrine Chandler’s poem Eleven Lines. However, the methods I tested and sought out to convey my message were the refined products of postulating on my creation process. My adaption could have been entirely drawn, but the copy/paste cut-out expression of most visual elements made her feel detached and isolated; at the same time, all verbal communication was done across a torn notebook paper written in a personable cursive font to bring individualism and humanity to the narrator. 

I could come to this plane of expression by saturating myself in content which fuels creativity. Questioning their intent, and the effectiveness of their expression on others and myself. 

Adapting work thats not my own is very stressful. When I create something, tho others can miss it, I ensure every faucet is laced with depth and purpose. Knowing others will pursue and expect the same level of meticulousness of their own work introduces the fear of misrepresentation. When I read Eleven Lines I felt there was more to what she said. Discovering Cathrine’s Judaic roots came as no surprise, when you contemplate the references in her work to the Tanakh, but what was the purpose to these references? Is my extrapolation true enough to what she intended whether I was actually right in my analysis?

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Work shop task

I laid out the concept for most of my pannels (save one or two) and made a few in-depth visualizations of my ideas.

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Discovery task #9

I wanted to do something with music and thought a diagram of some note music theory would be cool. The diagram and how it works was in my head, but I didn’t know what else I needed to include. My main inisitave was to put out some cool music theory stuff.

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Discovery task #8

This was a fun interesting assignment. I’m not sure if I educated it exactly as intended, but I really liked the style so I stuck to it.

This was inspired from a little friend get-together I had earlier in the week. One of my long time companions whom moved away came back and visited our old click; bringing some distant people together again. One of my friends however went on a bender prior to our meeting and was a bit too drunk to corporate. The night ended with him gloriously asleep hunched over himself upon the camode. We discovered him for fear of his life, and were ironically relieved to find he was fine; butt naked asleep pooping. We stole a candid shot of the scene, and that photo inspired me to create this brief comic of his endeavors.

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Journal Post #4

I have been contemplating what kind of text I can adapt that is also a part of the Deft community: possibly a few pages panels conveying edict in how to talk to Deaf people, or something that advocates the Deaf communities humanity/similarities with other people. Unfortunately, there’s not many I have found that says what I’m interested in adapting but I can still find more. I was thinking about trying to make it more as a story, but that seems aligned with another project, so maybe I’ll try and become invested in another idea.

I also enjoyed the “12 word tiger” poem that was shared in our discussion post, because it brings a lot more creativity and interpretation to my adaptation. The quantity of workable material is limited, so two pages looks like a bit of a stretch in the final product of this material. As well, there was another post in the discussion about a poem called Eleven by Catherine Chandler. It wasn’t 100% in my ally, but I did like it, it definitely was interesting--and it totally can make it reach a two page length.

Based on the restriction of being only whats approved, I would choose between the last two, “Tiger” or “Eleven”. I will consider this more, and attempt to establish an idea of a process.

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Discovery Task #7

My conversation was our group literally going to someone and making a conversation happen. They seemed polite enough to oblige our conversation requests, which was a list of random question, but wasn’t amused with being a part of our work. It was funny to be there and be a part of it. I feel my comic does a pretty good job of displaying the scene which took place. I took small liberties in how to convey our dialogue, as well as the quantity of dialogue, but think this representation appropriate. 

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Discovery Task #6

I chose Deafness to be the condition I would emphasize. Some elements of this comic were hard to display, it was difficult to think of the ways to show my character was Deaf without writing a lot or trying to explain it. I tried things like question marks, frowned faces, lack of eye contact, and check marks and placed X’s. I used green to identify the main character as well, hoping he would be easier to distinguish from other colorless ones. Also, some panels have interpreters. I tried to make them grey, so the reader might connect them to the other colored character. I used some tools I planned to from other readings (coloring strategies with depth outlines and shading), I think they worked effectively in this piece. I am proud of this comic and I like the General message it conveys. 

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Journal Post 3

Final Project Ideas:

I know that this final is going to be a comic. As well, It needs to have a “real” audience and purpose. I think things like this are easier said than done; for most often times, it defines a strict box which creativity is expected to be born from. This project, I expect, should not be like this. I have a major drive toward accessibility and Deaf community at large. I have taken many ASL classes and plan after my B.A. to register as an Interpreter for the Deaf. I want to mix this passion, which has a real audience, with this art form and my studies. I was musing some sort of comic about two people, one Deaf and the other not, illustrating the more inconspicuous differences between people and how they feel/how they are treated. Imagining a comic where a Deaf person signs sounds immeasurably hard. The first obvious elephant being, they wouldn't talk or even have talk bubbles! So theres obviously holes in this plot, but I liked the idea. I just need to figure a way to blend this concept with the comic medium and project restrictions. 

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Journal Post 2

Learn/Steal:

In correspondence with a new idea of color, what I want to steal/learn is my relationship with lines. I have not taken many art classes, but the few I have were very important to me. As a child and growing up, drawing was a premium outlet to express myself and my thoughts. I was plainly bad; capable but inaccurate. I needed to have the outline of something to think I could draw it; Objects were made by their shapes. Then I found objects were defined by what they take up and what they do not. It wasn't line boarders preventing several objects from blending, it was depth and the infinite horizon of objects which defined their shapes. This is where Scott McCloud came in. Like a hybrid form of Synesthesia, McCloud presents an example of images defined pride, anxiety, madness, intimacy, anger, and so on. Synesthesia is a diagnosis of seeing sounds as colors, so saying images as emotions isn’t too far a stretch? But considering what McCloud is proposing proves an interesting concept. Later he started talking about lines in the same way (page 125)

This really started me thinking about how could lines be emotional. He seems selective in his word choice, utilizing general extrapolations applied to interpretable presentations. While he finishes off his message saying its all a back and forth of expression and interpretation. I want to try and utilize this concept he is commenting on in this section ore in my work. Thinking: if I’m in the medium, why don’t I dress my art the part? I will try to represent characters and scenarios with this line structure in mind. “by its character it may seem savage and deadly--or weak and unstable--”(Scott McCloud, p.125 Understanding Comics) The lines of this quote were very interesting, seeming to be the only ones made by hand. Then the image pans out to suggest he drew them all by that very pen in his hand. A light hearted way to say that those words and the lines are what made the image in our minds while we read the comic. Just the text or only the art and this message would mean nothing, despite how rational or severe or dynamic the lines could be. It was the unity of the words and shapes, and the lines being interpretable to the concept McCloud is invoking. I like it, I think I’ll it out for myself...

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Journal Post 1

Evolving Process:

I used to make up comics with a friend of mine in high school. We would have a running story of these kinds who would fight Spanish-speaking zombies (for the class we illustrated and brain-stormed in was our Spanish class). These absurd inventions were a fun way to play with learning through different mediums. 

Much like my past comic creator, I felt tied to using my trusted pencil. Some of the more detailed elements of my current comics must be clear so, for fear of a permanent “oops,” I outline these pieces in pencil. The desire to strike quality hot iron pressures me to get an idea completed first, roughly outlining all panels then filling this conceptual layout with details/text. As of my lasts comic I felt the need to include color. Im not sure if I will do more of this (adding color) in the future, or how. This last application was with fine-tipped coloring pencils. I think if I were to add color again, I would use something more vivid to outline the colored objects. Then, a less vivid version of the color to fill the object. for example, imagine a shirt, with a thick red outline (as if by sharpie perhaps), filled with red colored pencil. Other elements of objects in the comic follow this procedure, of being drawn by many different colored markers, then contrastively shaded. 

I like this process so far, aside from how difficult it may be to establish a quality idea in the beginning. in this regard, I may be my own worst critic. I think my process is influenced by my surroundings, peers, pressures. Much like art, this is a presentation of ones personal experiences.

For each task I spend around thirty eight minutes trying to establish a concrete idea. When I do, arranging how many panels and what goes in them are next. The duration of this varies from each comic, but one thing which resonates from my approach is looking at the comic as you progress. Not blindly drawing and moving along, but meaningfully adding things and investigating what may be missing.

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Discovery task #5

I had a difficult time coming up with a good idea for this task; I’m assuming from missing advice on the task, but probably because it was a bit difficult in the first place. I settled on wanting to do something with food but couldn’t pin down a source for my creativity. When I started to break down the flood gate holding back my ideas things seemed to come together much nicer. I added color to aspects of the comic, with reservation, but found it brought the intent of the comic together well. Colors coded different elements, while information and images garnered creative meal/snack ideas. I don’t know if the reader can tell this is a replication, the medium doesn’t seem to lend itself to that sort of interpretation. How the scene was arranged in each frame to the next was similar to how I organized my first comic. A bit disorganized to the comic realm maybe, but pretty straight-forward to me.

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Discovery post 4