Thursday 13 November 2008

Graphic Novel Upload







As was requested I thought I'd get the ball rolling which will most likely be a mass raping of art, ive uploaded three pages from my graphic novel "The Sleeping Man" (originally the dying man, but as the ending changed so hilariously has the title) My parameters are abit different as last minute i changed my layout to that of "Cest Bon kul Tur" (check that stuff out btw some of it is awesome) so each page is 20cmx26cm. Just to really piss people off, two are in succession, but the third page jumps ahead in the story as i sketched it earlier. Anyway feel free to tear away, i should probably explain more but ill just answer any (hopeful) feedback people give me instead.

8 comments:

MurrayMah said...

i just realised the third page i've done very lazily and has loads of mistakes when you look up close...so umm, hehe ignore that one?

Chiu said...

uploaded great!!!

now:

1, work on the typeface of the title - work from a real type (it looks crap at the moment)

2, Your work is strong enough not to need panel sizes that are funny sizes! And make sure the outer page border is the same for all panels and pages - this may seem trivial and even boring for you. But honestly it detracts from the work - which can stand up on its own merit! - Page 2 is a good example of consistency and visual elegance - page three, arrghh!

3, In page 2 my one question is should the character be looking to his right instead of down to his left, as in the third panel??

4, fix the third page and try to have all outer page margins consistent, as well as panel to panel margins! Unless you are using some form of dynamic device!

thanks for uploading, also we will need to discuss a consistent page ratio for ink soup anthology - can you work out the differences between observer and cestbonkultur?

Jess Watson said...

Hey, great work Murray, I'm liking the dark, heavy black of your work and I think I'll need to check out cest...err...whatever you said >.>"

In referance to the panelling, don't feel you have to restrain yourself into set very rigid boxes...Artists like Cyril Pedrosa hand draw each panel outline so they're not quite so...well...boxy. Also you should check out Peter Kuper, whos work I think I posted up earlier...Very similar in terms of use of heavy black.

I'd say that one, Chiu is right...The title needs to be worked on.Generally graphic novels have resonably large and decorative titles (this goes for comics from marvel to the Observers previous winners). An eyecatching title can do a great deal. I would generally be drawn to hand writing titles but for my last short story I forced myself to work with a font (I just found a really interesting ont) because I know my hand typography skills kinda suck.

Also the third page seems abit sparse...I'm always dubious about full page (or near full) spreads in graphic novels unless they're like really indepth/dramatic/detailed scenes...and I'm not sure the third image has enough impact to take such a place.

Anyway hope that helps!

Chiu said...

I don't think the title has to be catchy by size, it just has to be as well drawn as the rest of your work :)

MurrayMah said...

All constructive criticism noted, thanks very much to both of you for getting back to me so quickly! Agreed, the title has gotta be changed, will probably just type it? I think i understand what you mean about the boxes, as i'm back home for the weekend and have no photoshop i'm going to try and be more organic with the boxes/layout but also try and keep it consistent (margins etc.) as appreciate what you're saying, even if it is boring...haha! I've got a scanner at home so will try my best to upload any progress otherwise monday is just around the corner, and cheers jess will check out Cyril Pedrosa/Peter Kuper!

Thanks again, also impressed chiu managed to use the word shit in any of his criticism!

MurrayMah said...

Sorry i mean managed to not use the word shit*

Chiu said...

shit man! did I not manage to use the shit word! SHIT! I must be slipping!

Jess Watson said...

Sometimes he manages to be helpful without cursing...its rare, but it happens XP