Storyboard

I began my process for my Storyboard blog assignment with some research into Nancy comic strips, simple yet simultaneously nuanced narratives.  I believed this would be helpful in my understanding of how to incorporate visual tools and various transitions into a scenario I want to depict.  This first comic strip example shows an aspect-to-aspect transition, because it goes from showing one small portion of the scene, and one subject matter, to showing more of the scene, without changing any particular character or scene.  This also could be considered subject-to-subject because Sluggo and the birds come into the scene in the last frame.

This comic strip begins with a moment-to-moment transition because of the change in the silence to a discussion and emotion, and then action-to-action because the characters are walking, as well as scene-to-scene because a new backdrop.  The final transition is aspect-to-aspect because it shows the same scene from a new perspective.

For this Storyboard assignment, I had to think up my own comic.  I thought of a concept that would involve different transitions while being simple and clear to understand, so I chose feeding my dog.  I knew I had to avoid text so I figured this would be an interesting process to show visually but one that does not require captions.  I knew I would need to incorporate different subjects, actions, and scenes so I could therefore cover most of the different forms of transitioning.  I drew it as if it would be featured in a published magazine or book, with clear, simple, but vibrant imagery to bring a simple story to life.  I thought the name “Supper for Pupper” would be a fun rhyme and a clear and simple title.

I wanted to show the initial separation of the two entities, a subject-to-subject transition to begin, then the moment-to-moment emotional change in my dog wanting her food, with the action of me moving to get her her food and her moving with me, the scene-to-scene change that followed the action-to-action transition, and different aspect-to-aspect views within one scene.  I knew heading into my final product that I had to make my transitions more fluid and have it be less spelled out when it is happening, so the comic incorporates the transitions in a way that allows for the story to come through smoothly.  I knew certain details would need to be changed as well to help consolidate my story.  I wanted to include a non-sequitur transition, meaning two entirely separated displays, but I thought that showing the dog outside by the tree, as shown in the first iteration, would be too separate from the story and too easy and therefore I challenged myself to think of a way to show two unrelated happenings within the context of the comic, so for the final product I had the story begin with the dog sleeping and me in my room reading, as shown below, which ended up being a subject-to-subject transition instead.  If given more time, I would have added in the non-sequitur transition but it no longer fit with my formatting and spacing of my comic around the title, another visually appealing aspect.

I tried to show different scenes from different perspectives and I initially, in my thumbnail sketch, improvised as I went along with the events of the scene so I tidied this up for the final product, providing for a more clear story, broken into clear steps.  I also knew that I would need more bold lines, so I added sharpie to the border of the frames and around bubbles or certain forms that were more literary and would need to stand out.  I also added color to allow the different forms to come alive.  I began with a subject-to-subject transition to show me in my space and my dog in hers.  I made the door be on the opposite side of the room to represent the different space, which also represents a scene-to-scene transition to come.  I then showed the scene-to-scene transition, my dog entering into the space of my bedroom.  Next came a moment-to-moment transition of my dog becoming angry and my subject changing attitudes when realizing it is time to feed the dog.  Next comes action-to-action with the dog standing up and me holding up my finger to signal “be there in one minute”.  Then comes another action-to-action of my dog bolting out of the room and me moving across the space.   Next, is another scene-to-scene transition, the space now being the kitchen, and lastly comes an aspect-to-aspect transition showing a different portion of the room, my cat in the corner.  I utilized another animal to show just how many subjects can be outside the frame of view when creating a scene.  I chose the transitions I did because at first it was important to show the different subjects that would be discussed, then I had to display mood to set the scene, then I had to show action to perform the scene, and then I wanted to show a different perspective of the same room to show that the comic extends to space far beyond the initial frames, including real life itself.

I learned from this assignment how to apply real-life scenarios and turn them into art and clear visual representations of a certain happening.  I enjoy how one situation can be made up of so many nuances and different flows.  I learned from the transitions seen in the Nancy comics, where one simple scene or conversation can be shown in many different perspectives, choosing to focus on different subjects at different times and different views, or aspects, of the same scene.  I thought taking inspiration from the techniques shown in those comics, would help me to clearly yet fluidly bring my story to life.

The transition choices seen affect the audience’s perception of drama, timing, and emotion, because I used moment-to-moment to represent the change in emotion and I used lines and shapes to represent movement which shows the intensity of the situation and the fluid, smooth flow of the comic displays an accurate depiction of the time it would take to fulfill the feeding process.  I also made sure to incorporate symbols or details like a clock, for instance, to bring out certain themes visually and not through words.   Lastly, I realize I went over the frame limit, but I know if I had planned out my comic better, I could have maintained the same, fluid flow but in fewer steps.  Overall, I feel proud of my finished product and feel that anyone can now access a glimpse into a part of my, as well as my dog’s, daily routine.