Elaine Cunningham - Vocabulary: it's not just for writing
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Vocabulary: it's not just for writing
When my kids were small, we spent two years in California, and one of the best things about those years was Mission Renaissance, a small art school my kids attended. This was not one of those fluffy, flighty, express-yourself arts and crafts programs. They taught the basics of drawing. There was structure, a defined program. Kids started with "step drawings" of increasing complexity, then they studied and copied famous art. They learned about color theory, perspective, the play of light and shadow.
This approach made perfect sense to me. After all, no one hands a violin to a kid and tells him, "Go ahead and play, sweetie. The important thing is for you to feel good about yourself. Any sound you make will be creative and wonderful." Nuh-uh. Kids learn proper hand position, bowing technique, fingering, intonation. They learn to read music. They listen to music played well. They imitate. They acquire technique in a sequential, disciplined fashion. This system works for music, so why not art?
It certainly made an impression on my two kids. When my younger son was not quite five, I noticed him sitting in the back seat of the car, holding his forearm up and studying it intently. "See how the sun shines on the top, and how my arm gets darker in the middle? When you paint it like that, it makes your arm look round," he explained. The teachers at Mission Renaissance weren't just teaching him to draw; they were teaching him to see.
This is something I have not learned to do; at least, not as pertains to graphic novels. I didn't get the first draft of the short story adaptation finished yesterday, as planned. It's still not finished, but I'm determined to send it off tomorrow morning, which means it could be a very long night. Translating a short story into art suggestions and terse dialog, breaking it down into panels--this is taking a lot longer than I expected, mostly because I'm not in the habit of seeing stories in those terms. I just haven't read enough graphic novels to form a sufficiently extensive visual vocabulary. Without it, I'm having to think things through slowly and laboriously, like a writer trying to tell a story in a language she doesn't speak fluently, creeping along with the help of a dictionary and thesaurus. I am profoundly grateful for an experienced co-writer and a very knowledgeable editor, and with these gentlemen's involvement I'm confident the end product will be a good transcription of the story. But the process, however slow, is an interesting learning experience, as well as a reminder of how much the various forms of creative expressions have in common. Art, music, writing--the sequence is the same: first vocabulary--words or sounds or images or ideas, as well as meaning and subtext and context--and then technique, and then--maybe--creativity.
Tags: graphic novels
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Definitely look at as many different types of graphic art as you can. There are styles with separate vocabularies, almost.
I wrote a class on art appreciation for the Grey School of Wizardry, and it's all about looking at the different parts of a picture -- characters, setting, lines of motion, color, light and shadow, symbolism, etc. -- to identify why you like (or don't like) it.
While obviously of no use for your current deadline, Scott McCloud's book Understanding Comics provides a wonderful examination of the techniques of comics and how they function.
Thanks for the recommendation. My co-writer, Dale Donovan, recommended the same book. I found it helpful and very interesting. It never would have occurred to me to view the Bayeux tapestry as an early graphic novel, but the definition holds up.
WIth all the sincereity I can muster, I truly and honestly believe that there is nothing so wonderous in the universe as learning something new. The process of some previously unknown "truth" being revealed slowly and our minds grasping and accepting it...wow. In this day and age (if you are not an astronaut or deep-sea diver), learning something new is really the next wave of exploration for humanity. Or at least I optimistically hope so.
Nothing thrills me more than trying something new and learning a new skill. The story of your children's school is profoundly inspiring. All the best on your endeavor with the graphic novels. I am sure it'll be great!!
![[User Picture]](http://p-userpic.livejournal.com/51239763/441433) | | From: | ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) anela |
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| Date: | April 2nd, 2008 05:40 pm (UTC) |
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I wish that there were schools around here like the one your kids went to. It sounds like an amazing experience.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post, especially the last part. I find that the same is true in my dancing. You need to learn about the body and how it moves, then learn how to move it before even thinking about moving it to the music, never mind with a partner. It just evolves from there and, if done well, with the proper amount of time and investment, something truly beautiful is the result.
This really hit home for me. Thank you. :)
| From: | (Anonymous) |
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| Date: | April 4th, 2008 04:19 am (UTC) |
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Writing for an artist is a distinct (and rewarding) challenge. There is nothing so amazing as seeing a panel, or series of sequential panels, where the artist has so perfectly translated your words (as well as intangibles, like mood, or even theme) into art.
Of course when it doesn't click like magic, it can become a difficult process, where the artist just doesn't translate (or see) the scene as you do. Worse still, is when the artist doesn't agree, and simply changes - or even omits - details from the art.
Of course the greatest challenge is learning when not to write. Meaning, to cut it all down to the bare essentials, and only tell the artist what they specifically need to know to draw the page.
I believe it was David Lloyd (who illustrated V for Vendetta written by Alan Moore) who once said that Alan once wrote a panel that described V standing with his back to the reader, head turned slightly to the side, and he is supposed to be smiling... wryly.
Alan Moore can get away with that of course, but you're not just learning to see yourself, you're trying to teach another to see the same way you do.
Obviously you have a co-writer and resources available to you Elaine, but with regards to writing for comics, if I can ever be of help, even to ask a quick question, please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail if you need to.
~ J.L. Collins ~
www.jl-collins.com
After all, no one hands a violin to a kid and tells him, "Go ahead and play, sweetie. The important thing is for you to feel good about yourself. Any sound you make will be creative and wonderful." Nuh-uh. Kids learn proper hand position, bowing technique, fingering, intonation. They learn to read music. They listen to music played well. They imitate. They acquire technique in a sequential, disciplined fashion. This system works for music, so why not art?
THANK YOU! Someone needs to beat this into the heads of some of the faculty at my school.
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