Background Knowledge and Content
Content Objective 1: Learning to Draw
Starting at the very beginning: drawing from reality. Whether students have practiced drawing for years or if they are just starting out, these techniques can be universally applied. Each section can be helpful on its own but the following information is also organized in an intentional progression of skill building.
Draw What You See:
As simple as it sounds, drawing exactly what you see is the first challenge- this is also known as observational drawing. The first step to observational drawing, or any drawing, is figuring out how to hold the pencil properly. A suggestion is to “Ease up on the pencil a little. It’s hard to erase lines you made when you were pressing down with all your might.” (1) So, in observational drawing one must always draw lightly, as mistakes will happen. Another important tip is for more precise drawing- drawing a line where you see it in your mind’s eye. When drawing (not shading value (highlights or shadows), just capturing the basic outline and details of something in pencil) students should hold the pencil near the tip. This helps students get better control over the line placement. However, when it comes to shading different values, students can hold the pencil farther back and at a lower angle to the page. The benefit of this is that it allows students to make long, smooth lines in repetition. (2) Using the long edge of a pencil allows for smoother, wider pencil marks that are easier to blend together.
The focus of observational drawing is to break down objects into simple shapes instead of trying to see a subject in its entirety. As students begin to draw, the first step is to “Measure with your eyes.” (3). You need to look at shapes, measure distances, and pay attention to blank spaces when planning out where to draw something on a page. These blank spaces are as important as everything else- they must be taken into consideration when drawing (4). The goal is to distance oneself from assumptions of what an object should be, and instead focus on what it looks like in that moment from the angle you are seeing it. The easiest way to do this is to consider objects in terms of shapes. For example, plates tend to be circular, but when observing from a harsh angle one might look more like an oval. Or perhaps a house is a series of triangles and rectangles at a variety of different angles and sizes. Once we understand how to break down images then it becomes easier to self critique. Now, instead of simply drawing a house “wrong,” we now have the tools to understand why one part of the roof might not look right and make adjustments accordingly. Self critique is an essential part of observational drawing and should be practiced alongside the study of shapes. Seeing what’s wrong with your drawing is 90 percent of the battle (5). Once students have practiced breaking down what they’ve drawn into its most basic components (lines, angles, shapes) they must study their subject again to consider what areas they might need to edit.
Begin with a Loose Sketch:
For the next objective in drawing basics, the focus should be all about speed. As one might be able to master drawing through studying its most basic shapes as learned above, this process is time intensive without practicing the skill of a quick study in parallel. Drawing is a practice in iteration, and the focus is on getting a correct general shape without worrying about perfection (with the goal of eventually getting there). Now, this might sound like the opposite advice of the first lesson. However, both skills should be practiced in order to build a skillset that is accurate to reality (Draw What You See) and can be done in a reasonable time constraint (Begin With a Loose Sketch.) The focus here is about embracing imperfection. It is helpful to practice figure drawing with speed in mind as it is easier to capture dynamic, living things with loose sketches as opposed to the static geometry behind “drawing what you see”. For this reason, when beginning with a loose sketch, messy looking drawings are the whole idea. You allow yourself to be a little messy at first while you gradually gain a sense of where everything should be. (6) In order to have proper proportions, work just a bit on all the parts of the drawing at once so that every section crosses the finish line around the same time (7). Once the basic shapes are sketched out, then comes adding value. You can’t draw value (highlights and shadows) properly until you’ve located the light source. Even before your pencil touches the paper, you should figure out what direction the light is coming from. Once you’ve done that, then you know all the shadows will be in the areas where light can’t reach. (8) Lighting can be tricky, so make sure that you continue to work a little bit across different areas at a time.
Use Negative Space:
After mastering the technically challenging skill of observational drawing and the time- and movement- conscious skill of creating a loose sketch, another technique to practice: using negative space to inform your drawing’s proportions. Negative space is the space around and behind an object (9). This skill will help reinforce the breaking down of objects into shapes that was introduced in lesson one while also practicing figure drawing skills learned in lesson two. This was touched on in lesson one, but taking the time to isolate this skill will help it become a more accessible tool as skills continue to develop. Using negative space as a measuring tool is beneficial as once you’ve trained yourself to see negative space, you have twice as many clues about where your lines belong on the page. You should look for it every time you sit down to draw (10). For example, when observing a person resting their hand on their hip, one can look at the size and shape of the arm, the angle of the arm, and the triangle shape that makes up the negative space inside the bicep/forearm/torso area. The more information you have about the object in question, the more accurate it can be measured and depicted.
Simplifying Things
Simplifying things is all about decentering subject matter that is not the main focus of a composition. This is where backgrounds come into play. Backgrounds add information about a subject matter that make the overall composition more realistic. Not to be confused with breaking down a subject into smaller shapes and pieces as mentioned in lessons 1 and 3, Simplifying Things is about deconstructing images that aren’t the main focus. For example: trees in the background of an image, city life, or a crowd of people. In order to create simplified drawings, one must consider the most important visual information that an object has that communicates what it is. A tree for example- a general trunk shape, an organic or lumpy outline of the leaves in the tree, and perhaps some dark shadows that give information about the dimension of the subject. (11) There is no need to spend hours focusing on capturing each leaf’s shadow and branch’s angle- this takes time and energy away from the focus of what you are drawing.
Content Objective 2: Developing an Illustrative Style
After students develop a basic sense of how to draw, it is time for them to come up with their own character design. Throughout this drawing process, it is important to provide students with ample reference photos that have a diverse array of poses, clothing styles, hairstyles, and facial features. Consider finding animals, landscape elements, homes, transportation types, foods, etc. for students to draw from as well. The audience is always important to consider when developing style as well. As this is a unit developed for middle schoolers by middle schoolers, this will hopefully come out naturally. What might a diverse middle school population find appealing or relatable? An altruistic main character might be more aspirational than relatable, but a main character that is going through internal conflict might remind students of their own challenges. Now, how to translate this into a style? Either way that a student decides to take their audience, they can make choices to exaggerate certain physical features that emphasize unseen characteristics in their characters. Perhaps the altruistic character is well manicured in pastels and the morally conflicted character is dressed like “it’s not a phase” in ripped jeans, heavy eyeliner, and a choker necklace. Or perhaps students want to experiment with their own style and want to adopt elements from famous artists and illustrators like Andy Warhol, Chris Ware, Manga artists like Akira Toriyama, or even Cara Walker style silhouettes. It is important to emphasize that developing a style is a constant iterative process and a lifelong endeavor. We will touch on how artists use style to evoke an overall tone or mood in their comics later, however starting with trying a few historical styles on “for size” might help direct students to a style that feels right to them or their story. And don’t worry about ‘copying’ a style too much- all art is derivative, and the final output will be unique!
Content Objective 3: Storytelling
The next component of creating graphic narrative is to identify the story that will be depicted. As this unit is designed for art teachers, the storytelling element should be brief. In many cases, published graphic narratives have both a writer and an illustrator. As this unit is about Overcoming Challenges, students will wear both hats. The first place to start with is a theme- students will decide on a story involving overcoming a challenge. In order to begin considering ideas for what might make a good narrative arc, the following is a list of the most important areas that middle school students need to succeed in to thrive: make good friend choices, Negotiate conflict, Manage student–teacher mismatch, Create homework and organization systems, Consider others’ perspectives, Self-advocate, Self-regulate emotions, Cultivate passions and recognize limitations, Make responsible, healthy, and ethical choices, and Create and innovate (12). These success indicators are a great place to begin brainstorming student narrative ideas.
Elements of a Story
The main elements of a story are the theme, characters, plot, setting, point of view, conflict, and style. (13)
Theme and Characters
The theme is predetermined (overcoming a challenge). Next are the characters of a story. The main character, or protagonist, should be the student. Other characters may include the antagonist, sometimes known as the “villian.” Questions one might ask while developing a story include: what is the motivation of each character? How do characters grow throughout the story? How does this growth interact with the theme “Overcoming Challenges?” (14) As the focus in this unit is about translating a written story to a visual format, there should be no more than 3 characters in the story. If this is a 6th grade lesson, consider limiting them to 2 characters. This is also a great opportunity for students to consider the physical and personality traits of their characters. This is something that should be revisited when addressing the use of line in graphic narratives- students can emphasize personality traits with intentional drawing choices. (15) More to come on that in Content Objective 3.
Plot
The next element is the plot- this includes the “exposition (introduction of setting and characters), rising action (events that build conflict for the protagonist), climax (tension of conflict reaches highest, most intense point), falling action (the events following the climax), and denouement (the resolution of conflict).” (16). When planning this out, it is imperative to keep the written story short. Students can explore how to add different story elements visually later, so the series of events in this story would ideally take place in less than 15 sentences.
Setting
The setting follows. This is the time and place in which a story happens (17)- a great opportunity for artistic license! A setting can be fictional or nonfictional, as long as the plot reflects the theme. Students might want to create a story in the same setting they experienced their challenge in, or perhaps take a more creative approach and have their story take place in a fantastical land, in the future, the possibilities are endless! As stated previously, the details of the setting can be enhanced visually later on so the written portion can be short.
Point of View
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of creating a story is the point of view. This is an area that you might want to limit for students depending on their prior knowledge. Point of view the perspective from which a story is told. There are a few options: first person narrator, third person limited narrator, and third person omniscient narrator. First person narrator is when the author tells the story from the perspective of one or multiple characters- think “I” or “we.” This puts the reader into the shoes of the writer. Third person limited narrator tells the story from the perspective of one of the characters, usually the protagonist. They cannot experience the thoughts of other characters and use pronouns like “she,” “he,” or “they.” Third person omniscient narrators tell the story from an outside perspective and know all of the information of the story- the thoughts, actions, and speech of each character. (18) For this unit it makes the most sense to stick with the third person limited narrator as the challenge students overcome (the theme of the story) should come from a personal experience.
Content Objective 4: Creating a Graphic Narrative
What IS a Graphic Narrative?
Here we begin to put illustration and storytelling together. It is important to note that there are endless combinations of these two art styles and the beauty behind this unit lies within the diversity. In fact, a common working definition of graphic narratives is that it is simply sequential art- art that is arranged with the purpose of one artwork following another. (19) Graphic narratives are composed of a series of panels, or the individual scenes that make up a whole story. Taken individually, these panels are merely pictures. However, when you place them into a sequence, they take on this novel quality. This “sequential art” term is broad, and others have argued that a more specific definition fits “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.” (20). For the purposes of this unit, sequential art remains the most digestible and referential definition. Graphic narratives are sometimes called graphic novels or comics as well. These terms will be used interchangeably throughout.
A Brief History
The history of graphic narratives as it fits within our definition spans across 1,000 years- examples include pre-Columbian picture manuscripts and the Bayeux tapestry detailing the Norman conquest of England. (21) The most impactful change in the history of comics (and one can argue the entire written word) is the invention of printing. This led to a renaissance of sophistication from the likes of William Hogarth, an artist and storyteller who used sequential art for social commentary, and Rodolphe Topffer, who can be considered the father of modern comics. Topffer was the first to combine cartoons, panels with borders, and an interdependent combination of words and pictures. (22) Cartoons have evolved in countless ways since then- from superhero comics, to manga (Japanese comics), webcomics, zines, science fiction, slice of life- you name it!
Creating the composition of a Panel
The first step in turning a written story into a graphic narrative is to understand composition. Composition describes the way that the pieces of an artwork are arranged to make a whole. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to compose an artwork (which, in case we forget, a graphic narrative is composed of a sequential arrangement of artworks). However there are useful guidelines that allow artists to make purposeful decisions in their arrangement. The principles of design are a great starting point. The principles of design are how (the elements of art) are combined to create a visual impression or impact. They are:
Balance: the distribution of objects, colors, texture, and space. There are three types of balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial.
Emphasis: the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. Emphasis is created by contrasting an element with other elements. The area could be different in size, color, texture, shape, etc.
Movement: the path the viewer’s eye takes through the work of art or design. Movement can guide the viewer to focal areas or create the look or feeling of action.
Pattern/Repetition: the repeating of an element all over the work of art. Repetition works with pattern to make the work of art seem active.
Rhythm: occurs when one or more elements of a design are used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement, or a visual tempo.
Proportion: the relative size and scale of the various elements within a design.
Variety: the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer’s attention and to guide the viewer’s eye through and around the image.
Unity: the feeling of harmony between all parts of the design which creates a sense of completeness. (23)
These principles of design can be applied to interior panel design, but can also be tools to arrange the panels on a page strategically. For example- if an illustrator wants to focus the viewer’s attention on a particularly important moment they might draw a large panel, demonstrating emphasis. Or perhaps a series of equally important moments are drawn on equally sized panels, creating balance. Maybe to create a sense of movement within a panel, the illustrator draws movement lines behind an object in the direction it is going. These are broad terms that can be applied to almost all art, and in the subsequent pages we will dive into more specifics on how they apply to graphic novels.
Closure
Now that we have the context for graphic narratives and a basic understanding of deciding how subject matter might be arranged, let’s get more specific. We have briefly covered panels, however the drawings and words within these panels cannot possibly capture all of the information in a story. This is where the idea of closure comes in. Closure is the idea of observing parts of something and perceiving the whole. In graphic narratives, we have to use context clues to get the whole picture of what is happening in a story (24)- to have a graphic novel that has panels showing every second and every angle of a story would be impossible, if not endlessly time consuming. For this reason the author/ illustrator needs to choose what to draw strategically, so that the reader can fill in certain gaps between what is happening in panels themselves. For example, we might have two panels- one with a person raising a fist to someone and yelling “I’m going to get you!” and the following panel only shows the words “SMACK!” in bold, jagged lettering. This doesn’t explicitly say what happened, but we can infer that someone was hit. That inference is closure. It is a powerful concept because it draws in the reader. It requires their imagination and therefore forces a relationship between the story and the viewer. There are a few categories of closure that are useful to address:
Action to Action: this is a transition featuring a single subject going from one action to another- think sipping a drink, hitting a bat, or crashing a car. (25)
Subject to Subject: this takes the reader from one person doing something to another. The easiest example here is a conversation. (26)
Scene to Scene: this is when there are significant changes in space and time between panels. For example, a panel of someone waking up, one of them on the bus, and one of them at school. (27)
Aspect to Aspect. This is paneling that isn’t about time but instead about showcasing different aspects of a place, idea or mood. For example, showing different panels of different parts of a clean classroom with students learning- it slows things down and sets the scene. Aspect to Aspect is more commonly used in Japanese comics, or Manga. There are a few reasons for this- Manga has historically tended to be much longer and there is less pressure to move things along. Another idea lies within the cultural differences between Western comics and Manga. In Japanese tradition, there is less emphasis on getting there so much as being there. (28)
The concept of closure centers around the idea that the graphic narrative is as subtractive an art as it is additive. (29) We cannot show every single visual detail that a movie might have, and every single written thought and description a book may have. Authors and illustrators are challenged with finding ways to combine words and art in a way that balances these two things without overwhelming the reader- this requires certain assumptions about how the reader will perceive things. For example, two panels: one with an eye open, one with the same eye closed. We assume this is someone blinking. (30)
The Passage of Time in Graphic Novels
Moving on from closure, the next focus is on the passage of time. Without the following indicators, the images in a graphic novel would remain static- works of art, perhaps, but without the necessary information to indicate a sequence of events. As our working definition of a graphic narrative (and graphic novel, and comic) is that it is sequential art, understanding the elements of timing in graphic novels is a necessary step towards their mastery. The first topic that indicates the passage of time in graphic novels is sound.
Sound
Just as pictures and the intervals between them create the illusion of time through closure, words can also show time by representing that which can only exist in time- sound. (31) A single panel can depict a few seconds in time or even a minute in time. This is challenging to depict as our brains are used to seeing images as single moments. But when you introduce a speech bubble, the fact that communication is not instantaneous introduces the element of time. A speech bubble (or word bubble) is the space in which written language is inserted in a graphic novel, usually attributed to a specific character in some way. (32).
*And now, a brief interlude on Icons:*
It is time to identify a term that is commonly used when discussing graphic narratives or comics. Speech bubbles are an example of an Icon. “Icon” is a VERY broad term used to describe something that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. Anything that you can draw on paper is an icon- it is symbolic because drawings are not reality. They serve to represent reality. For this reason, every written and drawn element of a graphic novel is an icon. It is important to define this here because we are now learning how to express intangible ideas visually. Icons, especially those that express ideas, are essential to this aspect of graphic novels. The speech bubble is one example, however we will begin referring back to the idea of an icon quite often throughout the rest of this unit. (33)
Now, back to the passage of time. Another way to show the passage of time in a graphic narrative is through the use of panels (another icon!). A panel generally indicates that time, or space, is being divided. “The durations of that time and the dimensions of that space are defined more by the contents of the panel than by the panel itself.” (34) Panels can look a variety of different ways, and while they might not affect how we perceive the passage of time in a graphic narrative, they can affect our overall reading experience. The time that is separated by panels can vary widely. Some panels can depict things happening eons apart- a series of panels showing the evolution of life from a single cell to a dinosaur for example. It’s up to the reader to decide how much time will pass between but in most instances, if done right, it’s not hard to see how the passage of time flows between panels as long as the content is familiar. For example, panels showing a conversation between two people. Or perhaps, a series of panels with the same image repeated can show a pause or longer moment in time. One can also show the passage of time through the size of the panel. For example, a long shaped panel indicating a stretch in time or a short panel showing a snapshot moment in time. Other ways to play with time include the shape of the panel- for example, a borderless panel instead of a traditional rectangular panel can demonstrate the feeling of timelessness. Some panels even offer no indication as to what duration a panel has- this creates a sense of timelessness that creates pause from a reader- a contemplative moment. Other types of panels extend off of the edges of a page- these are called “bleeds.” These panels also emphasize timelessness as they extend beyond the bounds of a traditional panel. This is a technique often used in Manga in Japan. (35)
Word Balloons
Another essential part of a comic is the idea of sound- often shown using word balloons. The design of these can signify different emotions- a bubbly balloon to show thought, a zig zaggy balloon to show a loud or distraught noise, or a small balloon for something quiet. Inside these balloons there can be words or perhaps lines that convey meaning- a question mark, “zzzzz” to show sleeping, or “...” for a pause. (36) The way the content of these words interact with the art matters as well. Two common types of relationships are duplicate and complimentary text-image relationships. When the relationship is duplicate, the words and the image around them communicate roughly the same thing” (i.e. a children’s book). When the relationship is complimentary, each adds something different to a unified effect. If a caption box frames the words, “Jo watched sitcoms all night,” above a drawing of a figure sitting on a couch laughing, the combination is complimentary. (37)
Motion
The next challenge in comics is understanding how to show motion in an art where time stands still (as these images are static and on paper as opposed to a GIF or a movie). The easiest way to show motion in graphic novels is through the use of movement lines- lines that indicate the direction or way in which a subject is moving. There are many sources of inspiration that have inspired artists-for example, the Futurist movement (Girl Running on a Balcony by Balla) and Marcel Duchamp’s works (Nude Descending a Staircase #2) both helped birth the exploration of how to show movement in a static image. These lines have evolved throughout the years to become increasingly stylized- particularly in superhero comics. The swing of Hulk’s fist, Superman flying through the air, Thor falling to the ground. As graphic novels have evolved, artists have learned to depict motion in many different ways. A benefit to these different and more exaggerated motion lines is the drama that they add. The easiest way to show motion is to add a streaking effect in the direction that the object is moving from. There are more stylized ways to do this however. For example, one can add multiple images of a subject in motion as their movements progress (which can be stylized in various ways- drawn lightly as to give the appearance of past motion or perhaps drawn with a series of movement lines themselves). Another example of how to show motion developed from Japanese Manga. They stylized subjective motion, which puts a reader “in the driver’s seat” to experience motion. Essentially, the reader becomes the moving object with everything surrounding them zipping by with stylized motion lines. (38)
Line
Onto one of the most important components of graphic narratives- the visual language of emotion in graphic narratives. The choices that illustrators make about how and what they choose to draw can evoke intangible feelings both physical (the five senses) and emotional (our internal state of being). How did these artists learn to do this? How did we go from realism to the idea that one can draw a line that is “angry” or “surprised”? Impressionism was the start of artists visually depicting unseen sensibilities in the world. The work of Edvard Munch and Vincent Van Gogh began to show how visual art can take a subjective approach instead of just attempting to depict reality. Expressionism was a subsequent art movement that began to depict internal emotions. Painter, teacher, and cartoonist Paul Klee said it best: “Art does not reproduce the visible, rather, it makes visible.” In comics, it is important to understand that all lines carry expressive potential- lines can be passive, strong, dynamic, severe, or gentle. Of course, these lines make up the characters and world that illustrators create. One line can carry an emotion, but these lines together can create a style. There are a variety of comics that have defined styles: Dick Tracy’s bold lines showcased the grim and deadly world of adults, the gentle curves and open lines of Carl Bark’s Uncle $scrooge show whimsy, youth, and innocence. Krystine Krytter's artwork is full of curves and mad lines that give the feeling of a crazy toddler, and the dynamic and friendly lines of marvel artists of the 1960s created a style that was inviting to young superhero readers. These styles are intentional. When students work on developing their graphic novels, they will break down their knowledge of figure drawing and decide what they want to exaggerate or subtract from their knowledge of realism. This is how students will begin to intentionally develop their own “style.” This can be a style that simply feels “right” to them, or it can be a style that correlates with the emotions evoked in their story about overcoming a challenge. artists seldom draw realistically. In fact, most artists simplify their drawings. A common example is the smiley face or the basic face drawings from Tintin. There is a reason for this. When we abstract an image through cartooning, we’re not so much eliminating details as we are focusing on specific details. By stripping down an image to its essential “meaning,” an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can’t. (39) This gives artists the chance to add a tone or emotion in their art in a way that realistic art can’t. So from here on out, students should begin thinking about how to apply their knowledge of realistic drawing and simplify it. (40)
Now getting into the idea of how lines can be used to showcase other senses. Smell for example- squiggles above a garbage can convey the idea of stench. Perhaps add a fly or two to this. The squiggles and flies are both examples of icons that represent smell. And perhaps you used those same lines above a dog- the context changes, but the symbol remains the same. That's a smelly dog. Other icons can include hearts above a head to show love or birds and stars above a head to show dizziness. There are other ways to indicate emotion- sweat beads to show nervousness, swirls for eyes to show confusion, “X” for eyes to show death, or shading over the eyes and cheeks to show embarrassment. Now it is notable that this changes context from culture to culture. For example, Japan has their own set of symbols to identify emotions- a bubble coming from someone’s nose indicates sleepiness or a nosebleed to indicate lust.
Backgrounds
These symbols or icons that we have discussed can also be placed behind a character to indicate these emotions. The background effect- which is essentially a panel with a subject and an abstract background- gives the reader a sense that they are reading the inner state of a character- a benefit of this is that it helps connect the reader to the character. A swirly background behind an isolated character might show confusion, a black background might show depression, a lighting background might show pain or shock. (41)
Putting it All Together
Now that we have covered the essential elements of graphic novels and given examples for how they might apply, it is time to discuss the act of transferring the initial story written into a graphic novel format. The following methods operate under the assumption that there is a writer and an artist working together. These methods can be adapted for students that take on both roles for their project.
Script approach (words first)
This method “comes in the form of a complete script, which in comics can look a lot like a play or screenplay, but instead of stage directions or camera shots, the writer describes the image content to be drawn in each panel.” (42) One benefit of this method is that it is easier to edit with students. If students have access to laptops, this editing process can become even more efficient. Students not only write a story, but they write down the visual details of that story as well. “The number of images per page can vary a lot too, but more than two and fewer than 10 is a common range. Experiment by thinking in image units. If you’re describing an action or an event, which snapshot-like moments will evoke all of the other connected moments that have to go undrawn? Sometimes a whole sequence can be evoked with a single image. Using more images than is necessary can extend time, and slow pacing, to create entirely different effects.” (43)
Draw First Approach
The second approach is the draw first approach. This is a method that combines the author and illustrator roles well- one simply begins a story on a blank piece of paper, allowing the characters, panels, and storyline to develop in tandem. (44) When done correctly, this method acts like a discovery of a story, however it can be challenging to add scaffolding to this as it is inherently a “go forth and create” method. However, the draw first approach can be a great starting point if students are having trouble coming up with a particular drawing style or character design for their story.
Layout First Approach
There is the layout first approach. This method begins by drawing the panels first. These panels can be separated by horizontal and/or vertical white spaces (called gutters). The area in between panels. However one chooses to organize their panels will affect how they tell your story. Will panels be the same size, giving each moment equal weight? What if the panels aren’t all the same size or shape? A larger or tilted or thickly framed panel will accent whatever image content appears inside it, giving that moment greater importance than everything that appears around it. What story moments might fit into the accented panels? (45) This could be a great method to apply for students that need differentiated work with extra scaffolds. However, it may be limiting to students that might prefer the draw first approach.
Canvas First Approach
Finally, there is the canvas first approach. This method combines all previous methods and is a “pick and choose as you go” style. Incorporate as much or as little of each approach as suits your needs. Perhaps the author/illustrator has a personal story in mind but is not sure where to start. They might draw something that stands out to them first and begin to shape the material around that moment. Perhaps before putting pencil to paper, their idea can tell them something about layout. Is there an arrangement that seems thematically suited to their material? Maybe begin with a vague sketch, a few scribbled words, a rough layout, adding specificity to all three elements each time you redraw on a new piece of paper. (46) This method allows for the most creative freedom for students, however requires the time and skill to introduce the previous three.
Whichever method students approach their narrative about Overcoming a Challenge with, the final steps after drawing things out in pencil are to add page numbers, create a title page, trace over everything in pen, and erase the pencil marks. Emphasize that students be careful not to rip the paper here and be patient. Adding color is optional, and your choice.
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