IL220 B Visual Storytelling (COMICS 1) T/R 2-4:30pm

Instructor: Shane McDermott              smcdermott@mca.edu       

Office: Gibson Hall # 156                        Hours: M 4-5:30/ T 5-6:30

IL220 B Visual Storytelling (COMICS 1) T/R 2-4:30pm

Course Objectives

This course explores the formal language of storytelling with multiple images, including storyboards and comics.  This course is writing and drawing intensive.

Course Outcomes

The successful student will achieve the following course outcomes:• Students will strengthen their formal understanding of Comics Theory and vocabulary.• Students will explore various storytelling methods through specialized collaborative exercises

• Students will develop an individual approach to storytelling through specialized assignments.

Program Outcomes
The successful student will achieve the following course outcomes:


• Students will produce narratives in various formats, including short-form, long-form, and serialized.
• Students will demonstrate knowledge of the formal aspects of comics as a medium.
• Students will be able to competently craft representational images.
• Students will demonstrate capability with media and techniques.
• Students will produce evidence of an understanding of the methods of comics production.
• Students will learn to create engaging stories.

Grading/Professionalism

Comics Projects (in and out of class) - 50%

This course involves both in-class and out-of-class assignments. Out-of-class comics will be graded on creativity and originality (is the story original and compelling), Clarity of Content (Can the reader follow the story), Clarity of Imagery (How thoughtfully the characters and environments are drawn), and lastly, technique (the professional design and presentation of the comic).

• Incomplete work is graded based on the amount of work that is completed on the due date. Incomplete work is eligible for an A if turned in by the next week. Half a letter grade is deducted for each week the project remains unfinished. 

• Late work is work which is not turned in at all on the due date. Half a letter grade is deducted for each week the project remains unfinished. The completed work is eligible for no higher than a B.

• Work not adhering to project guidelines starts at a B, but can be reworked for an A.
  
  
• Additionally, grades are lowered upon compositional oversights, misspellings, or an unprofessional presentation.
  
  
• Every student is expected to participate in critique and to offer objective feedback (both positive and negative reactions) for a balanced and constructive critique. Each student receives a participation grade for every critique.

Execution and Presentation of Comics

Comics may be created digitally and/or traditionally, but all comics must be presented digitally. Completed comics must be placed in the designated critique folder within our IL220B Class folder by 2pm on the day they are due. They should be scanned at no less than 200 dpi/ppi and should be in jpg format. Each student will have their own folder within the class folder, and will be responsible for placing completed projects there by the due date as well. These images should be named “IL220B_Lastname_Firstname_Project1.jpg” Projects containing multiple pages should be alphanumeric (Project1a.jpg, Project1b.jpg, etc.) Subsequent projects will be numbered “Project2, Project 3, etc.”

Participation - 25%

There are several in-class Comics Projects, and participation is required.  These assignments are not designed to produce beautiful, completed comics, but rather for the student to engage in editing and collaborations that reinforce different story building methods.

Additionally, each student receives a letter grade for the thoroughness of their critiques of their classmate’s work. These grades will be averaged into the Participation grade.

Cartoonist Research Project - 25% (averaged from research, paper, and presentation)

See the attached assignment!

Attendance

Absences

• There is no penalty for 2 absences in a T/R class.
• The final average is lowered one half letter grade upon each subsequent absence until the sixth.
• The sixth absence results in automatic failure of the class.
• Absences during critique irreversibly lower the project grade by one full letter unless it is turned in before 2pm on the morning of critique.

Tardies

• Arriving late to class or leaving early can be marked as a tardy.
• Three tardies equal one absence.
• Being tardy for critique irreversibly lowers the project grade by one full letter.
• When possible and as soon as possible, notify your instructor of impending tardies or absences.   

Classroom Etiquette

Cell phones:

Make sure that your cell phones are turned off during class.  You may set your phone to vibrate if you have an ongoing emergency (meaning birth, death, or catastrophic illness).  DO NOT answer your phone in class.  It’s rude.  In the event of an emergency call you may exit class and then answer or return the call. 

Music:

Headphones are permitted, but ONLY during in-class work when I am not instructing and ONLY if low enough that you can still hear me if I address you.  Do not play music through the speakers.

Media:

I don’t care if you occasionally check your email or watch someone’s bulldog skateboard on YouTube, but it MUST NOT interfere with your work and it should never be through the speakers.

Contact

The best way to contact me is at smcdermott@mca.edu. Please give your email a clear, descriptive subject line. In turn, be sure to check your MCA email account regularly because I will contact you if there are any last minute changes to an assignment.

Class materials

1.)    Good quality paper for penciling and inking

2.)    Pencils, pens, brushes, sharpies

3.)    A pack of index cards and/or post-it notes

4.)    Pushpins

5.)    18 inch metal ruler with cork backing (suggested)

6.)    A triangle

7.)    Ames lettering guide (suggested)

8.)    USB storage or external hard drive if working digitally

Required Texts

  Understanding Comics Scott McCLoud

Recommended Texts

  Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers  Marcos Mateu-Mestre

  Drawing Words and Writing Pictures  Jessica Abel and Matt Madden
  Graphic Storytelling  Will Eisner

  Sequential Art  Will Eisner

  On Directing Film  David Mamet
  Picture This: How Pictures Work  Molly Bang

Class Blog

The syllabus, schedule, and first assignments are posted to the class blog at www.mcavisualstorytellingb.blogspot.com. Future assignments will be posted as they are distributed as well as delivery via MCA email.  NEVER TELL ME YOU DIDN’T HAVE THE ASSIGNMENT! I will notify you via email in the event of changing circumstances or class cancellations.

Health and Safety

All students must comply with health and safety regulations. Of particular relevance to this class will be disposal of art materials. The classroom is provided with a sink, but only water should be poured down the sink’s drain.  All other materials should be collected for appropriate processing.  You will be required to have an MSDS (material safety data sheet) with any and all materials you bring to class.  MSDS sheets can be found online at DickBlick.com.  Keep the sheets with your materials when you bring them to class.  Some materials require latex gloves, goggles, or even masks.  When using such materials you will be required to take the necessary safety measures in class.  If you have turned in MSDS for materials used in a previous semester then you need only update existing supplies and record any new materials you use in class this semester.

Project 1 - Cartoonist Research Presentation

Image Research:  Research 25 of the 75 listed cartoonists. Collect at least five of their images in your sketchbook, on your blog or in a folder on your laptop, and record who they were, when they worked and what sort of work they did. Assemble this into a lovely PDF named IL220_Lastname_Firstname_Cartoonist Research.pdf” and place it in your folder within the class folder on the server.

While each of these cartoonists has their merits, some may be the creators of work that is offensive to some students. Consult me if you’re interested in replacing some of the listed cartoonists with names of your own.

Extra Credit: Research 50 and replace your lowest comic grade with an A. Research all 75 and replace two of your lowest comic grades with an A.

The Cartoonists!

David Beauchard                                       Lucy Knisley                                                Dawud Anyabwile

Lynda Barry                                                 Jack Kirby                                                     John Jennings

Alison Bechdel                                            Aline Kominsky                                          Gene Yang

Milton Caniff                                               Harvey Kurtzman                                      Morrie Turner

Daniel Clowes                                             June Mills                                                     Joan Sfar

Roy Crane                                                    Kate Beaton                                                Noelle Stevenson

John Jennings                                             Winsor McKay                                           Fiona Staples

Nell Brinkley                                                Moebius (Jean Giraud)                            Spike Trotman

Jessica Abel                                                Jackie Ormes                                              MariNaomi

Diane DiMassa                                          Diane Nomn                                                Adrian Alphona

Julie Doucet                                                 Gary Panter                                                 Bryan Lee O’Malley

Edwinna Dumm                                         Wendy and Richard Pini                          Gabriel Ba’

Becky Cloonan                                           Hugo Pratt                                                   Fabio Moon

Sherry Flenniken                                       Trina Robbins                                              Jen Wang

Will Eisner                                                    Marjane Satrapi                                        Emily Carroll

Lionel Feininger                                         Dale Messick                                              Ming Doyle

Chester Gould                                             Hilda Terry                                                   Sonny Liew

Roberta Gregory                                        Ed Luce                                                         Sara Pichelli

Herge’                                                           Charles M Shulz                                         Rutu Modan

Gilbert Hernandez                                     Phil Jiminez                                                  Harvey Pekar

Jaime Hernandez                                      Art Spiegelman                                          Dash Shaw

David Mazzucceli                                      Osamu Tezuka                                          David Mazzucchelli

George Herriman                                      Rudolphe Topffer                                      Scott McCloud

Ben Katchor                                                 Chris Ware                                                   Leila Del Duca

Walt Kelly                                                    Jim Woodring                                             Tracy J. Butler

Image Research due:  3/28

Getting Started:  Choose the artist who interests you most and research them for a presentation. Start by writing about the artist: who they were/are, who their influences were/are, what their training was like, when and where they work, what sort of work they did/do and what sort of techniques they use. Examine at least one of their works in terms of the formal language of sequential art: what sort of panel-to-panel transitions does this artist favor? What about the kinds of word-to-picture relationships they use?  Describe their page layouts.

Presentation:  Prepare a 5-10 minute PowerPoint presentation based on your research. It should include at least twenty images of your artist’s work, and at least five images of an artist who influenced them. You may wish to also include images that set the time and place in which your artist lived and worked.

Presentations will be given on 4/11 and 4/13. Assigned days will be made randomly and may not be changed without permission.