Project 5 – Instructional Comic (Teach Us Something)

Project 5 – Instructional Comic (Teach Us Something)

Read through the handout from Uri Schulevitz’s Writing with Pictures. The notion of the “completed action” is very important for conveying coherent narrative information.

Collect some instructional picture sequences as reference for your own instructional sequence. Find at least three examples, even if they are only two or three panels long. Examples might include airplane safety cards, instruction manuals, cookbooks, and assembly diagrams. Do some strike you as more successful than others? If so, what qualities separate the good from the bad? In which ways are they similar? Which ones use words as well as images, and which rely on images alone? What can you learn from these examples to use in your own instructional comic?

Now, teach us how to do something! You may use as many panels and pages as you need, but do not use words (with the exception of a title for the comic or units of measurements necessary for your instructions).  The actions may be simple or complex, but they should be easily understood and followed by someone who has never performed this action before. The completed sequence is due at the beginning of class on 2/7 and will be critiqued on 2/9.

You may work digitally or traditionally, but a digital copy of the image must be emailed to the instructor by 1:30pm. Traditionally created work should be scanned at no less than 200 dpi. Name this image “IL220B_Lastname_Firstname_Project 5.jpg” or “5a.jpg, 5b.jpg, etc.” (Or PDF)

*Comic pages may be created at any size and any dimensions, but must be presented on an 8.5x11 document. Most comics are created at a size of about 10” x 15” on 11”x17” paper or a similarly sized digital document, and printed at about 6.625” x 10.225”. You may work at a larger size, at actual print size, or at a smaller size (as long as the art looks good), but it must be presented on an 8.5x11 document. (It makes it easier for us to print them for hanging or collect them into a PDF for assessment) Please see me if you have any questions about this.

Project 5 – Instructional Comic (Teach Us Something)

Critique Questions

Does this instructional sequence use words?

What is the artist teaching us?

Are images clear?

Briefly describe their clarity.

-        What works about them if they are clear?

-        What isn’t working if they’re unclear?

Are there enough panels to communicate these instructions? Does this sequence need more? If so, what should be added?

Are there panels that can be removed? If so, which ones and why?

Can you follow this sequence with the same results as the artist?