Graphic narrative experiments

Creative Media Production 2012 1

Graphic Narrative Experiments

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Graphic Narrative ExperimentsThe purpose of today’s sessions is to allow you to experiment with the different methods before deciding on which methods you want to use to produce you own graphic narrative.

You will use different techniques to depict the same moment from your narrative. This will give you a chance to directly compare methods.

Creative Media Production 2012

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Things to consider:

• Quality of work you can produce using that method

• Speed that you can work at using that method

• How similar existing products are produced

• The audience for your product

• The resources that will be required and are available to you


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You need to produce work using hand, mechanical and digital methods:

Digital photography

Illustration

Photoshop comic book effects

Rotoscoping

Mixed media


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Digital Photography

Digital photography can be a quick and effective method of generating images for graphic narratives.

Digital photographs can be used on their own to tell a story or be used as the basis for other pieces of artwork.

Advantages include being able to review your as you go to make sure you are getting the images you want.

You can also apply a range of subtle and not so subtle post production techniques to get the finished images you require.

Using digital photography, produce an image so that you can experience the technique. You can then consider this technqiue as a way to produce your graphic narrative.

Your image should be relevant in some way to your narrative.Creative Media Production 2012

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IllustrationIllustration is another method you can look at using.

It does require some skill but it can look effective.

Illustration can be produced in variety of mediums including pen and ink, colour pencil and using digital methods.

You should produce an illustrated image to help you decide which method you want to use.

Select a moment from your story to illustrate. The method or methods you choose to use are up to you.


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Digital Comic Book


There are lots of different post production techniques that you can apply to images.

Some are subtle, keeping the original character of a photograph or drawing but enhancing it to make it more suitable for your end product.

Some are much less subtle and change the original image in to something very different.

One of these methods involves using Adobe Photoshop to create comic book style images.

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Digital Comic Book


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Digital Comic BookOpen the image you want to work on.

Double click on the lock icon to change the layer from background to layer 0.

Make two copies of the layer

Use the ‘eye’ icon to turn off the top copy

Select the bottom layer

Filter -> Artistic -> Cutout

Adjust the number of levels, edge simplicity and edge fidelity until you are happy.

Click ‘OK’


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Digital Comic Book


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Comic Book

Now select your top layer and click and eye icon so you can see the image

You should be able to see your original picture

Image -> Adjustments -> Threshold

Adjust the setting so that you image has detail in the key areas of the face (eyes, nose, mouth)

Click ok


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Comic Book


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Comic Book

Now change the opacity of the layer so that you can see the ‘cutout’ layer mixed with the ‘threshold layer’

This adds finer detail back into the images whilst preserving the ‘comic book’ look

Save a JPEG version once you are happy


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Comic Book


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Rotoscoping

You can submit evidence of your previous rotoscoping work.


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Mixed mediaMixed media refers to an artwork made using more than one medium

A work that combines paint, ink, and collage would be a mixed media image.

The images below contain different mixtures of illustration, typography, photography and painting to create their images.


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Mixed mediaProduce a moment from your story using mixed media.

This could involve illustration using ink, pencil or crayon as well as collage.

It could involve starting with a photograph and adding paint, collage and typography to it.

You must use at least 3 different media in your work.

It is another option for you to consider when deciding what method you want to use to produce your own graphic narrative.


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Graphic Narrative ExperimentsNow you have evidence that you have experimented with photography, illustration, digital post production and mixed media.

You need to keep this evidence in your folder so it can be assessed.

Final Task:

Evaluate each method you have work on today. Write around 200 words per method thinking about the following:

• Quality of work you can produce using that method

• Speed that you can work at using that method

• How similar existing products are produced

• The audience for your product

• The resources that will be required and are available to youCreative Media Production 2012

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Graphic Narrative ExperimentsHand in:

A digital photograph related to your narrative

A illustrated moment from your narrative

An image which has been altered using the comic book method. Include the original image as well.

An image which has been altered using the rotoscope method. Include the original image as well.

A mixed media moment from your narrative

Evaluation of each method you have tried. Use the questions on the previous slide to help you.


Entertainment & Humor

Graphic narrative experiments