Nancy is Blowing Me

....Away

I'm Reading Nancy Comic Strip Again

As a child and on into adulthood, I always read the Nancy comic strip when it was available in the newspapers. I was in Philadelphia when they decided to do a purge and bring in new comic strips and only Blondie and Peanuts survived.

I always considered Nancy a boring strip. I would constantly say, 'I'm not going to waste my time reading it anymore.' Yet, everyday I was there reading it. Ernie Bushmiller was weaving some kind of hypnotic spell over me through ink and newsprint.

Nancy was taken over by Gilchrist. It was definitely more visually exciting, yet the writing was nothing to get excited about. After sampling it, I never read it again. It wasn't Nancy.

It wasn't until the interent that I found out a lot of artists shared my guilty pleasure of reading Nancy.

Now the internet is abuzz about a new creator on Nancy.

And that becomes the first weird thing to discuss.

Everyone seems to be excited that it is a woman writing and drawing Nancy for the first time. Her name is Olivia James, or is it? Because the Internet is also saying that this is a pseudonym. I don't know how anyone knows it's a pseudonym and if it is - is it a pseudonym for woman or a pseudonym for a man?

In any case, that has nothing to do with the price of butter. Let's start looking at this first Nancy daily strip by "Olivia James." It debuted on April 9, 2018. I worked my way backward from the current comic on gocomics.com to find the first one. What a difference from the day before. In the comment section it previously averaged about 20 comments. This first new creator strip I'm looking at it now (as of this writing) has over 200 comments, over 100 hearts and over 40 pins. An astronomical leap over the previous strips. The comment section themselves are worthy of a whole article, Perhaps for another day... let's look at the first strip.

Nancy copyright 2018 UFS

We see an unknown person looking at Nancy at a table with a pie. We don't know if this person is male or female and don't find out that she's a female until the last panel. We never find out who she is and why she is so interested in Nancy. She's kinda creepy. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

She starts out complementing Nancy and then kind of dogging  her out. Now this seems to happen in real time as if she's talking in one continuous moment with no pauses. Meaning pretty much as we read it that's the time it is taking her to say it. 

But, Nancy's down with quantum space time.

Now let's break this down panel by panel.

The person comments that Nancy is a sweet girl. Sweet girl, sweet pie, Sweetie pie, get it? So from the first panel we are unsettled by this woman's interest in Nancy; a little girl. Is that intentional? Nancy is sitting at a table, most likely in a cafeteria because of the tray holding her pie. We don't know if this is in a school or a food court in the mall. So we will just have to go with "a cafeteria somewhere." Nancy is sitting, smiling looking at her pie on the tray. She has no utensils and that wouldn't be unusual for a kid to eat a slice of pie with her hands.

The second panel has the woman commenting that Nancy is "also a salt girl." Whoa... wait a minute. Now Nancy suddenly has a fork, a salt shaker and a drink. Whether someone brought those to the table or Nancy got up herself to get them, that definitely means time has passed. So this person has been standing in the same spot the whole time the new items reached the table. That means this is not a continuous monologue. She had to wait for Nancy to get all this, pick up her knife and salt shaker to continue talking about her.

Moving on to the third panel this woman is still dogging Nancy, who now has a knife. The fork and salt shaker have disappeared. She also now has a hamburger, a stick of butter in her hand, with a cupcake near the drink. So a lot more time has passed and this woman is still standing there commenting aloud about Nancy to herself. There is no audience revealed to us.

The fourth and last panel the woman comments about Nancy really enjoying her cornbread. So again, the cornbread had not been present the whole time, so this could only have arrived later. This unknown woman is stalking Nancy and commenting on everything that she's eating. That is creepy.

And that is what is going to keep me reading this comic strip. One; because the storytelling seems to be operating on many different levels at the same time. Two; because if you just do a surface read of it nothing odd seems to be really happening much like the Bushmuller strips. Unlike the Bushmuller strips there seems to be a level of uneasiness introduced. Questions that have to be asked, yet may never be answered. We are left to consider what type of reality we've stepped into here. Has Nancy achieved a whole new level of absurd, bland, formulaic, minimalist subversiveness? 

Let me know what you think. Start reading Nancy here https://www.gocomics.com/nancy/2018/04/09

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Remember... Just Create!

What Are Comics Better at Than Movies?

What Do Comics and Graphic Novels Do that Live Action Movies and TV Cannot?

Art copyright 2017 H. Simpson

Combine visuals and texts.

Use sound effects as part of the visual narrative.

Use action and speed lines.

Depict action and dialogue simultaneously that are impossible to do in film.

Can read the character’s thoughts.

Use panels to play with the sense of time and space.

Metamorphosis of objects into panels.

Does not have to appeal to a wide demographic.

Time is for represented by space - the panel’s distance from each other.

A page can be designed.

Can use juxtaposition to imply or infer to the reader.

Can infer a comparison between panels, even if they are not next each other.

One page can be a series of panels that make one larger meta-panel.

Reader can stop, think and compare panels and pages.

Rita can flip back and forth between pages.

Narrative captions to explain things, clarify emotions, actions and motivations.

Comic stories can be very complex and nonlinear, yet still be understandable. Because the reader can absorb it at their own pace and reread it.

Pacing is controlled by the amount of dialogue, text, panel size and amount of detail in panel.

• Minimal amount of dialogue in action scenes.
• More dialogue to slow down for thoughtful moments.

Create rhythms with amount and size of panels.

Each panel is a frozen moment to sell that part of the story.

Be representational, impressionistic and abstract at the same time.

Are there any that I missed? Please include them in the comments below.

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Copyright 2017 H. Simpson

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.When you purchase a book by clicking the link below, I get a piece of the action and helps me to continue doing this blog. Support an artist today.

Paging Dr. Howard, Dr Fine, Dr. Howard

How to Make a Comic Strip, Comic Book and Graphic Novel

Terminology Continued

17. PANEL - A single image with a border, usually.

18. PANEL BORDER - The line which surrounds the single image.

19. OPEN PANEL - A panel without a border.

20. GUTTER - The space between panels. This is where time happens. The reader fills in the amount of time. A good storyteller uses gutters as a tool to manipulate time.

21. PAGE MARGINS - The blank space around the edges of the page.

22. GUTTER MARGIN - The space between the printed area and binding.

23. BLEED -  Art that extends beyond the end of the page. A full bleed extends beyond all four edges of the page. This costs extra money to print and eats into your profits if you self-publish. Think about how much money you lose by bleeding for no reason that serves the story.

24. TRIM SIZE - Final size of printed page after excess paper has been cut away.

25. CUT SIZE - A standard size that matches the printed size and thereby requires no trimming.

26. CROP MARKS - Crossed lines placed at the corners to indicate where to trim the paper

27. BLEED LINES - Indicates the area beyond the crop marks. The penciler must draw to the bleed lines in order for the art to bleed off the page. Never just draw to the trim lines if you want to bleed art. The bleed size is set to 3 millimeters or 1/8 of an inch. You're wasting time and space if you draw beyond that.

28. SAFE AREA - The space to keep text and other important parts of your art so it's not trimmed. May also be called the Art Area.

29. FLASHBACK - Panels which refer to a past event. Their borders are drawn with a cloudy, wispy or other creative effect to suggest a memory or revelation.

30. SPLASH PAGE - The first or second page page of a story with full bleed page art. It acts a a second cover packed with action or emotion in order to entice the reader to buy the comic.

31. DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD - Two pages featuring one image so big one page cannot contain it. Sometimes used for panel to panel continuity. In this case, it is usually poorly executed if the penciler doesn't take into consideration that unless it's the exact middle page of the comic, then some information will be lost in the gutter margin.

Bonus! Check out these links about layout and making comics.
Making Comics

Little Rivkah's Journal

Webcomic Alliance

Creative Comic Art

Analyzing Comics 101 (Layout)

Making Comics  with Salgood Sam

to be continued…

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copyright 2012 H. Simpson

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

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Talk the Lingo

How to Make a Comic Strip, Comic Book and Graphic Novel

Learn to do everything, which means write, draw, color and letter. If there is an opening for a letterer and not an artist, then take the lettering position. It's easier to get jobs from the inside than from the outside.

You don't know what a letterer is? Then it's time to learn some terminology so you don't have a blank look when an editor talks to you. Knowledge is power. Not the power of Greyskull, but enough.

1. PLOT - Written breakdown of the story with significant actions and some dialogue. The artist takes the plot and visually decides the page breakdown and pacing of the story.

2. SCRIPT -  The words; dialogue and captions - that will be used in the comic. There are also directions to the artist concerning the environment, actions, thought process, motivations, emotions of the characters. The script can be broken down in panel by panel form or page by page.

3. DIALOGUE - The words spoken by the characters usually depicted in word balloons.

4. BALLOONS - An area called a balloon which contains the dialogue. A balloon tail points towards the mouth of the character who speaks. The most common balloon is rectangular or oval shaped and called a Word balloon. Burst balloons show when someone is screaming. Double Outline balloons add emphasis to the words. Radio/Electric  balloons show when speech is transmitted through any type of communication device. Telepathic balloons are creatively executed balloons to show telepathy. Thought balloons are made up of bubbles and a tail with smaller individual bubbles. These reveal the thoughts of the characters, but aren't used so much these days. Wavy balloons show the speech of an emotionally or physically distressed character. Whisper balloons are dotted or grayed out to show a character speaking in hushed tones.

4. CAPTIONS -  A narrative device. There are four types used in comics. Reveal location and time of events. Reveal character thoughts. Show off-panel dialogue of character. The narrative of the Omnipotent Observer or a character involved with the story who tells the story - a narrator.

5. OMNIPOTENT OBSERVER - Knows all and tells all to the reader, even things the characters may not know. This is not a character in the story. It's an unknown entity that hovers above it all.

Resources

Fonts
Calligraphy
Transform your handwriting into a font on this website.

Writing
How to Write Comics by Alan Moore

Self-publishing
Dave Sim's essays on self-publishing.

to be continued…

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copyright 2012 H. Simpson

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

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The Nitty Gritty Begins

The Secret Origins of How to Become a Comic Book Artist

Here are things I feel you will need to know about comic books and art; so I will be discussing:

Tools of the trade
Terminology

Visual Vocabulary
Line

Form
Light and shadow
Composition
Perspective
Anatomy
Clothing and drapery
Animals
Backgrounds
Color theory
Acting
How to tell a story visually and with panel to panel continuity.

Prepare your portfolio
How to find work


Here are things you can start doing, if you are not doing so now.

Get a sketchbook that you can carry with you all the time and draw every chance you get from reality. Draw people and whatever you see around you. Draw the reality of your existence.

Visit museums and see art of all kinds, drawings, paintings sculpture, etc. Read books about art. If you can't afford to buy them, them take them out from a library while they still exist.

Take a life drawing class. You may find some in your neighborhood that charge a fee per class ranging from $5 to $10. Figure drawing will be the most useful thing you can do. If you can't take a life drawing class, then draw the people you live with. Ask them to pose for you or draw them while they watch TV. You'll be amazed how still people are when they are in front of the television.

Find out of if there are any weekend drawing classes (these may be free) at your local community center, high school or college. You may also try finding someone to mentor you.

Start a reference file for yourself. Cut pictures out of magazines and save them. You never know what you will called upon to draw.

If you're here, then you're probably already checking out online resources like blogs, video tutorials and forums, so keep doing this.

Now the first chance you get also take a business course. So you don't become an artist who can be taken advantage of; learn the business of art. Learn about contracts, copyright, management, etc.

Resources

DCD Vendor Services - For self-publishers seeking distribution with Diamond Comic Distributors

Schools
The Kubert School
THE CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES

The Definitive List of Comic Publisher Submission Guidelines

to be continued…

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Remember… Just Create!

read next - Talk the Lingo
previous - Don't be a Stepford Wife to the World

Copyright 2016 H. Simpson

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

When you purchase a book by clicking the link below, I get a piece of the action and helps me to continue doing this blog. Support an artist today.

That's the Way Love Goes

Life is Not a Color Within the Lines Project

Even though you want to be a comic book artist, there are other ways to express your passion. So if you don't find yourself getting a break in the comic book industry, don't get disenchanted. There are other avenues to explore so you don't have to wait tables or work at McDonald's full time.

You can do art for advertising, editorial illustration, storyboards, video games, software apps, books and so much more. In fact, you can do those other things while trying to break into the comic book industry while you're in school or doing freelance work.

Keep reading and follow me. If you have found this helpful please let me know and share with other creators. Feel free to ask me questions.

Remember… Just Create!

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

When you purchase a book by clicking the link below, I get a piece of the action and helps me to continue doing this blog. Support an artist today.

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copyright 2012 H. Simpson

Don't Fight the Feeling

Life is a Work of Art

If you are around 12 years old and reading this blog, this will be very helpful to you. I'm catching you at just the right time. Now is when the world tries to beat you down and tear away your dreams. This blog will be especially beneficial to you. If you are a teenager or in college, then you can still benefit from this.

If you're reading this and you're 40 years old… well this might not be of help to you if you want to make a living at drawing. At least this is what people who try to deter you from your goals will say. You are part of the rat race now. You're trying to survive doing whatever job you're doing now. You have responsibilities and so on and so forth. You can probably quote the excuses better than anyone else can about not having time to draw. You may have to face certain realities if you had the opportunity and it hasn't taken off… yet. 

You have to ask yourself some questions. Have I missed my chance? Is this just going to be a hobby? Do I have the talent? (Some people can't be truthful to themselves with this answer.) Did I never get the support I needed in the past? Is now the time to follow my heart and my passion, in spite of all the reasons not to do it? Is it time for me to take control of my life and do what I've always wanted to do and NOT what other people said I should do?

Because at 40 or any age you can still become successful. Plenty of people have start successful careers late in life. Rodney Dangerfield start doing comedy in his 50s. Grandma Moses became a painter in her 70s after having 10 kids! Both were very good and became quite successful.

The important thing is at any age, don't give up on your dream!

Keep reading and follow me. If you have found this helpful please let me know and share with other creators. Feel free to ask me questions.

Remember… Just Create!

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

When you purchase a book by clicking the link below, I get a piece of the action and helps me to continue doing this blog. Support an artist today.

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copyright 2012 H. Simpson

Mothers. You gotta love them.

Pat Parker War Nurse commission

I am an Artist

Talent is good to have  You can have talent without passion. You can become a great draftsman and have all the technical skills, but if it has no soul or passion behind it, it's not going to appeal to a lot of people. No one is going to care about the story you want to share.

And you must have an intense desire to share. Everyday you must feel the need to create without being called upon to do so by anyone. Nowadays I get paid to draw. I yearn to be that little boy again who drew in the margins of his test papers. I would draw whenever I could in school and come home and draw some more. 

I would show my drawings to my mom, who was my best critic oddly. She couldn't tell me what was wrong with my drawings. She was no artist. I don't know of any of my family line who could draw. She would tell me simply it doesn't look right. After a silence that passed with an unspoken solution, I figured it was my job to figure out why it was not right. I grew fast as an artist because of her. I would rework the drawing and keep showing it to her until she said I got it.

I still have the drive of that little boy. All creative people need that internal drive and passion to keep them going in the face of disappointments. Something to keep them going in the face of NO!. Because there will be plenty of people to line up to knock you down. You should not be the first person in line to keep yourself from achieving your dream. There will be plenty of obstacles that will pop up and you have to be able to keep going in the face of all of these obstacles.

Don't be so negative to yourself. Don't be so easily discouraged.

Keep reading and follow me. If you have found this helpful please let me know and share with other creators. Feel free to ask me questions.

Remember… Just Create!

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

When you purchase a book by clicking the link below, I get a piece of the action and helps me to continue doing this blog. Support an artist today.

next - Don't Fight the Feeling

previous - The Journey to Become an Artist.

copyright 2012 H. Simpson

The journey to become an artist.

Professional Comic Book Artist and Cartoonist

I'm going to continue to write about how to become a professional comic book artist/cartoonist, which henceforth I'll refer to as cartoonist so I don't have to keep hyphenating and/or slashing. I'm so lazy in that respect. 

By professional, I mean you can make a good chunk of your income from this endeavor.

My work has been published by a few companies. I like to think of myself as a storyteller following a grand tradition that started with our ancestors drawing on the cave walls to tell about the hunt and kills of the tribe.

What I will be writing about for the next few days will apply to all creative arts specifically and to life in general in some respects. Your life experience will allow you to take away what you will from my musings.

So stick with me as I'm not going to follow the stale linear path some people take when they tackle this subject. Boy, do they tackle it! I want to start by slowly caressing your mind. I may digress as my own mind gets inspired. Don't fret, I'll get back on track.

Keep reading and follow me. If you have found this helpful please let me know and share with other creators. Feel free to ask me questions.

Remember… Just Create!

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

When you purchase a book by clicking the link below, I get a piece of the action and helps me to continue doing this blog. Support an artist today.

next - Mothers. You gotta love them.
previous - What Do You Need to Become and Artist?


copyright 2012 H. Simpson

What do you need to be an artist?

How to Become a Comic Book, Comic Strip and Graphic Novel Artist

Let's start at the beginning. What do you need to become a comic book artist/ cartoonist etc? This question usually starts with answers about things you need to learn, the tools to draw with, etc.

My answer applies to every field… mostly. It's what you can't control. You are born with this or it's instilled in you at an early age. Or maybe something happens that creates a spark inside you.

Talent and passion.

These are the things you can't fake. There is no app for this. You can learn to become better with your gift if the talent is there. The passion is what keeps you going. The passion makes this something you would do whether you are paid to do it or not.

What's the difference between a job and a career? A job is something you do to pay the bills. A career is something you would do without pay for the rest of your life. No one can stop you from doing it. You draw whether anyone will see it or not. You draw to satisfy your own burning desire. No one can discourage you. You're not a crybaby. Well at least not a lot. We can all use a good cry and it's healthy to vent.

Is this you?

Good then you're my type of people and we're going to get along well.

read next - The journey to become an artist

Keep reading and follow me. If you have found this helpful please let me know and share with other creators. Feel free to ask me questions.

Remember… Just Create!

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

When you purchase a book by clicking the link below, I get a piece of the action and helps me to continue doing this blog. Support an artist today.

copyright 2012 H. Simpson

Welcome to my blog

art © 2016 H. Simpson

How to create Comic Books, Comic Strips and Graphic Novels Blog

My name is Howard and I am a cartoonist and have drawn some comics and started working in the animation industry recently. I will be talking about things related to the entertainment industry and it will mostly focus on comic books, graphic novels and animation.

I will discuss the craft and art of storytelling and drawing. Mostly.

Keep reading. Share with your friends. Please comment. 

Remember… Just create!

copyright 2016 H. Simpson

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

When you purchase a book by clicking the link below, I get a piece of the action and helps me to continue doing this blog. Support an artist today.