Author's
Note
"Thou shalt not waste thy talents drawing
funny-books!"
I must have heard that a thousand times when I was enrolled
in the fine arts program at Ohio University. While I largely
enjoyed art school, I must confess that I had never seen such
a hive of predjudice regarding comics. Sure, I can't fault
my profs from trying to steer me away from a career as a comic
book artist, (they were probably right to do so), but I felt
frustrated by the show of ignorance toward what I knew to
be a complex and noble art form.
Raising my banner as a white knight for comics, I set out
to write this guide, and to prove that comics are ever so
much more than stylized line-drawings in little boxes. As
I wrote, I did my best to strip away the cliches associated
with comics and expose some of the sophisticated information
design lurking just beneath the surface. Did I succeed? A
little, perhaps. However, should I chance to meet any comic
book naysayers hereafter, I can hand them a copy of Timing
and shout, "BITE THY TONGUE O IGNORANT ONE, FOR THY ENLIGHTENMENT
COMETH!!"
So without further ado, I present to you my guide to the mechanism
of timing in comics. Enjoy!
~Joanna
What
is Time?
Time. The dictionary defines it as “a non-spatial
continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible
succession from the past through the present to the future.”
Science fiction calls it the fourth dimension. Civilization
recognizes time as the established rule that dictates when
civilians eat, sleep, and work. In short, the concept of time
means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
But what
does time mean to the artist? Independent timelines exist
in the arts. Whether they realize it or not, artists, writers,
and designers have the unique opportunity to deal with time
on an entirely different level than those aforementioned.
The artist creates visual hierarchies that guide the viewer’s
eye; the writer tells a tale that spans a year, but takes
mere hours to read; the designer arranges elements to modify
the viewing/reading experience, influencing the viewer/reader
to turn the pages faster or slower. In this sense, creators
are, in fact, controlling time by allowing the viewer or reader
to move fluidly through imagined or invented timelines that
exist within a given media. However, artists are rarely conscious
of their instinctual modifications of timing, and herein lies
the purpose of this guide.
Timing
attempts to explore and document a few of the instinctual
manipulations and realizations of time through dissection
of visual and textual timelines existing on the two-dimensional
page. It can be used as a simple guide to time manipulation,
or enjoyed as an insight into the instinctual time travel
that exists within the human mind.
How
to read this guide
A simple key to the iconography of Timing.
Timing is laid out in a series of comparative diagrams
showing time spans exhibited in varied visual and textual
information hierarchies. To clearly understand the language
behind the diagrams, a brief explanation of the elements is
necessary.
The
Panels:
Images in Timing are portrayed within square panels
that act as guidelines in which to accurately dissect timelines.
The panel is generally regarded as staple of comic book iconography,
but the panels in this guide are not limited to comic book
language, and in some cases, may be regarded as a book's page,
an artist’s canvas, etc.
The
Icons:
There are two levels of time addressed in this guide: real
time, and imagined time. Real time is the true and irreversible
duration that occurs as the reader is physically viewing the
diagrams, and is represented by a series of solid boxes located
in the bottom right corner. Imagined time is the reader’s
subconscious perception of the passage of time, and is iconized
by a series of open boxes located in the bottom right corner,
just below the real time icon. In some cases, the imagined
time icon will be portrayed as a single open circle, indicating
a sense of timelessness rather than a specified time within
the corresponding diagram. It should also be noted that each
icon’s meaning is specific to its diagram, and should
not be compared with other icons as part of a whole.
TIMING
PART 1: PANELS
The Panel
Juxtaposed imagery becomes a sequence.
The panel is a time-moving icon. Images not enclosed by panels
exist only as objects on a page, but when an image is enclosed
by a panel, it becomes it’s own moment in time.
The images in the diagram below are enclosed in panels, thus
becoming a sequence. The viewer subconsciously recognizes
the panel, reads the images as a sequence, and is consequently
moved through time.
Increased Panels
Prolonging the inevitable.
The implied passage of time in a sequence of images can be
manipulated by simply increasing the number of panels. This
will make the sequence physically longer to read, and give
the impression of a longer span of time.
Also,
separating the action into more steps/panels implies a slower
pace to the sequence, even if it isn’t directly stated
that the sequence is moving slowly.
The
Split-Panel Image
From one, many.
The designer can manipulate the effect of a given image by
altering its placement within multiple panels. When a single
image is split between three panels, it will read as three
separate moments in time. This makes the image physically
read slower, as the reader examines each moment.
Secondly,
this pause pulls focus to the contents of each section, and
adds a feeling of stopped time to the image. This affords
the reader the luxury to examine each section of the image
as he/she would a diagram.
The
Long Panel
Stretching the truth.
It is possible to imply a longer span of time, simply by extending
the panel to a greater length. Making the panel physically
longer will make it slightly longer to read.
Also,
the panel’s size in relation to its contents makes for
a more atmospheric read, further implying a longer span of
time. When a long panel is employed, elements of tension and
suspense also come into play, because the reader may expect
someting to happen.
The
Open Panel
Outside of the panel, outside of time.
Some panels are not enclosed by a box, but rather, by the
surrounding boxes. This way the image is not directly contained,
but it is still read in context with the other closed panels,
and as a result it remains a part of the sequence.
Artists and designers may open panels like this one to give
them a sense of timelessness. The image outside the panel
is more directly connected to the page, and as it appears
to be behind or beneath other panels, it acts as a device
to set the mood for the entire page.
The
Bleed Panel
Running an image off the page.
Very similar to the open panel is the bleed panel, which
commonly bleeds off of at least one side of the page, even
if it remains enclosed on all other sides.
Like
the open panel, the bleed panel has a very subtle effect on
time. As opposed to the diagram on the previous page, the
diagram below illustrates the atmospheric quality that a bleed
panel lends to the page. When the contents of the panel are
bled off the page, the reader subconsciously registers the
timeless nature of the panel. Therefore, the artist/designer
can bleed panels that don’t have a set span of time,
or a particular span of time assigned to them.
The
Overlapping Panel
Images within images.
Overlapping panels, or panels within other panels add
a whole new dimension to the portrayal of time. When kept
separate, two panels read as two separate moments.
When one panel exists within, or is positioned on top of the
first, it implies that the two events are taking place simultaneously.
Bibliography
Eisner, Will, Comics and Sequential Art,
Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press, 1985.
Eisner,
Will, Graphic Storytelling, Tamarac, FL:
Poorhouse Press, 1995.
McCloud,
Scott, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art,
New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
Zwimpfer,
Moritz, Visual Perception: Elementary Phenomena
of Two-Dimensional Perception. A Handbook for Artists and
Designers, Switzerland: Verlag Niggli, 1994.
Joanna
Estep is the co-creator and artist of the Tokyopop
series ROADSONG, and is also co-founder of the creative collective,
MILKTOOTH PRESS. To learn more, visit her website at
www.joannaestep.com,
or visit her blog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/jou
