Explorations

The Explorations unit challenges students to explore one of their passions while improving on one of their 21st Century Skills. For my own project, I wanted to focus on visual literacy by analyzing effective visual storytelling in comics and creating my own short graphic story.

Process

I had to make many tough decisions to ensure I would finish the project on time. Instead of ensuring a visually finalized product, I decided to focus on the concept and pacing. This led to me drawing out more pages than I had initially planned and trading fully lining and coloring everything for only sketching them to ensure an appropriate narrative flow. However, I still lined and colored the first page to get a feel of how the comic could look like if I decided to finalize it.

The first few steps happened in my sketchbook. I started by brainstorming the different approaches I could take when creating a comic and the main elements I felt were necessary. Because of the time restraint, I decided to focus on exploring some emotions I’ve been struggling with lately instead of creating characters or backstories (which I very much would’ve liked to have done).

I settled with uncertainty and change as the main themes.

The second step was sketching out the storyboard, laying out the basic page layouts and text. I already had an idea of what I wanted to do, but most of the writing was done on this stage.

I then finalized the sketches digitally in Photoshop, oftentimes changing up parts of the layout.

Then came the line-art stage, where most of the detailing happens. I also added the text and page numbering.

Finally, I added colors and shading. I found that this was the main establisher of tone and mood. On this page, I used contrasting teal and red hues to symbolize conflict and tension, coupled with dramatic lighting to give it a darker feel.


Here is the final production:

(click to view)

Infographic

Using either Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign, we also created an infographic related to our topic’s research. In my infographic, I wanted to identify four of the main elements that make a memorable comic in a visually engaging way.

Final infographic, made with Photoshop!
Photoshop project with initial sketches

Presentation Video

I compiled my findings and process in the following video!

The Explorations unit helped improve my visual storytelling skills with elements that can be applied to many other storytelling mediums. I valued having full control over my project and setting my own goals. On a deeper level, it has allowed me to reflect on my relationship with involuntary changes and see how I shouldn’t worry about the future as much as I do.