Hi! For my genius hour this year I’m drawing a comic strip, this doc discusses my research.
A while ago I looked at a site for drawing tips,(thevirtualinstructor.com) it said to observe drawing styles, so that’s what I’ve been doing. I have been doing this by looking at comic strips online. Really there’s not too much I can say about this but I think I’ve improved a little. Another thing I’d mention is that I liked the simple style of strips like Cyanide and Happiness the best. My science connection is the science of inking. The reason cartoonists use so many different pens for inking is mainly because of depth and volume(artistsnetwork.com). This is important because that makes the comic look more three dimensional. You also might be wondering what the difference between the two is. According to WikiDiff.com the difference is that depth is how far something goes in, whereas volume is the space between the sides as well as the top and the bottom. There’s also the question of why there are so many different tools for inking. MakingComics.com says that the main tools are brushes, quills, pens, and multiliners. I couldn’t however seem to find how they ink differently, but I would guess it changes the depth/volume of the art. As well I think I’ll mostly do one panel strips like The Far Side. I didn’t really have any failures but learning to draw better was actually really hard.(The Far Side)
Bibliography: “10 Quick Tips on Drawing.” Drawing Tips- 10 Quick Tips on Drawing, thevirtualinstructor.com/QuicktipsDrawing.html.
DenBleycker, Rob. “Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm.net).” Cyanide & Happiness, explosm.net/.
“Depth vs Volume – What’s the Difference?” WikiDiff, 19 Feb. 2018, wikidiff.com/volume/depth.
Beauchamp, Brock. “Tools of the Trade: Traditional Inking.” MakingComics.com, 25 Feb. 2015, www.makingcomics.com/2014/09/09/tools-trade-traditional-inking/.
Woodie, Maria. “How Different Materials Affect Your Drawing Process.” Artists Network, 4 Dec. 2017, www.artistsnetwork.com/art-mediums/drawing/different-materials-affect-drawing-process/.
Larson, Gary. The Complete Far Side. Andrews McMeel Pub., 2016.