Modual 3 - Out of Lockdown Diaries
This project is about you using your drawing skills to create a small body of work (book/comic) that demonstrates the knowledge and experience you have gained throughout this module but also, and crucially, captures something of your unique personality. Even though we've been leading a heavily restricted existence for most of the last two years, we are still unique individuals with our own thoughts, personalities peculiarities, habits and outlook.
Brief - Using the drawing skills you have developed to date during this module we want you to apply and extend them by producing your own, unique, visual 'Out of Lockdown Diary'. As this is about you, we don't want to influence what you put in it too much but will give you a few guidelines.
It should be -
- An honest reflection of YOUR coming out of lockdown experience
- Something that demonstrates you drawing ability (figures, exteriors, interiors)
- Something that captures your personality, frustrations, triumphs etc.
- A work that has a beginning, middle and end
It should not be -
- A work of complete fantasy
- A series of random, unrelated images
- Something that is not true to your life or experience of living through Lockdown
Week one (w/c 23 Nov 2020)
Clear identification of the content (what you want to communicate) along with a rough mock-up of the book/comic. You should also explore potential techniques, media and style. This material will be discussed at the 30 November session.
Weeks two - four (after Mon 30 Nov - Mon 14 Dec)
Working on producing the artwork for your book.
Deadline: Monday 14 December at 1.00PM
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I started this project by getting all of my rough narrative ideas out onto a page. I came up with three strong potential ideas.
1 - The narrative would focus on my relationship with my grandma over lockdown, and how her teaching me how to knit and crochet helped keep us connected and in touch over the pandemic despite not being able to meet in person. 2 - The narrative would have more comedic elements, focusing on a funny story from when I got Covid over the summer of this year, and how it impacts me today eg wearing a mask at work. 3 - This narrative would be more serious, and would focus on the different types of isolation I went through during the pandemic, including being isolated at university, isolated at home, and isolated at work. This would focus more on my mental health, and on the feelings of loneliness and depression during these times. |
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Grandma comic ideas -
- Illustrate the first hug we shared after Covid.
- Emphasise the distance between us over lockdown - emphasise the ling hallway we used to sit at opposite ends of. Two chairs, two figures joined together by the strands of wool and yarn of the same ball of wool, to emphasise out connection despite the distance.
- Illustrate the first hug we shared after Covid.
- Emphasise the distance between us over lockdown - emphasise the ling hallway we used to sit at opposite ends of. Two chairs, two figures joined together by the strands of wool and yarn of the same ball of wool, to emphasise out connection despite the distance.
Mask at work ideas -
- Make this one more narrative focused.
- Stylised to emphasise comedic tone.
- Could contrast on the humour of the story. - Flashback to the series of events. The party/the Covid test/the boredom - use quick panels. Then sloe down and focus on the funny sandwich story.
Isolation comic ideas -
- Narrative driven.
- Isolation at school - Uni accommodations were small and cramped, and we weren't allowed to socialise with any other flats. Could push perspective + harsh + dull lighting.
- Isolation at home - Isolating with Covid - Home is big and empty. Use panels like rooms in a house. Home alone because mum is an essential worker and had to be out.
- Isolation at work - New person, new job.
- Only one wearing a mask. - Draw others focusing on nose and mouth, have me be a pair of eyes + a mask to differentiate between people.
- Everyone is friends, I don't know anyone.
- Isolated socially instead of physically.
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I did some research, and booked examples of comics, graphic novels, and how to books out from the library. In Foundations of Comic Book Art by John Lowe, I learned some good inking techniques, and in Framed Ink by Marcos Mateu-Mestre, I found some good examples of framing and perspective shots which i then copied into my sketchbook. I initially decided to focus on the humorous comic, about the time is sniffed a jar of pickles to be sure I had Covid. I thought the more light tone would be a better comic to read and different from the depressing tone and energy of the pandemic as a whole. |
After a one to one with Dwayne, I played around with page layouts from comics in an attempt to find where to start with my comic. I focused on three, panels and tiers, as you can have a wide range of variation from the simple layout.
Then, I sketched out a very rough version of the humorous comic idea using mostly the three panel layout.
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However, after talking with my tutors, I decided against using the humorous idea for my comic. The idea I had sketched out was far too long and complex, and there was no variation in the layout of the panels at all. So instead of this, I decided to shift my focus and instead create a more serious comic about how I felt when I had Covid.
I took it a page at a time, sketching out rough thumbnails of each page as I went. I had created a very rough mock up version, but I was an idiot and accidently began my final piece in the same mock up zine book, so I had to erase the rough version to create the final.
