Chapters 2 & 3 of Understanding Comics
notes
- Chapter 2 is saying that a drawing of an object (e.g. flower) isn’t actually the real object (e.g. flower), maybe because a drawing isn’t an exact representation of the object being drawn
- The more we simplify the face in cartoons, the less detailed and realistic it should look to the human eye, however, we still feel these simplifies images are acceptable and seem realistic just as much as the others.
- Simplifying characters and images toward a purpose can be an effective tool for storytelling in any medium.
- The more cartoony a face is, for instance, the more people it could be said to describe.
- Humans are a self centred race. We see ourselves in everything.
- When you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a face you see it as the face of another, however, when you see a cartoon, you see it as yourself.
- Cartoon is a vacuum where identity and awareness are pulled
- Chapter 3 is about perception and closure
- All of us perceive the world as a whole through the experience of our senses. Yet our senses can only reveal a world that is fragmented and incomplete.
- In an incomplete world, we must depend on closure for our very survival.
- Comic panels fracture both time and space, offering a jagged, staccato rhythm of unconnected moments.
- But closure allows us to connect these moments and mentally construct a continuous, unified reality.
