Lesson #558 - Photocomics
Panel 1
Blackboard: Let's talk about photocomics for a minute, shall we?
Pose: Dante to the left of blackboard pointing with chalk at 'shall we'
Panel 2
Blackboard: We're beginning to approach a point where webcomics are recognized as a legitimate art form - more and more people are familiar with the term "webcomic" and may read a number of them.
Pose: Dante to the left of blackboard pointing at 'more and more?'
Panel 3
Blackboard: But photocomics still throw people off - "What is that supposed to be?" "You mean photoblog, right?" "What a lazy way of trying to produce a 'comic'" "Totally lame!"
Pose: Dante to the left of blackboard pointing with chalk at 'Totally lame!'
Panel 4
Blackboard: So let's address these concerns about what is, really, nothing more than just a different creative process.
Pose: Dante to the left of blackboard pointing at 'creative process'
Panel 5
Blackboard: First of all, you can't separate the art from the writing when you try to evaluate a comic. If you focus on the qualifying a comic solely on how good the art is, you open the door for any good art to be called a 'comic.'
Pose: Dante to the left of blackboard pointing with chalk at 'If you focus?"
Panel 6
Blackboard: Dali's "Persistence of Memory?" Clearly a fantasy serial.
Munch's "The Scream?" In today's Internet, Probably a zombie comic.
Van Gogh's one-eared self-portrait? Just plain hilarious!
Pose: Dante to far left of board pointing at 'Just plain hilarious!"
Panel 7
Blackboard: Art is just a medium you use to tell a story of some kind, with each artistic style having advantages and disadvantages in relation to how the story is told. In fact, it can be of lesser importance than the writing itself - if you're just going to rehash the same old plot and setting with different visuals, what's the point?
Pose: Dante to far left of blackboard pointing with chalk at 'lesser'
Panel 8
Blackboard: But then - bad art can detract from the writing. should you really put something sloppy-looking together if it's just going to ruin how clever or original everything else is? and if photographs offer a well-crafted medium that adds to the overall reader's experience, can it really be less of an art form?
Pose: Dante to left of blackboard pointing at 'and photographs?'
Panel 9
Blackboard: So does it matter if the art consists of photographs? Of course not! In fact, a good comic shouldn't need any of the standard conventions to work well.
Pose: Dante to left of blackboard pointing animatedly at 'Of course not!'
Panel 10
Blackboard: Paper speech bubble in front of blackboard Speech bubbles really matter? Bet you feel validated as a reader now, right?
Pose: Dante to left of blackboard with mouth open and shocked expression
Panel 11 (shown as a 'negative')
Blackboard: Ooh, or maybe some flashy colors or fancy graphics of some kind, then! Look, it's so daring and artistic!
Pose: Dante to left of chalkboard pointing with chalk at 'artistic'
Panel 12
Blackboard: As long as the art supports the story or ideas, then it shouldn't matter whether it's full-drawn characters, stick-figured, or photographs. And frankly, the further you mount the real world, the more obligated you are to follow basic rule -
Pose: Dante on left of blackboard pointing at 'photographs'
Panel 13
Blackboard: Rules like the laws of physics, the transience of time, and no nudity without being classified as porn. And because that really sets limits to your potential, what you DO truly impressive.
Pose: Dante to the left of the blackboard pointing with chalk at 'as porn'
Panel 14
Blackboard: So there it is - photographs are just another creative art medium. and photocomics are just noter creative comic style. And if you still disagree, get over yourself.
Pose: Dante to the let of blackboard pointing with chalk at 'get over yourself'
File Under: Art Comics, Creativity, No Nudity