WEEK 2: SCOTT MCCLOUD'S MAKING COMICS

I've always been interested in reading comics and manga. I always imagined them as snapshots to a moving picture. Each frame not fully portraying what is going on but can still get the point across similar to a sentence. Except, a picture can add more.

I've read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics which was interesting to get an overall understanding of comics but when reading Making Comics felt like a bit overwhelming. I primarily focused on character design. I love to make characters and develop stories even though I may never make a comic, McCloud's explanation in character design intrigued me.

How do you make a compelling character? How do you prevent creating a Mary Sue?

McCloud explains in the simplest terms, characters vary and can be created from different circumstances but there are 3 qualities that make a great comic character.

1. Inner life
2. Visual Distintion
3. Expressive traits

A lot of my characters come from doodling in class or the urge to create a story. If the character is already designed I try to envision what their outfit, pose, and expression tells about the character's personality or their background. I build their backstories primarily on the interactions I think they would have with other characters and build upon that. Sometimes I start to overthink and I just want to enjoy the building process which as McCloud states, "obsessing TOO much over such details is a classic beginner's mistake." I remind myself, character-building for me is therapeutic and more of a hobby rather than a comic artist's job.

I think, unlike a comic artist I treat my characters as an unending story. They are a way for me to create and escape at times to other worlds or stories. It was interesting when McCloud talks about variation. That it's not to simplify but to have variation which creates more of an interest. I remember when reading shoujo manga in middle school, the protagonists would sometimes be exactly the same. Clumsy, air headed and easy to romantically sway. When a shoujo protagonist was strong, funny or different in a non-shoujo cliche way, it made it more compelling to read. Those characters became more memorable especially when they would be put into different world challenges like death or a relationship problem. It would be less predictable.