Wednesday, March 10, 2010

WP2: Prewrite









The siblings in this comic are talking about a stereotypical supermodel. The two kids are sitting at the same table, facing mainly towards each other. They are drawn with similar characteristics such as the shape of their faces, noses, ears, eyes, freckles, and single tooth. These characteristics are presented to show that they are brother and sister. Although they are not shaped like the normal idea of a human, they contain the normal body parts of humans, and therefore are perceived as humans. One has a few lines coming of his head to represent short hair, which viewers understand to be a boy. The other has drawn on pigtails representing a girl. The girl is slightly bigger, making her appear taller and older. She is also explaining her idea of a supermodel to the boy, again showing her to be older.

The three panels are tied together by the similar background. Their setting remains the same, but is drawn to show different cropping in the second frame. This frame only focuses on the boy, to show his reaction and excitement to what the girl has said. The setting is very vague and does not contain too much detail, except for the painting, which also is not shown in the second frame. The painting in the photograph changes slightly from the first to the third frame. This is not something that is initially noticed, and could be missed all together. Most likely, it is just an addition to the comedy of the piece. None of the three frames contain any colors besides black, white, and gray. There is minimal shading in the comic. This puts more focus on the words on the comic, because the drawing is not very detailed or exciting, it simply gives an idea for a possible setting.

The typography used for the picture is all one size, but varying from uppercase to lowercase. This variation makes it appear childish. This is important because the subjects are children, so the childish typography represents that this is supposedly what the cartoons are "saying". The shape of the typography seems to be relaxed. Although the diet and lifestyle of supermodels, and their possible effects on children, can be a heated topic, the relaxed typography keeps the comic from being too serious. It is touching at a serious topic but focusing on the comedy in it. This aligns with the general usage of comic strips to make arguments, versus other media that may be taken more serious. The weight of the type is slightly heavier than the other lines in the comic. This contrast is very small, but makes the words of the comic stand out more than the background.

You would not get anything out of the drawing if it did not have any words, it would just show some kids sitting at a table. However, you would be able to understand what the words were about without the drawing. But, the drawing helps to establish that these are ideas children are having. In this comic, the words and the drawing are working together to create a stronger meaning. The viewer is first drawn to the kids but then immediately to the words to discover how they are interacting with each other.