TAW — Ezra Claytan Daniels

MAKING DIGITAL COMICS

Instructor: Ezra Claytan Daniels | ezracdaniels@gmail.com

RESOURCES

Additional Reading:
- Full Digital Comics Manifesto on Screendiver.com
- About Digital Comics by Balak (warning: offensive language)
- Reinventing Comics and Graphic Novels for Digital by Mark Waid (Thrillbent)

RECAP

DAY 1 (Monday): Intro to Digital Comics and Powerpoint

TASKS
- Make a 3-5 page comic in PowerPoint about something you love.
- Must use at least 2 effects impossible in print
- Choose effects to compliment your specific story
- Slideshow format: Widescreen

READING LIST
Note interactions in
- Phallaina (iPad)
- The Art of Pho (online)

Note animations in
- Our Toyota Was Fantastic (online)
- Bottom of the Ninth (iPad)

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DAY 2 (Tuesday): Digital Comics Manifesto

TASKS
- Finish story outline, thinking about how to use interactive features to seamlessly increase immersion in the story
- Finish basic character/set designs

READING LIST
Note Branching Narrative in
- Meanwhile (iPad)
- Ruben + Lullaby (view video)

Note Hyperlinking in
- Operation Ajax (iPad)
- Vision Machine (iPad)

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DAY 3 (Wednesday): User Interface Design

TASKS
- Finish first draft of script
- Wireframe or thumbnail the interactive and digital features
- Start thinking about sound design if your story uses sound
- Check out additional reading by Balak and Mark Waid

READING LIST
Note Sound Design in
- Upgrade Soul (iPad)
- Vision Machine (iPad)
- NeoMad by Sutu (iPad)

Note Gamification in
- Framed (iPad)
- SXPD (iPad)

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DAY 4 (Thursday): Random Stuff

TASKS
- Finish rough storyboards
- Decide on your approach to sound
- Build a prototype of your key interactions to make sure they work the way you want
- Start working on final art--work out a schedule that will help you finish all the work by next Friday

READING LIST (optional)
Visions_1 (comics by previous class)

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DAY 5-9: Work

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DAY 10 (Final Friday): Presentations

Work until lunch. Upload your project to the Student Drive by 1pm

1pm: Volunteers will present their comics to the class in the classroom
2-3pm: I'll go over the projects not presented and quickly discuss
3-4pm: Comic Art Battle!

Sample Comic: "The Haze" written by Ezra Claytan Daniels, drawn by Ben Passmore

Sample Comic: "A Vessel in Drift"

Another advantage of Digital Comics: REVISIONS