Date of Award
2019
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Art
First Reader
Professor Ferris Williams
Second Reader
Dr. Amy Sonheim
Third Reader
Dr. Kevin Cornelius
Abstract
When I was 12 years old, I drew a short, goofy comic book that followed the adventures of Carrie Hill and her wacky friends. Now as a 22-year-old graphic design student, I've continued to draw comics because they can tell stories with great depth using only a sequence of images. Whenever I read Ben Hatke's Zita the Spacegirl or Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant, I dream of publishing a graphic novel or comic strip. This dream prompted me to create several comics for my thesis, exploring different genres and styles. My original intention was to develop several 10-page comics, adapting famous narratives and writing my own scripts. However, my final thesis ended up looking a bit different. I only made one 10-page comic, along with several shorter comics and dozens of sketches. Most of these comics have incomplete stories; they are windows into bigger ideas that I could not finish for this thesis. Although I have been casually drawing comics for years now, I learned that intentionally making high-quality comics is a lot more difficult than I expected it to be. This was because, although I had a strong head knowledge of comics, I had not developed adequate craftsmanship. In her essay, "The Macrame of Resistance", Lorraine Wild explains that we artists need more than just theoretical knowledge: we need "craft knowledge", gained through hands on experience (84). This allows us to create artwork more instinctually (Wild 85). As I began creating comics, I shifted the focus of my thesis towards developing my process so that I could begin developing this craft knowledge. In this essay, I will trace my journey through the creative process to show you how I developed each comic. Then I will show you how I applied this process to my final comic.
Recommended Citation
Hill, Carrie, "Crafting Comics: My Journey Through the Creative Process" (2019). Honors Theses. 724.
https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/honors_theses/724