2 - Extending balance to panel composition

Expectations

• organize their art works to create a specific effect, using at least two of the principals of design specified for this grade.

Introduction

We are going to apply the principals of balance to the layout of your manga panels. There are many things to consider when laying out your panel such as size, shape, number, and that the same principal we discussed yesterday apply equally to panel layout as they do to paintings.

Development

1. 5 min - review the plan of upcoming lessons, and remind them of the different types of ballance discussed in the last class.
2. 10 min - Discuss the various ways to split a page into multiple panels. This will cover whole page panels, 4 and 6 panel symmetrical, asymmetrical and nested images. Remind them of the KISS principal. Discuss what should go in different sized boxes (e.g. important or introductory scenes should go in larger boxes and smaller boxes are best used for quick developing action)
3. 10 min - review scan paths. Discuss how the scan path within a panel and between panels should intersect word and thought bubbles and lead the reader across the page.
4. 35 min - start work on rough draft.

Application

Hand out a couple of sheets of 11x17 paper for their rough drafts, as well as lined paper for their artistic logs. The students will be given the rest of this period and the whole of the following period to complete a rough draft of their manga. This rough draft should show the panel layout, and the layout of the contents of the individual panel. Balance lines and scan paths should be shown as in the exercises in Lesson 1. See the next page for details on assessment

Instructional Aids

Data projector, internet access, suitable Comic Panel and Layout Tutorial from the net. Print this out and distribute to the students.

Reference Material

Images taken from the inner space tutorial.

Art Exemplars