This is the next step from the previous article over here; Panel designing. In this phase, you’ll need to imagine clearly where it take place, how many and what kinds of characters will act in your comic. Or, you can always draw a faceless stick figure telling stories in a blank panel space. Oh wait, that idea is taken. To help you build the panels of your comic, you can write down the description for each panel. The description has to be as practical as possible, if it’s too abstract it won’t help you. It contains the explanation of ‘what are in’ the panel. For example, the angle of view, where the characters are placed and what the characters are doing in your panel, the dialog or narration, background description, and anything you want. Here is my panel design description for my assignment.
Page 1
Panel 1 Front view, frog perspective, in a distance.
Description : Aris was standing and in high spirit. A cat was sleeping in the background.
Text : Aris : “Today I’m to draw a comic!”
Panel 2 View from above, close up.
Description : Aris’s hand was holding a transparent looking pencil. It was imaginary.
Panel 3 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : Aris stood with blank expression. The cat was awaken by the noise from a door opened by a friend in the background.
Text : Aris : “…”
Panel 4 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : Aris stood with blank expression. The friend and the cat came to Aris.
Text : Teman Aris : “What’s wrong?”
Panel 5 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : Emphasizing Aris’s expression while whining about his lost pencil to the friend.
Text : Aris : “My pencil’s missing. I can’t draw without that particular pencil.”
Teman Aris : “Just trace back and search in the place you’ve been.”
Panel 6 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : Emphasizing Aris’s expression while running away from the cat and the friend.
Text : Aris : “I’ll go around the earth if I must to find it!”
Teman Aris : “Wait!”
Page 2
Panel 7 Front view, in very far distance.
Description : Earth in space. Aris was running on a point and there was a trailing dashes behind him around the earth in distorted scale.
Panel 8 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : Emphasizing Aris’s expression of exhaustion and desperation. Aris was messing up his hair. The can was sitting behind him.
Text : Aris : “Aaaaaaah! Where’s the %*!# pencil?!”
Panel 9 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : A pencil was thrown from behind his right ear, bounced on the cat’s head before finally fell to the floor. Aris stopped messing his hair.
Panel 10 View from above, close up.
Description : Close up to the pencil in the floor.
Page 3
Panel 11 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : Aris was imagining a calculation of how the pencil was thrown to the floor by using physics equations.
Panel 12 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : Viewing Aris, the cat and the pencil. Aris was standing with blank expression. The friend came in to the panel.
Text : Teman Aris : “I was trying to tell you when you ran away.”
Panel 13 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : Viewing the friend, Aris, the cat and the pencil. Aris was standing with blank expression. Emphasizing the silence between them.
Panel 13 Front view, human perspective, in a distance.
Description : Viewing the friend, Aris, the cat and the pencil. Aris was standing with blank expression. Emphasizing the silence between them.
Text : Narasi : -END-
Dialog :
Aris : “What was I going to draw exactly?”
Well, you know, you can always skip this step. You’re the master, reader.
Next is the fun part. Drawing the sketches!
…which I’ll continue later on.