Things to do and not to do in composition

Its always the struggle between static and dynamic!

Too balanced, no movement, boring

Too focused, flat

Only edges touch, extremely flat

(This error is usually a sign of a beginner!)

Too much tension in the corner

Movement, interesting

Tension rises in the middle, eye will

jump around the image

Partly behind each other.

3D feeling

No tension in the corner, just focus

Compiled by Eka

Straight above, flat

Boring empty space

Bad cut, cut from the middle

(Never perform cuts from joints or other
clear lines. Be cautious of where you
place your lines to meet.)

Flat shadows

Feeling of real space

Empty space has a meaning

Good cut.
Remember that lines through
the head usually mean death.

Shadows show the shape

Compiled by Eka

An example from Kimmo Plikk

http://www.kp-art.fi/artbook

Structure: foreground = a gate and tree, middle

ground = a path, background = a house and
outbuilding.
Lines of power: a circle, guiding eyes to a section
above the gate.
Pictorial description: waiting, the door of the house
will soon open, and an expected figure will appear.

The Mirror Image

The pictorial message changes. The lines of power
now guide the viewers eyes from the bottom to the
top and in the direction of the mans eyes, which are
directed towards the door. His body and hand bring
the viewers eyes down, and back towards the door.

Postcard by Martta Wendelin

A Single Rose Grew in a Valley, 1959

The structure of the illustration remains the same in

the mirror image but the lines of power have a
different meaning. The image portrays the man as
having been left at the gate. Disappointment is
reflected in his posture. Turned around, the illustration tells of the customs of the community and the
morale of the home, which has prevented the
youngsters time alone without a chaperon, or,
perhaps tells of a proud daughter within the house,
who has left a hopeful suitor in the lurch.

Compiled by Eka

Comics and composition

In the mean time...

If you have text in the pic, you have to start by

planning where it will be placed. What is the
natural order to read the speech balloons?
How much text there will be? Are there any
captions (normally located in top-left or
bottom-right corner) or sound effects? Try to
place the balloons so that they vary in size,
place, shape, etc.

Stop it!
Uh wugga wuh
uh wugga wuh
uh wugga wugga

Only after the text is placed you can start

composing the pictures in the leftover area.
The balloons should convey the story also without the images.

Page composition for one page strip

Wide pictures depict longer period in time.
They are slow paced, so often used for
introducing a new scene.

The opening scene.

The main
character

The pace
quickens!

The solution.

What is really
happening?

Ta-dah!
The climax.

Close up.

The pace is
still fast.

The ending scene.

The rhythm of the comic is made by similar

rules as in the movies. Close ups tighten,
wider views loosen the feeling.

The most important parts can be highlighted with special shapes, etc.

Narrow pictures mean faster pace. The

ending scene is wider again to relax the
tension.

Comics are stories - they follow the dramatic structure.

Good comics need to work also in the script level
Compiled by Eka

How to show what is important and in focus?

Some examples:

Lines in the picture

Movement

Perspective

What people look at

Lighting effects

With the help of the previous panel

Comic novels
Page composition in comics that consist of several
pages is slightly different from the one-pagewonders. The page needs to function by itself, just
like with one page, but there needs to be a
cliffhanger in the end of every spreadhead - that
makes sure the reader will turn the page.
The viewers gaze needs to be guided through the
whole page. The artist needs to make sure the
reader will know where to look next. Good cartoon
artists place blocks in the end of the lines to
prevent the readers gaze escaping the image.
Extremely good artists also point to the climax on
the page the whole way.

Compiled by Eka

How did Carl Barks do it?

From The Seven Cities of Cibola -1954

The panels are not even: dynamic instead of static
Its clear in what order the story needs to be read
Lots of emphasizing in text
The gaze enters the
page, horizontal
positioning forces it
forward.

Donalds gaze points to

the statue, its looking
down and left, the
reader follows.

There is a block in the

right forcing the gaze
down again.

Movement and silhouette points straight to

Huey, hes got something important to say.

The wall in the right

curves the attention
back to the left.

After the rapid movement above its time to

relax a bit with wider
view, but background
pushes the view to the
next panel.

The position of the

statue urges to turn the
page.

Scrooge has something

important to say, his
head is highlighted.

Pay also attention how all the

main lines of the page are pointing towards one particular panel:
the one where Scrooge realizes
that they are in grave danger.
Even if that panel has most text,
its holding the most tension.
Compiled by Eka