Comics have long been known for being the medium for ‘children.’ As you look deeper into what a comic can be, you can learn that a comic or graphic novel can be just as intellectual as any other written text, or just as creative as any other art. When looking at the way comics can be created, there is really no end to what you can use to create it. Specifically, hand-drawing a comic is and was quite different than creating it digitally. Not only will using these two very different demographics make the comics look different, but their messages can be portrayed very differently as well.

My Comic titled “Sleeping In!”

This week, when I was put to the task to hand-draw a comic strip, I knew that this was not going to be my favorite thing to do. My drawbacks to creating a hand-drawn comic was the fact that I could not draw as well as I wanted, so it was hard for me to show what I wanted. On the other hand, one benefit was that I was able to use more organic shapes that made the comic feel more personal.

My digital comic created on InDesign

When my next task was to create a comic digitally, using any program I felt comfortable with, I was much more excited. Even though I do not have much experience with InDesign, I decided to use this program because I wanted to learn more about how to use it. 

In one of my other classes for Interior Design, I have to use InDesign as well, so I have been learning more and more about it. Some benefits to creating a comic digitally, using InDesign included the fact that I could create clearer shapes, and that I could type out the text. I also really enjoy being able to format and reformat without having to erase and redraw and waste paper and ink/graphite. One drawback to this thought was that I could not draw the organic shapes as easily, at least at first. Both of these demographics definitely effected how the comic strip would be viewed by its audience. Each work well and get the point across, but I think for different people, it will depend on what they really want to portray in their comic.

When reading a comic online vs. on paper, it is much easier to get the whole picture when you have the actual comic or graphic novel in hand. This is because if there is ever any full-page spreads, or page bleeding or any other effects, it will be much harder to grasp when viewing it on a PDF.

Finally, reading the first chapter of “Understanding Comics” By Scott McCloud did help a bit when I began creating my digital comic. I have read this book back in my junior year of high school for a graphic novels class. So, being able to refresh my memory on the definition of a comic and remind myself the fact that any comic can look very unique and different helped me try to break out of my traditional sense of what the comic should really look like. This lead me to feel free to create whatever I wanted.