For my webcomic, I struggled a lot since my original plan was to use HTML. I was not able to master the program as well as I wanted so I decided to create a GIF. I at first created a long gif that was about a bunny driving onto campus and getting a parking ticket even though he paid a second after the ticket was given. This whole idea got deleted in the process of transporting it. When I recreated it, the GIF would not export. 

The limitations to web presentations are that when you have to scroll a lot, it is sometimes hard to see the whole comic which bothers some people. To challenge this “scrolling” idea, I decided to make a GIF where the whole image is played on one full screen so the viewer could see my entire comic. This way, the viewer can enjoy the aesthetic of the comic. 

I guide the viewer through my comic by watching a loop. You see the bunny jumping

GIF by Maria Alvarez

through the field, picking up a carrot, eating it, and then walking out of the frame to only walk back. Having the GIF on a loop can help guide the viewer so no confusion occurs as to where the GIF starts.  

When the comic is viewed on different devices, the comic looks a bit different. On a computer, the comic fills the entire screen to maximize viewing pleasure. When this comic is viewed on an iPhone, only one-third of the page is used and the GIF looks small. 

For this comic, I was inspired by some of the gifs that were in the reading “Long Term Relationship” by Eroyn Franklin. While reading some of the comics, I noticed that Eroyn has short GIFS of a woman and I wanted to create something like that. 

Scott McCloud would say that my GIF is a series of pictorial images that convey a story. The story is a bunny jumping across a field to eat a carrot. This GIF is a series of pictures because, in the gif, there are about 14 images that were used to create this story in a “video” form. Scott would also say that this GIF is telling a story while upholding an aesthetic appearance. The colors used are very pretty and there is not much color going on, that way the viewer can concentrate on the bunny jumping. 

For this project, I used an illustrator to create the bunny and the background. I used illustrator because I wanted to have a cartoon-like feel to the gif and I felt like I could not accomplish that with only photoshop. I used photoshop to make a sequence and create a GIF. I wanted to make sure I used both softwares for this project so I could show the new skill I learned which was to create the GIF. 

I put my comic on the class website because I tried to use HTML and that did not work out. Over Thanksgiving break, I tried to make a horizontal scrolling website but I was not able to master it. This made me want to create a GIF instead so I could challenge the viewer in a different way as opposed to normal vertical scrolling. 

I learned so many new things with this project. I had no idea that you could create a GIF on photoshop. I learned how to upload and export my sequences. I also learned to save single images so I could combine them to create a GIF. In illustrator, I learned more about different effects I could do to create grass. 

Over all, I had a lot of fun creating this project, even though I struggled a lot with exporting and having to recreate my project over 4 times because it would not export. I learned a lot about GIFS and timing and I am excited to use these skills in my everyday life.