This project was very dear to me. This collage comic is meant to express the anger and darkness that last semester possessed compared to this semester and how I am focusing upon myself. I believe that my comic falls under McClouds definition because I believe although they are not in sequence a reader can comprehend and interpret the feelings and story that I am trying to present. Although multiple readings factored into how I wished to present my comic, Lynda Barry’s comics had the most influence. I enjoyed how hers was unconventional and up to the reader to interpret. I believe that mine is easier to follow than hers, however mine is influenced by her comics visual appearance. 

The Materials I used were specific to me and my story, however an unintended bonus was the textures both scanned and photographed items presented within the project. For example, the leaf is actually a photograph of the plant I planted when I cut out a toxic person in my life and is a huge part of my comic. While looking at the comic you can also see the light hitting angles of the leaf exposing different vanes and textures the leaf accompanies. When it came to the visual choices in regards to the linguistic parts of the comic, some came with the scans however I also used photoshop to place the most important text upon the leaf. I Also changed the font of the text to look like the texture of chalk, a texture and item I use to communicate with my residents as a resident advisor. 

Although I have had the photoshop product for a while, this is the first time I have buckled down and attempted different processes. It took a couple videos coupled with trial and error to gain the effect I was looking for within the comic, however once I understood the steps to a process it was easy for me to replicate those choices again later. Layer masks were a huge help in getting the effect I was looking for when bringing different scans into the larger project, however it was one of the most frustrating techniques to use because my laptops program did not like to complete this task. 

In the end I enjoyed having the opportunity to express myself through photoshop digital environment. It was frustrating with the trial and errors however I was able to produce a product that looked much more like what I had envisioned than if I had taken a different approach.