English 110C                                                                Ashley Overstreet

Calvin and Hobbes cartoon found at http://www.allthingschristie.com/archives/CH1.JPG.

Understanding and Creating Comics (2 class periods?)

Reading for Today: Scott McCloud, “Understanding Comics”

Part One: Discussing “Understanding Comics”

Students will break into groups (maybe 4 in a group).  Each group will be given a particular aspect of the article to discuss (how one medium affects another, the strengths and limitations of using text, the strengths and weaknesses of using images, etc.).  The class will reconvene and discuss the results of group discussions and the article as a whole.  From these discussions, we will come up with a list of concepts that an effective comic contains (these aspects will be used and considered in Part Three).

Part Two: Learning to Use Photoshop

Walk students through a Photoshop workshop, providing them with a handout of Photoshop basics to refer to in the future.  Part Three will give them some workshop time to practice what they’ve learned.

Part Three: Creating Comics

Combining the concepts from “Understanding Comics” and the technology of Photoshop, each group will create a short comic strip.  Some possible topics might include campus humor (ex. Michigan is the Wolverines, OSU is the . . . Buckeyes?!?), political humor (ex. cheap jabs at the president), or technology humor (ex. the frustrations of remembering how to use Photoshop).  Students will first want to consider the humor they are trying to convey and then consider the most effective way of conveying it (when to use images and text, how they work together, etc.).  When the comic strips are completed, each group will present their work to the class, explaining their artistic choices and responding to class discussion of their project.  Along with the comic strip, each group will turn in a 1-2 page essay that applies the concepts of “Understanding Comics” to their project. 

Criteria for Evaluation: Comic Strip

• Contains at least 4 (?) frames
• Include text and images (although each frame does not necessarily need to include both)
• Incorporates concepts from “Understanding Comics” (and our discussion of it)
• Considers the strengths and limitations of text and images and functions accordingly

Criteria for Evaluation: Presentation and Essay

• Explains the artistic choices of the strip (use of text, images, combination of both) and how they relate to the joke
• Explains how the “Understanding Comics” concepts apply
• Explains how the strip came together (it might be helpful to explain problems that arose and how they were solved)