This document provides an overview of comics and manga, including their basic elements and formats. It discusses panels, speech balloons, common forms of comics like comic strips and books, and camera shots used in storyboards. Examples are given of gesture lines and different types of speech balloons. The document concludes with activities instructing readers to design comic characters based on objects and simple shapes, and to draw short six-frame comic strips demonstrating character expressions and motion lines.

1. COMICS
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2. MANGA
( Japanese
Comics)
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3. Comics
are a visual medium used to express ideas via
images, often combined with text or visual information.
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4. The language of comics
• Panels are individual images containing a
segment of action, often surrounded by a
border.
• Speech balloons (also speech bubbles or
dialogue balloons) are a graphic convention
used to allow words to be understood as
representing the speech or thoughts of
comic
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the characters in the comic.

5. Examples of speech balloons or bubbles
Thought bubble
Someone shouting
One character talking
Someone muttering
Several characters speak
The narrator writes
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6. Common forms of comics
Comic strips
Cartoons

7. • Comic books

8. Fumetti or Photonovels
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9. Storyboards (pre-visualizing a motion picture)

10. Online Web Comics

11. Types of Formats (Grammar of Films and TV)
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12. XLS- Extra Long Shot
MCU-Medium Close-Up
LS- Long Shot CU- Close-Up
MLS- Medium Long Shot
MS- Medium Shot
BCU-Big Close-Up
XCU- Extra Close-Up

13. There are also artistic resources like
gesture lines to capture the movement of
an object or character
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14. Examples of gesture lines
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17. ACTIVITY nº 1
Observe the following Corkscrew, can
you think of a comic character?
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18. Design a character based on the
corkscrew. Personificate the
object (give it human
characteristics). It is important
to work on previous sketches.
Create a short six-frame comic
strip based on this character
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19.
ACTIVITY nº 2
Design using simple shapes a cartoon character. This
character can be a person or an animal. Remember to use
exaggeration, as in a caricature. Describe his/her clothes
and complements and draw a few positions and expressions.
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21. ACTIVITY Nº 3
Draw a short six-frame comic strip.
Frame 1- Design using simple shapes a cartoon character, face, neck and shoulders
only, with ears. This character can be a person or an animal. Remember to use
exaggeration, as in a caricature.
Frame 2- A repeat of the first box, with the addition of an insect, who has flown
into the box. Use lines to show the motion of the flying.
Frame 3- Repeat the image, only here the insect flies into the character’s ear, and
the expression on the face of the character changes appropiately.
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22. Frame 4- The character’s face should get more upset
with lines and symbols showing the upset around his/her
face.
Frame 5- The insect exits the other ear, and the facial
expression of the character should change again.
Frame 6- Shows the insect gone and the character
feeling… relief, joy, whatever you want, with a dialogue
balloon overhead to write and appropiate “whew!!!” or
other suitable words.
Finally go over the pencil lines with a fine black marker,
and add color with colored pencils.
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