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Melissa Scicluna [998287580] Assignment 2: Webcomic Creation CCT300 Mike Jones November 3, 2011



** Father’s Interpretation: A Webcomic **

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A webcomic can be defined as being any comic that has purposely been designed for online viewing. These comics are often compared to being similar to strip comics found within newspapers since they contain few panels and generally convey a short narrative or joke. Like strip comics, webcomics generally exist within series where the same or similar characters travel among different strips. However, unlike newspaper strips, numerous webcomics embody the richness of colour since the Internet has no cost to produce in colour, as ink for newspaper does. For the active comic loving audience, webcomics have become very popular because of their easy accessibility and clever humor. Since the newspaper market is slowly fading out as a result of the Internet, the ability to view comics online is brilliant since the number of Internet users is forever growing. In addition, the web provides a vast variety of comic genres, allowing any audience to find something they enjoy. =====

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Personally, comics have not consumed much of my past aside from the odd //Betty and Veronica// or //Archie Comic//; so having the opportunity to browse through such a large variety of works has really opened my eyes to this narrative medium. During this process, I came across one particular webcomic series that struck my interest. The //Cyanide and Happiness// series caught my eye for several reasons. The first being the bold strokes and colours used on the characters, while the second being the clever humor and short narratives told in minimal frames. These reasons inspired me to create both vivid and eye catching characters, as well as a clever and humorous story within my webcomic. In my opinion, the easiest way to do this was to begin with a good story to tell. After hours of pondering, the chosen story literally came to me. The narrative told is based on a true story where my father mistook instant message acronyms and resulted receiving a good laugh at his honest mistake. =====

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McCloud discusses the six steps in comic creation and lists them off as the idea, form, idiom, structure, craft, and surface (McCloud, 170). During my comic creation, I decided to follow this structured outline to see if it would give more refined results. The initial idea of the work came from two different moments that inspired me. The first moment was through the simplistic and eye-catching work in //Cyanide and Happiness,// and the second being the conversation I had with my father, as the basis of the short narrative told. The form of my webcomic was predetermined in the assignment outline, so I ensured to keep the online viewers in mind. The idiom chosen is humor because of the belief that humorous and witty comics leave an audience feeling uplifted and are the most popular genre. The structure chosen represents a simplistic style. This simplification of my comic allows for the story and message to come across in the least number of panels possible. McCloud describes this as “amplification through simplification” (McCloud) where the meaning of a narrative is emphasized rather than the little irrelevant details of the story. The craft chosen is a construction of the comic through the adobe illustrator program. I personally am not artistically inclined and felt that by creating my design on a computer, it would appear more clear and effective than if I were to draw it freehand. Lastly, the surface leaves the audience with a laugh after having read and interpreted the comic. =====

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Overall, these steps and inspirations helped me to create a simple, yet humorous webcomic with vivid colour and refined results. It successfully displays my ideas and effectively tells the true story it is based on. This allows for others to experience the conversation I had, while having a good laugh. It also allows the audience to compare the narrative to their personal experiences with growing up and their relationships with parents or guardians. =====