Hey everyone — Just wanted to make a quick post.  We apologize for the lack of updates the last few weeks!  As many of you know, Tod & I are expecting our first baby this March, so things have been hectic as we prepare.

Weekly Updates will resume for 52 Comic Challenges a little later this spring.  Sorry again about the delay!

Our apologies for the missing updates these last couple weeks!  We’re back with lots more challenges for you!!

 This week it’s time to put the focus on what is often an after thought - your backgrounds.  Can the backgrounds of your comic tell a story of their own?

Homework for Artists and Writers:
Write and a 1-2 page story that has nothing to do with the Holidays.  As you draw your comic, add in backgrounds that place your characters in a Holiday environment — for instance, Christmas Shopping, a Holiday dinner with family, waiting in line to see Santa, etc.  Focus on adding an interesting and enriching setting to your story.  Not only will the action provide interest to the reader, but when done carefully, the contrast between what is going on around your characters and what your characters are doing can provide interesting juxtaposition.*

Extra Credit:
Rework a comic that you’ve previously worked on using this same technique.  How does your jungle action sequence now fit in at the crowded mall? Keep the dialogue and action the same, but throw your characters into the new setting.  Does it add or take away to what you’d previously written?
* For more about juxtaposition, check out Challenge #8.

In music, a crescendo is a symbol that tells the musician to transition smoothly from quiet to loud over an amount of time.  A decrescendo tells the musician to do the opposite.  When these two are right next to each other, it’s sometimes called a “swell.”  We already know your comics are swell.  Now can you make your writing and art swell in the course of some panels?

Homework for Artists and Writers:
Start “quiet” and “small” and build your comic’s intensity up over the course of 1 or 2 pages.  Try to incorporate the crescendo to as many elements of your comic as possible — for instance: your writing, dialogue, art, line quality, color/texture, panel sizes, amount of action in a panel and level of zoom could each (or all) be taken from less to more throughout the course of your pages.

Extra Credit:
After the loudest point of your comic, bring the “volume” back down to silence. Whether you use the same amount of panels to bring it back down to nothing or immediately pull it back to quiet will give drastically different effects.

Think outside of the box and get your mind out of the gutter! 

Homework for Artists and Writers: Draw a 1 - 2 page comic with irregular panel borders.  Avoid working on a grid, avoid right angles, and absolutely no squares or rectangles!

Extra Credit: Think about how a round panel affects the overall effect of your comic.   Jagged shaped panels? Wavy Cloud panels?  Make a note of what works so you can use them later amongst a sea of squares for contrast panels.

It’s time to get experimentin’!  And maybe even learn a thing or two about sequential storytelling.

Homework for Artists and Writers:
No script or forethought!  Write and draw a one page comic from the end to the beginning.  Decide on a number of panels (or don’t.)  Start at the bottom right-hand side of your page and work backwards towards the beginning.

Extra Credit:
Now do another one page comic without a script, starting at the beginning and working towards the end.  Try to keep the story to the same scale of the backwards comic.  In which situation do you find it harder to tell the entirety of the story?  Do you find yourself running out of time to say everything you need to? Or stretching your story to find more to say?  Do you find it easier to space your storytelling from beginning-to-end after drawing a comic from end-to-beginning?

Grab your digital camera and some friends and put together a comic with no drawing required!

Homework for Artists & Writers:
Take photos of your friends to use as the drawings in your comic. Create a 1 - 2 page coming using only photos. Reuse photos if necessary, but try to use at least 6-10 photos. Once you have your photos, create your comic like normal, using word balloons, captions and sound effects.

Extra Credit:
You may take photos and write a comic based on what you’ve come up with, OR write the comic first, and then take the photos accordingly… But as long as you’re not doing any drawing this week… why not give both a try? What differences do you find in trying this concept both ways?

References and Examples:
We couldn’t very well offer up this challenge without giving you a link to A Softer World. ASW is a shining example of taking beautiful photographs and creating sequential stories from them. Check it out for inspiration!

Grab your favorite horror flick and the remote and pick a particularly suspenseful scene.  Can you create the same feeling of suspense and horror in panels?  By studying carefully and imitating what great directors have already done, you’re able to see what works — and can then incorporate what you know into your own work.

Homework for Artists and Writers:
Pick a scene (we suggest the “Cage Scene” from Jaws or the “Here’s Johnny! Scene” from The Shining.  You can use any scene you want, but using the same scenes as others will make it fun to compare.)  Using only the shots and dialogue that already exist in the movie, try to recreate the scene in comic format.

Extra Credit:
Try doing two different scenes by two different directors.  Notice how the directors portray horror and suspense differently and which you think applies more directly to your own comics.

Now that you’ve pushed yourself through a 24 hour comic, why not try a 15 minute comic?

Homework for Artists and Writers: Think of it a “gesture drawing” for comics. Take two pieces of letter sized copy paper. Fold them in half and staple to make an 8-page book. Set the timer for 15 minutes and get crackin’. It’ll have to be scribbly and fast to make the deadline so think fast and draw faster! Good Luck!

Extra Credit: Do another! Or three! Or get some friends together (even the ones that don’t draw) and a 12 pack of something watery and domestic and get everyone to try their hand.

References and Examples: Young American Comics presents: BUDGE COMIX: 1 and 2

You’re most likely already familiar with the 24 Hour Comic Challenge.  If you’ve never before taken the plunge, give it a shot this year!  If you’ve done it before, do it again!

Homework for Artists and Writers:
Take the 24 Hour Comic Challenge.  This year, artists and writers around the globe are participating this Saturday, October 20.  Get all of the info here.  This really is one of the most grueling things you’ll probably ever put yourself up to — and that’s what makes it so satisfying!  Good luck!

Juxtaposition is the act of putting two different elements together, to create a reaction or feeling in the reader, be it contrast, comparison, irony or something else.  You might have worked with a Random Plot Generator before.  But you probably have a great random plot generator right in your hall closet!  Pictionary cards can give you a great list of concepts and elements to incorporate into a short comic to exercise your improv skills.  

Homework for Artists and Writers:
Pull a card from a Pictionary deck and draw a one page comic that includes all 5 items on the card. They can have as little or as much importance in the comic as you like.  As a footnote to the comic or in your blog post, list the 5 items that had to be included.  Think about Juxtaposition as you combine unlikely elements.

Extra Credit:
Rock the Improv!!  Instead of using 5 items off of one card and thinking it through beforehand, pick one item off a card to start your story and draw a panel or two. Then pick another card at random and include an element from that card into your story. Continue for 2 pages.