Many aspiring cartoonists rely on studying the works of professional artists to hone their own skills. Last weekend, some students got to study with a pro in person.
A group of University students collaborated with other artists and were critiqued by renowned comic artist Scott McCloud on Saturday as part of the Graphic Culture Triathlon, a cartooning workshop organized by the University’s Program in Comparative Literature. As part of the events, McCloud also delivered a speech on the future of comics and how they will change because of new Internet technologies.
At the workshop, called “Project McCloud,” participants broke into six groups of about five students each and discussed censorship. The triathlon event asked participants to incorporate image, sequence and narrative into their projects. The groups were given no style restrictions, and the artistic format was completely open ended.
Each team was allowed six hours to complete its project, which was then evaluated and critiqued by a panel of judges that included McCloud.
Michael Salter, a University assistant professor and member of the panel of judges, said the open-ended format inspired better art from the participants.
“It aligns with my philosophy of how to teach art and how to make art,” he said. “If it was up to me, we’d do this once a week.”
Salter said he liked that it allowed for different perspectives on the same project.
“The group dynamic and collaboration can really inspire genius,” he said.
John Kieres, a project participant, said the project was a learning
experience.
Kieres’ group approached the censorship theme by addressing societal norms. The comic’s main character, Captain Obvious, always makes the “obvious choice” of what is expected from society as normal for him. Censorship in his case is about promoting a norm as much as suppressing other options, said Max Rayneard, another member of the group.
“It’s not what you can’t see; it’s what you’re forced to see,” he said.
In Kieres and Rayneard’s group, some members focused solely on writing, while others addressed the artistic issues.
“It’s good in the sense that you get everybody’s specific talents,” said Courtney Cummings, one of the artists of the group.
McCloud gave his lecture Friday night in front of a full crowd in
100 Willamette. He talked about different styles of current comics and discussed the future of comics with the emergence of new Internet technologies.
“Comics are going through a lot of mutations right now,” he said.
McCloud’s frantically paced
lecture included 724 slides of mostly visual and artistic examples of his ideas. He is the author of a number of textbooks on the subject, including “Understanding Comics,” which is written as a book of comics.
McCloud said the key for comics to remain prominent is to find a “durable mutation” to fit with the new possibilities of the Internet, but it might not come immediately.
“We have this time right now that’s very fertile for experimentation,” he said. “That might not always be there.”
He showed examples of some innovations, including an online comic that contained a looped animation and another that used varying, often large spaces between panels. He said these are a part of the “infinite canvas” that few artists have fully taken advantage of.
“Nobody is using it yet,” McCloud said. “But they will.”
Contact the people, culture and faith reporter at
[email protected]