graphic novel terms

Question 1

Panel

Answer 1

one drawing on a page which contains one moment of the story.

Question 2

Splash Page

Answer 2

A comic book page that is mostly or entirely taken up by a single image or panel.

Question 3

Speed Lines

Answer 3

Speed lines or motion lines are the abstract lines that appear behind a moving object or person to make it appear as if it is moving quickly.

Question 4

Gutter

Answer 4

The space between framed panels

Question 5

Bleed

Answer 5

An image that extends to and/or beyond the edge of the page

Question 6

Foreground:

Answer 6

The panel closest to the viewer

Question 7

Midground

Answer 7

Allows centering of image by using natural resting place for vision.

The artist deliberately decides to place the image where a viewer would be most likely to look first.

Placing an image off-center or near the top or bottom can be used to create visual tension but using the midground permits the artist to create a more
readily accepted image

Question 8

Background

Answer 8

Provides additional, subtextual information for the reader

Question 9

Graphic weight

Answer 9

A term that describes the way some images draw the eye more than others, creating a definite focus using color and shading in various ways including:

x The use of light and dark shades; dark-toned images or high-contrast images draw the eye more than light or low-contrast images do

x A pattern or repeated series of marks

x Colors that are more brilliant or deeper than others on the page

Question 10

“open blank”

Answer 10

when a face is drawn without too much expression or detail

invites the audience to imagine what the character is feeling without telling them

Question 11

importance of hands and feet

Answer 11

The positioning of hands and feet can be used to express what is happening in the story.

hands that are raised with palms out suggest
surprise.

The wringing of hands suggests obsequiousness or discomfort.

Hands over the mouth depict fear, shame, or shyness.

Turned in feet may denote embarrassment, while feet with motion strokes can create the sense of panic, urgency, or speed

Question 12

Panel

Answer 12

Panel refers to the framed image.

It offers the reader a perspective or point of view on the subjects also known as the camera angle.

Sometimes panels do not have borders, creating a unique effect where the subject seems to stand outside the storyline.

Question 13

Voice over

Answer 13

Narrators have the possibility to speak directly to the reader through a voice over.

Usually this is done with a hard line separating the narrator’s speech at the top or bottom of a panel from the image within the pane

Question 14

Emanata

Answer 14

the teardrops, sweat drops, question marks, or motion

lines that artists draw besides characters’ faces to portray emotion.

Question 15

importance of narration

Answer 15

Keep in mind that comic books allow the writer to show and tell at the same time, meaning there can be a combination of direct narration and indirect narration

Question 16

importance of time

Answer 16

Graphic novels and comic books do not have to tell a story in a linear way.

Besides the use of transitions between panels artists can explore multiple moments in one panel, like a collage.

Question 17

Graphic weight

Answer 17

This term is used to discuss the amount of contrast in an image.

Are blacks offset with whites? Are there many shades of grey in between?

With regards to colour images, one can look for the degree to which colours are vivid or opaque.

Question 18

importance of Camera angle

Answer 18

If the panel were a photograph, where would the camera stand in relation to its subject?

How far away from the subject is the camera? Is it a long shot, medium shot or close up? At what angle is the camera pitched? Is it a bird’s eye view, a high angle, eye-level, or low angle?

All of this will have an effect on the reader’s understanding of the subject.

Question 19

moment-to-moment transition

Answer 19

literally moment to moment. person is blinking. wow eye open eye closed

Question 20

action to action transition

Answer 20

person smack ball. they wait for ball. they hit ball.

Question 21

subject-to-subject transition

Answer 21

the panels occur in the same over all scenes but display various different elements of the scene

example: runner crossing a finishing line in one panel, then in the next panel we see a stop watch being pressed.

Question 22

scene-to-scene transition

Answer 22

take the viewer to a different time and perspective than just remaining in the same scene or idea.

“IMMA SMACK HIM”
“ten years later…”

Question 23

aspect to aspect transition

Answer 23

typically disregards time in exchange for a wandering perception of a place, idea or mood.

stops time to provide multiple viewpoints of the same scene in order to establish a specific mood, feeling or emotion.

This transition can be thought of as “the wandering eye” that changes viewpoints to show all that takes place within a specific time frame.