Graphic Design: Comic Book 01

Graphic Design
Comic Book 1

Story Elements

The Comic Book Unit is designed to teach skills, terms, and concepts associated with creative writing, photo editing and productivity tools.  

For this project you will:

• create an original comic book story

• storyboard your idea

• shoot and edit digital images

• create a comic book document 

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Introduction / Objectives / Outcomes

The first step to creating an awesome comic book is to begin with an awesome exciting story.

Your story will have a minimum of 6 comic panels. That's not a lot of space and time for serious story and character development, but it's enough to demonstrate a simple plot structure.

If you would like to add more panels, you are welcome to do so.

Graphic Design: Comic Book 1 - Story Elements

• character: someone or something who does something in a story

• setting: when and where things happen.

• theme: a message about life and human behavior that an author expresses in a text

Introduction: Sets up the story and establishes what's normal

• conflict: a struggle or problem a character in a story must overcome.

• rising action: building suspense leading to the climax.

• climax: the most dramatic or intense point of a story, play or movie.

• falling action: decreases the tension from the climax to the resolution, providing an opportunity for reflection and tying up loose ends.

• resolution: the point at the end of a story in which the main conflict is over.

Plot elements: the events your story that include:

​Elements of a Story Watch the Video below and learn how to organize a simple story. Pay close attention to the elements or building blocks that are in every good story.

The introduction also called exposition gives the reader the background info they need to jump right into your story’s world. This is often found towards the beginning of your story. Even if you choose to jump right into the action, somewhere along the way your reader needs to get a crash course on your characters’ or setting’s history.

Exposition can be given in a variety of ways. Some examples include: 

• Flashbacks

• Character dialogue

• Letters from the past

• Setting or character descriptions

• Point of View (aka POV, such as the narrator or main character’s thoughts)

Be careful that you don’t overload the reader with too much background information right out of the gate. Keep it natural and let it drive the story forward rather than stalling it while everyone catches up. 

Look to great worldbuilding novels, such as Lord of the Rings or Hunger Games, for excellent examples of setting the stage. These worlds were built from the ground up, but as a reader, it never feels like it's too much. Find the common ground between your story’s world and the reader’s and work from there, cluing them into the big differences as you go.

In our comic book example, the first frame quickly introduces the main characters and the conflict or problem.

Plot: Introduction/Exposition

The rising action is the moments the conflict is introduced in your story and the level of action increases to the stories peak or climax — choices your main characters have made and the events happening that are at odds with your characters’ goals. This is where your story builds and your reader begins to invest in your characters.

This is likely going to be the longest section of your story. A whole lot happens between the start of the novel and that moment, but often you’ll find yourself holding your breath and waiting to see what will happen. That is the power of rising action.

• The upper panel transitions the story to the location of the accident. 

• The bottom panel attempts to further establish the situation.

Notes

• Since we typically read from left to right, the bottom panel could be confusing. The answer is presented before the questions. To solve this problem, the author could switch the characters and the dialog boxes or move the "Is he ok officer?" dialog box above the other.

• Finally the author could have created more conflict tension by changing the officer's response. For example, "It's not looking good, the walls of the well could collapse any second!"

Plot: Rising Action

This is it — the primary turning point and what your story has been building towards. What are your main characters going to do? Will they succeed or fail? 

Typical climaxes include victories or defeats. The main goal of the climax is to resolve the conflict, but whether that positively or negatively affects your character is up to you. Or maybe it’s not that simple.

The upper panel represents the moment when the hero must take action to resolve the conflict or problem. For most stories this is the climax or peak.

Now that the main conflict is resolved, it’s time to begin wrapping everything up. The falling action is a great time to tie up any loose ends while also giving your characters a chance to deal with and reflect on the aftermath of the climax. 

The bottom panel is a good example of falling action. The conflict and story begin to wind down and the end is in sight.

Plot: Story Peak / Climax

Falling Action

It’s time to end your tale! If you still have unanswered questions in your plot, answer them now. The resolution is also the time to show the next step in your characters’ lives. Do they live happily ever after? Is a new era dawning? Or do they just continue on with their ordinary existence with a new experience under their belt? 

The resolution of one story can also be the start of another. You can introduce a new conflict or raise more questions for your reader. Wrap it up, then begin again!

• In the final panel, the original conflict has been resolved and the hero has returned home. 

• The panel also alludes to future events and the possibility of a sequel or continuation.

Plot: Resolution

Match

Match the description with the correct story element.

• someone or something who does something in a story

• Sets up the story and establishes what's normal

• the events your story

• a message about life and human behavior that an author expresses in a text

• when and where things happen

Character

Introduction

Plot

Theme

Setting

• Character

• Introduction

• Plot

• Theme

• Setting

Match

Match the description with the correct plot element.

• the point at the end of a story in which the main conflict is over

• building suspense leading to the climax

• the most dramatic or intense point of a story, play or movie

• decreases the tension from the climax to the resolution, providing an opportunity for reflection and tying up loose ends

• a struggle or problem a character in a story must overcome

Resolution

Rising Action

Climax

Falling Action

Conflict

• Resolution

• Rising Action

• Climax

• Falling Action

• Conflict

Comic Book Assignment 1: 

Return to: Google Classroom and use the information you have read to complete  the worksheet Comic Book 1 Story Elements.