More on learning from the art of comics
September 19, 2006
As a follow-up to the "learning from comics" post, I'd like to point you to a compelling new blog which offers some wonderful information about comics, or "the art of storyboarding." Like the Scott McCloud book, this blog, called the Temple of the Seven Golden Camels, need not be for comics artists or animators only. Anyone interested in improving their own "visual literacy" or "design IQ" will want to add this site to their RSS feed. The author of the blog, storyboard artist Mark Kennedy, has several extremely interesting posts that anyone with an eye for graphics and storytelling will benefit from. Open your mind and let the learning begin. You may want to start with this one, "Design and Drawing":
"It only took me about fifteen years to realize that design is the key to everything in our business, especially being a big-time animator. People who can draw well are good designers. Much of what we think of as 'good draftsmanship' is just good design." — Mark Kennedy
Mark has posted scanned copies of the 7-page "Comic Strip Artist's Kit" created by famous Disney artist Carson Van Osten in 1975. Mark calls it "...probably the best thing I've ever seen about practical staging and drawing for storyboards or comic books." Thanks to the generosity of Mark — and of course, Carson — we can download good copies from the original sketches. This stuff is gold. Another great post with many large visual examples (suitable for printing) is this one entitled "D&D7: Rhythm (part one)" which explores rhythm as it relates to drawing. (See the August archives for more D&D tips). Checkout the 5 Minute Art School: Composition 102. I love the simple insights here on composition, much of which I believe can be applied to photography and slide design, etc.
In a post on proportion Mark shows some good examples. "They are a good example of how much you can do with very few elements! Less is more," he says. Actually, this young blog is filled with little gems so do not forget to explore the archives.
The life of a salaryman in 30 seconds 
While watching the TBS channel yesterday I stumbled upon a short segment discussing the popularity (on the web) of two short commentaries by Japanese artists. One of them is "Sushi," a great video with lessons for presentation designers. I linked to this in a post back in January. The other is a 30-second animation called "run" (hashire). This simple animation is brilliant and does a good job of "summing up" the life of a so-called "typical salaryman." The power of the simple drawings in the animation is that they allow us to see ourselves in the salaryman's shoes. It's also a good example of McCloud's "amplification through simplification." Anyone who has visited Japan or knows anything about Japan and its culture will get a kick out of this clip.
Sample (sort of)
Several months ago I used these slides below as part of a presentation on blogging. Here I was talking about the idea of "buzz marketing" and building WOM (word of mouth). This was the first time I used a "cartoon" character in a visual I think. In this case, the character is a drawing of me made in about 30 seconds in Adobe Illustrator by my artist/designer-turned-PR-pro wife. I could have used a photo of myself, but since I was the one doing the talking, it just seemed weird to have a pic of myself on the large screen behind me. Besides, I am just using myself as a kind of representation of any individual or organization, brand, etc.
1 
2 
3 
4 
As you can probably tell, my point was that what I say about me (advertising) is far less important than what other people say about me. That is, I can (1) say I am great, but (2) who would believe that? <Sigh>...a lonely place. On the other hand, if (3) others say good things about me, well, *that* you just might believe. And (4) so-called "buzz-marketing" or WOM is giving people something worth talking about. Famous brands like Apple, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson, etc. know all about how to generate buzz and word-of-mouth by giving people something worth talking about. Us "little guys" can't spend the millions needed to make advertising begin to (maybe) work, but anyone with a compelling story to tell — a product or a mission worth talking about — can generate buzz and word-of-mouth worth far more than the ephemeral influence of traditional advertising.
Link
• Tons to learn from drawn.ca
Garr, as usual, you have done it again! You are simply the thought-leader in presentations. Always at the forefront and bleeding edge.
Presenters ought to use more pictures, diagrams and, when possible, videos/animations. Yet, not everybody is technically savvy or artistically inclined enough to produce animations/videos.
Still, there's not excuse for not being able to draw diagrams or find interesting pictures. Flickr has an "Interesting"-measure, so you should be able to find relevant pictures to keep your audience from dozing off.
And, everyone comfortable with a mouse, should always try to reduce lengthy bullet points and multiple slides into single diagram.
I've had great success in doing the above, though sometimes audiences get a little confused/disorientated because it's so unexpected. So, remember to keep an eye on your audience when doing the "unexpected". Measure their anxiety and if they are too uncomfortable, skip them. Else, if they look like they are up for some challenge, get them into it. Audiences will thank you for paying attention to them.
Remember that not everyone is ready for pictures and diagrams, though, videos are always the exception.
What do the rest of you think?
Posted by: Kelvin Quee | September 20, 2006 at 04:32 PM
"What do the rest of you think?"
I think the claim that people who draw well are good designers betrays a profound and complete misunderstanding of design.
Posted by: john trenouth | September 21, 2006 at 04:27 AM
Certainly knowing how to draw well does not make one a good designer. That would be a silly claim for myriad reasons. Many people can draw perfectly well and not know the first thing about design. Many great designers can not draw very well. I think what Mark Kennedy was saying is that at the highest levels, good illustrators, storyboard artists, etc. have a good understanding of design.
My point in brining up the whole drawing and comics thing is that it is just another area to delve into to work on our own visual literacy. I do not think Mark or anyone was saying "people who draw well are *necessarily* good designers." I personally do not think good drawing equals good design, but does a good understanding of design help make for a better illustrator? Design study, design education, design practice probably makes us a better anything. For most lay people, design is on the surface, it's often no more than decoration...
-G
Posted by: Garr | September 21, 2006 at 08:42 AM
Without the explanation I actually misunderstood your comic (I blame lack of context).
The message looked like: If you say you're great, then wait, you'll create a buzz. To which I thought, "Rubbish."
Maybe instead of 1, 2, 3, 4; the images should be 1, 2, 1, 2.
Posted by: Chris | September 22, 2006 at 01:27 PM
Great tips on PowerPoint and presentations in general. Humor can communicate concisely and effectively! A good story has the power to capture our emotions, visual cues, and wake up an audience. Thanks for the organized ideas
Posted by: Ebutube | June 15, 2010 at 04:55 AM