Dissection of a Comics' Lines (SPE-370)

This is probably my favorite blog assignment yet, so I hope I don't mess it up -- here goes nothing!

The main reason why I'm was so excited to write this blog is because I've grown up reading and drawing a lot my own comics. I love 'em! They're fast-paced, action-packed (at least the ones I read), and usually have fantastical story lines. One of my favorite comics is titled "Naruto." As you may have guessed, it's Japanese anime, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's some silly story about giant robots or sea creatures. It's really well written and the illustration in it supersedes all others.

Here's an example of one page...

Putting the story and dialogue aside, this single page is amazing. The author, Masashi Kishimoto, has done a lot in this page to make an art form that is perceived as stationary, have motion. He uses harsh directional lines to mimic the effects of movement and uses them to accomplish two things -- indicate the general plane on which an object is moving and emphasize urgency.

If you look at the prominent frame in the center where one character is pouncing on another mid-air, you can see how Kishimoto indicates the general plane on which they are moving. We don't know which direction they are moving, but we know it's vertical. From other clues like posture and context we can surmise that it's downward.

In the lower right frame with radial lines all pointing inward we can see how Kishimoto plays with those same directional lines to make us assume the point-of-view of the attacker. We are the one falling from the sky to ambush those on the ground, and even though we aren't literally falling we get the feeling as though we are moving down.

Kishimoto also uses textural lines to illustrate backgrounds like trees and rocks, as well as scuffs and dirt on skin and clothing. If you look at the characters closely you can see that he uses many tiny lines to indicate as though the skin is scratched and/ or bruised -- adding to the intensity of the scene.

And last, but not least -- there is the use of gestural lines. If you draw your attention to the top left frame there is obviously some sort of explosion -- the dramatic impact of the attacker being launched into the ground. The lines around the explosion are jagged and sharp, which gives the reader a sense for how severe the impact was. You can almost hear it in your head. It isn't a soft and poofy explosion, it's the kind of impact you imagine when you think of a missile rocket colliding with the ground. It's thunderous and deadly.

All together, I think Kishimoto is an amazing artist who uses different types of lines in ingenious ways -- helping the reader feel as though they are watching the events in his comics unfold in real life.