maaria

About emphasis

Added 2024-12-25 13:30:30 +0000 UTC

Hiiii I'm alive! I got the idea to soapbox about making comics on this Patreon. This post is free. If I end up writing more of these I'll probably paywall some of them.

Pictured above is an old version of the thumbnail for page 09-41.

This page had an interesting problem because "I don't want that kid to like me" is a really important line. A particularly fun thing in making comics is deciding how to present those important lines... Usually the first impulse is to pair the important line with a big, expressive, memorable panel to grab your attention with. This time it didn't sit right with me, though. I wrestled with this one for a bit.

Turns out it wasn't just the line itself that's important. His nonchalance saying it is just as important. It's kind of a surprise to us (and Amber) but he thinks very little of it. He's even halfway distracted while saying it, fiddling with his drink. Regardless, if I put the line in that big panel, it would seem like he's very intentionally Making a Statement. It could come across a little defensive, even?

So the solution was to treat the line as nothing special, just toss it in there, but rather put emphasis on the following panel: Amber's reaction. The face she makes is what's giving weight to that line.

This is actually a trick I learned from Ai Yazawa! Her manga are really good at presenting conversations in an engaging way. Crucial stuff to handle so you won't end up with a tedious comic full of talking heads.