Week 01

29/02/16

Today was the first day of class. A brief welcome from our faculty leader, and an overview of what was in store for us this year. I saw some new faces, and a few old ones. The task at hand then was to come up with a research question and an abstract for our projects and thesis.

I went home and thought about what I should do for this project. I had my focus on comics. I have always loved comics, and I did a comic related project in my third year of university. So naturally I would like to do something surrounding comics this year as well. but I had to step up the sophistication in both the theory and practice. Here is the list of possible research questions for my project, and a very short abstract.

Research questions:

1) How can comics be more appealing to adults?
2)Why do most adults find comics childish and how can it be changed?
3) How can interactive elements make comics more entertaining for mature readers?
4) What does a comic need in order to expand its demographic so that it also appeals to mature readers?
5) How can comics receive more more attention, and hold value for mature readers?
6) How does a comic appeal to a wider demographic through an engaging narrative and interactivity?
7) How can the potential of comics be realised and and expanded with cinematic elements and interactivity?
8) How do interactivity and narrative contribute to the appeal of a comic towards a wider demographic?
9) How can comics evoke emotional responses from a general audience with the integration of cinematic and interactive elements?
10) How do cinematic and interactive elements make a comic more engaging for an expanded audience?

Reflecting upon these questions now, I feel like I was too caught up with the notion of expanding the audience demographic for comics. I did not realise that even though it was a good thought, it also opened a lot of impediments, and areas too broad for a focused research project. It also seemed a bit shallow. I will elaborate on this later.

Abstract:

This research project will look into comics and explore the possibilities of it becoming more expansive in terms of audience demographics. This project will be an animated comic with interactive elements that will hopefully be able to appeal to a wider audience. This could be produced using Photoshop, AfterEffects and Flash. The subject matter will be related to fantasy so that both young and mature readers will enjoy. This also acts as a research possibility; looking into the innovation of comics and its subject matter, whether if they both contribute to expanding the audience demographic.

The abstract serves as an overview of the project/thesis. At this stage I was still too vague about what was going to be created. Another aspect that was lacking was the context. I had to be aware of other practitioners' work, and where my project situates in the bigger picture.

01/03/16

Tuesday was a whole day dedicated to writing. The workshop was very helpful in terms of clarifying what was required from us in the thesis and exegesis. We started off by striving to write an abstract. The process was much more tedious and draining than I expected. But I did manage to get some helpful feedback and critique from my lecturers and peers. A question that was asked of me from a lecturer was: "Why is it important that you expand the audience demographic of comics?" I have never though of this up until this point. In an honours degree, it was imperative that your project would have some kind benefit, or added to the field of practice one specialised in. What was also brought up regarding my project was, could it really be possible to promote a fantasy-genre comic to a wider audience? The lecturer who asked this pointed out that there were psychological, religous, racial and personal barriers that prevent comics to be appreciated by the masses. There were too many factors to consider, and therefore caused my project to be too broad. This caused to me reflect on my research question, and I decided to narrow down the target audience. I also realised at this point, that it was not the mature reader groups comics lacked, but the younger ones. Thus, I shifted my target to younger readers.

I also mentioned at this point, that I intended to create a comic that was able to run on multiple platforms; whether it was in print, a digital comic, or an application on handheld devices.

Research Questions (revised as of 01/03/16):

1) How can comics appeal to a younger audience through the use of interactive elements?
2) How does a comic with interactive elements create a more engaging learning experience for younger readers?
3) How can children understand complex emotions through a comic which utilises interactive elements?

Reflecting back on these questions, I realise I was struggling between the ideas of whether the act of reading a comic was educational for children, or that comics can present educational information/complex themes and emotion to children in a more effective way. I have not decided which idea to support. The first is more based on how a comic functions, and what is required of the reader in order to properly flow as a narrative; it is more dependent on how the reader learns to connect word and image in turn to perceive comics. The subject matter does not play of great significance, as the comic reading experience is already an educational process for children. 
The latter idea sits on the foundation of the first, but also integrates the themes and subject matter into the equation. It is hypothesised that children would be able to comprehend complex themes and ideas through reading comics. This is not proven and more research of the works of other practitioners is needed. I look forward to discussing this with my supervisor.

Another important change I did while writing these research questions is omit the cinematic/animated aspects of the project. I have decided to just create one functional interactive comic that can be read/played on a handheld device, instead of having the comic in all three possible forms. It can be mentioned that the comic can exist as any of the forms (print, digital, app), but I will only be creating one. 

Abstract (revised as of 01/03/16):

This project will explore how the integration of interactive elements can help create a more engaging reading experience for younger audiences. As comics require both the understanding of words and images, children may be able to learn to link these two aspects together and understand complex themes and subject matter. With a focus on how to create a comic that is appropriate, educational, and aids children in their learning process, this project will be made by means of a simple narrative structure and intricate illustrations for younger readers to comprehend and and build imagination. By the end, a well-developed interactive comic that is engaging for children will hopefully be produced.

This abstract seems to lean more towards the latter idea mentioned under the research questions. The argument presented in this abstract states that children would be able to interpret complex themes and subject matter through the use of comics. Perhaps this is the more appropriate direction to go, since it encompasses the value of learning how to read comics and also its potential to present sophisticated ideas to younger readers. I will have to consider deeper themes to incorporate into my project if I decide to go with this idea. Again, research into this area is required.

02/03/16

Wednesday's workshop continues to push us to write an acceptable abstract. The lecturers also instructed us think of a title and thesis statement appropriate for our projects. We worked in groups of four to review and critique each other's abstract. I got some very useful feedback from my peers, and I found this type of group work builds confidence and social skills. I was told by a lecturer that an anecdote could be something that would motivate me through the process. It could even be woven into the thesis/exegesis somewhere.

For me, the love of comics came from my reading room experience in high school. I love to draw, and therefore all things visual appeal to me. The first comics I read were "Nancy Drew" and the graphic novelised versions of "Goosebumps". My afterthoughts of reading them were "I could do better than these, particularly in the artistry" (this may sound very haughty, but I did discover many amazing comics when I began searching for them). I began drawing comics of my own, building worlds and creating stories of my imagination. I also became more gravitated towards manga, mainly because I found the artistic style more aesthetically pleasing. The more I created, the more I wanted to improve, to become better at what I do. I showed my comics to my peers, who all seemed to enjoy those comics, and even became invested in the stories and characters. My younger sister, especially, was so influenced by my old comics she even started to make some of her own. All these were great motivation for me continue what I was doing. Here, I realised that by noticing the impact of comics on my sister, also in turned act as an idea for my project this year: children can be engaged in a comic reading experience, and even influence them ways one would not expect.

I told this story after I read my first abstract to my group. The response for the story was positive. And here are some feedback I received from the other group members:

- State the genre of the comics simply
- A need to define what a comic actually is (I have done this in my essay for third year)
- Re-order the structure, the most important content must come first
- Flesh out what I mean; especially regarding "interactivity". One of the group members mentioned that he thought it was just going to be a simple game, with all that has to do with comics omitted. I had to explain what I had in mind to him for him to understand my concept.
- Introduce the "pick-a-path" idea I had
- Narrotology (an area I could do research on)
- Needs an opening sentence to draw in the reader
- Mention world-building perhaps?
- Impact/benefit on society

Research Question(s) (revised as of 02/03/16):

How does integrating interactive elements to a comic create an engaging and educational reading experience for children?

Thesis Statement:

1) This research project explores children's engagement in a reading experience by following and contributing to a whimsical comic narrative, in relation to ... (I do not have enough research materials to reference any practitioners yet), with a focus on communicating complex themes to children through comic reading, by means of world-building and animation in order to produce a comic that allows the target audience to manipulate its narrative and thus creating an imaginative and engaging reading experience.

2) This research project explores how children can be engaged in a reading experience by following and contributing to a whimsical comic narrative; in relation to ... focusing on comic reading as an educational process, by means of world-building and animation to produce a comic that allows its target audience to manipulate the narrative, thus involving them in a more imaginative and engaging reading experience.

Abstract (revised as of 02/03/16):

This research project explores how children can be engaged in a reading experience by following and participating to the narrative of a whimsical comic. Comics are important in a child's learning process, as it practices their understanding of the relationship the written and visual. In relation to this ... (a practitioner's work) uses comic techniques to tell a story with an abstract concept, but can be easily comprehended by younger readers. Focusing on reader involvement, the project aims to engage the reader by creating an interactive comic narrative. This means that the reader would have the ability to shape and interact with the narrative as they go along. By the end of the practice, an animated comic with a narrative that can be manipulated and enjoyed by the reader would hopefully be produced.

After reading this abstract a couple of days later, I think I was still indecisive about the two ideas mentioned earlier. I seemed to jump between the notions of reading comics as an educational process and comics can be educational by what they are able to convey. I think the solution to this may be that I address both ideas, but emphasise more on the latter one. The first can be mentioned, but can be taken further with the second idea. "Because of the unique properties that comics have (closure, image and words), they are more effective in conveying complex information, even to children." These two ideas do not contradict each other, in fact, the first actually acts as a support for the second. Maybe this is a direction to be taken

At this point I have decided that my comic, even though aimed at children, will have a heavier tone, eerie, even. Stylistic decisions will include intricate illustrations, meticulously drawn, and everything will be black and white; with some exception of colour to emphasise an idea.  

03/03/16

The library workshop was on Thursday. I learnt some important things about making my research more effective and focused. Reading a whole lot of unrelated materials is not what I want from this project.

At this point I did some light research. I did not find a lot regarding children's comics, or even existing examples of them through the academic search engines. My lecturer said it may be better to go to libraries and find real published work of children's comics. This would be the next step for me to take to begin my research.

Other things I had to consider while researching are whether or not is the material for academic purposes? Is it relevant in terms of time (is it current, has it been updated recently)? This would be applicable to older references. Also I had to be aware of the legitimacy of the reference materials, is it published by a reputable publisher? Are there positive reviews from other researchers, etc. The accuracy of the material is another essential aspect, the information provided has to be proven, free of biased opinions and grammatical error. Lastly, I need to consider the purpose of the materials; is it for academic purposes, business, or just plain entertainment?

04/03/16

Here I am, documenting all my thoughts, notes and anything I can remember from the past week of university, hoping that by doing so will assist me in the future, and not just a veneer for studying. I am going to look at existing children's comics soon, and a thesis by a past student that may be helpful for me. I feel like I'm just procrastinating, but this documentation has made clarifications for my projects, especially regarding the part about comics as an educational tool for children.

No one will ever read through all of this, but if you did, thanks for accompanying me in this journey. And this journey has only just begun.

P.S. I might add some of doodles here and there. They may not relate to my project in any way, but I would like to share my drawings so for those who do read through my ramblings get some sort if visual reward.