Week 05 31/03/16 Thursday

I have started reading "Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Scare and How It Changed America" by David Hajdu. It details a lot on the people involved in this movement, and how they played a part in the rise of comics. So far I have learned that comics roughly began appearing in newspaper as small strips, depicting stories about lower-class delinquents. They were a new art form targeted towards the proletariat, catered to their taste and thus despised by the more sophisticated middle and higher class members of the society. Throughout the ages comic books and comic strips were the go-to source of reading material for children. As the book describes, it was a way of escapism for children, and a way of rebel against their parents without severe consequences, "Uninhibited, shameless, frequently garish and crude, often shocking and sometimes excessive, these crime, horror and romance comics provided young people of the early postwar years with a means of defying and escaping the mainstream culture of the time..." (p6). Comics did not have any strict censorship laws or regulations to constrict them of their content. Therefore they were free and and opened doors to all kinds of possibilities. The comics industry welcomed young and new artist-writers into its arms, and embraced their ideas and creativity. The Sunday supplements became a source of inspiration and expose to art for a generation of great comic creators, such as Jerry Robinson, Creig Flessel and the legend himself, Will Eisner.

Reading this book made me realize how powerful comics' influence has been on those people. They were all captivated by the newspaper comic strips at a young age, and it pushed them to pursue a career in comics. I couldn't remember all the events that lead to famous characters like Superman or Batman, and I couldn't recall all the names of the people involved in the business. There were printers, publishers, editors, artists and writers, all contributing to the rise of comics during the early 1930s to 1940s. Though it was difficult remembering all the details, I now have a rough idea of what happened back in the days regarding comics. When nothing constrained it, comics flourished freely and wildly. It must have been a beautiful scene to behold.

Here's Xiao. Always good-looking. 

 

Week 05 30/03/16 Wednesday

I looked through a few pages of comics by Jill Thompson, Jeff Smith and Doug TenNapel. Each one of them was very unique in style. Thompson's work is brightly coloured and highly detailed. The layout of her work is in a comic book form, but she also utilizes texts outside the panels to serve as narration for the story. The characters's dialogue are all in speech bubbles. Smith's style is reminiscent of "Adventures of Tin-Tin"; with simplistic characters and rich environment. The protagonists are sometimes seen with "real" human characters in the story, creating a great contrast between them and the side characters. TenNapel's artistic style is loose and free, the characters are identifiable, and they inhabit a world similar yet different to ours. I would love to read more of these creators' works, they are all extremely captivating.

I went on to do research about the Uncanny Valley, and discovered that it was first proposed by Japanese robotics expert Masahiro Mori in the 1970s. The Uncanny Valley was a model illustrated to demonstrate the feeling of creepiness evoked in a human being when presented with different robots of varying degrees of human likeness. Since then, the research gone into the Uncanny has intensified, yet no conclusive results have emerged. Some hypothesized that the feeling of creepiness came not only from the appearance of an object/entity, but also the movement it performs. I found that there was a relationship between the physical and behavioral attributes of the entity. It seemed that when something looked more realistic, humans would anticipate more realistic movements; if the object could not behave in a real human way, then the feeling of creepiness emerges. This piece of information informed me about how characters should be designed, either to be appealing or to appear creepy. It was also interesting to learn such theories behind the Uncanny Valley model. I hope to find more materials about the Uncanny, and not just within the robotics field (because when I searched Uncanny Valley, papers relating to robotics kept showing up in the results).

Here is something I drew with inspiration from my friend's makeup look.

Week 05 29/03/16 Tuesday

Sorry I skipped Friday and Monday. It was Easter and I thought I should spend a bit of time away from my research to freshen up my mind and have a new pair of eyes when I come back to it. That does not mean that I have ceased to think it about it though.

Throughout the Easter holiday I was contemplating ways to approach my research. Receiving information from my friend was greatly helpful. I had insight into comics' history, and therefore more understanding of the perspective of comics by the public. I also found relevant material concerning comics' educational value in the form of a couple journal articles depicting the views of librarians and the inclusion of graphic novels in elementary school libraries. Those would serve as support for my argument regarding comics' unique ability to educate its reader. I then searched more examples of well-received children's comics; there was Jill Thompson's "The Scary Godmother" comic series, which combines the characteristics of a children's book and comics together; and Doug TenNapel's "Monster Zoo" and "Ghostopolis", which seemed to targeted towards slightly older children; and Jeff Smith's "Bone", an adventure comic that has been highly regarded even in the academic world. Things seem to be lightening up for my research, and I will continue to read on.

Here is an updated Essay Introduction:

Essay Intro (29/03/16):

Comics. Hearing this term many may consider its ubiquitous presence in the media these days. From its humble beginnings as disposable newspaper strips to prized collective items to the now blockbuster film adaptations on the silver screen, comics stand as a prominent form of entertainment. As comic films become increasingly widespread, they have also drawn people back to the original source material. And with that, fervent comic readers begin emerging, and discovering an immensely comprehensive world of comics. The following of comics range diversely from male to female, and from children to adults. But some believe that some comics are of negative influence on children. Those who advocate this would state that comics, especially those of the horror genre, are too violent and frightful (footnote) for younger readers. For them, these horror-related comics hold no educational value for children. Yet those people seem to neglect the idea of why comics, even the scary ones, are so effective in engaging its readers. Scott McCloud puts it this way, as reading comics require “closure” --- the act of viewing parts but perceiving the whole; it forces the reader to participate, to connect the broken sequences of images into a coherent story (footnote here). Closure builds upon the reader’s learned knowledge, and by doing so, involves them in the comic reading experience. And this is the heart of comics. Children are at a stage where their imaginations run actively, and comics can accommodate that by providing them with rich, whimsical and even frightening worlds they can get lost in. As aforementioned by McCloud, comics require input from its reader, so that they are contributing their own imagination rather than just a passive looker. But has comics truly lived up to its potential? In the digital age, comics seem to have yet take full advantage of its ability to exist in more than one form of media. Comics’ ability to draw the reader in is uncanny, so are there ways to further the reader’s contribution to the story? There is also no limitation for comics, whether if it is the subject matter, genre or media (footnote here). And there should be no limitations for who can read them either. 

- I believe I have made a connection between horror comics and children, it may be still too weak, but it is present. How can make a stronger relation between the two? Perhaps begin with the horror comic genre?

- The spontaneous jump from children to the comics' medium has been fixed. 

Cover page for "Containment Area", a side project that I am working on. Lu and Xiao are the protagonists of this comic.

Week 04 24/03/16 Thursday

As Thursday came it was time for my meeting with my supervisor, however, she had other more important work to attend to, therefore I went to consult a friend of mine who had extensive knowledge on comics.

I showed him my essay introduction, and he critiqued about the fact that no one really appreciates motion comics. Those who have read a motion comic would always comment how the animation in the comic disrupted the natural flow of comic reading. I agreed with his view, and I know this from my third year research that was because the animation did not add anything new to the comic. This also had me contemplating about the practice of my project, this friend also suggested that if I truly wished to add animation to the comic, do so sparingly. He also advised ways of how to work pass this issue, like the ability to switch from animation to comic while reading/watching on a handheld device.

I liked the ideas he had given, but I have decided to stay with my own concept of a multi-ended interactive comic, with the consideration of minimal animation. The realization point for me was, to create an atmospheric comic, to evoke the feeling of creepiness and uncertainty in the reader. The sound should be subtle and ambient, and the comic should allow the reader to follow along at their own pace; which is an essential part of the comic. If animation was added, it would intervene with the usual interactivity between the reader and comic. With this, I have made the decision to only use animation as an additive effect, and will only be used to heighten the tension and mood when needed.

With those in mind, I also asked about what existing children's horror comics are out there, and academic writing in regards to this. I was given a list of practitioners, history of comics and even a couple of books that may assist in my research:

-Doug Tennapel, comic artist who had created many horror genre comics aimed at children
-Jill Thompson, a female comic artist who also made horror comics
-The Goosebumps graphic novel series
-"Seduction of the Innocent" a look at the rise and fall and rise again of comics
-"Ten Cent Plague" also outlining the events that caused heavy censorship on comics. I came across this title recently
-"Men of Tomorrow" a history on comics
- Robert McKee, a critic of screenwriting, his look on narrative and story demands attention and his teachings give a lot of insight into good storytelling
-Joseph Campbell, the man behind "The Hero's Journey", an extensive look into narrative structure and how stories told throughout the ages go through a similar adventure

My area of research has finally opened up. I am also planning to conduct a qualitative research on the view on horror comics and their effect children, I will interview three people, one from each different age group and record their stories and perspective on the topic. The groups will be adult, adolescent and children.

Extending my knowledge on comics was immensely useful, but I feel very closed about myself after I left my friend's house. In some ways I wished I was exposed to more comics and books at a younger age, so I, too could hold informative knowledge of the field I have so much interest in. This may be stemmed from the fact that my family has always been rather conservative, as a child I was not allowed to watch a lot of television, and my access to music and toys was constricted by my parents. Very early on in my life I realized that I did not understand a lot of the references other children made while conversing about pop culture, which led to the me now being rather ignorant about the events happening around me. When my friend asked me about certain important comic figures, I would usually just shake my head, not knowing who they are. It is rather upsetting to learn that the sheltering from my parents had led to a lack of knowledge for me now. And now to catch up, I have a pile of books to go through in order for my intellect to be sufficient in this research. In my view, it is essential to always let children be aware of the events happening around them, let them be knowledgeable in the field they are really interested in. It should be much easier nowadays with the internet being the norm, and handheld devices ubiquitous. Therefore I believe that children should be exposed all different types of media, let them be informed about the various types of genres that are available, let them choose what they like or dislike, and guide them about what is beneficial and what is not.

Besides all that, I drew some rough concept sketches for the visualization of my project. Drawing is always enjoyable for me, and I wish I had more time to practice my artistic skills.

Finally some sketches in relevance to my project. It took a while but I finally had the time to do some drawings. Now it's back to reading.

Week 04 23/03/16 Wednesaday

On Wednesday I was preparing for the reading group presentations. I have decided to do mine on Will Eisner's "Comics and Sequential Art".

The first two chapters of the book was already enough to draw me in and support my views on reading comics as a beneficial experience. Eisner advocated the strengths of reading comics, as it involves the reader in both visual and verbal interpretations. The book was also informative in terms of what I, as the creator of the comic, need to be aware of --- "Comics communicate a 'language' that relies on a visual experience common to both creator and audience." (Eisner, p1) This idea was consistently emphasized throughout these chapters as a reminder for me to be conscious about the target audience and their cognitive experiences; as reading comics depend greatly on it.

To further support the notion of reading comics being an educational activity, Eisner stated: "The format of comics presents a montage of both word and image, and the reader is thus required to exercise both visual and verbal interpretive skills... The reading of a graphic novel is an act of both aesthetic perception and intellectual pursuit." (Eisner, p2) I greatly appreciate the use of "exercise" in these statements, it is like alluding to comic reading is a way of practicing, a skill to hone, the understanding of images and literature. These claims are, unfortunately, a little narrow in defining what a comic really is, for in my personal perspective, comics is not just a  simple combination of words and images.

Leaving that said, Eisner had more to discuss concerning the understanding within comic reading: "Comprehension of an image requires a commonality of experience. This demands of the sequential artist an understanding of the reader's life experience if his message is to be understood. An interaction has to develop because the artist is evoking images stored in the minds of both parties." (Eisner, p7) In addition to upholding my argument mentioned in the first paragraph, Eisner pointed out the "interaction" between reader and creator. The creator must involve the reader with the comic, and the reader must have a certain level of sophistication in order to interpret meaning conveyed by the creator. There are contributions from both reader and creator, a two-way communication, and thus forming the interaction.

Lastly, concerning the art form of comics, Eisner argued: "Sequential art as practiced in comics presents a technical hurdle that can only be negotiated with some acquired skill. The number of images allowed is limited, whereas film or animation an idea or emotion can be expressed by hundred of images displayed in fluid sequence at such speeds as to emulate real movement. In print this effect can only be simulated. This challenge is not a disadvantage, however; in fact, it enables comics' singular ability to allow readers to consider many images at the same time, or different directions, a capability film lacks."  (Eisner, p20) This argument is valid in terms of reading comics as a though-provoking experience regardless of its contents or subject matter. As the act of reading alone requires skill and understanding of the fluidity of comics. In contrast to viewing a film, where the audience remain as passive lookers, comics engages the reader through using their interpretation to give rise to meaning. However, due to the time period this book was written (1985), there may not have been the emergence of motion comics yet--- comics that utilize animation to convey movement. Therefore stating comics' emotion and action can only be simulated may be slightly obsolete if put in recent context.

I have only reached Chapter Three of this book, and I am completely hooked. I will definitely do more reading and hopefully I will find more important information to support my project.

I ran out of doodles to post, here is something from a while back. I have named it "Head in the Clouds".

Week 04 22/03/16 Tuesday

Today we had another philosophical lesson on Critical Theory, Aesthetics and Narrotology. I then understood that these were (or a part of) methodology frameworks. Again it was difficult to make any connections between those topics and my project, but the second half of the lesson was slightly more useful. It was unfortunate that we ran out of time.

Some things were clarified for me a bit here:

Research and Methodology paper: this is related to HOW I conduct my research; what methods I used to carry out my research.
Studio Theory: Situatedness of my research; concerned with where my research is situated in a wider context; how it relates to other practitioner's work/texts.

Critical Theory

Critical theory is related to a number of philosophical thinkers, those whose works I will not go into detail. But from my notes I have concluded that critical theory is a way of questioning the logos/logic and reasons as well as the dogmatism of higher authority. Philosopher Kant emphasized the the notion to overcome rules and regulations, and to use one's own reason to think. In some way, critical theory is the methodology to question and even combat the political powers in favour of finding a dissonant truth (accepting different view points of what is true, even though there is no consensus).

In my own time, I did some readings on critical theory, which cleared my mind to some extent. The reading explained that critical theory broaches issues concerning race, gender, inclusions and exclusions, marginalization and privilege within an art and design context that would otherwise go unseen or neglected by other methodologies. Reading the passage was much more enlightening, if you will, than listening to the rather convoluted lecture we received from the tutor.    

Aesthetics

Again there was a lot of confusion happening in this listening concerning aesthetics; an otherwise (as I thought) simple concept of the judgment of what is considered beautiful. As the tutor began unraveling the philosophical implications behind aesthetics, my mind began to be led astray as I strive to follow. The origin of aesthetics came from the archaic Greek word "aesthesis", which means what becomes to appearance from out of itself; or to allow what it is by letting it emerge as what it is.

To put it more concisely, aesthetic judgment is concerned with our inner worldly self. The judgment is purely subjective. It is the beauty of the object (natural or man-made) we encounter that brings us a bodily sensation of pleasure, to which we would regard as beautiful; not the act of judging that something is beautiful brings us pleasure. Again I went and consulted some other texts explaining aesthetics, and they were surprisingly similar to what the lecturer had explained, except I was able to elect the more essential principles of the theory myself. Aesthetics is the principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art; it is also the branch of philosophy that deals with these principles and artistic taste. It would also imply questions such as what does our judgment of aesthetics explain about us? And what is this judgment grounded upon? It also states that though a beautiful object is 'purposive', it is not necessarily purposeful.

Narrotology

This was the topic I wished the tutor would discuss more on. Personally, before being educated about this methodology, I related narrotology to all kinds of narrative. As the lecturer explained, narrotology is the logos/logics and discourse of narrative. He then went on to the certain history of narratology, rooted in the study of language. As stories were passed on orally in many cultures, he stated that the language was an essential part of communicating them. The philosophy and study languages were concerned with what someone says, until an important linguist, Ferdinand de Saussure came along and disputed that it was actually more concerned with what one hears. To hear means to register an acoustic image (signifier), to which we then interpret meaning (signified) from. Together these forms semiotics, or signs, that are understood before meaning can arise. And with that, it was said that narrotology frameworks are structured like a language.

I did some further readings on narrotology in my own time, and found out some interesting theories. Narraotology braids human experience from different perspectives through language and the stories we tell. It is based on valuing everyday experiences, on stories told, as an explanation of the social, cultural and institutional influences at play in one's life and how these shape lived experiences. The reading went on to say that oral narrative was considered crucial to deepening understanding, in particular the histories of people suffering from patriarchal and colonial systems. This was far more significant and strongly related to my project than all the other methodologies. Now I have to think of way to putting this into practice. The way I interpret narrotology is like to structure the research practice like a story or narrative, to have a beginning, middle and end; to teach or create an experience and develop deeper understanding of something that would otherwise go unnoticed. I had anticipated that the lecturer would elaborate on this further, to go into more crucial territory; but it seemed doing research on my own would gather more substantial information.  

I then went on to do more of my research for the contextual review. As usual, I seemed to have difficulty to find relevant material for my research. Some keywords I used were: comics, children's comics, horror, horror comics (I focused on the horror comic genre); and I came across an interesting review on a book that was marginally related to my practice. It was by Louis Menand, a critique on David Hadju's "Ten Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How it Changed America" simplt named "The Horror". The first half was largely concerned with the court case concerning the production of horror comics in the 1950s. As stated "by 1952, a third of all comics were horror: 'Chamber of Chills', 'Tomb of Terror'..." And during the court listening, a German writer/physicist/psychiatrist named Fedric Wertheimer testified that comics were having deteriorating affects on juveniles. He went on arguing that "'Batman' was homoerotic and 'Wonderwoman' was sadomasochism"; "Superman" was, as Wertheimer claimed, "...arouse in children's fantasies of sadistic joy in seeing other people punished over and over again, while you yourself remain immune." As the review furthered the negative view on comics at that time period, I found out that laws were passed to restrict the number of comic books produced, as well as strict censorship legislated to their contents. It was then when Betty Boop's dresses were modified to be less revealing and more "age-appropriate". This may be a vital piece of information to support the situation of parents being discouraging towards children reading comics, and the reason why there are not many comics aimed at children. Though the legitimacy of this article may not be as sufficient, as it was the 1950s, it may act as a root for some people's belief that comics are bad for kids. This article also touched on the rise of comics in the 1970s. There was not a lot of detail as to how comics came to rise again, but it may be important for my research. I might look up Hajdu's book for a read myself.

The reading aforementioned above also made me think about another possible research area, I have been focusing a lot on comics, yet I seemed to have neglected the fact that comics seemed to be a term used more for western comics. Manga, something regarded to be somewhat less than comics, has had a boost in popularity recently. Maybe this was an area I needed to look into to find more perspectives to support my view on comics being beneficial towards younger readers.

I tried to find connections between horror comics and children, or children and their fascination with horror, but all I ended up with was articles and texts on how horror has caused negative effects on children, and investigations on how frightened children became when shown scary images on television. I have yet to find proof that children LIKE creepy crawlies. I did manage to find many artists that specialize in the horror/macabre genre, and even those who illustrate for children's books. So the question I put forward now is: why are there many children's books in the horror genre and parents seem to find them appropriate, but once it is in comics form, people seem to immediately regard it as harmful? I may be wrong, but I need to evidence to prove that I am wrong or if I am right.

Feeling somewhat helpless about this, I went on to investigate horror on its own. I remembered Vsauce mentioning a quote by Stephen King concerning horror, so I went to search it up. The quote delineated: "There are three types of fear: the Gross-Out; the sight of a severed head tumbling down a flight of stairs, it's when the lights go out and something green and slimy splatters against your arm. The Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it's when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm. And the last and worse one: Terror, when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It's when the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there's nothing there..." (Stephen King) I loved the description and examples King used to illustrate the three different types of fear. The last one was strongly related to the Uncanny, and implicates that the unknown is in fact more terrifying than any known objects. I wanted to include this as a theme in my practice, to teach people that there will always be unknowns, and even though it is frightening, and our imaginations support this, we still have to learn to cope with it. I felt that this is a rather complex theme, and I would like to convey this in comic form to children.

I find that documenting my findings and process, my struggles and frustration helpful. As of now I am able to articulate certain aspects that would otherwise remain muddled in mind. I have also proposed questions and dilemmas concerning my project. I hope that these would act as chapters to my narrotological journey.

Here's a little treat. I am beginning to loose track of the doodles I have posted. Hopefully I don't post the same image twice.

 

Week 04 21/03/16 Monday

On Monday I have started to write my introduction for the contextual review. I was also researching relevant materials while I was doing so. But I couldn't seem to find any substantial reference to support my view on children's fascination with the macabre or horror. I did find a very interesting video by Vsauce on Youtube, which explained in some extent, why we feel "creeped out". It was a concept that I have not really thought about, but the video had brought it to my attention; basically, our brains cannot cope with ambiguity or vagueness very well, therefore we tend to imagine things when there are certain unknowns. Also, when something, usually a toy or character, closely resembles its real life counterpart, yet not real enough to completely fool our eyes, the feeling of creepiness occurs. Learning this knowledge was eye-opening for me. I remembered I learnt about the Uncanny Valley briefly in my first year of university, but now that the idea is directly related to my practice, I have had it highlighted in my notes.

I still required some reference even in the introduction. I have also updated my research questions and abstract; things that I have not touched since two weeks ago.

Here is the introduction to my essay. I struggled to create connections between children's comics and the horror genre. I could not find a spot to slip the horror/creepy concept through in this introduction. I may have to include it earlier on. I would have to go back for reiterations later. Additionally, I felt like my use of language sounded too colloquial, and there was not enough use of more intelligent words or phrases. However, I did manage to communicate my argument rather clearly. I made some notes at the bottom for myself to consider, hopefully I could resolute these issues soon.

Essay Introduction (21/03/16):

Comics. Hearing this term many may consider its ubiquitous presence in the media these days. From its humble beginnings as disposable newspaper strips to prized collective items to the now blockbuster film adaptations on the silver screen, comics stand as a prominent form of entertainment. As the comic films become increasingly widespread, they have also drawn people back to the original source material. And with that, fervent comic readers begin emerging, and discovering an immensely comprehensive world of comics. The following of comics is undeniably growing, both in numbers and diversity. This leads to the idea of why comics are so effective in engaging its readers. Scott McCloud puts it this way, as reading comics require “closure” --- the act of viewing parts but perceiving the whole; it forces the reader to participate, to connect the broken sequences of images into a coherent story (footnote here). Closure builds upon the reader’s learned knowledge, and by doing so, involves them in the comic reading experience. And this is the heart of comics. But has comics truly lived up to its potential? In the digital age, comics seem to have yet take full advantage of its ability to exist in more than one form of media. Also, children’s choices for comics seem relatively lacking, with the majority of genres being action/adventure related (find reference here). If comics are so engaging and fun to read, why are there not many targeted at children? Why are comics for children not as nearly as diverse as picture books? Perhaps the majority believe that comics hold no educational value for young readers. That it is shallow in what is conveying and its artistry cannot compete with that of an illustrative children’s book. But as aforementioned from McCloud, comics require input from its reader, so that they are contributing their own imagination rather than just a passive looker. Children are at a stage where their imaginations run actively, and comics can accommodate that by providing them with rich, whimsical and even frightening worlds they can get lost in.  There is also no limitation for comics, whether if it is the subject matter, genre or media (footnote here). And there should be no limitations for who can read them either.

-          ----How do I link the genre of comic (the Uncanny) of my project to engaging younger readers?

-          ---- The jump from comics’ potential as multiple forms of media to children’s comics seem rather spontaneous, how can I fix this?

      

      Research Question(s) (21/03/16):

How can younger readers be furthered engaged in reading comics with the integration of interactive elements?

How can an interactive comic deepen the engagement of younger readers by providing them with thought-provoking themes/subject matter and allowing them to make their own decisions in order to shape the narrative?

Abstract (21/03/16):

As comics’ popularity continue to grow, it may be fitting to find new ways to explore its potential in the digital age. Comics, as described by Will Eisner is “sequential art”, a sequence of words and images to create meaning or a story (Eisner, 1985). Furthering this idea, Scott McCloud states that in order to form a coherent story with these sequences of images, the reader must be able to use closure--- the ability to view the parts but perceive the whole, to read comics. This can be seen as the most significant aspect of what makes comic reading so engaging. With this in mind, my project investigates how integrating interactive elements could further reader engagement. The objection is to create an interactive, adventure horror comic aimed primarily at children; and within this genre I will create a rich, whimsical world readers can get lost in. The narrative aspect of the comic will be interactive, providing the reader the ability to choose their own paths in the comic, thus provoking them to think consciously about decision-making and even forcing them to anticipate the consequences of those decisions they make. The implementation of the project will be structured in a systematic pipeline, following a workflow built upon solid planning. This is a project that will hopefully develop reading and thinking skills in children, as well as create an engaging, playful experience for them. The theories and methodologies of this practice will hopefully lay down paths for others to employ and build upon in the future.  

Here are just some random doodles I did on the train. And yes, the one on the far right is Lu.

Week 03 18/03/16 Friday

On Friday I was researching for visual style reference. I've found a few artists with artistic styles that are suitable for my project.

Chris Riddell - a British illustrator and writer. I love the use of black and white in his work and the intricate details that he masters. Noted works: "The Edge Chronicles" written by Paul Stewart and illustrated by Riddell. "Ottodine and the Yellow Cat" written and illustrated by Riddell. "The Pirate Diaries".

Gris Grimly - American illustrator who is drawn to the exciting and scary worlds of monsters and goblins. He had inspiration from the poems and writings ofof Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. Noted works: "Gris Grimly's Wicked Nursery Rhymes"; "The Dangerous Alphabet" by Neil Gaiman; "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley.

Keith Thompson - I have always loved Thompson's intricate illustration from the works he did for Scott Westerfeld's steampunk novel "Leviathan" series to the grotesque individual works he did for himself. Thompson has always given me motivation and his work has been the stylistic reference for my projects in the past. This year I have decided to draw reference from his works again.

All these artists have illustrated for books aimed at young readers. They all have an interest in horror and the macabre, with the use of black and white drawings they create creepy but also whimsical worlds to draw the viewer in. And these are the artistic styles that I would to utilise in my project this year.

I have also written an essay plan for my critical review:

Week 03 17/03/16 Thursday

I was finally able to meet my supervisor on Thursday. She was very supportive in terms of where I am going with my project. In the end I just needed her to sign my agreement form so I could submit it.

I brainstormed all the subjects I was going to cover in my literature review, and drew links between them so they all related to each other in some way. I personally preferred planning my essays using brainstorms, because it was the best way for me to map out my thoughts and visualize them on paper. After this I would then have to write a complete essay plan to which I will post on a later date.

Here is the mind map that I drew for my essay. It made me feel rather intelligent.

I kept saying that I needed to do more research, but so far all the research materials have not hit bulls-eye. My search would have to continue. 

And here's Lu as a ballerina.

Week 03 16/03/16 Wednesday

On Wednesday I did some research on my own and then I had a class on literature review. It was basically an explanation on our assignment. More research, more evaluation and judgments, and more justification of what and why we are doing this research practice. It was so that we could demonstrate the ability to critically analyse information and make judgments on it, in the context of our individual projects. It sounded simple, but when I laid out all the things that required researching, it seemed like an immense amount of work.

Research question: How does integrating animated and and interactive elements to a comic create an engaging and educative reading experience for children?
Research question (2) (revised as of 16/03/16): How can children learn to accept fear through reading a comic integrated with animation and interactivity?

Key Ideas/Areas to Address in the literature/contextual review:

-Comics
 -Comics as discussed and explained by Scott McCloud (comic artist and theorist)
  -Comics theory, principle, methods and techniques explained by Will Eisner

-Interactivity
 -Game theory (unexplored)
  -Game narrative as explained by Henry Jenkins
   -Examples of multi-ended games such as "The Walking Dead" and "The Wolf Among Us"; both by Telltale Games, and both based on comic books

-Children's Engagement and Education Through Storytelling 
 -Narrotology
  -Origins fairy tales and fables; cautionary tales to remind a certain moral
   -Passing on/transaction of knowledge through oral storytelling

-Fear and the Uncanny
 -(Linking back to fairy tales) Using fear to raise an awareness
  -The Uncanny Valley and what causes it; the feeling of creepiness
   -Why are children (or even all of us) frightened by such yet so captivated by it
    -Psychological aspects

Mot of these subject areas remain unknown to me, and I need to begin exploring them.

I drew Lu in kimonos and Chinese traditional dresses. I was drawing her A LOT a few weeks before and then I thought I should draw something else other than her. I'm kind of obsessed with her.

Week 03 15/03/16 Tuesday

Our Research and Methodology class started today. It was in a rather small room for the large number of students, which made the heat even worse.

But anyway, my personal recollection from the class seemed more like the philosophical theory on methodology, rather than teaching us actual research methods. The whole notion was really convoluted and complex. I could not understand a lot from this class, and I could not make any connections between it and my practice.

I did learn that once upon a time Art and Design schools were separate from universities. When the number of Post-Graduate students in Art and Design increased, it became necessary to develop frameworks for research methods and structured criteria for those students.

I tried to summarized what the lecturer taught. Methodology is a way to bring measure to the countless ways of approaching a project/research. There are two roots of methodology:
1. Quantitative--- statistic analysis, ensures mathematical certainty. E.g., surveying a large amount of people concerning a project, and finding the average response.
2. Qualitative--- in-depth analysis, framework for how meaning emerges. E.g., choose only 3 respondents and have discussions with all of them to arrive at meaningful conclusion.

Afterwards the lecture became very confusing. Unknown words like Epistemology, Phenomenology, and Ontology began emerging with very vague definitions in no context began giving me headaches. What I did understand from all this, is that philosophical thinkers questioned the very existence of one's being, and their connection/relationship with the world. There were then many different forms of thinking or methodology, which were based on different notions and beliefs of understanding the world, or attempting to understand the world. I could not explain why these are all necessary. Realism and Rationalism seemed to be based on the idea that the "one true world" can be measured and tested with built models (mathematical). And Relativism and Constructivism implied multiple competing worlds subjective to the researcher's culture (the "lifeworld" of the researcher). Many of the explanations given by the lecturer sounded incomplete; he liked to start a topic and then trail off to something different without concluding the previous.

I went over the notes I wrote down yesterday, and I read the pdf document on the class again. Yet I still cannot make out what the lecturer was trying to convey. Am I too ignorant to understand these complex theories? Am I supposed to take a stance with a group of philosophers? I have no clue. Perhaps when I can actually interpret these theories, I will decided whether or not if I am a realist or rationalist.

Something to lighten up the mood. Playful fights between friends.

Week 03 14/03/16 Monday

I have decided to document my progress by day rather than week. It will be shorter and everything will be fresher in my memory. So here I go.

Week 03 14/03/16 Monday

I did not have much to do on Monday. I could be researching for my thesis, or begin drawing rough sketches for my project. But I just sat there wondering what to do with myself. I ended up looking for the books I may need for my writing. I requested some from the library, and some I found online. I then made a list of the journals I could reference. That was about it for my Monday. I felt very unproductive by the end of the day. But I made plans for myself during this week, so hopefully by the end I would have accomplished something. No one has contacted me concerning my supervisor yet; the supervision agreement is due this Friday. Maybe I should talk to someone.

I drew Lu in fancy dresses. She is so pretty.

Week 02

07/03/16 Monday

I was continuing my research, looking into reading materials a tutor and I went through before uni started. I did not look for more new reading material, partially because when I did try I could not find anything of relevancy. I have identified some of the keywords of my research project:

children's comics, comics, interactive comic, interactive storyline, comic games

Hopefully using those keywords would help me further my research.

Some notes on the early reading materials that are relevant to my project:

Ozge Samanci and Anju Tewari "GPS Comics: Seeing Thru Walls" 

University of Berkeley 2010

This was an interesting idea and innovative concept. The user would walk around a designated physical parameter with a handheld device, and significant geological cues would activate an interaction with a character in the game. After a certain amount of interactivity, the application would generate a comic based on the interactions between the user and the virtual character. I quite liked this idea personally, but there was no finished product or any reviews of sort for any conclusions. This only related to my project tangentially; the use of handheld devices and the user's ability to manipulate the narrative themselves (albeit illusory) were rather similar. 

Also Scott McCloud "Understanding Comics: the Invisible Art" HarperCollins Books, 2004.

Gillian Whitlock "Autographics: The Seeing 'I' of Comics"

MFS Modern Fiction Studies, Volume 5, No. 4, Winter 2006 965-979. Published my John Hopkins University Press

This journal purposed that comics help realise the potential of comics to communicate autobiographical narratives of trauma. It focused on autobiographical comics analysis, and explained in depth the effectiveness of using comics to portray serious issues. 

The author referenced a lot from McCloud and his definition of comics; such as reading comics require closure (seeing parts but perceiving the whole), and that comics was not just the marrying of words and images, but transcended both through the use of closure. An important quote in the journal from Edward Said referenced by the author was "(comics) seemed to say what couldn't otherwise be said, perhaps what wasn't permitted to be said or imagined, defying the ordinary processes of thought, which are policed, shaped, and reshaped by all sorts of pedagogicals as well as ideological pressures... I felt that comics freed me to think and imagine differently". This was significant because it supported my view on comics not just being "kiddie flare", but something able to influence a person's way of thinking and imagination. It also advocated my argument on comics being effective in communicating any subject matter, even those dealing with trauma and war. 

The journal discussed Art Spiegelman's "Maus" and Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis" extensively as examples of autobiographies dealing in traumatic experiences. Links between the iconic character designs and situating the reader within the story were made, and lines between the visual style and its symbolism were drawn. The most essential part of the journal stated that because comics require so much from the reader, it calls for them to become a collaborator, and that they must use their own imagination to construct a coherent story. Here was another reason supporting my view on the depth of engagement when reading comics. 

I can draw links between this text and my idea. But I will have to state that "Maus" and "Persepolis" are aimed towards more mature readers, and that my project would be of darker subject matter, but aimed at children. Also I know I am not referencing these materials correctly, but I hope that is acceptable as they are just for documenting reasons.

08/03/16 Tuesday

Zak Waipara "Otea: Transmission and Transmedia"

I was given a link to an ex-student's Master's exegesis also dealing with comics and interactive games based on it. I thought it would be extremely helpful if I read through it. The abstract was clear in outlining the material's contents; which included

- A definition of transmedia

- The objections and goals of the project

- Subject matter (in this case it was related to Maori culture and mythology)

- Target audience (also children)

- Future/ long term goals (which was for others to employ and build on)

The exegesis was 86 pages long, and it was immediately daunting for me to imagine what I had to do for my own at the end of this year. However this was for a Master's degree, so perhaps it was not the level of sophistication for me to reach just yet. 

It was clear from the start that extensive and in-depth research was done in order to create this exegesis. There was already and overwhelming amount of footnotes and references made even for the origin of this project. It really dug deep into the origins of the project, going into the practitioner's personal experience in learning te reo Maori. It embodied his interest in language, and his belief that his project would advocate the learning of another foreign language. It was incredibly fascinating to learn about where the project stemmed from, and that I could also incorporate such topics in my own exegesis. 

This exegesis also provided me with a lot research material I could use in my project. I have noted down a few that could be relevant to my research:

Art Spiegelman, "Metamaus"

Henry Jenkins, "Transmedia Storytelling: Moving Characters From Books to Films to Videogames Can Make Them Stronger and More Compelling"

Henry Jenkins, "Game Design in Narrative Architecture"

Jesse Schell, "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses"

There was hope in expanding my research. Now I had supporting materials in comics and games. There were two more areas left uncovered for me, and those were linking comics and games together and how could such a merging be appealing to children. 

Also on Tuesday I was preparing for the ZEN Presentation all honours students were required to do. It was a short 2 minute talk of an overview of our project. I, like many, hated public speaking. So I typed up what I was preparing to say for the presentation. With my refreshed and new found knowledge on comics, my first draft when read out was 1 minute and 30 seconds long. I decided to expand upon it, and ended up with a 4 minute long speech. I cut everything down to bullet points, and decided to just use those to help me go along. The presentation was Wednesday. 

Right now I have thought of using the games "The Walking Dead" and "Wolf Among Us" by Telltale Games as a reference point for comics based videogames. 

09/03/16 Wednesday

Today was the day of the Zen Presentation. I spent the morning and the night before familiarizing what I was going to say.

My presentation consisted the main focus of my project--- which was to create an engaging interactive comic aimed towards children, why I was doing it--- so children may use their imagination in the reading experience as well as learn something of value, some context; in this case I referenced a bit of Chris Riddell's illustrative work, and how I was going to produce it---- by using Photoshop, AfterEffects, X-Code or Android Studio and Flash.

I probably talked very fast because of nervousness, and I could have forgotten to mention some important points on my presentation. But I had very little time to prepare, so it was a relief that I did manage to get up and complete the presentation. By the end of the semester, I would have to do a 10 minute long presentation on what I did so far on my project.

When the presentations were done, I continued reading Waipara's exegesis. And it continued to give great examples of what a proper exegesis should look like. It was effective because the practitioner always included diagrams, screenshots of work-in-progress and flowcharts along with in-depth explanation and evaluation of what he did. There was always a few footnotes and references to support his practice. Everything also linked back to Waipara's Maori roots, which connected all the different parts of the exegesis together as a whole. It was something that he constantly referred back to: transmedia and its ability to promote the learning of Maori language and culture.

I was struggling to come up with a theme for my project. At this point I did not have a particular direction I could take. I only knew I wanted to create a comic that was a bit creepy. It was after dinner when my sister, age 11, told me how she felt there were white eyes staring at her when she was bed. I tried comforting her by explaining how our brains could frighten us when it cannot perceive anything in the darkness, and it imagines things in order to make up for that emptiness. From this I suddenly had the idea to have a theme about overcoming a certain fear. This was no fear in particular, as the feeling of creepiness came from the sensation of uncertainty, and therefore I felt like this theme would be perfect for my project. It also suited the visual style, Chris Riddell's works portrayed a sense of whimsical uneasiness. I have decided at this point the theme, and now I could use "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "Goosebumps" and "Courage the Cowardly Dog" as supporting evidence that children liked to be scared every now and then; but the purpose of my project was not to merely intimidate them with uncanny imagery, but help them overcome their psychological fear. I hope that by reading my comic, children would learn (in a non-pedantic manner) that being afraid is nothing to ashamed of, and that the dark of night is always followed by the morning light.

10/03/16 Thursday

I have finally completed reading Waipara's exegesis today. The Appendix in the last pages was where Waipara had compiled all his work-in-progress. He even went as far as going to different library events to promote his comic project. I thought this was a great idea, but in order to do so, I had to get ethical approval before I could show my project to children. I could probably let my younger sister sample my work and collect some feedback from her. But again, I took something away from this exegesis in order to further my own research. I also gathered a few more reference material that may be relevant to my project:

Luke Feldman, "Design a Flash-Based Videogame" Computer Arts Project
D. Lapp. et al., "Grapgic Novels: What Elementary Teachers Think About Their Instructional Value" Journal of Education, 192, No. 1
Tyler Weaver, "Comics for Films, Games and Animation" Taylor and Francis, 2013

11/03/16 Friday

I had an actual class today. It was a workshop on critical thinking. I felt very unsophisticated when I came out of that class. Everyone there was a year younger than me, and I felt they were all very intelligent and observant. I took a year off from uni and thus maybe caused my way of thinking to be very insubstantial and shallow. But the few exercises we did made me realize how intellectual all those youngsters were. They made great comments and pointed out many evaluations on how to be a critical thinker. I tried to contribute some of own thoughts in class, but it only made me feel severely insecure. So I would just note down what I learned from this workshop:

Critical Thinking Skills:

1) Self Regulation (reflecting on why and how I do what I do)
2) Interpretation (understanding, clarifying, decoding texts and ideas)
3) Analysis (investigating strengths, weaknesses, similarities and differences)
4) Evaluation (assessing and making judgments)
5) Inference/Synthesis (drawing reasonable conclusions, building information back up as your own)
6) Communication (articulating your findings)

Another essential part of becoming a critical thinker is being able to form a rational criteria, and applying that criteria to the theory/principle for analysis. I must also compare and contrast between the different ideas and knowledge presented in my research. Then, I would have to make my own judgments and draw my own conclusions. This lesson was valuable as it taught me to be conscious about the thought process behind all the research and learning.  

At this point I had not come in contact with my supervisor yet. I was not sure whether it was because they just forgot about me, or they did not want to deal with me or my project. Either way it was upsetting.

These drawings are irrelevant to my project. But they are from a personal comic I am planning. Here are the main characters Xiao (male, middle) and Lu (far left and far right).

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.

2016 Research Project

Hi guys, I'm back from a long break. Well, I've actually been working for my family. But anyway, in 2016, I will be starting my year in studying honours in Digital Design. Classes and lectures have begun for a week and already I can feel the pressure and intensity of this course that I have almost forgotten from my year away from studying.

But like in 2014, I will be documenting my process on this blog to help with my journey through this project. It may sound boring, but it will help me lay out my thought process in a systematic and clear way for me to reflect upon at the end of the year. It will assist me in the exegesis process of the post-graduate degree.

All in all, I am nervous but also excited about what will come up during this year. Hopefully studying further in 2016 will widen my knowledge and refine my skills in my field of practice.