Updated: Mar 20, 2025
Thirteen years ago this week, I gave a talk called "Drawing Stories" at TEDx Waterloo, becoming only the third comics creator to speak at a TED or TEDx event (following Scott McCloud at TED proper in 2009 and Kyle Baker at TEDx Hunter CCS, also in 2012.)
Though honoured to be invited, I wasn't happy with the talk itself. An error on the organizers' part resulted in my slides coming up out of order, which really threw me off my game in front of a crowd of about 1300 people (at Centre in the Square in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) and who knows how many watching online. I'm not linking it here, but it's definitely online if you're looking for it. I've never been able to bring myself to watch it back, but hopefully they've done some editing to make me look good. In any case, lower your expectations.
The better part of the event was that after my talk (I spoke first) I did live drawings of the rest of the speakers, in the form of panels on a giant comics page. It was a fun piece of performative art that framed the day nicely and was unique (as far as I know) in the history of TED or TEDx. Among the other speakers were Taylor Jones of Dear Photograph fame, musician Peter Katz, a smokin' performance by jazz pianist Roberta Hunt, Columbia University professor Sarah Williams, and Canadian-Palestinian doctor and peace advocate Izzeldin Abuelaish. It was the real deal.
THUMBNAILS
The subject of my TEDx talk was, of course, visual storytelling (about the only thing I'd ever be asked to speak on with any sort of authority.) Been a lot of that going on here the last little while. There always is, of course, but I've been working on rough page layouts for two new graphic novels, and for my money that's where the real heavy lifting for comics storytelling happens. Written comics scripts aren't fundamentally different from movie or TV scripts; they're mostly a blueprint for a work of art you're going to make later. And the finished art stages are simply refining the surface of images you've (hopefully) already thoroughly thought out. For me, while they aren't always much to look at, the quick, rough thumbnail layout sketches in between are where the rubber really meets the road. Because 85% of what makes comics meaningful is composition.
For example:
Composition can mean the arrangement of elements within the panels, such as choreographing action...
..Or making sure the details of characters' "performances" read clearly.
It might mean coming up with meaningful tableaus that invoke a particular emotion...
...Or that claustrophobically trap your characters in boxes within boxes.
Of course, you might simply be working out the delicate choreography of a face-to-face confrontation between two characters in domed space helmets.
Because this is comics and not "just" illustration, you've also got to compose the arrangement of the panels themselves. For instance, you might use multiple panels to create a sense of place...
...Or use the panel border itself as a compositional element, creating a sense of physical separation between two characters who are at odds.
You might use repetition -- or the lack thereof -- to create a sense of timing and pace, either fast or slow. (I'm a well-known purveyor of slow comics.)
Whatever rhythm you create, you can then break it in meaningful ways. Preferably with ominous headstones.
These drawings will all improve later on, but they already "read," even in this unfinished state, because the ideas are clear. At least I hope they are, because while they look fast (and are) each is the end result of a bunch of other, less effective ideas that were scrapped -- which is why you don't waste too much time on finished drawings at this stage.
It's an art form with a lot of moving parts, and there are a thousand decisions to make on every page. There are all sorts of ways to tell a story with pictures, and while there are certainly principles, there aren't a lot of hard and fast rules. It's thrilling and intimidating all at once.
Shhh...
And no, I can't tell you what either project is because neither has been announced. You can guess, but I ain't sayin'. The good news is there's a lot of new material in the pipeline. I've got a busy few years ahead.
Which is exactly how I like it.
