Peter and the Wolf!!

Okay. Take 2. I knew it went too easy the first time. ;) But!! It's actually finished, and looks good, and was fun to play around with!! So! This is all WORTH IT!!!
Cross your fingers and hope it loads!!

Yes!! It's working! Quick before anything else can happen! (deja vu - I've totally been here before)

Peter and the Wolf

I've really liked this animation since I first saw it a few weeks ago. The characters are adorable and engaging, the music is integrated flawlessly into the story, and I find the whole story to be charming, even including the darker aspects.
I want to draw my comic on the ending scene in Peter and the Wolf, starting with Peter riding in on top of the cart holding the wolf, looking wild and triumphant, back lit by that enormous full moon. I like how he drapes himself over the cart while his grandfather talks to the various potential buyers for the wolf, and his wild joy at the fear of his fellow children when the angry, trapped wolf is revealed to be in the cart. I like how much Peter and the Wolf resemble each other by the end, Peter with his dark hair sticking out in all directions, just like the dark hair of the wolf, their eyes the exact same shade of ice blue. The wolf trapped in the cage mirrors Peter being trapped in the house at the beginning of the movie, and when Peter frees the wolf, it's as if they are the same, and see themselves reflected in each other. Both Peter and the wolf have a sort of dangerous, fearsome air about them by the end of the animation, a sort of wildness held in check, that I find rather fascinating.
The scene will start with Peter perched atop the cart, with the full moon behind him and the raven on his shoulder. The cart comes to a rest next to the dancing bear's cart, and the grandfather starts to talk with the dancing bear man while children crowd curiously around the cart. Peter opens up a hatch, revealing the wolf trapped inside, and the children all jump, making Peter grin. The girl he likes is there, just as impressed as all the other children. The raven, no longer trapped by its broken wing, flies away, free, soaring upward while Peter watches with a delighted grin. The two hunters push their way to the front, and start taunting the captured wolf with the point of their rifle, just as they taunted Peter at the beginning of the movie. Peter doesn't like that, and tosses a net over them, and they fall back, caught. Peter moves to the back of the cart, and unlocks the door, opening it to reveal the wolf. Everyone falls back as the wolf leaps out, and walks side by side with Peter, like an equal, before running off into the full moon.

Spider-Woman

I really did decide to analize the Spider-Woman comic. Brian Michael Benis is the author, and Alex Maleev is the artist. This particular issue is "Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D.", Issue 4, Published in February of 2010 (and published in monthly issues by Marvel). It's in color, although I can't quite tell what medium it's in - some sort of marker, paint-ish medium, perhaps edited with a computer. There are three main types of panel layouts, the first being a page of horizantal rectangles, one on top of another, the next being a combination of horizontal and vertical rectangles, usually a row of vertical ones, followed by a horizontal one, followed by another row of vertical rectangles. The last type is used for high-intensity scenes, with one large picture, with a few smaller rectangles layered over it, popping out. All the panels have white borders, even when there is color around the borders. The speech bubbles are white circles, while the main character's thoughts are in yellow squares. The font used is the same, in all capitals, throughout the issue. However, when the alien in the issue speaks, it's speech bubble is green, with white words in a different font, suggesting cracked English. The visuals are very intense, while the words are few.
It seems to be set in the secret headquarters of Hydra, I think, although I'm not sure because I don't really know what's going on (I picked this issue up because the cover was beautiful), which is in a tall building in a city. Most of the issue takes place in a holding cell, in the dark. Madame Hydra, one of the evil characters, is bribing the main character, Jessica, with revenge, by showing her to the holding cell with a live skrull prisoner in it - and the skrulls had kept Jessica prisoner for a while. Jessica interogates the skrull, it shape-shifts and attacks her, and she is forced to kill it, after which she runs out of the Hydra building (all the guards shoot at her), and jumps of the edge. The issue ends with her in free-fall, screaming.
The issue is dark and depressing, slightly bitter, written in the first person, with a few remarks about the past, but no actual flashbacks. Dramatic angles are used, including low angles, and since most of the issue is set in the dark of the holding cell, light is used for dramatic effect. Jessica's face never is in the light, reflecting her inner turmoil.
Personally, I liked the cover picture more than the illustrations inside, but it was all still very pretty. Since I came in in the middle of the story, I didn't really know what was going on, and it made me curious - I read a few other comics about Spider-Woman, and looked up what had happened to her before this issue, so that I might understand things better. I think, overall, that I liked it, although it was so moody and intense that I may not be positive. :)

You've Got Mail

Haha!! Success!! Please excuse the square around the second picture - the scanner doesn't like it if it's not in a square . . . :)

Hmm, I know I added a new scene and all, but I've been wondering . . . is it enough? Do I need more? Hmmm . . .

New Plan

Okay. Plan B.

Level Camera Angle. Spaceship moves in one side and loops out the other. Sound of rushing.

Pan shot. Follows the space ship in, and pans out to show it hurtling towards Earth.

Low Camera Angle, following close to the side of the ship as it crashes through trees.

Lond Distance Shot - watch the ship curl around buildings.

Neutral, level shot - ship zooms by, lifting papers and leaves into the air.

POV shot, shaking and zooming forward towards the field.

POV shot, shaking, emergency lights blinking, lots of beeping, farmhouse comes into view.

High angle shot, watches as corn gets whipped around by the force of the ship's passage. Corn flying in all directions, sound of kernels popping from the sudden heat.

Long shot, as ship crashes into the window.

High angle shot, as ship zooms out back door.

High angle long shot, as ship breaks through barn door.

Neutral, level shot, ship whizzes by rooster, leaving it stunned and lopsided. (all feathers stick out to one side)

long shot, ship crashes into a haystack.

Pan in, barnyard animals staring curiously, haystack begins to rustle.

Close-up, Eddie the warthog pops out of the haystack, startling the animals.

WHY??!!

Why won't it upload?!! I've done it before!! What am I doing differently?!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

 . . . . *pouts* . . . .

Wordless Comics and Minor Disasters

Okay! Finally done!! Who knew it took so long to work a scanner? :) And Adobe Photoshop wasn't being nice to me, so I'll just have to upload my comic the way it looks now, and upload it again if I can fix it later. Now . . .

And . . . of course. I can't upload my storyboard. Naturally. *sigh* You'd think I'd learn. Except I don't know what the problem is this time. Well, a comic is better than nothing . . . oddly enough, I don't seem to be freaking out. I'll figure out how to get the rest up by Monday.

Can you tell I'm not a computer person? :D

Success!!!!

It has been a triumphant day!! Just kidding, but look what I did! I FIXED it!!

My god, you would not believe how long that took me . . .

Data Graphics

Instructions, from places such as Ikea, who are selling items all over the world, in many different countries that speak many different languages, are taking shape in comic form. This is easily read from left to right, or from right to left, clearly showing what should not be done, and what should be done. The ideas are easily communicated by the big black x's, and the expressions on the androgynous people's faces. Everything is very simple, and doesn't even need words to convey their message.

I had to include this, simply because it made me laugh.

This is a good set of graphic instructions, because it uses clear pictures, and simple, easy-to-understand words : Yes and No. It also uses a brightly colored warning sign, an easily recognizable symbol, to further emphasize what you should not be doing.

Netherlandish Proverbs

Wow. Is it . . . is it actually working? Oh my. I think it is. I really think it is. SUCCESS!! Quick, publish it, before something else can go wrong!

Graphic Instructions

It's really quite pathetic how proud of myself I am. Look! It works. Now all I have to do is figure out how to download my movie, and I will be the smuggest person on the planet. :)

Yeah, so the graphics are a little shakey, because I did them in pen and scanned them into the computer. Actually, the green jell-o coloring was done in Photoshop, but it's just as shakey as the rest of the drawings . . .

I used to believe . . . but now I know . . .

Ah-Ha!! I've figured out my problem!! YES!! So, this is my I used to believe . . . but now I know . . . project.

I got the idea from writing out a whole list of things, and I realized that if I started out with "I used to believe in love . . ." there was a whole realm of possibilities waiting to be known. It felt like I was telling a story, so I went with it. The format is not the box-by-box format, partly because I couldn't get it to work on my computer, but . . . okay, mostly because I couldn't get it to work on my computer. But I have another, slightly more humorous idea, and we'll see if I have time to fix that one up as well. YES!!

The Not-So-Good Graphic Instructions

Okay!

        Oh, no, it's upside-down . . . *sigh*. Oh, well. I've been having such issues with this, since it keeps refusing to download my projects . . . :(. It's nice that something finally showed up!! (even if it's upside-down) Right, so as you can see, I found an excellent example of a not-that-good graphic comic how-to - AND it's on the back of a chopsticks rapper!! The pictures and the words explaining the pictures do not match up, you see. Hmm . . . perhaps you don't. Here's what the wrapper says:

"Chopstick A is used for support and does not move. Put this chopstick between your middle and ring fingers."

-Followed by a picture of a single chopstick being held between the thumb and the first finger. Nothing is labelled as "A" -

"Put Chopstick B between your middle and index fingers, and hold it with your thumb."

-Followed by a picture of a chopstick parallel to the first one, pinched between the thumb and first finger.-

"Open the tips of the chopsticks and try to pick up food with them."

-Followed by a picture of a hand with a pair of chopsticks, with food either stabbed on the end, or magically attached.-

         So, you see, this really isn't a good example of instructions in comic form. The pictures and the words don't line up at all - a Chopstick A and B are discussed, but never depicted clearly, and the fingers expressed holding the chopsticks in the picture are not the fingers expressed holding the chopsticks in the description. Anyone not already familiar with the use of chopsticks would be completely confused.

Success!!!

Okay, so there are still a few technical difficulties, but look!! I've got my scans, and everything!! This first one is "How to Open an Umbrella". Drawn instructions on how to open an umbrella! I did it in class. Yup. So . . . moving on.

Ta-DA!!! My first mind-map. I took my nice brush-pens/marker-things to my Intro to Chemical Engineering class, which is my 1-credit class, where I only have to sit there and look like I'm paying attention. It's actually interesting, though, so I do pay attention. :) But, anyway, this is what I got! Our guest lecturer came in, and had us do a math problem with a tank of water, with a leak in the bottom, and water getting poured in. And then he told us about his animated movie, about atoms, called the Molecularium, I believe. So, the atoms looked like the little round things in the top right corner of the mind map. The water molecule is called Oxy, with her sidekicks Hydra and Hydro. Then, on the bottom, there is a "protein doing it's dance" (a direct quote from the lecturer about using a certain type of microscope), and the quote from the movie "The melting has BEGUN!!!", which just made the rest of my day.

This is a mind map of the TV show, Leverage. After mind-mapping my lecture, I was a little concerned that I hadn't filled up the entire paper . . . so I tried again. This particular episode was about a company mass producing drugs with deadly side effects, because the CEO/evil man wanted to get a better paying, higher position, and by the time anyone noticed that the medicine he was producing was dangerous, he would be at his next job, and wouldn't have to deal with it. It didn't work this time, either. Filling up the paper, I mean. I'm currently mind-mapping Chapter 8 of my Chemistry textbook. It's working out much better.

Progress And Technical Difficulties

So, I got so excited because I figured out how to work the scanner in the library today, so that I can scan my various assignments and post them online. The first computer I used was an adventure, because I previewed one scan, and then the computer completely spazzed out, and refused to connect to the scanner, and I kept trying to get just one, little scan, and it kept telling me try again, try again. Something's wrong, so try again. Except when I tried again, the "Try Again" pop-up would simply pop-up faster, after a brief attempt to connect. And faster. And faster. Until the computer figured out that I would just keep trying until it worked, and then it took a good 15 minutes to tell me that there was a connection problem. I guess it needed a break.
The second computer worked better. I got everything scanned, and saved on my username, and then none of the information transferred to my laptop, so I'm going to have to go back to the library and upload everything from there. So. Progress. Progress is slow. But I'm making it. :)

Hello!

So, I've been asked the reason behind the name of this blog, and I thought for my first post, I should explain. It's a bit of a play on words, I'm afraid. "Head in the Clouds" usually refers to someone who's a dreamer, and I must admit, my mind frequently runs away from me . . .
But then there's also the literal meaning. Head in the clouds. It's a tall person joke. ;) Fun fact: the average American woman is 5 feet, 4.6 inches. I am quite a few inches over that.
Today I began my journey into the world of graphic storytelling. Okay, I admit, I've been here before, and have moved quite a ways down this path, but this is the first time I've ever taken a class on it. It's exciting. :D It's also the reason behind me getting a blog - I mean, what would I have to say otherwise? But, yeah. Moving on. My professor emailed me a list with various comic books she recommended reading for one of our future assignments. I got curious - I've always read manga, but never a comic book. Well, "graphic novel", I suppose, but if I call it a graphic novel, I've read an Anita Blake graphic novel before, and can't say that I've never read one. Either way, though, I'm completely clueless.
Today, my roommate took pity on me and deigned to look over my list and point out the comics she liked, and the ones she could offer me to read, and even went so far as to escort me down to the local comic book store. And sent me in.
Well, I must point out that that is not a very well-advised thing to do. Never send me into a book store and let me browse. Period. I ended up being rather good (for me) - I walked away with the first volume of Alias, which is on my list, and was also, thankfully, on sale. But then I branched out, and got a random volume of Cinderella, "From Fabletown With Love", because it made me laugh when I opened it, (Oh, come on, it opens with: "It started out a textbook operation. I was deep-cover in enemy territory." while showing a picture of Cinderella at the ball. How could I not?"), and also a random volume of Spider-Woman, mostly because I fell in love with the cover. It was beautiful. Seriously.

It's really beautiful, right? And it was fun to read, too, because all the illustrations were that beautiful. (That's how I pick out which manga I feel like reading, by chosing the ones with the prettiest drawings. I used to chose based on the storyline, like a normal person, but now I just chose based on how easy it is on the eyes :) ) Although, it was high contrast, very dark, probably to amp up the emotion and drama. The angles were certainly dramatic. I'm currently part way through Alias, and that's rather darkly-lit, too, depending on the mood the main character's in. It's interesting. I'm kinda excited to see where it goes.