Human Gestures Are Like The Alphabet
We read them instantly.
For Conversation:
Will Eisner, in his Comics and Sequential Art, makes the case that figures in a comic are like an alphabet that we "read."
Excerpted from
https://archive.org/details/Will_Eisner_Theory_of_Comics_and_Sequential_Art/page/n15/mode/2up
In this example below, he shows the example of a "worship symbol."
Do we create emotion symbols with our figures? What do you think? Share some examples or non examples in the comments!
Sometimes, our gestures can be read even in silhouette. Here is a simple page of Tintin, silhouetted out:
(Hergé; found on the internet a long time ago!)
Here are some more exciting gestures.
Eleanor Davis, In Our Eden
Lee Lei, Stone Fruit
Two illustrations from Yuko Shimizu
Winsor McCay, Little Nemo in Slumberland
How important are clear, bold GESTURES and much do they communicate first in our comics?
Thanks for reading!
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