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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