Introduction:

In this portfolio, the chosen work is Building Stories by Chris Ware. Building Stories(see Figure. 1) by Chris Ware uses a comic format with a combination of other mediums to tell a story about the character's lifestyle and what the characters do throughout one day. The story in Building is told through different mediums whilst being in a comic style.

About Chris Ware and Building Stories:

Chris Ware is an American comic book artist who created the chosen story, Building Stories. “comics progress in a sequence of image, letting the artist’s ideas take shape as the viewers scans from panel to panel.” (Chris Ware: Building Stories, ProQuest.) Furthermore, Building Stories, the stories are “unfold over many panels and pages, and jump around in time from the present to the past and back again.” (Chris Ware: Building Stories, ProQuest.) Hence, the comic style used in individual pages for Building Stories. Furthermore, Ware uses one page to describe what the character did during the day till the evening (see Figure. 2).

Analysis on Figure 2:

In Figure. 2, Chris Ware has drawn an apartment building which focuses on what the character is doing throughout the entire day, from morning to evening. Each short story's panels have a clock on the top left-hand corner to indicate what time the character did the activity. For example, around seven am, in the morning, the character is painting nail polish on her feet, then letting it dry before dressing up and completing the rest of her activities. On the left side of the comic, it shows the type of task the character is going to do throughout her day. The focus of what the character is doing through the piece of paper where she wrote down the reminder is to demonstrate what the character will be doing throughout the page (Figure. 2.). "The individual elements of the box show us the building and its residents at fraught moments in their lives, or chart aspects of their existence over time." (Wolk, 2012.) This is an interesting point made by Wolk as each panel in the graphic novel shows the audience the building and what one of the residents are doing with the use of small comic-styled groups.​​​​​​​

Mini Analysis for 1st drawing draft:

In this drawing, I had decided to follow the pattern on what Ware did in Figure. 1. Though it was fun drawing the sketch, I forgot to realise that I need to tell a story in the style of what Ware did throughout Figure. 2. Furthermore, when sketching, I realised that I never lived in an apartment before, so I had trouble visualising how to draw an apartment and thinking about what to sketch for this assignment. Also, I tried to put a clock on the top left-hand corner to indicate the time of day, but I realised it was too difficult for me to do. With the restrictions of the COVID-19 and social distancing, I had trouble drawing the different events that occurred during the one day. Also, I had decided to try using the small panels to describe a short story. Wolk describes how Ware uses small groups to describe a little story – what is happening with the character or what they're doing. (Wolk, 2012). After sketching the small panels, I then realised that it was kind of hard to describe what is happening in a house compared to an apartment (in which Ware did for Figure. 2.).In Figure. 2, Chris Ware has drawn an apartment building which focuses on what the character is doing throughout the entire day, from morning to evening. Each short story's panels have a clock on the top left-hand corner to indicate what time the character did the activity. For example, around seven am, in the morning, the character is painting nail polish on her feet, then letting it dry before dressing up and completing the rest of her activities. On the left side of the comic, it shows the type of task the character is going to do throughout her day. The focus of what the character is doing through the piece of paper where she wrote down the reminder is to demonstrate what the character will be doing throughout the page (Figure. 2.). "The individual elements of the box show us the building and its residents at fraught moments in their lives, or chart aspects of their existence over time." (Wolk, 2012.) This is an interesting point made by Wolk as each panel in the graphic novel shows the audience the building and what one of the residents are doing with the use of small comic-styled groups.

Analysis for Figure. 4. and my drawing(figure. 5.) :

In Figure. 4., Chris Ware had used a technique called the axonometric method to "present a higher angle of view than isometric drawings and emphasise the set of horizontal planes by revealing their true size, shape and proportions." (Francis, D & K, Ching. ) In Figure. 5., I tried implementing the axonometric technique. It was hard to use the method on just a blank piece of paper as I did not have grid paper. Furthermore, trying the axonometric technique in my drawing was interesting as I get to play around on how to draw lines and how to make all the lines the same length. (Francis, D & K, Ching. )

Analysis of my sketches:

 Since I had trouble using digital programs and figuring how to work them, I had decided to draw my sketches out with pencils then tracing them with a black pen then scanning it to a higher quality. After my experimentation's ( see Figure. 3 & 5), I decided to switch my ideas to an apartment as I felt it was much easier to tell a story through the use of the apartment. Also, sketching an apartment and thinking what it looks like was a fun experience for me as I get to expand my perspectives more and how to draw certain things.

Analysis on Figure. 6 & 7:

In this drawing, I had decided to draw the inside entrance of the first floor of an apartment. The purpose of the illustration serves to tell when an individual enters the apartment. I decided to incorporated both elevators and stairs to give the individuals more option in choosing how they want to go up the apartment. In this drawing, the perspective is from the entrance of the apartment. So, when the individuals entered the apartment, their point of views would be focusing on the elevator and stairs. Since I had trouble using digital programs and figuring how to work them, I had decided to draw my sketches out with pencils then tracing them with a black pen then scanning it to a higher quality. After my experimentation's ( see Figure. 3 & 5), I decided to switch my ideas to an apartment as I felt it was much easier to tell a story through the use of the apartment. Also, sketching an apartment and thinking what it looks like was a fun experience for me as I get to expand my perspectives more and how to draw certain things.

For the next sketch, I decided to incorporate Chris Ware's story-telling(Figure. 8.) for the following few designs I drew. In Figure. 9., I decided to draw a dance studio. The story revolves around a young teenager who is seeking to be a ballerina in the upcoming years. But with the current situation, happening right now, she is having trouble accessing and participating in rehearsals. Her friend( shown in Figure. 11)'s father, decided to turn the first floor to a dance studio so that the ballerina has more time to rehearse. In the drawings, I implemented a technique Ware had drawn in Figure. 2 & 4) was starting the story from the windows of an apartment. In Figure. 9 & 10, I had applied that technique into my drawing as well to show what the ballerina is doing. Starting the day from zooming into the apartment window and then zooming out of the room as the day finishes. This is very interesting as Ware is only focusing on one day rather than implementing multiple days in the comic. Lastly, in Figure. 9, I decided to experiment with the use of colour. The top right panels use colour whilst the bottom left panels to use the grey colour palette to show how the ballerina view the world differently compare to non-ballerinas.

For my final sketch, I decided to draw a girl's bedroom. The point of view in Figure. 11. is the reader's point of view. As mentioned above, I noticed Ware's drawing for Figure. 2, the author likes to start from the windows. In Figure.11, the readers are viewing the girl's room from the bedroom window. When drawing the bedroom, I decided to keep it simple and not overflow it. For me, I want the bedroom to have the girl's individual preferences and draw items that she feels comfortable. Furthermore, the bedroom illustrates the girl's personality and what she prefers to have in the room. For example, the soft toys(see Figure. 11) used to depict that she likes cute things and that, soft toys give her comfort when she is alone in her bedroom.

Conclusion + Mini Reflection:

In conclusion, the project was a fascinating piece of work to complete. During this assignment, I realised that the use of digital programs was hard, and I had very less knowledge on how to use them, which led to me hand-drawn all my sketches. Despite, hand drawing the illustrations for this assignment, I felt that I should have also experimented with digital programs so that I can understand how the programs work. After doing this assessment, it gave me a new perspective on that individuals have their medium that they prefer to choose from and that we should experiment new mediums to help me expand my skills on using different mediums for my upcoming assignments and tasks.

References:

Chris Ware: Building Stories. (Scholastic Art Masterpiece of the Month #6) (2009), Scholastic Art, 39 (6), 8-9.  https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/docview/211172104/fulltext/F3636FC9B1A427DPQ/1?accountid=17095

Francis, D. & K, Ching. (n.d.). BASIC AXNOMETRIC DRAWINGS.

Wolk, D. (2012, October 18 B). Inside The Box. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/books/review/building-stories-by-chris-ware.html

Design Workflows. (n.d.) Drawing & Speculations Lecture. [used the chosen images from Building Stories by Chris Ware]