Comic development

 Page 1:

• I began my comic by using reference images of Whales and drawing them in the same style that I would draw the Greek Urn in. So red lines of the drawing for a red background.
• I started off by trying to contain the red and make the page more of a splash page
• However I didn't think this emulated the metaphor so decided to try and make it look like the ocean/wine had spilled out of the boxes and the Whales with it.

Page 2:

• For this page I started off with my planned layout but found that it didn't work and made the comic page too boxy.
• Instead I opted for a more streamline look that made the hand look like it was actually reaching up. 
• I also found that I had veered from the style of spider I had planned to do so had to make sure the page remained consistent with the ret of the comic.

Page 3:

• For when the spiders were sleeping I wanted to Include the webs because that is the iconic motif of a spider. However, I found that a typical web wasn't really suiting the style I was leaning towards as it meant there was too much happening. It also meant that it was hard to focus on the spiders as the white web was drawing too much attention.
• As a result I tried a darker orange/brown for the web but that made it blend too much into the background. I decided as a result to opt for a more minimal web design and separate he page into more comic looking sections.
• My favourite design decision was the vertical box for the hanging spiders which really exaggerates the fact they are hanging downwards. This really adds direction to the comic and I am very pleased with it.

Page 4:

• This was the most difficult page to complete as I wasn't sure how I would reflect the simile of the spiders acting like 'huge dogs consuming their food'.
• I decided to focus on what the spiders would look like eating their food initially and then look at reference images of wolves eating as I thought that kind of imagery might portray the simile better.
• I experimented allot with the style of boxes I wanted and thought I had come to a final solution with a diagonal box. However, I felt like it made the spiders look too big in comparison to the wolves. As a result, I experimented a bit and found that a more traditional style aesthetic suited this scene best. It almost acts as a side by side for the event in the plot and the simile.
• I also decided to go for more of a black theme for this page which makes it look more put together and also adds an element of aggression to the dogs.

Page 5:

• In this page it was essential that I portray the window that the spiders are looking through. I found a solution to this by looking at a particular comic made by Jesse Longergan which features comic book squares that are made up of multiple small boxes.

• As you can see Longergan's style has influenced much of the beginning of this page strongly as I felt like it could reflect the comic style I wanted to reflect strongly.
• My favourite design choice was adding the web on the window so that it made sense that the spiders were sat there but also having the web expand into the box with the fist to give the illusion of sun light rays. This adds a nod to the metaphor of 'dawn punching the sky in the nose'.
• Again I opted for a long portrait box to highlight the direction of the fist reaching upwards. This kind of design choice has brought my project on greatly as I have begun to think about how to give my comic direction and focus. 

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Page 7:

Front cover design:

• The process of making this was trial and error with fonts and experimenting with placement and colour.
• For the illustration I wanted to directly portray 'Spiders VS. Roaches' and thought back to my splash page I had designed which I was really fond of so I decided to experiment with that as a front cover design.
• I didn't want to directly replicate my splash page so I experimented with placement and size and landed on duplicating the image and laying them on top of one another flipped and I really like the outcome.