Graphic Novel Terms and Concepts

What is a panel?

• An individual frame or single drawing depicting a frozen moment.

• a small group of people brought together to discuss, investigate, or decide on a particular matter.

• a flat or curved component, typically rectangular, that forms or is set into the surface of a door, wall, or ceiling.

• A large drawing the covers most of the page.

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The lines and borders that contain the panels are known as...

• Gutter

• Background

• Graphic Weight

• Frame

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The Gutter is-

• a shallow trough fixed beneath the edge of a roof for carrying off rainwater.

• The trench on either side of a bowling lane that must be avoided for a ball to knock down any pins.

• The space between framed panels.

• An image that extends to and/or beyond the edge of the page.

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What is the purpose of the midground and the background?

• Placing an image off-center or near the top or bottom can be used to create visual tension. These objects provide story support and establish mood.

• These panels help to create focus for the reader as they are closest to the viewer.

• The panels in the midground and background are made to distract readers from the central focus of the panel.

• These panels describe the way some images draw the eye more than others, creating a definite focus using color and shading in various ways.

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What is the impact of faces that are "open blank"

• They emphasize the lack of emotion within different characters.

• They are representative of iconic and familiar people or ideas.

• They allow the readers to interpret how the characters are feeling based on context.

• They depict actual portraits of people.

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Why are hands and feet important in graphic novels?

• Animated characters are usually drawn with only 4 fingers and toes.

• They can be used to help express what is happening in the story and help portray the mood.

• Hands are a symbol of hard work and freedom while feet are a symbol of journeys and movement.

• Hands and feet are a part of the background and are meant to be out of focus for readers.

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These are boxes containing a variety of text elements, including scene setting, description, background, etc.

• Transitions

• Shading and coloring

• Special effects

• Captions

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These enclose dialogue and come from a specific speaker’s mouth; they vary in size, shape, and layout and can alternate to depict a conversation; can represent external dialogue or internal dialogue, which is a thought

• Speech Bubbles

• Captions

• Transitions

• Foreground

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How do you read the panels of a graphic novel?

• Start at the top of the page, move left to right, then move down, and repeat.

• Start with the biggest panel then move to the next panel that catches the readers eye.

• Start from the bottom and move to the top.

• Start from the right hand corner and move to the left.

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Why are some speech bubbles different shapes?

• To make the story more interesting for the reader.

• To emphasize and support the mood and tone of the story.

• To illustrate that some characters are more important than others.

• Graphic novels require the use of different shapes and colors.

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