Understanding Comics (3 points)

 I found a lot of what McCloud discussed in this comic quite intriguing and well thought out. An aspect of the reading I thought was particularly important is when he discusses the six steps in creating comics and art in general: idea/purpose, form, idiom, structure, craft, and surface. I thought it was important because I think every creative focuses on one of these stages at least once in their development. Although illustration is another form than comics, I resonated a lot with the examples he provided of different stages in growth a creator can be in. I liked how he made it clear that there isn’t a clear order to them, and that different steps can be skipped and revisited at different times. I feel like while in school I’ve gone through stages of being too overly concerned with figuring out craft and structure, which has gotten in the way of creating something that actually means something to me. Not that it has to be some grand self-important statement or something. It's just a lot of the stuff I’ve made throughout school has been either hollow without any thought to idea/purpose or just insincere imitations of other artists, purely surface and craft. I want to make stuff I actually like without worrying about the current landscape of what other people are doing or what is hirable, much like how it is to draw as a kid. I have a lot of hang ups and insecurities that prevent me from letting go completely of thinking my art has to be something, which is why I resonated with this part of the reading a lot. Thoughts like “Why do I paint this stuff? What do I actually enjoy painting? What stories do I want to tell? What do I want to say?” I’m quite an over thinker, so I’ve just settled on just painting the things I know and like.

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