VIGNETTE

 

There is a common mistake, when thinking that, to make comic, the first thing is to divide the page into square, and to fill them up with drawings. What a mistake!

The vignette, like other comic codes, has to be subject to the plot, to the story. It can be square, rectangular, but not necessarily. it depends on each of the moments of the story. Besides, the vignettes may break, open close, or even be ellastic.

 

EXAMPLE 1:

 

Observe this page: we have many types of vignettes. Classical, rectangular, rounded, ellastic, or even without a frame. And the last one is half closed, half open. Sometimes the balloon breaks the borders of vignettes.

Conclusion: we may do whatever we may imagine with vignettes, whenever they make sense.

 

EXAMPLE 2:

In this vignette we have a resource called "dynamism within the vignette": en element (the car) appears several times in the same vignette, giving the impression of movement. What do we get this way? The story is fluent, the movement is fresh, and with this visual effect we catch the reader's atention.

EXAMPLE 3:

 

Two interesting resources on this page: on the one hand, a sequence of vignettes with no frame. Maybe we could think they are not vignettes, but they are, but without a frame.

On the last one, we faind again the "dynamism within the vignette". One girl is evolving into a slave, metaphorically, becasue her mother has told her off for something she has done.

EXAMPLE 4:

 

The vignette is broken by the girls shot. Thanks to this effect, the scene is much more expressive. To contrast it, the next The vignette has no frame. it a clear example of a The vignette that adapts itself to the story.

 

PRACTICE

  • Practise: 5 different types of The vignette by its shape / 3 different types because they open or close / 3 cases in which they are connected to each oher.
  • Look for some comic book. Find very horizontal The vignettes, and compare them to others which are very vertical. Whay are they like that in each case?