Graphic Story .

The project was to create a graphic story by using original photographs as a primary medium based on a self-created narrative. The first step was to write a short story and the second step was photo shooting. After reviewing all the photographs, I selected out the ones I would use for each panel to convey the story.

The next step was refining the photographs in Photoshop, which included adjusting brightness, contrast, hue, and applying “poster edge” and “cutout” effect. The purpose of this step was to create a comic look and maintain consistency in each frame. Then I applied texts onto panels. The final step included grid adjustments and page layouts in InDesign.

One of the struggles that I encountered during the process was to get permission from the owner to take photos in a Japanese café. I identified myself as an SFU student, showed the owner my student ID and explained the project to him thoroughly. I also emphasized that the photos would not be used for any commercial purposes. Eventually, the owner and I reached an agreement on photo shooting and credit the diner. Through extensive research, I tackled the problem regarded layouts. The layout of panels varied between different comic styles. For example, some comics used symmetrical rectangles that distributed evenly on a page and the texts laid inside the panels. In my case, I used unsymmetrical polygons and irregular text bubbles to complement the plot and to exaggerate the mood.

As a result, I received an outstanding grade on the project and positive comments from the professor. I created a timeline to manage my time efficiently and stay organized while working through the steps mentioned above. I realized that keeping the deadline for each task in mind helped me to stay on track.