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#Post#: 31--------------------------------------------------
The Schweizer Guide to Spotting Tangents
DIR By: Pam
Date: May 21, 2021, 8:50 am
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Source: Chris Schweizer's blog
HTML http://curiousoldlibrary.blogspot.com/2011/10/schweizer-guide-to-spotting-tangents.html
Comic art is, as a general rule, a line-based medium. I know, I
know, there are plenty of artists whose work is painted, or who
depict their subject in ink using solely light and shadow. But
these folks are unquestioningly in the minority, as the history
of printing technology originally dictated the use of line to
depict form in the early days of comics. This became a stylistic
expectation, and it’s an expectation that I enthusiastically
embrace, as have many others. But using line to draw the world
invites chances for that cardinal sin of composition: the
tangent.
A tangent is when two or more lines interact in a way that
insinuates a relationship between them that the artist did not
intend.
It can create confusion on the part of the audience as to what
it is that they’re looking at. It can cause the spatial depth
that one attempts to cultivate through the use of planes to
become flattened. Most of all, it creates a decidedly unwelcome
aesthetic response: tangents are just plain ugly.
There are a lot of different types of tangents, as least
according to the way I define them. In order to make it easier
on my students when giving critiques, I’ve categorized them and
named them. This may have been done before, but I’ve not
encountered it. My hope is that, by making this “spot-the-enemy”
guide, fewer artists will fall into the tangent trap by knowing
what to look for.
1. The Long Line
HTML https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6110/6284596016_c31de83d69_o.jpg
The long line is when a line from one object runs directly into
the line of another
This is the tangent that everybody knows. The one that’s easiest
to spot, easiest to avoid. For a lot of folks, this is the only
thing meant when one refers to a “tangent.”
Even in the work of the very best comic artists, a vigilant eye
can find the occasional tangent. Even when a cartoonist is
constantly on the lookout, a tangent can slip through. But, as
each of strive to better ourselves and the quality of our work
and our medium,
2. The Parallel
HTML https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6120/6284075719_251285e19e_o.jpg
The parallel tangent is when the containing lines of two objects
run alongside each other. This causes one of two negative
outcomes. Either one object becomes “lost,” as the other
overpowers it (figure 1), or one object feels strangely
contained by another (figure 2).
This can be avoided by ensuring that any object that COULD run
alongside another is angled at least 45 degrees from the first.
The next two are REALLY tough to spot, and most artists have
fallen victim to them before.
3. The Corner
HTML https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6032/6284075681_e83c027d8d_o.jpg
The corner tangent is when two lines in an object meet in a way
intended by the artist, but another (accidental) line runs
directly into the place where they meet.
4. The Bump-Up
HTML https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6106/6284596046_352bfafafd_o.jpg
A bump-up tangent is when the containing line of one object
“bumps up” against the containing line of another object. When
these two lines touch, it creates a bump-up tangent (and even
when they don’t technically touch, if it’s close enough to raise
eyebrows, they might as well).
The bump-up gives the impression of containment. In figure 1, it
seems as though her ponytail is physically unable to enter the
space occupied by the pole. In figure 2, it feels as though her
elbow is unable to LEAVE that space.
HTML https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6094/6284596078_d0362d3be2_o.jpg
Also, be careful not to let elements of the drawing bump up
against your panel borders! Either give them room to breathe or
decisively crop them. Same goes for letting figures “stand” on
the bottom panel border.
5. The Directional
HTML https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6092/6284596194_f27fa84b66_o.jpg
A directional tangent is basically just a long-line tangent
that’s been broken by empty space. Now, this one isn’t always
bad – it can, on occasion, be used to draw the reader’s eye
through the image on a specifically determined path.
6. The Panel-to-Panel
HTML https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6215/6284075809_01dfa343d2_o.jpg
This one is exactly the same thing as the directional (in fact,
I shouldn’t even classify it as its own thing), save that
instead of empty space dividing a long-line it’s a panel gutter.
My gutters are crazy wide, but with normal-sized gutters this
can be a real problem.
One more thing… This ain’t a tangent, but it is a compositional
no-no.
Fake Panels
HTML https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6111/6284596276_f5c23e4744_o.jpg
Comics generally have panel borders, so readers are used to
having images contained by straight lines. Some artists don’t
allow gutters between their borders. Though I believe that, as a
rule, this can make it harder for new comics readers to follow
the story (and new readers are always important), it’s done with
enough regularity that we must expect the audience to feel
comfortable with gutterless pages.
What does this mean? It means that we can’t draw a straight line
in any panel, either vertical or horizontal, without having some
object overlap it. If we do, readers may think that it is a
panel border, incorrectly breaking one moment into two.
HTML https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6096/6284075867_681b7a030a_o.jpg
See how the overlap of the elbow causes there to be no question?
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