Graphic Novel/Comic Terms and Concepts

Foreground: The panel closest to the viewer.

Midground: Allows centering of image by using natural resting place for vision. The artist deliberately decides to place the image where a viewer would be most likely to look first. Placing an image off-center or near the top or bottom can be used to create visual tension but using the midground permits the artist to create a more readily accepted image.

Background: Provides additional, subtextual information for the reader.

Faces: Faces can be portrayed in different ways. Some depict an actual person, like a portrait; others are iconic, which means they are representative of an idea or a group of people. Other points to observe about faces include:

They can be dramatic when placed against a detailed backdrop; a bright white face stands out.

They can be drawn without much expression or detail; this is called an “open blank” and it invites the audience to imagine what the character is feeling without telling them. 

Hands/Feet: The positioning of hands and feet can be used to express what is happening in the story.

For example, hands that are raised with palms out suggest surprise. The wringing of hands suggests obsequiousness or discomfort.

Hands over the mouth depict fear, shame, or shyness.

Turned in feet may denote embarrassment, while feet with motion strokes can create the sense of panic, urgency, or speed.

Captions: These are boxes containing a variety of text elements, including scenesetting, description, etc.

Speech balloons: 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. Types of speech balloons include those holding:

External dialogue, which is speech between characters

Internal dialogue, which is a thought enclosed by a balloon that has a series of dots or bubbles going up to it