Tuesday 7 October 2014

Chris Ware






Photo of Chris Ware
Photographer: Nicolas Guerin/Contour, The Guardian online  29 

Franklin Christenson Ware or otherwise known as Chris Ware (Pen name) 1 is a Graphic novel illustrator who creates comics based on regular everyday life 6.   

Chris ware is well known because of his many awards that he has won over years such as The Guardian first book award for Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth 2.  But Chris Ware got successful while still study at the University of Texas, when he received a call from RAW Editor Art Spiegelman to be invited to publish in the cartoonist’s lauded magazine and mentor Chris Ware. 11, 12   

Chris Ware was influenced by comics at a young age and mostly read superhero comics, Chris Ware admits that he mostly looked at the pictures when he was a little kid “I think I was just looking at the pictures, tracing them, and designing my own superheroes” 10, 20 . Chris Ware has many influences such as the creator of TinTin, Herge (Georges Remi) but he didn’t like the story but the art style of Herge (Georges Remi) 5, 15, 27.  Charles Schulz creator of Charlie Brown was a big influence of Chris ware because it introduced the thought of having empathy with non living character 4, 28. He is also intrigued by everyday life and memories for example his said what made him create Building stories was “I saw somebody waiting for a bus, a girl who had a prosthetic leg and she was compelling as a person. It stuck with me and I ended up doing a strip about not her, but, I guess, my memory of her.”6    

Chris Ware uses traditional comic making techniques such as pencil, ink and brush. Chris Ware does a rough draft with a pencil, inks it and finally scans the comic into photoshop to colour it in 14, 24, 25, 26.  Chris Ware is very critical towards he’s own work and has to get up and leave for while then see if it is readable order or if it presenting his feelings correctly 9, 26.  Chris Ware creates a rhythm within his work to show movement of time, “Tempo and Rhythm are the really the elements than make up the nucleus of the comics.”13 “it just seems to me like the real formal aim of the cartoonist is to try and harness some sense of believable motion on the page.”13 He uses a common grid format; while striving for boarders or edges to express like memories having no boarders or edges 18, 19, 26. Here is a quote that expresses this point clearly “We are all living in a bubble of fiction.”13 He does not script anything because he believes that he is just then illustrating his words, he just goes with the flow of his drawing with planning notes 7,8“I don’t script anything, because then all I’d be doing is illustrating my own words.”23 “But once I actually start drawing, a different process takes over.”21 “Beyond this and some planning notes and an outline, I just start at the upper left hand corner or the centre.”22      

The ethical Standpoint of Chris ware comics is that of everyday life for he has even said “real life is plenty strange enough”. 16, 17, 26



Building Stories created by Chris Ware
Image from the Asylum  30


Reference

1. Stuart, (2013), The Guardian paragraph one, sentences eleven to thirteen    

2. Stuart, (2013), The Guardian paragraph one, sentences two to four

3.Stuart, (2013), The guardian paragraph two, sentences one to three 

4. Stuart, (2013), The Guardian paragraph three, sentences seven to fourteen

5.  Stuart, (2013), The Guardian paragraph four, whole paragraph

6. Stuart, (2013), The Guardian paragraph five, sentences ten to fourteen

7. The Guardian live webcam, (2013), Chris ware answer to Mikeinfinitum question

8. The Guardian live webcam, (2013), Chris ware answer to alicelander question

9. Christopher, (2012), NYC Graphic paragraph four, sentences one to two

10. Christopher, (2012), NYC Graphic paragraph five, sentences one to three     

11. Christopher, (2012), NYC Graphic paragraph thirteen, sentences one to three

12. Christopher, (2012), NYC Graphic paragraph fourteen to fifthteen, whole paragraphs     

13. Christopher, (2012), NYC Graphic paragraph twenty, whole paragraph 

14. Christopher, (2012), NYC Graphic paragraph Thirty three, Sentence five to six

15. Rebecca, (2006), pbs paragraph twenty, sentence seven to eleven 

16. Laura, (2013), Comic beats paragraph seven, sentences four to five  

17. Laura, (2013), Comic beats paragraph nine, sentence six  

18. Laura, (2013), Comic beats paragraph fifthteen, whole paragraph

19.  Laura, (2013), Comic beats paragraph seventeen, whole paragraph

20. Jeet, Paris Reviews paragraph one, sentences one to three

21. Kevin, (2012), pw page two, paragraph one, sentences three to four

22. Kevin, (2012), pw page two, paragraph one, sentences five to seven

23. Kevin, (2012), pw page two, paragraph two, sentences one to four

24. Kevin, (2012), pw page two, paragraph Eight, whole paragraph

25. Kevin, (2012), pw page two, paragraph nine, whole paragraph

26. Elysabeth, (2012), youtube video, whole video

27. Herge official website, sentence one 

28.  Bio, first paragraph, sentences one to three

29. The Guardian, Photo of Chris ware



30. The Asylum, Photo of Chris Ware work 


Bibliography

Reporter: Stuart, Kelly 

The date of article creation: 11th October, 2013

Accessed: 4th October, 2014

Website: The guardian    



The Guardian Live webcam

The date the article was created: 15th August, 2013

Accessed: 4th October, 2014

Website: The guardian      



Reporter: Christopher Irving

The date the article was created: 6th March, 2012

Accessed: 4th October, 2014

Website: nyc graphic novelists      



Reporter: Rebecca Bengal

The date the article was created: 11th July, 2006

Accessed: 4th October, 2014

Website: pbs      



Reporter: Laura Sneddon

The date the article was created:  14th August, 2013

Accessed: 4th October, 2014

Website: Comics beat      



Reporter:  Jeet Heer

The date the article was created: Unknown

Accessed: 4th October, 2014 

Website: The Paris review    



Reporter: Kevin Larimer

The date the article was created: November/ December, 2012

Accessed: 4th October, 2014

Website: Pw.org      



Reporter: Elysabeth Alfano

The date the article was created: 18th May, 2012

Accessed: 4th October, 2014

Website: Youtube    channel: FearNoArtChicago



Website: Herge The adventure of TinTin



Accessed: 4th October, 2014      



Website: bio

Accessed: 4th October,2014




No comments:

Post a Comment