Artistic advice on cartoon bubbles for internet chat scenes
deepsix
Posts: 62
Hi all!
Does anyone have any great ideas or examples/links about a good way to do depict characters text messages during an internet chat or phone chat?
I have tried zappy bubbles (see my attached image) but I think it looks too much like the computer or other person is talking (e.g. via skype or whatever) rather than typing/texting.
Also, how to depict in the same panel the person's reply being typed?
Greatful for any assistance! :)
Post edited by deepsix on
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Comments
One thing that might work is to put an underscore at the end of the text to make it look like a cursor. It would give the suggestion that it is typed text.
Thanks, I can try that.
I am thinking that maybe I might have to resort to a panel at the bottom that looks like a mobile phone chat or something would work but that will take up a lot of the canvas. Having said that, the bottom part of the panel is maybe often free and I could try making the messages background transparent and possibly shifting them around if needed...
Here's just a rough idea that might not take up so much space. I wonder if a combination of colors and alignment might help. Most IM systems (on phones) align things you received on the left of the screen and things you sent on the right. And the more modern ones use different colors for those too. I know you don't want to have to carry the whole conversation through the whole panel, but maybe just the last line or so that was sent along with the latest that was received would be enough to maintain the context?
Use a fixed-width typewriter font. Possibly Courier, but it is not the most aesthetic choice.
I incorporate a lot of texting back and forth in some of my Twine stories, and in the past I've typically used a fake text message generator to create the bubbles (the one I used looks like it's dead, but you can find a bunch by searching "fake Android text generator" or similar). I found that replicating that look and feel as closely as possible along with the style of bubble JonnyRay suggested helps sell the idea of texting by making it look like you're seeing a zoomed-in slice of the screen. If you include parts of the surrounding screen environment, you can also seed information for observant readers, like when the last text was sent.
Best way is to do a fake Messenger or similar chat app frame with the chat clearly inside. It should be the biggest thing in the particular comic frame. with maybe the edges of the screen & laptop keyboard with fingers on the key board of one of the chatters visible.
Thanks for the ideas guys!
Here's one idea.
https://www.ispot.tv/ad/IK6F/jg-wentworth-bus-opera#
14 seconds in.
If the internet chat is the most important part of the scene, shouldn't its depiction be given the most amount of space while everything else becomes secondary? Once you've established your two characters on their laptop, there's no reason to continue giving them much canvas space, ie there's no reason to repeat the images in your opening post showing the characters from head to toe sitting at a table with different word bubbles appearing as the conversation progresses from panel to panel. (Not implying that this was something you were going to do. It was just an example.)
In comic books, sometimes when the artist need to show something on a computer, the artist uses an actual screen shot from a real computer monitor. All the icons, shortcuts, and the software that is running in the background can be seen. You could adopt the same concept showing the typed conversation of Instant Messaging. It was already suggested above that you can use different alignment or different color to differentiate between characters on screen. Once you have a screen full of text, the screen shot of your computer becomes a comic panel. And just so you don't simply have pages and pages of screen shot texts, you can insert closeups of your character between screen shot panels showing changes in expressions, emotions, or reactions at various points in the coversation. Even if it's just pausing to take a sip of soda, massaging his temple, hand under his chin thinking, smirking, subtle changes like a raised eye brow, etc.
Another idea. If it's important to show your characters as the conversation is occurring like in your opening post and you have access to old style looking computer fonts (Commodore 64, Apple 2, IBM PC, I believe it's referred to as 8 bit fonts), you can use this font to type the conversation above the characters without the balloons and the words will represent what the typist is typing, not what's coming out of the computer from the other character. For example, panel 1 would start out with the orange guy (not green) and above him will be the words, "Hey, how ya doin?" representing what he just entered into the computer.
Another idea. Instead of having both characters facing the same way, turn orange guy around and have him facing left. The text messages will then go straight down the page between them, slightly offset like a mobile phone chat. Make the background different for each character to show they're at different places and not sitting at the same table facing each other.
Thanks for all your ideas guys!
Why not use bubbles and fonts that look like they came out of a texting app? You could also use texting lingo like LOL add an emote or two to push the point further, since most people do not text the same way they speak