Time!

You can do the same exercise with this image made by the french comic creator, Enki Bilal.

Time!

What this picture made by Etienne Delessert tells us about time?

The illustration shows us a dial. On it, it ‘s 8.15 AM... or 8.15 PM

The time is shown.

The sun above the horizon confirmed this hour, this time.

But is it morning or evening?

The colors of the scene seem merely closer to the morning. But it is not sure. This is the time suggested.

1 - What will do the reader?

One will, consciously or not, and mostly unconsciously, choose the moment that seems obvious, either morning or evening, because he needs it to navigate into the image.

He can also remain floating in its interpretation.

He has no key to be sure between morning and evening.

He will watch the image with a small frustration, perhaps even without knowing where it came from.

With the characters, we have another approach to time: the age of the characters.

The reader assigns an age almost immediately:

Here it’s important to understand that we have a kid and an adult cat. That way, simply to be able to develop around them: A way to move, to speak, things closely related to their age.

Legibility, quality of representation, is important for the reader. In their place, a kitten, a teenager, the scene will be completely different.

The illustrator suggests being particularly attentive to the Time. Did you notice how the cat eyes look at the dial? How he seems concerned by the Time?

His eyes reflect a hint of anxiety or impatience to read the dial.

Now, look at the girl: she is crossing her arms. She is waiting. And you are like her, as a reader settles well in an atmosphere of impatient expectation, confirmed by the attitude of the girl.

Both characters play a role, they act.

The perception of the duration of their action is the creative work of the reader.

But every reader will dose the duration of the action by his experiences, his culture, and his sensibility.

For example:

- One would imagine waiting a long time if he had such time.

- Another one will shorten it unconsciously because he does not have expectation.

This creation of action time, of rate stage, is crucial to reconstruct the scene.

It is also an important part of the appropriation of the image by the reader.

The picture proposes also diffusely a particular time or period. But there is no way to tell which time or period it is.

Several factors lead us to identify:

- Clothes

- Hairstyle of the girl.

Here, the illustrator does not seem to show a specific time. Maybe his idea was to create a timeless image.

Or, maybe it was not his concern at all.

If there is no time suggested there is still the style of the illustrator. His style can tell us a something about a particular period of time.

What do you think? 50s. 60s. 70s. Yesterday?

Generally, an average reader will not need this information to assess the illustration, but an art director for example, could very well ignite if it is "trendy". The same Art Director can reject it if he found it "unfashionable”.

Our time is very sensitive to the current taste.

I would say that here, for this image: the presence, strength, quality, special style allows him to escape the dictates of fashion. This is just a good illustrator.

I would like to tell you something more related to the style. Something hidden.

Each illustration bears a "reading tempo”.

The tempo is different depending on the techniques of representation, as the time it took the illustrator to do his illustration.

The image here is very elaborated. The reader will spend time to read it.

At least out of respect for its rich graphics. As a result, the actions he will read will be perceived as "slow".

Now, imagine a stage slap with the same style?

And, imagine a slap drawn by Etienne Delessert?

Or by Serge Bloch, or by Jaime Zollars.

In Serge Bloch or any other cartoonist, the slap would be perceived rapid, violent.

With Jaime Zollars, the gesture would certainly be slower. And in her style, probably the gesture would be idle. With her ability to become symbolic, the image will have a hidden meaning beyond the physical act (if the context was favorable).

Imagine making a high speed slap in a technique called "slow, very slow” in a lively style.

(Lisbeth Zwerger does illustration with watercolors and with this medium resolves such situation).

Anyway, normally an illustration is not out of context. The accompanying text is usually a major provider of temporal information and gives the reader what he needs to clarify the picture.

The End

A - Maybe the hardest task of your job as an author/illustrator is to end a story.

The end of history is rarely neutral. Particularly when we read fictions. The end impregnates, describes the story. It’s the last moment spent with the story, just before leaving.

Long after, when the reader will remember your story, he will remember that feeling he had when he closed the book.

Suggestions:

- Prefer good end suggested, subtle. It’s better if the end tickles our ideas.

- Avoid sloppy ending. Under the pretext of gross total freedom to the reader, do not let all doors open. Your story could be causing drafts!

- Do not confuse a suggested end, infinitely difficult to concoct, and an end without taking a position.

B - During the narrative process, when you select, the importance of the fall will appear. Why?

- If you have the end of your story, or just the idea of the end, it would facilitate the construction of the narrative.

- The end can decide for your narrative strategy. The end can illuminate the first image, the first sentences of your story.

- Information placed at the beginning of the story will come into "resonance" when it’s found at the end.

Like a Lawyer practicing in a court, the last word of the last sentence must to hit the bull’s eye.

C - But, an end properly conducted is not only the expression of a good narrative technique. It is something else, something that can become embarrassing.

The end indirectly affects the author: Yourself!

Quickly, the reader will guess if you are a moralist, a philosopher, or if you just want to have fun.

If you are afraid to be too obvious or to be cataloged, the result can produce a neutral ending, slightly blurred.

Reminder: The reader doesn’t have to be free!

He has only one desire: Precisely, he wants to be "embedded" with an author. Also if you drive him/her to some places where maybe he doesn’t want to go.

The reader doesn’t care about a freedom too easily given.

As an author, it’s better to commit yourself. Maybe, the reader will disagree with you, he will applaud or react. That’s fine.

Of course, when you work that way, you will be more vulnerable. Probably, people will heap criticism on you. That’s fine too! You must take your choice.

Do not remain in obscurity, avoiding any “involving” purpose.

It’s so much better if you can deliver a lot of your ideas, your philosophy of life, your delusions, and your madness. I am pretty sure you will do that with skill, subtlety, and lightness.