Creative Process

One of the more fascinating things I have run into is that one of my graphic novels started with all of the words and no visuals while the second one started with visuals and no words. It's making for an interesting case study into how my own brain prefers to work.

Is it easier to have the words first and create a story of images around the words OR is it easier to have the visual images and add the written word afterward?

I'm not sure yet!

However, I do find the parallels to ASL/English interpreting intriguing. Starting with spoken English and interpreting it into a visual language vs. starting with the visual language and interpreting it into spoken English.

Tons of information is conveyed through visual mediums. In ASL, there are grammatical features found in classifiers and facial expressions. Changing a tiny piece can impact the entire message. Often my brain has to capture all of these features in a moment and spit out the corresponding English to capture the intended message. Illustrating a graphic novel means I get to play with the tiny details to create the message. At the same time, I get to work with the English language and play - without a limited time frame of a few seconds - to make sure the message is clear.

It's a nice change of pace to let my brain have a chance to pause and contemplate.