The world of comics or stories is art that contains different details that not everyone knows and that can put your creation in a design that is as efficient, fun and above all captivated for its readers. Don't you know what a vignette is, nor the types that exist? Do not ask more, that in this publication we are going to talk about this topic.
Vignettes are one of the tools that can make your comic level up, being able to emphasize or focus an aspect of your design, giving it greater strength. It is necessary to establish the types of vignettes that are going to be used before elaborating our cartoon, since they are the ones that are going to delimit the path that the creation is going to follow.
What is a vignette?
To choose the best composition for our comics, the first thing we must know is what a vignette is, it never hurts to refresh somewhat forgotten concepts in our minds.
The vignettes are a certain frame that is given to an event that occurs in the story that we have written or are narrating. Through the vignettes, what is done is to choose the shot with which it is being narrated and the different shots. To elaborate each of them, it is necessary to make a series of decisions based on what is going to happen. In short, the vignettes are like a summary of the moment in history that is being lived.
Within the vignettes in addition to the planes that we have commented before, are the different protagonists of the story, speech bubbles or balloons, onomatopoeia, etc.
There is no kind of rule that tells us which is the best option of vignettes for our cartoon. All resources are valid and are available to be used as best suits us. But to give free rein to our imagination, we first have to know the different types that exist, and thus help us in the process of the first sketches.
What is the purpose of a vignette?
Very easy, depending on the size of our vignette, we will know what the narrative rhythm that our comic is going to follow is. In the comics that we have all seen at some point in our lives, the same thing does not happen as when we watch a series, the content of each of the vignettes is static and each of us reads it at a different pace.
So if this happens like this, how we as designers can manage those times and also imply that the vignette that is being seen is something important in the story. As well, everything is in the vignettes, that is, if we see that a vignette is larger than others we are giving more time to read it and we are also pointing out that this event is important.
We already know what a vignette is, right now we have just learned what its main purpose is, well, now is the time to discover what types of vignettes we can find.
Different types of vignettes
As we have indicated in one of the previous sections, there is no rule that determines the use of this element, so it depends on each author how they want to use them. The vignettes are classified according to three parameters; margins, cuts and shapes.
closed vignette
They are the most classic vignettes that we can find. In them, the content does not protrude from the margins. These types of vignettes are usually used for a single shot in which the main character is shown as is or to create a sense of suspense.
open vignette
As its name indicates, we are facing a vignette without limits since its margins are not closed as in the previous case. The feeling produced by open vignettes is of a space that extends beyond the comic sheet.
orthogonal vignette
The purpose of this model is create a sense of balance, we speak of a type of vignette of closed style. Both its sides and its angles are completely straight, perfect frames for the narrative.
oblique vignette
They can also be called diagonal vignettes, in them the margins are inclined from the axes of the sheet, that is, they are diagonal. They generate a sensation of movement as well as dynamism to the sequence of images.
broken vignette
Surely you have noticed when in a comic or book, the character stands out from the limits of the vignette, because that is called leaving the vignette. These types of vignettes are usually used when you want to highlight some important aspect, giving an aspect of rebellion.
Vignette of one or more pages
The name already tells us everything and that is, it is an illustration take up a full page or even two to narrate an important event. It generates a great visual impact on the readers and highlights the essence of the action that is being narrated.
outside vignette
They are those, which we can see isolated from the other content. They are mainly used to emphasize some aspect or detail that occurs during the narration of the story.
inner vignette
We refer to those that we find within other types of larger vignettes. Generally, it is usually used to show us a detail or an act that is happening at the same time.
decorative vignette
A breath of fresh air to the plot of the story, They are usually presented with a totally different design from the rest of the vignettes.. It is essential not to saturate using this type of vignettes so as not to generate noise.
psychological vignette
It is a composition where we find a somewhat strange composition due to its unusual shapes. With this type of vignettes, what we will achieve is to gain strength in the content and narration of the story, in addition to generating different sensations in the readers.
straight cut
Straight cut bullets they are the ones most often used in manga publications. They are usually used when narrating more neutral scenes.
diagonal cut
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Normally, this cut is used for action sequences, but not only for it. With this type of vignette, you will give the narration a greater dynamism.
vignettes in blood
If we want to highlight small details in our scenes, this type of vignette is the one. It will give you the feeling that there are no limits between each of the bullet points on the page.
Vignettes shaped like horizontal rectangles
Another of the types of vignettes that are usually observed more continuously, since they are the easiest to carry out. They have right angles that give an atmosphere of stability and speed up the time sequence.
vertical rectangles
They will provide a sense of neutrality and balance, to the person in front of it. The same does not happen as in the previous case, but quite the opposite since, in this type of vignettes, time seems to stand still.
Oval
When we are faced with this type of vignettes, it can be determined that they have been used for a specific purpose. They are not usually as common to see as any of those mentioned above. We will come across them when in a cartoon scene, the protagonist talks about an event that occurred in the past.
triangular
They are usually accompanied by diagonal cuts in their frames, bringing dynamism to the drawn scene.. Depending on the type of triangle used, different sensations will be generated to the reader.
The use of vignettes, as we have seen, will vary depending on the plot and the sensations that you want to generate when narrating the story. There are no rules that set guidelines for creating them, but their use is essential, as we have mentioned, to generate feelings, emotions, texts, etc., that help us express what we are looking for.