Selecting a Graphic Novel: Navigating The Choices and Options

The graphic novel Vagabond drawn by Takehiko Inoue has a superb art style. Vagabond is based on a book named Musashi, which has a more complex storyline. The art style is well-defined throughout the book with minimal coloring and realistic details. His illustrations show individualism and stand out compared to most other graphic novels. Takehiko expresses his feelings for the book by portraying it through his drawings, which gives the book meaning and sentimentality. In the story, the author uses many techniques to depict this novel. One of Inoue’s techniques is shading. Shading is a crucial skill for artists because it shows more depth and realisticness in their art. Without proper shading skills, the art looks less detailed and more plain. It shows which areas of the picture are dense with darker shading, and which are less dense with light shading. The author most definitely succeeded by professionally shading his drawings, making the art more detailed compared to it not. Shading is a critical part of the author showing individualism in his work while showing the character’s emotions throughout the book. In the novel, Inoue uses darker shading to show when the main character Takezō is in deep thought or unhappy. He also conveys the message of the book by drawing the landscapes darker or lighter to fit the mood of the events in the book.

The author shows in the novel the author uses onomatopoeic words in the novel to show movement and loud noises. The author uses bigger text to symbolize louder sounds and smaller text to symbolize softer sounds. Onomatopoeia is almost essential in graphic novels because it gives out the best feature of an object and the sound it makes. Without it, there would be no sufficient way to visualize sounds. Onomatopoeia helps readers to hear the sounds of the words they reflect. Hence, the reader cannot help but enter the world created by the poet with the aid of these words. Another important aspect the graphic novel is the art style. Inoue’s exceptional art style shows individuality in his art. This is because art is a way to express oneself. The author showed through his drawings his interpretation of Vagabond and what he thought the characters looked like in his head. He showed the way the characters spoke, moved, and behaved through his art.

Moreover, Takehiko draws the characters the way they would be in the time where the book takes place. He changes the way their features are, their way of speaking, and clothing due to the time period. This says something about him, that he did research on what the people of Japan wore in the past. This brings to light the fact that the book being accurate to its time was important. In conclusion, Takehiko Inoue expressed the mood of the book sufficiently. This is due to his well- defined drawings and art style. The author remarkably drew out the message of the book with his interpretation of the book. He definitely succeeded in all the techniques in the novel. Lastly, Inoue’s proficiency to draw out the character’s emotions is meritable and he most definitely accomplished drawing a stunning graphic novel.