Messing stuff up is delightful – plus, some Wrong-ness guidelines
First, here is Jason Shiga teaching us how to make a little interactive comic out of a sheet of paper:
The post Bad Art is about how we define Bad, and who decides, and how murky that is. The same is true, a lot of the time, with doing something Wrong.
Now that we’ve covered that, what does it look like to do this Wrong?
Why do something Wrong? What does that mean? And who decides what is Right or Wrong? Here are three important guidelines for Wrong-ness:
- Be kind
- Be curious
- Be safe
The first interactive comic actually came out mostly right. There were mistakes, but it gets the overall idea. It is titled “What is Sloth Thinking?” since Sloth is often thinking more than one thing/not totally making sense.
First choice is if Sloth was considering the Sun, or the Moon. Simple enough.
Sloth thinking about the Sun. And two ways Sloth might feel, happy or sad.
Sloth being happy about the Sun ended this way, with a nice little moment.
Sad comes out a little more poignant. The sun offers some encouragement.
On the Moon side, Sloth is considering how the Moon has parts of Earth in it. And how Sloth might feel about that.
If Sloth is delighted, then it is about how Earth and the Moon are related, and how nice that is.
On the other hand, in typical Sloth fashion, there is of course something to be worried about. So that’s the other choice in the story.
That went pretty well! It came together and Sloth had a lot of thoughts.
There were some paper bits left over, so that seemed like a good opportunity to do this Wrong.
Folded the leftover strip three ways.
Made a front called “Make a Fish” with a choice for Big fish or Small fish. That was the choice you got. It was just a little strip of paper after all.
If you chose the Big fish, you got a big fellow in a convertible.
For the Small fish choice, you also get to go to space. Bonus!
Could this possibly be done somewhat Wrong-er? Starting over with a legit format like the one at the top.
This time we are making a Handy Bug Maker
Started with a bug head. And a pretty normal looking choice, whether or not your bug is gong to be flying, or crawling.
If you pick flying bug, you get a fellow with aviator goggles on, perhaps not what one would expect. And now another choice, long legged or hairy. Definitely well-known aspects of bugs.
Long legged bug has a problem since how will they get in an airplane with all those legs? Fortunately using a balloon instead fits the bill.
Hairy bug of course has glorious long locks that flow in a glamorous way as they fly away in the aeroplane.
The crawling bug wants some speed so we are going to give them a skateboard, and now the question is, can they use it?
Crawling bug who is good at skateboarding goes all over the darn place, and then also goes surfing because why not
And finally, maybe if you’re not that into skateboarding you use it for something else, like eating a sandwich or taking a nap.
Those results were Wrong-ish. Didn’t totally destroy the format, didn’t take it too seriously, either. We could have put nonsense words in there, or turned the bug into a cat, or just made shapes. That would all have been nice, too.
Being Wrong, or even Wrong-ish, is so worth your while (as long as you are kind, curious, and safe). It can unmask unwritten rules we follow sometimes simply because “that is how it is done.”
Sometimes people react badly or weirdly when they think something is Wrong. Why is that? Does it feel awkward? Is it surprising? Does it break some unwritten social rule?
Take a moment to make a comic, or a drawing, in whatever way you want, and maybe that way is Right for you, and maybe it gives you Big Ideas or just makes you Smile.
Thanks for reading!