This is the WebToons extension project. I chose to do this extension project because it’s a medium that is recognizable. As a kid I read many comic books and picture books. More recently I have read manga which is very similar to the stories featured on WebToons. There are many differences though, for starters, there is much more variety of artistic styles on WebToons. I came into this change in media with curiosity because the platform looked familiar, after exploring the website and reading the first story I found “unOrdinary”, I was quickly hooked. The reading experience is simple to follow and easy to read. With the story I have been reading, it flows like a comic and you simply scroll down to continue reading.

Unique elements these authors incorporate is their drawing style. There are many that can be compared but underneath their initial similarities, they are very different. With this medium, authors need to focus greatly in the world they visually create. On WebToons, the authors can’t rely on robust imagery to build their worlds but instead their artistic ability. With this ability, there is a focus on body language and facial expressions to express character emotions. Combined with this is how words are displayed together with their drawings. Bold, distorted, big, small, all of these play an important role in how the author wants the audience to feel the characters emotions when they read the dialogue.

I believe that if you know how to use a computer and have read a picture book or comic, then you will have no problem reading stories on WebToons. There are subtle things that the reader should understand when reading these stories to fully understand the whole picture. For example, authors differ from how they draw thought and speech bubbles. Usually the reader can pick up how the authors wants the reader to understand the text, but you must recognize there will be differences. Also, when reading WebToons, you scroll down when reading, the reader could be confused on what to read first when there are multiple speech bubbles closely together. The rule of thumb from my experience so far is to read the text closest to the top first and to read down in order. These literacies are some things the reader should be aware of to fully understand the WebToon.

I have only been reading one WebToon so far but from what I can tell, there is a vast variety of very different WebToons. There are vastly different art styles and many genres to choose from for anyone to indulge in. With so many options to choose from there is something for everyone. Glad I stumbled onto WebToons from a school Project.

https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/unordinary/list?title_no=679