I’ve always liked speech bubbles (thought bubbles, too, you are not forgotten!). It comes under a category of shapes that aren’t exactly circles, triangles or squares but are immediately recognisable when shown to people, even kids.

It’s my favourite shape to draw. Friends who have received greeting cards from me must have seen it as I like to contain my well wishes in these useful containers (I’m still referring to speech bubbles btw [who still spells out 'by the way' nowadays, btw?]).

Speech bubbles are like the extroverts. They are outspoken and sharp. Thought bubbles, on the other hand, are the introverts. They are disconnected and yet their presence can be felt and seen.

They are better than normal bathroom bubbles in so many ways. Firstly, the arrow of the speech bubble can be used to break a liquid bubble.

These speech bubbles have come a long way to evolve to what they look like today. In the past (around 13th century), before speech bubbles were used, people used to depict speech in bands, flags, scrolls or sheets of paper.

For those who aren’t aware of this practice, they may think that the guy (in picture below, on the right) is magically spitting out endless supply of toilet paper with text on it.

Hundreds of years later, in around 18th century, speech bubbles began appearing in several political cartoons from the American Revolution and printed broadsides. Their shapes started to resemble the modern day speech bubbles that we use now.

(I’m not going to give a detail history lesson about Chapter X: Speech Bubbles at this point but you can read a little more about it at wikipedia [how did the I survive 18 years without this?!] and find out some of the information and pictures here were stolen from that wiki article)

Speech bubbles are so cool because they are not even shapes that you need to explain or really give a name for. People just know what it means.

But of course there are informal guidelines (not really rules, you see) and principles to look out for when you use speech bubbles in your comic drawing. Like how you cannot draw a speech bubble and drink bubble tea at the same time because you will choke to death slowly.

Why is that so? What other rules are there? Read more about them here.

Have you read? I bet you must have searched up and down the web page I linked up to for that piece of bullshit information I typed above. I was just kidding. But the pointers highlighted in that page are rather useful though.

Will be doing some major revamp and additions to my website very soon. Watch out this space!

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