Real shapes and real patterns are things you would observe in nature, like the marks on the back of a cobra's hood or the markings on a fish or a lizard. Imaginary shapes are just that, symbols that come to a person in dreams or reveries and are charged with meaning.

Other work
As a comics historian Woodring has written about T. Others
Jim
The artist himself featured prominently in most of his early dream comics. Sullivant and other classic cartoonists for The Comics Journal.

These stories incorporate a highly personal symbolism largely inspired by Woodring's belief in Vedanta from Hindu philosophy. He also does a large amount of surrealist painting and has been the writer on a number of comics from licensed franchises publiJim Woodringd by Dark Horse and others. James William Woodring (born October 11 1952) is an American cartoonist fine artist writer and toy designer.