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Introduction to Making Comics
Offered entirely online: livestreaming classes and personalized feedback on completed work.
with Ali Fitzgerald
Learn how to craft short graphic stories, resulting in a series of your own comics centered around different themes. Explore the world of comics by looking at examples of other artists’ work and discussing how comics are built. Each week we respond to different themes and learn new techniques. Crafting stories through creative prompts and exercises, participants will uncover the building blocks of visual communication.
Week one: Introduction to the basic elements of comics as an art form, exploring composition and text as tools to craft a story.
Themes: nature, biology
Week two: Looking at short nonfiction comics in magazines, we will create our own 1-3 page comic about a topic that interests us.
Themes: politics, memoir
Week three: Exploring non-traditional comics, we will look at collaged stories, storyboards and webcomics.
Themes: abstraction, time
Week four: In our final week, we will develop one of our comics more intensively, refining the ideas, structure and drawing into a 3 page comic.
Themes: fantasy, the future
“People read comics differently to the way they read prose. A tonne of text in a comic is not always the most effective way to communicate an idea, you have to be a ruthless editor. Another good thing for someone starting out is to find illustrators you like, then practice drawing their works as an exercise and then later on de-code what you like about the work, why it is effective.“
– Interview with Ali Fitzgerald on Berlin Drawing Room Blog
Who: Would you like to draw comics?
This course is intended both for beginners and advanced participants who are interested in learning more about comics. At the end of the course, we should have several pages of new comics and hopefully a new (or renewed) enthusiasm for the medium!
Our Online Workshop Format:
- Livestreaming classes take place via online video conference (using Zoom). The instructor conducts live demos with step-by-step instruction so that you can work together in real time. You also have the opportunity to ask questions and get feedback during class time.
- We keep class sizes small and the atmosphere is interactive and supportive.
- Finish exercises or practice at your own pace, at home, outside of class time.
- Receive individual feedback on your completed work and exchange comments and questions with the instructor and your fellow workshop participants in an encouraging environment.
- Find supplemental material and watch the progress of other participants by visiting the workshop Dropbox folder in between classes.
- Recordings from each week’s livestreaming session are available in case you miss a class or want to review a demo.
Sign up for the complete Visual Storytelling Workshop Series and save 15%!
Introduction to Making Comics
April 28 – May 19, 2021
4 x Wednesdays: 6 – 8pm CET
(6pm in Berlin, 12pm in New York, 9am in San Francisco, 5pm in London)
155 €*
(*incl 19% VAT)
