Cartooning is for Everybody!

I must confess that, as devoted as I am to the comics medium, the comics industry doesn't interest me. To me, the point of comics is that anybody can make them and effectively use them to publish their thoughts.

I'll walk you through the basics of character construction,...

That said, comics are so rich and varied, there's no limit to how deeply one can delve into a project and how far one can pursue the craft.

... the special language of comics, such as the motion lines and sound effects in these examples by the great Don Martin, ... 

My Cartooning Basics class, beginning live in Manhattan on June 9 and online starting June 10, takes artists of every level and arms them with the technical means to vent or play or interrogate ideas and feelings as they see fit. Short Form Comics, beginning June 7, takes us a step further as we explore various ways to approach comic short stories.

... authenticating details, as explained in the Famous Cartoonists course, ...

Along the way, we build from simple tricks to advanced concepts. The results are typically spectacular.

... the invisible art of composition, as in this maximally minimal Alex Toth panel, and much besides.

Needless to say, we all have MUCH to vent about nowadays. Getting it down on paper can be a sizable relief.

Time's running out to sign up. Come CARTOON!

New Online Course Enrolling Now!

Short Form Comics is a course I've taught to undergraduates for several years. I'm offering it to the public, online, beginning June 7.

We'll produce rough drafts of comic stories from a variety of departure points, generating a backlog of material for students to complete at their leisure. Weekly assignments concentrate on different kinds of comics and aspects of the medium. One week we'll spin joke strips out of literary classics, another we'll make silent, cinematic metaphors. Another assignment will involve hyperbole and explosive layouts, comics as genre.  And there'll be space for non-fiction, memoir, ranting, and a hefty dose of formal experimentation.

This is a good course for artists who want to be better at writing and for writers who want insight into visual storytelling. There'll be a strong element of blockbusting-- overcoming the blank page and discovering stories lurking at the back of your mind that you didn't necessarily know you wanted to tell.

Short Form Comics runs on Tuesday evenings. My other online courses this semester, Cartooning Basics, Figure Drawing for Cartoonists, and Thinking in Ink, also start the second week of June. Sign up soon!

I'm also teaching Figure Drawing for Cartoonists on Wednesdays, live in Manhattan beginning June 8, and Cartooning Basics live Thursdays beginning June 9.

Let's make comics!

Online CE Student Spotlight

Here's the Kirby-inspired cover to the comic made in Cartooning Basics by long-time student, Howell Murray. Howell's getting very comfortable with the medium and having a great time.

and here's page one!

Let's begin with some ACTION ITEMS. If you're seeing this the day it posts, January 13, 2022, please hop over to the New Media Writing competition and cast a vote for one of my GOAT students, Laura Brown, and her Avon Lady webcomic. You're free to browse the other works, of course, but you'll see that Laura's is the best. It's nice to see a competition like this happening.

And maybe also there's still time to sign up for my newest Daredoodling session.

Another long time student, Kate Brehm, is fundraising for a puppet show, The Eye Which We Do Not Have, which will be awesome.

You'll want this new book by Christy Strauch, the money coach. It's helping me! I coached Christy through the process of making the illustrations.

There was an astonishing amount of wonderful work produced in my SVA classes last fall. I'm confining myself to examples of those students who explicitly gave me permission to share. I'll be happy to show more as I hear back from folks. Anyway, check this out: 

Jenna Del Vigna created this excellent comic strip in Cartooning Basics

The goal of the Figure Drawing for Cartoonists course is to complete one finished page of comics.  Here's a page by Lynn Bernstein. You can read more at her Instagram.

And here's a gorgeous page by Tom Hughes.

this minicomic cover was made by Jenn Robinson in the Thinking In Ink course.

and a number of students have posted their homework on Instagram. here are a few gems by Georgia, Demi, Carmen, Pauline, Paul, Dave, Katharine, Beverley, Jennifer, ...

Spring semester courses are enrolling now and starting soon. I'm offering Cartooning Basics both online and live. Figure Drawing for Cartoonists will be live in Manhattan, with models every second week. It'll be great to do some life drawing again. And I'm offering a new online course, Short Form Comics, where you'll be tasked with writing/sketching a rough draft for a different type of comic every week. You'll end with a backlog of ideas and material to develop at your leisure. Come join us!