Figure Drawing for Cartoonists: Comics from the Live Model

I've posted a number of these before. This time I have student's examples to share.
What we do is ask the model to improvise a narrative in her mind and perform it in a series of five-minute poses. The students use her poses as prompts to invent stories of their own. This affords a fun and challenging way to practice framing shots and composing pages, balancing imagery with the graphic elements of comics.

This time, model Leah performed a story involving plants and skeletons. Sarah Ransohoff made this story, about...

Ron Williams was inspired to go in a darker direction:

And here's what I came up with:

Figure Drawing for Cartoonists is a course where we tackle a variety of figurative challenges, each with its particular pedagogical purpose. More examples will follow.
That's my Wednesday class. Also enrolling now are Inking Comics on Tuesdays and Cartooning Basics on Thursdays. The info session is coming up May 16.
Come make comics with me!

Cartooning Courses at SVA

I had another strong semester full of talented students at the School of Visual Arts this spring. I'll post more examples soon, but right away have a look at...

INKING COMICS

Victoria DeMaria absolutely rocked the rendering worksheets, above, as well as the assignment below, which is to begin with an all black panel, have one light come on in panel 2, and build a story from there. In both senses, brilliant.

Pele Bapere was at first skeptical about inking, but once he got going on his "no penciling" sketchbook assignment, he quickly fell in love with the medium.
Here's a page from his final project.


FIGURE DRAWING FOR CARTOONISTS

Ron Williams is developing a comic about an imaginary friend gone rogue. Show us more, Ron, and soon!



Jonah Newman is at work on this eye-popping graphic memoir.



Here are some of his planning sketches and sketchbook studies.




I've been greatly entertained by Jonah's first graphic novel, Empire on Edge, serialized on his website.
Of the Figures course, Jonah says, "From paying attention to natural curves to tricks for drawing hands and hips, many of the lessons you taught me will stick with me for life -- and in the short term, make my graphic memoir so much stronger."


Johnny DiNapoli adds, "This class not only made me a better artist, but made me enjoy drawing more. I really appreciate all your encouragement and advice."
Johnny entertained us with his character Helpapotamus in comics and in parodies of famous movie poses.






CARTOONING BASICS produced several delightful mini comics. Here are covers and sample spreads by

Marci Senders...





Gabe Quiroga...





and Damon Strub...




...and a good time was had by all. Summer courses are enrolling now. Classes are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The info session is coming up on May 16. Spread the word, please.

Summer Courses are Enrolling Now!

Come join me at the SVA Cartooning and Illustration Info Session, May 16, 6:30-8:30 pm, 209 E 23d St Rm 311, to discuss my summer courses.

Comics is the best art medium. Making comics is fun and satisfying and way more difficult to do well than anyone would expect. Tell your friends and come give it a shot: Inking Comics, Figure Drawing for Cartoonists, and Cartooning Basics all start in June.

"Highlights from the Life of Raymond Roussel" part 2

Here's the second half of my comic on Raymond Roussel that ran in The Brooklyn Rail. The first half can be seen here. 

Leave a comment. Let me know what you think.

Student Spotlight Roundup

I put out a call for updates from students and have a lot to share.
First, here's a roundup of courses enrolling right now:

Figure Drawing for Cartoonists, Wednesdays,
Cartooning Basics, Thursdays,
Inking Comics, Fridays,
and on Saturdays, classes for kids:
Grades 3-5 at Parsons
Grades 5-8 at Hootenanny Art House

Registrations will end early this week, so sign up right away!

So anyway, it's always a thrill to see my students continuing to pursue their creative ambitions in so many ways.

Eva Hill shares that she's going to have an illustration in the New Yorker's Daily Shouts column in February. Her client list already includes New York magazine and HarperCollins.







Charles Truett sent in this wonderful dream comic, Hank Van Brunt #0, excerpted above. He's hard at work on the official series, coming soon.





At the Brooklyn Book Fest in September, I picked up a copy of Tim Ballard's Chingu, the story of the adoption of his dog. Proceeds from his comic are donated to a Korean Dog Rescue.

Yiqing Zhang sent her crazy cool new comic, Buzz & Buzz, about a pesky mosquito and a darts master. Yiqing has recently completed her MFA in illustration and is hard at work on more zines. Follow her on Instagram.

Also on Instagram, we can track the progress of Joe Wessely. It's fun to see his paintings on rent envelopes and anatomical analyses of favorite comics.

Following her first comic, Re:Bound, Britina Cheng has kept up her pace producing illustrations, writing, and short comics.

Sasha Ganeles posts bunches of her funny cartoon drawings on Instagram.

Matt Young reaches out sometimes for feedback on projects. That's something I'm always happy to provide. Check out the delightful color work on his website.

An editorial illustration Leo did for Kitsch Magazine, for an article about tourists romanticizing the slums

 And Leo Levy shares that he's been drawing his pants off. Is that Leo behind the garbage bags? He's currently finishing a big comics project. Meanwhile, here's Leo's Instagram.

 And really, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Come join the August group of vital creatives, studying hard and working joyfully to get their ideas ever more "out there."

I hope to see you soon.

Introduction to Illustration: Creating a Portfolio

For her project, Mariana Tapia made watercolor paintings illustrating Spanish words that don't exist in English. See more at  tapiamariana.com

I've been teaching this illustration course for Pratt Institute's School of Continuing and Professional Studies for a couple of years now. Follow the link and scroll down to find the course. 
The new session starts next week, Tuesday, January 22.

In this class, we explore fundamental dichotomies within the field, such as static vs dynamic composition, realistic vs designed images, and organic vs architectural forms. We look at various styles, formats, genres, and media in illustration's history. We tackle a variety of sketchbook challenges: editorial concepts, sequential continuity, observational drawing and painting, and more. We discuss print and digital technology. We have field trips to lectures and life drawing sessions. A lot gets done in just ten weeks!

The course project is to create a related series of three or more illustrations to inaugurate a portfolio. 

Shanna Cho made a series of digitally painted scrolls inspired by Korean folk tales.

And I wouldn't neglect to cover comic techniques along the way.

Mariana Tapia's timely comic page.

It's an upbeat class. Students have been making friends and having a good time, while surprising us all with their inventiveness. I'm getting positive feedback: 
"This course was well structured and hands on. It guided me to work on my first illustration project which I really enjoyed"
"I really appreciate your joyful attitude and your willingness to share your knowledge and ideas"

Come join the fun.

Student Spotlight: G. H. Yamauchi

Check out this artful and moving comic by G. H. Yamauchi that just appeared in Electric Lit.
Yamauchi began the comic in my fall 2015 Cartooning Basics course & set it aside until, encouraged by a friend, she submitted it to this publisher, who suggested revisions, and voila. Way worth the time and effort.

Of Cartooning Basics, she says, "You were always so kindly encouraging to all of us in the class, and I really appreciated your support. So, thank you! Please know you made a difference for me." 

I believe comics is the finest medium for telling personal stories and putting thoughts and feelings down on paper, as this example beautifully shows. I encourage my students to take the time they need to produce their best work. For my part, I'm often finishing comics I began decades ago and starting others that may gestate for years. It's a happy day for me when a student project from months or years before appears triumphantly in my inbox. 

What stories are lurking in your heart? 
Winter/spring classes are enrolling right now: Figure Drawing for Cartoonists, Cartooning Basics, and Inking Comics. Come see me tomorrow, Jan. 10, at the Info Session.

Making MiniComics!

I'm conducting a cartooning workshop for middle schoolers on Saturday afternoons in Park Slope, Making MiniComics.

We have lots of fun jamming, brainstorming, experimenting, and self-publishing. This one really is a joy to teach.

The new session starts tomorrow (short notice, sorry) but I believe they'll prorate students who join later. That said, space is limited, so you should act fast, I reckon.