You Can Do a Graphic Novel, Comic Book, Meme, or Zine
Categories: Creative Writing, Visual Arts Curriculum
Costs
VIRTUAL PROGRAMS (ZOOM)
One-hour interactive classes, unlimited participants: $500.00
LIVE IN-PERSON PROGRAMS
One day: $1,200.00
Four days: $3,800.00
Eight days: $6,500.00
For venues more than 40 miles from Hudson, NY travel cost of $0.50 mile will be added.
Available year-round.
Program Theme
Students learn how to create a graphic novel beginning with a six page comic. It doesn’t matter if they can draw. Stick figures are an expressive way for the reluctant artist to begin. Participants are encouraged to bring their sketchbooks and characters they may already be working on. They will learn about The Creative Process, how to write a Character Study, focus on the beginning, middle, end and twist of a story, and Create Layouts.
If the program is an assembly, Barbara talks though the program with on-screen illustrations of the process. The school is to provide a computer, projector and screen.
Program Description
Each program is custom tailored to the grade, number of students in the class, and number of sessions. If there are four or more sessions per class, the program finishes with a Graphic Novel Exhibition (see below).
The Creative Process: 20 creative tips.
Creating Characters: Participants complete bio sheets with the character’s name, age, best friend/side kick, powers (if any), biggest fear, life goal, etc.
Plotting: Learning how to plot challenges the student to complete a story. Too many begin the story and throw it out somewhere in the middle. The student learns to plot by color code, a method used by film/tv/graphic novel writers.
Layout: Participants learn about panels, thumbnails, dialogue balloons, sequence, and making a page pop. Rather than drawing “talking heads,” they draw a close-up, pull back for a long shot, followed by interior, exterior, bird’s eye views.
Everybody works at their own pace. Some are advanced artists/writers while others are beginners. It doesn’t matter where they begin as long as they get going. I hand out a “character bible” sheet and encourage them to think about the beginning, middle, end and twist of their story. The twist is what makes the story interesting. I bring in samples of character bibles from Marvel comics which they can keep, and scripts written by professionals.
Feedback is an important part of the program. It usually begins when I hold up a student’s drawing and ask them to suggest a name, age, or character trait. The student can take the suggestions or discard them, however, it opens up discussions. In the first session, students are sometimes quiet/shy with other students but by the second, they open up about their characters and stories.
After the last workshop, the doors open to parents, friends, relatives, the community, and the local press. Students show and talk about their work…where they got their inspiration for characters/story. The “Graphic Novel Exhibition” attracts a lot of attention and often results in newspaper articles. Having artwork in the newspaper is great for a student’s self-esteem and for their portfolio. http://youcandoagraphicnovel.com/students1.htm
Copies of Barbara's textbook You Can Do a Graphic Novel can be ordered for the school library, and discounts are available from the publisher for class-size orders.