Creating Comics & Graphic Novels

An 8-week course on developing a story idea and turning it into a short- or long-form visual story

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Course overview Course overview

Course Overview

Developing your original ideas into a visual story

Back again for the Winter 2020 term! During this course, students will bring their own stories to life using images that will efficiently aid in creating a short- or long-form visual story. The lectures and assignments will touch on all the major aspects of developing original story and imagery for comics or graphic novels: writing, character and world building integration, among many other topics. Most importantly, students will learn how to create comics or graphic novels that are relatable and emotional, with characters and stories that will resonate with audiences. By the end of the course, students will have completed the beginning pages of their comics or graphic novels, and will have a road map for going all the way to the finished product! The students will use and develop their own stories throughout the course. Note: This course is not an introduction to comics or graphic novels, and a script will NOT be provided. Participants are expected to come with their own ideas/story as well as solid drawing and digital painting skills, so make sure to brush up on all your prerequisites before the Winter 2020 term!

Less

Course Format: Standard

Lecture Type: Pre-recorded

Feedback: Individual recordings

Duration: 8 weeks

Assignment: Due each week. Expect to spend 8-10 hrs/wk viewing lectures, q&a, and time on assignments.

Q&A: Once a week

Materials: Adobe Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint, Scrivener (writing software)

Skills level: Intermediate to Advanced

Prerequisites: Storyboarding for Animation, Comics: the Art of Storytelling, Story Development for Artists, and a strong drawing foundation in both characters and environments. Students must already have a long-form idea of what they would like to develop.

Creating Comics & Graphic Novels WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

What you'll learn

The more you know, the better.

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Week 1 | Introduction: Why Are You Doing This?

What is your message? | Why are you writing this story? | What is your motive? | Clarify your "why"

Week 2 | Who Are Your Characters?

Character designs: pull from your life | How can you write your characters so that they seem real? | The hero's journey

Week 3 | Fleshing Out Your World

What is your world? Figuring out its past, present, and future | Building out the world for your story | Putting your characters into the world

Week 4 | Loose Scripting: Your Bullet Point List

The mystery in your first page | The last page: How will the story end? | Reviewing our message | Reviewing our character quirks | Discussion on writing styles: architect vs. gardener

Week 5 | Thumbnails

Thinking of spreads instead of pages | Key scenes | Flesh out your art direction | Leading the eye and keeping the audience wanting to flip that page!

Week 6 | Dialogue: Making It Sound Real

Conversations are messy! | Don't just say what you show, and vice versa | Breathing room for dialogue | Narration and prose | Adding dialogue after your pages are sketched out vs. before

Week 7 | Style of the Story

Honing in on the style of the story so that it can be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time | Figuring out what a finished page will look like to fit your characters and story arc | Color or no color? | Digital or traditional art and inks?

Week 8 | Where Do We Go From Here?

Finish your first 2-3 pages | Make your road map for going forward so that you can complete your journey | Setting up your daily and weekly goals | When to start showing the world your new baby

Instructor

Igniting your imagination

Jason Brubaker / Comic Artist

Lectures by Jason Brubaker

Jason Brubaker began his career as an artist in 1996 being represented by Famous Frames, a storyboarding agency in Los Angeles, where he drew hundreds of commercial storyboards for film and television. His credits include Blade, Pitch Black, and Van Helsing. In 2002 he began working as a traditional animator for motion design studios in Los Angeles and New York and was soon art directing animated commercials. In 2009, he began working at Dreamworks Animation on the Kung Fu Panda trilogy as a Visual Development Artist. In his off hours Brubaker worked on self-publishing his own graphic novels. His first graphic novel, reMIND was published in 2011 and won the Xeric Award. It was also included on the Great Graphic Novels for Teens list 2012. As he delved deeper into the self-publishing world, Jason decide to quit his job at Dreamworks Animation to pursue publishing his own comics full-time. In 2015, he moved back to his hometown of Pocatello, Idaho and has been working on comics ever since.

Instructor's Gallery:

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Creating Comics & Graphic Novels Student gallery

Student Gallery

COURSE BEGINS

January 26th!

spring TERM Registration

Feb 10, 2020 - Apr 29, 2020

Only

$699

COURSE BEGINS

January 26th!

Pricing & Schedule

Even though our courses are the most affordable for the quality of education.

These Finance Options allow you to focus on your goals instead of the barriers that keep you from reaching them.

Employer Reimbursement

Animation Guild CSATTF

Payment Plan