Teaching comics creation
Via Johanna, the Whitney Center in Harrisburgh, PA is holding a special event on March 3 from 10 AM to 3 PM called Kids Love Comic Day, featuring presentations by Jane Fisher-Smith (WJHC), Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!), Harold Bucholz (Apathy Kat) and John Gallagher (Buzzboy). Featured programs include a number of hands-on workshops and Gownley’s launch of a new Amelia Rules book.
And ComicMix colleague Mark Wheatley writes to say he’ll be teaching a class on March 24 at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Here’s the official course listing (scroll down to "Illustrating Graphic Novels"), but Mark has a much more complete and intriguing description below, and adds cryptically, "I have been approached by a media instruction company about committing this event to a DVD package for sale. But that’s probably news for another day."
Mark’s description of his preparation for his MICA class:
"I’m planning on starting with an introduction to just what a Graphic Novel is and how that relates to the language of comics as well as traditional novel structure, followed by an overview of the craft and talent areas needed to pull off a finished work ready for publication.
"Then I’ll show examples of my work via Power Point and show my work process with plots/scripts/breakdowns
"I actually find it works best if students DO NOT anticipate working up a story in advance. They usually try too hard to cram in EVERYTHING. But they will need paper and drawing supplies. I’ll wander about and give the students my personal attention during this time to help them work out their pages."