Read on to learn more about: Creating my 224-page rough draft in 3 weeks while stuck in bed Finding beta readers to proofread my graphic novel Setting up surveys and forms to gather feedback from beta readers Using reader feedback to revise my graphic novel Hi! My name is Jess Smart Smiley. I’m an author/illustrator…
I teach comics workshops to children, teens, and adults. Most of my students are new to writing and/or drawing, and come with equal parts excitement and anxiety. I feel like my role is to make the creation process fun and accessible, while allowing the students to pursue whichever styles/genres/approaches interest them most. Week-long comics workshops…
I’ve been a fan of Dave Stewart’s abilities for the last ten years, and it’s been fascinating to watch him tackle projects as varied as Hellboy, Sandman: Overture, Daytripper and now Craig Thompson’s Space Dumplins. I recently discovered the new comics interview show, From the Gutters, and was happy to find a two-part video interview with…
(Continued from Part 3) REVIEW Ask the students which comics and books they read yesterday. Ask if they watched any movies or tv shows and if they were able to pick out signs of a three-act structure. It’s a big concept to take in at first, but once students are able to see the structure,…
(Continued from Part 1) HOW DOES A COMIC WORK? One of the big questions we are asking in class is “how does a comic work?” Of course we want to know what a comic is and how to make one, but we’re doing so from the inside-out. We’re taking it apart to understand it. For…
Going to LTUE? Here’s my schedule for today: 2PM Working With Clients 3PM Art for Children’s and YA Books 6PM Writing for Comics and Web Comics 8-10PM Book Signing In case you missed yesterday’s event, here are some of the handouts I gave to panel attendees (click for full, printable size):
“Getting information on graphic design pricing must be a very frustrating experience for potential clients. There seems to be no consistency. One designer will charge $50 for a logo, while another will charge $10,000. So how is a business owner supposed to know what to do?” This is an issue I deal with a lot. I’m…
Quentin Blake has given us a new reason to love him and his work: he’s put up a section on his website called HOW I DRAW. Here’s a little taste of what you’ll find on his site: “I do a freewheeling sort of drawing that looks as though it is done on the spur of…
I came across this process post from Pieter M. Dorrenboom via the Drawn! blog, taking us through Pieter’s illustration process from start to finish: What I would like to do, is to tell you something about the making of the illustrations. Several times I’ve noticed that some people don’t realize how an illustration is made and how…