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Making Comics: A Class For Both Writers and Artists

Join this weekly workshop where you can accomplish your goals as a comic book writer, artist or both!

Learn the most important aspect of writing — how to structure a story as it relates to the medium of comics and graphic novels. In this workshop, writers and cartoonists learn the essential knowledge needed to write a story with interesting characters, real emotion, an engaging plot, and a satisfying ending. Artists will be given drawing tips, instruction about technique, and examples of work by great masters, new and old, to help with visual storytelling, composition, light and dark, figure work, and other drawing skills. The goal for writer/artists is to have a finished 8 to 10-page mini-comic at the end of the classes. The goal for writers is to have a completed script for a 14 to 15-page short comics story. You’ll get honest feedback as well as support and a focus on what you’re doing well. Students have fun and learn at the same time.

The workshop is led by Jim Higgins, who’s been a writer and editor in the comics business for 25 years. He’s worked as a screenwriter and been a comics consultant for films and TV. He was an editor and assistant editor at DC Comics in their eclectic Paradox Press division and is the editor and publisher of New Thing, an international anthology of short comics stories. He taught cinema studies at The City University of New York. He teaches or has taught classes on writing and drawing comics at The School of Visual Arts in NYC, CalArts, the UCLA Extension Program, Cal State Northridge, and at Otis College of Art and Design. He created the long-running comic book writing and drawing program Meltdown University at Meltdown Comics.  His show on drawing comics, “Crafting Comics with Jim Higgins” was produced by Nerdist and is on the online channel Alpha (www.projectalpha.com)

Required reading: One graphic novel, about $20, title TBA. Supplies: Bristol board pad, 11 x 14, 20 sheets. Ink pens (waterproof, archival), pencils, sketch paper.

SILA Members: Remember to choose the Members Category for your 10% discount