Summer 2010
-SEQUENTIAL ART - EXPANDING YOUR VISION-
SVA CLASS
Mondays 6:00 - 9:30
Visit the SVA website for news about summer classes
This class will be about finding your voice, about following, focusing and articulating your idea in comix. I bring in tons of work to pore over, we begin with a number of quick exercises to get us going, then work on longer projects towards the goal of a single large-scale piece. It’s always a good class.
I'm reminded of a comment from a interview with a Walt Kelly, who stated (somewhat adamantly): "You have to be articulate!"
In my teaching, I try to focus on learning the craft of storytelling as a way of being articulate. Of giving yourself the largest vocabulary possible, but also to give you a deep understanding of how to maneuver, access and control that vocabulary.
More importantly, in learning that vocabulary, we often learn what it is we WANT TO SAY. By working deeply and by paying attention, our own unthought thoughts and hidden aspects of our emotional narrative can reveal themselves. In other words, what I try to teach is discovering what it is you want to say and how to best say it. Through exercises and personal connection, I hope to bring you to a new place with your own ideas and inspiration, while giving you the tools to connect with your readers.
My students over the course of my 8 years of teaching continually thank me for helping them learn to access their creative fire, but also to organize it. For giving them the ability to literally find new life on the page, and the tools to keep it alive and find purchase in the mind of a reader.
Overview:
The first few weeks we will be presenting the ideas and workings of sequential art by in-class exercises and presentations. We will learn the some basics and hopefully dig into our lives and interests for material.
By week 5 or so, we will begin to develop a large project that we can complete in the duration of the semester. After the first few weeks, class time will (probably) be:
1/3 Presentation, book discussion, etc
2/3 or more Work time and personal meetings
Optional exercises/assignments where applicable/necessary
Class goal is personal improvement, expansion of technical and perception skills. Comprehension and familiarity of larger breadth of work.
Tangible class goal is one large story per person, paced per student's level. Smaller stories are allowed. Instructor will personally advise.
Suggested Readings:
McCloud, Scott; Understanding Comics, Making Comics
Mamet, David; On Directing Film
Eisner, Will; Comics and Sequential Art
Abel, Jessica and Madden, Matt: Writing Pictures and Drawing Words
Other good books, depending on your particular style, etc.
Janson, Klaus: The DC Guide to Pencilling Comics
Volger, Christopher; The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters
Various; How to Draw Manga
Meglin, Nick; The Art of Humorous Illustration
Instructor will bring additional books to class for perusal each week.
e-mail me : hutchowen@gmail.com
Some Resources:
How To Say Everything: My teaching philosophies, ideas and book-in-progress
Facebook group for How To Say Everything
Archive of many amazing stories by amazing artists HERE
including: Jack Kirby | Harvey Kurtzman | Jaime Hernandez | Samm Schwartz | Peter Arno and more
Scott McCloud UNDERSTANDING COMICS Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 6
Some Examples of Location, Place and Environments
Andy Bugpowder's Early Comics Archive
Printers and printing your own comics
Some pics by Eduard Muybridge here
Tom's 2004 tutorial from notion, inspiration and theft to idea development to final inks and scan. (7 MB PDF)