I wrote this little comic about an incident that occurred soon after we first adopted our dog. As the cartoon suggests, I didn’t grow up with animals, there was only a brief period where we sort of halfway adopted a stray cat that roamed our neighborhood. She was never allowed in the house further than the kitchen, and there was no real caring for her, no trips to the vet or whatever. We just fed her bowls of milk and let her sleep on the kitchen chairs, and suffer scratches and swipes from her claws if we ever petted her in a way she found annoying. All this is to say, the experience with our dog has been all-new to me.
And, I love her. There was absolutely a moment when she first came home where I wondered, what have we done? She wouldn’t sleep, house-breaking her was a process, we couldn’t leave the house for long periods at a time because she had to be kept in a crate. But, then things changed. She became part of the family. We worry about her and she worries about us. I’m constantly thinking maybe we should get a second dog, but then I worry the nice dynamic we have now could get thrown out of whack. Or, the house could become filled with even more puppy-love.
“Cartooning Lessons” - One Hour Workshops
What follows is a lengthy description of the comics-making workshops I’ve been presenting recently. If you are interested in attending an upcoming event, I have a special upcoming workshop planned at The Barron Arts Center in Woodbridge on Sunday August 6th. More details below…
Speaking of puppies, the dog-days (ha!) of Summer are with us, and as you would imagine, things have been quiet in terms of school assemblies. I have however had some great opportunities to present my sixty-minute comics-making workshops recently, and I thought it might be interesting to talk a little bit about my approach.
Over the past eighteen months I have put together and developed a great one-hour workshop, technically designed primarily for children aged 8-12, but I’ve found it to be fun for participants of all-ages. I had a rising Kindergartener in my group last week, and she seemed to have a great time, and I have plans on the horizon to start taking this program into some Senior Centers, which I am really looking forward to. There’s a lot happening in the workshop, but a notion I stress heavily is that you don’t need to be “good” at drawing to make comics. The same way you don’t need to be able to read music to play a song on the guitar. If you can draw stick figures, then you can tell stories using the language of cartooning. Grown-ups are always more self-conscious about “not being good at something” than kids, and I’m really excited to work with some older participants to see what creative breakthroughs are possible.
There are two unique elements to my workshop, a funny and informative slideshow called “Cartooning Lessons”, and an original workbook that I have designed to pair with that presentation. I move back and forth between the two, explaining concepts using colorful examples from my middle-grade graphic novels and my personal diary comics, and then work with the kids on exercises that build upon what we’ve discussed.
We do all of our work just using simple paper and pencil. I talk about how in this day and age, there’s really no limit to what tools an artist can use to tell their stories, printing and reproduction technology is good enough now that no cartoonists are limited to any medium in particular, but since we’re mostly focused on storytelling and writing using the language of comics, a good old fashioned #2 pencil is all we need.
We discuss publishing, and the different ways to get your work out into the world. Some kids have social media accounts, such as Instagram, which can be great tools for sharing comics and artwork, and I also talk about how easy it is to make copies on your own and self-publish. I also emphasize, however, that it is more than OK to simply make comics for yourself. Writing comics because it’s fun to write comics is absolutely all the reason anybody needs to cartoon, especially at such a young age. If you can fall in love with making comics when you’re young, it’s more likely you’ll remain driven to create them when you’re older.
I also thought it might be interesting to share a picture showing how I like to setup the space. Here’s a photo of a room where I held a workshop last week, before the kids arrived —
It’s hard to see exactly what we’re looking at here, so here’s the same picture with all the different elements labeled —
And here’s that same space again, now filled up with kids who are ready to learn about comics —
As a note to any cartoonists who might be considering developing any similar programming of their own, my advice is to have a newsletter sign-up sheet, as well as some literature that participants can take home with them. Every child who attends your workshop likely also attends a school, and it’s possible if they have a good experience with you, they may have parents who can help you connect with a librarian or PTA chair who may be able to help bring you for an assembly or workshop. I had some fantastic Author Visits over the past year which came directly from me making a great connection with a student and their parents at one of my cartooning workshops.
In addition to the prepared slideshow, and the guided exercises, I make sure that I am drawing along with the kids as well. I’ll make comics while they make comics. Mine are designed to show how the cartoonist’s job is to control the reader’s eye as it moves across the page.
Lastly, this may sound strange, but I think two things have helped me develop this sixty-minute presentation, one is my fear of awkward pauses, compelling me to make sure the full event is timed out with content that fills the hour completely. The other thing I’ve been thinking about lately is Yoga. Yoga is something I practice in my own life (sometimes more than others, currently I’m doing good), and I love how the instructors lead and guide the room through each class. Every participant is at whatever stage they are in their own personal practice, some are further along than others, it’s all unique to each person. I’ve been thinking about how the instructor’s job is to guide the entire room, while allowing time to stop in and give one-on-one attention to individuals as needed. It all sounds very woo-woo, I know, but this is how I’ve been thinking about my workshops. I have a structure intended for the group as a whole, but I make a point of moving around the space and spending one-on-one time with every kid, giving them feedback, offering suggestions for corrections. Cartooning can be a practice, and my goal is to help each artist with theirs, wherever they are.
Book a Workshop
I am continually booking new Cartooning Lessons workshops, and would love to talk to you about bringing this event to your school or library. I am particularly interested in lining up workshops in November and December, but am happy to talk about alternative dates. Send me an email directly to inquire or check out my Visiting Author website for more information.
Cartooning Lessons at The Barron Arts Center
I will be offering a special presentation of my workshop on Sunday August 6th at The Barron Arts Center in Woodbridge, NJ. The cost for the program is $35, which includes an autographed hardcover copy of my middle-grade graphic novel, The Fifth Quarter: Hard Court for all participants.
This event will feature all-new activities and comics-making exercises that I will be trying for the first time. I feel great about my existing one-hour workshops, but am now looking to expand into ongoing classes. The program at The Barron Arts Center will be a precursor to a weekly Tuesday night class that I will be leading throughout the months of September and October. More information on those to come.