Class Description
Join us as we bring your stories to life through narrative illustration! During this session, students will learn how to design memorable characters, comics/storyboards, explore world building, background design, and turn their ideas into illustrated stories that leap off the page. Perfect for kids who love to draw, imagine, and create their own adventures!
Learning Objectives: in this class, students will…
- Develop original narratives from concept to visual execution by creating story structures with clear beginnings, middles, and ends, identifying protagonists and conflicts, and translating written ideas into sequential visual storytelling through storyboards and thumbnails;
- Communicate narrative ideas effectively through illustration by using sequential panel composition, character expressions and body language, environmental storytelling, lighting and color to convey mood, and the integration of text and image to guide viewer understanding;
- Design distinctive, consistent characters and environments by applying shape language and silhouette theory, creating character turnarounds and expression sheets, developing secondary characters that complement protagonists, and building believable worlds through background design and visual development principles;
- Identify and develop their personal artistic voice by analyzing professional illustration styles across various media (comics, animation, editorial, concept art), experimenting with different approaches to rendering and composition, and creating a cohesive body of work that demonstrates a recognizable aesthetic while showing technical range;
- Demonstrate professional-level technical skills in industry-standard software by using Adobe Photoshop for poster design, typography integration, and print preparation (300 dpi, proper file formats, layer management), and applying digital illustration techniques in Procreate for character design, sketching, and narrative illustration with understanding of resolution, brushes, and digital workflow;
- Learn about the art of the peer critique and give peer critiques on the progress of student work;
- Explore opportunities and potential resources on career pathways;
- Learn how to distribute, exhibit, and promote artwork for a variety of audiences.
Equipment
- iMac
- iPad
- iPencil
Software
- Adobe Photoshop
- Procreate
Deliverables: Students and Class Projects
- Digital Process Portfolio: Students will create a comprehensive digital portfolio containing illustrations from all projects, including required sequential narrative work (minimum 2-panel comic demonstrating storytelling skills), character designs with turnarounds and expressions, environment paintings, typography projects, and their independent illustration project with full process documentation.
- Printed Zine: Students will design, illustrate, and photocopy a self-published zine (minimum 8 pages) on a topic of their choice, contributing at least one copy to the permanent class zine library
- Printed Poster: Students will create a designed poster combining illustration and typography for a selected movie, album, musical artist, produced digitally in Procreate and Adobe Photoshop and printed at 11″x17″ minimum size on quality paper.
