Workshops

Making comic strips is fun!

During a workshop, participants of all ages can let their imagination flow and tell any story in comic strips. They learn to express themselves in a combined language of words and pictures. Jesse can give two different kinds of workshops. One is a general workshop, the other is called ‘Portraits of Stories.’

In the general workshop students learn to draw faces with all kinds of expressions and add texts to them in speech and thought balloons. They draw different bodies and place them in various situations. Jesse stimulates the students by drawing many examples on the blackboard, in small exercises students can try for themselves and combine drawings with self-written texts. Visual art and literature skills develope simultaneously. Making a real comic strip with several sequential pictures is the result the students can proudly take home.

In the workshop called ‘Portraits of Stories’ the students interview a family member (ideally an elder) and turn a piece of family history into a Portrait Story. In the classroom Jesse helps the students turning their story into a concise text, setting up a storyboard and making the drawings. He will explain about drawing portraits, drawing various objects, and perspective drawing with many examples on the blackboard and little exercises which are fun to do. This project bridges the gap between art and literature, and captures the imagination. It connects children with their past, and elevates the family story to the status of artwork.

Please contact Jessecartoons for more information.
Schools in British Columbia can also visit ArtStarts for the Artists in the Classroom grant program.