Wednesdays 3:30-5:30 p.m. pst/6:30-8:30 p.m. est

This is a 7 week class, with 6 weeks of instruction and one optional work session.

October 7

October 14

October 21

October 28

-optional work session November 4-

November 11

November 18

Class size limit: 12

 

In this workshop we will explore and practice elements of story-telling in comics, with a focus on autobiography.

We will create original work through writing exercises and guided cartooning assignments, and discuss work in a supportive atmosphere to highlight each artist’s strengths.

Students will

• learn the techniques, tools, and theory behind successful graphic narrative
• learn essential organizational techniques for the creation of short and long-form comics and
• be peppered with digressions, Ponyo, and professional practices tips along the way.

 

Students will come away with

• many drawings,
• some new characters,
• a deeper relationship with characters from their lives,
• generative drawing/writing exercises and practices that can be used for the Rest Of Their Lives.
• access to a community of students who have taken courses with me in the past and continue to draw and support one another!

This class is appropriate for both beginners and more advanced cartoonists. No drawing experience is required, just a willingness to draw.

 

Cost: $825. Early-bird special: sign up by August 15 for a $50 discount.

 

There are no refunds for this class. Please consider before enrolling.

 

Please email to inquire about scholarships and discounts for BIPOC students.

 

Registration:

After you’ve signed up, email me (nicolejgeorges@gmail.com) with  the following information:

Name

Place

Do you have any experience with comics? (It’s okay if no)

Do you have any comics goals that I can help with?

Send me a drawing of a dog on a skateboard. It’s okay if it is a rough sketch, photographed by your phone.

Once received, I will confirm within 72 hours that you are enrolled.

 

Supplies/What to bring:

A fresh, blank notebook (spiral bound or otherwise, but lined or graph paper is terrific)

Pens that are easy for you to write & draw with. Preferably Papermate Flair Tip pens or a comparable, water-proof pen.

15 sheets of blank, normal computer paper.

Anything you’d like to ink with: micron or nib pens, brush pens (ex: Pentel Pocket Brush), brushes (synthetic kolinsky brushes sizes 1,2, & 6), colored pencils, gouache, etc.

Optional: Bristol board or mixed media paper for homework

 

About the instructor:

Nicole J. Georges is an award-winning graphic memoirist, podcaster and professor with over 20 years of experience teaching comics. She is the author of the zine Invincible Summer, and the books Calling Dr. Laura and Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home. Her middle grade graphic novel, The Ballad of X-Ray and Koko, will be out in 2027.

Nicole cut her curriculum-development teeth at the Independent Publishing Resource Center’s Comics Certificate Program before she was the fellow at the Center for Cartoon Studies, and a Writer in Residence at Colby College and the College of William and Mary. She is a frequent visiting artist at the Sequential Arts Workshop and the Fine Arts Work Center.

Nicole formerly taught at California College of the Arts MFA Comics Program, and has been running an independent Graphic Memoir comics school for 6 years.