6th-8th Grade Art: Create Your Own Comic, Manga, Graphic Novel
In this self paced course, students will learn about the basics of creating a comic, starting from writing the script and creating their own characters, to drawing the comic itself.
Katie C
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(196)
What's included
4 pre-recorded lessons
4 weeks
of teacher support1 year access
to the contentHomework
For Week 1, the homework is to create two characters and write a script that will cover at least one page. For Week 2, the homework is to have at least one comic page penciled in (though the student can always draw more than one page!). For Week 3, the homework is to have at least one comic page inked (though the student can always ink more than one page!). For Week 4, the homework is to have finished a cover page for the comic.Class Experience
US Grade 6 - 8
In this four week course, students will learn the basics of creating their own comic. Each week, a prerecorded video will be available for the student to watch at their own leisure. These videos cover each important aspect from the syllabus for that week, along with examples from actual comics, graphic novels and manga. Additionally, there will be a post created on the classroom page so that students can ask questions about the lectures, as well as get any information clarified. There is an assignment every week of the course, explained in each weekly class post. In that post, students can submit their progress on their comic so far, whether it be scanning their comic, uploading the file (if they're planning on drawing their comic on the computer or a tablet), or even just taking a photo of their comic and uploading that. I will provide helpful feedback, such as parts of the comic I think are very strong, as well as offering constructive criticism, if the student asks for it. It is up to the student if they want to draw their comic using pencils and paper or if they want to draw their comic on the computer or a tablet. Sharing your work is also voluntary, you do not have to share if you do not want to (though I'd love to see what you've made!)! If the student does not wish to show their comic's progress, however, I would like to have a description written down on what the student has done for their comic in that past week instead. While the goal of the class is to have a comic finished, if the student wants to start creating a very long comic (a very long comic in this case would be 10 pages or longer), that is perfectly fine! In this case, however, it will be very unlikely that the very long comic will be finished in the span of a month. It's my hope that my class gives the student the tools that they need to continue and finishing creating their comic, even after the course is over. Students and parents are always free to message me showing progress and with questions, even after the course is finished! I always love to see what you've made, and I want to be there as a resource still if you need me.
Learning Goals
At the end of this course, students will learn:
- Brainstorming and How to Plan Writing and Drawing a Comic
- How to Create Characters
- The Narrative Arc
- How to Draw Thumbnail Sketches
- Comic Page Terminology (such as gutters, panels and spreads)
- Sketching
- Inking Comics
- How to Create an Interesting Cover Page
Syllabus
4 Lessons
over 4 WeeksLesson 1:
Lesson 1: Brainstorming, Character Design, Writing a Plot
On the first week, we will lay down the groundwork for our comic by brainstorming what we want our comic to be about. Afterwards, we will start developing the main characters for the comic. We will also talk about narrative arcs: what goes into a story? Finally, we will start plotting the story for our comics and, if time allows, writing the script as well. 25 mins of video lessons
Lesson 2:
Lesson 2: Thumbnail Sketches, Starting to Sketch Your Comic
On the second week, we will get started with sketching our comic, first by learning about thumbnail sketches. Thumbnail sketches are used to plan out what the comic will look like using quick sketches. After working on some thumbnail sketches, we will then start drawing the comic itself. We will also go over what exactly is on a comic page and talk about comic page terminology during this lesson. 19 mins of video lessons
Lesson 3:
Lesson 3: Inking Your Comic
On the third week, we will continue to sketch our comic. We will need a lot of panels sketched out, because afterwards, we will talk about inking our comics - the different tools that we will need, as well as different approaches to inking. We will also present our progress with our comics so far in order to get feedback and advice on what to do next. 15 mins of video lessons
Lesson 4:
Lesson 4: Designing a Cool Cover Page
On the final week, we will continue to finish our comic and work on the cover page for our comics. We will also present our final comics, if you feel comfortable with sharing! 18 mins of video lessons
Other Details
Supply List
For this course, the student will need: - Pencils - Paper - Inking Pen OPTIONAL: - Tablet To create the comic, students can either draw their comic with a paper and pencil or draw their comic digitally on the computer or with a tablet. Both are fine!
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Teacher expertise and credentials
For as long as I was able to hold onto a pencil, I have been drawing my own comics in one way or another. I drew my own comic book series when I was 12 years old!
I have a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education - for my student teaching assignment, I have taught classes on how to create your own comics. I have also taught live classes on how to create your own comics on Outschool for 3 years now!
I am extremely passionate about comics and how you can tell a story with the combination of words and pictures! In addition, I have also self published and sold some of my comics online!Reviews
Self-Paced Course
$18
weekly or $72 for all content4 pre-recorded lessons
4 weeks of teacher support
Choose your start date
1 year of access to the content
Completed by 3 learners
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Ages: 9-13
