Intermediate Comics Class (virtual)

Wednesdays 7-9PM EST
April 10th - May 15th*
*On the week of April 22nd, class will be held on Tuesday the 23rd, not Wednesday the 24th

Welcome! This class will be a 6-week workshop focusing on writing and drawing long form comics both fiction and nonfiction.

We will discuss:

• How to discover and flesh out ideas through sketchbook keeping

• Building narrative and fine tuning storytelling

• Layouts, paneling, lettering, structure

• Finding humor from your life

• Pitching a graphic novel/memoir

As I always say at the beginning of all my classes, you do not need to be an incredible artist to take this class! No skill or prior training required. But of course you will be sharing your work with your fellow classmates, so be prepared to discuss your comics! Additionally I would like to clarify that this is not a “how to draw” course. While I will give notes on your style and execution, I will not be directly teaching drawing or illustration.

Structure

Each week we will work from prompts to help us ideate concepts for long form comics. You will create comics ranging from 2-3 pages to 10 pages. The weekly 2-hour class will be time to both free draw, discuss our homework, critique each others comics, and learn about the world of cartoons.

Materials

You can work on paper or digitally! If you are like me, you’ll want paper, pens (I use uniballs), and a pencil. But if you prefer the Procreate on your iPad, that’s great too! There’s so many ways to create comics. If you like just black and white, that’s cool with me, if you want to incorporate color, go for it! All styles are welcome. In addition to our comics you will also be asked to keep a sketchbook, whether that’s a physical sketchbook, a bunch of computer paper held together by a paper clip, or again, a digital sketchbook, is up to you. All I ask is that you are able to email me your work on a weekly basis as a JPG. If you do not own a scanner, photos of your work will suffice.

Time Commitment

In addition to the weekly 2 hour workshop, your own cartooning, and encouraged sketchbook keeping, you will be given some light (FUN!) reading each week. No more than 20 minutes worth!

Got questions? Email me at cartoonsbyhilary@gmail.com

Reviews!

Unsure? Here’s what my students have to say!

I just finished Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell’s six-week course, Introduction to Cartooning. While it was held over Zoom, it always felt immediate and intimate. Hilary gave us fun and challenging assignments and her critiques were helpful and encouraging. I am a cartooning newbie and I felt like both my skills and confidence grew enormously in just six weeks. Even though it is not a drawing class per se, Hilary does help you with tricks and suggestions to get your drawings to most effectively convey your humor and point-of-view. I cannot recommend this class and Hilary more. If you have ANY inclination to cartoon — gag, four-panel, long-form, “Shouts & Murmurs,” etc. — take this class. Hilary covers it all. I had no idea what might catch my interest, but ended up falling in love with the long form. This class will help you realize what format best captures your cartooning “voice.” And you will have a tremendous amount of fun doing all of it.  - Suzanne Weber, TV writer

I would recommend this class for both new cartoonists and those who have been at it for a while. Hilary's approach and flexible structure provided a customized learning opportunity.Most of all, I enjoyed Hilary's natural humor. Her style kept the class moving forward, and the time flew by.This class pushed me to expand my cartooning beyond single-panel gag cartoons into multi-panel and large-format cartoons - it was a challenge but I feel this class has opened new horizons for me.  It also helped me increase my cartooning speed.Hilary's excellent real-time feedback on all participants' homework provided an effective and interactive way to learn.She provided hands-on demonstrations for various cartooning techniques (e.g. ink washing) to help pull back the curtain on cartooning secrets and shared great links to cartoons, videos, and examples to support the homework assignmentHilary's wide-ranging knowledge, familiarity, and experience in cartooning, cartoonists, and humor in general provided a great opportunity to take my cartooning skills to the next level. - Gordon Quigley, cartoonist