Comic class trains future cartoonists
- posted: 08 May 2007
- scrollcampus@byui.edu
Hidden in a little room on the third floor of the Manwaring Center is a group of students united in a cause: to create good, wholesome comics for the world.
“I like to show the beautiful things in my mind and use them to uplift people,” said Austin Shurtliff, a freshman from Taylor, British Columbia.
May 3 was the first meeting of the semester for the Comic Book Workshop. Two people were in attendance.
“The reason we’re here is because we love comics, and we want to create them,” said Jenna Johnson, a freshman from Buda, Texas.
Johnson teaches the workshop. She will demonstrate how to draw basic and complex people, creatures, and environments. She will also teach proportions, paneling, dynamics and layout.
But there is more to comic book writing than the just the artwork. “Comics are all about characters,” Johnson said.
Half of the lessons throughout the semester will be focused on how to draw different kinds of characters to proportion. For example, the average adult on paper is measured to be seven to eight heads high, whereas in real life, adults are about six heads high.
Johnson will help to teach these concepts and others as the semester continues.
“It’s all about the details when it comes to characters, or you can’t tell them apart,” Johnson said.
Examples of good details can be found in comic book brand names like DC comics, Marvel, Monga, Subassa and Clamp. Many of the students get their inspiration and interest from the black-and-white Monga comics.
Some artists have also found their inspiration from older characters. “I got interested in comics from the classic comics, like X-Men,” said Megan Jackson, a freshman from Meridian, Idaho.
Students interested in learning how to create comics can come to the workshops every Thursday from 5-7 p.m. in room 387 of the Manwaring Center. The first hour will be the lesson, and the second hour will be for practice and activities.
During one of the activities students will have the opportunity to get involved in the creation of a 20-30 page compilation of comics and have it published at the end of the semester. Other activities include an end-of-the semester comic party. 
