Summer Youth: Indie Comic Book Camp (Ages 8-10)

Day 1: Learn all about drawing in graphite and character design. Explore the concept of “penciling,” when you draw in pencil knowing you’ll ink your art or comic later, or doing a drawing in grayscale, which is either done completely in pencil or only minimally outlined in ink. 
You'll also learn how to make a sketchbook out of a single sheet of paper, which ends up being 16 sheets. This will be your character and/or comic sketchbook, where you can work out ideas and have something to show friends. Many comic artists work with sketchbooks, which are often published by artists or book publishers.

Day 2: Inking! Learn how to add black-and-white shadows with ink pens to your comics. You’ll learn about cross hatching vs bolder, darker shadows, and about inking originals and copies. Everyone will get the chance to draw on standard 11-inch by 17-inch comic book paper. We’ll make copies of class art so you can practice inking this other art.

Day 3: Learn about posters and eight-page zines from a single sheet of paper! You’ll learn how to balance lettering and drawing in black-and-white poster design on 11-inch by 17-inch paper and how to make an eight-page comic or story out of a single 8.5-inch by 11-inch sheet of paper. You can make copies of your zines and learn how to fold and cut those copies.

Day 4: Learn how to draw newspaper and four-panel comics. This is a great way to tell stories in a shorter format, ranging from one to six panels. Four-panel comics are a great way to tell the beginning, middle, and end of a story, which will translate well to your final book project. For this project, your drawings will be both on single sheets and in zine booklets.

Day 5: Finish up by completing anything you still need to finish, and learn about minicomic bookmaking, which is folding a single sheet of paper to make zines for which you can make handmade covers. Finally, you’ll have the chance to trade copies of your zines and copied art with one another.

Details

• Ages 8-10 welcome.
• Bring water and a snack.
• Registration closes on Monday, July 14.

Registering Youth

• New registrants: When you register, select Others Only in the "Who Are You Registering?" section. On the next page, Add New Registrant. Create an account for your youth.
• Next time you register: You will be able to Search Registrants to select your youth.
• You may register your youth for an optional supervised lunch hour from noon-1 pm for the duration of this activity.
• Make sure to fill out your youth's emergency contact information and other details when creating their account.
• Questions? Email registrar@bainbridgebarn.org.

Materials

Instructors or Guides