On teaching kids comics.

The comic medium should be taken seriously as a communications skill. Through comics, children get a chance to tell their own tales with words and pictures in a medium that they already feel comfortable with and are already familiar with.

Storytelling

In the first class, I emphasized how comics are essentially about storytelling with artwork and words. There are techniques that have built up over the years for doing that. We talked about multiple panels and how they sequence the action or tale. We examined talk and thought balloons, and various types of display letters for titles. The first class finished up with some of the novelty comic conventions-lines indicating speed, worry-sweat, the smoke of exasperation, and swearing symbols.

The second class was about giving drawings form, balancing values on a page; the uses and abuses of outlining; dark against light defining forms and surfaces; how cast shadows, side shadows, the shadow edge, and highlights model forms, setting a figure forward. Also, the drawing of various kinds of materials--wood, glass, brick, rocks, grass, water or blood, and smoke or steam--was demonstrated.

Drawing Techniques

During the third class, we discussed techniques for drawing (and exaggerating) the human face and figure. I demonstrated proportion and the anatomy of the hand. In the next few classes, we talked about developing human and animal characters, and how they can be given personalities.

We moved into examination of superheros and adventure, and the creation of characters with enhanced powers and identity. One rule in the class was that if you drew an established character (like Batman), you had to somehow make it yours, perhaps by putting him in your school or local setting.

Considering Characters

When we talked about monsters, we tried to examine and chart them critically. Considering characters, such as Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, Mummy, King Kong, and Godzilla, we discussed questions such as: Which had animal-like powers? Which were reanimated dead? I also encourage the students to create monsters that related to their daily lives. We pondered and drew aliens from hot, cold, high- and low-gravity planets, as well as robots and future humans.

From the first day of class, the students kept all of their work in portfolios, and were expected not to crumple and discard drawings with which they are dissatisfied. This allowed me to choose even unfinished work, or even single figures or sketches to include in the class comic book. It also enabled them to see progress.

A Comic Publication

The final product by the class was a photocopied publication. The students' work was photocopied and pasted-up. The master copy was then photocopied in quantity and distributed to the class.

In the comics class, the students can be quiet while their drawings of explosions and battles are going BLAM! POW! KABLOOEY! A class rule was that you could be as crazy or angry or antisocial as you wanted in here--but only on paper.

Reflections of the World

Comics by children are recombinations and reflections of the world around them. Comics are also a good way to lead children into discussions of big issues of life. As a path to literacy, the continuum between image and text, comics remain underutilized as a teaching tool.

Mike Mosher teaches comics classes as part of the visual arts program at the Community School of Music and Art in Mountain View, California.