Posts Tagged ‘The Create a Comic Project’

Carmine Magazine: For readers that are unfamiliar with The Create a Comic Project, how would you describe it?
The Create a Comic Project: The Create a Comic Project is a youth program that combines art and creative writing to stimulate interest in self-expression among school children. As the name implies, I rely on sequential art – comics – as the primary medium. I’ve designed the project for kids aged 8-12, though I have worked with teens on occasion.

I walk students through the facets of comic creation – page layout, word bubbles, captions, etc. – and introduce basic storytelling techniques. Students create two kids of comics: filling in empty word bubbles on existing comics and original strips with blank panel layouts. The former serves as a guide to the latter; students see how various artists compose their work and gain exposure to the myriad of art styles. Over a hundred different artists have given me permission to use their work for the project, including David Willis (Shortpacked), Erin Ptah (And Shine Heaven Now), Faith Erin Hicks (Ice, Demonology 101), and Kazu Kibuishi (Copper).

Currently, I’m working with the Collegiate YMCA of Pittsburgh and their after-school program to deliver weekly sessions. I’ve held one-shot workshops at several locations, including the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Braddock Carnegie Library, and Human Service Center.

CM: How did this project begin and why was it started?
TCaCP: The Create a Comic Project started out in an overseas classroom. In summer 2005, I was in Taiwan teaching English. The activities in the curriculum focused on spelling and grammar – there weren’t any that explored the creative side of the language. Inspiration came from two sources: the popularity of manga among my students and Yukihime’s Penny Arcade Remix (http://goviolet.com/?page_id=633), which steered me to the idea of using webcomics.

The first comic I used was Okashina Okashi (http://www.strangecandy.net), a pastiche of many of the manga elements my students were fond of. The results were fairly spectacular: my students loved to compete in teams to see who could create the funniest – and most grammatically correct – comics. The place where I worked ended up publishing the activity so other teachers across the island could use it in their own classes.

A few months later, I returned stateside for graduate school in New Haven, CT. The public library needed volunteers and I missed teaching, so I retooled the project into a standalone creative writing and art program. That’s how the project’s been used ever since.

(J. Baird with one of his students during one one of the New Haven Library sessions.)