This live Zoom course is designed for artists interested in graphic novels, picture books, animation, magazine illustration, and graphic design. Learn to create sequential drawings, layout and design projects, and editorial pieces, with an emphasis is on idea exploration, critical and creative thinking, and development of personal style. Develop characters, settings, and atmosphere based on memory, imagination, and published works. Great illustration -- historic and contemporary -- will serve as inspiration and reference. Classes consist of short presentations, idea generating exercises, and experimentation, with a goal of broadening students’ imagination and knowledge and improving the quality of their artwork.  Live Zoom sessions will take place every Monday, 1 - 2:30 p.m.

Materials List Samworth

Zoom Technical Requirements

Policy Guide Summer 2020

Kate Samworth (BFA '10) explores themes of environmental change, balancing a sense of wonder and possibility with an expression of mourning. Her passion for natural history illustration, dark fairy tales, and satire converge in her illustrations.  Samworth has illustrated several books. Her first, Aviary Wonders Inc., won the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers. The exhibition includes work from published and ongoing projects, including the finely detailed scratchboard drawings for Why Fish Don’t Exist, a work of non-fiction for adults by NPR journalist Lulu Miller, to be released this April by Simon & Schuster.

In this course, students will be taught cartooning basics, studying drawing and inking techniques using a variety of professional tools. They will also be taught the language of sequential art (comics). Students will write a story based on real life or imagination, then design characters and environments to be used as they transform that story into a short-form comic. The course will utilize the online learning platform Canvas, and includes videos, lectures and assignments with regular instructor feedback, as well as live chat via Zoom.

Explore illustration as a counterpart to music through the art of the concert poster. Students will experiment with a variety of hands-on methods to develop imagery that interprets the lyrical content of their favorite artists. Spontaneous and stream of consciousness drawing and lettering exercises will be employed to invent narratives from instrumental music. The history of the concert poster will provide context and serve as inspiration for the students own projects. The course will utilize the online learning platform Canvas, and includes video demonstrations, lectures, and assignments. Daily group discussions and individual critiques will be conducted via Zoom.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will gain an understanding of communication through pictorial means.
• Students will express abstract concepts through pictorial symbols.
• Students will present preliminary work that clearly communicates their objectives.
• Students will balance lettering and imagery. Students will demonstrate the use of critical thinking, creativity, and a personal voice.

All materials needed for the course can be found using this link: Materials List - Illustration The Art of the Concert Poster