Illustrator Masterclass series
A new and exciting series of events for illustrators on art technique, professional issues in children's publishing, marketing and presentation skills and inspiration on the 'craft' of visual storytelling.
Making the Graphic Novel
For those of you who are coming to this exciting workshop on the 10 October and for those of you who may be thinking about it. Below is a little prep work to get those creative juices flowing. Feedback and discussion on your work will take place at the workshop with Kevin Hopgood.
the brief:
Create a comic strip based on a well-known fairy tale but told from the point of view of one of the secondary characters. For instance, why is Grumpy in Snow White in such a perpetual foul mood? Has he got a secret crush on Snow White and is jealous of the other, more popular dwarves?
Why is it that the Ugly Sisters hate Cinderella so much? The Ogre from Jack & the Beanstalk must get really fed up with trespassers from "down below" walking off with all his stuff.
Try and suggest in the writing a genre not usually associated with fairy stories. How about Goldilocks and the Three Bears as a detective story? Most off all- have fun!
- Kev Hopgood
If you haven't signed up yet, keep reading!
Making the Graphic Novel
A masterclass on the practices and principles essential to graphic novels.
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Kevin Hopgood, children's book illustrator and comic book artist, will lead us in a closer look at the fastest
growing of all publishing categories today, the graphic novel. The term, ‘graphic novel', coined in 1964 by Richard Kyle in a newsletter circulated to all members of the Amateur Press
Association, was not brought into common usage until Will Eisner's book, Contract With God, and, Beyond Time and Again, by George Metzger in the late 1970's. Kevin will share his
experience of this unique form of storytelling, covering the nuts and bolts of writing and revising a script, creating the look for the main character, thumbnail sketches, pencilling, inking and
lettering the final product. The workshop will be in part talk, part doing and part asking lots of questions and getting answers. There will be preparatory work for this workshop which will be given
with confirmation of your booking.
Bring your ideas, a sketchbook and your enthusiasm for the graphic novel.
Kevin Hopgood has published books and comics with Marvel Comics, Games Workshop & Boom Studios, Eaglemoss, Haymarket, Barrington Stoke, Usborne and Oxford University Press in the UK, US and
Europe.
Time – 13:00 - 16:00
Cost – SCBWI, AOI and SOA members - £20, non-members £25, full time student - £15
Venue
All the Illustrator Masterclass Series events will take place at:
Discover
1 Bridge Terrace
Stratford
London E15 4BG
t. 020 8536 5555
Discover is 10 minute walk away from Stratford's transport hub. Follow the blue signs along Stratford High Street to find it.
Trains – Stratford Station - Jubilee Line, Central Line, Docklands Light Railway, Overground, National Express East Anglia and C2C
Buses – 25, 69, 86, 104, 108, 158, 238, 241, 257, 262, 276, 308, 473, D8, S2
Questions? Queries? Contact Anne-Marie Perks (Regional Illustrator Coordinator) at annemarieillus(at)gmail(dot)com
Portfolio Intensive with Strawberrie Donnelly and Fredrika Carlsson
Eleven illustrators came together on a hot and humid Saturday afternoon to meet with Strawberrie Donnelly, art director at Little Tiger Press, and Fredrika Carlsson, senior agent with the Bright Agency. Fredrika started us off talking about the Bright agency and how they work with illustrators, what is important to include in your portfolio and what catches her eye as a great portfolio. Her comments on the illustrators getting work in this current economic climate were realistic but also hopeful in that there is work if illustrators are willing to be both creative and flexible in broadening their work base.
Working in small groups, every portfolio was seen by both Fredrika and Strawberrie. It was amazing the quality of artwork each illustrator showed. The benefits were not only the direct feedback given by both reviewers, but in the group being able to see each other's work and hear the comments given in the feedback process.
For those illustrators who didn't make it this time, the Portfolio Intensive will be an annual event, so mark your diaries now for Saturday, 12 June 2010 for the next Portfolio Intensive annual event.
Top two photos: Fredrika Carlsson, the Bright Agency
Bottom two photos: Strawberrie Donnelly, Little Tiger Press
An Afternoon with Chris Wormell
Award winning illustrator, Chris WormellIn many ways the masterclass with Chris Wormell on the 25 April at Discover in Stratford, was a continuation of the artistic discussions began with SCBWI's two day conference last November. It would be very difficult to pull out just one element of the afternoon that stood above the rest. As Chris spoke about how he began his career as a wood engraver and illustrator, his first books showing his prints along with the actual carved wood and lino plates were passed around. Then his original watercolours, vibrant and full of life, were handed around allowing each of us to indulge in a lot of 'up close and personal' scrutiny of this wonderful artist's work. It would take pages to talk about his use of colour, both in ink and watercolour, paper and style, but having said that, this was the dialogue that kept us all in awe for the afternoon. It isn't often that an opportunity comes up when you can ask as many questions as you like on the how, why, what and when on the craft of visual storytelling and art technique. During the personal work portion of the workshop, some sketched ideas and concepts on double page spreads that Chris brought with lines of text or images to set our muses in motion. Some participants carved into the glassy surface of the boxwood used for wood engravings, and other carved into lino. We even had time to ink up and print our afternoon's efforts. I suppose if I had to pick two things that impressed me the most it would first be Chris's answer to my question on 'what colour scared him?' I was refering to his use of windsor blue in particular. He said, 'If it scares me, I just want to use it more!' And the second thing would be the energy and buzz that happened when artists get together and share their experience, hopes and work.
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