Session 1

Making Comics

Making Comics is an intensive introduction to historical and contemporary cartooning methods. Led by multidisciplinary artist Charlotte Richardson-Deppe, students will emerge from this course empowered with a wide breadth of cartooning knowledge and with a portfolio of original hand-drawn comics and zines.

Every day in “Making Comics” students will do just that—make comics. Whether designing diary comics inspired by our daily life or collaboratively creating fantastical creatures in team exercises, students will not only gain technical skill in drawing, but will leave with the confidence to execute their own original works of art.

Curriculum

Working with pencils, markers, ink, watercolors, and more, students explore a variety of drawing methods and build confidence in their individual styles. By analyzing comics, cartoons, and animations, students gain insight into foundational cartooning concepts such as narrative, time, emotion, and pacing. Creative brainstorming exercises and drawing prompts help students develop original characters and storylines.

Students create mini-zines from everyday materials, make collaborative comics and drawings, and practice imaginative, judgment-free drawing techniques. In the second week of the course, each student plans, draws, inks, and colors an original comic, leaving the program with a strong portfolio.

Game Design student working at a computer
Planned Topics

Students study contemporary and historical comics and animations, analyzing how camera angles and framing in comic panels contribute to successful narrative sequencing. Inspired by comic artists such as Lynda Barry and Ivan Brunetti, students practice showing time, emotion, setting, and characterization in their own comics. Additional topics include basic figure-drawing methods for action poses and cartooning, custom lettering styles, and comic book and zine making.

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Charlotte Richardson-Deppe
Faculty Lead
Charlotte Richardson-Deppe

Lecturer, Department of Art, Media, Performance, and Design

MFA in Studio Art, University of Maryland, College Park, 2023
BA in Art and BA in Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies; Grinnell College, 2019

Charlotte Richardson-Deppe is an artist who works with drawing, performance, sculpture, and photography. Charlotte is passionate about telling stories through comics, cartoons, and zines. 

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