Free comic book workshop for teens at the Signal Hill Public Library on June 22!

If you're in the Long Beach, CA area sign up your teenage artist at the library for my free comics workshop. Supplies will be provided, just bring a desire to express yourself through a comic book story!

Call or visit the library to register.
Phone:
562-989-7323

Address: 
1780 E. Hill Street
Signal Hill, CA 90755

LOLIPOP KID & CUP CAT Poster Comic plus a free Comic Book Workshop!

If you couldn't tell I've been exceptionally busy by my lack of posts so far this year, the fact that I finally had time to devote to creating a new Poster Comic should prove that!

Here it is, my latest one-page comic, starring LoliPop Kid & Cup Cat!

These two characters are ones that I've been using for the last several years in my comic book workshops. When demonstrating to the students methods on creating a comic page, I use Lolipop Kid and Cup Cat as characters in the lesson. I solicit ideas from the class on which way to take the story, then I'll illustrate each panel as they describe the action.

It's a great way to engage them in the storytelling process, after which they begin working on designing their own characters and later, draw their own comic.

I had never created my own story with these two, so I thought it'd be fun to use them for a Poster Comic. The artwork was produced soley via computer, on a program called Illustrator. The lines are all drawn in what's called 'vector art', a process which I'm lousy at describing but it's produced with either the 'pen' or 'pencil' tool (I used both).

It's a little hard to read at the size it appears here, but if you go to my page on DeviantArt, and click on the image once you see the page, you'll open up a much larger, more readable version.

It was fun working on a real simple, all-ages comic. This comic can also function as a guide to storytelling with comics, so it'll serve an instructional purpose in addition to it's entertainment value.

And lest anyone think I've lost my 'edge', here's a peek at the character for my next Poster Comic....

By the way, speaking of workshops, I'll be conducting one of my free "Let's Make Comics!" workshops this weekend at the Hastings Branch Library in Pasadena. No registration is required. The workshop is being brought to you by the Library as part of their FREE COMIC BOOK DAY celebration, so join in the fun and let's make comics!

2 free Comic Book Workshops at local libraries

I'll be conducting a couple of Comics Workshops at two libraries in the area for the next two days.

On Thursday, July 12, I'll be in Santa Monica at the Ocean Park Branch from 2:30-3:15pm. The workshop is free to attend, but call the library to check if you need a reservation. For kids 6-14. Here's the post from their website.


And on Friday, July 13, I'll be at the Los Alamitos/Rossmoor Branch Library in Los Alamitos. The workshop runs from 3:30-4:30 pm, and it's for kids 6-14. Again, this one is free as well, but I know that you do need to reserve a spot. Information for doing so is on this page of their website.

Comic book workshop in Pico Rivera this April & May

I have a new round of Comic Book Workshops starting this April at Pico Park in Pico Rivera, CA.

A comic created by one of the students in my January 2011 class. How awesome is that title? Poor Chocolate Chip Cookie Boy...

The description for the class is:

A five week class that teaches your child how to make their own comics!  This class will cover character design, creating stories, tips on drawing and storytelling fundamentals.  At the end of the course, students will receive a printed copy of their own comic book.  There is a $5 supply fee due to the instructor on the first day of class.

Yes folks, that's right! Other classes may send your kid home with a bunch of loose, floppy sheets of comic pages they've drawn, but in my class they get photocopied editions of their 4 page stories! They can share them with family, trade with friends, even put them on Ebay and start their art school tuition fund!

We're offering two classes per week. Wednesday class is for kids ages 6-12, Thursday classes for ages 13-18. These have proved pretty popular, with many of the kids from the 2010 Fall classes having taken the class again this past January.

Schedule is as follows:

Wednesday (Ages 6-12): April 6 - May 4, 5:00-7:00 pm.

Second session May 18 - June 15

Thursday (Ages 13-18): April 7 - May 12, 5:30-7:30 pm.

Second session May 19 - June 16

Pico Park, 9528 Beverly Boulevard, Pico Rivera, CA.
Phone: 562-801-4470

Visit or call the Park to register, or register online at the Pico Rivera website. And feel free to email me with any questions: misterjav@gmail.com

Okay, I'll just come out and tell you right now: One of my nieces took the class, too. The story involved a group of kids at a comic convention trying to stop a thief who stole a copy of (I kid you not)...EL MUERTO #1!!

Aw shucks, Caroline....