The Creative Process in 43 Hayao Miyazaki Screengrabs

An article Tom Hart shared recently in our Graphic Memoir Intensive on GRIEF and how it affects us physically, mentally, and who we are. Check it out here.

Planning in InDesign! (Tom's Thoughts)

We DO belong somewhere, but the "market" is cruel place. Very few belong there. I wouldn't recommend anyone try it, without a lot of research and planning, like wearing SCUBA gear… So, what should you focus on so you can sell your work?

PRE-ORDER! On What Matters represents some of the ambitious works developed during the online Year-Long Comics Certificate Program at the Sequential Artists Workshop (SAW) from Sept 2020 to May 2021. From responses to course exercises to deliberations on life and death and haircuts in isolation, it brings together the far reaching work of 26 different artists from around the United States and beyond.

I'm in Tom's Inner Critic course and tried my hand (and mind) at my Inner Critic interviewing me.

Have any of you tried it yet?

It was strange, but also very relieving. My inner critic is actually very easy to talk to!

I feel like thinking about these questions as if someone was actually asking me them and then answering them instead of just going straight into anxious mode helped me feel lighter. It was almost like self-therapy and it helped me detach myself from my inner critic.

Imposter syndrome, trouble drawing from my imagination, what do I have to offer, and time… does everyone deal with this?

Have you had trouble drawing hands? Hands can be hard! One of our students shared a PDF with resources that they use to help them draw hands and we’re here to share it with you!

Explore different types of narration in your comics, which styles do you tend to write in?

The Critic Asks:

“...Who do you think you are to try that, to do that, to attempt that, to show that...?

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” But the critic has no idea who you are. The critic only knows who you're not.

Our 2021 6 Month Graphic Novel Development Intensive is in its infancy but students are already diving into the material full blast and sharing themselves and their work with the SAW community. Here are just two of the talented artists in the 2021 Graphic Novel Intensive showcasing work they already contribute to the comics world.

What is your artist like? What is your WRITER like? How else are the two separate for you and what metaphors work for you?

What’s been going on at SAW lately? Check out what we’ve all been up to the last few weeks with the SAW gang, SAW courses, and the Mighty Network groups!

We have the pleasure of having cartoonists Josh Bayer and Hyena Hell doing another SLIDING-SCALE virtual punk comics workshop!

in this workshop, we go over drawing techniques, inking, some comics history, what makes YOU punk, and getting INK on that page!

Draw the critic. Have a dialogue with it. Talk to it. Pick it with pins. Visualizing the internal struggles we have usually helps (a little). You just gotta transfer your understanding and competence with finishing something you can typically finish to comics. Not your competence with the medium, just your competence with finishing.

Do You Ever Worry That You Won't Get it Right? Here are some thoughts from NY Bestselling Graphic Novelist and SAW Founder, Tom Hart.

Is it a comic or just words and pictures? For those wrestling with, "is my comic a comic or not?” Check this out!

For anyone working on what feels like (or is) a "big idea" and not knowing how to start. OFTEN, a creator will make a small piece, either to get moving, or not realizing it is about to become a bigger thing. This is great, and it's encouraged! See more.

Check out what’s been going on at SAW recently! End of the 2020-2021 Year Long Program, Pro-Call Information, Friday Night Comics Reading, and more!

Do you struggle making a plan for yourself? Try making your OUTLINE. It can be as basic and rough as you’d like, just as long as you START IT!