Hello to everyone out there in the Do Art Nation. We hope you’re having an amazing & creative summer.
We love art art media & modes of creative expression, but one is especially near & dear to our hearts: COMICS!
We recently started making 4 panel comics at our 1 hour comic book workshops. It can be tricky to create a full story inside a time constraint, but we use a simple format to make it a little easier.
Kids & parents alike make their comics with their own unique characters. We like to use our characters This, That, & The Other Thing. The Other Thing is always getting into trouble, & this usually generates the conflict, or the problem in the story. We begin by asking just how The Other Thing’s gotten into trouble THIS time!
Then, after the problem, we have our consequence. This can be good or bad, for The Other Thing or those around it. This happens because of the action in panel one.
Logical reactions are all well and good, but for panel 3 I like to shake it up. Panel 3 is the twist. Something shows up out of nowhere. The unexpected appears. Usually by now The Other Thing has either messed up someone’s day, or been “unfairly” punished for what it’s done. So the “twist” is often SWEET REVENGE: either by or against The Other Thing.
Now, we’ve been having lots of fun, but now it’s time to wrap things up with our ending, or our conclusion. Whether or not The Other Thing goes to jail, gets eaten, escapes, or blows up the world, we always end with a TO BE CONTINUED. The Other Thing will be back with a vengeance, for sure.
This is just one way to plot out a comic. I like to think of it as a game, a few light constraints to myencourage people to get into creating with a simple series of prompts. Often kids abandon the structure entirely, content to make original, shark-jumping, hilarious inventions all their own. The people who seem to use this form the most are parents & librarians who follow along with the workshop to encourage their young collaborators. The results are often hilarious, like this comic by a parent from Iowa. What began as an inside workshop joke–a turtle named Marv who lights things on fire–became an original comic by her. Marv is about to get in trouble but is saved at the last second by his bird friend.
So give it a try! Do you like to use writing prompts to help your creativity? Let us know what works for you, & keep creating!
