Have you ever looked at a cartoon strip and thought “I wish I could come up with stories like that?”
It would be really cool to come up with your own stories, to create funnier and more inventive tales for your characters to get up to.
We all know instinctively what a good story feels like.
But writing one is a different matter.
We don’t always know what the separate elements are.
We don’t understand how they work the way they do.
So how can we find out about that?
We also know when a story doesn’t work. We’ve sat though a lousy movie, abandoned a dud book, and also looked at one of your own stories and thought “Meh!”
But what exactly is it that should go into those three or four blank panels?
Staring at a blank page or screen won’t help a story to materialise out of thin air…
…and will only lead to frustration and perhaps a desire to snack out...
What about inspiration?
Relying on inspiration is not a good idea….
…you can die of old age before inspiration strikes.
It would be neat to have resource that can help show what a good story is…
…to show the basic building blocks of story structure.
Introducing the Storytelling for Cartoon Strips Course
The Storytelling for Cartoon Strips Course will give you the basic nuts and bolts of story structure to apply to your own cartoon strips. Whether you’ve already tried drawing a cartoon strip, or this is something you’re trying for the first time, the course will help you to create funnier and more interesting situations for your characters.
It’s not rocket surgery.
Once you get the hang of the basic structure, it’ll make it a lot easier for you to regularly create your own strips.
Here’s some of the stuff we’ll cover in the course.
1. Creating tension
Life is not always a bed of roses (although Gerald wishes it was…). And so it is in cartoon strips as well. We’ll look at how you can create some excitement in your strips, to from this…
A bit boring really…
…so something that’s more exciting!
2. Coming up with ideas
And if you’re stuck for ideas…
... I’ll help you come up with some so that you can spend more time creating stories and drawing, and less time scratching your head.
3. Story structure
We’ll cover over the basics of story structure to help you make your cartoon strips enjoyable and logical for you and your reader.
4. Creating a world for your story
Whether it’s set in a home or somewhere more exotic, you need a world to set your story in.
5. Creating a cast of characters
You’ll need some characters to tell your story about, so we’ll look at how to create a cast of them.
How the course works
Supervised daily practice
You can read about stuff and think about stuff, but in the end, it’s doing stuff for yourself that builds skill. The Idea-Nator course enables you to practice cartoon drawing ideas five days a week, and put what you are learning to good use. I’ll help to keep you on track.
Sharing your ideas in the forum
You’re not going through this course alone. As well as the support of the tutor, you’ll be able to see how the other students are doing as well. It’s a rare opportunity to share ideas and help each other out during the course. Who knows what idea they might come up with? That’s part of the fun of doing a course with a group of people.
1) When does it begin and what is the duration?
The course starts 13 April 2020 and runs till 22 June 2020. Four solid weeks of teaching, with a week at the start to get to know your fellow students and to ramp up to speed, and a week at the end to clear up any lingering problems and (very important) map your way forward.
2) What materials will I need?
Whatever you normally draw with. It can be pencil and paper, pen and ink, watercolours, digital devices. As long as you can take a photo or save an image and upload it to the forum, you’re good to go!
3) How is the course conducted?
Assignments are a combination of notes, examples and exercises in a private forum, and feedback is provided daily from the tutor . No need to be available at any particular time, simply show up in your own time zone and post your work for Rob’s feedback. Then take a look at your team mates’ work each day to amp up your own learning and inspiration. You can also ask questions if you need to check your understanding.
4) How much time will I need each day?
15-30 minutes to think and draw, Monday to Friday. Plus time to visit some of your fellow students to absorb inspiration and learn subconsciously from their efforts. So ideally, 30 minutes. Interestingly, having a time limit actually makes you more creative, not less. Handy! You’ll be surprised.
5) Is there a money-back guarantee?
I work 1:1 with every participant daily and we limit the numbers to a maximum of 10. If you show up and do the work, I know you’ll make superb progress. So no, there’s no money-back guarantee on this one.
6) How do I join? Where do I pay?
The course is $200.
This includes:
6 weeks supervised coursework, Mon-Fri
Storytelling for Cartoon Strips ebook
Rob’s ‘exit output’ — individual guidance about ‘where to from here’ to ensure your skills keep growing beyond the course.
Please send your payment to my PayPal account at:
ottops123@yahoo.co.uk
Here’s what some folks who’ve done some previous cartooning courses had to say:
“I loved how Rob broke everything down into simple blocks. I tend to spend all my time concentrating on getting technically good {at cartooning} so coming up with ideas was just another (hard) thing to do. Rob made it much easier.”
Vicky Fraser — Herefordshire, UK — Moxie Books - student on the ‘Get Gagging - cartoon ideas course’
“Rob creates an atmosphere that is both fun and relaxing
Before each section he explains the purpose of the exercise and the importance of the small details.
He takes time to listen and address each question.
Even though I’m not the most talented artist I could gain confidence in my drawings.”
Jack Barker — Tokyo, Japan - Jack’s English Room - participant in Cartoon Workshop
PS.
Some of you already familiar with Gerald the Goat. He’s going to be the teacher’s pet again on this course, so keep an eye on your flower beds…
