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Writer's pictureLeeyanne Moore

3 Reasons Drawing Comics Camp is my Most Popular Camp

Updated: May 13


This comic is by a teen who took my workshop. She started off drawing well on the computer but this revised splash page gives us an emotional sense of the story as well as a focus for the plot. It also creates a sense of mystery. Well done, Frances!


So many school aged kids loves drawing comics and I usually get a range of students for this camp. On one end of the spectrum are teens who draw on their computer, and on the other end are 10-11 year olds who still draw stick figures. How can a camp work for such a wide range of skills and experience? Well, for one thing, NONE OF THEM ARE DRAWING COMICS. In that way, they're all on the same page. The first reason this is such a popular camp is that I can get them to begin creating comics. I explain why they're not drawing comics and how I get them to down below in the P.S.


The second reason that this camp remains so popular is that it's full of tips and tricks for how kids can draw less, but up the drama, dynamics, and excitement in their drawings. We start adding in silhouettes, cutting off white space, and focus on framing for effects. All of it is really easy to do but packs a big punch.


And the third reason this camp is so popular is that it's a chance to get down skills the learners didn't have before. How to go from drawing stick figures to superheroes. How to begin drawing with perspective. How to add emotion into the drawings (because almost all comics kids like are always highly emotion based in some way--even if it's snark.) I also have specific specialized tips for advanced learners based on what skill we're using.



As always, if you or someone you’re raising is interested in writing a big project, you can let me know in the contact form and we can chat about you/your learner and the project to see if I can help.


PS: Here's how I get the kids to begin drawing comics -- i.e. words and pictures juxtaposed together in a sequence:


I teach students the relationships between the panels. Comics are visually stitched together in certain ways. Some are stitched together via action, others are stitched together via slower moments that create a mood or feeling. As students learning about these different connecting elements they begin to see comics differently. Then they begin to draw them differently--mainly by creating visual sequences--i.e. comics. By the end of class, they'll not only be drawing comics, but they'll never see comics in the same way again


Wanna see?

Below are some drawings by students who were drawing stick figures when they first started the camp. I've also included drawings by students who were using a computer to draw so you can see their development over a semester.


picture of a pen and ink masked superhero
Students design characters--like this detailed superhero






Original character conception


Second character conception post some anatomy skills pointers where we talked about proportions and blocking out bodies. In this class we also studied doing faces and hands.


Splash page - The Cover. Note the use of a dynamic stance, the emotional drama of the cuts and rain. Erin also very deliberately used very chaotic framing devices to signal the discomfort of the demon elements in her comic.


Leeyanne Moore bio

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