Yesterday was the first day of the IPRC Comics Certificate Program. It was pretty exciting! There are 11 of us in the program, all who are partaking for a variety of reasons. Nicole Georges and Jesse Reklaw are going to be our teachers for the first semester. Nicole will be teaching the first half, Jesse the second half. The first half of the class was us talking about our goals in the program, materials we’ll need, and all of the other first day orientation business. We talked a lot about the different kinds of materials you can use, and the projects we’ll be doing this semester. I was surprised (and excited!) that this semester will be a lot more production intensive than I had previously anticipated. I’m really looking forward to playing with new materials and exploring different drawing and storytelling styles through comics!
During the second half of the class, we all wrote a quick, one page comic about a family secret (we were to draw it in 45 minutes, just to give you an idea!) When we were done drawing our comics, we went and learned how to use the photocopier. This would turn into making the IPRC Comics Certificate Program’s FIRST COMIC ZINE!
(FAMILY SECRETS! Cover illustration by Nicole Georges)
It turned out pretty great. My comic was about how my fourth cousin invented the pink grapefruit (true story!) and my relatives were put off by the idea of the pink grapefruit. During the late 19th/early 20th century, yellow grapefruit was the norm, and my family deemed the pink grapefruit as rotten. Here it is:
This project inspired me to do a more polished, true to life version of this family story at some point. I had a hard time accepting I couldn’t work on the comic for more than 45 minutes (What can I say? I’m sort of a perfectionist!) This project taught me not to take everything I do too seriously, and to have fun with it, even if it’s not perfect. It makes the process of exploring and developing my voice more fun.
Next week, expect some new comics and a review of Craig Thompson’s book release event at Powells (for those of you unaware, Thompson’s new book, Habibi, just came out on Tuesday. I just about freaked when I saw the hard copy in person!) For those of you interested in the event, it is next Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7:30pm, Powells Books. Should be great!
Until next time,
-Fiona