The Verbal Arts Centre in Bishop St Within, Derry, has created a series of new, accredited Comic Art courses which will commence in September 2008. These short courses have been developed in response to the success of the various comic projects delivered here and also the popularity of the recent 2D Northern Ireland Comics Festival.

The Festival has been running for two years and is an extension of the comics-related work that the Centre undertakes throughout the year.

The new courses will examine the process of creating comic art and study the artistic techniques involved, which can then be applied in other areas such as concept design for video games, movies and animation. The skills are also relevant and useful in commercial illustration.

“This is an exciting opportunity to improve on traditional art skills,” says 2D Festival Organiser David Campbell, ” apply them in a comic art context, build a portfolio and develop knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and how it is used in the comic industry.”

The centre will also be developing a printing press to be used in the printing of their own comic publications in order to showcase Irish comic talent.

Details are as follows:

1. Name: OCR Level 3 Comic Art and Digital Illustration (for students aged 16+)
Examine the artistic techniques used in the creation of comic art and use these to create your own characters and stories. Learn how to colour your black and white artwork digitally using Adobe Photoshop.
Duration: 15 weeks Start Date: 23/09/08 Finish Date: Jan 09
Day: Tues Time: 4pm – 6pm Venue: Verbal Arts Centre
Cost: £30

2. Name: OCR Level 3 Comic Art and Digital Illustration (for adults)
Duration: 15 weeks Start Date: 25/09/08 Finish Date: Jan 09
Day: Thurs Time: 7pm – 9pm Venue: Verbal Arts Centre
Cost: £30

• Enrolment for the Above Courses begins on Monday 8th September: 6:30 – 8:30 at the Verbal Arts Centre, Stable Lane and Mall Wall on Bishop Street Within, Derry BT48 6PU

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Comic Art

Tags: Comic Artists, Comics Courses, Drawing Comics, Writing Comics