ILL 300 Syllabus
Drawing for Comics
Sec.001 Thursday 1:30 -6:00 pm Rm 307
Instructor: Steve Ellis
Phone: 315.289.5771
email:Steveart1@gmail.com
SU email Stellis@syr.edu
DESCRIPTION
This Class will explore the art of Comic book Illustration. Comics while long treated as a subsection of illustration and a kind of Underdog of media have recently become the center of the media world, with giant hollywood productions being based on the medium’s works.
To treat comics as simply illustration is to misunderstand the medium itself. Comics is the Blending of word and pictures and icons with the intent of explicit narrating a story through multiple panels. It is medium which is related to literature, Illustration and film sharing features of all while simultaneously existing as it;s own unique medium.
The strong power of comics narrative form and the connection and use of striking visuals and storyboards makes it an easy translation into other mediums ( like film) which explains much of it’s success in the modern world.
The duties of a comic artist are many and varied. They include character designer, set designer, storyboard artist, actor, cinematographer, director, camera operator( to steal some titles from film) story editor, writer and illustrator. A comic artist will need to be able to draw practically everything, from any angle, stationary, moving, in perspective. They will need to draw figures, expressions, movement and be able to understand story structure, pacing, plot, and timing.
In this class we will explore these different jobs of the comic artist. We will work on our drawing and conceptual skills as well as our compositional and storytelling skills. We will touch on the history of comics and get a sense of the comic book business as it exists today. Ultimately the intention of this class is to open up the student to the world of comics and to start them on the path of developing the skills to create and tell any story they wish.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this class you should have created a number of pieces using the assigned applications and create presentation of your images both digital and for print.
You will be able to :
Develop an understanding of constructive figure drawing, perspective, putting a figure in an environment
Understand designing for comics
Designing panels, working with storytelling, designing a comics page
Pace out and storyboard a story in a variety of forms
Technical aspects of comics
ASSIGNMENTS
Students are expected to balance larger multi-week assignments with shorter in-class and homework assignments. An art career is fast-paced; students should expect to receive their next large assignment on the day of the critique of the previous large assignment, there will be no break between assignments. The art of survival as an illustrator is one of juggling projects and clients while making each client believe that they are your only one. Treat your assignments with care, follow the instructions for size, timing and deadline. The skill of taking care of your teacher is similar to the skill of taking care of a client.
Assignments and due dates will be described and handed out in class AND posted electronically. Saying you didn’t get the assignment is not acceptable. Assignment parameters will be described in detail. Make sure you follow each parameter precisely. In the world of professional illustration misreading an assignment (handing in the wrong size piece, missing an important detail, presenting/delivering the finished art in a form other than as was requested, etc) will mean that you, at best, have to re-do the piece, or at worse, will lose a client. Meet your deadlines! Late assignments will lower your grade, which is far better than what an art director will do with a late piece.
Student work may be reproduced for use by the instructor.
Presentation
All work for this class will be done in a professional manner and presented as such. I will not accept dog-eared pages or sketches that are not bordered and presented on clean paper. If there are smudges or other imperfections on your work, you will be downgraded, Use white tape or a good eraser/ white paint to repair any poor presentation.
I reserve the right to quiz and require written essays for this class. Essays will be in the form of a comic.
TEXTs and other Resources
1. “How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way,”
2. “Understanding Comics”
3. Will Eisner
2. You may also use the computer cluster in Rms.329. See the posted schedule for times.
3. Be familiar with these sites:
www.Behance.net
www.infectedbyart.com/
www.spectrumfantasticart.com
www.muddycolors.blogspot.com/
www.drawger.com/
www.conceptart.org/
www.theispot.com
shadowness.com/
www.pinterest.com
These reference sites can be helpful as well:
google images
google art project
The 90% New Rule
When using photos/images created by someone else in a collage to create your new image, I stand by the 90% new rule. If anyone can recognize the source of the photo within 90% of its original source, it is too close and you need to rethink the image altogether. Anything less than a 90% change is plagiarism.
Licensed Characters Clause
For the purposes of this class, I will demand that students create their own characters/ designs for assignments. This benefits the class in two ways, 1. It will keep us from getting embroiled in “Geek Talk” and it will encourage students to create their own stories and ideas. We may from time to time use books or other media as inspiration for a project, but I will demand that designs be original to the student.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance is required. One absence for the semester will be tolerated; however, you are still responsible for turning in assignments on time! If you will be absent when an assignment is due make arrangements to send the work in with a classmate or deliver it to my mailbox ahead of time.(See "Grading") Two absences, for any reason, will lower your final grade by one letter grade. You will FAIL the course in the event of a third absence! Mechanical failures (alarm clocks, car failure, etc.) are not valid excuses. In the world of professional illustration your art director will simply fire you and never hire you again if you are too late or a no-show. Compared to that, my attendance policy is kind and generous.
You are expected to arrive on time and remain until the end of class. If you are bored or have nothing to do, you have come unprepared and should probably consider switching to a class in which you have some interest. Lateness of an hour or more will count as an absence. Chronic lateness or skipping out early will also count towards an absence and will lower your grade. Treat me as you would treat an art director.
GRADING
CLASS GRADING RUBRIC
15% - Lecture/Classroom
.Attendance
.Participation
.In-Class Assignments
15% - Sketchbook/Reference File
.Consistently working in sketchbook throughout semester
.Gathering appropriate amount of reference
.Properly cataloguing and display reference material
80% - Four Out-of-Class Assignments
.Assignments are #1=10%,#2=10%,#3=30%, #4=30%
.Spread out over a few weeks each
.Meeting deadlines
.Achieving goals (see separate assignment rubric)
But wait! That’s 110%! That can’t be right!
No student is going to get a full score all the time. The 95 points accounted for by Sketchbook/Reference and Assignment are hard points that will be achievable by meeting strict assignment goals. However, the 15 points for lecture and classroom participation give some leeway to reward the students who are consistently in class and consistently showing concerted efforts to participate and work hard in their sketchbooks. This is kind of the “effort” grade, which should reward people putting in extra effort--and also allow the people who struggle with concept/execution to make up points by being involved.
INCOMPLETES
Incompletes will be granted only in extenuating circumstances. If you have a valid medical excuse or family emergency, and you've completed the bulk of course work for the semester, an incomplete is possible. You are responsible for initiating the paper work for an incomplete.
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
Please see university policy on plagiarism, but the policy in here, is that if the work does not significantly deviate from a reference it could be deemed as copyright infringement or plagiarism and will not be tolerated.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy holds students accountable for the integrity of the work they submit. Students should be familiar with the policy and know that it is their responsibility to learn about course-specific expectations, as well as about university policy. The university policy governs appropriate citation and use of sources, the integrity of work submitted in exams and assignments, and the veracity of signatures on attendance sheets and other verification of participation in class activities. The policy also prohibits students from submitting the same written work in more than one class without receiving written authorization in advance from both instructors. The presumptive penalty for a first offense by an undergraduate student is course failure, accompanied by a transcript notation indicating that the failure resulted from a violation of Academic Integrity Policy. The standard sanction for a first offense by a graduate student is suspension or expulsion.
For more information and the complete policy, see http://academicintegrity.syr.edu
DISABILITY-RELATED ACCOMMODATIONS
If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact the Office of Disability Services(ODS), http://disabilityservices.syr.edu, located in Room 309 of 804 University Avenue, or call (315) 443-4498 for an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations. ODS is responsible for coordinating disability-related accommodations and will issue students with documented Disabilities Accommodation Authorization Letters, as appropriate. Since accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact ODS as soon as possible.
RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES POLICY
SU religious observances policy, found at http://supolicies.syr.edu/emp_ben/religious_observance.htm, recognizes the diversity of faiths represented among the campus community and protects the rights of students, faculty, and staff to observe religious holidays according to their tradition. Under the policy, students are provided an opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirements that may be missed due to are religious observance provided they notify their instructors before the end of the second week of classes. For fall and spring semesters, an online notification process is available through MySlice/StudentServices/Enrollment/MyReligiousObservances from the first day of class until the end of the second week of class.
This Syllabus is subject to change as needs arise.
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