Comics 1 – Intro to Sequential Art with George Pratt

In this 12-week course, renowned comic and fine artist George Pratt will teach you the fundamentals of comics and sequential art. You will learn how to turn a story into a visual narrative. George will demonstrate how to make layouts and breakdown sketches, the key components to composing a story. He will lecture on the foundational elements that are the building blocks of a comic book page. You will examine the work of master comic illustrators as George lectures on their techniques. After this course, you will have developed the knowledge to start telling compelling visual stories.

Week 1: Introduction to Comics and Sequential Art With George Pratt
In week one, George will introduce you to the world of sequential art and comics. You will learn his philosophy to sketching and how that informs your creativity and visual vocabulary. George will show you his cover pages and layouts for some of his most iconic projects.

Week 2: Developing Sequential Art Through Layouts With George Pratt
In week two, George will share with you the layouts and thought processes behind some of his most iconic graphic novels. You will learn about George’s journey while working in the industry; that includes the lessons he has learned and the scenarios that inspired his graphic novels.

Week 3: Sketching to Improve Your Storytelling With George Pratt
In week three, George will introduce you to a variety of tools and techniques to practice in your sketchbook. You will learn about the importance of sketching to improve your confidence, and from there, develop convincing visual languages.

Week 4: The Importance of Reference With George Pratt
In week four, you will learn the importance of gathering references for your sequential art. George will go through his library of images to show you how he utilizes them for his visual storytelling.

Week 5: Utilizing Reference With George Pratt
In week five, George will lecture on some of the greatest photojournalists. You will learn about well-known photographers across the globe that document the life around them and successfully tell stories through their photography.

Week 6: Elements of a Page With George Pratt
In week six, George will teach you the different elements used on a page of sequential art. You will learn the vocabulary used when breaking down a comic book page. You will study how to arrange panels on a page and use software like Comic Life 3 to play with styles of panels and speech bubbles.

Week 7: Spreads, Camera Angles, and Gestures With George Pratt
In week seven, George will lecture on the types of shots used in comics. You will learn about different camera angles for telling a story and the double-page spread. George will touch on the importance of gestures when illustrating comics. You will learn how tangents affect the readability of your panels, and more importantly, your pages.

Week 8: Layouts, Scale, and Composition With George Pratt
In week eight, George will address the significance of developing layouts for your sequential art. You will learn how layouts influence the scale and composition of your panels.

Week 9: Readability of the Page With George Pratt
In week nine, you will learn the key principles of a comic page. George will lecture on the readability of panel arrangements. You will examine how lettering, word balloons, and sound effects operate in comics.

Week 10: Choosing the Moment With George Pratt
In week ten, George will teach you how to choose the right moment to illustrate. You will learn to select the best snapshot of an action that represents the overall narrative. George will lecture on the strategies for penciling your final composition and explain how that image moves on to get inked.

Week 11: Shooting and Making Use of Reference With George Pratt
In week 11, you will learn how to utilize photo reference in your sequential art. George will show you how the master illustrators used photo references as a tool to help tell the story. Then, George will share with you some photoshoots he produced throughout the years to gather references for his illustrations.

Week 12: Comic Covers and Styles With George Pratt
In week 12, George will lecture on the fundamentals of cover art. You will learn all the technical aspects of the page and examine how different artists illustrated comic covers. George will analyze the different styles of making comic books.