My comics and illustration workshops have the power to engage pupils with writing, character creation and drawing, and can be designed to tie in with curriculum topics of your choice.
- Age range Early Years – KS5
- Suitable for schools, SEND settings and other arts & cultural settings
- London and the surrounding areas
‘It was great to hear from both the children and the other teachers about how much they enjoyed the sessions and how impressed they were with what the children drew. The children came back to classes so enthused about the opportunity to turn their characters into a comic strip, and they have continued to be excited and engaged with it across the school this week. Thanks again for such a wonderful experience for the children.’ Iain McGowan, Writing Lead, Pickhurst Infant Academy, West Wickham.
Choose from comics, illustration or picture book workshops with optional curriculum themes such as heroes and villains, myths and legends, Stone Age, Space, Fairy Tales or a topic of your choice. I can also design sessions for your World Book Day focus and for literacy and arts weeks.
Typical sessions include an insight into the way I work and how I develop characters (emphasising the fact that drawings don’t come out ‘perfect’ the first time). I teach the pupils to draw a character step-by-step, based on simple shapes, and encourage them to add their own elements and ideas to make the character unique. I show the pupils some inspiring illustrated fiction and introduce them to my ‘character maths’ method of mixing ideas together to come up with new characters, then support them to create original characters. The pupils develop a story based on their character’s personalities, and I take them through the fundamentals of creating a comic or a picture book plan which can be created during the session, or afterwards with the support of guidance notes I provide.
Printable resources provided in advance by email include comic templates, picture book templates, character planning sheet, comic planning sheet, project evaluation sheet, tips for teachers on supporting pupils to create characters and comics.
Please view or download the full workshop details and further testimonials here
Please contact me with your booking query for more information and pricing. A discounted rate is available for full day bookings, which can include an assembly and workshops with different year groups and topics. I am on the DBS update service and I have Public Liability Insurance.
I’m also an Arts Award Adviser and an Artsmark partner. Information on my Artsmark provision can be found here.
Read the post I wrote for A New Direction 10 Tips for Teachers: drawing projects to enhance curriculum topics link
‘What I really enjoyed was the level of challenge that followed the introductory task. Everyone was fully engaged and seemed to gain confidence as the session progressed. There was a very happy, industrious atmosphere in the room.’ Naomi James, Teacher, Old Palace Preparatory School , Croydon.
‘Poverest Primary School had the fantastic opportunity of having Emily with us for a week where she taught our children the art of creating comic strips. She guided and supported the children through the process using resources which we were given before the workshops commenced. These resources were clear and concise giving us, the teachers, plenty of material to work with so that the children were fully prepared for their workshops. Emily adapted the workshops to suit the age and ability of the class. We were impressed with how she delivered the workshops and her skills and knowledge she brought to the classroom. We would highly recommend Emily and she is returning next year to work with us again.’ Elisa Irwin, Poverest Primary School, St Mary Cray, Kent.
Affiliations
My workshops are listed on the following sites (click for links)
Organisations I’ve provided workshops for
