Writing and Illustrating Graphic Novels for Young Readers

Storytelling with words and pictures

Get started on your graphic novel for young readers! Whether you are interested in creating for children or young adults, National Book Award finalist Jarrett J. Krosoczka will walk you through some of the first steps. Krosoczka is a New York Times bestselling author/illustrator who has published 45 books over the past 20 years. He and his work have been featured in The New York Times, NPR, Good Morning America, and The Today Show—to name just a few! Krosoczka will begin with his very first book rejection and walk students through the steps that he has taken to get his ideas out of his head and onto the paper, effectively communicating stories with words and pictures. Krosoczka will cover the tenants of comics storytelling and offer many tricks and tips to get your stories down on the page. Facial expressions, body language, paneling, scripting—Krosoczka will cover all of the aspects he utilizes to write and illustrate his stories. Whether you are just dipping your toes into the world of publishing stories for kids or you are looking to learn more about children’s literature and comics, we hope that you will enjoy this course and get a lot out of it!

What you’ll learn

  • Learn how to take the ideas from your head and develop them into a graphic novels for young readers..
  • Learn about the format of script writing for graphic novels..
  • Learn about the tenants of character design..
  • Learn how to effectively communicate your characters’ inner feelings via their external features..
  • Learn how to effectively communicate a story via visuals and how and why we are able to consume information via comics..

Course Content

  • Welcome! Here is an overview of the course! –> 1 lecture • 15min.
  • Brainstorming and World Building –> 1 lecture • 43min.
  • Script Writing for Comics –> 1 lecture • 42min.
  • CHARACTER DESIGN: structuring your heroes, villains, and everyone in-between –> 1 lecture • 44min.
  • Effectively Emoting in Your Illustrations –> 1 lecture • 35min.
  • Panels and Sketching Comics –> 1 lecture • 32min.

Writing and Illustrating Graphic Novels for Young Readers

Requirements

Get started on your graphic novel for young readers! Whether you are interested in creating for children or young adults, National Book Award finalist Jarrett J. Krosoczka will walk you through some of the first steps. Krosoczka is a New York Times bestselling author/illustrator who has published 45 books over the past 20 years. He and his work have been featured in The New York Times, NPR, Good Morning America, and The Today Show—to name just a few! Krosoczka will begin with his very first book rejection and walk students through the steps that he has taken to get his ideas out of his head and onto the paper, effectively communicating stories with words and pictures. Krosoczka will cover the tenants of comics storytelling and offer many tricks and tips to get your stories down on the page. Facial expressions, body language, paneling, scripting—Krosoczka will cover all of the aspects he utilizes to write and illustrate his stories. Whether you are just dipping your toes into the world of publishing stories for kids or you are looking to learn more about children’s literature and comics, we hope that you will enjoy this course and get a lot out of it!

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