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Everyone expects as Ty’s wife-like person that I will automatically say wondrous and glowing things about him so my opinion can’t possibly be valid! But Ty and I are notoriously honest and plain-spoken, and tend to speak our minds (yes, a few fights, why do you ask?). When I took a Writing for Comics class last year, I was hopeful that it would be good–I’d heard so much positive feedback from various people, but I wanted to see for myself. By the end of the first class I was in awe; not only how thoroughly Ty explained everything, how well he got everyone to participate, how much he was able to coax even the shyest person to contribute, but also how he created an atmosphere so energetic and inspiring, that you could see visibly that people were leaving practically bouncing, eager to go off and write. (One student told Ty that he almost hated him because after a writing class he went home so filled with inspiration and an urge to write that it was hard to wind down to go to sleep.)

Class ran over (there’s always so much to pack in, and people are encouraged to ask all the questions they need) and yet students still hung out, eager to talk and share ideas with Ty. When Ty and I left some ten minutes after sending the last stragglers out the door, we discovered a cluster of students still standing out in front of the building, talking about what they learned and sharing their writing plans.

The next week, as we arrived early at the doors, I was surprised to see several students already there. It turned out that, although they had been complete strangers at the start of the first class, by the end of it, they felt such a sense of camaraderie that they had agreed to meet early, review what they had written during the week and critique each other’s work.

None of that is uncommon for Ty’s classes. As he’s said elsewhere, students from his current Holmes Inc workshop have so bonded, that four of them have rented a studio space together (which is where Bootcamp will be based), and many others have asked to be a part of it. I said jokingly that everyone is hoping for a clubhouse to be a part of it, and several agreed with me that this was exactly the feeling they wanted…said they, “We want a way to keep that Wednesday night class feeling going on all the other days.” And a couple said that Wednesday nights were their favourite night of the week and were loathe to see the class meetings end.

I asked around to see if Ty’s former students might give him an endorsement for his upcoming classes…and I think from some of the comments, you can tell that I am not exaggerating about students’ reactions.

Daniel Wong is a member of Spent Pencils, a studio of Toronto-based comic artists. A  former-professional engineer turned artist, “[his] work ranges from comic book pencils and inks to freelance illustration, from fan art to pin-ups, and from web programming to web design.” He’s  currently finishing up the colours over his pencils/inks on a twelve page Heroes of the North story (written by Ty).

Daniel wrote,

`”The best classes I’ve taken on any subject were the intense weeks I spent learning about comic book creation from Ty Templeton. Hands down, he’s the best teacher I’ve ever had.”

“I had self published a comic prior to taking Ty’s Comic Book Bootcamp, but decided to take his course based on a friend’s recommendation.  Class after class, I was totally blown away by how much knowledge Ty imparted.  Not only did he cover every aspect of comic creation, he did it with such a great teaching style that it was easy to learn and put them into practice.  I now use what I’ve learned every time I put pencil to paper.”

Harley sketch

“I was an illustrator that had some self-publishing experience in comic books.  I limited myself to only the drawing side of things, because of my inability to write.  Having taken Ty’s courses, I now feel that writing my own stories isn’t beyond reach.  Not only that, it has drastically improved my ability to convey a story through the art alone.  In a word, Ty’s classes are simply “empowering”.”

So…that’s it for today. I’ll be posting more in the coming weeks.

Keiren

Click HERE for WORKSHOPS info.