I`m going to brag, just for a minute.  I`ll be humble when you meet me, later.

I`ve been making comic books for over twenty-five years, earning a few Eisner and Shuster Awards for my efforts along the way, and being fortunate enough to work with such legendary characters and publications as Batman, Spider-Man, the Simpsons, Superman, The Avengers, Star Trek, Bugs Bunny, Mad Magazine, the Spirit, and so many others.

If there`s one thing I`ve learned, it`s that there`s no part of my job that requires talent.  It`s all skills, knowledge and practice.  Anything to do with art, writing and craft is teachable, and the notion that some people are `born with it` is nonsense.   It`s all SKILLS.  And YOU can learn it.

For the last five years, I`ve been teaching these skills to the next generation of Comic Book superstars in my famous Comic Book Bootcamp classes in different locations all over the city of Toronto.  Finally, I have a PERMANENT location (392 Spadina Avenue, 2nd Floor at the Comic Book Embassy), and the learning is just getting started.  I can`t wait for you to join us.

If you`re interested in making comics, webcomics or graphic novels, or you just want to learn to write and draw, my Comic Book Bootcamp is quite simply, the best place in Toronto to learn how.   Ask around.

Ty Templeton

So, with that out of the way, here are the first two classes I will be teaching in September:

Writing for Comics.  ( Part One)

Tuesdays 7-10pm, September 11–October 23 2012, 

OPENING SPECIAL:  $325 $300 (for students who have taken this class before, and would like to repeat it, the price is $250)      Payment accepted by cash, cheque or PayPal (There will be a fee for NSF cheques). 

UPDATE:  Please note that spaces are limited for each class; registration is on a first-come first-reserved basis.

Plot, tale, character, dialogue, set pieces, scenes  and act structure —this class covers it all.  Seven intensive workshops will teach you the basic language of fiction, with an emphasis on comics and graphic novels as a script form.  This is a writing class like no other writing class you`ve ever had.

Students are expected to create stories, plots, pitches and scenes in the workshops.  Bring a pencil (with a healthy eraser) and a willingness to dig in and write, write, write!

Most of my industry awards were for my many years writing for Batman.  As a result, this course is my favourite to teach, and a favourite with students.  Class may fill up quickly, be warned.

(This course is followed by  Writing for Comics Part Two, which focuses on world building, continuing series, genre, comedy, tragedy, and a study of classical story forms.)

REGISTRATION/INQUIRES:  email comicbookbootcamp@gmail.com to book a space, and to make payment arrangements.

Drawing the Human Figure From Your Head

Wednesdays 7-10pm, September 12-October 24

OPENING SPECIAL:  $325 $300 (for students who have taken this class before, and would like to repeat it, the price is $250)     Payment accepted by cash, cheque or PayPal (There will be a fee for NSF cheques).

UPDATE:  Please note that spaces are limited for each class; registration is on a first-come first-reserved basis.

One of the handouts I will give out in class–I explain it all, I promise!

Visualizing the human form in three-dimensional space is one of the basic skills needed to make comics, and our bootcamp class makes this often difficult skill surprisingly easy, with a unique geometric approach to skeletal and muscular systems.  In seven weeks, you’ll understand the movement  of the elbows, shoulders, hips, knees and hands, basic human proportions, the muscle system, and balance (yes, in just seven weeks!) without needing a model to see it in your head.   Previous drawing experience is not required, we can teach this method to anyone willing to learn.

Bring lots of paper and pencils, this is a class for drawing, not for listening to lectures.

REGISTRATION/INQUIRES:  email comicbookbootcamp@gmail.com to book a space, and to make payment arrangements.

Ty Templeton