Tag Archives: comics

Official Opening and Launch Party…and an introduction to COMIC BOOK EMBASSY!!

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for COMIC BOOK EMBASSY and COMIC BOOK BOOTCAMP!

The members of the Comic Book Embassy, who share 392 Spadina Avenue (Second Floor) with us, are having a party THIS SATURDAY September 29, to officially open the space, and to celebrate the launch of Megan Kearney’s Beauty and The Beast webcomic and Brice Hall’s first self-published comic, The Adventures of Adam Brochu. The party is at our shared location, 392 Spadina Avenue, Second Floor, Toronto, and will run 7:30ish to midnight-ish.

The current page for Megan Kearney’s Beauty and The Beast

The Comic Book Embassy currently has four full-time members. Megan Kearney is a graduate of Sheridan College’s prestigious animation program. She works in animation, advertising, comics and more. Beauty and The Beast is her first webcomic, but not her first comic work–Meg was a creator on Holmes Inc. #3 this year. She provided the artwork to Daniel Reynold’s story, Flight Lessons.

Flight Lessons by Daniel Reynolds and Megan Kearney

Sam Noir was also a contributor to this year’s Holmes Incorporated–that’s where this group of skilled illustrators and writers met. After Wednesday meetings, the creators would go out for coffee and pizza cones (yep, it’s a thing!), and talk about their work, and what they hoped to accomplish. Eventually, one of them talked about how great it would be if they could work together and keep that “Wednesday night meeting feeling” going…and thus, the Embassy was born! Sam Noir is the writer for Artie is Dead, drawn and inked by Rachael Wells.

Artie is Dead by Sam Noir and Rachael Wells

Artie is Dead, by Sam Noir and Rachael Wells, pg 3

 

Savannah MacIntosh has an interesting resume–she’s a mechanic AND an illustrator! As part of the Embassy, she’s hoping to spend more and more time working in the creative fields. Savannah is also a writer–she wrote Analysis Paralysis for Holmes Incorporated #3, which was illustrated by Tuhin Giri. Then she and Tuhin switched jobs and she illustrated his story, Drinking Buddies.

Analysis Paralysis by Savannah MacIntosh and Tuhin Giri

Drinking Buddies by Tuhin Giri and Savannah MacIntosh

Brice Hall joined the Embassy, officially starting off his career as a freelancer. Brice was the artist for James Cooper’s (author of Kickstarter for Filmmakers)  story, Night of the Living in Holmes Incorporated #3. He will be selling copies of his first self-published book, The Adventures of Adam Brochu at the party.

Night of the Living by James Cooper and Brice Hall, pg 1

Night of the Living by James Cooper and Brice Hall, pg 2

Ty and I will be at the party-Ty is hoping that many, many Bootcampers will join us. He’s really looking forward to introducing new Bootcampers to old, and to having people show off their work as well. If you’ve been working on new stuff, if you have interesting projects underway, bring them with you and tell us all about them! We’d love to see ’em and Ty will be available for feedback.

After the party…we’ll be heading over to Guerilla Printing, 587A College Street West Second Floor (all the best creators hang out on the second floor!). Guerilla Printing is taking place in ScotiaBank’s Nuit Blanche, (co-sponsored by The Comic Book Lounge & Gallery which shares space with Guerilla, just as we do with the Embassy).

As Ty wrote on his Tumblr,

“THIS SATURDAY is Scotia Bank Nuit Blanche Toronto, when

“For one sleepless night, experience the city transformed by artists for Toronto’s seventh annual sunset-to-sunrise celebration of contemporary art. One night only. All night long.”

There are over 150 possible projects to check out—and one of them isStripArt by our very good friends at GUERILLA PRINTING (and sponsored by THE COMIC BOOK LOUNGE AND GALLERY).

StripArt

“…will give you the opportunity to participate directly with the medium of the comic book. StripArt will remind people that comics were once drawings, illustrations, thought bubbles of exposition, paper, and panels of art and narrative.

With the assistance of artists, StripArt will give people the experience of making a comic book:  of thinking about character and their visual representation; dialogue and characters; of narrative arcs and punchy anecdotes.

So come bring a comic book to life. Artists draw content sourced from your imagination, continuing plot from panels created from other participants, to create a strip of collaborative comic art.”

The project runs from Saturday at 7:05pm to Sunday at 6:05am.

During the entire event, The Comic Book Lounge & Gallery will be open so after watching artists create comics in front of your eyes, you can buy new comics! And make sure you check out Guerilla Printingand the services that are available to artists and comics creators.

At 587A College Street West (at Clinton) Second Floor, Saturday September 29 7:05pm to Sunday September 30 6:05am.

StripArt on ScotiaBank Nuit Blanche Toronto website

StripArt on Facebook

All Nuit Blanche events are FREE.”

Keiren

New Classes for November Announced

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THE NEW CLASSES ARE ANNOUNCED.

WRITING FOR COMICS – PART 2

LAYOUT AND STORY TELLING

INKING

 CLICK THE UPCOMING CLASSES BUTTON (above), OR CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE!

Please note–when we say that space is limited and so, we’re limiting the enrolment, we really do mean that! Part of the enjoyment of the classes is having students share their work and get feedback and reaction from classmates–classes are kept to a size which facilitates that.

Bootcampers and Holmes Inc. creators at FAN EXPO CANADA 2012

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Deadpool by Gibson Quarter

Four days of FanExpo Canada 2012 is a lot to deal with–after, we want to put our feet up and take a few days off, but we immediately have to get back to deadlines and getting tables for the classroom. Which is why it’s taken this long to talk about all the Bootcampers and Holmes Inc. creators we saw at the con. Manystopped by the table to say hi to Ty, and catch up, and Ty and I were pleased to see how many were there as artists exhibiting at the show. Always great to see someone getting a chance to do the thing that makes them happy (–and to make money off of it as well!)

We didn’t get a chance to go ’round and see everyone–Ty was either glued to the table area signing books, doing sketches, and looking at portfolios. I was showing off some of my own work, promoting the school, selling Ty’s sketchbooks etc., or acting as a “runner” trying to find the shortest line to stand in to get a can of cold Coke. Next year–we’re definitely packing a cooler with ice packs! (Only did it one day this year and forgot to take it home for refills!)

Garrus Vakarian by Selena Goulding

Selena Goulding who was there sharing a table with Meghan Carter to sell prints of their art (we heard that Selena couldn’t keep prints of Garrus in her booth, they were selling so fast!).

I’m kicking myself that I didn’t stop by Meaghan’s table to get a copy of this–one of my faves!

Daniel Wong and Gerard de la Costa were both there with Spent Pencils. We were sitting beside Bootcamper Gibson Quarter who was selling prints, copies of his latest comic Undertow #2, and showing off pages from his upcoming Heroes of the North story (Daniel Wong’s 12-pager for HoTN, The Canadian:  The Man I Think I Am, written by Ty,  had gone live the first day of the con!).

Poison Ivy print by Daniel Wong

Harley Quinn print by Gerard de la Costa

 

Adam Gorham was sharing a table with his Teuton writer/creator Fred Kennedy. They were both thrilled to be sitting beside Tony Moore (The Walking Dead) who they reported was the nicest, most helpful creator, giving them lots of advice on the industry.

Grant Howarth had a table in Artists Alley for the first time, and shared a portion of it with fellow Holmes Inc. alum Adira Rotstein. Rachael Wells had a table at March’s Toronto Comicon, but this was her first time at “the big one”.

Christopher Yao was at the show, spending some of his time at the booth for The Comic Book Lounge & Gallery/TCW promoting his upcoming classes. Although that kept him busy, he still found time to head over to the AutoDesk Sketchbook Pro booth and drew on their Cintiq monitor. Christopher ended up doing several sketches in the booth; an entranced audience asked for prints from the Epson printers AutoDesk had in their booth, and got him to sign their copies.

Ty was watching Christopher draw this; if you look closely, you can still see a bit of the “Hi Ty!” Christopher wrote at the bottom to get Ty’s attention.

But all in all, we hope it was a great convention for everyone! Lots of fans, friends and family to talk to, a chance to mix with the comic book community.

Keiren

Check out the ALUMNI list for other Bootcampers and what they’ve been working on…(it’s constantly being update; if you’re a Bootcamper, and you’ve got some work we haven’t listed yet, send us an email at comicbookbootcamp AT gmail DOT com.)

Yayyy!!

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FINALLY!!

We officially have the keys to our location!! The Comic Book Embassy members are all planning their moves into the building, and Comic Book Bootcamp is buying up chairs and tables and looking at the calendar to plan a mural-painting party for that oh-so-boring white wall! Can’t have a comic book school in a white room without putting something up on the walls! That would be like putting a piece of paper in front of an artist and telling them not to doodle!

It’s a busy month for Toronto comic book folk–the biggest comic convention in Canada, FAN EXPO CANADA 2012 starts NEXT Thursday August 23 and runs through until Sunday August 26. So, at the moment, we’re just holding onto the keys and making plans…an official opening party will be coming up. When we decide on the date YOU will be the first to know.

Spaces are still available in both of our FIRST classes in this new location…  Check ’em out and let us know if you’d like to reserve one.

WORKSHOPS

From a former student…

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Click HERE for WORKSHOPS info.

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.

Let me teach you a thing or two…

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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

We’re getting there!

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Getting classroom space sorted out–the joy of doing this kind of thing during the summer months when everyone is going off to enjoy their vacation! Subscribe to this site for updates, or join the Facebook Fan Page, Ty Templeton’s COMIC BOOK BOOTCAMP!!, or send an email to comicbookbootcamp at gmail dot com to be put on an email list.

Will let you know all the details as they fall into place!