Making Comics With the Middles (4th/5th)

“We draw before we are taught. We also sing, dance, build things, act, and make up stories long before we are given any deliberate instruction beyond exposure to the people around us doing things. Everything we have come to call “the arts” seems to be in almost every 3-year-old.” ~ Lynda Barry ( American Cartoonist )

During the Middles Friday art class, we’ve been exploring the work of Ivan Brunetti and the wisdom of Lynda Barry— both cartoonists. 

Most people stop drawing around the age of nine or ten when they realize they can’t draw something like a nose—or sometimes it’s the hands. What I love about comics is that they bypass this problem of needing to draw realistically. In comics, we don’t need a perfectly detailed nose or hyper-realistic hands. Comics are not about realistic representation; they are about communication through simple symbols. Our brains are wired to recognize faces, even in basic line drawings. This ability to see meaning in simple shapes is what makes comics so powerful.

Middles had lots to say about their drawing abilities and many of us really don’t like drawing hands! We talked about letting go of perfectionism in our art. 

We started class with quick drawings. Students chose ONE subject from a list (skeleton, cat, rooster). They draw that subject 6 times. They get 1 minute for the first draw. Subsequent draws are 45 seconds, 30 seconds, 20 seconds, 10 seconds, and 5 seconds! The last drawing is basically a scribble and there are lots of laughs. It’s freeing, you can’t overthink these drawings and it gets us ready for more! 

In the next exercise, students drew themselves according to a set of instructions originally created by Ivan Brunetti. They first drew two basic shapes, a head and body, then added limbs and features, then embellished with accessories and more. The last step was to bring it to life! 

Take a look at some of our drawings: