Skip to Content
Registrations Closed

Youth: Four-Panel Comic Art Class (Ages 12-16)

Create your own characters and your own short, four-panel comic book story using pencil and ink.

Starts
Ends
Add to calendar:
Youth: Four-Panel Comic Art Class (Ages 12-16)

Youth: Four-Panel Comic Art Class (Ages 12-16)

Create your own characters and your own short, four-panel comic book story using pencil and ink.

Pricing
Tuition Assistance and Policies
See more
Cancellation & Other Policies
See more
Registrations Closed

About

Learn character design, composition, penciling and shading, and final touches with inking over the course of three weeks.

Class 1, Character Design and Composition: Learn how to draw characters by building them up shape by shape; how to show different emotions, angles, and movement with your characters; and how to brainstorm important parts of storytelling like names, ages, and a character’s backstory. You'll also learn how to create a four-panel composition, a quick way of having a story or series of drawings that go from beginning to middle to end. You'll have the choice of creating your project on a single sheet of paper with its four-panel composition, or a small “comic accordion book” where your four-panel composition can be folded out like a long art piece or folded together like a book in which each panel/page can be turned to. You'll learn how to do the tiny fold-out book structure and have the chance to make that either the format for the final project or a tiny sketchbook with the final project on a single sheet of Bristol board.

Class 2, Penciling: In comic book art, this usually means under-drawings in pencil that are later inked, but you'll also learn how to do grayscale shading in pencil and you’ll be welcome to combine ink and pencil if you choose. You’ll start to work on your final project. 

Class 3, Inking: Finish your project and add the final touches with inking. You’ll learn different techniques for drawing with ink over pencil, combining it with pencil if you wish, and different techniques specific to ink shading like stippling, crosshatching, and solid shadows. You'll have your very own four-panel comic or four-panel comic art piece to take home!

Details

  • A materials fee of $5, included in the price of the class, will cover paper, pencils, pens, and Bristol board.
  • If you have a sketchbook you like to draw in, you're welcome to bring it for practice work.

Class Policies

Ages 12-16 are welcome.

Instructor
Donna Letterese

Donna is a cartoonist, botanical illustrator, and educator, as well as a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists (Southern California and Pacific Northwest chapters) and Puget Sound Book Artists. Originally from New York, she earned her bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College, then moved to the West Coast. She ultimately earned her master's in illustration from California State University, Fullerton. A Kitsap Country resident since 2020, she loves getting the chance to explore, sketch, travel by ferry, and take in the landscapes, flora, and fauna of Washington. She has been teaching since 2010, teaching continuing education and classes at art centers, after-school programs, comic conventions, and libraries. She loves working with students and helping them discover their artistic passion and voice, whether that means telling a fantastical story through an illustration or comic, or realistically capturing a plant and its details at a particular moment. During her free time, she loves creating comics and handmade books, urban sketching, and exploring museums, gardens, coffee shops, anywhere with animals, and bookstores.

Related Events

Check out other events you might be interested in!

Community Journaling Meetup
Community Journaling Meetup

Set aside time to journal and be inspired by makers from across the community with new ways of capturing your ideas.

December 31, 2026

BARN Community Sketching
BARN Community Sketching

Sketching is an important skill shared by makers across disciplines. Let's practice and improve!

December 28, 2026

Community Journaling Meetup
Community Journaling Meetup

Set aside time to journal and be inspired by makers from across the community with new ways of capturing your ideas.

December 24, 2026

-*