Grades 5-8 | Illustration & Visual Storytelling I: Comics, Zines & Manga

      Grades 5-8 | Illustration & Visual Storytelling I: Comics, Zines & Manga

      Returning Spring 2027

      Spring Semester: February 1 – May 7 | Mondays, 6:00 – 7:30 PM | 12 weekly sessions

      Registration opens in November. Join the interest list below and you'll get first notice — spots are capped at ten per class.

      Real illustration craft, built around the art they already love.

      Illustration taught seriously — built around the comics, zines, and manga this age is already drawn to. Students learn character design, composition, and how to tell a story in pictures, building genuine craft while making work they actually care about.

      What they'll learn

      • Character design and expressive figures
      • Panel layout, composition, and visual pacing
      • Telling a story across a sequence of images
      • Inking, lettering, and finishing a polished illustration

      What they'll make: Finished comics, zines, and illustrated pages, culminating in a piece chosen for the gallery show.

      Where it leads: Year 1 of the Grades 5–8 track, leading into Digital Art Fundamentals — and, for returning students, our advanced Illustration studios.

      The semester ends in a real gallery show

      At the end of the semester, each student's strongest piece is matted, framed in our shop, and hung in our gallery for a Friday-evening exhibition with refreshments. Families are invited, and the work is shown the way real art is shown. Your child's effort is treated as what it is — art, not a craft to stick on the fridge. It's the part families remember most, and it's something no other art program in the area offers.

      What's included & good to know

      • 12 weekly sessions, 1.5 hours each (Spring semester, February 1-May 7) (no class during Spring Break, April 5-9)
      • Small classes by design, so every student gets real individual attention
      • A defined curriculum with clear skills and a mid-semester progress check — not open studio time
      • Each student's exhibition piece is matted and framed in our shop, included in the tuition price 
      • One step in a multi-year path that grows with your child

      *Product photos are examples from Justine Veras, Matt Mazur, and Je Na Lyn

      Be first in line for Spring 2027

      Registration opens in November. Join the interest list and we'll email you before spots open to everyone else — classes are capped at ten.

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