Blazing Squids GS13 Graduation Issue
Summer 2017
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THE DRAWING ACADEMY
Graphic StorytellinG Graduation 2017
SPEND A SEMESTER MASTERING THE CLASSICAL DRAWING SKILLS THAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO A CAREER IN VISUAL ARTS Exercises include drawing life models and sketches in town
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Each semester course hosts three to four guest teacher workshops, which focuses on animation, comics, illustration and /or fine art
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Be a part of the inspiring study environment at the internationally recognized animation school, The Animation Workshop
Find more information at www.animwork.dk
Four years flew by in the blink of an eye. Looking back over this period of time where the first class of graphic storytellers ever has worked hard on learning more, getting better and finding their own path, the first word that comes to me is: Pride. Pride in each and every student and the journey they’ve been on. Pride in the development that each student went through. And pride in the fact that we did it. Together.
Study by Amy H. Bloch
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DRAWING &
VISUALIZATION
Peter Dyring-Olsen, humble Head of Studies for Graphic Storytelling
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Practice various aspects of visualization like color, composition and design of visual elements
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Participants must have solid drawing skills and either have finished at least two years of study on a BA-degree in related fields or have worked professionally in the field
Find more information at www.animwork.dk 2
Illustration by Aljoscha Blau
Learn drawing as a craft through sessions of long and short term life drawing sessions
An occasion such as this doesn’t come around very often. This is the only “first class of Graphic Storytelling” there’ll ever be. And that calls for a celebration. Which is why the editorial staff behind Blazin’ Squids has put together this Graphic Storytelling special. Inside these covers, you may feast your eye on work from some of the graduates and get inside their creative minds for a while - as well as read an interview with Graphic Storytelling teacher and mentor Steven Seagle and peruse art from all corners of The Animation Workshop. Enjoy!
ARE YOU A STUDENT OR GRADUATE OF FINE ART, ILLUSTRATION, DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE OR SOMETHING SIMILAR? DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR DRAWING SKILLS? IF THE ANSWER IS YES, THEN THIS IS THE COURSE FOR YOU! •
The path hasn’t always been straight and clear. We’ve traveled to unforeseen places together. We’ve met great international talent. There has been laughter and joy, anger and tears. And no matter how you look at it, the group that started this journey together is not the same group that now leaves us. Which is exactly how it should be.
Blazing Squids was created by: Erik Barkman, Maria Skov Pedersen, and Peter Dyring-Olsen - with thanks to Morten Thorning, Henning Fryd and Specialtrykkeriet and all the artists who contributed text and artwork! Cover image by Maya McKibbin. 3
INTERVIEW
Paper Maché man AN INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN T. SEAGLE CONDUCTED BY ERIK BARKMAN
Steven Seagle is a comics and TV writer and one fourth of Man of Action Entertainment — known for creating Ben 10 among other successful franchises. He was also responsible for getting the Graphic Storytelling graduates started on their thesis projects. We met up with him to discuss writing, teaching and life in general!
So, what’s going on with Man of Action right now? - We’re staring down a chasm of chaos! When you work with TV, you say “yes” to a lot of stuff because everything is slow and nothing ever happens! Well, this spring, everything that was “maybe” happening actually happened. So we’re writing and producing four TV shows at the moment, including Ben 10, Mega Man, Bakugan and one I can’t talk about yet. We’re producing the feature film adaptation of [Man of Action member] Joe Kelly’s “I Kill Giants”, we’ve got three UK live action shows in development, and we’re working on a bunch of comic books and graphic novels. Business as usual for us would be working on two shows, so this is a lot – and it’s not even all of it.
Steven T. Seagle - photo: Liesel Reinhart
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You’re clearly a busy and dare I say successful man. Why fly to Viborg to teach on a meagre salary? - This is more fun than anything else I do, honestly! I love the energy of the students here – if I were to give out an assignment to US students in the morning, most would have left by noon. Here, people happily work until way past the school day is officially over. And they’re all really creative. I’m constantly seeing solutions to storytelling problems I haven’t seen before. It gets my creative engine fired up. - Also, I had great teachers all through school and college, so my karmic debt is enormous. I’m just trying to pay it back. And I love to see somebody “get” something – that’s basically the best possible outcome for a teacher.
Back in January, you were brought in to get the fourth year graphic storytellers started on their graduation projects. How did you approach that? - First I made them give me their best elevator [two minute] pitch for the project – some were clearer than others, so the challenge became to prioritize the information in the pitches. A good pitch has to be both clear and exciting, and the tricky thing is to balance those two qaulities. Pitching is an important skill in terms of getting work, so this was about practicing that, but it’s also an excellent tool for sharpening your stories. If you can’t pitch your project, you probably don’t know what it’s about! - Then, I had them produce key images, which are basically visual elevator pitches. Again, the key questions are: Do I get it? And is it compelling? If I’m honest, the concept of the elevator pitch is a little dated; today, you rarely get even two minutes to present your project. You get to say a sentence and show an image on your smartphone, that’s it! So key images are more important than ever. - Finally, we worked on ways to structure the process and creating milestones so the students were able to track their progress. Without that, it can be hard to stay motivated. As we’re having this conversation, the guys are heading into the final stretch of production. What’s your take on where they’re at now? - Well, these are creative people, so of course some are moving along, hitting all their milestones along 5
INTERVIEW
the way, while others have switched projects or otherwise hit roadblocks along the way. No one seems to not be making it, but everyone is complaining about time. So I tell them they have 2-3 times as much of it as they would have if they were doing the same as a professional assignment. Nobody seems to enjoy being told that! Has anything surprised you about their progress? - A couple are surprisingly far along. I like to finish early and then keep polishing until deadline, so I think that’s a good thing. A few had really big projects that I encouraged them to scale down – some took that advice, some didn’t. A lot of people need to find the statue by chipping away at a big block of marble; I personally like to build a grid – of ideas and supporting ideas – and add paper maché. Both are fine! We don’t care how people finish, just as long as they finish. Can you say a bit more about that – your approach to generating and fleshing out stories? - I always start with a specific subject, something that interests me and that I want to do a story on. A place, a time period, a specific phenomenon. But then I immediately go back and try to figure out the themes. What do I want it to be about? Exactly what
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interests me about that place, time period or phenomenon? When I know that, I can start constructing a story that supports those themes. If I don’t know that, I’m going in blind. Back to the graduation projects: What’s your impression of them as a whole? - It’s hard to say anything definitive, because they’re not done yet, but the breadth and depth of the subject matter from student to student is wild. This course is not streamlining people! A lot of the students are basically doing what they did when they started out, but more confidently and with a more advanced toolbox.
If you were to give one piece of advice to them, what would it be? - Tell the stories only you can tell. There’s so much stuff out there, people want things that are specific to their creators. Jumping onto existing bandwagons is dead! Keep creating things and make sure you own them, IP creation and ownership is crucial. - Also: Make sure to avoid creative inbreeding by processing art from other fields as well as the one you’re working in. I personally pull most of my inspiration from media other than comics and TV. And remember that you can’t produce interesting work if you don’t have an interesting life!
How do you see the students’ opportunities in the workplace after graduation? - They already have their eye on what they want to do, whether it’s publishing their own books, working on games – not a lot are interested in working for the major US publishers, for some reason. Either way, visual storytelling is the dominant lexicon of the media industry, now more than ever, so they’re in good shape. Communication is becoming less text based, a little like the way computers used to be controlled via text input and now rely much more on visuals. That’s a good trend for graphic storytellers!
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Graphic Storytelling diploma by “Adventure Time” designer Dan Bandit aka GHOSTSHRIMP
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CONGRATS GRADS!
Lilja Jokulsdóttir, GS15
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Cecilie “Q” Maintz Thorsen, GS15
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Aske Rose
GRADUATION PROJECT: “BRUMILLA’S DANCE” WEBSITE: ASKEROSE.ARTSTATION.COM
“Brumilla’s Dance” is a 56 page graphic novel. Tell us more! - Well, the story takes place in a magic realist Denmark/ Scandinavia where the Christian priest Oluf tries to rid his parish of pagan influences. When he disrupts the local harvest ritual, he breaks down the borders between his world and the ritualistic world and becomes part of the ritual and past events are revealed. Finish this sentence: You have to read this comic if ... - you like to be challenged, not just entertained. What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - I’ll be the first to admit that my story isn’t an easy read. I demand a lot of mythical and philosophical background knowledge from my reader. I still think that you are able to enjoy the story without any background knowledge. From the beginning, my goal was that the story was open enough to be interpreted differently and get a life on its own. If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - Probably to simplify the plot more. What’s next? - I’ve illustrated a few books and covers for the small publishers CALIBAT and forlaget Kaos. I already have some things waiting for me there. The next big thing I’ll be doing is a children’s book written by the Danish writer Dennis Gade Kofoed. I’ve started on the layouts so it’ll be out at christmas or the start of next year with the publisher Jensen & Dalhgaard. - I also have some different comics projects that I’ll want to do. I have some larger ideas as well that I’m thinking about cutting into periodical sized stories instead of one big chunk.
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Cathrin Peterslund
GRADUATION PROJECT: “THE HOSTESS” WEBSITE: CATHRINPETERSLUND.TUMBLR.COM
Tell us all about your graphic novel “The Hostess”! - It’s a humorous lovestory, based on some true events that took place in Europe in the late 1800. It depicts the young barmaid, Kitty, who falls deeply in love with two criminals, Adam Worth and Charles Bullard. Not only is Kitty getting involved with both men in a so-called ‘Ménage á Trois’, she’s also becoming an active and important part of their criminal “career”. This has major consequences for Kitty, who’s insecure about the path she seems to have chosen, and in the end she’s forced to make a final choice: Should she play it safe and go straight and narrow, or is she willing to make the necessary sacrifices to live a life outside of the social norms? Complete this sentence: “You have to read this comic if ...” - You’re into good period drama, romance, and a more traditional art-style. What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - I’m proud of the fact that I have made a comic about something that really interests me. I mean, I feel proud that I managed to write a story that actually moves something in me, and not just chose something because I had to. If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - Sketch out the whole story and get someone to proof-read it before you start making final pages. (Oh, and put in the speech balloons on a separate layer!) What’s next? - I’m going to spend at least six months in the school’s Open Workshop where I’m finishing a graphic novel that I want to find a publisher for, hopefully within the next year. I have worked on this graphic novel on and off for a couple of years, and just being able to finish it is quite a dream for me. After Open Workshop I hope to be able to work as a freelance artist in illustration - maybe do children’s books or a new graphic novel project. To be honest, I am pretty open-minded to whatever opportunity might show up. 14
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Cora McKenna, CA16
Jessica Laurent, Open Workshop
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Clara Jetsmark
GRADUATION PROJECT: “SOUND IS A HORSE” WEBSITE: CLARAJETSMARK.TUMBLR.COM
Your made a 60 page comic. What’s it about? - In “Sound is a Horse”, a stone age woman unknowingly becomes the inventor of music. Meanwhile in the early 1960’s, the socially awkward but brilliant musical professor Dr. J. Leiloken is writing his magnum opus “A Journey Through Sound and Space”. But his concentration soon falters when a horse from his past makes a visit ... Finish this sentence: “You have to read this comic if you ...” - have tinnitus or don’t know what tinnitus is. Or if you really like or dislike horses. What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - I like the overall concept and I was super excited when I got the idea for it. My project is divided in two parts, which is weird but makes it possible to create thematic connections in a different way. Where the first story is a silent comic, I had to solve everything visually, the second story is more of a word puzzle in a lot of ways. I wanted to create a mix between something very crazy and absurd with something very ridiculous and academic. I am happy that I took the risk of doing something different and something a little out my normal style. The process has made me come up with new ideas that I would not have thought of otherwise. If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - I would definitely have told myself to worry less and not be so concerned about the time pressure. I have a tendency to want to be in control of the project all the time, so if things are not turning out the way I thought, I get super frustrated. I think I would go back and remind myself that you can’t always be in control of everything. What’s next for you? - Next stop is Open Workshop, where I plan to work on a personal comic project and do freelance work. Also if everything works out I will be part of a great collaborative comics project where I’ll mainly be working as a writer. 18
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Emil Friis Ernst
GRADUATION PROJECT: “DR. MURDER AND THE ISLE OF DEATH” WEBSITE: BEINGERNST.TUMBLR.COM
“Dr. Murder and the Isle of Death” is graphic novel weighing in at almost 100 pages! What’s it all about? - Having been left by Johnny-America for another supervillain, Dr. Murder suffers an existential breakdown, but eventually sees his chance to fill the Johnny-America shaped hole in his heart when he meets his old high-school nemesis, Lady Anya. Finish this sentence: “You have to read this comic if ...” - You need water to sustain yourself. What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - This thing is 92 pages long my dudes! If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - Don’t settle for a bad page. Every time you settle for some bullshit you die a little inside. You might be stressed and there’s no end on the horizon, but the satisfaction of making a good page gives you
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the power to create three more good pages and the satisfaction of making three good pages provides the energy to make nine good pages and so it goes, on and on, churning and churning until you turn into the world’s first cold fusion reactor and eradicate the need for excessive carbon dioxide emission. What’s next for you? - Immediately after graduation I’ll be joining the Open Workshop with three different consecutive projects. One is an animated movie that I am making with my classmate Nilas and a couple other people from the school. After that Nilas and I are going to be working on a children’s comic, and eventually I’ll work on a project of my own called Legend. - In the long run I aim to establish a line of comics taking place in the same universe as my bachelor project, a world populated by pulp characters who are depressed, combining my two favorite subjects, pulp and misanthropy.
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Jam Aden
GRADUATION PROJECT: “THE TRICKSTER” WEBSITE: JAMARTS.TUMBLR.COM
“The Trickster” is a 52 page comic. What’s it about? - When you and all of your friends are monsters, it might not always be easy to distinguish right from wrong, but in the end we all have to learn and figure out what’s best for us. Finish this sentence: “You have to read this comic if ...” - you enjoy drama between monster friends! What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - It’s hard to point out a single thing in this project that I‘m most proud of. In the end I’m proud that I made it. Doing 52 fully colored pages in such a short amount of time isn’t something I’ve done before. I’m happy with most of my project, but what I’m really proud of is finishing all of it. If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - If I could give myself one piece of advice I would probably have worked more intensely in the beginning of the project so I would have had more time for feedback and rethinking my thumbnails. What’s next? - After I graduate I’m going to start a graphic novel that I’ve been thinking about for a couple of years now, it’s something I’m super excited to work on finally! And I’ll be doing my webcomic too, of course. I also have a super-secret cartoon pitch I’m working on, but only time will tell if it takes me anywhere, ha ha.
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Jana Ribkina, CGA15
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Annalea Hartelius, CA16
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Line Høy Høstrup
GRADUATION PROJECT: “THE MATTER WE’RE MADE OF” WEBSITE: BUFFALOSKETCH.TUMBLR.COM
Your graphic novel, “The Matter We’re Made Of”, what’s it about? - It’s about Ellen, a young, ambitious woman who is just about to fulfil her dream of building her own house, when she is diagnosed with a paralytic terminal illness. As she desperately tries to keep her dream alive, house, dream and disease slowly blend together and draw Ellen into an enticing fantasy. But can dreams give you the things life denies you? Ellen needs to find out what makes life worth living. Complete this sentence: “You have to read this comic if you ...” - like existential stories with both tears, laughter and a ton of pretty plants. What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - It was pretty scary to write about such a heartbreaking and serious disease as ALS, especially since
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I don’t have any personal experience with it. I also doubted whether I could write realistic characters for a drama like this, but I’m proud of myself because I took on the challenge. If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - Start sketching your ideas earlier, you lazy butt! What’s next? - I want to make more comics! Since this is a fictional 70-page story, the next one should be a 100-page non-fiction project. But before I get to that I need to make some boring money in order to feed my plant addiction. I’m trying very hard to turn my apartment into a jungle!
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Mathilde Garreau
GRADUATION PROJECT: “CARMEN CRUSH” WEBSITE: GARREAUMATHILDE.TUMBLR.COM
You did a story bible for your graduation project! - Yes, “Carmen Crush” is a concept for a TV cartoon series aimed at ten to fifteen-year-olds, and each episode is around ten to fifteen minutes. It follows Carmen Crush, who has transformed her studio into an incredible museum of memories. Every day, she buys new trinkets online on her old computer. She orders so much, in fact, that she develops an uncommon friendship with the delivery man, Adrien. Each time Adrien arrives with a package, Carmen is inspired by the contents to tell him a story, and, without ever leaving the apartment, drags him into her fantasy where he reenacts the adventures of one of her previous romantic partners. For one afternoon, the delivery man is transformed into incredible characters on fantastic journeys that redefine who he is. But when Carmen’s story endings inevitably prove disappointing, the deliveryman rewrites the end to turn it into an improved and fantastic ending.
If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - Be more aware of how much time I have to get this project done, to resize my expectations. What’s next? - I am looking for a job as Concept artist/Character and background Designer in an animation or game company. I have been in Denmark for five years now, so being in my home country of France for a little while would be nice, but who knows, I am open to everything really.
What would you like to come out of this story bible? - Well, first, it would be awesome to pitch it to an animation company. And then of course have it developed as a viable TV cartoon. I really would like to see Carmen, my main character, move ! What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - I am really happy with my story mechanic. I think it works well and would allow the series to have plenty of episodes with fun and adventurous badass plots. I am also very pleased with the character designs of my two main characters, Carmen and Adrien. They are really fun to draw !
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Min Christensen GRADUATION PROJECT: “HYPNOS” WEBSITE: YESARTS.TUMBLR.COM
Give us the elevator pitch for your graduation comic, “Hypnos”! - To escape a troubled daily life, Andrea regularly visits a dreamworld created by Hypnos, the god of sleep. But when she accidentally lets loose a box full of ancient nightmares, it’s up to her and the Oracle, Jonas, to get them back in. However, the nightmares are not what they seem and neither is Hypnos. Complete this sentence: “You have to read this comic if you ...” - like mythology and dark fantasy and sad endings! What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - There’s this one cool page where Andrea is diving headfirst into the dreamworld ... If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - I would scream at and whip myself until I started working harder at the start of the project - so I wouldn’t be as stressed as I am now. What’s next? - Well, the project is only the first chapter of Hypnos, so I’m going to finish the story, and hopefully I’ll get to work on a bunch of other future comic projects. If you are reading this and need an illustrator or comic artist /assistant, feel free to call me, ok?
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Amanda Holm Jespersen, CA14
Bernar Aganchyan, CGA15
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Nilas Røpke Driessen GRADUATION PROJECT: “MOM” WEBSITE: NILASRD.TUMBLR.COM
“Mom”s a graphic novella. What’s it about? - Louise, a member of a gang of moms. She is well respected because her son Kasper is one of the best illegal child fighters. She spends most of her time training him for fighting, oblivious to the fact that Kasper is becoming increasingly alienated. Complete this sentence: “You have to read this comic if you ...” - enjoy a mix of melancholy and humor. What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - I think the dialogue turned out pretty well. It was all written in Danish, and I think that allowed me to be more playful with the language. I hope that I can work some of that playfulness into the English translation. If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - I think that the process has been quite good, but sometimes I’ve rushed a bit through it to see how fast I would be able to do things. So “take your time” would maybe be my advice to the 5 months younger, less experienced version of me. What’s next? - I’ll stay at TAW a little longer, at the Open Workshop, where I’ll work on both a short film and a comic together with my fellow graduate Emil Friis Ernst. I hope that I will be able to publish my bachelor project and other comics in the future. Other than that, I don’t quite know. Illustration and printing, maybe.
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Simone Büchert
GRADUATION PROJECT: “CUT OUT” WEBSITE: SIMOBPORTFOLIO.TUMBLR.COM
“Cut Out” is a formally experimental 44 page comic. Give us the elevator pitch! - Joy is struggling with moving on after ending her relationship with Sal, and the reader can only help her cut out Sal from her life by cutting out certain panels of the comic. Complete this sentence: “You have to read this comic if ...” - want to change it! If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what it be? - Remember to do more stuff with your classmates, since its your last semester together. What’s next for you? - Short term plans: get some more work, play DND, make a wrestling comic? Long term plans: turn a house into a comic!
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MEET THE GRADUATES
Sofie Louise Dam GRADUATION PROJECT: “FORTRESS” WEBSITE: SOFIELOUISEDAM.TUMBLR.COM
In “Fortress”, you cover a dark chapter of Danish history. Tell us more! - In 1917, Denmark sold their Caribbean colony the Danish Westindies to USA for $25 million in gold. The territory was renamed The Virgin Islands, and the era of Danish colonial exploits vanished from the collective memory of this people of the North. A 100 years later, I travel to The Virgin Islands to meet with Khury, an activist from Boston, whose enslaved ancestors were the property of the Danish Petersen family. Finish this sentence: “You have to read this comic if ...” - you want to see my first fumbling attempt at channeling my love for narrative podcasts into an indie comic! What aspect of the project are you most proud of? - The journalistic approach. I am so proud that I threw myself into this mad project, including field research, world travel and interviewing strangers on the street, knowing that I am a quite introverted and
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shy person – even if it stems from youthful overconfidence and delusions of grandeur rather than a deliberate decision to challenge myself. If you could travel back in time to the beginning of the project and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? - Doing a project that is both politically and racially sensitive in its nature has from the beginning made me very aware of its pitfalls – so much that it has often made me afraid to move! I would advise myself to worry less and act more and to welcome the blows that come from being honest about who I am. What’s next for you? - So far, it looks like my immediate dreams might come true: Working with writers, drawing comics. I am drawing a picture book and have a couple other comic book projects on the way… I also hope to work more with the subject matter from my bachelor comic in one form or another.
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MEET THE GRADUATES
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Angelica Inigo Jørgensen, GS15
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BUILDING
MEET THE GRADUATES
WORLDS WORLD BUILDING IS A POWERFUL TOOL TO UNLOCK POTENTIAL STORIES, CHARACTERS AND OTHER FICTIONAL EXPLOITS THAT COMMUNICATE TO PEOPLE GLOBALLY! •
Learn about world building by working on fictional worlds and gain understading of what a Story World is and can be
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World building as a storytelling device/tool. What kind of stories does this tool lend itself to? Mining the world for story seeds
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Lectures on human behavior, religion, cultures and history
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Character design, elements of design, visual communication and visual storytelling
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Pitch sessions with professionals such as broadcasters, toy manufacturers, producers and publishers
Find more information at www.animwork.dk
Illustartion by Morten Solgaard Pedersen
STORYBOARD ARE YOU A JUNIOR ANIMATION PROFESSIONAL LOOKING FOR A WAY TO SPECIALISE IN STORYBOARDING? THEN THIS SEMESTER COURSE IS WHAT YOU NEED! We provide:
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Cecilie “Q” Maintz Thorsen, GS15
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An intensive course developed with the help of industry professionals
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instructors brought in from animation studios around the world specifically for the Storyboard course
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Hands-on teaching and practice every day from morning to afternoon
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12 weeks immersed in a highly creative and social environment
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Instructors: JOHN COVEN (Captain America: Civil War, X-Men) JOHN NEVAREZ (Cars 2, Inside Out) SAM ALDEN (Adventure Time)
Find more information at www.animwork.dk
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Illustration by Niels Dolmer
MEET THE GRADUATES
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