suggestions for lesson plan for teaching kids to draw manga

bluebird47 · Post by **bluebird47** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 23:24

i'm teaching this class on next saturday, its gonna last 4 saturdays in total. i have to teach a small group, maybe 3-4 kids ages around 10-12 introducing manga and how to draw a manga, hopefully get them to produce a small one by the end of the course. problems i can think of are, the small amount of time i have, since drawing manga requires studying a lot, such as anatomy and such. classes last 2 hours.

well its an art class, so it's to promote creativity. any of u done something similar? mines is part time, they pay quite a lot too, but i have to make it part time coz i accepted another job.

Bugle/Hawk'M · Post by **Bugle/Hawk'M** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 18:32

Hmm, I'd think for the first class you could show them some examples and maybe walk them through how it could be done. The second you could get them to write the story they want to do and plan how they are going to do the paneling. The third they could draw it out, and the last class they could finalize it with inking and stuff. I guess that is how I'd do it, but I dunno. I'm don't know much about kids. The first class might just bore them to death if you do it my way, unless you get them involved somehow.

bluebird47 · Post by **bluebird47** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 23:37

thanks for replying!

as u know, drawing takes a long time, and if they're to produce even a 4 page comic by the end of 4 weeks, it's not going to be enough time if i leave them to draw in one lesson.. hrmm. anyway, i guess i'll figure this out on my own [right now] need to submit my plan. [it'll be flexible].

Gojira · Post by **Gojira** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 21:30

If it's 4 lessons for 4 pages, you might want to have them draw a page per lesson. Then for the final evaluation you're just seeing how it evolves over 4 pages as they learn how to do it better. It'd be easier on them than having to save the entire four pages for the final lesson. If it has to be submitted after the fourth week instead of on it you could just assign each page as homework.

As for what to teach them, I can't be much help there. I never learned how to draw by conventional means; it was all just getting a feeling for what looks right and what looks wrong. I don't know, maybe you could try to get them to think about what looks right and wrong to them by showing them examples and proper techniques. Anyway good luck.

Post by **SonicTempest** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 22:47

My vague idea of how something like that could work in 4 sessions:
Lesson 1 - basic figures
Lesson 2 - facial features/expressions
Lesson 3 - storyboarding
Lesson 4 - shading?
With homework every week for each one like Gojira suggested.

bluebird47 · Post by **bluebird47** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 05:23

thanks for the input. i'm going to talk to them a bit on the first day see how good their basic skills are first, then from there see how much time i need to explain how to DRAW. if anything i'll only teach the basics of human faces and anatomy proportions and theories of comics. i'm going to do it at my lunch break. im working in my new job, first day! congrats to me.

ctrl+awesome · Post by **ctrl+awesome** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 07:01

Any particular reason you choose manga?
I'd just be sure to express to them that manga is just one of countless styles, and that all styles are abstractions from a solid unerstanding of nature.

You have a daunting amount of work to expect from them in only four weeks especially considering that you don't even know if they can draw or have a real desire to do such things. Bugle made a great suggestion to show them some great examples, this may

or interest some to want to get into what you're teaching. Starting off with basic shapes is a good start, habits to practice drawing perfect elipses on and on and on and on is something commonly taught to beginning artist and pros still constantly do it.

I don't know if your objective is to purely to make them produce a comic and thats all or if it's to really tech the understanding of what drawing is all about. There are a lot of things to learn before jumping into the comic universe without even touching rendering style. Perspective, proportions, line weight, and lighting just to name a few... More advanced topics like composition, good design, negative space and motion I would assume you would not be teaching right now. Four weeks, man thats not much time.

Well whatever you end up doing I wish the best of luck to you, it's really an amazeing expierence to teach. You yourself will learn so much going through the process. It really solidifies things to actually go over what you understand and then compose everything into words, expressions, anaolgies and understandings to terms for begeinners to understand who aren't quite to your level of things yet. If there is one thing you should get accross to your students is that the one and only real secret to becomeing a great artist is constant practice and challenge. If you can teach them to practice and truely learn from what their doing they can only get better with time. They will need some comfort and understanding in knowing that practice isn't twice a month or once a week, its everyday and that they should expect to go through thousands of sketchs and "trash" drawings of their own before they start realiseing they are progressing in skill. They should try and aim for a full sketch book once a month and then they shold move right on to the next one not stopping, they must keep going on.

bluebird47 · Post by **bluebird47** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 10:46

thx for the detailed input ck. i already wrote up a plan i think is brill. i wont post it here since its too detailed, but yeh i've incorporated a lot of examples, i'll be guiding them correctly and most importantly making it fun and make sure the kids bond and want to do it more on their own. practice is important and i'll pass that down to them.

anyway im at work brokering so i gatta go.