I was really excited about being able to teach there, and I had written up a blurb and advertised the class on both 826 Valencia's site and my Facebook page. The night before I spent hours collecting books, rehearsing my comics introduction, and drawing a comic strip that I photocopied during each step of the creation process as an example (See the steps below!) I also dragged my mom and my best friend on a CalTrain trip with me to go to my favorite art store (Accent Arts in Palo Alto - visit them!) to buy Copic multiliners and lettering guides.
The first step in the comic process I created for the class - making a quick, small sketch or "thumbnail" of your strip.
I was incredibly excited for the class, and the night before I couldn't go to sleep because I was envisioning myself inspiring 8 preteenagers to create their own comics! I imagined that 826 would love me and invite me back to teach a week-long course, and lo and behold, I’d go on to teacher fame! Yeahhh, I got a bit ahead of myself there. This is one of the reasons I have a hard time going to sleep – I’m a hopeless romantic and I’m always envisioning how things will turn out and they never, ever turn out that way. When I’m sick and at home, I always imagine my grand homecoming back to school from The Land of Influenza, showered with hugs from people who missed me dearly and...yeahhh, it doesn’t work out that way. Ever. (Okay, I’ll admit it, sometimes it does).
Anyway, on the day of the class I got there early to set up, drew out the panel borders for all 8 of my students' comics, got the books I'd brought as examples organized, distributed the art supplies I'd bought, and set up a camera so I could film the class.
The second step, sketching out your actual comic.
A little before 3:00 pm, the time my class was supposed to start, my first student, Landon, showed up with his mom just as I finished getting everything ready. We decided to wait for more students to show up before I started my introduction. We waited five minutes...10 minutes...15 minutes...20...finally, at 3:30, I decided I’d start the introduction. Aw geez, I thought, I’ve only got one student! I had been hoping that everyone was just really late, but by then it dawned on me that not a single one of the 7 other students were going to show up.
As Landon moved from planning to drawing his comic strip -- which was really funny! -- I chatted a lot with both him and his mother. By then I felt really calm. I thought, If he gets a great comic out of the class, then I'm happy. I was silly for being all depressed earlier!
Then when I was cleaning up all the materials that hadn’t been used and my dad came and he was wondering why 7 of the spots hadn’t been occupied. I couldn’t say anything in front of the TA (“yes, no one showed up”) because I didn’t want to seem ungrateful. I started getting really sad thinking about how I had been imagining this amazing class and it hadn’t worked out that way. My dad tried to take me to my favorite ice cream shop, Humphrey Slocombe, (go there for the bourbon-cornflake ice cream but not on a day when the line’s excruciatingly long), but I couldn’t stand the wait and when I got home I didn’t want to talk to anyone.
The final step, inking your comic!
Then the sun broke through the clouds (metaphorically, though, ’cause it was sunny and scorching) when I got an email from Landon’s mom, Susan. She told me that since it was such a nice day out Landon had wanted to stay home and not attend my class, but she had been trying to stress the importance of keeping commitments and made him go. Landon had a great time at the class and even used the supplies and techniques I'd given him to make another comic that very night! Awwww!
This made me feel like it had all been worth it! Now I'm going to try again and teach another class in the fall. Hopefully it won't be sunny then and I'll have a full class roster! (We decided the gorgeous weather that day was the reason I had so many no-shows).
Landon -- thank you for keeping your word and coming to my class. I hope you keep on drawing!
Susan -- Thank you for your lovely note. Here’s hoping it’ll be rainy next time I teach my class! No, not rain, that’ll keep kids indoors, too…fog then! It’s San Francisco, so that shouldn’t be a problem, right?
you were lucky not everyone showedup. you got a chance to teach someone one on one vs a packed class. and you got a chance to know these 2 nice people. Every time you teach, you gain skills. So no matter who shows up, you gain as a teacher. And this kid got some inspiration to draw. Teaching someone to express themself is quite something great.
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