Pop Art has been swinging into our hearts well before radioactive spiders and amazon warriors! In this one-day workshop, we will explore the origins and influences of the Pop Art movement; and learn the key skills used to create our own superhero comic book artworks! Captured in everything from Run DMC to South Park; Into the Spiderverse right to how we interact with political and world history – Pop Art is far reaching, we’ll be taking a holistic look at the movement, and developing our technical drawing methods to design and create art that POPS!

Comic books cast a wider net than just the Hollywood blockbusters many know them as today, these methods of storytelling marry text and image in new and evocative ways to tell stories bigger than us, from Maus to Persepolis – right to political cartoons like those seen in the New Yorker. We will explore Ukiyo-E; often hailed as the precursor to comic books, along with checking out the world of Manga and Manhwa.

If you’re a fan of Marvel, DC, Punk music or contemporary art, this class is for you!

Course Outline:

• Explore Pop Art, and counter-culture movement
• Create their own pop art poster
• Take part in group design activities and drawing games
• Develop creative vocabulary and learn the technical drawing skills required to bring comic book characters to life
• Explore comic book elements including storyboarding and creating dynamic panels
• Discover Comics from all over the world, from manga to manhwa right to Peanuts and Marvel
• Design and create their own comic book artworks, characters and scenes.

Learning Outcomes:

• Engage with technical drawing skills
• Character design
• Figure drawing
• Scenery rendering
• Foreshortening and forced perspective

What to bring:

• All materials provided although students are encouraged to bring favourite materials to work with.

About the Tutor:

'My name is Madi Martin, I’m a professional illustrator and founder of apparel and wearable art brand, MadDog Ink. I hold two art degrees, and am a qualified vocational educator with eight years of experience delivering fun and flexible art classes.

I create and design everything from pins to full scale artworks using both digital and traditional illustration methods, inspired by Anime and Pop Art – I’ve exhibited and sold my work everywhere from Broadway in Sydney to Wollongong Art Gallery, frequenting conventions and expos including Gamma in Canberra, and Oddities and Curiosities in Sydney!'

Other Information:

• To ensure resources are ready for you at the start of your course, we ask you ideally enrol at least one week before the course commences.
• All courses need a minimum number of students to run ("we try our hardest to get those") . If your course does not have enough students it will be cancelled before the commencement and you will be informed.