Studio Visit 2/8 - The Graphic Novel (20/03)

On Friday, March 20th, we hosted our second studio visit of the year.

We invited graphic English graphic novel artist Millie Green to share her work with us and run a mini-workshop introducing us to the art of graphic novel making. Thanks again for coming!

The artist’s process: Millie’s storyboard (above), and the inked version (below)

What we did

We spent three hours together, starting with breakfast, coffee, and catch-up conversation about our latest activities and inspirations (yes, that included pizza).

Our invited artist Millie Green opened up about her process, covering:

• The difference between a graphic novel and a comic book — and how much of that distinction comes down to marketing.

• How long it takes to make a comic book, and why: 18 months on average, from conception to completion.

• The parallels between comic books and cinema. While the two share similarities — storyboards, framing, dialogue — comics offer a uniquely dynamic reading experience, where you can flip back to earlier pages without losing the thread.

• An invitation to make our own comic book. Or at least start one.

Living our best lives: pizza and comic books for breakfast

Artists and scholars we looked at

Artists:

• Loes Faber — @loesfaberillustration

• Nora Vanhuychem — noravanhuychem.myportfolio.com

• Maria Luque — @maria.j.luque

• Chris Ware — drawnandquarterly.com

• Brecht Evens — brechtevens.com

• Alison Bechdel — @alisonbechdel

• Shaun Tan — shauntan.net

• Julie Doucet — juliedoucet.net

Scholars:

• Esther Szép — eszterszep.com

• Gareth Brookes — @garethbrookes

• Felipe Muhr — felipemuhr.com

Comic book–adjacent artists & illustrators:

• Yann Kebbi — yannkebbi.fr

• Marcel Dzama — @marceldzama

A selection of must-read graphic novels

A list of authors and influences

The results

• A comic book page in its early stages 🙂

• A richer understanding of what graphic novel artists do — and why

• A lively conversation among practicing artists about the medium of comics and related techniques

A walk through the countryside, by Pierre-Antoine Vettorello

The forgotten toothbruh, a one-page story by Virgile Demo

The cat from accross the street, by Karolina Dema

Participants

• Millie Green — graphic novel artist @green_by_nature

• Vera Horvath — painter verahorvath.com

• Pierre-Antoine Vetorello — scholar, sculptor & publisher pierreantoinev.com

Anything is possible: Millie showing graphic novels examples

What's next?

Artist, location, and date for our next studio visit will be announced soon — stay tuned!

We look forward to seeing you then.

Demo Dema