Appearances

• Duration: 90 minutes + question and answer period
• Number of attendees: Up to 30
• For ages:13 +
• Materials needed: Paper flipchart, markers, Computer, LCD Projector and screen
• Fee: $200.00 + mileage (past 50 miles from Kalamazoo)
• Downloadable Contract (PDF, 40K)
• Download my brochure (PDF, 5MB)

Today, some of the most groundbreaking and interesting comics are minicomics: small, photocopied digests of a creator's work. Minicomics are also gaining in popularity as an easy way to showcase your stories and characters, and make it easier for you to "break in" to the comics field.

In this presentation, I show the attendees how to make a minicomic from start to finish. We begin with how to lay out the book and write the story, then move to the artwork: how to pencil and ink the pages, letter the word balloons and add sound effects, and then design the final templates for photocopying the finished product.

Typically, I talk for the first forty minutes, then walk the attendees through the process of making the comics. While the attendees work, I provide tips and tricks for pencilling and inking, and talk about the tools and art supplies used to create professional comics.

• a sharpened pencil with eraser (or separate eraser)
• a non-ballpoint black ink pen (fine-line sharpies or felt-tip pens are perfect)
• ten sheets of plain white typing/printer paper
• one pair of scissors per table
• one stapler per table

• Duration: 90 minutes + question and answer period
• Number of attendees: Unlimited
• For ages:13 +
• Materials needed: Paper flipchart, markers, Computer, LCD Projector and screen
• Fee: $350.00 + mileage (past 50 miles from Kalamazoo)
• Download my brochure (PDF, 5MB)

This speech is a team effort with Jim Ottaviani, award-winning creator of the G.T. Labs series of graphic novels, including Levitation, Wire Mothers, Suspended in Language and Fallout.

Together, Jim and I talk about comics, their history and how they work. Jim provides information on comic theory and Sequential Art, discusses the difference between commercially-produced and creator-produced comic books, and talks about how a writer can produce a workable script for an artist.

Building on Jim's information, I provide an artist's perspective, doing a brief run-through of the techniques needed to pencil, ink, color and letter a page, and then talk about how an artist takes a writer's script and turns it into the finished comic.

After we've both lectured for a bit, we pull the audience into the act by polling them for ideas and producing a quick comics page "on the fly", using the techniques we've just discussed.

• Duration: 90 minutes + question and answer period

• Number of attendees: Unlimited
• For ages:13 +
• Materials needed: Computer, LCD Projector and screen
• Fee: $400.00 + mileage (past 50 miles from Kalamazoo)

Two comics creators -- two different perspectives! In this presentation, I team up with my husband Paul Sizer, creator of Little White Mouse, to show the similarities and differences between our creative processes. We both make comics, but we each use different methods, styles and materials.

Using a Powerpoint presentation as well as physical examples of our art, Paul and I walk the attendees through the processes we use to create our own comics. We start with our scripts and sketches, and end with finished, lettered pages, and talk about why we choose one specific tool or method over another. Since Paul's finalized art is colored digitally, this talk can also include a live demonstration of Photoshop coloring using a computer tablet.

We also leave room for a long question-and-answer period -- attendees are encouraged to ask questions on everything from copyrighting a character to choosing the right type of eraser.