This month, we’re bringing you something a little bit different for our monthly report: a summary of the SAW 2021 online survey that we sent out to members in August of this year. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming in the new year. In the meantime, keep an eye out on our social media for announcements about some upcoming projects we’re excited to share with you all!

Introduction

In March 2020 SAW transferred the majority of its programs online in response to pandemic health mandates. Since then our online membership has multiplied and we’ve initiated a number of new programs in response to needs we perceived from our students.

In August 2021 we invited members to respond to an online survey to help us evaluate our existing offerings and help us plan for 2022 and beyond. These questions asked how people are currently involved, how they would like to be involved in the future, what we’re doing well and what we could be doing better. We received 64 responses (roughly 10% of our online membership of the time).

The answers showed us that we are doing well at our mission to empower individuals to tell their own stories through comics and create a community of like-minded people who can offer peer-to-peer support. It also showed us that we have room for growth as we adjust to the specific-demands of virtual learning.

Overwhelmingly we can see that SAW is at a point where it can become many different things. It is no longer just an artist-run school in a small room in central Florida, it has become a platform for radical change to education models. This changes the role of SAWs staff from instigators to supporters who can shore up the framework, while our members bring the bricks to build the walls.

Key takeaways

Since the completion of this survey we have started to develop the following new initiatives in direct response to the feedback we received:

Monthly updates from the SAW team about what we’ve been working on;
An expression of interest form for members who want to volunteer or work with SAW;
A virtual suggestion box for people to share their ideas for SAW;
Committed to supporting member lead initiatives (i.e.: Wednesday night workshop, Procreate workshop, Sunday Open studios, the Publishing Procreate, etc.);
Weekly informal zoom calls with SAW instructions called Open Studios for members of the paid groups (i.e.: Graphic Novel Intensive, Comics Flow and Alumni Circle);
More synchronous learning opportunities (e.g.: Storytelling with Annie Mok, Story Boarding with Derek Ballard and We Believe in Comics Friday Night Workshops) and are working to bring mentoring opportunities with other professional artists in 2022;
Formalised our publishing program for 2022, committing to 5 separate anthologies from our paid groups;
With help from our volunteers, developing a student directory on our main website to share student work and shop information;
Creating a ‘Accessibility Best Practices Guide’ for formal SAW events and workshops, as well as for guidance in putting together new courses/resources.

In 2022 we plan to continue developing these initiatives as well as updating our website and strengthening our communication channels. We’re also seeking to invest in resources at our in person location in Gainesville, Florida to help support students coming together in a bricks-and-mortar space.

Responses

Question one

The top 3 responses indicated engagement through the free components of SAW including the Mighty Network community and community lead free activities such as the Wednesday workshops and Draw Jam.

Question two

The responses to the question of future workshops indicated a dominant interest in online synchronous short courses and online weekend intensives.

There were a number of single answer responses that indicated interest in specific skills programs including procreate, publishing and in person programs.

Several responses (3) indicated that they weren’t clear about what SAW offered and how they could engage going forward.

Question three

Question three asked online members to identify how they would describe what they’re interested in learning at SAW.

Seeking specific skills
Developing a Creative practice in comics
Connecting to an online community

Responses to question three overwhelmingly showed that people are interested in developing a creative practice in comics.

The singular answers indicated that respondents either

Identified with all three
Were seeking accountability to complete a project
Looking for guidance in getting their finished product into the world.

Question four

This question asked students to identify what specific skills they were interested in developing. The responses ranged across topics that are already offering in our current programs and indicated possible directions for future programs including:

Digital art making;
Drawing fundamentals;
Lettering;
Comics making fundamentals;
Comics production, publishing and marketing;
Character driven storytelling;
Sustaining comics art-making practice after the initial enthusiasm;
Short courses that offer resources from the year long program;
Advancing existing skills;
Writing humor.

Question five

The short answer responses to the question of what elements of the SAW community have been most valuable indicated that SAW offers a unique platform for interacting with other people who are passionate about comics, whether that’s peers, instructors or guest professionals.

Many responses mentioned the member-led activities such as the Wednesday workshops and Draw Jam as essential.

The “vast amount of learning materials” from within SAW and shared by other members offered opportunities for students to arrive at comics “in new and unexpected ways”.

For many the best outcomes were when they were given the opportunity to break into smaller, more intimate settings (e.g.: small group work for the year long program in 2020-21, the ongoing Graphic Memoir group).

Jeff Eggleston giving his free Retro Comics Workshop in Gainesville, Florida. Photo by Barry Sawicki.

Question six

This question yielded a lot of valuable feedback about how members perceive the community and learning materials could be improved. Below is a short summary of responses that were repeated and things that need urgent attention in our future programming:

Help and direction in navigating the Mighty Network and course materials;
Improving the quality of video materials in course resources including more demonstrations of particular skills (e.g.: drawing and inking) and attention to how our materials are adapted to different kinds of screens;
More synchronous learning opportunities, in particular small-group learning opportunities and mentorship;
Clarity about SAW membership and staff structure;
More publishing opportunities and wider distribution;
Directory of students including an optional shop to buy other students published work;
Formal structure given to live events;
Informal opportunities to connect with instructors live (e.g.: office hours);
Attention to making materials and events more accessible;
Clearer communication and follow up.

*The Rainbow Bridge: A SAW Graphic Memoir Anthology*, one of the anthologies published as part of the SAW publishing project in 2021.

Question seven

This question focused on how people stay informed about upcoming and ongoing news of SAW.

It’s important to note how much of this occurs within the Mighty Network and through email communication. One short answer mentioned announcements at the end of zoom calls helped remind them and stay engaged.

Question eight

Here we asked members to identify how they discovered SAW. The small answers almost exclusively indicated discovering SAW through Tom’s books (Rosalie Lightning and The Art of Graphic Memoir), and through recommendations from other organizations or individuals (namely Austin Kleon, Jessica Abel, The Believer, Women Unleashed and zine fairs).

This indicates how important it is for us to continue to foster relationships with other organizations who are aligned with our mission in comics and to continue investing in creating material that is seen by people beyond our existing community.

Conclusion

This survey offers valuable insights into SAWs current programming and future direction. While there were limited responses, so we can’t take this to be representative of every member's experience, it does demonstrate how members who regularly engage in our programs reflect on their own participation.

As we plan for 2022 and beyond, we will build in regular means of feedback from our students and members to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our community.

Happy comics making to you all!

- Emma @ SAW