Episode 3 - On Early Drafts

We had THREE topics that were somewhat braided together:

1. A thought Jess had: Become more interested in DOING what you're doing than KNOWING what you're doing.

2. A quote I wrote down: "I often find myself writing long meandering first drafts, that drift around a bit before settling down into a state of baffling indecision." - George Saunders

The Terrible Anvil: Episode 2 - Lean into the worst. In the Comics FLOW + PUBLISH group we asked around: how do you lean in when the going gets weird? What parts are EXTRA UNFUN, and how do you navigate it?

We spoke on all these topics, as well as the role of ritual and community in answering these three questions. We cooked up ideas on how to make a home there in the ruins, being okay with badly-drawn hands, what to embrace when we're working.

Our next Pro-Call is with Tessa Hulls! Come join us in our most affordable, online ongoing-community SAW FLOW + PUBLISH MEMBERSHIP GROUP (comes with a two-week free trial) to join in on MONTHLY PRO-CALLS!

We bring in comic professionals from all walks of life to guest speak (virtually) at SAW. These guest speakers give SAW students/members some insight from their personal experiences throughout their comics career and welcome questions at the end of each session. Come join us!

Jess Ruliffson and I are starting our live discussion series, The Terrible Anvil, tomorrow , Jan 11, 2024 in the Sequential Artists Workshop Flow Community and this post is an invite (you can sign up for a free 2 week trial here: https://learn.sawcomics.org/courses/comics-flow-group )

SAW's favorite novelist on drafts, failure, and limitation as gift.

As a maker-writer, you may have a story in mind, the beginning of a story, the end of a story in mind—but rather than emphasizing the narrative arc, she places importance on the process of a “continual thickening until right shape emerges…”

Sowing, reaping, and resting in our art. A post by Jess Ruliffson.

One thing I seem to be thinking about a lot lately is how to make an "art budget" for a long form comic. Or even a short comic! In the SAW weekly meetings, sometimes we do short exercises.

Reading the Magic Treehouse graphic novel with my daughter I noticed some really nice pages, and thought I would point them out. Good visual communication and storytelling here!

I’ve been thinking about the ideas of Getting Seen and also Getting Good, and why we tend to worry about doing it in the “right” order. That is, we are so certain we have to be GOOD, BEFORE we are SEEN.

For anyone working on what feels like (or is) a "big idea" and not knowing how to start. OFTEN, a creator will make a small piece, not realizing it is about to become a bigger thing. This is great, and it's encouraged! Here are some examples:

We had such a productive week from our last in-person Visiting Artist Workshop led by award-winning cartoonist, Tommi Parrish @tommi_pg (and their dog, Cool Dog)! Here are only a few photos taken from the week demonstrating how Tommi created an atmosphere of looseness and play while having students work on a combination of book making, playing with different DIY printing techniques, painting with gouache, and more! Tommi finished the week off by giving an artist talk over at local, indie bookstore, Third House Books.

At the end of Tommi Parrish's (@tommi_pg) Week-Long Visiting Artist Workshop in the SAW Studio space, please join us for a FREE (in-person) Artist Talk with Tommi on October 20th at 7:30PM. This event will take place at local, indie bookstore @thirdhousebooks! We hope to see you there!

We're so excited to have cartoonist, Shelly Bond, for our next PRO-CALL! Join us in our most affordable, online ongoing-community SAW FLOW + PUBLISH MEMBERSHIP GROUP (comes with a two-week free trial) to join in on MONTHLY PRO-CALLS!

Starting October 7th, our regular Draw Jam on the first Saturday of the month will instead be a two day event for 24 hour comics day!

Mid-October, we are thrilled to have award-winning cartoonist, Tommi Parrish (@tommi_pg) lead a week-long Visiting Artist Workshop in the SAW Studio; our usual monthly Drink and Draw on October 19th at Boxcar hosted by SAW alums, Amy @sunshineblossoms and Elli @s0ftpillow; and a free artist talk with Tommi Parish at Third House Books @thirdhousebooks starting at 7:30PM on October 20th…

This fall we're bringing you some new and returning online classes from now through until December including Bootleggers Guide to Story Jess Ruliffson, Build Your Own Labyrinth with Matt Madden, Story Structure Basics and How to Use Them with Beth Trembley, and more!

If you missed our most recent *WE BELIEVE IN COMICS* Friday Night Workshop, catch the replay below! We had a great time with creator Nick Francis Potter who had us making comics without the bounds of reality.

Come check it out, and thanks for coming to the SAW Friday Night Workshops!

Check out Course Lab's latest podcast featuring Tom Hart on "Drawing New Conclusions." "Many course topics are believed to be “unteachable” online. Tom Hart teaches one of them — cartooning. Not only that, his school operates as a nonprofit. But despite bucking conventional wisdom in both ways, Tom’s school has been comically successful."

Upcoming IN-PERSON events for September 2023! Kicking off September, SAW alums host a FREE in-person Draw Jam on Sept. 2 in the SAW Studio (and on the first Saturday of every month)! Mid-September we have an in-person course with M.S. Harkness, a FREE Live Comics Reading, and a FREE Drink + Draw Jam @drinkndrawgnv. And starting at the end of September, teens can join us in the SAW Studio for 10 weeks of intensive comics-making for our Fall Open Studio with Carly Shooster @hunger_eating_munch!

Are you interested in finding out more about our 2023-2024 Comics Certificate Course? Join us on Zoom, Monday August 28 @ 2 PM EDT, for our SAW Certificate Course Live Q+A!

Taking the chance to celebrate SAW online Alum, Angeli Rafer! The middle grade book she drew, 'Ghosts Don’t Eat Potato Chips came out this week withScholastic! Woo! Don't forget to let us know about your comics wins in the big, bad world outside the network! We want to hear about it!