Recent post excerpt from SAW Instructor Jess Ruliffson in our Six-Month Graphic Novel Intensive on process and creating “timeless and honest work that that sits on the waves of the shifting currents.”

Recent post excerpt from SAW Founder and Instructor, Tom Hart, in our Six-Month Graphic Novel Intensive on keeping characters consistent… or not. A discussion about the two extremes and the in-between. Read more.

You Know You're a Graphic Memoirist When... What do you have to say? Check out this exclusive post from one of our ongoing Online Intensive programs: SAW’s Graphic Memoir Intensive (led by Instructors Tom Hart and Beth Trembley)!

Our guest this month is Sophie Yanow! Tuesday August 31, 2021 @ 2PM EST! Sophie Yanow is an Eisner-winning cartoonist, memoirist, journalist, and educator whose work focuses on memory and truth, urban planning, theories of control, the militarization of policing, and negative space. Some of her graphic novels include The Contradictions, War of Streets and Houses, and What is a Glacier? Want to tune in? Read more to see how!

An article Tom Hart shared recently in our Graphic Memoir Intensive on GRIEF and how it affects us physically, mentally, and who we are. Check it out here.

We DO belong somewhere, but the "market" is cruel place. Very few belong there. I wouldn't recommend anyone try it, without a lot of research and planning, like wearing SCUBA gear… So, what should you focus on so you can sell your work?

I'm in Tom's Inner Critic course and tried my hand (and mind) at my Inner Critic interviewing me.

Have any of you tried it yet?

It was strange, but also very relieving. My inner critic is actually very easy to talk to!

I feel like thinking about these questions as if someone was actually asking me them and then answering them instead of just going straight into anxious mode helped me feel lighter. It was almost like self-therapy and it helped me detach myself from my inner critic.

Have you had trouble drawing hands? Hands can be hard! One of our students shared a PDF with resources that they use to help them draw hands and we’re here to share it with you!

Explore different types of narration in your comics, which styles do you tend to write in?

The Critic Asks:

“...Who do you think you are to try that, to do that, to attempt that, to show that...?

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” But the critic has no idea who you are. The critic only knows who you're not.

Our 2021 6 Month Graphic Novel Development Intensive is in its infancy but students are already diving into the material full blast and sharing themselves and their work with the SAW community. Here are just two of the talented artists in the 2021 Graphic Novel Intensive showcasing work they already contribute to the comics world.

What is your artist like? What is your WRITER like? How else are the two separate for you and what metaphors work for you?

Draw the critic. Have a dialogue with it. Talk to it. Pick it with pins. Visualizing the internal struggles we have usually helps (a little). You just gotta transfer your understanding and competence with finishing something you can typically finish to comics. Not your competence with the medium, just your competence with finishing.

Do You Ever Worry That You Won't Get it Right? Here are some thoughts from NY Bestselling Graphic Novelist and SAW Founder, Tom Hart.

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, either to get moving, or not realizing it is about to become a bigger thing. This is great, and it's encouraged! See more.

Check out what’s been going on at SAW recently! End of the 2020-2021 Year Long Program, Pro-Call Information, Friday Night Comics Reading, and more!

Do you struggle making a plan for yourself? Try making your OUTLINE. It can be as basic and rough as you’d like, just as long as you START IT!

An insight on the Artistic Process from Student and Graphic Novelist, Layne Glasgow.

See how Instructor Beth Trembley uses cards to brainstorm!

Wise words by Mentor, Elise Dietrich, in our Year-Long Intensive Program about the importance of making your work physical!