Comic Studio Journals

Alex McCarthy
Catherine Reda
Claire Higgins
David Hanson
Eve Acton
Harriet McDevitt-Smith
Jack Davis
Jay Ottewell
Ken Hughes
Laura McNulty
Lorna Diep
Luke Bryant
Ricky Lowe
Ryan Perrett
Sammy Borras
Shazia Jubeen

Alex McCarthy

At the scheme I learn new experiences one of them was to do inking , which I’ve never done before. I also improved my drawing skills a bit and learn to do a presentation, which I never done before. Also the experience of making a comic book is great. I learned how to do the layout of the comic properly. I heard about it because Hi8us sent me an email telling me about the competition. I did entry the competition a year ago but the age range was over 16. Now it’s 14-19. When I heard I got a place I was excited, because I love my art and just thinking of it going in a comic book is really great. . I also I never won anything before.
We had to learn comic layout, when speech bubbles go in and inking. I did leanr the layouts, not the bubbles. I found the inking to be very hard, using the brush, but I found inking with the pen easier.
The comic was about a shape changing blob with a top hat and everybody sat and came up with that idea. Then we thought of him going into a different world and each page is a different world. We all had a page each. So we came up with our own idea for different worlds for our one page. My is about the Blob in an fairy land, but he’s lost in it so a fairy comes to him. He sees her with wings, so he charges into. The fairy then tries to fly, hes hat too big for him. Now hes a small fairy, takes off hat, he flys,  close his eyes while flying then hits a left then falls in the hat.  That was my page other people had different ideas. I liked making the comic book page and learning new skills. I want from this experience is to get more experience in comics and this experience will help getting a job  as a cartoonist. The next thing I am doing is entering a competition for Japan, to go to Japan. 

Catherine Reda 'My Mum is my superhero! :D'

I heard about the Stripsearch scheme through Jemima Cattel who e-mailed me to say that Hi8us had received funding to go ahead with the project. I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the comic industry and so started drawing four pages of comic strip straight away.
When I got a place on the scheme, I was really happy. I hoped to see how a comic was created from start to finish, and learn lots from professionals and the others chosen for the scheme too.
I really have learnt a lot; from tips on perspective to inking my own artwork with a brush. I’ve also learnt that it’s a lot more possible to become a comic artist than I previously thought – you just have to be confident in yourself and your work.
From the scheme, I have created one page of comic art to be printed in a comic book along with everyone else’s work. I’ve also helped with the promotional flyer by producing a drawing for it.
What I liked most about the scheme was meeting other people around my age who were also interested in drawing. I saw other styles of drawing, and also improved my own work by taking advice from John and Asia.
There isn’t much I didn’t like about the scheme – it was really enjoyable. I suppose if I had to choose one thing, I’d say that I wish I could have done more than one page of artwork! Now I’m just going to keep on drawing comics and do my best in art at school too. I think what Laura said was a really good idea – to produce a comic strip every day of the month.

Claire Higgins 'LONG LIVE COOKIES AND CAKE!!!!'

I first heard about this course in the Birmingham Mail, and thought; ‘Wow, this sounds just what I’m looking for!’ after sending off my entry and receiving a place, I was excited to finally meet some people that shared an interest in the same thing as me, and also the opportunity to learn from some professional comic artists the tips of the trade.
I hoped to learn mainly about all the different aspects of making a comic, from scripting it, to drawing, inking and the final outcome, also picking up some useful drawing tips along the way.
Throughout this course I have learnt how to come up with appealing layouts for my comic and how to structure it in the right way. I have also learnt how to ink properly and a little about the digital side to the whole process, and how many different stages there are to producing the final outcome of the work.
The end result was one page of art work contributing to a collection of stories centring around the character of ‘The Blob’. I liked the whole experience of learning how to successfully put a comic together, and developing the know how of how to structure it and be selective about which images to put in and what should go where. This course has been a real eye opener into the world of making comics, and the help from the professionals and guest speakers has been invaluable.

David Hanson 'This is the beginning, imagine the end?'

Throughout the scheme I have learnt how to produce a comic strip by a certain process called inking. The process itself is uncomfortable at first but with some spare time on your hands possible to master. On the scheme I have met a lot of new people and have been introduced to some quality professionals and witnessed some incredible work. As I am learning new techniques and skills it only pushes me forward and prepares me for future experiences.
I think it’s definitely a bonus for being selected for this scheme as there was a wide range of teenagers competing to get here and luckily I was chosen. I would like to say many thanks to all members of staff to make help this happen.

Eve Acton [/Sarcasm]

I was told about the course by a friend who found the article in the Birmingham Mail, and together we both decided to give it a go!  At first I thought that the course would be exclusively for artists, and as a writer this worried me.  But I was soon informed by one of the professionals that we would also receive a master class in scriptwriting.
During the course I hoped to learn more about scriptwriting, as well as about anatomy and perspective to improve my drawing abilities.  Generally, these were all met and I do feel that my art has improved in some way. However, I would have loved to have been taught how to do the digital side of comic writing on Photoshop and was disappointed when we only had one session on it =[ My experience with the course has definitely been memorable and I have learned some valuable skills!  The professionals were all helpful and down to earth, ready to give us a hand and some ‘helpful’ criticism wherever it was needed.  I’ve made some great new friends and won’t forget what the course has taught me.

Harriet McDevitt-Smith 'Join me Link, and I will make you the greatest face in Coridai. Or else you will DIE!'

So, you want me to right a journal huh? Er. Okay! Well, first, I found out about this when somebody I regard as one of my favourite people who ever lived sent me a letter. It asked me to apply, so I did. My first impression was “Okay, this is either going to be a gateway to comic related success or a room full of comic book nerds lacking in social life”. To be honest, I don’t really know how much I have actually learnt here but I DO know that if I am to full fill my life long (when I say lifelong, I mean 3 1/2 year long) dream, I’ll have to do it in a very, very unconventional way indeed.  
However, I was slightly baffled to find that, considering we were amongst “professionals” Otaku’s And Comic Book fanatics alike, they best we could come up with were a blob wearing a top hat.
But, I must say, if it were not for the convenient location of this course, I would never have found out about Matthew Boulton College, which I hopefully will get into for my further education next year so TAKE THAT COMPREHENSIVE HELL SCHOOLS OF WALSALL!
So, now that leads me to the “what’s going to happen next” section. Well, taking over the world would be nice, so would marrying David Tennant, or being responsible for the first didgeridoo concert on the moon. So, I’ll try the slightly easier (by comparison) option of becoming a successful animator (find my fame on Youtube, then work my way upwards). But, if all else fails, I can always open a café the specialises is crepes.

Jack Davis

I first heard about the scheme a little over three years ago. On the internet and general press.
I thought the scheme would provide an exciting outlet for my personal development as a comic book artist. I was elated to get a place, and really excited to get to work with professional artists.
I hoped to learn some of the basics about narrative structure, storytelling and in general being a better artist. I learnt about the compositions of panels and the important of their content. The importance of editing and the necessity of a collaborative effort.
I have created a - ‘period piece, time shifting, Blob ‘riffing’, rip roaring tale of revenge, without all the revenge.’ I mostly like my inking  and how I have placed the characters in the story, hopefully giving the characters some sense of atmosphere and importance. I didn’t like the concept of one page storytelling, at least in my work I haven’t been used to it. Hopefully it has helped me become a better storyteller, because it has taken me out of a comfort zone and in all honesty stretched me. This really for me boiled down to- if I don’t tell one bit of story correctly, I don’t have the safety net of just putting another page or panel in when a story does not work, with one page stories everything is scrutinized, there’s no space for a really bad drawing.
I want some gained knowledge, feedback, ideas for future stories and work to show to people. What I am doing next is short stories, hopefully putting together a show reel type book. Lots more drawing and grafting to draw better hand drawings.

Jay Ottewell 'Randomly Enthusiastic!'

I first herd about the scheme when I took an opportunity to go to my Walsall art gallery as I herd there was some sort of expedition being held, and comic artist would be there. So I went there and met a comic artist named Hunt Emerson, so we had a chat, and he then suggested something to me called "Hi8us" and "Strip-search" I was soon enthusiastic and had a research and e-mailed someone named Jemima Cattel. She then put me forward to the Scheme, called Comic Studio Juniors, and from then on I would change…
I initially thought it was where they choose a group of kids and we produce a comic book and that's it. However its not. It also introduces how the production a comic works ect. So I handed in my submission and I got a place! I was ecstatic! Id hope to learn all of what it took to be a comic book artist, and hoped to learn something from the very professionals (Hunt, John, Andy ect)  and to know how the comic industry works and see the production line of a comic book.
From this, I learned loads from the scheme and got the best advice given to me, such as, how perspective works and what angles are best suited within panels of a comic book/strip. And get some good advice on inking and other tools, such as, using tipex. In various ways to enhance my work, as John McCrea suggested to me and amongst many others.
Out of this whole scheme I have created, amongst many others, a page comic strip of my own story line to that strip. I have also drawn the front cover and inked it, of my idea. And finally a blob drawing that is my "calling card" for people to be drawn in to the expedition.
Throughout this scheme I have thoroughly enjoyed making new friends! Who actually like comics ect. And working with new people and enjoying the fun activities that we had done at the begging of the scheme. Also getting advice and inspiration to do better from comic artists, and meeting two comic artists from strip-search one and two. I didn't like taking in advice and criticism from comic artists fro improvement as that sort of knocked my confidence down, however, I thank them for doing so as it helped my work and I took all advice on board which rebooted my confidence as we had more sessions as I got used to the criticism. From this scheme I would like advice, guidance and improvement and confidence  within my work and myself which will give me more confidence for me! 
Next I plan to do more portfolio work than I did before and do more comic strips than  I did before, and hopefully put those comic strips together and make a small comic book and post it out there! In many ways possible for my work to be recognised. Also go to as many expeditions/conventions as possible!  And meet artist, producers, writers ect to get my work recognised more by showing my portfolio. Also I'm planning or doing at the moment is getting a friend of mine, not involved in scheme, who is interested in comics to write me scripts for comic strips so my work can get done more and get more ideas and originality flowing thorough my work.

Ken Hughes 'I’ll never stop drawing; my only wish is that someone is still there to see the progress…'

My expectations were fulfilled, participating with so many young, talented like-minded people and professionals that changed my perception on drawing and the development of the page. Each of us has an individual style that contributed to the creative storytelling of a versatile character, something I would do again with possibly more characters and input from the group, leading to additional issues or anthologies.
My duty as chair representative meant acting as one of the spokespersons for Comic Studio 2008, arranging a studio session was a new experience, also the opportunity to organize an exhibition, which is a valuable skill for future work. This is something that I will recall when creating my own comic, which will be online on a website that I am currently developing.

Laura McNulty

I first heard about the course from Sammy (who is also on the course) 2 days before the deadline. It sounded like an amazing opportunity to learn invaluable skills that are essential for comic creation, who would pass up an opportunity to be taught and hear about the comics industry from the professionals themselves? Over the past year Sammy and I have been collaborating as an artist (Sammy) and writer (me) entering competitions such as Neo’s manga competition, and Rising stars of manga, as well as just working on comics to improve our skills. Therefore with this, I frantically created a 2 page comic and sent it to Hi8us. I thought as my drawing skills were not as good as my writing skills, I would not got a place on the course, as it seemed to focus on artists. So when I got an email saying I’d gotten in, I jumped up and screamed with joy…I was in the middle of tutorial and we were sorting out our university places, so when my teacher heard me shout that I’d gotten in she congratulated me and asked what university had accepted me. I laughed in her face and told her about the course, she turned her nose up and lectured me that comics is a kids thing and to focus on getting a proper job. So this is another reason why this course is so amazing, you meet like minded people, and people who work in the industry, they won’t belittle you for wanting to be a comic artist, and instead they encourage you.
The course taught me more about the industry itself and how to get into it. It was also really interesting hearing how the professionals had got into comics, as everyone’s stories are very different and it also helps give perspective to where they are and you are. Hearing from Asia Alfrasi and Laura Howell was also really inspirational and informative as they are past strip searchers and have gone on to win competitions like Manga Jiman and publish comics, so it shows that the course has helped push them into the industry.
The artistic skills I learnt were firstly, inking with a brush, I always thought a brush was for painting, so when they first said we were going to do this I raised my eyebrows. But it is in fact a really important skill to have, it teaches you precision and technique, as it is possibly the most difficult tool to ink with, once mastered you can in theory use anything. I also learnt how to touch up our work digitally using Photoshop; creating speech bubbles; and create a finished comic using software packages to compile the comic pages together ready for print, which will be very useful when creating my own comics. We also learnt about print sizes, panelling, bleed and trims, scripting and also the professionals would come round and talk one to one with us, meaning that if you were struggling with something or wanted to learn something they would support you on a one to one basis, which it’s not every day you can ask an professional how to draw something, so take advantage of this! From this I learnt about foregrounds and backgrounds, how to draw the readers eye to certain things, the magic of using a blue crayon instead of a pencil for sketching, perspective and also the magic of tippex!
The final product of this course is a 20 page comic anthology centred around a character we as a group created. We each draw a page of original story; this is where all the skills we learnt came into practice. It was challenging working on A3 as I like draw quite small, so I found I had a lot of empty space, so this was challenging but practice makes prefect. It is an amazing feeling to have a comic produced and printed. And it’s so shiny!
I’m truly glad that I went on this course as I am now trying to hold my own in not just writing but also drawing as well therefore it will increase my employability in the future. I would urge anyone who wants to be a comic artist in the future to join this course. Currently Sammy and I are working on our Rising stars of manga entry, and I am also in the process of scripting another manga which will hopefully become an online manga or self published.
In September I will be going to university to study Japanese and English language. As I have done it for 7 years and do not want to stop it just yet. I will still be continuing on my journey to be a manga-ka as you don’t need an art qualification to be an artist (if anyone has heard of Emma Vicelli and Sonia Leong) they haven’t had any formal art education, they were passionate about drawing and are now very successful in this industry. So even if you are not doing an art course but are passionate, still continue to work hard and try this course out!
I would like a career in the comics industry either here or in Japan, but as it is extremely competitive I will also be using my skills in the translation and journalism industry. Lastly I would like to thank everybody who made this course possible, so thanks to Hi8us, Jemima, John, Hunt, Andy. David, Asia, Laura, media box and everyone I have missed out. It was truly an amazing experience full of enjoyment and information, so thank you.

Lorna Diep 'You crack me up, you’re really intelligent but you act like a little five year old'

I heard about the scheme through an online art blog, and previous knowledge of the stripsearchers program. It came as a slight surprise when I got notified of a place, as I didn’t expect I would get a place, I was sort of in a “50/50, don’t know unless you try” type of feeling, but I was quite happy when I realised I had got in.
There was more people than I expected when I walk through the door, but not really nerve wrecking since everyone was really nice, including the organisers who tried to break the ice for us. I quite like everyone in the group, it gave me the chance to meet people with similar interests.
During the course itself, I created a comic page to a story we had all agreed upon, I learnt various things and tried out stuff I’d knew about before, but hadn’t really worked on or experimented with. Things like brush inking and building quicker, bigger impact layouts and altering images and texts to fit the page best, with the help and advice from professionals throughout.
I really liked the course overall. It was informative and a good way of meeting like minded people. It showed me through processes I wasn’t sure about before, I would definitely recommend it to others, and it encourages teamwork as well as individual skills! You never know unless you try! Hopefully I’ll be doing more practicing in the upcoming future, with a bit more knowledge and experience to draw from, no pun intended  :P .. well, heh
Anyway, I cant wait for the finished product, where everyone’s work it put together. I’d probably keep a copy under my bed 20 years on that I could photocopy, hand out to little kiddies and boast about haha. 

Luke Bryant

I heard about this course/scheme from my connections helper, when she told me about it I was well excited I couldn’t believe there was a course /scheme like this. I thought there would never be a chance like this before I heard about it. When I got the place I was so stoked I was literally gob smacked it was so unexpected, when I got there everyone was so nervous but being really friendly with one another. I hoped that on this course it would build my skills higher and going through this course my skills have grown it’s been awesome. When we first started we showed are art work then moved onto comic drawing and inking and by doing so I have created my own page in a comic which is truly awesome. Vie liked most of the scheme so far all the friends I have made, meeting the pro’s but what I didn’t like is …… well imp not sure really it’s been cool so far. What I hope to get from this is a job that my skills will be mostly used in what I do next is anybody guese I hope I can find another course like this or take what I got and see were I get.

Ricky Lowe 'I can’t keep a straight face'

I first heard about the scheme through the Evening Mail, where I found out the basic information on the scheme. When I found out I got a place I was on top of the world and it took mom a whole week to get me down. After I slowed down I started to wonder what I would learn, things like improving the quality of my work and to create a comic book. The best thing I learned was how to ink and was amazed on how to do it. Using all my new skills I eventually produced a page worth of my work, which would be put into the final comic book. I liked learning skills, not only on paper but also on the computer. I didn’t like having to do my work in black and white, as colouring is one of my best skills. I was hoping for doors to open in the world of work. I am hoping to get all of my GCSE’s and then later become a comic designer or work in other arts.

Ryan Perrett 'if your bored than start to draw'

I heard about the scheme from my Nan who heard it on the radio, I thought that this would be a good way to improve my skills and hopefully lean some new ones.
When I learned that I was on the scheme I was at a supermarket at the time, I felt like I was on cloud nine. I hoped to lean skills like inking and story telling, I leant all this and more as I leaned how to do thump nail drawings and character design. I am pride at what we have crated and I hope this is the first of many comics I do. What I liked about the scheme is that I have made a comic, helped design a character and I have meet some super artist. I hope this is the first stepping-stone for me as an illustrator.

Sammy Borras

My friend Laura and I have been creating our own stories and cartoons together for a long time. Last year we collaborated together and entered several manga competitions. I usually illustrate the stories which Laura writes. When I found out about the course I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to learn more about creating comics. I really wanted to attend the course so in the few days I had left before the deadline I used up all my free time working on a 4 page comic to submit to the course. When I found out I’d got on the course I was really excited but the best thing was my friend Laura had also gained a place.
Drawing comics is something I’d really love to do professionally so I was hoping learn more about the comics industry and any new techniques. I found it very interesting learning how to ink using a brush. It was very difficult to start with but it’s become easier with lots of practice.
The course involved creating 1 page of a comic which we had to write, draw and ink ourselves. I usually only illustrate the comics which Laura writes so I found writing the comic interesting. After writing my page for the course I have been writing and drawing more small comics of about 5 pages each. I’ve been finding writing much easier thanks to the tips and advice which where given on the course. The other great thing about the course has been meeting new people who also have an interest in reading and creating comics. It’s been a great way to make new friends. All the people running the course have been really supportive. I’ve really enjoyed this course and I recommend it to anyone who’s interested in creating comics.
After the course is finished I will continue to create comics in my free time. This year I’m planning to enter some more competitions with Laura. I find it’s a lot of fun working on comics with a friend instead of working alone. Entering competitions means we often have to work to specific technical guidelines as well as a deadline so it’s great for practice. In September I’m hoping to start studying illustration at university. I would love to someday be illustrating comics professionally.

Shazia Jubeen ' Marry Me? ;’D '

I heard about the scheme through my course tutor as she kenw I was interested in  comics/manga. When I got a place on the scheme I was really happy I actually jumped with joy. I hoped that on the scheme I learned about different inking techniques and in the end I did end up learning about the different techniques as well as comic page layouts, and a bit about scripting. I also liked getting my work critiqued which helped me improve with my drawings. On the scheme I created an A3 page size of a comi9c which I didn’t like the end results but it still looked good. What I liked the most from the scheme was that I got to meet other comic artists and people of my age group who shared the same interests as me.  I also liked the free chocolate from the course, it kept me very happy. The only thing I didn’t like about the course was getting up early on a satruday and catching the bus, it took me about 30-45 minutes to get to the location where the sessions where being held. What I wanted to get from the scheme was to meet other people and makes new friends as well as get back in to the habit which it has done. After this course finished I plan on looking at more universities for the course I want to do and carry on with my college work. I also hope to meet up with the people I met on the scheme, and continue to keep in contact with them.

For more information about Hi8us, StripSearchers Scheme or to contact one of the Artists please contact Jemima Cattel on 0121 753 7700 or jemima@hi8us.co.uk

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