Creating Comics with Purpose
2 July – 6 August 2026
Over six weeks, you’ll take a deep dive into the world of purpose-led comics and discover how to turn your ideas into a finished comic story with comics creator and educator Cathy G Johnson.
You’ll begin by finding inspiration in the world around you, exploring the basics of comics, and building a creative sketchbook practice through brainstorming and observation.
As the course continues, you’ll experiment with visual storytelling, develop your narrative through research and feedback, and learn essential comic-making skills like scripting, thumbnailing, pencilling, and inking.
Along the way, you’ll collaborate with peers, strengthen your creative voice, and gain confidence in telling stories that matter to you. By the end of the course, you’ll have created your own original comic pages and built the skills, clarity, and momentum to continue your cartooning journey.
Whether you are new to comics, a comic enthusiast, or already working in comics and interested in learning how to craft comics as part of a purpose led practise, this course is for you.
Cathy G. Johnson (she/they) is an award-winning cartoonist, printmaker, and educator from Providence, Rhode Island, on occupied Wampanoag and Narragansett land.
Her published graphic novels include Jeremiah (2015), Gorgeous (2016), and The Breakaways (2019), with her newest book, Fox River Comics Camp, forthcoming from Abrams Fanfare in October 2026.
She is a printmaker who regularly exhibits silkscreen prints in juried exhibitions throughout North America. She creates work at Binch Press x Queer.Archive.Work, a cooperative studio centering queer and trans artists. Johnson is also an educator and scholar, teaching workshops throughout New England and courses in the MFA Visual Narrative program at Boston University, Center for Cartoon Studies, and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
She earned her master’s degree from RISD, where she wrote her thesis on the benefits of teaching comics creation in arts classrooms.
Find Cathy online at www.cathygjohn.net(opens in new window), and her education work is documented at www.comicarted.com.(opens in new window)
Session 1 - Thursday 2nd July, 5-7PM
Session 2 - Thursday 9th July, 5-7PM
Session 3- Thursday 16th July, 5-7PM
Session 4- Thursday 23rd July, 5-7PM
Session 5 - Thursday 30th July, 5-7PM
Session 6 - Thursday 6th August, 5-7PM
Week 1 – Inspiration
You’ll kick things off by finding inspiration everywhere around you! You’ll explore the basics of comics, discover powerful examples of purposeful storytelling, and grow your cartooning sketchbook practice through fun brainstorming exercises. As we wrap the week, you’ll have chosen a topic to focus on researching for creating your very own final comic!
Week 2 – Observation
In your second week, you’ll dive deeper into comics as an exciting visual storytelling medium! Through creative in-class exercises, you’ll practice bringing stories to life with images and ideas. You’ll explore the research you’ve gathered, uncover compelling directions to follow, and start shaping the heart of your story. By the end, you’ll have brainstormed key ideas for your final comic and narrowed your narrative into something uniquely yours.
Week 3 – Diving Deep
Your third week begins with peer-to-peer feedback on your final comic ideas and brainstorming work. You’ll dig deeper into your purpose, uncover the strongest parts of your story, and sharpen the focus of your narrative. You’ll also explore scripting and thumbnailing in comic storytelling, building the skills to map out your ideas visually. You’ll be creating thumbnails for your final comic story.
Week 4 – Storytelling
In week four, you’ll continue deepening your understanding of comics as a powerful storytelling medium. You’ll share and receive feedback, strengthen your creative ideas, and learn practical techniques for beginning your final comic art pages. You’ll start pencilling the final pages of your comic story.
Week 5 – Creating Process
In your second-to-last week together, you’ll share your work, receive peer feedback, and build momentum in your purpose-led cartooning journey. You’ll explore exciting demonstrations of inking techniques and colouring processes while learning how professional comic pages come to life. By the end of the week, you’ll begin finishing your final comic pages with ink.
Week 6 – What’s Next
You’ll wrap up your time together by exploring how to continue your purpose-led comics journey beyond the course! You’ll have learned practical skills for building a sustainable comic practice, gained confidence in your creative voice, and developed the clarity, knowledge, and understanding needed to craft comics with real purpose and impact.
Essential materials we recommend for this course include a sketchbook, bristol paper, pencils, pencil sharpener, ruler, pens, various sizes. Suggested: Pentel Pocket Brush Pen or Sakura Pigma Micron Pens
Nice to have materials include india ink with pen and nibs, watercolors and brushes, other colouring materials such as markers or coloured pencils.
We want our events to be inclusive and accessible. If you have any accessibility requests or questions, please email events@qbcentre.org.uk.
You can find out more about Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration’s facilities and accessibility: Access at the Centre. (opens in new window)
