Official Press Release

MoCCA’s June Comics and Animation Classes start Monday June 6th!

NEW YORK (May 21, 2011) – The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art – MoCCA – is proud to announce the June offerings from its Adult Education Department, organized and headed by Senior Vice-President of Education, Danny Fingeroth:

(1) Back and expanded to 4 sessions!
HOW TO DO STORYBOARDS FOR ANIMATION
with STEPHEN DeSTEFANO

and

(2) OUTSIDE THE BOX: EXPANDING YOUR COMICS VISION
with PETER KUPER

About the classes:

(1) Back and expanded to 4 sessions!
HOW TO DO STORYBOARDS FOR ANIMATION
Instructor: STEPHEN DeSTEFANO
4 sessions, MONDAYS
June 6, 13, 20 and 27
6:30-9:00 pm
$255 tuition / $235 for MoCCA members

No other pre-production stage of creating animation is lavished with as much time, care and expense as the storyboarding job. Often considered the best and most sought after job in the animation industry, storyboarding is the art of creating a blueprint for an entire animated film or episode.

Simply put, a storyboard is a very fancy and very long comic strip. But it’s much more complex than that. Storyboard artists can make or break an animated production. Besides drawing ability, the storyboard artist must have knowledge of acting, writing, and cinematic theory to convey to laypeople and experts alike how exciting and entertaining an animated production has the potential to be. It’s a hard job, being both highly technical and demandingly creative.

But it’s possibly the most fun you can have in the world of cartoons. Instructor STEPHEN DeSTEFANO-veteran storyboard artist-will show you how it’s done.

The class will acquaint the student with basic theories of, not one, but two different styles of storyboarding: The “Full Script” style (where a ‘board artist is supplied with a fully-fleshed out script, featuring action and all dialogue created by writers); and The “Outline” style (the “Wild West of storyboarding,”) where a ‘board artist is given several paragraphs of outlined story with minimal dialogue, requiring the artist to not only draw and devise action on the fly, but write final dialogue as well.  Students will have the option of ‘boarding a script or outline of their own creation if they prefer.

[While the class will focus on storyboarding for TV animation,  ‘boarding for other formats and venues will be touched upon, as well.]

The class format will consist of lectures and demonstrations by the instructors, as well as at-home and in-class assignments they will critique, including a final assignment which they will critique after the class via e-mail.

NOTES:

(1) Tools required for class. 2 pencils, an eraser, a sense of humor.
(2) Students will be supplied with an animation script to storyboard from; model sheets of characters, props and backgrounds to incorporate into their storyboards; and several sheets of thumbnail and storyboard templates.

STEPHEN DeSTEFANO began his cartooning career in 1985 drawing the fondly remembered ‘Mazing Man for DC Comics. In 1992, he began working in television animation, drawing backgrounds for Nickelodeon’s original Ren and Stimpy Show, eventually being promoted to storyboard artist. Studios and productions he has storyboarded for include Warner Bros (on Batman, Superman, Batman Beyond, and The Brave and the Bold); Universal Studios (on Earthworm Jim, Baby Huey, Beethoven, and >The Woody Woodpecker Show); and Cartoon Network on several productions, including his own animated pilot film, The Thundermans. Stephen has served as an art director for Katbot, a Disney Television production, and as storyboard and design supervisor on Adult Swim’s The Venture Brothers. (eventually being dubbed “the guru” by show creator Jackson Publick). He continues to work in animation, as well as comic books. His graphic novel, Lucky in Love (co-created with writer George Chieffet), was recently published by Fantagraphics Books.

(2) ADVANCED VISUAL STORYTELLING: EXPANDING YOUR COMICS VISION
Instructor: PETER KUPER
3 sessions: WEDNESDAYS June 8, 15, and 22
6:30-9:00 pm
$185 tuition / $165 for MoCCA members

>Join visionary comics artist PETER KUPER and explore the medium of sequential art and learn how to find outlets for publishing your own self-generated comics and illustration projects. There will be weekly assignments with in-class crit sessions along with visual presentations and demonstrations by the instructor that will expand your familiarity with the history and vast potential of sequential art. Students should have some experience creating comics and should bring one example of their comics work to the first class.[No art supplies will be necessary in class.]

PETER KUPER is the co-founder of World War 3 Illustrated and has remained on its editorial board for over 30 years. His illustrations and comics have appeared in Time, The New York Times and MAD, where he has written and illustrated SPY vs. SPY every month since 1997. He has produced over twenty books and graphic novels including The System, Sticks and Stones, Speechless and Stop Forgetting To Remember. Peter has also adapted Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and many of Franz Kafka’s works into comics. His adaptation of The Metamorphosis has been translated around the world and is in high school and college curriculums nation-wide. He won the 2010 Society of Illustrators gold medal for sequential art and appears in 2010’s Best American Comics anthology. Peter lived in Oaxaca, Mexico from 2006-2008 during a major teachers’ strike and his work about that time can be seen in his latest book, Diario de Oaxaca. More of his work can be found at www.peterkuper.com

All classes will be held at:
MoCCA
594 Broadway (between Houston and Prince Streets)
Suite 401
New York, NY 10012

For more information and to register, call 212-254-3511 or go to www.moccany.org.

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art – MoCCAis a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts education organization dedicated to the preservation, study and display of all forms of comic and cartoon art.  The museum promotes greater understanding and appreciation of the artistic, cultural and historical significance of comic and cartoon art through a variety of events, exhibitions, and educational programs.   The museum is located at 594 Broadway (between Houston and Prince Streets) in New York City.  MoCCA is open to the public Tuesdays through Sundays from 12:00-5:00 pm.  Suggested donation to the museum is $5 but free for MoCCA Members as well as for children 12 and under (when accompanied by a paying adult).  For more information about the museum and MoCCA events, exhibitions and programs, visit the museum’s Website (www.moccany.org).