When I set the Ikea paper on the dining table and tape it to cover the entire thing, the kids usually realize something fun is going to happen. Sometimes I just set the crayons in the middle of the table and let them colour and draw. They create imaginative pictures or I set up an activity for them.
I then leave their art work on the table for a day or two, letting their dad see it when he comes home and using it as a table cloth while we eat our meals. I love it.
Last week, I set the paper up and drew 8 squares, numbering each one. I then told my son to go ahead and make up a comic book story and to draw each scene. He was beyond thrilled.
My writer/director son took this opportunity to expand on previous characters he’d been developing.
To start, he laid out his story and I wrote it on post it notes, putting each scene in a square. When he was done, I re-read the post it notes for him so he could change whatever he liked.
Once he was happy with each scene, he started to draw. I especially liked it when he filled the background with detail (like a Home Depot and EB Games shop) or made specific art direction “in this scene you can’t see his face, only the back of his head, because he’s walking away”.
And so, I give you my son’s comic story – The Adventures of Super Kid* and Super Cat: Chapter 1 (all rights reserved 😉
Reprinted with the author’s permission. *he named the story, however, his Super Kid is actually named after him, I’ve changed the name for blog purposes 😉
