Collaborative Graphic Novels from a Visual Storytelling class
Prima Materia (Winter 2024). The collaborative graphic novel by the participants in the Palo Alto Art Center Winter 2024 visual storytelling class Creating and Publishing a Graphic Novel.
Edited by Daniele Archambault
“Prima Materia” is a collaborative graphic novel by the adult students in the Winter 2024 visual storytelling class “Creating and Publishing a Graphic Novel,” at the Palo Alto Art Center, in California.
Since 2012, I have been teaching various classes on the art of visual storytelling at the Palo Alto Art Center. In 2016, I introduced an innovative opportunity for students to delve deeper into the creative process by not only writing a story but also publishing it in a collaborative graphic novel. This initiative led to the creation of a new course titled “Creating and Publishing a Graphic Novel.” The class proved successful and was offered again in 2019 and 2022. “Prima Materia” marks the fourth collaborative graphic novel produced by students of the Palo Alto Art Center.
This class project is ambitious yet exciting. Over ten weeks of two-hour classes, students embark on a journey of developing a complete five-page story in the visual narrative style of their choice. First, they learn the fundamental techniques, elements, and concepts available to graphic novel creators. This includes storyboarding, thumbnailing, character design, picture composition, camera works, and page layouts. Then, in the final weeks of the class, participants collaborate to curate the individual stories into a cohesive graphic novel. Topics covered include book layout, cover design, title page, printing styles, barcodes, and ISBN, as well as copyright considerations. The class comprises a diverse range of students, including beginners with minimal artistic experience and seasoned art professionals. While many students preferred traditional techniques, working with pencils, black ink and color on paper, others chose to explore digital tools.
The resulting 2024 final collaborative graphic novel features nine captivating and beautiful stories, ranging from autofiction to fantasy, all of them featuring an element of transformation. The students selected “Prima Materia” for the graphic novel title to reference the primal materials from which narratives emerge through the creative process of the artist, akin to the concept in alchemy referring to the prime matter from which all things are derived. It also alludes to the necessary and inevitable transformation undergone by the characters as well as their creators. Each of the stories in the book is preceded by the student’s self-portrait and their artist statement allowing readers insight into their inspirations, themes, and motivations. Additionally, students included a selection of preliminary work, thumbnails, and sketches at the end of their stories, providing readers with an understanding of their creative process.
Danièle Archambault, Ph.D. Linguist and cartoonist
Class instructor
passages. visual journeys. (Fall 2022) The collaborative graphic novel by the participants in the Palo Alto Art Center Fall 2022 visual storytelling class Creating and Publishing a Graphic Novel.
Passages is a collection of original stories by the adult students of the Fall 2022 Visual Storytelling class, Creating and Publishing a Graphic Novel, offered at the Palo Alto Art Center.
For 10 years now, I have been teaching various adult visual storytelling classes at the Palo Alto Art Center. Students enjoy learning the basics of different forms of visual storytelling and creating their own story with texts and images. In 2016, I offered the students the possibility of going one step further to discover the excitement of not only writing but also publishing a graphic novel by designing a new class: Writing and Publishing a Graphic Novel: A Grand Voyage. The class was a success and the final collaborative graphic novel included eight complete stories of five pages each. Then, an updated version of the class, Writing and Publishing a Graphic Novel, was offered in 2019 and again, this year in the fall of 2022.
The project is ambitious. Over the course of a ten-week evening class, students learn to develop a multiple-page story using sequential art, in the visual narrative style of their choice: memoirs, adventures, children’s stories, science fiction and fantasy. While acquiring the fundamentals of visual storytelling, including storyboarding, thumbnailing, character design, picture composition, camera works, and page layouts, through a series of exercises, they develop their personal toolbox for telling stories that resonate with audiences.
While many students prefer traditional techniques, working with pencils, black ink and color on paper, others choose digital tools. In the final weeks of the class, participants collaborate to organize the collection of individual stories into a cohesive digital graphic novel. Topics include book layout, cover design, title page, preface, barcodes and ISBN, copyrights, etc.
The 2022 final collaborative graphic novel book includes five wonderful stories, five visual journeys. Some of the class participants were beginners with little experience in art while others were already art professionals. All wanted to learn how to tell stories with pictures. The five superb stories range from autofiction to fantasy, all of them sharing, in a way or another, an element of transformation, a passage towards something new and unexpected
Each of the stories in the book is preceded by the student’s self-portrait and artist statement. The students also shared at the end their story a selection of their preliminary work, thumbnails, and sketches, giving the reader an idea of their creative process.
Danièle Archambault, Ph.D. Linguist and cartoonist
Class instructor
Download or read the book as a PDF.
Following the class, an exhibition of the graphic novel was held in the Palo Alto Art Center’s Studio Gallery, from January to March 2023.
Exhibition. Palo Alto Art Center. passages. visual journeys. A collaborative graphic novel
Discovery. A Collaborative Graphic Novel. Winter 2019.
Discovery. A collaborative graphic novel edited by Danièle Archambault
Discovery. A Collaborative Graphic Novel.
Discovery is a collection of comic short storiescreated by the students of the Winter 2019 Visual Storytelling class, Writing and Publishing a Graphic Novel, at the Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, California.
For a few years now, I have been teaching various visual storytelling classes for adults at the Palo Alto Art Center. Students enjoy learning the basics of different forms of visual storytelling and creating their own story with texts and images. In 2016, I offered the students the possibility of going one step further to discover the excitement of not only writing but also publishing a graphic novel by designing a new class: Writing and Publishing a Graphic Novel: A Grand Voyage.
The class was a success and the final collective graphic novel included eight complete stories of five pages each.
Three years later, we are repeating the experience. The project is ambitious. Over the course of a ten-week evening class, students learned to develop a multiple-page story using sequential art, in the visual narrative style of their choice: memoirs, fiction, children stories, science-fiction and fantasy.
A series of exercises introduced the students to the fundamentals of visual storytelling such as storyboarding, thumbnailing, character design, picture composition, camera angles and shots, page layouts, etc. While many students preferred traditional techniques, such as pencil, black ink and watercolor on paper, others chose to work with digital tools. Finally, the class participants learned to organize the collection of individual stories into a cohesive digital graphic novel. Topics included book layout, cover design, title page, preface, barcodes and ISBN numbers, copyrights, etc. The students selected “Discovery†as a common theme for their stories, a theme that could be taken literally or figuratively.
The final collaborative graphic novel book includes seven complete stories and the beginning of an eight one. Two of the class students had participated in the Winter 2016 class. A few others had already taken one of my visual storytelling classes in a previous semester. Some of the class participants are beginners with little or no experience at all in storytelling or art. Other students are aiming at a professional career as illustrators and children book writers. The final collaborative graphic novel book includes eight complete stories of various lengths. All the stories are wonderful! They range from touching personal memories to complete work of fiction, all of them sharing, in a way or another, an element of discovery. Each of the stories in the book is preceded by the student’s self-portrait and artist statement. Some of the students also included at the end of their story a selection of their preliminary work, thumbnails and sketches, giving the reader an idea of their creative process.
Discovery is available to all as a PDF, an ePub, and as a video. For now, you can download the PDF version, free of charge, on this webpage. The ePub and video will be available soon. The book was designed with a simple and convenient iPad app: Book Creator by Red Jumper www.redjumper.net/
Enjoy this Discovery!
Danièle Archambault, Ph.D.
Linguist and cartoonist
Class instructor
Daniele@DanieleBD.com
Download or read the book as a PDF.
Once you click on the book title in blue (below), you will see the cover of the book. Click on it and the pdf will start.
Discovery. A collaborative graphic novel
Voyages. A collection of stories. Winter 2016
Voyages. A Collective Digital Graphic Novel. Edited by Danièle Archambault
Voyages is a collection of sequential visual stories created by the students of the 2016 Visual Storytelling class, “Writing and Publishing a Graphic Novel,†at the Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, California.
For a few years now, I have been teaching various graphic novel and illustration classes at the Palo Alto Art Center. The classes are a success! Students enjoy learning the basics of different forms of visual storytelling and creating their own story. However, I wanted to offer students the possibility of going one step further to discover the excitement of not only writing but also publishing a graphic novel. For the winter 2016 session, I designed a new class: Writing and Publishing a Graphic Novel: A Grand Voyage.
The project was ambitious. Over the course of a ten-week evening class, each student had to develop a five-page story in the visual narrative style of their choice: comics, memoirs, travel diaries, children stories, science-fiction epics, superhero adventures, etc. The common theme “Voyage could be taken literally or figuratively. A series of exercises introduced the students to the fundamentals of visual storytelling such as storyboarding, thumbnailing, character design, picture composition, camera angles and shots, page layouts, etc. While many students preferred traditional techniques, such as pencil, black ink and watercolor on paper, others chose to work with digital tools. Finally, the class participants learned to organize the collection of individual stories into a cohesive digital graphic novel. Topics included book layout, cover design, title page, preface, barcodes and ISBN numbers, copyrights, etc.
The final collective graphic novel includes eight complete stories. Two of the students had their stories accepted for publication in professional magazines before the end of class and therefore were not allowed to include them in this class project. Although we are sorry not to be able to show their work in this collective book, we are all thrilled for them! Each of the stories in the book is preceded by the students’ self-portrait and artist statement. Some of the class participants were total beginners with no experience at all in storytelling or in art. Others were professional illustrators and children book writers. All the pieces are wonderful! They range from touching personal stories to complete work of fiction, which is also the way we decided to present them in this book. We also thought it might be interesting to add, following the series of stories, a section including some of the students’ thumbnails and preliminary work.
Voyage is available as a pdf, an ePub, an iBook and as a video. You can download all these versions, free of charge, by scanning this QR code or going directly to this webpage. The book was designed with a simple and convenient iPad app: Book Creator by Red Jumper www.redjumper.net/Â
Enjoy this wonderful voyage!
PDF Format (49.6 MB)
Click on the blue link below to download and read the book as a pdf file. (This is quite a large file).