About: Materials & Tools

Here are some basic tools which belong in every comics-creating classroom:

Flair Felt-Tip Pens
These provide a controllable, variable line with good solid black coverage.  They dry quickly, and they’re washable, too. Especially for younger artists, these pens (and the markers below) are MUCH easier to use than brushes and nib pens. We can just pick them up and start inking right away! (Standard price = ~$1.50 each / Shop online for them @: Staples.com / DickBlick.com (if you’re also buying markers below)… Remember, we’ll use only the BLACK pens in our workshops!)

Dick Blick Water-Based Markers
These have an excellent chisel-tip, which enables young artists to both fill areas and start exploring line weight with a very controlled instrument. They also dry quickly and wash easily.  WE USE ONLY THE BLACK MARKERS, but they do come in other colors….
(Standard price = ~$0.40 each / Shop online for ’em!)

Pencils and erasers — Aw, heck, you know what they are and how to get some!

Rulers — Any sturdy ruler will do! They help mark off panel borders and draw straight lines.

Paper — We use regular copy paper. It’s cheap, and easy to find, and it holds the ink. (Just be gentle while erasing!)

Folders — Each artist needs a folder to organize artwork and tools. Two-pocket folders work well; paper is cheap (& more pleasant & biodegradable), but the plastic ones last MUCH longer.

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Materials costs

…for a typical program:

• Consumable tools & materials (pens, pencils, rulers, paper, etc.): ~$3 per student*
• RECOMMENDED: 2-pocket folder for each student (useful for programs longer than 1 class): ~$0.50 per student
• OPTIONAL: Photocopies (in booklet form, assembled by students) of work by each student: ~$0.10-$3 per student
• OPTIONAL: Sample comics [i.e. Breakfast at Mimi’s, or recent issue of MDZ… Often summer programs include this in the materials package, while school & library programs opt to have books for sale at the culminating event]: $1-10 per student

TOTAL: $3-13 per student.

* For larger groups, we’ll require fewer than 1 marker & pen per student.  For example, 3-4 dozen pens (~$70 total) and markers (~$15 total) can be shared among 80-120 students during the residency…

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