AKTO’s participation in this year’s 20th anniversary event of COMICDOM CON ATHENS was dynamic and covered diverse fields of activity.
Workshops, for children and adults, led by members of AKTO’s academic team, are a classic area of focus.
Hosted at the welcoming Innovathens venue, four engaging workshops were presented (May 16 & 17).
Painters and Comics | For adults
Instructor: Antonis Rallis [Art Historian]
A presentation of painters who, in their works, utilized the visual ‘language’ of comics, meaning flatness, strong and clear outlines, stylization of form, rejection of realistic imitation, and a tendency towards caricature.
The presentation highlighted the reasons why these painters used this style. The reasons are not only the intention of mixing Art, and painting specifically, with mass culture, which began and expanded with Pop Art, but also the power, intensity, and communicative effectiveness of this visual language, as well as its ability to depict the ‘extreme’ and the fantastic.
The teaching of human figure drawing and its value in the comic creation process | For adults Instructor: Kostas Ananidas [Sculptor – Painter]
Being able to effectively and fluently render the human figure is one of the most important assets in the process of effectively and adequately designing comic heroes and characters.
Having taught freehand drawing to comic students at AKTO for almost thirty years, the instructor has acquired absolute specialization in educational methods and the necessary exercises that help young designers develop their drawing skills.
In this masterclass, he shared secrets and experiences from the artistic approach to the human form, with a slide presentation in two sections: a) a historical overview with drawings by important creators b) images from the workshop process.
Create your own Mini Comics | For children aged 6-12
Instructor: Mary Kalampalika [Comics Creator – Children’s Book Illustrator]
The children met “Spora,” the character from the eponymous comic, and discussed how a small idea can grow into a complete story with words and pictures! They then learned how to create their own mini-comic (zine) from a single sheet of paper. With step-by-step guidance, the children created their personal short stories in the form of a small booklet!
A comic story becomes…comics! | For children aged 6-12
Instructor: George Botsos [Comics Creator, Visual Artist, and Director of the BA (Hons) Comics & Cartoon AKTO Art & Design College university program]
For children aged 6-12
An oral comic story, a joke, serves as the primary raw material for creating a designed, flowing narrative that combines image and word—in other words, a single-page comic!
This creative game was the subject of the workshop.
The children were introduced to the function of visual storytelling, utilizing their spontaneity and explosive creative imagination, and were motivated to create their own version of the story and express themselves authentically with the simplest materials.
