Camp Creek Press

Quentin Blake - Fun Downloads

Yes, we are still exploring cartoonists and illustrators. This topic is bottomless.

The comics project has branched off into two different types of writing work.

Snoopy and his typewriter inspired the writing of stories. Jack first asked for a typewriter, to which I didn't say no (I love typewriters, too, and I typed on one all the time when I was his age!) but did gently suggest that while we shop for one, he might utilize the computer we already had.

His stories are wonderful. I will probably have to type an entire one in here to share. Maybe "The Hot Dog and the Hog". I believe that one was inspired by Just So Stories.

Now he is writing comic books. First he copied comic strip characters (C&H), then he copied whole strips, then he drew his own C&H strips, then he made up his own characters (still related to C&H) and drew their strips (George & Falkin). Whew. Then he drew entirely original strips. Then he wanted them to be published, in the newspaper, for everyone to read. (Pause for explanation of why we might not be able to get that to happen by, say, Monday.)

He reads comic collections in books, so he made two books of comics, as in actual books. He used hardcover blank sketchbooks, but he is also interested in having copies made so he can sell them. (Of course.)

And now he is writing comic books. He has been reading some books he dredged up from our home library about the Incredible Hulk and Spiderman — books that have chapters up front about the writers and artists and comic book publishers. His Spiderman book lists all the villains, so that's what he's concentrating on right now for his characters: Mom Lady and her sidekick, Son Boy.

When Jack was first interested/obsessed in Calvin & Hobbes, he started by reading the books over and over and over.

Then he started drawing the comics. He tried to draw the characters as closely as he could to the originals. He filled two sketchbooks with these drawings.

It was at that point that I thought, hey, why not?, and began to support his deep interest with project materials and resources.

It is fascinating to watch as he makes the work more and more his own, as he becomes more confident. After mastering drawing the characters, he began copying whole strips.

After mastering copying the strips, he moved on to making up his own original C&H stories and drawing those.

After filling a book with his own C&H comics (which were hilarious, and very much in the original style), he invented his own comic, George and Falkin. George was the grown-up son of Calvin and Susie (Calvin married Susie Derkins!), and he had his own imaginary friend Falkin, a stuffed bear.

At this point, I have to stop and just admire my 7-year-old's grasp of storytelling and humor. He drew Calvin's dad the same, but older, and used a lot of the same running gags as the original strip. As Calvin used to pretend to be Stupendous Man, George pretends to be Fantabulous Man. And so on.

He was no longer just copying, he was extending the ideas.

At each level, he sticks with one thing until he feels confident to make the next step. I play no part in this. I just watch and admire his work. I don't say, "Why don't you...?" or "You should..." (Sometimes it's difficult.)

At each level, he gains mastery (as defined and measured by himself) then moves on naturally and fluidly to the next, more complex thing.

His natural inclination is to stick with something until he thinks he does it well enough.

His natural inclination is to make connections (noting similarities between two comics, among the drawing styles of different cartoonists and illustrators, across story and character development.

His natural inclination is to reach out to other people --- to share his work, to talk in person with artists whose work he admires, to talk with people who do work that interests him.

His natural inclination is to enjoy everything he does.

If he doesn't someday become a professional cartoonist (right now he says cartoonist-scientist), he may not ever require the exact skills he is learning from this particular project. But he certainly is picking up a lot of intangibles and habits of mind.

In our projects, we use an inquiry-based approach.

We keep track of our questions. In the classroom, we would keep a whole chalkboard full of them, or giant posters of questions divided by subtopic. At home, we keep a list in our journal.

Every question is valuable, even if we're not going to try and answer it right away. While the boys write their own questions in their journals, I also keep a list of questions in mine, perhaps things they wondered about but didn't think worthy of writing down. I might bring them up again later, if the project seems to have stalled, or if something related is being talked about. "Remember when you wondered...?"

In the classroom, disagreements are also fertile ground for inquiry-based learning. They might not be obvious questions, but they show that more information is needed. Even if the children decide they agree and move on, we'll write down a note about the lack of consensus, which again we can bring up later.

Making sure we keep track of ongoing questions is part of how we "facilitate" rather than teach. The point is to have the child(ren) drive the project. Their questions are what is important. Helping them figure out how to find the answers to their questions is the goal. Not giving them the answers. Not telling them the facts and saying "I'll test you on these later." Helping them articulate what they wonder about, then showing them how to own the process of learning about something they want to learn about.

Some online resources on inquiry-based learning:

Online workshop: Inquiry-Based Learning

The Inquiry Page

Inquiry Page: Definition of Inquiry

Exploratorium: A Description of Inquiry

When I realized J had taken his interest in Calvin & Hobbes to a whole new level, and I thought it might translate into an interesting project, the first thing I did was support what he was already doing.

He asked me for a sketchbook that would be only for drawing comics. So I gave him that. (My job is so hard.) Then I went an extra step and I bought him a couple of expensive (a couple of dollars each) drawing pens and gave them to him, telling him "These are the kind of markers artists and cartoonists use." He was suitably impressed, and very pleased. Giving him the proper tools was my way of showing that I respected the work he was doing.

Next he asked for a special desk just for drawing comics. We already have a table set aside for drawing in our art studio (though that's way out in the barn) and he already has a regular desk. I suggested maybe we could just outfit his desk for drawing. He was perfectly amenable to this plan, and together we cleaned it off and found the materials he said he needed -- pens, markers, pencils, etc., a stack of paper, his comics sketchbook, and his C&H books.

He wanted new C&H books, so I suggested we go to the library and see what they had. I also went online and did a little research. (We have a lot of C&H books already.) I found the Calvin & Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book, which has essays and stories about the comics written by Bill Watterson.

I remembered reading somewhere that Bill Watterson loved Peanuts. I remember Charles Schulz saying that Bill Watterson drew shoes that looked like little dinner rolls. So I got a copy of the Peanuts Treasury for the boys to check out. They loved it. (Oh, the hours I spent in the 70s reading Peanuts books!)

The trip to the library yielded two Peanuts books that included interviews and essays by Charles Schulz: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Me (out of print) and Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown: Celebrating 30 Years... (also out of print). Both books include Charles Schulz's stories about the comic strip and its characters.

So now we have a pile of comics anthologies, a stack of autobiographical works by famous cartoonists, tools for making comics, and a space to make them.

Let the fun begin.