This
page exists as an informal introduction to the Sequential Art major of the
Savannah College of Art and Design's Atlanta campus (where I teach) and is an
extension of the Frequently
Asked Questions page on my website, croganadventures.com.
It is in no way affiliated with the
school itself, and is merely a means by which to explain the details of the
program as I see them to the folks who have asked about it. If you are
looking for the official SCAD website's information on its Sequential Art
program, please click here, and you will be redirected.
Shawn
Crystal
Our department chair (they’re called “program
coordinators” here) is Shawn Crystal.
Shawn was my mentor when I was in grad school, and though we have strikingly
different styles, taste, and approaches to the work, we share a passion for the
medium and for teaching. Shawn teaches many of the visual storytelling
classes, the graduate studio courses, and the drawing classes. Most of
his work is done for Marvel Comics, where his dynamic pencils and masterful
inks grace the pages of popular titles like Deadpool
and The Avengers.
Nolan
Woodard
Nolan
Woodard is a colorist, doing work for Marvel, Boom, Oni, Image, and
Thrillbent. He teaches all of the digital classes, teaching students how
to letter and color digitally and how to use programs like Photoshop and Manga
Studio to their fullest potential. He also teaches many of the concept
design classes, drawing on his ten years of experience with Wyden-Kennedy, the
world’s largest and most prestigious independent advertising agency. If
you’re a star wars fan, you might’ve seen any of the hundreds
of Star Wars cards that he’s drawn for Topps.
Douglas
Dabbs
Douglas
Dabbs is our classical scholar, and teaches many of the drawing and anatomy
(both human and animal) classes. He also handles a lot of the
film-related courses, teaching storyboarding and concept development, as well
as process courses like Materials and Techniques. His most recent book is
Holliday, a modern retelling of the
gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
June
Brigman
June Brigman teaches the Drawing for Storyboarding and Drawing
for Sequential Art courses. June was the artist on the long-running
newspaper strip Brenda Starr, and is
most fondly known for being the artist on the Marvel super-kids series Power Pack from its inception through
issue #17. Most recently she has been the artist on The 99, which was praised by the president of the United States for
being one of the most innovative contributions to fostering dialogue and
understanding between the US and the Middle East that he'd encountered.
Chris
Staros
Chris Staros teaches the “Getting Published and
Self-Publishing” course and Comic Scripting. The former president of the
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Chris is the editor-in-chief of Top Shelf Productions, one of the most
respected comic publishers in the industry. Chris has edited and
published books like Craig Thompson’s Blankets,
Alan Moore’s From Hell, Nate Powell’s
Swallow Me Whole, and Andy Runton’s Owly. He brings his considerable
editorial and business prowess to help the students with both their writing and
careers.
Chris
Schweizer
I assume you're already familiar with my stuff, or you wouldn't be
reading this (unless you got here from Google instead of from my site, in which case I
apologize for the casual nature of this whole thing and point you towards the
official SCAD website, which can be found here). I teach a lot of the
writing courses, comics history, character and environment design, and my
favorite course, Intro to Sequential Art, which is basically comics boot camp,
and the first major course you're likely to take.
Well, that's what we USUALLY teach. We
actually switch up a lot, rotating classes so that we all stay fresh and at the
top of our teaching game. But the most important thing about our program
is that every single faculty member is a working professional, and that’s
important. There are no former comic artists; we’re all working RIGHT
NOW, and will continue to do so. There are no comic theorists (well, we’re
all theorists, but we’re practicing). Every one of us understands what it’s
like to struggle to build a successful comic career and make a living at this,
and we know that it's not easy. By constantly seeking out publication
opportunities for ourselves in our professional capacity in the comic industry,
we’re in a position to know what opportunities are there for students. By
working with editors, we build relationships with them, and they know that they
can come to us when they’re looking for talent. And by producing work on
a regular basis, we constantly find new ways to approach the page and improve
our productivity, and we share those revelations with our students.
