Book Illustration with Oisín McGann

Course Summary

Aimed at people with some artistic experience who are interested in learning the trade, this course will explore the basics of illustration, covering character design, setting and staging, sequential art, how to work in different styles and how they can be combined in the language of visual storytelling. He will also cover some of the trade skills and business tips required to work as a commercial artist in a rapidly changing publishing environment.

Course Outline

This is a practical course and participants will be given regular drawing exercises during the sessions. The first two weeks will focus on character design; how to create distinct, identifiable, and varied characters. These are your actors, and we will explore how to make them act out their roles. We’ll also be looking at drawing styles, and what will work best for each participant.

Over the middle two weeks, we’ll move on to location, composition and staging; how to create the settings that feel right for your characters, how those characters will interact within them, and through that interaction, create a believable world. This staging is a vital part of the storytelling process.

The course will finish up with a look at sequential art; how to tell a story in a series of images. You are not relying on the text to tell the tale, you’re helping carry the reader and bringing a new side of the story to the narration.

Throughout the course, we’ll be discussing how to create images for different audiences and age groups, as well as the practice and business of illustration.

Course Outcomes

A grounding in a range of illustration techniques and a better understanding of the profession overall.

Oisín McGann is a bestselling and award-winning writer and illustrator of dozens of books in different genres and for all ages. He has worked as a commercial artist in a range of styles for over thirty years, including in advertising and animation, but his focus has always been illustration for publishing.

Booked out? To be added to the waiting list for this course, please email info@irishwriterscentre.ie.