Comics & Narrative Practice

Use words and images to tell stories that captivate.

Learn how to tell powerful stories and create characters that leap to life from the pages of your comics and graphic novels. You’ll explore that, and more, in CCAD’s Comics & Narrative Practice program, as you develop a voice and a style that’s uniquely yours—and gain industry skills and knowledge, from pitching a story to crafting publisher-ready scripts to marketing your work. You’ll elevate your skills by learning to ink, color, and letter your comics. And you’ll do it under the guidance of our Comics faculty, who work with superhero powerhouses Marvel and DC; the iconic, creator-owned Image Comics; major children’s book publishers like Random House; and indie comics legend Fantagraphics.

In addition to all you do in the classroom, you’ll join a comics community that thrives on imagination—our hometown, Columbus, has the world’s largest comic book collection, at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and hosts an annual convention with the who's who of the comics world at the annual Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC).

You’ll also shape your creative career with regular weekly workshops led by industry titans from Marvel and DC, indie comics legends, and even manga-ka from Japan! Throughout your time in the Comics program, you’ll hone your craft among the best of the business, ensuring that by the time you graduate, you’ll be ready to tell the stories you’ve dreamed of.

Publications

Spitball: A CCAD Comics Anthology Spitball is the award-winning comics anthology made yearly by our students in the Comics Practicum class, in partnership with professional comics writers. This book is drawn, marketed, designed, and published entirely by the students, who then take their finished work to comics conventions across the country. Students have turned their experience as part of Spitball into professional opportunities, and notably, some of these Spitball stories go on to be books of their own.

Course Spotlight

Comics Anthology Practicum

Team up with a professional comics/graphic novel writer to create illustrations for our annual comics anthology, Spitball. In addition to publishing, students will learn to market their work, both online and at comes and publishing trade shows and conventions.

Comics & Narrative Practice First Year Experience

Academic Year

Fall 2023 - Spring 2024

Freshman Year - Fall

Course Title
2D Creative Practice
Systems of Drawing
Collaboration
Mod Contemporary or Historical Art History
Writing and the Arts

Freshman Year - Spring

Course Title
Intro to Comics
Drawing for Entertainment Design
3D Making with Care
History of Comics and Illustration
Liberal Arts Self and Society Course

Comics & Narrative Practice News

CCAD Illustration and Comics specialist
When it comes to making great comic books and graphic novels, there are few people who have accomplished more—or know the industry better—than Shelly Bond. Check out these expert tips from the master herself.
20200127 COLVA SP20 Video Shoot1 01
How can the arts help Veterans heal? Can sharing one’s story be transformative? These are some of the questions explored during the spring of 2020 through a creative learning project between Columbus College of Art & Design and the Veteran Arts Initiative of the VA Central Ohio Healthcare System.

Request Information

Your college education is a major investment in you—your work, your passions, and your vision for the future.
Loading...