The glow in your chest when you find the perfect meme to explain the day you just had. The laughter that bubbles up when your friends share the same. We have all experienced how images and narratives go hand-in-hand to move our emotions.
Join writing and visual art powerhouse Tania De Rozario in this four-week series, where she will introduce you to her favourite comics, demonstrate how the craft of comics allows you to understand visual metaphors, and explore tools used in visual storytelling to make introspective, diaristic comics.
Every week, we will share our writing and drawing with one another in a casual environment. You don’t need to be a professional artist or writer to participate!
Date: 8 Feb – 1 Mar 2025, every Saturday
4 x 2hr weekly sessions, 10am – 12pm Singapore time (SGT)
Location: Online (Zoom)
Ticketing: SGD265 for all 4 sessions.
Register by 31 Jan at https://shr.pn/persontopage!
SESSION OUTLINE
We will be drawing and writing during this workshop. Please come with blank paper, a pen and a pencil. If possible, it would be great if you have a phone or camera that allows you to upload photos of your drawings to the internet.
Session 1: Thinking About Storytelling
Saturday, 8 February 2025 (SGT) | Friday, 7 February 2025 (PST)
Let’s begin by looking at frameworks through which we can begin to analyse and appreciate comics storytelling. We will also look at grids and experiment with how they can be used as structural guides to help organise information, create rhythm, and/or provide points of focus.
Session 2: Visual Metaphors & Mark-making
Saturday, 15 February 2025 (SGT) | Friday, 14 February 2025 (PST)
In this session, we will look at the use of imaginative imagery in comics, with a focus on non-representational elements as well as metaphorical images. We will also experiment with developing our own visual metaphors through a drawing exercise that utilises free association.
Session 3: Medium, Method & Material
Saturday, 22 February 2025 (SGT) | Friday, 21 February 2025 (PST)
Explore how different mediums and materials can help us expand storytelling possibilities and widen our visual vocabularies, freeing us up to discover new ways of working and new ways of taking pleasure in the work that we make.
Session 4: Hybrid Comics & Experimental Comics
Saturday, 1 March 2025 (SGT) | Friday, 28 February 2025 (PST)
In our final session, we will look at how comics-makers are pushing boundaries in terms of story structure, form, material, language, and the comic book as an object itself. We will also look at examples of poetry comics and visual art (e.g. painting, collage, sculpture) that combine image, text and material in ways that we can learn from.
ADMINISTRATIVE LOGISTICS
- The deadline for registration is 31 January 2025, 23:59 (SGT) / 30 January 2025, 7:59am (PST).
- The Zoom link will be sent within 48 hours before the first session.
- Attendance for all 4 sessions is compulsory. No make-up sessions will be arranged.
- Suitable for ages 18 and up.
- All tickets purchased will not be refundable.
- A minimum of 15 participants is required to start the course.
- Please email us at readcomics@differenceengine.sg if you have any questions or accessibility requirements.
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ABOUT TANIA DE ROZARIO
Tania De Rozario is a writer, visual artist, and the author of four books. Her latest collection, Dinner on Monster Island (Harper Perennial 2024), has been described as “sharp and searing” (Ms. Magazine), “unique” (Publishers Weekly), “a book with resonance” (Kirkus Reviews), “elegant”, “droll” and “magnetic” (British Columbia Review). Her writing has won the New Ohio Review Nonfiction Contest (2020) and the Muriel Craft Bailey Poetry Contest (2021), has been a finalist at the Lambda Literary Awards (2021) and has been published in journals/anthologies across four continents. Her art has been showcased in Singapore, Europe, and the US.
Tania has taught in various capacities for over two decades – this includes working as an adjunct at the University of British Columbia, where she taught Writing for Graphic Forms for the Creative Writing Department (2021-2023), and across Visual Arts faculties at Lasalle College of the Arts (2006-2018). She has also run art/writing workshops for the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, Catapult, The Substation, Real Vancouver Writers Series, and Sing Lit Station.
ABOUT DIFFERENCE ENGINE
Difference Engine is an independent comics publisher based in Singapore. We are inspired by stories from Asia, and we are committed to publishing diverse, well-written, and beautifully illustrated comics of all genres and for all ages. We collaborate closely with Southeast Asian creators, both new and experienced, with genuine and thought-provoking ideas to share.
In addition to our main publishing line, Difference Engine also publishes DE Shorts, an imprint focused on self-contained stories on a wide range of social issues.
Our range of print and digital comics and graphic novels are available locally, regionally, and internationally through our network of booksellers, retailers, and distribution partners. To view our full list of titles, visit http://differenceengine.sg
When: 8 Feb - 1 Mar 2025, 10am - 12pm
