Dean Haspiel

As easy as most comics can be to read and enjoy, the form employs a sophisticated range of multimedia storytelling tools. I will help you exploit the narrative real-estate of the blank page while yielding to the collaborative virtues of words and pictures where the image is text, too.

Clear sequential storytelling is the skeleton key to successfully dramatize and communicate your ideas. This residency will challenge you to think in pictures, draw narratives, and expand your current ability to serve the story.

I’m looking for creators intent on both writing and drawing their own stories and committed to scrutinizing storytelling potential.

Your stories can be fiction or non-fiction as long as they’re emotionally true. Creators will benefit most if they can bring the first draft in an editable form to the residency. This could be in typed screenplay format, though I favor hand-drawn thumbnail layouts that include text and images, drawn legibly so others can read and offer comments. In this form, we can discuss plot, narrative intent, scene breakdowns, and labor over layouts before diving into the finished artwork.

• a short half-page biography.
• a short half-page personal statement: a brief essay on topics such as why you make sequential art, what inspires you, where you started, where do you want to take it, and so on. Please include your particular interest in comics/cartooning and a brief description of the type of work you intend to do in the future.
• what do you hope to get out of this residency?

Work samples: Basically, one complete story in the range of 5-10 pages, shows me that you know the basics of storytelling, drawing, and comics layout. A low-rez PDF is preferred. Low-rez jpegs are cool, too.

Residency Fee: Waived for this Residency (Includes weekday meals and housing; does not include artist materials, transportation, or weekend meals.)

For details, please visit the Mentoring Artist details page.

Application Closed for Dean Haspiel