![\"Camosun](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/DSC_0742.jpg\")
<\/a>With a lifelong background in comics and graphic novels, Steacy has worked for DC Comics and has been involved with Astro Boy<\/i> and Jonny Quest<\/i> comics. He brings his experience to the eight-month program at Camosun, which aligns artistic students with the tools to write a story and tell it visually.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been four years now and it\u2019s been an absolutely phenomenal experience,\u201d he says. \u201cMentoring students is\u2026 I cannot imagine a better thing to be doing. When I was younger I was very fortunate to meet certain mentors who were enormously generous with their time and advice. I\u2019ve always felt the desire to pay it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the program gains its footing and comes into its own, Steacy says it\u2019s been amazing to see the students develop their writing and drawing skills, not to mention their confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cComic creation is a process, but once they have those tools, they\u2019re bulletproof,\u201d he says. \u201cThey can do anything. We show them the door, but they\u2019re the ones who have to step through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the eight months are through, graduates of Steacy\u2019s program take away a polished portfolio in the form of their very own 24-page comic book. A second and arguably more valuable portfolio is the collection of work that shows the comic\u2019s inception and development.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day you have this artefact, this piece of original artwork,\u201d says Steacy. \u201cAnd that has value too. People want to see us do what we do; it\u2019s magic. The feedback you get from dragging a brush loaded with ink across a coarse piece of paper\u2026 there\u2019s nothing like it. It\u2019s a very visceral experience, and it\u2019s one that makes making comics as enjoyable as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both versions of portfolios will be on display on the first day of the CCAF. It will be most students\u2019 first opportunity at \u201ctabling\u201d\u2014having their complete work spread over a table where patrons can browse their sketches, drawings, and paintings, and ask questions about the stories portrayed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students will have the original artwork, so patrons will get to see that,\u201d says Steacy. \u201cThey\u2019ll get to see the comic book, talk with the book\u2019s creator, buy the comic book, and then there\u2019s space inside for the artist to do a sketch in the book. So folks are able to get right in there and participate in the creative process.\u201d<\/p>\n
As CCAF grows in numbers each year, Steacy is delighted to see the connections between comic fans and creators.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year we\u2019ve had absolutely phenomenal results,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s just so gratifying to see. And I think the greatest thing about this generation is the sense of community that is being built, and it\u2019s a very creative community, and a very supportive community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first day of the event will be Saturday, April 16 from noon to 5 pm on the third floor of the Young Building.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, April 17 there will be a keynote panel at Bolen Books at 6 pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Camosun College is home to not only the first Comics & Graphic Novels design program in North America, but also to a showcase festival that comes out of the program. And that festival is gearing up to happen again in April. This year, the Camosun Comic Arts Festival (CCAF) will take place on April 16 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,163],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus","category-march-30-2016"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11909"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11912,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11909\/revisions\/11912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}