Comic Studio · With Krea
How to make a graphic novel
A graphic novel course for kids 6 to 13. Your kid plans a bigger story in chapters, keeps the same hero across them, and builds the first two chapters in Comic Studio. Five short films, about 5 minutes, then a few drawing sessions.
- Ages
- 6 to 13
- Time
- 5 films, about 5 minutes, then 2–3 sessions of 45 minutes
- Host
- Krea
- You need
- Paper, pencil, crayons or markers (optional)
- Status
- Coming soon. Kids vote in the app for the courses they want first.
The intro film
Krea's 50-second intro film is coming soon. Here's what Krea says in it.
Transcript
Hi, I'm Krea! Have you ever finished a comic and wanted more?
Then it's time for a graphic novel. That's a comic with chapters.
A big story is hard to draw all at once.
So you cut it into small pieces. Each piece is a chapter.
Each chapter ends with a question that makes you turn the page.
What's behind the door? Who sent the letter?
That's called a cliffhanger.
Your hero has to look the same in every chapter, so readers know them.
You'll plan three chapters on paper.
Then you make chapter one, and then chapter two.
Your book grows, one chapter at a time.
Ready to start something big?
The 5 lessons
Lesson 1. Big story, small chapters
Cut one big story into three chapters you can draw.
- Write the whole story in three sentences
- Give each sentence its own chapter
- Give each chapter a short name
Where: Paper
Lesson 2. Same hero, every chapter
Keep your hero looking the same so readers always know them.
- Draw your hero from the front
- Circle three things that never change
- Save your hero in My characters
Where: Paper
Lesson 3. The cliffhanger
End each chapter with a question that makes readers turn the page.
- Find the last moment of chapter one
- Turn it into a question
- Draw that moment big
Where: Paper
Lesson 4. Chapter one
Draw the opening, middle, and ending of chapter one and build the pages.
- Draw three pictures for chapter one
- Write one line under each
- Build and read your pages
Where: Comic Studio · Your pages
Lesson 5. Chapter two grows
Add the next chapter so your comic becomes a book.
- Start chapter two where the cliffhanger stopped
- Draw three new pictures
- Add the chapter and read both from the start
Where: Comic Studio · Your pages
What your kid makes
Your kid ends with a comic that has two chapters and a plan for the third, with the same hero in every chapter. It lives in Comic Studio, and your kid can keep adding chapters for weeks.
Free guides to practise with
Questions parents ask
What's the difference between a comic and a graphic novel?
A graphic novel tells a longer story, usually across chapters. In this course your kid splits a story into chapters and makes them one at a time.
Is this too long for a younger kid?
Each chapter is three drawings, so a 6-year-old can finish one in a session. Older kids plan more chapters and add detail.
Should my kid make a comic first?
It helps. The course "How to make a comic book" shows how three drawings become 8 pages, and this course builds on that.