Sequntial/Comic Art Courses in Canada?

[Madfishmonger]

I've been looking for some art courses here in Canada, I'm hoping to attend next fall. I currently live in Winnipeg, and there was a program here called Symposium, but I can't seem to contact them. I can only assume they're no longer in business. Preferably, I want a 2-3 year course in comic book, sequential art or illustration, or anything related. Ideally I'd like to be in Montreal or Ottawa, or perhaps somewhere in BC. I do want to get into animation eventually, but I don't think my art's good enough yet to be adding on to that, and my comic book ideas are pouring out my ears. Of course my art's not good enough for comics yet either, but that's what the course is for :P. I've sent for some catalogues from a few places, like the Max the Mutt one in Toronto, but I can't seem to find much other that that school in Canada at all. Any suggestions?

[Ian Mack]

http://www.ocad.ca

If you check their 2nd year illutstration courses...you'll seew that they several courses related to sequential art. I have also heard of students that are doing graphic novels for thier 4th year thesis.

Sheridan college is another school with a strong illustration program that's worth looking into.

I was @ MTM for their first year visual literacy course and I have to say that it's a fantastic program if you can afford it. Excellent focus on life drawing which will do wonders fo ryour drawing ability.

All these schools are in Toronto which is a great city to live in if you're interested in the arts. Montreal is excellent as well but I'm afraid that Ottawa lags behind.

[Madfishmonger]

Hmm, it does look like all the good stuff is in and around Toronto. I got a call from a guy at the MTM today, it sounded great, and he was very helpful. My sister lived in Toronto and didn't like it, I suppose my view is biased. Thanks for the help, I'm going to get some info from that other school you posted too.

[liquidtransience]

Sheridan is actually in Oakville, which is close to Toronto, but you won't have that really busy/hectic environment. I prefer this type of environment, but of course it's up to the individual.

[Arish]

Madfishmonger, thank you for asking that! I was wondering the exact same thing. Can anyone recommend a comparable art school with illustration and/or sequential art progams in Montreal? Or is Toronto really the city to go to in Canada?

The reason I ask is, it would be very difficult for me to relocate to Toronto, even if the schools there are excellent. But, I don't want to shortchange myself out of a good education either. Thoughts?

[Maxine Schacker]

As far as I know, Max the Mutt is the only in depth program in Illustration for Sequential Arts offered in Canada. In fact, we were approached by leading comic book artists here who told us there was no program in Canada, and asked us to consider organizing a diploma program. When I went on the internet and in fact couldn't find one program, we decided that it was logical for Max the Mutt to expand to include related areas of study. Many of our students were already interested in comic books and were drawn to us because we stress drawing.

We currently have 12 students in year two of this diploma program, and about 26 in year one. Our faculty includes top Canadian comic book artists Ty Templeton, Dave Ross and Richard Pace, as well as internationally known artists Oleg Dergachov and Bojan Redic. You can check out the curriculum on our website, www.maxthemutt.com.



I'm sorry you didn't like Toronto. When were you here and where did you live? The school is located at 952 Queen St West, in the heart of the Art and Design district. We're also very close to TO's Little Italy, which reminds me a lot of Greenwich Village in NY - full of cafes and bookstores. This part of the city features small buildings, many private homes; as well as Queen street, which is now considered the "in" area for the arts and has many galleries, interesting boutiques, and art supply stores; and College street, which runs through Little Italy. Toronto is the most international city in North America and is filled with small, excellent inexpensive restaurants (not chain restaurants). TO is known for it's parks and is also one of the safest cities in NA.

I would add that it's a great place for drawing! The variety of people, neighborhoods etc. is great for our students.

Oakville (downtown) is a wealthy, very pretty town which has expanded to include lots of new housing. It has a large suburban population. Oakville does have a good bookstore and Sheridan has it's own art supply store. There are probably many others as well now that more malls have developed. I haven't been out that way since 1996!

Good luck in your search for the right program!

[Arish]

Hi Maxine, Thanks very much for the info on Max the Mutt ... it sounds wonderful and believe me, I have thought seriously of applying there before, but I'd have to give up a lot to move out of Montreal. (I'm 24, working full-time in illustration and planning to move in with my bf this spring, for starters.)

The reason I want to go back to school is to improve my art skills in all areas - traditional drawing & painting, plus 2D and 3D digital media - but I'd still like to keep my foot in the door at the company where I work now, to build up a portfolio & work experience. So even if I cut down to part-time work, I don't want to give up my job there entirely.

Anyway, sorry for hijacking the thread... but are there any art programs in Montreal that would supply this kind of well-rounded education?

[Arish]

Ok well... I went ahead and did my own research on the programs available in Montreal, and it doesn't look like this city has the kind of well-rounded illustration program I was describing... Concordia University (http://finearts.concordia.ca/HTML/index.htm) and Universite du Quebec a Montreal's (http://www.eavm.uqam.ca/programmes/index.html) Faculties of Fine Arts both offer programs in studio arts... and digital media... and Concordia also has an animation program... but from what I gather from the course descriptions, these courses are very specialized in studio arts, or digital arts, or animation itself, with very little preparation for an illustration career. (Not to knock the talents of students & graduates of those schools, I've seen their works and they're amazing... just that the program isn't quite what I'm looking for.)

There's also an Illustration and Design program at Dawson College, but judging from the 2005 graduate portfolio (http://dept.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/ill_design/Index.htm), well... each student has their own level of talent of course but overall the quality of the artwork looks much lower than I'd hope to get out of a 3-year professional program.

I'm sorry to trash my own city here, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong about any of the programs / schools I've mentioned, or if I've missed one. I really don't want to come across as a snob here, or say that the "right" school will automatically turn its graduates into great artists with a dazzling career... of course it doesn't happen that way, but just wanted to put the info out there.

In the meantime... I've printed out application forms for Sheridan and Max the Mutt. From all that I've seen and heard and read, their Illustration programs sound like they are to die for. I guess I'll just have to bust my butt to get into either one and then learn how to like Toronto and afford living there for the next 3 - 4 years.

Madfishmonger, how's your search going?

[Madfishmonger]

Sorry, my mailbox got hijacked by a mailing list and I didn't see the updates to this thread. I called around and got some excellent responses from a bunch of schools. I'm still waiting to get some more info in the mail before I make my decision, but the Max the Mutt looks awesome so far, it being exactly what I was looking for. I suppose I'll have to stop dragging my ass though, I hear the workload is intensive (though I'd expect nothing less). I've never lived in a really big city (Winnipeg's not that big) before, it would be such an amazing experience.

[rpace]

The transition from the 'Peg to Toronto isn't that big a deal -- there's certainly a great deal more to do in the city than I recall from when I used to be a Manitoba boy.

Besides, leaving those savage Winterpeg months behind has a great benefit all its own -- it hasn't snowed out here yet and it probably won't until December.

~Richard

[Madfishmonger]

Actually, it has yet to snow here, which is rather uncommon. It's the quiet riverside to the noisy city that'll mess with me, I think. I also hear it's rather humid, I'll have terrible hair :P
I got a call from Max the Mutt again today, I'll call them tomorrow. I still haven't gotten anything in the mail from them (or anyone aside from Georgian). I think my postal carrier is lazy and only makes it out to the dead end of my street when s/he feels like it. I don't seem to get mail enough.

[Arish]

Toronto makes me nervous too, Montreal is also a big city but TO is frikkin huge. But if MtM's courseload is as intensive as it sounds, I doubt I'd have much time to get lost in town anyway...

Good luck with your applications!