Give tips for giving demo (now with practice work :p)

[Jens]

I'm going to give a demo to a group of people on July 1st. A friend of mine does a comic workshop ever saturday and has asked me to do some demo's with photoshop and wacom.

I'm gonna color one of his sketches starting from lines untill all of the lines are gone. And some improvisation, speedpainting.

The people who are coming are from various skill levels, probably not too many who are familiar with wacom painting.

I don't have any idea what it will be like, i'm glad i got some assistance from that friend but mayby some people here who've already done a presetation could give me some tips. Thx

edit: most of all i'd just like to hear your experience with it, i think it would be quite intresting

[_Mario]

I am not sure but how about some of this (for the colouring of the lineart):

- show the basics of how layers work and what type you will use (there are some things that are similar to traditional comic stuff with background, foreground, animation layers).

- how you use pressure sensitivity for the basic midtones and how you use it when highlighting shading.

- I don't know how much you would go into colour theory and light but it could be useful to add some bits as well as some info about lineweight.

- tips on integrating the characters of the lineart with the background (general protoshop tips and painting related tips).

Try to explain what and how you are using Photoshop and the tablet to achieve some effect. That way people get an idea about how the new tech can beuse for the all the 'old stuff' that they learned at school. I should be easier to understand and learn when you supply them with connections. Just saying 'I use the multiply layer' without an explanation and they will easily forget why you are using what.

For the speedpainting:
I could be useful to show little sketches (for composition/values) and how you upsize these and go on from there. Again with the what and why of the process.

[Art_Addict]

Hey Jens,

When an where is this taking place?
Would be great to see you do a demo.

[Mirana]

Demos are easy and fun, but a few things you should keep in mind...

Even if a demo is billed as "advanced," you will still have people show up that don't know which end of the stylus is up, let alone how to use one without scrolling. ;) You might do a quick intro and ask some questions to see how far along your students are. I always, always keep mine as basic as possible unless I'm teaching more than one level class at a given time.

Time yourself beforehand! Demos usually don't last long, and if you talk too much you may not get far. Think about how you're going to explain each step and go through it to see how fast you can do it. Remember to leave room for questions they might ask. I tend to make myself a bullet-point listing of each step I intend to cover to keep myself on track.

If your demo is 2 or more hrs, you need to stop and give your students (and youself!) small break(s).

Also, do us all a favor and tell them a couple things NOT to do. The world could do with less lens flare. XD

[Jens]

cool, thx for the replies!

mirana, no strict time limit actually, it's kind of improvisational :)
thx for the tips though. I was thinking along the line of some of the things you suggested. Most of the people will probably not be too familiar with the wacom and photoshop i think.

Mario, good tips thx a lot. All the tips are helping me to make up my mind on how i'm gonna handle it :)

art addict: i'll send you a pm with the info

been practicing for the demo already :), it would be cool if you could come!

http://users.pandora.be/NO1/Jens/sketch/face4.jpg
http://users.pandora.be/NO1/Jens/sketch/headlessghost.jpg