Comments on: Cartoon and comics major programs

Question: Cartoon and comics major programs

zainsubani — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:17:16 -0800

Are there any US colleges or universities that offer majors in comics and cartooning (the traditional 2D variety, not 3D animation)?

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:31:20 -0800

SCAD's got a major in sequential art. A guy I know from high school is s.a. major and is a senior there now. I can put you in touch with him if you'd like.

By: Mrs. Pterodactyl

Mrs. Pterodactyl — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:41:13 -0800

RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) might be helpful. I knew someone in high school who majored in illustration there, and it seems to be a fairly flexible program. Hope this helps!

By: nanojath

nanojath — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:50:31 -0800

The Center for Cartoon Studies. I know that the Minnesota College of Art and Design (MCAD) has something because I attended a seminar there a while back, but their website seems to be down at the moment. If you're looking at specific institutions I'd check out what they've got going in illustration programs; frankly if your goal is to make it as a cartoonist developing some commercial illustration skills might not be a bad hedge.

By: nanojath

nanojath — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:56:45 -0800

(That's the, uh, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, sayeth the embarassed Minneapolitan, but nevertheless, the website is still down).

Another place to explore - cartoonist and biggish wheel in the world of yakking about what comics are all about Scott McCloud is a prolific public speaker - checking out his public speaking page will probably turn up a bunch of programs, and his page and general and 3 didactic books on comics (Understanding, Reinventing and Making Comics) are worth checking out - Understanding Comics in particular has been considered a classic in the field for quite a while and among other things has a serious bibliography of scholarly works on comics.

By: troy

troy — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:29:31 -0800

Cal Arts?

By: thebrokenmuse

thebrokenmuse — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:30:25 -0800

Yep. SCAD, it has a really good one as far as I know. I'm a SCAD student, but not in the sequential art program.

By: nanojath

nanojath — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:49:34 -0800

Looks like MCAD is back up. Here's their Comic Art BA program page.

By: darksong

darksong — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:57:35 -0800

Maryland Institute College of Art has an illustration program where some comic book people tend to teach (like Brian Ralph) but it's not specifically a comics/cartoon major. California College of the Arts has animation and illustration programs -- same sort of deal.

I personally don't think it matters for this sort of thing, but Center for Cartoon Studies is not accredited and only offers a certificate for undergrads (you can take a second year for no credit). But there are a lot of cool people coming out of there and it seems like a great program if that's what you want to do.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:58:57 -0800

At Hampshire College, you design your own major and could definitely major in cartoon/comics within the art department.

By: zainsubani

zainsubani — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:05:59 -0800

These answers are very helpful, folks, and I am most grateful. Keep 'em coming.

By: Good Brain

Good Brain — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:01:50 -0800

Evergreen State College has turned out a few cartoonists, including Matt Groening. They've got a pretty flexible curriculum, as I understand it, so I think it should be possible to major in comics/cartooning/graphics novels if one so desired.

My friend's wife is a comic artist, she's gained some acclaim, including being one of a handful asked to contribute a serial comic to the New York Times magazine. She went to Evergreen. My friend has noted how many of his wife's friends from Evergreen have done an admirable job creating a life that allows them to pursue their passion.

By: sebastienbailard

sebastienbailard — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:08:50 -0800

Up north here there is Université du Québec en Outaouais in Gatineau, QC, Canada, just across the river from Ottawa. Instruction is in French, (Bande Dessinée) which may not work for you.

I don't know the field, but it occurs to me that you may want to also consider traditional illustration programs, and work on cartooning as a focus while going through the program. Inasmuch as it may be easier to find work as a cartoonist/illustrator as opposed to pure cartoonist?

By: Zahara

Zahara — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:51:23 -0800

The School of Visual Arts in New York does.

By: mumstheword

mumstheword — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:32:21 -0800

Try Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle...the link seems to be down right now..but I know someone who is working in graphic arts using the 2-d cartooning skills she honed there...not sure if there's a major.

By: saffry

saffry — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:43:24 -0800

My friend and her husband went to the Paier College of Art in Connecticut. The husband works for Family Guy now.

By: COBRA!

COBRA! — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:44:07 -0800

I've taken a couple of extension classes at MCAD, and their comics program is monster awesome. Ryan Kelly is one of my favorite teachers in any discipline.

By: Artw

Artw — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:09:08 -0800

Is this with the aim of an eventual career in comics? I can't say I've encountered anyone working in the field who's actually studied it – they've all pretty much learned on the job, though some of them have studied art or graphic design (you can really tell the guys with the good solid design background).

By: zainsubani

zainsubani — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:13:03 -0800

Actually, Artw, this question is more in the way of a survey, trying to find out what kinds of programs of this sort already exist.

By: Artw

Artw — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:23:20 -0800

OK, feel free to ignore :)