Jilin Animation Institute recently hosted the workshop delivered by French literary agent and comic editor Nicolas Grivel. Running for nearly three months, the program offered systematic training covering the full comic creation pipeline, yielding 20 original comic works. Thanks to international, project-based professional training, students achieved all-round progress in story building, character design, storyboarding, visual presentation and professional creation capabilities, delivering fruitful teaching outcomes.
During the workshop
Drawing on international comic creation concepts and industry experience, Nicolas Grivel guided students through systematic comic creation training. Centered on completing a full original comic work, the workshop covered the entire workflow from idea generation and script polishing to final artwork. It helped students develop professional narrative thinking and standardized production workflows. Combining analysis of international comic cases with one-on-one tutoring, the course enabled students to understand narrative features and visual language of comics from diverse cultural backgrounds, broadening their creative horizons and enhancing cross-cultural artistic expression.
The training advanced step by step along the full comic creation workflow. At the initial stage, Nicolas helped students shift their mindset from simple drawing to visual storytelling, systematically explaining page layout, reading flow, visual rhythm and text-image coordination to consolidate their foundational skills. By analyzing outstanding international comics, students learned that comics are more than drawings — they are a comprehensive art form that conveys time, space and emotions through sequential images.
on site
In the story development phase, Nicolas instructed students on crafting compelling narratives, assisting them in refining core themes, plotlines and character relationships. Drawing on personal life experience and cultural insights, students gradually finalized story outlines, character profiles and emotional threads. For character creation, he emphasized personality logic and emotional motivation behind character designs. Exercises on backstory, movement and facial expressions trained students to build vivid characters via visual language and strengthen story appeal.
The workshop adhered to the teaching philosophy that “works deserve to be seen”. During the course, students’ drafts and storyboards were displayed on classroom walls for open discussion. Nicolas encouraged students to evaluate their work from the perspective of readers, comic editors and competition judges. Peer review sessions were also held to discuss strengths and areas for improvement.
on site
The curriculum integrated lectures with hands-on practice. Apart from group sessions, progress presentations, one-on-one coaching and revision sessions helped refine student projects. After nearly three months of intensive training, all 20 students finished their individual comics with complete packages including story concepts, character sheets, storyboards, cover art and final pages. The works cover coming-of-age tales, fantasy adventures, emotional narratives and traditional culture, demonstrating diverse explorations in themes, visual styles and narrative approaches. Participants mastered professional comic workflows and learned to source inspiration from daily life, build stories and express ideas visually.
Selected works
This International Comic Creation Workshop built a bridge for students to access global comic mindsets and industry standards. While sharpening their creative skills, students gained deeper insights into industry trends and professional requirements. Moving forward, Jilin Animation Institute will continue deepening international exchanges and cooperation, introducing high-quality global teaching resources. It aims to boost students’ originality and global vision, cultivate high-caliber comic talents with solid expertise, innovative thinking and cross-cultural communication competence, and inject youthful vitality into China’s original comic industry.
