International Comic Book Artist Inspires College Students with Creative Wisdom

Local comic book artist Dean Ormston, recognised globally for his prominent American comic credits, hosted a masterclass for our Art, Graphics and Design students.

Dean, whose credits include ‘Bodies’ for DC Vertigo which has been adapted for an eight-part Netflix series starring Stephen Graham, delivered an inspiring and educational talk, offering Art students the rare opportunity to delve into the fascinating world of comic book creation.

I loved the session, not just because I got to practice drawing, but seeing all the drawings, paintings, ink work and Dark Horse comic books that Dean brought – that was just amazing!

After seeing Dean’s work, including some never-seen-before early drafts, the Art students were given a brief that Dean was previously given for ‘Bodies’ and allowed to develop their own character with Dean providing valuable advice.

The College’s Library team organised the workshop as part of their ‘Library Festival’ coinciding with Barnsley Council’s ‘Barnsley Book Festival’, to show students the process of receiving a comic brief and turning it into a story through the art of graphics.

Archie Busby, a Fine Art Practice BA (Hons) student, was one of the students with the rare opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge from Dean. He said: “I loved the session, not just because I got to practice drawing, but seeing all the drawings, paintings, ink work and Dark Horse comic books that Dean brought – that was just amazing.

“The main things I’ll take from today are the pages that comic book artists use, they draw the bleed and panel themselves, as well as how they might draw the same board or page three or four times to get it right, whereas when I’ve been creating mine, I only do it once.”

Dean, the artist and co-creator of Black Hammer with writer Jeff Lemire, added: “I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to the students and allowing them to see what someone from a small town like Barnsley, can make a career internationally and feature in Americanised comics, without leaving the town.

“The student’s work was fabulous – with only half an hour after receiving the prompt, they developed some wonderful characters!”

To find out more about our Art, Design and Fashion courses visit the department page or contact the Information Team by calling 01226 216 123 or emailing: info@barnsley.ac.uk