Illustrated Vignettes: Stories That Go Beyond the Screen

When brought together, images and text have the power to elevate a story. Discover your full potential as a narrator, by playing with this potent duo alongside author and illustrator Mariana Ruiz Johnson. Combine manual and digital techniques to give life to stories that will withstand the test of time.

In this course, learn how to write and illustrate vignettes to tell stories ready to share on Instagram. Mariana teaches her method for building scripts from your own biography and gives her expert tips to share your illustrated narrative online.

Get to know Mariana, learn about her career, how she became an illustrator and author for children’s books, as well as how she widened her creative scope in storytelling. She tells you about her influences and what you are about to learn in the course.

First, see the materials she uses and their characteristics. Study the relation between images and writing in an illustrated sequence. Find ideas to write and illustrate your own script using biographical anecdotes.

Once you have written and planned your sequence, work on how to visually represent it. Start by choosing a protagonist, then draw your storyboard, and see how to use ink in your vignettes to complete the unit.

In the next unit, digitize your work to apply the final adjustments, explore the power of color in your narrative, and create your front cover. Finally, Mariana shows you how to publish your vignette on Instagram and gives you some vital tips on how to adapt your projects to other formats.

Create a narrative sequence of four images and a front cover based on a personal anecdote, ready to share on Instagram.

For anyone interested in delving into the creation of comics or picturebooks. Writing and drawing enthusiasts as well as those who want to explore their creative capabilities will also enjoy this course.

To take this course you need basic Photoshop skills and a strong desire to explore your imagination.

You’ll need to be motivated to draw, and for this, you’ll need paper, a pencil, and ink materials. To digitize and edit your creations, you’ll need a scanner or a camera and a computer with Adobe Photoshop.