‘Pencil it’ launches the Graphic Novel Season

On 25 March we held the first event of the Westminster Libraries Graphic Novel Season: Pencil it! at Westminster Reference Library.

The first half of the afternoon was a workshop on drawing and illustration techniques led by artists and illustrators Tom Pearce and Declan Talbert. Cass Art London kindly sponsored the event by providing free drawing materials.

In the second half, there was a talk and discussion with international graphic novel academic Paul Gravett and comics illustration ‘supremo’ Ed Hilyer AKA Ilya. also in attendance was 10-yr old wunderkind Zoom Rockman who recently featured on BBC Breakfast TV. Zoom started writing and producing his own Beano-inspired comics book ‘The Zoom’ when he was 8. We filmed a quick interview in which he said his inspirations are: his dog, his little brother, Jammy Dodgers and things he notices in his everyday life. Zoom is also an all round entrepreneur: he brought along some of his comics which he sells for 99p (+badge and fold up poster). He also prints his own The Zoom Tshirts. That kid is all the creative industries rolled into one!

Artist Juan Carlos Cambon introduced his project, ART BLOSSOM JAPAN (website available soon), which he created and now runs with fellow artists to raise relief aid funds for the natural disaster that has devastated many parts of Northern Japan.

A film of the whole event is being edited and should be ready sometime in early May.

The Pencil It workshop will be repeated today (31 March) at Paddington Library, and later at Pimlico Library, alongside several other events for the Graphic Novel Season and the Little Big Stories Exhibition: see all Graphic Novel Season events.

[Rossella]