Arranging elements in an image is often the first stage of the artists process when deciding the intent of a work of art.  The subconscious effects of the principles of design will be examined in understanding what evokes responses in viewers.  Each week will feature a critique of student work, followed by a lecture analyzing classical art and comic book panels.  Symbolism and reading order will be discussed with students to understand the abstract design and power of images.  The course will generally focus on producing tonal images, with color being addressed towards the end of the course. Bio: My primary creative motive has always been emotional and thematic communication, in all forms of art.  I fell in love with comic books/graphic novels as a boy, and this love and admiration for the deep poetic capacity of the medium has only increased throughout my life.  While at CSU Northridge, I experimented in abstraction, but developed an abiding passion for classical and 19th-Century art—although, like comics, the latter was still largely denigrated at the time.  After graduating, I studied with Glen Vilppu, while free-lancing in illustration and graphic design.  My first published work in comics was for the enormously influential Neal Adams at Continuity Comics, followed by work for Dark Horse, Marvel U.K., and DC Comics, including several Batman “Specials” and a Bram Stoker Award-nominated Special of “The Dreaming”.