Make Your Own Sea Themed Comic Strip

Jack Butler Yeats was famous for his paintings but he also worked as an illustrator. An illustrator is someone who draws pictures using pen and ink to tell a story, just like in story books and comics.

He would write his own stories too. He loved to make up his own characters and think up lots of different adventures for his characters to go on. He really liked the sea and thought it was magical and mysterious. Many of the drawings and paintings in The Niland Collection by Jack Butler Yeats are of the sea.

Below you can see images of one of Jack’s characters Theodore the Pirate on his adventures at sea.

Jack B. Yeats, Wooden Trunk, c.1910

Jack B. Yeats, Wooden Trunk, c.1910

You are going to make your own comic strip.
For inspiration have a look at your favourite books and see if you can find different illustrations in them.
Look at all the different styles that each one is drawn in.

What you will need



Rubber / eraser

Black pen / fine tip marker

Comic strip activity sheet (see below)


The first thing to do is create a character. If you have a notebook, try practicing some different character styles in it first. On the first page of the activity sheet, design and draw your character. Decide if it is going to be a person or an animal, a robot or a pirate (just like Jack B. Yeats did). Be creative and don’t forget to give your character a name!

When you are finished drawing your character write down some words beside it to describe the character. Are they funny, silly, loud or quiet?

Once you have designed your character, you are ready to think up of a wonderful adventure and story for your character. Think about where your character is going, how they are going to get there and who they will meet on the way.

Now that you have a story, start drawing your character and its adventure into the boxes on your comic strip in pencil.

Write your story into the top of each box to describe what is happening or when your character is talking add a speech bubble.

When you are happy with your comic strip and have erased any mistakes go over your story and drawings in black pen and colour it in.

Ask a parent or guardian to take a picture of your work and share it with us.
Don’t forget to sign it with your name and age.

We will post your artwork on our website and Instagram account

@modelsligo / #themodelinsideout

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