Sequential Artists Workshop

The Terrible Anvil Season 2 Episode 08 - "Who Do You Think You Are?" In this episode, we’re asking “Who do you think you are?" meaning, Thanks for being here! -------------------------------- Recorded at SAW on Zoom The Terrible Anvil How do you make comics without all the frustration? Without feeling lousy and inadequate all the time? With the Terrible Anvil of daily deadlines! And a community, a...

The Terrible Anvil Season 2 Episode 07 - "What's the worst that could happen?" In this episode, we’re asking “What’s the worst that could happen?” We're talking about the fear of failure and utter collapse of our mental understanding of our own self-esteem. We're talking about large and small audiences, and envisioning the "fiery crash" of those potential failures, finding that a lot of times, the...

The Terrible Anvil Season 2 Episode 05 - Keep it to Yourself! In this episode, Tom and Jess talk about the things we should -and shouldn’t- keep to ourselves. Is it ok to make work in private? Is it ok to say and draw weird things? Is it ok to need to have someone draw it out of us? Is it ok to make something unmarketable? Tom and Jess make a connection with Henry Darger, but also butts and swear...

The Terrible Anvil Season 2 Episode 05 - Keep it to Yourself! In this episode, Tom and Jess talk about the things we should -and shouldn’t- keep to ourselves. Is it ok to make work in private? Is it ok to say and draw weird things? Is it ok to need to have someone draw it out of us? Is it ok to make something unmarketable? Tom and Jess make a connection with Henry Darger, but also butts and swear...

Season 2 | Episode 4: Memories and Habit ! In this episode, Tom and Jess take a look back on a book they both worked on, The Odyssey of Sergeant Jack Brennan , written by Brian Doerries, published by Pantheon in 2016. Jess offered some glimpses of the script, and her notes, doodles and then thumbnails and draft, and we talked about all sorts of things, including how to level up from 6 pages to 40,...

Season 2 | Episode 3: Detours! In this episode, Tom and Jess take some detours, to talk about developing one’s instincts, through deadlines. We talked about Present Tim and Future Tim (“What has Future Tim ever done for me?!”) we talked about going to the grocery store hungry, and leaving typos in your work! Being lenient with yourself! Then answered a question about how to not take free work from...

The Terrible Anvil Season 2 | Episode 2: Terrible Commitments! Tom and Jess about making accidental or conscious decisions early on that we are forced to live with. Tom Hart and Jess Ruliffson love to talk about making comic-making EASIER, and in this episode, we’re talking about making terrible commitments. It’s about time management some times, but other times it might be about character design,...

Hi! Welcome back to The Terrible Anvil ! Tom Hart and Jess Ruliffson love to talk about making comic-making EASIER, and in this season 2 opener, we’re talking about ART BUDGETING. It’s about how artists manage time, resources, and visual consistency when working on graphic novels. Jess’s favorite examples are from Allison Bechdel's Fun Home who love to silhouette characters, and background, and al...

Inner intimacy, with Sacha Mardou Have you read IFS comics yet? You’re about to. Sacha Mardou has been making journal comics about the most intimate moments in her life — the inner dialogue she has with all the parts of herself while practicing Internal Family Systems. It’s a beautiful and accessible opening of the most vulnerable intimacy, shown with her robust resource of skill.  Our conversatio...

Do you know you’re still an animal? How do you care for your animal?  Listen and settle into sensation, instinct, quiet observation. Your body knows how to be animal, just listen, and draw it out. Drawing Health is a live class every Saturday from 11am - 12pm EST. Sign up to join in, at drawinghealth.com . = About the podcast Drawing Health is a podcast about the intersection of comics and health,...

For this, our last episode of the Winter 2025/26 season, we have a special one for you. I decided to share some ramblings at the start of this one, about how practice becomes skill, and skills become automatic. In this world, our burdens are enormous, and we need to find balance between effort and ease — all while living with integrity. Listen to the first 20 minutes of this episode to hear how I...

Get cozy. Lie down.  Softness is all around us, and still hard to find if we’re locked into tension. When I taught this practice, it was because I needed it desperately - and if you watch the video, you’ll see my curling up on the floor to lie down while I guide you through. We start with softness, and grow into acceptance, permission, and getting out of our own way. If you need to notice the soft...

This episode brings you the one and only Kriota Willberg! Kriota’s career has been constructed of her own passions, no matter how different they may be - and as a result, she has a completely unique position as a bridge between the medical and comics communities. Our wide-ranging topics include the emotional significance of memoirs, trends in health awareness, the importance of bridging art and me...

This one’s gonna hurt. And that’s okay, pain is part of life. We all feel it, so let’s give it the grace of our attention. You may have heard the phrase, “sore spot” or “trigger point” in reference to both metaphorical pain, and physical pain. Does your pain belong to a spot? Is that spot a circle, or more angular, or square? Does it have a third dimension? Is one sore spot connected to another? P...

This episode’s guest is Zareen Choudhury! Zareen is relatively new to the comics scene, but her clear ambitions and community-building projects are a beacon for artists living with chronic health and disability experiences. As a person with chronic pain and disabilities myself, I was so excited to connect with Zareen, and you’ll hear me reaching with my words toward things I haven’t yet imagined,...

I’d been told I need unwinding for my drawing parts, after years of habits and strain have wound me tight. What it means may be different for each of us, and this practice is a method to find out for yourself. Unwinding, for a long and happy life in drawing ✨ Drawing Health is a weekly class to connect with your body and creativity at the same time. We draw, we talk, we move, we notice. This prac...

Where do you start, making graphic medicine about your health experiences? You start with yourself! Your own feelings, your own symptoms, your own language of comics. It can be daunting to do it with your mind, which is why I made this practice, for you to be guided without thinking too hard. Start with the body. Start by listening. Start with this episode, and discover the language you’ve already...

Maureen’s latest book, Sleepless Planet , weaves an ecology of sleep through gorgeous comics imagery, filled with personal stories and loads of research. If you want to know the animal of your sleep, buy the book! Today’s show features Maureen Burdock! Maureen holds a doctorate in Cultural Studies, and now teaches and creates Graphic Medicine comics. Her memoir, Queen of Snails, is incredibly lush...

What movements do you do every day? What shapes and motions do you NEVER make? What about when you're drawing? This practice is a gentle space to observe your movement habits in drawing, to not judge them, and to play with other possibilities of motion and feeling. This practice aims to teach your brain that moving, and drawing, can be safe from tension and pain. Let me know how it feels by leavin...

When you are interested in mental health and your own well-being, if you keep following that theme, sooner or later you’re going to get radicalized. This episode’s guest is YUMI SAKUGAWA! Yumi is a comics artist, meditator, creativity leader, and lovely human being. On my first ever podcast interview, she kept asking ME questions! Such is her curiosity and supportive nature. Our conversation roams...

DHPOD Episode 2: Listening Now (body awareness practice and guided meditation) If you’re just starting to listen to your body, it’s gonna hurt. Why? Because your body has been trying to get your attention, crying out in pain or numbing out in helplessness. The first thing you’ll hear, when you start listening, might be aaaaaaaallll that pain at once. It takes strength and patience to face that pai...

Tom Hart and I have been working together for years, and as Founder and Director at SAW, Tom is the reason this podcast exists at all. What better way to start than to hear us in conversation, as we often are, but with microphones this time, discussing what Drawing Health, and our passion in graphic medicine, is all about. Topics include: Can comics heal? Do I hate making comics? What if I don’t u...

Tom Hart and Georgia Webber want to help comics creators by helping the people around them understand what they do. This first of four episodes is very informal, Tom and Georgia gathering their thoughts. Think of it as listening in as two professionals meet to try to improve their industry. In this wide-ranging talk, we talk about the Canadian grant system (they have grants there!) and jury assess...

In episode fourteen and our finale of this season of Comics Karma, we welcome back Michael Aschner after MISSING his deadline and quitting another project, but after lots of processing and discovery. We talk about those artistic and personal discoveries on this episode. Plus Michael shows us how using AI to be silly helped him turn agony to laughter. Give it a listen ! This is the end of this seas...

In episode thirteen of Comics Karma, Lauren tries real life, and then we talk with the amazing Dante Gabriel Hookey who asks what comics mean, why are we telling stories, are we connecting at all, and what does empathy have to do with it? This one goes deep! Give it a listen ! And come back for more. We’ll be answering a different student each week for a few more weeks! Recorded at SAW on Zoom Tha...