August 15, 2018 Image Pre-College Summer Session: Comic Art What surprised you the most about the Pre-College Summer Session (PCSS)? What surprised me most about PCSS was the people! Everyone was really different from one another but that didn't stop us from creating a sort of united bond with one another throughout the program. What aspect of the program has had the biggest impact on you? An aspect of comic art that had the biggest impact on me was the business portion and written elements within comics. It's not just drawing pretty pictures. I am a terrible writer and if you are too and fear going into comics for that reason don't limit yourself. Even some of the best stories can be told without words. The program helped me find my personal way of writing and tips on how to sell and enter your own way into the comics business. Orion works on one of their comics in an MCAD studio. Photo by Grace Olson. How has your artistic practice changed from being a part of the program? My artistic practices changed since the program by allowing myself to see more into art and writing as a whole and to make my visual work deeper in meaning. It also made my work more fun to create too, since it doesn't always have to be serious. Art can be a tool express pretty much anything you want to! What was your favorite experience, outside of the classroom? My favorite experience outside of the classroom was the city itself. For instance, the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the houses around the area were always filled with interesting and unique things. You could go for a walk and soak up ideas like a sponge. Orions's response to the What's In Your Bag? prompt. Photo by Grace Olson. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about coming to PCSS? The advice I would give to someone thinking about coming to PCSS would be to write everything you've learned down, including ideas to help you achieve your goal in art. But most of all, just remember why you wanted to join PCSS in the first place and show em' what you're made of!