Passing on a passion for Japanese Manga

Kris Coburn has been voluteering at Tauranga Intermediate School teaching anime-style drawing, is illustrating a book by a local author and is starting art classes. Photo/Stewart Whitaker

His own experience at school means Tauranga artist Kris Coburn plans to use a Japanese style of comic art as inspiration for kids.

Kris has already visited a class at Tauranga Intermediate School at the invitation of teacher Steve Theunissen.

"I talked to him for a little bit and he had me go in and teach some of the kids," says Kris.

"All the kids knew about this particular style of drawing, which is Manga. Manga is the comic book form and Anime the animation form. The kids all seemed to know what it is because they get exposed to it quite a lot and I noticed they are all very keen on learning."

He taught them some formulas for drawing in the style. "There are two ways to draw - observationally, where you look at something and copy it - or you can draw from a formula where you take a set of constructions and you make something from scratch or from memory.

"These kids picked it up so quickly. I was able to show them different aspects of human anatomy like the constructions of the face, keeping it all in proportion."

The experience, his first of teaching, has prompted him to set up a weekly class that will start early next term.

"They seek it out themselves. They want to know, so what better way to teach them skills as an artist than with something that they are already passionate about.

"You can teach kids really complex stuff through a medium they are passionate about and they will be able to apply it to any style or any venture they want to go into - illustrator, comic book designer, tattoo artist - anything like that in the artistic field."

Kris has also shown his work to a local writers' group and as a result has been commissioned to create the illustrations for a book written by local author Jan Goldie.

"I took my work along and showed them and she wanted me to illustrate one of the kids' books she had there."

Jan says the meeting was of the local branch of Spec Fic NZ. "We got chatting and I thought his work was interesting and quite different to things I've seen before," says Jan.

"I had a picture book text that I was already developing and asked him if he was interested in collaborating. It's a long-term project, but I think we will end up with an awesome illustrated picture book."

Kris' class is called Inklings and will be running on Tuesday afternoons from 4pm-5pm, at the Elizabeth St Community and Arts Centre.

For more information visit www.inklingsartkdc.wix.com/classes