Comic Hero
Academy

Eight missions to invent a character nobody has ever seen before. Grab paper, pencils and textas.

Your artist name

Signed in as

Issue 1

The idea machine

Every great hero starts with a weird mix. Spin the machine, keep what you love, spin again for what you don't.

Don't like any of them? Type your own in the boxes below. Your idea always beats the machine.

Hero or villain?

What are they?

Superpower

Secret weakness

Character name

Issue 2

Shape power

Pro comic artists build characters from shapes. The shape tells readers who someone is before they say a word.

Paper time (10 min)

Draw your main shape big for the body Add a head, arms and legs using only simple shapes Draw 3 quick versions: one tall, one tiny, one chunky. Circle your favourite

Messy is the point. These are called thumbnails and every artist starts this way.

Issue 3

Shadow test

The best characters are recognisable just from their shadow. Think about Batman's ears.

The challenge

Trace your favourite thumbnail, then colour it in totally black Add one thing that sticks out: a cape, horns, a hat, a tail, giant boots Show someone in your family. Can they tell what it is?

What's the one thing that makes your shadow special?

Issue 4

Face lab

Comics are mostly faces. Fold a page into 6 boxes and draw your character feeling each of these.

Secret trick: eyebrows do most of the work. Pull a face in the mirror and copy your own eyebrows.

Their catchphrase

Issue 5

Suit up

Pick exactly 3 colours. Big heroes use only a few colours so you can spot them anywhere in a panel.

Picked: none yet

Pick a symbol for their chest, shield or flag

Draw your hero

Draw on the iPad, or on paper and then snap a photo so it goes in your gallery.

Draw your character full-body, standing tall Colour them using only your 3 colours

Issue 6

Origin story

How did they get their powers? Fill the gaps. Wild answers are allowed.

They live in… One day, something strange happened… Now their mission is to… Their best friend or sidekick is… Their biggest enemy is…

Issue 7

Bring them to life

Time to bring your hero to life! The art machine turns your drawing into polished comic art. You're the boss: it keeps your design.

Pick a style

Issue 8

Your first comic strip

Four panels. That's a whole story. Plan it here, then draw it on paper.

1. Meet them

2. Uh oh

3. Power up

4. Ending

Paper time

Draw 4 boxes and sketch each panel Add speech bubbles (write the words first, then draw the bubble around them) Add one sound effect: POW, ZAP, SPLAT…

Bonus: preview your strip with ChatGPT

Reward

Official character card

🔒

Certified comic creator!