About this KNoT

This is a hands-on workshop where we’ll use drawing, comics, and zine-style layouts to explore how to express complex ideas in simple, creative ways. No experience necessary.

Preparation

There is no extensive prep-work needed. Please come with paper and things to draw with. Sketch pens, colour pencils, and crayons work great. Please also think back to the last comic you read, and to your favourite comic (if you have one).

What You’ll Learn

No art skills or design background needed — just a pencil, some paper, and something you care about.

Whether your research involves lab work, archival digging, or everyday experiences, we’ll help you sketch out a mini-zine page (or two) that communicates what it’s about — or why it matters. Along the way, we’ll explore how words and images work together — not just to simplify ideas, but to express their depth and nuance differently.

What we’ll do

Learn the basics of what makes comics and zines work
Look at examples of comics that do research (yes, that’s a thing!)
Try short, playful drawing exercises to loosen up
Break big ideas down into visual scenes and simple steps
Make at least one zine page based on something you're working on or curious about
Share your work (if you want)

What you’ll learn

How to use simple drawings and layouts to explain an idea or tell a story
How comics and zines work — what makes them clear, fun, or powerful
How to combine words and images to express something that’s hard to say with just one or the other
How to break big or complex ideas into smaller visual moments
How to explore research questions creatively — through storytelling, not just explanation
How to experiment without worrying about being “good” at art
How to give and get friendly feedback that helps you see your work in a new way
How to make a zine page from scratch

Learning Resources

About the use of comics in academia: Issue 1: Using comics in academia - Meanwhile, Back in the Library...Comics - LibGuides at Sheffield Hallam University

A student about her PhD journey Thesis notebooks – Tiphaine Riviere - comics are in French but the visuals communicate well.

Akesson, B., & Oba, O. (2017). Beyond Words: Comics in the Social Work Classroom. Journal of Social Work Education, 53(4), 595-606.

How to Complete This KNoT

Complete a one or two page comic as a part of this exercise.

Submit your Completion Task here:

Submit your completion task for this KNoT via the Qualtrics survey (ANU Login required). You have 10 calendar days after the KNoT to submit it.

Writing your reflection

Most completion tasks ask you to reflect on what you did. For example prompts, sentence starters, and what a strong reflection covers, see Guidance on Reflective Practice. Your completed tasks come together at the end of the semester in the KNoT Completion Evidence.