Daily plan
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What to expect from the course!
Getting there
BY CAR, TRAIN, PLANE OR SHUTTLE
All classes are welcomed at our campus on Sunday afternoons and leave the following Sunday morning. Students can reach the campus by car, or book a ride on our private shuttle leaving from the International Pisa Airport or Pisa Train Station.
WHAT HAPPENS THEN?
After being assigned a room and settling in, you’ll be able to relax and take a walk in the campus garden – or just hide behind whatever manga you find lying around. Once the whole class is there, an opening speech is held in the classroom by the European Manga Academy director and the course’s teacher. No worries, it’s not as formal as it sounds.
CLOSING THE DAY WITH…
After the welcoming speech, students and relatives share a buffet-style dinner. Usually, the new group members take this chance to get to know each other a little while getting second servings of hand-made pizza and fruit salad.
The span of time between dinner and our night curfew is free. You can play Uno together, recharge your social batteries in your room, take a stroll in the garden, gaze at the stars or sketch away beneath our fairy lights.
Complete immersion in manga technique
MORNINGS
No time to waste! We are off to an early start every day, to make the most of the time we have together. After an hour-long stretching session we recharge with breakfast and then head off to class until noon.
6-7 AM: aikidō practice
7-8 AM: breakfast
8-12 AM: manga class
AFTERNOONS
Our afternoons balance drawing and group activities, which vary depending on the day and course level.
12:20: lunch
1 PM: weekly cleaning
2-4 PM: manga class
4 PM: snack (salty or sweet)
4:30 PM: afternoon activities
6-7 PM: aikidō practice
EVENINGS
After working up a sweat students freshen up and enjoy dinner together. 8 PM is usually the time to call home and scroll through social media to catch up on what happened during the day, but most pupils go back to class to enjoy some individual drawing practice.
7:20 PM: dinner
10:30 PM: curfew
WRAPPING UP
Saturday is the last day of class. By 4PM the group and teaching staff clean up their desks, shoe racks and materials.
After sharing a fresh snack, the students have a review session with the European Manga Academy director, who shares additional comments and gives feedback on their work. Pupils often end up sketching while listening, and briefly reconsidering their earlier choice of making fun of the director in their yon-koma manga.
EVENING TRADITIONS
Our Saturday evening menu has been the same since our first course in 2007 – and so has the extended curfew! We love giving students the chance to spend as much time together as they wish and most enjoy their evening playing under the tent. Their anison karaoke sessions only risk waking up hares and deers after all.
Additional activities
AIKIDŌ: A MARTIAL ART LIKE NO OTHER
Aikidō is a non-competitive martial art and its practice has been rooted in our Summer Manga courses from the very beginning. It helps students connect with their bodies, find out about the existence of abdominal muscles and learn to differentiate left from right. Some even manage not to knock their heads with the bokken (wooden sword) used in the advanced class – or so the legend goes!
THEATRE: MAKE IT COUNT
One more tradition that enriches the experience are the theatre lab activities, held during the first two afternoons of the beginner level course. A manga artist needs to understand how to portray their characters and, albeit introductory, these sessions help develop a better understanding of one’s body and movement. Most of all, they bring together the class in a truly unique way, receptive to every student’s inputs. The exercises are studied to work with international classes and can count on variations suitable for deaf or hard-of-hearing students, as well as those with physical disabilities or recovering from injuries and surgeries.
STORYTELLING: SHOW, DON’T TELL
OVERTIME: FOR THE HARDCORE ARTISTS
Drawing classes end at 4 PM, but that doesn’t mean that students aren’t allowed to go back to the classroom and practice some more! Although we do recommend getting some rest and maybe taking a shower when possible, our schedule does allow some free time and everyone is welcome to schedule additional drawing hours if they want to.