This is it. This week I've started into my very last semester at MCAD.* Come mid-December, I'll have a Bachelor's Degree in Comic Art. Hopefully (and far, far more significantly), I'll also have a job or a lead on a job. But that's months from now; in the meantime, I've got homework to think about.

My classes are as follows:

Drawing 3: Figure. As much as I dislike drawing classes, I feel pretty good about this one after my first session yesterday. The teacher is cool (we were in the same online anatomy class last semester) and she assured me that we won't be working from the tired old pile of props, sticks, and curtains that we've had to draw from every other semester.

Illustration: Tools of the Trade. We'll be experimenting with various media in this class. The teacher is younger than I am (she graduated from MCAD in my freshman year), but she's got an impressive resume. We started with pen and ink last night, which means I'm beginning this class on familiar ground. We're doing illustrations for a story from a children's horror story anthology (Mr. Slusser should remember this one). By the way, did you know that Ed Emberly did more than just "how to draw" books?

Drawing 2: Color. Just what it says, I guess. I have this class tomorrow afternoon.


Professional Practice: Comics. I don't know exactly what this will involve, but every comics major has to take it.

Workshop: Webcomics; Workshop: Manga; Workshop: Super Hero Comics. These are all online courses. I've just started my Webcomics class (taught by another younger-than-me alumnus; I guess it's time to get out of school), and thus far it seems designed specifically for me: websurfing for good comics, posting in forums, and responding to others' posts. Obviously it's going to involve more than this, but I'm enjoying it.

Finally, if all goes as planned, I'll be adding a one-weekend class called Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits, which is about the rise and influence of Japanese pop culture in the West. I think most of it's going to be second nature to me anyway, but I need the credits in order to graduate on time.

One of the neat things about my Drawing class is that our teacher doesn't mind if we listen to music on headphones. My last Drawing teacher didn't allow us to do this, and let me tell you, the one thing that makes standing in a concrete-floored studio at an easel as your back and shoulders ache for five hours than having to do it in silence. Since I've been listening to podcasts while working lately, I've started looking for more that I can listen to while working in class.

One of the podcasts I've been listening to lately is Yog-Sothoth Radio. It's a Call of Cthulhu roleplaying campaign run by a British university gaming club. I've listened to a couple of sessions of this one already, and nothing makes gaming sound classier than people running 1920s characters with authentic British accents. But once you get past that, you recognize the typical sorts of joking you hear at any gaming table. Well, with fewer television show references, anyway.

I've been searching the iTunes webstore, and there are links to other gaming podcasts. Some selections apparently include "The Gamer Traveler Podcast", which looks like it covers games in different countries each episode; "Role Playing Public Radio", a gaming-based sketch comedy show; and...here's an interesting one, Beth - "The GM Gourmet", a show "discussing the synthesis between tabletop RPGs and good food."

*Which, by the way, was just named 'Best Midwestern College' by The Princeton Review; the only art and design college to win the award, and one of only seven art schools to make the list of 654 Best Regional Colleges in the U.S. Yay, legitimacy!