March 7, 2018

Self portrait by Stephan Donche

Summer of 2017, Stephan Donche took the Single Panel Gag summer workshop with Hilary Price (Rhymes with Orange) at The Center for Cartoon Studies. Stephen was born and raised in France. He came to the United States to go to UCLA and then moved to San Diego where he started a design agency, got married, and raised two exceptional daughters. He spent his time traveling, eating, drinking, and laughing a lot. Now he is getting ready for his next (soon to be post-retirement) adventure, which will include some form of cartooning. The following interview is with Angela Boyle ’16.

What is your background with comics?

My dad owned a bookstore that had a comics section. To his great despair, I spent more time reading comics like Tintin and Asterix than reading classics like Flaubert and Hugo. I was always drawing. My dream as a kid was to become a Disney animator. In college, I drew political cartoons for my college paper. Later as a creative director, I always tried to convince my corporate clients to use comics for their magazines, annual reports, or ad campaigns. I did succeed every now and then. In fact, one of our agency’s most successful projects was an annual report-comic that we did for a national hamburger chain. It read like a graphic novel, thanks to the very talented Batton Lash, who drew all the panels. It won a lot of awards and was even shown on CNN. Best of all, the still famous Warren Buffet was so impressed by it, he wrote the CEO of the company and asked for more copies.

How did you hear about the summer workshops at CCS?

I found out about the school on the web. Being in love with both Vermont and comics, it was lust at first sight.

Was this your first time visiting CCS? Can you describe what your first impressions were?

Last summer was my first time visiting CCS. I felt like a kid living the dream. I loved everything about it: the location (White River Junction), the hotel where I stayed (Coolidge), the school, the classroom, the instructor (Hilary Price), and the eclectic mix of students.

What was the most important thing you learned in your workshop?

I learned that I still wanted to become a famous cartoonist when I grow up.

What was your favorite memory during your visit?

I have so many good memories, but the one great memory I have was the realization (epiphany?) on day 2 that for the first time in my life I was surrounded by people who shared my crazy love for comics.

Did this workshop inspire any projects for you?

You bet. I have continued to draw and try to find my voice. Check my Life Medium Rare web comics on Instagram. It’s been great therapy for me.

And by the way I signed up for another workshop for this summer, 2018. I can’t wait!

Single Panel Comics with Hilary Price
June 11-14, 2018
Register today!