Matt running a virtual lesson for singapore american school in 2020

“Our teachers were so impressed with Matt’s ability to give meaningful feedback to so many students, especially in the virtual setting.”
— Emily Williams, K-12 Librarian, Shanghai Community International School, Pudong
“He was super funny! He has such a good balance of making us learn and have fun at the same time, and I LOVED it!”
— Anubhav, Grade 7 student, International Community School Addis Ababa
“Even in the world of Zoom lessons, Matt’s presentation was incredible and had the students hooked. ”
— Clare Manifold, Grade 7 Social Studies Teacher, Southpointe Academy

Matt running a workshop at art central in abu dhabi

What can Matt Smith offer?

Matt Smith has led comics workshops at schools, art galleries and comic conventions across the world. He has taken his workshops to North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and even to the virtual classroom!

Matt's comics workshops entertain and engage participants of all ages and writing and drawing abilities. Matt offers interactive, enthusiastic lessons with plenty of hands on activities. These lessons focus on literacy and personal expression.

One of Matt’s core beliefs is that you don’t need to be a great artist to make comics! Comics are more about communication than artistic background and anyone can draw a comic!

For schools: Matt can offer workshops to students from kindergarten to grade 12 in a variety of subject areas. Matt doesn’t limit his lessons to English classes. He has visited primary homerooms, MYP/DP Language & Literature lessons, Business classes and Art rooms.

Matt has also led professional development for teachers on how comics can promote literacy in the classroom. Matt has presented at the 2019 East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS) conference in Bangkok and the 2020 European League for Middle Level Education (ELMLE) conference in Budapest.

“Matt recently held live, virtual small groups with all of our 9th grade students. He helped students to better understand the choices cartoonists make in their graphic novels in an engaging, interactive way. We definitely hope to have this become an annual experience!”
— Jenny Killion, Instructional Coach and Grade 9 World Literature Teacher, American School of Barcelona

What workshops can Matt Smith offer?

A virtual lesson for Shanghai Community International School in 2020

NEW FOR DISTANCE LEARNING: Virtual Lessons! (30-90 min, grades 1 and up): In the time of social distancing and distance learning, Matt is offering online versions of the lessons below, mixing school-specific pre-recorded instruction videos with interactive small-group lessons and personalized feedback. The next best thing to having Matt visit your school!

Expressive Characters (30 min, KG - grade 1, 30 students max): This workshop challenges younger cartoonists to draw BIG cartoony characters with BIG emotions.

Let’s Draw Some Comics! (45-90 min, grades 2 and up, 30 students max): Students will create expressive characters, show movement and draw sound; everything you need to know to create your first comic story. This workshop is very interactive and in order to interact with every student, it works best with smaller groups (1 or two classes at a time). Recommended for the first visit to a school.

Making Stronger Comics (60-120 minutes, grades 3 and up, 30 students max): Students explore the different type of comic-book panels and create unique characters that come alive on the page. This lesson builds on the skills students acquire in Let’s Draw Some Comics! and is a good fit for students who have worked with Matt previously.

Assemblies (30 min for grades 2 and under, 45-60 min for grades 3 and up, more than 40 students): For larger groups, Matt has an assembly presentation about his journey in comics, what inspires him and what he loves about comics. He does live drawing demonstrations, creates new characters with audience participation, and answers questions from the audience.

My First Comic Story (1 full day or multiple sessions during or after school, grade 3 and up, max 30 students): Students work with Matt to create a polished, finished comic book page through the writing, planning, rough drawing and final inking stages. Students will then use the iPad app Strip Designer or computer program Comic Life to create speech balloons. This introduces a STEAM element into the creation process.

Creating Comics 101 (2-3 full days, grades 9 and up, 20 students max): Older students will learn the industry-standard process of creating comic pages. Students will learn to script, plan pages with thumbnail sketches, pencil & ink pages and use Photoshop to add speech balloons and colour.

Dissecting a Comic Book Page (30-60 min, grades 9 and up, 30 students max): Matt will take students through the process of critically analyzing comic book pages and panels to uncover deeper meaning. Students will learn to decode comic conventions and delve into the intent of the cartoonist and to examine how the artistic choices made by the creator impact us as the reader. A perfect fit for IB DP Lang & Lit students!

The Business of Comics (45-60 min, for HS Business classes): Matt shares his entrepreneurial journey, successes and failures he’s encountered, and answers questions about running a small business.

Professional Development Training (45-90 min, for faculty): Matt helps teachers understand the basics of comics language, deepens their appreciation of the medium, gives them practical ways to use comics in the classroom, and lets them draw their own comic (don’t worry, NO drawing experience is required!). In March, 2019, Matt brought this workshop to the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS) conference in Bangkok, Thailand and in January, 2020, Matt ran workshops at the European League for Middle Level Education (ELMLE) conference in Budapest.

Parents Session (45-60 min): Some parents are still apprehensive when it comes to letting their children read comics. Matt demonstrates the power of the medium, suggests how parents and children can interact with comics together and proves that comics are not just “simple picture books.”
(At IB schools, Matt also discusses how his IB schooling helped him become the reflective, risk-taking entrepreneurial communicator he is today!)

“Matt perfectly tailored each workshop, personalizing it to fit the needs of the group, the time frame and the focus of the lesson. His workshops struck a good balance between teaching new information and giving the participants time to practice what they learned.”
— Miah Confer, Middle School Art, American School in Japan

matt smith, 2017 - photo by emma smith

Who is Matt Smith?

Matt Smith is a cartoonist, filmmaker, illustrator and educator who has lived all over the world. As a third culture kid, Matt studied at the International School of Bangkok and the International School of Kuala Lumpur, where he graduated with the IB Diploma.

As an international school teacher, Matt has taught at a variety of schools, including the American School in Japan and the American International School Kuwait.

Matt is able to comfortably lead lessons, co-teach and interact with students. As a certified teacher, Matt spent four years as a technology coach, with a focus on promoting digital literacy. He brings his passion for media, technology and teaching to his comics career. His comics have been published online, in various newspapers in British Columbia, and by comic publishers Alterna Comics, Frisson Comics, Hangman Comics, Sliced Quarterly and more. 

You can see more of his illustrations here.

Matt's interactive instructional book

Why comics?

We live in a world where we are bombarded with messages and imagery. Words, illustrations and screens are everywhere. Comics, a marriage of words and pictures, are a great way to de-code the world around us.

Comics are growing in popularity, becoming the reading material of choice for many 10-14 year olds and dominating popular culture. By examining this combination of words and pictures, students strengthen their literacy and become better communicators. Also: comics are fun!

What do teachers say about Matt Smith?

“Matt’s enthusiasm for engaging students is magnetic. My fourth graders had a chance to draw their own comics with lots of feedback from Matt. The students loved learning from him and were fully enthralled by the process!”
— Austin Wellman, Grade 4 teacher, Shanghai Community International School
“Matt was brilliant with the students. They learned so much in such a short space of time and were so captivated and inspired!”
— Lucy Shaw, PYP Visual Art, International School of Geneva, Campus des Nations
“I was so impressed by Matt’s workshop, he never said anything negative, he just kept encouraging us and gave advice on how to improve. He was a great model for us that day, of how to interact with students constructively.”
— Marco Vitt, Science teacher, Euroamericano Sur, Monterrey, Mexico
“From the moment Matt began his workshop, my students were enthralled. His passion, energy, and knowledge about creating comics is undeniable and a huge reason why the children enjoyed their time with him so much. Not only did he teach about the creation of comics with the kids but his workshop for the teachers was fantastic. Matt engaged us and challenged us to incorporate comics into our repertoire of literacy strategies. From start to finish, he was exceptional!”
— Kate Fillion, Elementary teacher at the American School of Kuwait

What do students say about Matt Smith?

“I REALLY enjoyed the presentation by Matt Smith. It was an amazing experience and I learned so much. I would really like him to come again.”
— Kenan, Year 6 Student, International School of Geneva, Campus des Nations
“Mr. Smith, you inspired a lot of kids today, but you inspired me the most.”
— Bandar, Grade 5 Student, American School of Kuwait
“Thank you for your fun comics lesson! We all had lots of fun with you!”
— Mutsuki, Grade 7 student, American School in Japan
“He was super funny! He has such a good balance of making us learn and have fun at the same time, and I LOVED it!”
— Anubhav, Grade 7 student, International Community School Addis Ababa

Hire Matt Smith!

If you'd like to book Matt Smith for a workshop, virtual lesson or school visit, please get in touch! Matt is willing to adapt his lessons and workshops to suit an individual school or convention's needs, so please don't hesitate to ask!

Fees: GBP £200 (approx. US $275) per hour of instructional time, plus expenses, accommodation and travel from Glasgow, Scotland (expenses not applicable to virtual visits).

You can contact Matt by email at matt@smithvssmith.com

A Workshop at the 2018 al ain book fair in the united arab emirates

Past School Visits:

“I sat in on Matt’s session at the European League of Middle Level Education (ELMLE) conference in Budapest and was comically educated about comics! Matt lives and breathes his work and his passion is contagious. From start to finish, Matt convinced a room full of middle school teachers that they could become cartoonists, and more importantly, he gave us reasons why we would want to!”
— Dave Straffon, PhD, MS Principal/Deputy Director, American International School Vienna

Educational Conference Presentations

Comic Convention Workshops & Presentations

Raptus 2019 (Bergen, Norway)

Middle East Film & Comic Con 2019 (Dubai)

Vancouver Comic Arts Festival 2018 & 2019

Curious Comicon 2018 (Nanaimo, Canada)

Courtenay InCON 2017 (Canada)

Matt working with 11th graders at Munich international school

Articles and Links:

Listen and subscribe to Matt’s new podcast: Matt and Cale Read Comics, available wherever you get your podcasts for free!

Read an article written by Year 9 students of the French International School Hong Kong about Matt’s virtual visits in 2020.

Read Matt’s interview with Down the Tubes.net, part of the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival in Focus series.

Matt discusses making comics and missing comic conventions on the True North Country Comics podcast!

Hear Matt discuss teaching, art and his experiences as a TCK (Third Culture Kid) on the Run Your Life podcast!

Hear Matt speak about comics in the classroom on the TLC Ninja podcast!

Read about Matt’s 2018 visit to the Higher Colleges of Technology in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates!