ONE YEAR VISUAL NARRATIVE LAB
A one-year journey into drawing, visual storytelling and experimentation.Sept. 2026 until Sept. 2027
︎︎︎11 Narrative Labs ︎︎︎ 44 weeks of exploration
︎︎︎ 11 live sessions
︎︎︎ Online
EARLY BIRD before 28.08.2026
ONE YEAR VISUAL NARRATIVE LAB
One Year Visual Narrative Lab is an online program exploring drawing and painting as expanded forms of visual storytelling.
Over eleven months, we will move through different territories of observation, memory, imagination and fiction. Each month opens a new door: abstraction, everyday life, invisible worlds, travel, autobiography, failure, geology, mythical creatures, cinema, absurdity and the ocean.
Rather than following a fixed method for making images, we will experiment with different ways of seeing, thinking and connecting things.
The goal is to develop your own visual language and discover what stories can emerge through the act of drawing.
ONE YEAR. ELEVEN TERRITORIES.
Each Narrative Lab is a four-week experiment with its own subject, and visual approach.
You can enter through any of them. But together, the eleven labs become a longer journey through different ways of making images and telling stories.
01.–BEYOND THE FORM
Drawing, abstraction & symbolic languageWe perceive the world through shapes, objects, colours and sounds. In this lab, we will explore abstraction and its symbolic power as a bridge between the objective and the subjective.
︎︎︎September 2026
WED 02 Sept
︎ Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
09 Sept
16 Sept
23 Sept
02.–SMALL TALK
Drawing, comics & everyday absurditiesLife is full of small absurdities: awkward encounters, strange conversations, misunderstandings and minor disasters. We will transform seemingly insignificant moments into short visual stories.
︎︎︎October 2026
WED 07 Oct
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
14 Oct
21 Oct
28 Oct
03.–SPIRITISM
Fiction, memory & invisible worldsWhat exists between what is real and what is imagined? Can memory become a fictional place? Can a soul inhabit matter?
We will use speculation, memory and fiction to create stories from invisible worlds.
︎︎︎November 2026
WED 04 Nov
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
11 Nov
18 Nov
25 Nov
04.–TRIP FICTION
Travel journals & invented realitiesTravel means entering the unknown and seeing familiar things as if for the first time. We will use the travel journal as a space between observation and invention, creating a small fictional travel book.
︎︎︎December 2026
WED 02 Dec
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
09 Dec
16 Dec
06 Jan
05.–MIRAGES
Autobiography, perception & imagined selvesThe world we experience is shaped by what we see, remember and imagine. In this lab, we will explore autobiography as a flexible and imaginative way of constructing stories about ourselves.
︎︎︎January 2027
WE 13 Jan
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
20 Jan
27 Jan
03 Feb
06.–STAND-UP TRAGEDY
Failure, humour & personal territoriesAwkward moments, stupid decisions, frustrations and minor disasters are part of everyone's story. We will turn these personal failures into creative material, transforming them into playful visual narratives and self-published fanzines.
︎︎︎February 2027
WE 10 Feb
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
17 Feb
24 Feb
03 March
07.–MINERALIA / UNDERWORLD
Earth, geology & speculative landscapesWhat lies beneath the ground?
Through minerals, fossils, rocks, valleys and volcanoes, we will explore the underground as an invisible world. Combining observation and speculation, we will imagine geological landscapes that may or may not exist.
︎︎︎March 2027
WE 10 March
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
17 March
24 March
31 March
08.–BESTIARIO / BOOK OF BEASTS
Mythical creatures & new speciesFrom centaurs and mermaids to dog-men and spider-women, hybrid creatures have always occupied the space between human, animal and imagination.
We will create our own personal bestiary through drawing, experimentation and play.
︎︎︎April 2027
WE 07 April
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
14 April
21 April
28 April
09.–ETERNAL FRAMES
Cinema, memory & personal storiesSome films stay with us for years. A scene, a character, a colour, a landscape or a particular emotion can become part of our personal memory.
We will revisit our memories of cinema and transform them into a visual narrative where film, emotion and memory intertwine.
︎︎︎May 2027
WE 05 May
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
12 May
19 May
26 May
10.–UGLY, STUPID DRAWING
Absurdity & visual experimentationWhat happens when we stop trying to make a good drawing?
Using random images, strange associations and deliberately pointless ideas, we will create awkward, funny and unexpected drawings — developing a sketchbook where failure becomes a method.
︎︎︎June 2027
WE 02 June
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
09 June
16 June
23 June
11.–DEEP BLUE
Oceanic imaginaries & new forms of lifeAlgae, fish, waves, currents and creatures from the depths.
We will explore the ocean through observation and imagination, inventing new forms of life and developing our own aquatic visual language.
︎︎︎September 2027
WE 01 Sept
︎Intro Live-Session at 8.30 pm CET Timezone
08 Sept
15 Sept
22 Sept
A YEAR OF DRAWING, BUT NOT JUST DRAWING
The eleven labs explore very different subjects, but they share the same underlying approach:
︎︎︎ Observation.
It is not just a matter of observing reality, but of engaging with it.
︎︎︎Experimentation.
Trying different materials, techniques and ways of constructing images.
︎︎︎Imagination.
Allowing drawings to lead somewhere you didn't expect.
︎︎︎Fiction.
Inventing connections between things that don't normally belong together.
︎︎︎Uncertainty.
Moving between what we know and what we don't know.
︎︎︎Process.
Understanding that the most exciting part is what happens along the way, rather than the final destination itself
HOW THE YEAR WORKS
Each Visual Narrative Lab lasts four weeksEvery lab begins with a live introductory session on Zoom, where we introduce the subject and start the first exercise together.
After that, a new exercise is released each week.
You can work at your own pace, but the group remains active throughout the lab. Participants share their work, discoveries and questions in a dedicated community space on Slack
At the end of each lab, you will have developed a small visual project.
︎︎︎A new territory.
︎︎︎A new set of questions.
︎︎︎A different way of looking.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
︎11 NARRATIVE LABS
Eleven four-week courses from September 2026 to June 2027.
︎ 11 LIVE SESSIONS
One live Zoom introduction for every lab. All sessions are recorded.
︎WEEKLY EXERCISES
A new practical exercise every week, designed to gradually develop a visual project.
︎COMMUNITY
Access to the private course community, where you can share your work, exchange ideas and follow the process of other participants.
︎FEEDBACK & DISCUSSION
The work is not formally graded. We look at the drawings together, discuss different approaches and learn from the processes of others.
︎GUEST ARTISTS
Throughout the year, we will also meet artists working across illustration, comics, drawing and visual narrative.
︎ YOUR OWN VISUAL ARCHIVE
By the end of the year, you will have accumulated eleven different projects, experiments and bodies of work — a personal archive of your journey through the Narrative Lab.
THIS IS NOT A COURSE ON HOW TO DRAW ‘WELL’
My approach to drawing focuses on observation, experimentation and discovery rather than perfection.
We will embrace mistakes, uncertainty, accidents and unexpected results.
Some exercises may produce beautiful drawings, Others just terrible drawings.
Some may become stories, Others may lead nowhere.
That's part of the process. The important thing is to keep looking, keep making and remain open to what the drawing might reveal.
WHO IS IT FOR?
The One Year Narrative Lab is for anyone interested in drawing, painting, visual storytelling and analogue processes.
You don't need to be a professional artist or illustrator.
You don't need to have a particular drawing style.
You don't even need to consider yourself “good at drawing”.
What you need is curiosity and a willingness to experiment.
All levels are welcome.
The course is taught in English.
THE EARLY BIRD
from 24.08 until 28.08.2026JOIN THE COMPLETE ONE YEAR NARRATIVE LAB
Instead of enrolling in individual courses throughout the year, join the complete program from the beginning and follow the entire journey.
11 Visual Narrative Labs
︎︎︎September 2026 — September 2027
︎ 11 live Zoom sessions
︎44 weeks of exercises
︎Private community
︎Guest artist Lectures (online)
︎Recordings included
EARLY BIRD before 28.08.2026
JOIN THE ONE YEAR VISUAL NARRATIVE LAB
Early Bird price before 28.08.2026
Regular price one year: €880
Save €320 when you join before 28.08.2026
*You can also join individual labs if you prefer.*
One Individual LAB
*Please specify the name of the lab you’d like to join
Five LABS
**Please specify the names of the 5 Labs you’d like to join
ABOUT THE TEACHER
Cristóbal Schmal is a Chilean artist, illustrator and educator based in Germany.
His work explores drawing as a tool for observation, storytelling and experimentation, moving between the personal, the everyday and the imaginary.
He has worked across illustration, comics, publishing and visual narrative, and has taught drawing and creative practices in different contexts.
His teaching focuses on helping participants develop their own visual language through observation, experimentation and an openness to the unexpected.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I need to be good at drawing?
No. The course is open to all levels. The exercises are designed to encourage experimentation rather than technical perfection.
Do I need to attend the live sessions?
No. The live sessions are recorded, so you can watch them later and complete the exercises at your own pace.
How much time do I need?
The program is designed around one exercise per week. You can decide how much time you want to dedicate to each one.
Will my work be evaluated?
There are no grades. The work is shared and discussed as part of the learning process. Looking at other people's approaches is an important part of the course.
What materials do I need?
Drawing paper, mixed-media paper, graphite pencils, brushes, inks, drawing pens and watercolours are the main materials. A detailed materials list will be provided after enrollment.
Is the course in English?
Yes. The course is taught in English.
