-I'm really excited to see you.

I'm really excited today also because I'm reading a book about comics.

I love comics.

Why?

Well, let me show you.

Usually, comics tell a story through a combination of words and pictures and when they come together... [ Shimmering tune plays ] ...they become comics.

There are so many different types of comics.

There are funny comic books, superhero comic books.

There are longer stories, called graphic novels.

I love the comics in newspapers.

And, of course, now, you can find comics on any device, over the Internet.

There's really something for everyone.

So, what do comics have to do with art in the Guggenheim Museum?

Well, there are more connections than you might think.

Let's take a look.

This is a letter that the artist Vincent Van Gogh wrote to a friend and when I look at it, I'm reminded that artists have been combining words and pictures for as long as there have been words and pictures.

And no, this isn't a comic.

But, just like in a comic, the words and pictures really tell the whole story.

I would love to make my own comic.

Let's do it together.

Come on over to my drawing board and I'll show you what I mean.

Come on.

Alright, I've already started by drawing three panels on my paper.

Those are the different rectangles in a comic.

I try to leave an even space between and around the panels.

I'm going to make a comic about my friend Pencil.

I love meeting her at the museum, but sometimes we get lost, so, maybe that could become a story.

I start by lightly sketching what's going to go in each panel.

I have to think about how this short story will have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

In the beginning, Pencil's going to be looking for me.

She can't find me.

And then she's going to see me in the Guggenheim Museum.

And then in the third panel, we finally find each other.

I'm adding a thought bubble to the first panel because Pencil's trying to find me and she doesn't know where I am.

I'm sure to write the words, first, before I draw the bubble, so that I know I have enough room.

I try to make the words neat and straight and make sure that they're really clear and readable.

Next, I'm going to ink over my pencil, once I've drawn all of the pencil lines where I want them.

I've drawn them very lightly, so that I can erase them later, but I'm going over all of the lines with a permanent marker.

I have a thicker marker and a thin marker and I try to just carefully go over the lines that I want to keep.

That's why I drew lightly in the beginning.

To be able to erase them, I have to make sure that I didn't push down too hard in the paper.

I'm going to go over all of the lines, including the words, and just carefully make sure that things are where I want them.

This is how many professional comic book artists work.

They usually draw lightly with pencil underneath and then ink over their drawings.

And then when the inking is done, they'll erase the pencil lines underneath.

So, that's what I'm going to do.

I'm going over it with an eraser, so that the only thing left on the paper are my permanent lines.

Sometimes after erasing the pencil, I'll add a little more detail with my inking pens and then there's my story.

I see the beginning, the middle, and the end.

But now I think I'm going to add a little bit of color.

I'm just going to use some colored pencils and shade in some of the different areas to really make it feel like a finished comic.

I love the way the color has brought out the story and the characters and now I have a very nice memory of my adventure with Pencil in the Guggenheim Museum.

My challenge for you now is for you to create your own comic.

Think about all the things I showed you -- how to keep your panels straight, how to make space in between the panels, how to use words and pictures together.

You can create an imaginary story or maybe make a comic about something that really happened to you.

It's up to you.

I'll see you soon.

Bye.