EDUstick® Creators Club
Frame for your own comic
Build a flat frame, trace three panels, and draw your own short story.
Your outcome: Build a tool for telling a short story with pictures.
Illustration of the finished construction. Full-size (1:1) templates are supplied on a separate sheet.
Session 1 • stage 1/5
Make a closed perimeter
Trace the outer perimeter of the template in PLA on the mat. Make two touching passes side by side: the strip should be 3 mm wide and approximately 1.6 mm thick. Fuse the end to the beginning at the lower-left edge. Do not add another layer; leave the perimeter flat on the mat.
Check: The perimeter is continuous, flat and closed; the inner edge remains even.
If it does not work: Fill the gap on the supported frame using the same technique and PLA; do not narrow the openings for the future panels.
Parts and methods for this stage
1 × Perimeter (full-frame template) · PLA
• template follow the written method
Two touching passes side by side, along the template lines. A strand 3 mm wide and about 1.6 mm thick; no layering. Close both loops at the lower-left edge.
Closed perimeter — without the crossbars yet.
Template printout · Flexible mat · Perimeter (full-frame template)
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 2/5
Add the first crossbar
Along the left line of the template, make the first crossbar: two touching passes side by side, from the lower rail to the upper rail. Fuse both ends to the perimeter in the marked areas. Leave the frame flat on the mat.
Check: The crossbar connects both rails and is not a loose stick; both corners at each end remain accessible to the pencil.
If it does not work: Repair the missing joint on the mat. Add PLA in the joint area without filling the corners.
Parts and methods for this stage
1 × Left crossbar · PLA
• template follow the written method
Two passes side by side, as for the perimeter, from the bottom rail to the top rail. Fuse the ends within the rails without filling the openings.
The first crossbar connects the lower and upper rails.
Perimeter (full-frame template) · Left crossbar
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 3/5
Add the second crossbar
Along the right line of the template, make the second crossbar in the same way as the first. Fuse both ends to the rails in the marked areas without filling the corners. Wait until the work has cooled completely.
Check: You can see three equal openings and four complete joints between the crossbars and the perimeter.
If it does not work: If a joint is not continuous, repair it on the support as before. Do not move or bend the hardened crossbar; remake any incorrect geometry according to the template.
Parts and methods for this stage
1 × Right crossbar · PLA
• template follow the written method
Two passes side by side, as for the perimeter, from the bottom rail to the top rail. Fuse the ends within the rails without filling the openings.
Second crossbar — three equal openings are formed.
Perimeter (full-frame template) · Left crossbar · Right crossbar
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 4/5
Trace three panels
Place the completely cooled frame flat on a clean sheet of A4 paper. Hold it without covering the openings. Guide the pencil along all the inner edges of the three openings, reaching all 12 corners. Do not move the frame while tracing. Lift the frame and set it beside the sheet. Check the three closed outlines.
Check: There are three complete panels on the A4 sheet: each has four sides and four corners.
If it does not work: Complete any omitted line with the frame realigned. If the pencil cannot reach a corner, correct the stencil according to the template and repeat the test.
After the frame is set aside, three complete panels remain.
Pencil while tracing · Outline and your own story · Perimeter (full-frame template) · Left crossbar · Right crossbar
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 5/5
Draw your story
Draw your own story: the beginning in the first panel, an event in the second and the ending in the third. Choose a character and a theme; simple symbols are enough. The plant in the illustration is only an example. Read the story from left to right.
Keep the frame for your next comic strip, tidy the workspace and switch off the pen according to its instructions.
Check: The three pictures form a short story; the participant can identify what happened at the beginning, then what happened next and what happened at the end. The frame can be reused.
If it does not work: If the sequence is unclear, add a detail that connects the panels or show the change more clearly; there is no need to copy the example story.
Example of the first comic strip. You choose your own story.
Outline and your own story
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.