It's graduation season at school and entrance exam season at universities, but where can you learn skills for comics and webtoons?


1️⃣ HSE — "Illustration and Comics"
🌐 design.hse.ru/ba/design/illustration-comics
The longest and most systematic path: 4 years, composition, image direction, script, book, manga, and digital formats. Among the teachers are Yulia Blyukher, Maria Skaf, Valeria Chuikova; the site has many student works.
How to get in: Unified State Exam + online creative project of 6–15 works. Enrollment for 2026 is already underway. Price — about $14,700 per year; there are budget spots and discounts up to 25%.

2️⃣ NewArtSchool — "Comics" course
🌐 newartschool.ru/comicbook
Script, characters, strips, long comics, color, and regular critiques. Suitable for beginners.
In published reviews, students mention teacher KoDa; case studies include Ilya Semak, Raelrin Sergeeva, and Anna S.
How to get in: you can start with a free trial lesson. Full online course as of June 21 — about $392.

3️⃣ Smirnov School — "Basics of Comic Creation"
🌐 smirnov.school/course/basics-comic-book-creation
A short, intensive route for practicing 2D artists: 4 weeks, 4 lectures, 4 assignments, 4 live critiques.
Mentor — comic artist and concept artist Alena Medovnikova; among graduation works — Alexey Zaitsev, Marina Kleiman, Vladislava Sukova.
Entry by application, price about $320.

4️⃣ "Manga Workshop"
🌐 sjart.ru
Perhaps the most precise option specifically for manga, manhwa, and webtoon. There are levels from "character from scratch" to your own chapter: script, direction, action, perspective, storyboarding, and project release.
Founders — Maria and Yan Kolesnikov; some masters are former students of Maria, and the team created the 140+ page manga D’R’S, released in 9 languages. Online and Moscow.
Prices: from $33 per practice; about $202 for 4 sessions; project level — approximately $926 for 16 sessions. Free consultation available.

5️⃣ British Higher School of Art and Design
🌐 britishdesign.ru/courses/sozdanie-comicsa/
An adult online intensive leads from idea and script to a finished 8-page comic for portfolio and commercial tasks. Curator — Tatyana Vinogradova; new stream date and price not yet set.
For teenagers 13–16, there is an in-person summer course starting August 3, 2026: 2 weeks, curator Alexey Troshin, no entrance exam, about $1,225.

6️⃣ WEBTOON Academy — free
🌐 webtoons.com/en/creators101/webtoon-academy
Official resource for those who want to understand the mechanics of webtoons: starting a series, visual packaging, release schedule, analytics, audience engagement. Includes a pre-publication checklist, character templates, and lectures from editors, artists, and teachers.
Free entry, price $0. Materials in English.

7️⃣ Clip Studio Art Rocket — free
🌐 clipstudio.net/how-to-draw/category/comic-manga
A technical "finishing" route: vertical canvas, panels, materials, backgrounds, export, and phone preview. Lessons are led by practicing webcomic artists — for example, Obliviousquill and Stephinni.
Free entry, lessons $0; the program itself is paid separately.

🔥 How to choose?
Zero foundation — NewArtSchool or level 1 of "Manga Workshop". Already drawing — Smirnov. Need a diploma and long-term environment — HSE. Want to release a pilot without a budget — WEBTOON Academy + Clip Studio and a self-imposed deadline: 10 screens in 30 days.

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