Teaching Philosophy
I love art, and I love writing. In undergrad, I came in as an Art major. I transitioned through Journalism on my way to an English degree. When I went back for a master’s degree, I made the exact same route. I didn’t know what I wanted to be. I joined the military (a mistake) and volunteered to train new recruits (not a mistake). During this period, I found that I was much better at teaching soldiers in all of the maneuvers, first-aid, pomp, and circumstance of the army than I was at following others into it. When I was teaching, I came alive. I was always looking for new things to incorporate, new ways to keep their attention. When these young soldiers got bored with conducting the same drills outside, I taught them military history and showed how the same tactics we were rehearsing outside have been used for centuries. I would use clips from their favorite movies to illustrate my points and they got it. I love that feeling, when you’re teaching something and you see the light go on, they GET it. When a professor brought me back to art and comics, I knew what I wanted to do: teach others to tell their own stories.
Those stories could be narratives, illustrations, or even explaining industrial techniques. They all come down to communication of ideas to a range of audiences. My teaching pedagogy follows this basic idea: there is no one approach that serves all situations or, more importantly, all students. What I have found is that every topic in a classroom will need to be approached a few times and from different pedagogical perspectives. One philosophy that I have found most useful due to its versatility is Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences and the Point of Entry Approach adapted from project MUSE (Museums Uniting with Schools in Education). In this approach, there are 5 points of entry: Aesthetic, Narrative, Logical/Quantitative, Foundational, and Experiential. I believe any topic can be explained through these windows and that, in any classroom, there will be students that gravitate toward each of these points of entry. More important to me is teaching students to communicate with their own audiences using these same approaches.
My area of focus in the classroom is understanding and creating visual communication. I have researched and written about both with regards to humanities, sciences, and arts. I believe education, in any field, should focus not only on understanding and literacy but on the creation of content and knowledge. I have taught students from art, welding, nursing, culinary and just about everything in between. Whomever I am teaching, I try to help them communicate verbally and visually with their audience.
My area of focus for my own artwork is in combining stories with education. I love writing stories that also provide a vehicle for the audience to learn something. I’ve written Steampunk that pulls heavily from true history to teach the audience about the real world. I’ve written Sci-fi stories that explain the way chemistry and biology work within the real world. I love making visually interesting and pleasing artwork, but I always want my artwork to communicate to my audiences as well as entertain them.
To that end, I focus largely on illustration, comics, and new media. Each provides interesting ways to combine visuals and text, multiple fields of study, and all five points of entry. As an educator, illustration, comics, and new media engage my students. As an artist, they are excellent ways to engage any audience.
Curriculum Vitae
Timothy Taylor
Professional summary
I have been teaching for over 15 years and telling stories for a lot longer. I believe the two are intertwined. From my time in the military to the campaign trail, working in the newsroom to the construction site, my life experiences given me fodder for stories, but more importantly they’ve taught me how to tell those stories to others. Teaching is like storytelling because you must change and adapt to each new audience and tell the story or a lesson in a way that resonates with them. Telling stories and helping my students tell their own stories is my passion.
Education
Master of Fine Arts (Sequential Art), June 2018, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA.
Master of Arts (Composition and Rhetoric), May 2012, Marshall University, Huntington, WV.
Bachelor of Arts, May 2004 Marshall University, Huntington, WV.
Major: English (Writing) | Minor: Graphic Design
Teaching and Education Experience
Savannah College of Art and Design
Professor (Foundations), Sept 2018 – Present
Teach foundation courses including Drawing, Design, Color Theory, and Storyboarding
Develop course schedule and assignments to coincide with students’ major disciplines
Provide constructive feedback and guidance to students along the drawing and design processes
Provide mentoring, guidance, additional help to students and new faculty
Lead Faculty Resource Committee
Professor (Sequential Art), June 2019 – Present
Introduction to sequential art
Materials and techniques of sequential art
Create demonstration videos for students
Provide constructive feedback and guidance to students along the drawing and design processes
Savannah Technical College
Instructor of English Composition, August 2015 – August 2018
Taught English Composition courses
Developed course schedule and assignments
Provided constructive feedback and guidance to students along the writing process
Provided mentoring, guidance, additional help to students and adjunct faculty
Savannah College of Art and Design
Teaching Internship, March 2018 – May 2018
Taught lessons on perspective drawing and comic covers
Led all critique sessions for a class of 20 students
Provided constructive feedback and guidance to students along the drawing process
Graded artwork in conjunction with supervising faculty
SCAD eLearning
Writer, January 2015 – December 2015
Worked with a team to create innovative e-courses
Interviewed faculty as subject matter experts and copyedited their text to create content for courses
Wrote content, collected media, and submitted fully developed e-courses for review and implementation
ITT Technical Institute
Adjunct Instructor of English Composition and Graphic Communication, August 2011 – January 2015
Taught courses on Web Design, Desktop Publishing, Animation, English Composition, Communication
Provided tutoring on drawing skills, Adobe software, grammar, composition, APA citation, research
Lead workshops on various graphics and composition lessons
Created and lead the comics club to teach comics techniques to interested students
Ashland Community and Technical College
Adjunct Instructor of English Composition, August 2013 – June 2014
Taught developmental English Composition courses for remedial students
Taught traditional English 101 and 102 courses
Taught research heavy English Composition 102 course online
Huntington Museum of Art
Taught an 8-week course on Introduction to Web Development.
Marshall University English Department
TA English Composition Instructor and Writing Center Tutor, August 2010 - 2011
Developed course material and taught two sections of English 101
Tutored university students in grammar and composition
West Virginia National Guard
Cadre Instructor – Recruit Sustainment Program, 2006 - 2009
Trained high school Juniors and Seniors to prepare them for Basic Combat Training
Instructed on subjects such as physical fitness, nutrition, combat maneuvers, and military history
Provided mentorship to recruits in areas such as home life, school, work, and military life
Publications
Substitute Puppies – Adorable Assistants Anthology, Expected 2025
The Amazing Cephelo – O Anthology, Warden Comics 2024
A Rocky Romance – Aquifer: The Florida Review, 2022
35: Furry – Finalist for the Platform Comics Short Comic Competition, 2021
The Joy of Baking – Sweet: A Literary Confection, 2021
First Dates – Finalist for the Platform Comics Short Comic Competition, 2020
Fire, Salt, Slime – Educational comic, 2020
Holler – An all-ages comic, 2020
Beta Males – Aquifer: The Florida Review, 2017
T(i)m: A Graphic Memoir – Self-published Kickstarter project, 2013
Exhibitions
Various and Sundry, 2024
Savannah Comic Convention, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023
Southern Discomfort (Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home Foundation Fundraiser), 2018
Mini Con: SCAD Mini Comics Expo, 2017
Tri Con: Tri-State Comic Con, 2014 and 2013
Huntington Arts Photography Show, 2012
Perspectives Photography Show, 2007
Honors and awards
Savannah College of Arts Presidential Fellowship, 2025
Nominated for the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools Master's Thesis Award, 2012
Summa Cum Laude – Marshall University, 2012
2nd Place (Personal Resume), WV Flash Festival 2008
Member of Golden Key Honors Society - Marshall University, 2004
Workshops and Volunteer Work
SCAD Educator’s Forum Workshops – 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
In Short (Writing Short Comics) Superstar Comic Convention – 2023
Mentor for SORA high school students – 2020
SCAD Workshop Still Life – 2019
SCAD Workshop Architecture: Sketching Savannah – 2019
Visual Scripting: Writing and thumbnailing a story in tandem. – Savannah College of Art and Design – 2017
Draw Your Own Heroes – Cabell County Public Library (Barboursville) – 2014
Docent at Huntington Museum of Art 2008 – 2012
Skills
Traditional Media – Pencil, Pen and Ink, Marker, Colored Pencil, Watercolor, Acrylic, Sculpey
Digital Media – Adobe Design Collection, Clip Studio Paint, Procreate, Sketchbook Pro, Google Sketchup
Special Interests – Comics, Education, Science, History, Alternative modes of storytelling
Editorial – Writing, Copyediting, Constructive Feedback, Research (CMOS, APA, MLA)
Publishing – Layouts, Digital Processes, Print Processes, Post-Production