fbpx

Adult Class Online

Lemon & Bottle, Charcoal

Adult Class Online

Schedule for Winter 2025

This online class for adults will be tailored to each student, following the desired curriculum from our traditional offerings.

See our adult classes for supply lists and additional information about the available programs.

Digital Illustration & Composition Online – Ages 14-Adult

Digital Illustration and Composition Online for Ages 14-Adult

Schedule for Winter 2025

Supply List

Digital Concept Art by P Jones
"The fantastic thing about digital art is how fast you can get an idea down in full color and value. Gone are all the lengthy preparations, such as canvas priming, color mixing and drying times. This, in turn, lends the hand towards energetic mark-making."
– Patrick Jones

Digital Illustration and Composition is an online course designed for self-motivated students who are either new to digital art or want to learn how to better use the tools. Due to the expense of the materials and in-depth concepts covered in this class, this course is for intermediate to advanced students who are invested in cultivating drawing as a long-term skill. Students completely new to drawing will not benefit from taking this course.

The program centers around digital tools and how to use them. In the Digital Art class, students will learn about layer modes, clipping masks, filters, brush settings, gradients, selection tools, color adjustment, and much more to take their drawings to the next level. Art concepts such as color theory, anatomy, line art, lighting, and backgrounds will also be explored, through the lens of digital art styles and techniques.

The instructor will be demonstrating and teaching in the program Procreate, but the techniques and principles are applicable in any comparable program (Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Krita, etc). A basic knowledge on your program of choices' tools and how to use them is prerequisite.

This class is designed to be customizable to meet the needs of each student. Before the first class, students will be given a survey to fill out where they will be able to mark off what tools/concepts they already know how to use/do, which they want to know more about, and which they don’t yet feel comfortable with using.

Digital Artwork

Lilliah Campagna, Instructor, Drift/Deadlock, Digital Painting
Mick Kaufer, Instructor, Evil Ways, Digital Painting
Mick Kaufer, Instructor, Grey Warden, Digital Painting
Lilliah Campagna, Instructor, Graphic Novel Page 1, Digital Color Panel

Register Now >>

Manga, Superheroes & Fantasy Figures Online: Character Design – Ages 12-Adult

Character Design Online for Ages 12-Adult

Schedule for Winter 2025

Character Supply List

Our online Drawing Manga, Superheroes and Fantasy Figures is designed to correlate with our online Drawing and Painting Fundamentals program. Students may take the two classes together to learn complementary information, thereby accelerating their skill development considerably. However, it can be taken on its own, and there is no prerequisite.

Our online Drawing Manga, Superheroes & Fantasy Figures class features two complimentary programs to satisfy everyone's creative needs: Character Design & Development and Visual Storytelling through Graphic Novels. These classes may be taken together or separately, and sequence does not matter.

Character Design and Development

"… It is my belief that the function of human anatomy, with an emphasis on its role in the process of emotion and intent, has been sorely neglected by young artist learning the practices of comics and sequential art."
-Will Eisner (1917-2005)

The program centers around the figure, where anatomy, construction and movement are studied in conjunction with each other. Children and teens with a strong interest in Japanese animation (Anime), superheroes, comics and role-playing art are especially drawn to this class. For examples, we look to professional artists to set a standard of excellence. The accumulated knowledge of these fine anatomists, draftsmen and painters inspire our students to produce work of higher quality. In addition to figure construction, students learn about costume design, gesture, facial expression, inking and color techniques.  After these skills are understood, they are encouraged to create their own Manga, Superhero, and Fantasy Figure characters from local artists who excel in figure design.

Character Design Artwork

See also our online Visual Storytelling through Graphic Novels class.

Lilliah Campagna, Instructor, Drift/Deadlock, Digital Painting
Mick Kaufer, Instructor, Evil Ways, Digital Illustration
Bill Hauser, Instructor, Jack Ratts Album Cover, Ink and Photoshop
David Witt, Instructor, Morning Coffee Daily Comic Strip Page, Pen & Ink & Brush on Paper

Register Now >>

Manga, Superheroes & Fantasy Figures Online: Visual Storytelling – Ages 12-Adult

Visual Storytelling through Comics and Graphic Novels Online, Ages 12-Adult

Schedule for Winter 2025

Comics Level 1 Supply List (for new students)
Comics Level 2 Supply List (for returning students)

Our online Drawing Manga, Superheroes and Fantasy Figures is designed to correlate with our online Drawing and Painting Fundamentals program. Students may take the two classes together to learn complementary information, thereby accelerating their skill development considerably. However, it can be taken on its own, and there is no prerequisite.

Our online Drawing Manga, Superheroes & Fantasy Figures class features two complimentary programs to satisfy everyone's creative needs: Character Design & Development and Visual Storytelling through Graphic Novels. These classes may be taken together or separately, and sequence does not matter.

Visual Storytelling through Comics and Graphic Novels

"The only way to learn how to write and draw is by writing and drawing… To persist requires a deep love of the work itself, and learning that lesson kept me from ever taking Calvin and Hobbes for granted when the strip took off years later…. To invent your own life's meaning is not easy, but it's still allowed… and I think that you'll be happier for the trouble."
-Bill Watterson (1958- )

This online program is designed to teach students how to develop a visual concept through sequential art, which is the largest growth industry within the world of book publishing today.  Students explore visual story telling techniques, including: story development, page layout, perspective, camera angles, dramatic lighting, lettering and advanced inking techniques.  After these skills are learned, kids create their own comic or graphic novel pages, which comprises their final project.

Visual Storytelling Artwork

See also our online Character Design & Development class.

Lilliah Campagna, Instructor, Drift/Deadlock, Digital Painting
Mick Kaufer, Instructor, Evil Ways, Digital Illustration
Bill Hauser, Instructor, Jack Ratts Album Cover, Ink and Photoshop
David Witt, Instructor, Morning Coffee Daily Comic Strip Page, Pen & Ink & Brush on Paper

Register Now >>

Drawing & Painting Fundamentals Online – Ages 10-18

Drawing and Painting Fundamentals Online for Ages 10-18

Schedule for Winter 2025

Supply List

"When you draw, form is the important thing. But in painting the first thing is to look for the general impression of color."
– Jean-LĂ©on GĂ©rĂ´me (1824-1904)

Our online classes follow the progression of our Drawing and Painting Fundamentals program. Students begin with black and white drawing exercises in pencil and pen and ink. After basic skills are learned, children advance to color in watercolor and oil. All levels of study, from beginning to advanced students are accepted.

Throughout history, drawing has always been considered an artist's most prized possession. It is the foundation upon which all other aspects of art are formed. This is true whether an artist chooses to be expressive in a realistic or abstract style. That is why we give the craft of drawing special attention at The Art Academy.

Drawing in Pen and Ink

In our online program, special emphasis is placed on teaching the fundamentals of drawing logically and simply. Our methods promote refined draftsmanship, which dramatically improves a student's drawing abilities. With continued practice children can then achieve higher levels of understanding and success.

Many of our initial drawing exercises are executed in pen and ink so students become familiar with the expressive qualities of line. This improves a student’s eye/hand coordination and focus.

Madeline Sorenson, Pen & Ink
Madeline Sorenson, Age 15
Pen and Ink

Students continue to advance their drawing skills when they move on to painting.

9-13 Pen & Ink Artwork

14-18 Pen & Ink Artwork

Watercolor

After students have demonstrated a basic understanding of drawing they begin painting in watercolor. While we emphasize line in drawing, painting is a medium devoted to the understanding of mass and color. Watercolor is a great medium to learn these concepts.

As with drawing, we approach the study of color in a systematic way. This helps prevent students from spending months or years mixing colors that interact on paper or canvas in an unpleasant, unintentional manner.

Alice Shea, Watercolor
Alice Shea, Age 15
Watercolor

By following revered principles of color theory and color mixing, children create fresh, lively pictures the first time they paint without experiencing any undue frustration.

There is much to learn about painting; and watercolor methods easily translate to other forms of painting and color mediums. Students build upon these skills when they advance into oil painting.

By the time students are ready for oil painting they have thoroughly grasped the refined drawing, watercolor and design principles that will directly translate into the oil medium.

Ages 9-13 Watercolor

Ages 14-18 Watercolor

Oil Painting

Often considered the most challenging form of painting, oils are introduced to students after they've developed a firm understanding of drawing and color mixing.

Our first objective is to pass safe studio methods on to students. We ensure a solvent-free environment where health and safety come first. After learning clean painting procedures students begin to advance their artistic vision by exploring the fascinating world of oil painting techniques.

At The Art Academy we teach several methods of oil painting. This approach allows students to receive a well-rounded education that promotes development of a personal aesthetic based upon time-honored principles of art history.

Indirect Painting and Glazing

Indirect Painting and Glazing are methods of working in oils that were commonly practiced from the fifteenth through the nineteenth centuries. They have proven to be extremely durable techniques. At The Art Academy we teach several variations of glazing and underpainting, including grisaille, verdaccio, bistre, local color underpainting and the mixed tempera-oil technique.

Direct Painting

Direct Painting is a method of working in oils popularized during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is the technique of nineteenth century Impressionism. One of the hallmarks of direct painting is color mixing through clear observation. It is an excellent way to improve a student's sensitivity to color.

Ages 14-18 Oil Paintings

Alice Shea, Pen & Ink
Alice Shea, Age 14
Pen and Ink
Sarah Chelstrom, Age 14
State Fair Winner!
Sarah Chelstrom, Age 14
Watercolor and Colored Pencil
Melinda Hiller, Age 16
State Fair Grand Prize Winner!
Melinda Hiller, Age 16
Oil

Register Now >>