Firstlight Arts Academy

Beginning cartoon class for pre-teen and teen artists.
1 & 1/2 hours once a week. Includes 9 sessions of Open Studio Saturdays once each month. These are great for extra project time and/or to make up for missed days.

Overview:
Learn how to develop characters, give them varied expressions, create story-lines and put it all together in comic books, comic strips, and graphic novels. Cartooning is unusual, in that it's more fun - we do crazy drawings and try to be humorous, but it's also more technical at times than other courses. We work on story-lines, and we learn inking and other techniques, using the same kinds of materials that the professionals do.

10-student limit in classroom with professional instructor.

Students participate in the Art Show in May.
A parent corner in the classroom is available.
Sibling play room is available if parent-monitored.
At the end of the year, there is a final Cartoon project such as a comic book or TV show presentation.

List of Classes Offered for 2011-2012 school year:

Age Level 3 - Ages 10, 11 and 12

324 Toons, Wednesdays 4:15-5:45 pm

Age Level 4 & 5 - Homeschool: Ages 11 and up

322 Toons, Wednesdays 2:00-3:30 pm

In-depth:
This class is for young people who have a passion for cartooning. They may be beginners or they may have devoloped their work on their own or in our traditional art classes. Either way, the instruction is foundational for becoming the kind of artists who can enjoy their own work as well as continue developing their cartooning skills. We begin the year with an emphasis on character development, then move to face drawing skills and expressions. Later, we will explore viewpoints, lettering techniques, and we work on color in watercolors and colored pencils. Several projects are completed during the year, including a one-page and a 4-page cartoon book. Personal style is not taught, but rather encouraged. We don't call any of our work a "mistake", but instead refer to work as "learners" or "keepers".

Tuition: $900 for a 35-session curriculum.
or 9 monthly payments of $100 (there is also a once-a-year $25 registration fee)

Supplies:

Art supplies are available from Firstlight
Save time, money and gas with our 15% off msrp supplies.
You can download a list of supplies for Toons HERE.

Some class notes:

• Please wear old clothes if possible.
• Bring your supplies in some kind of bin or carrier to keep them organized
• There is no room at the academy for students to store supplies
• Always bring all of your supplies to class
• Brushes should be kept in something that will prevent their being bent.

Mr. D talks about supply cases

There are a lot of special bins in art stores, but my favorites are flat compartmentalized bins, which we have available to purchase, or hardware bins that you'll find at Lowe's or Home Depot. These hardware bins are very good storage for the price. I like the ones that are flat, with a lockable lid, and that have customizable cubbies using removable dividers. We have one like this, and there are some at every hardware store last I checked. You can make these work for brushes, paints and all your supplies except for the pads. Whichever you choose, it is a very good idea to have some sort of good case for transporting and arranging all of your supplies. We sell of of our things for at least 15% off msrp all the time.

For pads, when you come and go, you can grab the whole stack, placing all your work within the largest pad, but you can also get a portfolio case with a handle that makes it easier to move them about without damaging the corners or having them slip out and fall. We have some nice plastic ones that are just the right size for the toons pads.