Traditionally, learning how to draw meant that you would practice by drawing from observation. With time and patience, your drawing skills would eventually start to improve. There's another way to better your drawing skills and it's an approach that's faster and easier than the conventional approach of drawing from life. It starts with ideas rooted in basic perspective, but without most of the intimidating technical demands typical of the subject. From there, we'll learn how to accurately indicate basic form and dimension. Working with a practical set of visual facts, concepts and techniques, you'll find that these ideas guide your efforts as you draw. This approach not only removes a lot of the guesswork that plagues a beginner's progress, it also supports you when you draw from your imagination.

This is an ideal class for aspiring illustration, entertainment design, and product design majors. The class is also beneficial for working professionals who need to clearly convey concepts visually – those working in such fields as advertising, photography and graphic / ux design.

This class helps beginning and intermediate students explore the many different approaches that professional illustrators bring to their work. We focus on this in two ways – by exploring the painting process and by introducing proper technique through a wide range of different media.

We start by learning how to come up with strong concepts for our work. To follow, we'll learn to work in stages; from sketching and composition all the way to value and color. These concepts work together to help create meaningful, successful illustrations.

Demos are shown throughout the course. Students will learn different approaches to acrylic, watercolor, colored pencil, oils / alkyds, and mixed media. Students aren't expected to try all of the mediums demonstrated throughout the semester - these demos are meant to introduce new, novel techniques and materials to the class as a means to inspire further exploration.

This class is beneficial as both an introduction to the field of illustration and for portfolio development. Students looking to apply to the day program are well served by this class.

This class is for beginning and intermediate students looking to better understand, manage, and approach color. The information applies to both traditional and digital media.

Students will learn to identify and control the three attributes of color, learn different approaches for selecting color for their work, and learn about the psychology of color.

The information best benefits those with interests in illustration, concept / entertainment design, graphic design, fine art, photography and advertising.

Composition is really about visual communication. Instead of concentrating on the mechanics of composition, students will learn to identify and control the elements that give power and meaning to our work.

Class instruction is geared towards beginning and intermediate students. A content-directed approach is emphasized as students learn to use the tools of composition, use compositional themes, and purposely organize information on the page.

The class is taught from two perspectives - a picture makers point of view (fine artists, illustrators, and photographers) and a graphic designers point of view. Having both disciplines in the same classroom environment gives students a deeper understanding of the material.