Overview
This 11-week course, designed for 7-11 year old homeschoolers, meets for 2 hours weekly and splits focus between illustration and storytelling. Each session integrates hands-on art activities with storytelling exercises to foster creativity, technical skills, and narrative understanding.
This class is designed to help kids develop foundational art skills. Rather than emphasizing "take-home" projects, the focus will be on building a deeper understanding of the core principles of visual and narrative art.
Wednesdays
1–3pm
Ages 7–11 years
Sep 3 – Nov 19
Jan 14 – Mar 25
Curriculum Highlights
- Drawing Fundamentals: Observation, line, shape, proportion, form, construction, composition, light & shadow
- Illustration Concepts: Facial expressions, gesture, character posing, character design, visual storytelling techniques
- Drawing Process: Using reference, sketching, thumbnailing, inking, laying flats, adding highlights and shadow, revision
- Storytelling Through Art: Create characters, scenes, and visual stories
- Key Components of Story: Character, setting, plot, internal/external conflict, theme, point of view, rising action, foreshadowing (no loose ends)
What We Won't Cover
- Anatomy. I find this to be too complicated a subject for this age group which can quickly lead to frustration. We will employ a simplified cartoon style using classic Disney-style "rubber hose" arms/legs.
- Limited Color Theory. We will only briefly touch on color theory.
- Limited perspective. Perspective can be difficult for this age group. We will touch upon it, emphasizing the horizon line, but will encourage "loose" perspective to eliminate frustration.
- Writing. This is not a writing class. We will not focus on the language of stories. The focus will be on how stories work and how to tell them. Older kids will be encouraged to write out their stories, but younger kids will not be required to do so. Younger kids will "document" their stories with a combination of drawings and words to facilitate verbal retellings.
Who Can Join
Ages 7-11. All skill levels welcome. Younger kids need to be able to be attentive in a classroom setting. We will be switching activities and keeping things fun, but kids must be able to listen attentively during instruction time. These may seem like big, heavy concepts, but kids can start to learn the grammar of art now! Give them the skills to improve their art while they are still in the free-spirited, unbridled creativity age, before they become self-conscious and stop creating.
What to Bring
- Curiosity and creativity!
- All art supplies will be provided.
- We will primarily use colored pencil and ink. We may introduce other mediums as we go, depending on student ability, but I don't want to get bogged down by handling/mixing paint. We will be focused on conceptual understanding.
Contact & Registration
Email stephen.jacob.jones@gmail.com for more info.
Registration opens Jul 23, 8 am (Residents) and Aug 6, 8 am (Non-residents)