Save $10. The price goes from $17 to $27 when this runs out.
Until the price goes up
Back to School
Family Shading Workshop
Give your child the number one drawing skill families ask us for: shading. It makes their art look real and shows them their patience and hard work pay off.
One household ticket: $27 $17 through September 6 ย ยทย Free for Kids Cartoon Academy members (check your Members Portal for your free registration link)
This month I'm hosting Ms. Amanda Kazemi, a gallery artist who specializes in realistic graphite and charcoal shading and has guided thousands of Kids Cartoon Academy students through these skills.
We're drawing the famous Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote, the classic determined troublemaker who keeps getting back up. He starts as flat basic shapes. By the end, you and your child will have given him fur with real weight, direction, and depth using light and shadow.
This is what it looks like when Ms. Amanda teaches us to bring cartoon characters to life with realistic shading and texture.
Shading is the fastest way to make a drawing look real. When we ask families which drawing skill they want the most help with, shading is the clear number one. It is also what leads to the biggest jump in kids' artwork.
๐ Why "Back to School Family"?
The back to school part:
School is starting. Homework grows, activities pile up, and the sketchbook gets pushed to the side. This is exactly the moment kids need reminding that they can do hard things. Not just in drawing. In academics, sports, whatever they put their mind to. Shading rewards the kid who slows down and keeps going, and they get to watch that pay off on the page in real time. There's no better proof than finishing something worth framing, step by step, in one sitting.
The family part:
This one is built for you to sit down and draw alongside your kid, not drop them at a screen and walk away. Ms. Amanda teaches it so a nine-year-old and a grown-up can both follow along, and both walk away with something worth putting on the wall. Grown-ups have a blast at these too, so pull up a chair. One workshop, one Zoom link, however many people are at your table.
๐ฉโ๐จ What You Will Learn
In this 1.5-hour workshop, Ms. Amanda will walk us all through the pencil techniques that turn flat shapes into believable texture.
These are the same techniques Ms. Amanda uses in her gallery work. Once your kid has them, they carry over to hair, fabric, feathers, and anything else they draw.
๐ What Kids Have Created With Ms. Amanda in Previous Classes With Us
Graphite and charcoal, all from kids who started exactly where yours is now.
- Your kid finishes one piece worth framing, start to finish, in a single sitting.
- They see how their own patience and effort lead to amazing results, exactly what they need heading into a new school year.
- It's a head start on the September pencil unit in our live classes, so your kid walks into the fall already ahead.
๐งฐ Supplies
Required supplies
- Pencil
- Eraser: a thin eraser. A retractable eraser is so handy, highly recommended. But you could get by with the eraser on the back of your pencil. A bigger typical block eraser or kneaded eraser of any sort would come in handy too for erasing larger areas.
- Blending tool: Q-tip or a blending stump
- Drawing or sketching paper
Recommended
- A basic sketching set with different pencil grades (2H, HB, 2B, 4B). The brand doesn't matter.
Don't stress if you can't get a sketching set. Ms. Amanda will show you how to get similar results with a single pencil.
โ Questions Families Ask
What ages is this for?
It's built so a nine-year-old and a grown-up can both follow along and both finish something worth framing. Younger artists are welcome and usually do best with an adult drawing next to them, which is the whole idea here anyway.
What if we can't make it live?
You still get everything. The lifetime replay lands in your Library right after the workshop and it's yours to keep. Pause it, rewind it, do it over two afternoons instead of one. There's no prize for finishing first.
What if my supplies don't arrive in time?
Draw with what you have. One pencil, one eraser, and paper is genuinely enough, and Ms. Amanda will show you how to get similar results with a single pencil. The sketching set makes it easier, it doesn't make it possible.
Do we need to be on camera?
Not at all. Plenty of families keep the camera off and just draw. Kids who want to show their work can, and we love it when they do, but nobody has to.
I'm already a Kids Cartoon Academy member. Do I need to buy this?
No. It's already included in your membership. Check your Members Portal for your free registration link instead of paying here.
How do we get the Zoom link?
The moment you enroll, it's waiting right at the top of this workshop in your Library. Register with Zoom once and it covers everyone at your table.
Ready to create art with depth and texture worth framing?
And to discover what your focus and patience can accomplish?
Sunday, September 13 ย ยทย 1:00pm ET / 6:00pm UK
$17 through September 6, then $27. Lifetime replay included.