What Questions do you have?

Sometimes abundance is working against you...but I like the challenge!

I'm getting ready to make another Youtube video for my channel and would love to answer any questions you might have. When I was going to school we didn't have the internet so this wasn't possible and we had to wait for working professionals to visit our school to ask. Youtube has made it possible for me to reach people all over the world to give advice when I think I might be able to help. So if you leave a question in the comments I'll try to address everyone in my next Youtube video. Thank you! (oh - you might want to check out my channel to see what topics I've already covered...)

Critique Class - (discussion)

I learned long ago that trying to get someone to like you doesn't work - eventually you have to let go of the tail and then you understand real quick...or something like that.

anyway...

I'm not going to try to get people to like the idea of a critique class. I'm just going to offer it and if it fills up I'll know.

Here's my proposal:

It will only be available to those who have taken the Complete or Lite SVS Illustration for Storytellers class.

These people will get an email when the class is up and running on our site.

It will only be available to the first 20 people to sign up.

It will cost $150.00

It will be held over 5 weeks meeting once/week for 2 hours each session = 10 hours of class time.

I'm thinking of beginning this class in early September.

It will be taught by Will Terry (me) and I'll have an assistant helping me.

An assignment will be given a month before the first class begins.

We will critique the assignment in class.

10 people will have their assignments critiqued the first night - the other 10 the following week.

I will do composition and rendering demos on the third week.

The 4th and 5th week will be spent critiquing the revisions.

Each class will be recorded and provided to attendees for study and in case they couldn't make the class.

Every attendee will get 20 min 1 on 1 time after the class is over on GoToMeeting follow up. This is their time to use how they see fit.

The benefit in a class like this is to see lots of work critiqued so that you can apply the principles from other students to your own projects both now and in the future.

I'm thinking of holding it on Saturdays from 7:00PM - 9:00PM MST - (9 :00PM NYC - 6:00PM Cali) and this will help some of our students in other parts of the world so that it doesn't fall at a time when they're at work.

I hope to have this live on our SVS site in as short as a week - 2 weeks.

Again the only requirement to attend this class is that you have to have taken the Complete or Lite version of our Illustration for Storytellers found here - no exceptions please. This is so I can move faster in class without having to back up each thing with a mini lesson but more importantly so we don't bore the rest of the class.

Here's what I need you to weigh in on:

1. Do you think it's worth it?
2. Does this time work for you and if not when would?
3. Do you like this format?

What People Are Saying About Our Class

Some updates and announcements first.

Jake Parker and I are teaching an online children's book class. It's not too late to buy the "LITE" version.

We are probably going to run a critique only class but will only open it up to people who have taken our LITE or FULL class. The reason for this is so everyone is up to speed on the material we went over in class.  The critique only class will allow attendees the opportunity to get critiques and draw overs on their existing work or work from our class or work they haven't done yet.

The LITE class will only be available for a few more weeks - it will be gone on July 11th.

Here's the link to the class

We also have a facebook page for SVS here

These are some of the comments I pulled off of our facebook page:

Thank you Jake & Will, tonight was worth the price of admission. Awesome info.

Hello! I am one of the LITE students and I just finished listening to the first lesson. Thank you so much, Will and Jake, for sharing your experiences and insights. Can't wait till the next class!

Couldn't be more excited to be part of this class! After just the first lesson I have two pages full of useful info and a ton of inspiration.

Fantastic first class...love the personal sharing approach and tips on what you do to stay creative!

It really is a great and fresh approach to learning, you guys definitely have found a great format to share and keep it interesting.

No complaints on my end. Video & audio was coming through fine. And the content was fantastic. Super cool to have an opportunity for learning like that online.

wanted to thank you both (I couldn't even say Jake's environment rocked), So COOL, good to see the two of you riffing off each other

Thanks Will Terry and Jake! Great lesson... perspective is no longer a headache. I think watching it get manipulated was THE most helpful thing I've seen to date! Going to go practice!

Jake pushes beyond those normal perspective lessons. For him to say to not be exact because it makes you stiff. AND especially him showing the lines on his work was JUST INCREDIBLE

Just wanted to let you know I am loving the class! It's been super helpful and it is a great way for me to learn because I haven't been able to find any illustration classes where I live.

Re: tonight's class - I don't think I've ever learned so much in 2 hours before!

I'm loving it!!! THIS IS SUCH AN AMAZING CLASS! I wish it didn't have to end July 10th! (consider doing a part two class someday... *cough... cough, hint... hint*)
I really wish I coud have gotten into the full version class though, only because the anticipation of waiting for the classes to be uploaded is overbearing (I feel like a kid again waiting for Christmas day to open my presents!). But Im getting every pennies worth with the LITE version and Im VERY HAPPY! Thank you so much for this!!

I give this class an A++++ and I have been putting the lessons to good use in my illustrations. I am definitely interested in a critique class. Would it be possible to provide a list of resources and optional homework assignments? Not suggesting we turn the homework in...these activities would help reinforce the concepts presented in the each class session. Thank you both for making this class available!

I can't say enough about how much I have enjoyed this class! There is so much that have learned. My favorite classes to date have been Will's lecture on design and Jake's class on Character design. Both Will and Jake are incredible teachers! They are doing a great job putting a lot of information in such a short amount of time (Its my favorite part of the week so it goes extra fast for me). My cup is overflowing with tons of new ideas and concepts. Thank you Jake and Will for seeing the need for this class and putting your time and talent in providing such a great opportunity for all of us.

I think you guys are doing great! I'm learning loads of stuff in ever class and I think you two have a nice balance - asking each other questions, adding comments to the other's presentation, keeping an eye on time and questions on the chat board... Yeah, I'm pretty much having a blast absorbing everything I can from the two of you and every one else. Yay!

 

I Draw - How Can I Make Money With It?

In this video I answer a question from David - a Southwest Airlines employee who has 3 days off/week and loves to draw comics during his down time. He asked me what steps he should take next to getting his work published. I thought that other artists might be in his situation and might benefit from my answers. Listen to it while you work and if you have anything to add I love hearing your thoughts.

Christmas in June!

Finished! Working on Santa Pups for Scholastic was a blast! This was such a fun book written by Jerry Pallotta! Can you see my little Pooch in there? Here are some photos of her below that I used for reference. I also got the authors son's dog in there - the terrier looking black and white mutt in the middle. I put the editors dog in on a different spread. Anyway - another one in the books. (pun intended!)

Our Meeting Was A Success!

We had a great meeting tonight using Go To Meeting - we're sorry if you couldn't get in - we filled up pretty quickly. If you did get in thank you so much for helping us test out the software! Above is the flesh tone demo I did in Photoshop.

We look forward to our first SVS online class beginning Monday the 10th at 7:00PM MST. If you're in the FULL class we will be having a meet & greet this Sunday night at the same time 7:00PM MST. This will be an opportunity to test out your microphone and get familiar with the software if you weren't able to attend our test class today.

Test Class Hang Out

Jake Parker and I are going to be testing out the GoToMeeting software this Thursday at 8:00 PM MST (10:00PM east coast and 7:00PM west coast). Anyone can join us! This is in preparation for our SVS online class starting next week on June 10th.

This meeting will last for an hour or more and we will be drawing, painting, and answering any questions you might have about anything. Basically hanging out and talking shop. I'll be painting that fellow up above - a sketch from my next book - "I know an old Cowpoke who swallowed an Ant."

There will only be space for the first 25 people who log in to the online meeting. First come first serve. Here's how it will work:

10 minutes before the meeting I will post a link to join in the comments section below - I'll also post it on facebook on our SVS page and also on my personal page. If you would like to send me a friend request I'll friend you. If you would like to join on your cellphone or iPad just go to the app store and download the free GoToMeeting app - I have it on my iPad and it works really well.

For PC or Mac you do NOT need to download anything to join the meeting - the link will take you there - it's really easy and works really well.

Looking forward to sharing some time with you this Thursday!