We’re starting a really fun art course called Digital Drawing next month! We’ll explore a variety of topics such as digital painting, simple animations, and photography. At the end of the course, students will have a printed art piece and a digital file (sent to parents) to take home! These classes are geared towards students at least age 7 and up, and devices will be provided for students in the class.
So why should kids try our Digital Drawing course?
1. It's a new form of art making!
Digital drawing is called interactive art. We'll easily transform our drawings by stretching and pulling, shrinking and growing, turning and flipping... and we'll see the effects immediately! We get to play with our artwork with just a touch of a finger (and stylus pen). If we make a mistake, we can easily press undo and try all over again!
2. It's less of a mess!
We always love a painterly mess at the studio, but it's nice to know how everything in the digital space is nice and contained so you’ll have all the fun of art class without much clean up involved!
3. We'll make more art in less time.
We'll learn how to use shortcuts to do repetitive tasks so we can create more art in less time! From making perfect circles, to copying your artwork quickly, or colour in an entire area with a click, there are tons of tools we will learn about to help save time.
4. Working with computers is a different kind of exercise for our brains!
Did you know that problem solving, logic, and math are tools that every artist has in their kit? It’s true! The digital space is a perfect environment for learning to better understand space, layout, and organization visually. We can also learn colour theory in an entirely different way; did you know colours can be interpreted as numbers? Also, an image can have a different message or mood when we give it a different splash of colour and doing so is a snap! With every CMYK colour at the tip of our fingers, we'll have greater freedom to express our ideas.
5. Kids will have a greater appreciation for traditional art making.
It is common to think digital art is separate from traditional art, but that could not be further from the truth! Each side has their advantages so taking a canvas painting class and then a digital drawing class will help you understand how we can use both to compliment each other.
6. Digital art is easy to share with friends and family!
We love art making and documenting them with photos and videos to share with our community. Now, our students will get to create digital art and easily share with their friends and family, and connect with them no matter where they are. We live in a world where digital art is the future, and we can't wait to be able to share basic digital art foundational skills with our young students.
Digital Drawing classes will be led and taught by me, Leo Lion. I also enjoy dabbling in graphic art! These are some of my work:
Q: When did you start drawing on the computer?
It may or may not be surprising for you to learn that I too started digital art back when I was 7, with good ol’ MS Paint. Since then, I’ve done a bit of everything related to the digital discipline in some way: from pixel art and animation, to print and branding, to interface and character design. The technology has grown rapidly since then but I have always been able to utilize the foundational skills I learned from such an early age in some way.
Q: Why is digital arts your favourite kind of art?
I love the digital medium because of how easy it is to experiment and explore with it. My best ideas are born from plenty of iteration so working in digital with its powerful time-saving tools gives me more freedom and makes me feel more creatively productive.
Q: What inspires you to make your awesome digital characters?
To me, simply adding a bit more happiness and delight to the world, even if it is just for a handful of people at a time, gives my life purpose. I like to make fun, warm, and inviting artwork because that’s just how I want people to feel.
Leo Lion
Check out my Instagram: @art.by.arbalist