School of Visual Storytelling

All Courses, Level 4: Visual Storytelling

Developing Great Visual Stories

In Developing Great Visual Stories, Will Terry takes students through a series of important exercises to hone the craft of concept building. Level up that well-rendered drawing by making sure you're also telling a well-crafted story!

All Courses, Level 3: Environment Design

Exterior Environment Design

Every awesome character needs an awesome world to live in! In this course, Professional illustrator Jake Parker, along with Will Terry, teaches how to design appealing and believable exterior environments.

All Courses, SVS Orientation

Start Here!

Welcome! We're so glad you're here. This class will help you navigate our website and get the most out of your subscription. We'll cover how to get started, how to stream the classes, and how to access all the benefits of your membership. Let's go!

All Courses, Level 3: Environment Design

Practical Perspective

Practical Perspective with David Hohn builds on what students learn in Basic and Advanced Perspective. Demos utilize drawing in perspective to carve into basic forms, 5 in a bedroom and 3 in a barnyard, to create finished objects.

All Courses, Business

Logo Design for Illustrators by Tannie Smith

There comes a point in every illustrator’s career when you are asked to design a logo. This class will provide a thorough introduction to the classic design principles that will help you succeed when a logo design opportunity comes your way.

All Courses, Level 3: Environment Design

Advanced Perspective by David Hohn

Advanced Perspective with David Hohn takes students from a short review of one and two point perspective all the way to rendering advanced shapes and environments in three point perspective.

All Courses, Ink

Inktober Bootcamp

Ready to make the most of Inktober this year? The Inktober Bootcamp is a 5 day experience to help you plan your project and brush up your inking skills.

All Courses, Digital

Illustrator for Illustrators by Sarah LuAnn Perkins

Not just for graphic designers! Learn how to harness the power of Adobe Illustrator to create digital art that can be easily manipulated, without losing quality no matter how you scale it.

All Courses, Storytelling

Creating Custom Color Palettes

The goal of this class is to shake up the way we choose colors for our artwork. Yas shares a unique method for creating interesting color palettes from places we might not normally be looking.

All Courses, Level 2: Character Design

Posing Characters with Jake Parker

In this course, pro illustrator Jake Parker, teaches three different methods for posing your characters. You'll learn how to create sitting, standing, walking, running and jumping poses.

All Courses, Level 2: Character Design

Stylizing Human Characters

How do you go from a reference photo to a stylized character ready for their debut? Learn how to design appealing and engaging characters with pro illustrator Jake Parker.

All Courses, Ink

Gouache Resist Inking Demo With David Hohn

In this class, David demonstrates how to use gouache as a masking agent to give your inked drawing a woodcut-like quality. This is a fun technique that will give you some very unique results with lots of character.

All Courses, Ink

Experimenting with Ink

Let's have fun with ink! Get messy and experiment with different inking techniques, with Pro illustrator Lee White.

All Courses, Ink

Thinking Outside The Pen

From unique mark-making to adding style digitally, learn to think way outside the traditional methods of inking with professional artist and teacher David Habben.

All Courses, Ink

Inking Tutorial 1: Cactus Bot

Learn to ink with this Cactus Bot template and video tutorial by Jake Parker.

All Courses, Ink

Inking Tutorial 2: Alien Harvester

Learn to ink with this Alien Harvester template and video tutorial by Jake Parker.

All Courses, Ink

Inking Tutorial 3: Floating Witch

Learn to ink with this Floating Witch template and video tutorial by Jake Parker.

All Courses, Illustration

How to Plan and Complete a Big Illustration Project

Here's everything you need to know to complete a big illustration project like Inktober! Pro illustrators Anna Daviscourt and Chelsea Trousdale show you how.

All Courses, Level 2: Character Design

Unique and Appealing Character Design

From proportion to subtle detailing, learn to develop interesting and unique characters from the ground up with professional children’s book illustrator Anna Daviscourt

All Courses, Level 2: Character Design

Introduction to Gesture Drawing

Feature animation character designer, Brooklyn Walker teaches you how to bring energy and excitement to your stories, and develop fluid gesture drawing mastery with this simple guide designed for the storytelling illustrator.

All Courses, Level 2: Character Design

Figure Drawing Fundamentals

Jumpstart your figure drawing skills or take a refresher course on these fundamentals with studio artist Michael Parker. This beginner's course covers everything you need to know to get started figure drawing with confidence.

All Courses

Jump Into The Studio

Ever want to be a fly on the wall in an artist’s studio? We'll pull up a chair, relax and learn from some pros. On select Thursdays we'll hang out with different illustrators for an hour.

All Courses, Level 1: Foundations

Introduction to Prop Design

Work along side professional illustrator and concept artist Jake Parker as he takes you through the process of designing props from start to finish. Learn how to design memorable and interesting props to populate your stories.

All Courses, Level 3: Environment Design

Effective Vehicle Design

Learn from professional illustrator Shane Hunt as he teaches everything you need to start designing vehicles that are both memorable and story-driven. Students will finish the course with an original boat, car and flying vehicle design.

All Courses

Portfolio Power Critique

Do you feel stuck with your art? The Portfolio Power Critique is a way for SVSLearn members to receive personalized feedback from working professionals to help take your art to the next level!

All Courses, Level 1: Foundations

Basic Perspective Drawing

Unlock your storytelling potential by learning how to draw in perspective. Professional illustrator David Hohn breaks down the basics of one and two point perspective in a way that is simple and easy to understand.

All Courses, Level 1: Foundations

Light and Shadow for Illustrators

Learn a practical step-by-step approach to adding light and shadow to your illustrations. Work alongside professional illustrator Lee White as he shows his process for adding light and shadow to 6 unique scenarios.

All Courses, Ink

Crosshatching in Ink

Learn the beautiful art of crosshatching, just in time for Inktober! In this class, Bryan the Girl will teach you how to crosshatch the old school way, with just a simple ink pen on paper.

All Courses, Ink

Inking Practice

Want to get good at inking?? Practice your inking skills with Jake Parker, the creator of Inktober! In this tutorial, you will ink over two of Jake’s line art drawings so you can focus purely on the craft of inking.

All Courses

OG Building Backgrounds

Adding characters to an environment is an important topic to understand and add to every artists work flow. In this course, professional illustrator Brian Ajhar emphasizing how to draw characters within their environment.

All Courses, Character

How to Draw Dynamic Folds and Wrinkles

Learn how to enhance your illustrations by drawing accurate folds! This is an introduction course on how to draw folds and wrinkles, covering the anatomy of folds, the 6 different kinds of folds and how to draw clothing on the figure in action.

All Courses, Critique

Critique Arena

Are you ready to rumble?? Every Second Thursday, we meet for Critique Arena, to reveal the top 16 of our monthly art contest, critique their work and vote for the top 2 winners. These are the recordings for your viewing pleasure!

All Courses, Paint

Reinventing Your Watercolor Palette

Are you tired of dull, muddy, streaky watercolors? This course will introduce you to a five-color palette which will enable more vibrant colors that granulate, bloom and crackle beautifully.

All Courses, Business

Art Licensing: Trend Forecasting, Personal Style & Vision Boards

Ever wonder how to get your artwork in retailer stores like Target and Walmart? In our new video on art licensing, Gina Jane will show you how to license the same image on all different kinds of products, from gift bags to textiles.

All Courses

Digital Illustration Process

All Courses, Level 4: Visual Storytelling

Painting Color and Light

Being able to draw is only the first step, adding color and light can make your illustrations luminous and dynamic. The concepts taught in this class are universal to all media, either traditional or digital.

All Courses

Studio Interview

All Courses, Ink

How To Ink

Yes, digital pens are convenient and versatile and all, but sometimes you just want to lay down some old school ink on some plain ol' paper. In this video, pro illustrator Jake Parker demonstrates how to take your ink skills to the next level.

All Courses, Level 4: Visual Storytelling

Creative Composition

Good composition is essential to making good images. Pro illustrator, Will Terry, gose over all the components of good design.

All Courses, Ink

Brushpen with Peter Han

Prepare to go deep into the world of brush pens! Follow along as ink master Peter Han gets into the mechanics of brush pens and demos how they perform. Part One of three.

All Courses, Level 1: Foundations

How to Draw Everything

The rebooted version! Featuring more instruction, more exercises and more Skull Chaser! This is a comprehensive course on the elements, principles, techniques, and tools of drawing.

All Courses, Illustration

Illustrating Children's Books Part 1

Everything you ever wanted to know about how to illustrate picture books. Seriously. Part 1 is all about creating the artwork. Pro illustrators Will Terry and Jake Parker cover everything from making a book dummy to keeping visual continuity.

All Courses

Portrait Painting

All Courses, Draw

Sketchbooking

An intro course on the tools, philosophy, and techniques of becoming a great sketchbook artist.

All Courses, Level 4: Visual Storytelling

Painting Texture and Details

Finally - the class where you're encouraged to paint the details! In this class we explore a wide range of textures and break them down to help improve the level of finish you can achieve. This is the self-directed version of this class.

All Courses, Business

How to Get Your Art on Products Sold in Retail Stores

Ever wonder how to get your artwork in retailer stores like Target and Walmart? In our new video on art licensing, Gina Jane will show you how to license the same image on all different kinds of products, from gift bags to textiles.

All Courses

Painting with Anna Daviscourt

The road from a blank canvas to a final painting doesn't need to be a scary one. Join illustrator Anna Daviscourt as she guides you through transforming a sketch into a luscious digital painting with four simple steps!

All Courses

Rabbit Cycle Demo

An in depth look at how to go from initial concept to final image.

All Courses, Character

Characters and Conversations

In this video, Will Terry chats with Piper as she creates one of her daily paintings for your viewing pleasure. They discuss her art process, getting into the art biz, schooling options for artists and more in this packed 2-hour episode.

All Courses, Storytelling

How To Discover Your Style

Powerful tips to help you discover your style

All Courses, Business, Illustration

Battling Creative Block

Pro illustrators Jake Parker, Will Terry and Lee White talk about all the things that can keep you from creating that masterpiece. Find out how to battle creative block!

All Courses, Digital

10 Step Digital Painting

Go from sketch to finished digital painting in 10 easy steps! Pro illustrator Will Terry shows you step-by-step how to build this awesome dragon image in Photoshop.

All Courses, Digital

Painting in Photoshop

Learn Photoshop painting secrets from not just one pro illustrator, but 5! Mind blown! See how Zac Retz, Brooke Boynton Hughes, Kevin Keele, Will Terry and Jake Parker create their signature style.

All Courses

OG Creative Composition

Good composition is essential to making good images. Pro illustrators Will Terry and Jake Parker go over all the components of good design.

All Courses, Level 1: Foundations

The Magic of Color

This class was designed to give you the major principles that you would learn in a color theory class. Learning to communicate with color is necessary and fundamental to becoming an effective visual storyteller.

All Courses

Creative Environment Design

Every awesome character needs an awesome world to live in! Pro illustrator Jake Parker shows you how to design appealing and believable environments of all kinds.

All Courses, Illustration

Illustrating Children's Books Part 2

Everything you ever wanted to know about how to illustrate picture books. Seriously. Part 2 is all about the business. Pro illustrators Will Terry and Jake Parker get into the nitty gritty of contracts and the publishing world.

All Courses, Character

Drawing Villains and Monsters

Learn how to draw awesome bad guys! Pro illustrator Jake Parker shares his techniques for designing evil characters of all kinds. Plus learn how to draw them in evil poses, wearing evil clothes! Mwahahahahahaha!

All Courses

Posing Characters

One skill every picture book artist needs is the ability to draw the same character from different angles in different poses, over and over again. Pro illustrator Jake Parker shows you the tricks to keeping your characters consistent.

All Courses

Mastering Perspective

Ugh, perspective. We know it's hard to get excited about it, but mastering this skill is absolutely essential to becoming a Jedi Master in illustration. Illustration pro Jake Parker will help you use the force to apply perspective in your work.

All Courses, Character

Drawing Robots and Machinery

To draw believable machines, you must first learn the anatomy of machines, young grasshopper. Illustration pro Jake Parker teaches the principles of designing machinery that actually looks functional.

All Courses, Character

Drawing Heroes and Sidekicks

Learn how to draw awesome good guys! Pro illustrator Jake Parker will rescue you from weak character design and show you how your characters can save the day. To infinity and beyond!

All Courses

OG Painting Color and Light

If you already know the basics of color and light, the next step is to master these skills, young padawans. Pro illustrators Will Terry, Jake Parker and special guest Ty Carter reveal their techniques for infusing their work with color and light.

All Courses, Illustration

Drawing Comics

Thinking about drawing comics? In this tutorial, Jake Parker, the artist behind the popular Missile Mouse comic books, gives an overview of the industry and shows you how to make a comic book from start to finish. Ka-pow!

All Courses, Character

Breathing Life into your Character Designs

How do you go from words on paper to a living, breathing character? Find out from some of the top pros in the business! Will Terry, Jake Parker, Brandon Jeffords and Shane Lewis go in-depth on how to design engaging characters.

All Courses, Paint

Mixed Media-Watercolor and Digital

Ever wish your digital paintings looked a little more, er, traditional? In this video, pro illustrator Will Terry demonstrates how to give your digital work that organic feel with digital textures made from actual watercolors!

All Courses, Digital

Painting Fur and Hair

If you want to know how to paint the most amazing, luxurious locks, then you need this video. Pro illustrator Therese Larsson shares her techniques for digitally painting fur and hair.

All Courses, Digital

Beginning Photoshop

Secretly scared of Photoshop? Well, no more excuses! This video is designed for those who have never even opened Photoshop before. Pro illustrator Will Terry guides you through all the basics of digital painting.

All Courses, Digital

Drawing with Digital Pencils

Why digital pencils? No disrespect to Dixon Ticonderoga, but digital pencils are the tops when it comes to versatility and control. Pro illustrator Will Terry reveals his tricks for making digital pencils and mimicking the real thing.

All Courses, Digital

Creating Custom Brushes in Photoshop

Ever wonder how some artists manage to get such realistic textures in their digital work? Pro illustrator Lee White demonstrates how to create all sorts to custom brushes in Photoshop to get that natural, painterly look.

All Courses, Paint

Luminous Lighting in Mixed Media

Let it glow, let it glow, can't hold it back anymore! In this traditional painting class, pro illustrator Lee White demos how to build up lighting in a painting and give it that luminous glow.

All Courses, Digital

Photoshop Demo with Jim Madsen

Want to see how the pros work, up close and personal? Check out this video, my preciousss. Follow along as pro illustrator Jim Madsen breaks down his method for painting amazing images in Photoshop.

All Courses, Critique

Art Critiques: Illustrating Children's Books

As they say, criticism only makes you stronger! Follow along as pro illustrators Will Terry and Lee White critique work submitted by aspiring kidlit artists.

All Courses, Critique

Art Critiques: Fall 2015

Why would anyone willingly sign up for their work to be critiqued? They know it's one of the best ways to get BETTER. Watch as pro illustrators Will Terry and Lee White critique personal work submitted by budding artists.

All Courses, Level 4: Visual Storytelling

Visual Storytelling

Learn how to put the story in your visual storytelling. Pro illustrator Lee White shares techniques for coming up with good concepts that actually tell a compelling story.

All Courses, Draw

Drawing a Portrait

If you want to get better at drawing, practicing portraits is a good place to start. Pro illustrator Dave Malan demonstrates how to draw a portrait in pencil from start to finish.

All Courses, Paint

SketchBook Painting

Spending too much time in front of that screen? Go paint outside! Pro illustrator Marco Bucci shows you how to pack a mobile studio and paint on location (plein air if you're fancy!).

All Courses, Digital

Digital Painting 1

One way to improve your craft is to watch how the pros do it. In Part 1 of this class, pro illustrator Marco Bucci throws all caution to the wind and demonstrates how to improvise when painting digitally.

All Courses, Digital

Digital Painting 2

Welcome to Part 2 of trying to improve your craft by watching how the pros do it. In this class, pro illustrator Marco Bucci explores the process of visual development from concept to finished digital painting.

All Courses, Digital

Ipad Pro Painting with Procreate

So, you went ahead and bought that iPad Pro. Now what? Pro illustrator Will Terry demonstrates how to use popular app Procreate to make amazing digital illustrations.

All Courses, Critique

Art Critiques: Digital Painting with Marco Bucci

Once you've watched Digital Painting 1 and 2, check out the live critiques to see how the principles are applied in real life. Watch as pro illustrator Marco Bucci critiques digital paintings submitted by SVS students.

All Courses, Level 1: Foundations

Visualizing Drawing in Perspective

In this course, pro illustrator Will Terry demos how to visualize perspective in your mind's eye, ('cause sometimes there's no reference for what you're drawing!).

All Courses, Character

Design and Color: Hair

Ok everybody, let's get into all the hairy details. In this video, pro illustrator Ty Carter analyzes the importance of hair and shares techniques for making it shine. Part 1 is all about short hair.

All Courses, Draw

Drawing Fundamentals

Before you can get fancy, you need to master the basics. In this video, pro illustrator Dave Malan takes you back to the drawing board so you can strengthen your core skills.

All Courses, Critique

Art Critiques: Spring 2016

A little constructive criticism can go a long way to making an image better. Tune in while pro illustrators Lee White and Will Terry critique work submitted by SVS students.

All Courses, Illustration

Editorial Illustration

Want to break into editorial illustration? Learn all about the industry and how to prep your work for assignments from the grand poobah of editorial illustration himself, James Yang.

All Courses, Character

Drawing Animals

Drawing horses is scary! Put your fears to rest by mastering the art of drawing animals. In this video, pro illustrator Jake Parker deconstructs principles of designing animals of all kinds.

All Courses

Painting the Head

How on earth do you paint like that?? Find out how master painter Britt Snyder manipulates oils to create his amazing painting style.

All Courses

Digital Painting with Denis Zilber

Settle in and get comfy, you've got 9 hours of digital painting instruction ahead of you! Find out how pro illustrator Denis Zilber makes his amazing digital masterpieces.

All Courses, Storytelling

Lighting for Storytelling

Lighting is super important in any storytelling project. It can convey everything from mood to environment to time of day. Follow along as visual development artist Zac Retz reveals how he approaches lighting.

All Courses, The Path Forward

Building a Profitable Illustration Business

Let's get down to business! In Part 2 of this video series, pro illustrator Lee White shows you how to build your freelance illustration business and stay on top of your finances.

All Courses, Draw

Stylizing Portraits

Learn how to stylize portraits like illustrator Mel Milton, who is internet famous for the morning sketches he calls "dooks." He starts with reference photos and embellishes from there. Keep on keepin' on!

All Courses, The Path Forward

Running a Profitable Illustration Business

Wait, there's more! In Part 3 of this video series, pro illustrator Lee White shows you what to do after you're up and running with your own illustration business.

All Courses, Illustration

Portfolio and Self Promotion with James Yang

Every freelancer needs a portfolio of their work at the ready. See how veteran illustrator James Yang preps his work for art directors. Plus you get to see his old school portfolio from back before the internet!

All Courses

Stylizing Human Characters Original

How do you go from a reference photo to a stylized character ready for their debut? Learn how to design appealing and engaging characters with pro illustrator Jake Parker.

All Courses, Paint

Loosening Up in Watercolor

How do you keep paintings from turning stiff like a cadaver when you go in for the final finish? Pro illustrator Lee White shows you how to keep your paintings lively.

All Courses, Critique

Art Critiques: Fall 2016

Tune in for another round of art critiques! This time with special guest Jaime Zollars, whose work has graced everything from picture books to wall paper. See how to analyze an image and make it BETTER.

All Courses, Business

How to get your First 10k Followers

If you want to make it as an artist, you need to grow your audience! Pro illustrator Jake Parker shows you how to harness the power of social media to build your following.

All Courses, Illustration

Writing Picture Books

Learn how to write picture books from the lady who wrote the book on writing picture books! Author Ann Whitford Paul shows you how to bring your book to life.

All Courses, Illustration

Making Graphic Novels

Hey all you graphic novel fans, this one's for you! Follow along as Nathan Hale, the man behind Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, demos how to make a graphic novel.

All Courses, Storytelling

Draw 50 Things

One of the hardest things for artists to do is draw a jam-packed scene. Pro illustrator Will Terry breaks down his strategy for drawing lots of STUFF.

All Courses, The Path Forward

Starting a Profitable Illustration Business

Why do so many artists fail? Because they don't have a business plan! In "Starting a Profitable Illustration Business" Pro illustrator Lee White shows you how the business side of art really works.

All Courses, Illustration

How to Design Action Figures

Ever wonder how all those little action figure toys are made? Well they all start with drawings! Follow along as toy designer Nate Baertsch designs a female orc action figure.

All Courses, Paint

Smooth Blends in Acrylics - dry brush technique

Acrylic paints are notorious for drying super fast, and many struggle to get the kind of smooth transitions that are so easy with oils. BUT there are techniques you can use to get around this. Pro illustrator Will Terry shows you how.

All Courses, Illustration

How to Perfect Your Children's Book Portfolio

What should you include in your children's book portfolio? Well, there are 100+ items you might want to consider. Pro illustrator Will Terry covers ALL the things.

All Courses, Business

Finding Work/Life Balance

How can artists find that magical balance between work and life? Special guest Sarah Jane talks about her strategies for raising a lovely family while building a successful illustration career.

All Courses, Business

How Did They Get Their Start?

Everyone's got to start somewhere! The founders of SVS talk all about their origin stories, and how they managed to turn their art skills into a living.

All Courses, Business

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Agents

Do you need an agent? Team SVS is joined by agent Ryan Sanchez in a lively roundtable discussion on what an agent can do for your art career.

All Courses, Business

All About Contracts

They say the devil is in details! Find out what artists need to know about the fine print. With special guest Sara Payne, lead attorney at Tailored Legal Services.

All Courses, Character

My Favorite Monster Demo

How do pro illustrators approach an assignment? Join Jake Parker as he creates this fun monster image for a group art show at a kids museum.

All Courses, Character

Sculpting for Character Consistency

Here's a little trick for keeping your characters consistent throughout a big storytelling project - try drawing from a maquette! Sculptor Dan Mortensen shows you how to make a maquette for reference.

All Courses, Storytelling

Choosing Colors for Storytelling

Learn how to make those colors pop! Pro illustrator Will Terry demos his strategies for picking colors, color schemes and light temperature in your paintings.

All Courses, Business

How to get Freelance Work

How can artists find freelance work? Pro illustrator Will Terry goes over strategies for landing that gig, including how to build your contact list.

All Courses, Business

Branding for Creatives

As artists and writers we are selling ourselves as much as our art form. It's important to be aware that the brand we put out in the world can affect our business (for good or for bad).

All Courses, Illustration

What makes a Children's Book a Bestseller

It's something everyone in the publishing industry wants to know - why do some books sell and some books don't?