Teaching approach

Learning art should be a mind-expanding and gratifying experience. I reject the established idea that perpetual sacrifice is essential for learning. Enthusiasm is the key for inspiration. An art teacher should be a partner in crime. An inspiration provider who helps the student expressing a deep personal truth. Art lessons are not just about making a drawing correctly, but about revealing the students’ inner universe.

Content

• Proportion and structure
• Facial features: how to draw eyes, nose, mouth and ears
• Gesture: how to communicate the character feelings
• Basic knowledge of bones and muscles
• Body language and mechanics
• Simple tricks to make the face and body look tridimensional

Sketching
• Develop an idea from simple lines
• Simplify the figure by using geometric structures
• Explore different variations of the same idea

Inking
• Learn how to work with microfibers and different line weights
• Clean up the sketch and turn it into a defined figure
• Make the lines look real

Colouring
• Learn how to work with acrylic paints
• Explore color palettes and color combinations
• Create effects, atmospheres and moods

Character Design
• Build a character through simple sketches
• Define face, gestures, and body language
• Design clothing, accessories, and objects
• Deepen into the character’s feelings, ideas, traumas, dreams, etc.

Composition
• Learn how to construct a dynamic scene.
• Place characters and objects into a setting.
• Establish a “visual map” that guides the viewer through the image.
• Create a sense of unity among all the elements, even when the scene is complex or chaotic.

Perspective
• Create depth using the horizon line and vanishing points.
• Simplify backgrounds without losing their complexity.
• Give “personality” to the space.

Lighting and Effects
• Introduction to light and shadow
• Reinforce the atmosphere of the scene
• Expressionistic shading: the importance of contrasts
• Create tension, intensity, drama

Visual Storytelling
• Explore past and future of the scene.
• Create visual clues that suggest a narrative.
• Define the intention: what reactions do you want to evoke?
• Suggest multiple interpretations of the same scene.

• Exercises for unlocking intuitive creativity and emotional expression
• Free experimentation using mixed media: ink, whiteout, acrylic, charcoal, and pastel
• Exploring the spontaneous: errors and entropy as a part of the creative process
• Drawing dreams, fantasies, visions, obsessions, hallucinations

Results

See the results of my students...