Art Camp 504

Procreate for the iPad is a powerful, user-friendly tool that allows artists to experiment and create amazing works of art - from simple sketches to detailed and complex animation! The possibilities are endless! Animation on Procreate is a life changer and so easy to achieve. In this six week introductory course, students will learn how to create cute characters in motion. We will design a character and then learn how to use various layering techniques to bring this character to life through movement. We will warm up the class with foundational drawing skills and techniques and slowly move into the process of animating. Learning the shortcuts, layer masks, layer stacking, duplicating, repeating and editing are all a part of the learning process, along with improving and advancing the skill to create drawings.  

Materials Needed: iPad with Procreate installed, Apple Pencil or a stylus, Enthusiasm and imagination!

DAY 1 – Overview of Procreate’s main features: layers, masks, brushes, brush customization, and the Animation Assist tool. While exploring the app, students will brainstorm ideas for an original character.

• Assignment: Sketch a character of your choice (on paper or in Procreate). Think about colors and give your character one action (e.g., waving, dancing, batting eyelashes).

DAY 2 – Developing Ideas + Advanced Drawing Skills: Group discussion of sketches, looking at references for inspiration. Lesson on advanced drawing concepts: line quality, shape design, shadow shapes, light and shadow, color relationships, and more.

• Assignment: Review class concepts by experimenting with different drawing skills. Bring a few practice sketches to share next class.

DAY 3 – Character Refinement: Iterations, shape clean-up, and coloring, using skills learned in previous sessions. Peer feedback and exchange of ideas.

• Assignment: Continue refining your character by polishing shapes and improving colors.

DAY 4 – Lesson on Procreate’s Animation Assist: Frame-by-frame motion, duplication, and onion skinning. Students create a simple animated gesture for their character.

• Assignment: In a separate document, animate a simple black-and-white geometric shape. Save it for the next class.

DAY 5 – Work on character animations in black and white: Refining frames, cleaning up motion, and peer feedback. Students are introduced to color in animation and shading for depth.

• Assignment: Take your geometric shape animation from last class, add a single color, and animate it.

DAY 6 – Finalizing + Exporting Animations: Students complete their animated characters in color, refining motion and shading. Class ends with exporting projects and creating final video clips.

MEET THE INSTRUCTOR:

AKSHITA MONGA (she/her) is a realist and figurative artist, currently living and teaching in Barcelona, Spain. She’s previously trained as a digital artist and gone on to work as head illustrator for a youth magazine - arre.co.in creating relevant illustrations for write-ups and news stories. She’s also worked with writers and film-makers to create Children’s Story Books and Graphic Short Stories & Commissioned paintings. Akshita is currently working as an advanced oil painter and graduated from the renowned Barcelona Academy of Art, which is a traditional atelier school, training artists in 19th Century European Classical Art. Her works have been displayed at Nippon Gallery, Mumbai, India, Mrs. Toolips Gallery, Barcelona/Vienna, Guinizzelli Space, Barcelona and many more. We met Akshita through our graphic designer Maya Jevans, they were studying together at the Academy of Art in Barcelona. Akshita has been teaching virtual classes with Art Camp 504 the past three years, sharing her international expertise with our young artists! Visit Akshita’s website