Crash Course for Artists, Illustrators and Cartoonists, 2013 Edition!

**~KJK~** · June 22nd, 2011, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by TinyBird

Word. We'd need such course here in Finland too.

Im so gonna second this

**Partisan** · June 22nd, 2011, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by Parsakoira

Im so gonna second this

PFFFFFF who cares about that little ice-cube called Finland (

).... we need that shit in Germany ! right NOW !

**Kjesta** · August 6th, 2011, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by Partisan

PFFFFFF who cares about that little ice-cube called Finland (

).... we need that shit in Germany ! right NOW !

And those DVDs/downloads mentioned further up the thread.

**ClassicalGIRL** · August 7th, 2011, 07:31 PM

You should come to Oz .... I agree we need this type of stuff over here too ...: )

**velderia** · September 10th, 2011, 07:47 PM

Last minute, but I'm asking my parents/brother if I could go.

**Greg Lambrakis** · December 30th, 2011, 08:24 PM

Hey Guys,

I just took this class in the fall so I thought I'd chime in.

If you're on the fence for whatever reason, just go ahead and sign up already. The price really is quite low and you’ll get loads of valuable information in return. Elwell is extremely knowledgeable, amazingly so, and he will instantly have the answer to any art-related question you might have. The course itself is designed as a very sensible progression through the fundamentals, starting with perspective (how to build a space), then anatomy (build figures to put in the space), and even things like drapery (how to dress the figures), with the all important subjects of color and composition tying it all together at the end.

Needless to say, no one is able to magically master all the fundamentals in 8 weeks. The wiser way to look at Crash Course is that it's a guided tour through each successive area you'll need to master in order to work as a professional illustrator, including where to find the best info to follow up on each topic. In other words, Crash Course is a blueprint of what you'll need to study and how to go about studying it. Each week you get a taste of what it means to train in a particular area, along with Elwell’s experience and insight to guide you. And if you’re already familiar with the material, it will help you plug in any gaps in your knowledge.

On the last day of class, I was lucky enough to have all of his attention and we sat together and reviewed my work. I am eternally grateful for this and learned a lot. He’s really very sharp when it comes to analyzing exactly what is working and what is not working in one of your images. You will learn much just from being around him, listening, and understanding how he thinks about things. Personally, what I really took away from the course overall is how much harder I need to push myself and how totally bulletproof my skills and portfolio need to become. This was a much needed kick in the ass to get my act together and just put in the hard work. Thanks for everything Elwell!

-Greg

**Elwell** · December 30th, 2011, 09:46 PM

Thanks so much, Greg!

**Saracen** · January 3rd, 2012, 10:51 AM

Hi Tristan. Any chance all or part of your lecture is available online or as a download? I didnt see this mentioned in the links you posted, so I'm fairly sure it's not an option, but hey, it doesnt hurt to ask.

For the record, if you had an instructional dvd available, I'd buy it

**Slothboy3000** · January 3rd, 2012, 01:45 PM

Likewise, I'd definately buy a DVD if you were planning on doing one.

**QueenGwenevere** · May 7th, 2012, 06:45 AM

Just out of curiosity, would it be worth considering the course if I'd have to miss the last week? (Will be out of town the first week of August... bah!)

Kinda wanted to do it last year, but work interfered...

**Elwell** · May 7th, 2012, 07:26 AM

Although each class builds on the one before it to some degree, the units are also self-contained, so missing some isn't disastrous. Also, registered students have access to a page on the SVA site where I post PDFs of any handouts I give out in class.

**Ccs** · May 7th, 2012, 04:02 PM

Just registered. Thought about taking this last year but I couldn't make it. Good to see it's being offered again. There's a LOT I didn't learn in art school that I hope to get a handle on through this class.

**MonoOrder** · May 15th, 2012, 03:05 PM

I've registered as well. I was the awkward guy that came up during the information session worried about not having the prerequisite drawing abilities for the class.

Looking forward to it!

**Lhune** · May 29th, 2012, 03:13 PM

Bah, all the cool stuff happens on the other side of the freakin' Atlantic :|.

**Star Eater** · August 29th, 2012, 12:23 AM

Yeah, I'm with Lhune. Pains me to see these threads sometimes.
Would so love to take part. When are you going to make a
DVD Tristan? That's the best a lot of us can hope for.

**LMAshton** · August 30th, 2012, 02:49 AM

Elwell, are you considering doing an online version of the course? I live in Asia and will *never* be able to make it to your course in New York, but it sounds so good that I'd love it if I could take the class through alternative instruction.

**Elwell** · January 8th, 2013, 09:50 PM

Bumping with info on this term's class. If anybody has questions they'd like to ask in person, or you just want to stop by and say hi, I'll be at the SVA Continuing Education Illustration and Cartooning Information Session next Tuesday, January 15th.

Illustration and Cartooning Information Session
One night: Tuesday, January 15
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, FREE OF CHARGE
What is illustration? What is cartooning? What do you need to begin working as an illustrator or cartoonist? Spend an evening with some of our continuing education illustration and cartooning faculty and see their work and their students' work.
NOTE: This information session will be held at 209 East 23rd Street, room 311, 3rd floor. Seating is given on a first-come, first-served basis. Session begins promptly at 6:30 PM.

More info at http://www.sva.edu/continuing-educat...ation-sessions

**Greyday** · April 15th, 2013, 11:46 PM

Hi everyone, this was literally the last day of the class and I just got home some time ago.

It was awesome. I only wish that I had the money to take it a while back so I wouldn't have wasted so much time trying to find the information on my own. Like Greg said, there's really only so much you can cover on each of the particular areas, but it really is an excellent blueprint and Mr. Elwell really goes into detail explaining not only the what, but also the how and even the history. And the color....ah the color. The one class on color really explained so much and let me know that there wasn't anything wrong with my vision, just my understanding of what I saw. I managed to break a couple bad habits/mindsets as we tackled figure drawing as well. If you have any reservations, just take the class. It definitely plugs in the gaps in knowledge and your free to ask any questions (Elwell's a really nice guy!). It's also great for the people like me who aren't in school, just to be around other people with the same interests and are all together for the same thing.