And now for something completely different!
Meet Aaron Jacob Jones, a London based artist, tutor, animator and live illustrator who has developed an innovative way of drawing for the digital age! Animated life drawing to be precise – they really take your breath away when you see them for the first time!
Aaron developed the technique himself to combine his animation background and his love of drawing from life. On this course he will show you how to create unique animations, ideal not just for social media but also for understanding the figure as a 3d structure through consistent study of multiple angles.
The learning doesn’t stop there though. Aaron is also an incredibly accomplished artist and tutor, he teaches regularly and uses loose gestural mark making and watercolours to create lovely, intimate drawings.
Aaron’s goals for this course are to help you understand and be bold with watercolour, warming you up for an introduction to animation. Seeing your drawings moving for the first time ever is a magical moment for anyone!
If you’ve ever wished you could add more colour and creativity to your life drawings, or if you’ve tried watercolour and struggled to get good results, this weekend could change your life!
COURSE DETAILS
DAY 1:
Meet and greet of students. Introduction to watercolour and interactive demonstrations covering various techniques and materials.
Tutored time painting a model from life.
The basics of animation, plus a live demo. An hour painting a model from multiple angles, then you’ll animate your art with hands-on help from Aaron!
DAY 2:
Guided warm up exercise with multiple quick sketches of the model.
Assistance making a full looping movie from these drawings, with a deeper dive into using apps to animate.
Long pose animation, giving you time to fully draw and paint each angle of the figure, making a beautiful polished spinning 360°
This fun course includes:
- Informal, hands-on drawing tutoring for every student
- Materials and tuition on using watercolour for life drawing
- Equipment, worksheets and guidance for creating animations
- Step-by-step demonstrations covering…
- The basics of how watercolour works, plus do’s and don’ts
- Techniques for painting the figure and fashion
- Gestural mark making with paint instead of line
- How to draw from life with animation in mind
- How to shoot and animate your artwork
Suitable for?
Anyone who has drawn from life before. Please note – complete beginners may be a little overwhelmed.
We generally advise 14 years old+ though. Please note that the life model will be undressed throughout the class.
What is included in the price?
-
- Two full days tuition (10am-4.00pm)
- All materials (feel free to bring your own favourite drawing materials too)
- Worksheet handouts to keep, with instructions on making animations
- A life model on both days
- Tea, coffee, biscuits/cakes
- Use of a beautiful, purpose built art studio with all the equipment & materials you will need
- Beautiful countryside setting
This course is for you if:
- You have some experience with life drawing, but want to improve
- You want to bring a breath of fresh air and dynamism to your life drawings
- You want to try watercolour painting but don’t know where to start
- You have tried watercolour but it was much harder than you expected to get good results
- You want to create an amazing animation to share on social media
- You want to get away from it all and immerse yourself in a fun, creative environment
Pre course prep
You will be sent an automated email on booking which prompts you towards a document that help you prepare for your time here. If this does not happen then please email James before the course.
A week or so before the course you will be sent an email with instructions on downloading a free app. If you’re confident doing so, please come with it installed on your phone! (If not, it’s fine, we have spare equipment and we can help you!)
Beyond the course
After the weekend you will be armed with many new skills to incorporate into your own art.
There are opportunities for you to continue to explore these at the Phoenix Studio (during our monthly life drawing classes and our other courses). We can also point you in the direction of other classes and venues local to you.
Need accommodation?
If you are travelling from further afield and would like to stay in the area for your visit then have a look at our recommended list of local B&Bs and hotels.
ABOUT THE TUTOR
Aaron Jacob Jones
Aaron lives in East London with two friends, a toddler and three cats. When his work as a live event illustrator isn’t sending him travelling, Aaron enjoys cycling, vegan cooking and going to at least three life drawing sessions a week.
A mostly self-taught artist, watercolour painting from life is Aaron’s main passion. Dedicated to capturing the moment and movement, Aaron approaches everything from figures to landscapes with a fresh, painterly eye and lashings of ink. Never one to confine himself to a studio or spend hours fussing over a painting, Aaron has spent his career working towards creating impressive original artwork from life in under 15 minutes.
Aaron’s distinctive paintings can be found in such prestigious galleries as hoarded in piles under his bed because he hates selling things!
Life drawing doesn’t have to be just an exercise – it’s a jumping off point for creativity in its own right. The limitations of timing and angle, the need to get something down without overthinking it… these things are, for me, what make life drawing a lifelong pursuit. My painting style evolved to suit the pressure of fast paced poses, using years of drawing discipline to capture convincing forms with minimal paint and line, in a seemingly effortless way.
Aaron Jacob Jones – Course Tutor
‘Aaron runs a superb life drawing setup…I was nervous of the 360 element but was delighted to find it was all very straightforward. Aaron walked us all through the technical bit and the animated results were thrilling. I can’t wait to do it again!’
Tony Parsons
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