Announcing “Taught By a Pro” Online Art Courses

I get a fair number of emails from people asking me if I am ever going to do a DVD or a series of instructional videos on drawing caricatures. Well, the answer is “yes”, and the time frame is “very soon” now. Animator and comic artist extraordinaire Tom Bancroft just announced today the launch of the new art instruction website, TaughtByAPro.com, and I will be one of the instructors and will be doing a series of how-to-draw caricature video courses.

Here’s the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tom Bancroft, well known author and animator, has teamed up with Rich Lanam, an educational technology executive, to start an online art school called Taught By A Pro (www.TaughtByAPro.com) . Tom’s work has been included in Disney animation favorites Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Mulan, and many others. He has also written the definitive textbooks on Character Design that are used at art schools around the world. Together Rich and Tom have created the online art training program Taught By A Pro in order to provide art instruction by professionals to artists in training who might not ordinarily have the opportunity to be¬¨‚Ć taught by professional animators, comic book artists, comic strip¬¨‚Ć artists, illustrators, video game designers and more. “Our goal is to give artists in training access to the best¬¨‚Ć professional artists without the expense of art school. Whether you¬¨‚Ć are already a professional artist or an aspiring artist, it is critical¬¨‚Ć that you improve your skills. Taught By A Pro is the platform for¬¨‚Ć improving your abilities and enhancing your portfolio”, states Tom.¬¨‚Ć Rich adds, “Technology has the capability to improve access to¬¨‚Ć education. Our goal is to reduce many of the barriers – financial,¬¨‚Ć time and distance – so¬¨‚Ćsolid art instruction can be available to¬¨‚Ć all who want it.¬¨‚Ć By providing instruction anytime and anyplace at an affordable price we are breaking down some of these barriers.” According to Tom, “The types of professionals who will be sharing their¬¨‚Ć techniques and tips to our students are Masters at their profession and¬¨‚Ć don’t generally teach. These are artists who have honed their craft¬¨‚Ć for some of the most prestigious film studios, video game companies,¬¨‚Ć and institutions in the world. At Taught By A Pro, we are committed to bringing¬¨‚Ć those artists to you!”

Right now the only courses available are some done by Tom and his brother Tony, another accomplished animator. I only came on board with this recently when Tom contacted me about being one of the initial instructors. From what I understand the lessons/courses will be available on an ala-carte basis and be priced very reasonably ($10 or so), so you do not have to pay some outrageous amount for a full course upfront. You can pick and choose what you want to get without outlaying a ton of money. I like the concept and the simplicity of it.

I’m in the process of outline and planning my courses now. I am not sure of the time frame but I would hope to complete the video work this winter and see my courses available by early spring at the latest. I will certainly let readers of the blog know when it’s all rolling.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/79338943[/vimeo]