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Course Description

Offered in Summer and Fall.

CalArts' Character Design Portfolio Development Workshop is an eight-week online intensive designed to help you incorporate techniques in character design to enhance your application portfolio for college animation programs.

Each week, the instructor will introduce different character design styles from a variety of sources to inspire new work and teach you about visual composition and storytelling through character design. Weekly assignments based on these resources give you the opportunity to produce work that integrates costume, gesture, shape, story, and character.

Portfolio Development Workshop class sessions and critiques are not live streamed. You are free to access the class materials each week at your convenience. You will work on your assignments on your own time and upload them to the class module on Canvas, CalArts' online learning platform, by a set deadline. At the end of the week, the instructor will give you direct feedback on submitted assignments with video critiques. Lectures and video critiques are pre-recorded.

Application Instructions

The demand for portfolio development workshops is very high, and you are strongly advised to submit your application materials as soon as possible. Please be advised that in the event a class reaches capacity we will cease reviewing applications, which can happen at any time. Materials submitted after the deadline, or when application reviews are ceased, will be considered only if space remains or becomes available.

Enrollment in this workshop is based on the instructors' review of:

  • Five examples of your work, which must include:
    • One life drawing of a plant
    • Two life drawings of whatever you wish to draw
    • Two other work samples of your choice

When we say “life drawing” we mean that you are drawing from life. In other words, you need to look closely at the person, place or thing as it exists in the real world and draw it as your eye sees it while you are observing it, not from memory. For more information on Life Drawing, click here.

Prerequisites

  • You must be 14 years old or older to take part in this workshop.

Additional Information

You may also be interested in:

Portfolio Development Workshop for Artists and Animators

Portfolio Development Workshop in Visual Storytelling

Summer Animation Residency

Animation Intensive

Students who enroll in an Extended Studies course may purchase a one-year Adobe Creative Cloud subscription at the reduced price of $250.00.

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Application

Name
Application for PDW in Character Design (course- summer)

Enroll Now - Select a section to enroll in

Section Title
Portfolio Development Workshop in Character Design
Type
Online
Dates
Jun 29, 2026 to Aug 28, 2026
Delivery Options
Online-Asynchronous  
Course Fee(s)
Tuition non-credit $1,125.00 or $250.00 deposit Click here to get more information
Section Fees
Adobe Creative Cloud $250.00 Optional
Instructors

Section Notes

For an example materials list, click here.

THIS COURSE IS ACCESSED THROUGH CANVAS

The Canvas platform provides an instructor-led learning experience where all coursework is completed asynchronously with feedback being delivered in the form of recorded critiques. This allows students to access the course content and complete the work at their own pace with set deadlines. Class sizes are small, allowing students to get to know one another through their artwork, and engage with faculty and peers through discussion boards. The instructor is available to respond to student questions through Canvas messaging.

Most Canvas online courses qualify towards a CalArts Certificate.