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Course Description

Offered in Summer and Fall.

CalArts Visual Storytelling Portfolio Development Workshop is an eight-week online intensive designed to equip you with the tools necessary to achieve clear and engaging storytelling in your work. Some topics will include: character and specificity, composition, layout, staging, gesture, clarity, and fundamentals of storyboarding. Through various assignments, you will observe from life as well as film, work within the parameters of a "script", utilize your own original stories, and create strong story-driven work for your portfolios.

Assignments will vary from literal to abstract and will push you to break down stories into their simplest parts. Quality of drawing is not the focus in this course, but rather efficiency and clarity in drawing. Use of real media for assignments is not required but highly encouraged. Lectures to include demos, film clips and examples from art and media.

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, a 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:

XPDW-910: Portfolio Development Workshop for Artists and Animators

XPDW-915: Portfolio Development Workshop in Character Design

XFRS-300: Summer Animation Residency

XFRS-905: 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 Visual Storytelling (course- summer)

Enroll Now - Select a section to enroll in

Section Title
Portfolio Development Workshop in Visual Storytelling
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.