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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 that 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 the 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.

Applications must be accompanied by a $10 fee.

Prerequisites

  • You must be 14 years old or older to take part in this workshop.
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Enroll Now - Select a section to enroll in
Section Title
Portfolio Development Workshop in Visual Storytelling
Type
ES Online Asynchronous
Dates
Jun 30, 2025 to Aug 29, 2025
Delivery Options
Online-Asynchronous  
Course Fee(s)
Tuition non-credit $1,100.00 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.

Application Deadline: June 17th, 2025.

THIS COURSE IS ACCESSED THROUGH CANVAS

The Canvas platform provides an instructor-led learning experience. These class sizes are small to facilitate discussion and engagement with your instructor and other students. You have access to recorded content from CalArts instructors and may complete the course work at your own pace with set deadlines. The instructor is available in live sessions to answer your questions and provide individualized feedback on assignments.

Most Canvas online courses qualify towards a CalArts Certificate.