Get in Character – Character Art Academy Recap, September 2025

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Pink Panther turnaround model sheet retraced with new design elements on grid paper

Get in Character: Character Art Class Review – Sept 2025

Character Issues Art & Academy

We're developing young artists' characters by creating characters. In the era of emerging A.I., automation, and constant media on screens, it is more vital than ever to help our youth nurture their creative and critical thinking skills. Through drawing, designing, and storytelling, students learn to actively engage their minds & creative skills in an age where automation increasingly tempts the world to mentally disengage. This is not your typical art class – this is more than learning technical art skills: It’s training for imagination, resilience, and original thought.

Get in Character

Character Art Class Monthly Review Letter September 2025

Hello parents!

This past month in Character Art class, we’ve been focusing on a drawing the Pink Panther mixed with a Mystery/Detective theme for our character design process.

CHARACTER DESIGN

By exploring the brainstorming & concept sketch and turnaround model sheets phases, character attributes are discussed and decided adding new elements to the design in a fun way.

Colored sketch explores mood & atmosphere 

Early-stage pencil sketch establishes the scene

Pink Panther turnaround model sheet.

Learning how to make a turnaround model sheet helps students to envision this character in 360° and how to draw the cartoon body on grid lines.

In this example, we are tracing a scan from original Pink Panther production model sheet drawings and sketches and then adding our detective accessories as new elements.

DRAW & COLOR SEE & THINK

Deep in the flow of concentration and creative drawing, our young artists observe and draw together in the classroom. Young artists focus and concentrate. Posing and drawing the wooden mannequin.

We're drawing from 3D objects like a posable wooden mannequin for minute sketches, drawing character scenes together, and doing mind mapping exercises on the whiteboard.

Pencil drawing a cartoon scene together. Brainstorming & Mind mapping group exercise.

Worksheet and sketchbook exercises help us to explore art fundamentals on a weekly basis. Here's some teaching us how to build figures using simple lines and shapes on top of stick figures with main line of motion.

How to Think When You Draw: Running Figures. Showing how to sketch running figures.

Encountering an exercise just one doesn't lead to mastery, so expect to see certain skill exercises and worksheets continue to return for more practice.

Worksheet on how to draw with stick figures. Showing how to quick sketch basic figure outlines.

FINISHING TOUCHES

Thank you again for sending your young artist to the CIAA Character Art class during our initial August launch month!

The format and structure of the class have been in trial-and-error phase and continues to course correct as I endeavor to meet the needs of young and developing artistic minds.

 And with that, I leave you with 'Duck Sonic' so dubbed by our CIAA students. An interesting story – ask your child how this character came into existence!

We're looking forward to our second month! I hope you'll continue to join us for the journey and the adventure!

Yours truly,

Daniel Wathen

Founder & Lead Instructor

DRAWING CHARACTERS

BUILDING CHARACTER