Art Gym: Letter Shapes as Inspiration
Have you ever drawn an animal, let’s say an elephant… but the way you draw the elephant is really similar to how everyone else draws an elephant? Or maybe the way you draw flowers is really similar to how others draw flowers?
This session of Art Gym will change that!
Adam Ming and Katie Stack will guide you through playful exercises to help you create one-of-a-kind shapes that bring more creativity and personality to your work. This Letter Shapes Workshop will show you a technique that turns ordinary letters into fresh, unexpected forms. It’s a fun way to push your sketching practice and add charm, wonkiness, and originality to your art.
You'll start by experimenting with letter shapes, then move into smooshing, transforming, and stretching them into something completely new. By the end of the session, you'll have a collection of letter-inspired sketches, unique shape studies, and the first piece for an entire alphabet project!
What You'll Learn:
Discover your ‘Shape Style’. Shapes are an important part of style and in this workshop you will discover traits of your own shape style and a way to push it further, extending your shape vocabulary.
You will learn to Smash Perfectionism, starting save but gradually stepping outside your comfort zone as we inject more and more playfulness into your shapes!
Lastly we will Energize , with line, texture, pattern and a secret ingredient. One of the key element of a successful picturebook illustration is ENERGY, you will practice infusing your shapes with energy.
BONUS REASON: At the end of the day not only will you learn powerful skills, you will go away with a piece or a few pieces that you can use as a cornerstone for a larger project, to build your style and attract jobs and clients.
The Benefits:
Develop a go-to shape strategy that you can use to create fresh, unique illustrations over and over again.
Push your creativity by exploring playful ways to build shapes.
Infuse energy into your work with line, texture, and pattern.
Join a supportive community of artists while experimenting and growing your creative skills.
Art Gym Gallery
Enjoy scrolling through the gallery to see some work from Art Gym!
Some letters and unique shapes by Adam Ming , Virginia Neely, and Andrea Wickert
Want your art featured in the gallery? Join the next live session or watch this replay and submit your work. You can showcase your art here:
Join us for the next Art Gym on April 17!
Keeping characters consistent throughout a children's book can feel like a challenge—but it doesn’t have to be! In this workshop, Adam and Katie will share some practical tips and strategies for Character Consistency.
RSVP for the next workshop here:
Sign up to join us live!
An annual subscription gives you 12 Live Drawing Workshops (via Zoom)
In addition you will also get access to all previous workshops including:
Letter Shapes (this post)
A monthly pass is $20 which lets you binge watch all the past recordings and attend the next session live.
The annual pass is $100 which lets you in to 12 live workshops and watch any of the 14 previous workshops at leisure over the course of the year. (That’s 58% cheaper) and works out to $3.84 per workshop!
Paid subscribers can also sign up for the upcoming Art Gym Workshops here:
