Alex Dahm

Join fellow campers in imagining, designing, and creating a brand-new fantastical world filled with unique characters, vibrant wildlife, complex structures, captivating histories, and more. In this mixed-media course, students will complete projects in illustration and comics, sculpture, 3D modeling, and creative writing. Visits to the Art Institute of Chicago will enhance studio activities and showcase the work of artists who have also crafted imaginative worlds. With hands-on guidance and endless opportunities for self-expression, this camp offers young creators the perfect way to turn their wildest ideas into a stunning, interactive universe.

This camp allows students aged 10-11 to focus on their drawing and painting skills in a highly creative and challenging environment. Through individual and collaborative projects, students explore a range of traditional and experimental materials and techniques. They will learn various drawing methods, building their technical, spatial, and creative abilities while focusing on essential elements of 2D design and art. Students investigate contemporary subjects and themes using pencil, charcoal, pastel, ink, gouache, water-based paint, and mixed media through skills such as line, perspective, tone, proportion, composition, value, gesture, and contour. Inspiration comes from visits to the Art Institute of Chicago Museum to observe and sketch various paintings, sculptures, and objects. This camp, designed for beginners and those looking to develop their drawing and painting skills further, can be repeated for ongoing skill enhancement and idea building.

Students elevate their illustration skills in this camp by creating unique comics and graphic novels. Emphasis is placed on storytelling, introducing students to character development, plot structure, scripting, and storyboarding. The course teaches skills in drawing and illustration, focusing on techniques such as penciling, inking, coloring, and understanding space and perspective. Students will explore various traditional and non-traditional mediums, including colored pencils, oil pastels, watercolors, digitally edited drawings, and handmade zines. Inspiration also comes from artist presentations, trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, and visits to downtown Chicago, where a vast array of public art sparks creativity. These experiences will provide opportunities for drawing practice and serve as an introduction to the fundamentals of comic narratives and stylistic expression.

This course guides students through the process of bringing illustrations to the next level by creating unique comics and graphic novels. Emphasis is placed on storytelling, introducing students to character development, plot structure, scripting, and storyboarding. Skills in pencilling, inking, coloring, space, and perspective are introduced through the use of a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional media, which may include colored pencils, oil pastels, watercolors, digitally edited drawings, and/or handmade zines. Artist presentations, trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, and visits to downtown Chicago's vast array of public art provide inspiration and drawing practice as an entry into the basics of comic narrative and stylization. *Basic drawing skills are helpful, but not required.

This course guides students through the process of bringing illustrations to the next level by creating unique comics and graphic novels. Emphasis is placed on storytelling, introducing students to character development, plot structure, scripting, and storyboarding. Skills in pencilling, inking, coloring, space, and perspective are introduced through the use of a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional media, which may include colored pencils, oil pastels, watercolors, digitally edited drawings, and/or handmade zines. Artist presentations, trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, and visits to downtown Chicago's vast array of public art provide inspiration and drawing practice as an entry into the basics of comic narrative and stylization. *Basic drawing skills are helpful, but not required.

This course guides students through the process of bringing illustrations to the next level by creating unique comics and graphic novels. Emphasis is placed on storytelling, introducing students to character development, plot structure, scripting, and storyboarding. Skills in pencilling, inking, coloring, space, and perspective are introduced through the use of a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional media, which may include colored pencils, oil pastels, watercolors, digitally edited drawings, and/or handmade zines. Artist presentations, trips to the Art Institute of Chicago, and visits to downtown Chicago's vast array of public art provide inspiration and drawing practice as an entry into the basics of comic narrative and stylization. *Basic drawing skills are helpful, but not required.

This course offers an introduction to drawing as an exciting means of expression through writing, discussion, sketchbooks, and individual and group projects. Students explore a variety of drawing techniques and approaches, including essential elements of 2D design and art, as they develop an understanding of line, shape, shading, and light. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago to gain inspiration from a wide variety of paintings, sculptures, and objects. This course is designed for beginning students as well as those who want to continue developing their skills and confidence in drawing, and can be repeated for continued skill and idea building.