Arts on Fire

Who It’s For

Designed for students who have completed Digital Art & Animation Level 1 or have equivalent experience.
This 10-week course is ideal for students ready to transition from intermediate skills into advanced illustration and animation techniques. Level 2 emphasizes refinement, stylization, and professional workflows used in animation, gaming, and visual development industries.

Students must bring their own Tablet + stylus with the Procreate (for IPad) or Ibis Paint (for Android) app downloaded.

What They’ll Learn

Digital Art & Animation Level 2 builds on the fundamentals from Level 1 and pushes students toward more sophistication, complexity, and intentional creative decision-making.

Students will work in two core disciplines:

Digital Illustration – Level 2: Advanced Stylization & Rendering

Students will learn to:

• Design expressive characters with dynamic poses, personality, and clear silhouette
• Apply advanced lighting techniques including rim light, ambient occlusion, and environment-based light
• Create texture-rich digital paintings using custom brushes, overlays, and color dynamics
• Develop environment illustrations with atmospheric depth and perspective
• Build narrative-driven artwork such as illustrated scenes, emotion panels, or splash art
• Produce polished work with advanced composition, mood, and color harmony

Projects may include:
✔ Character turnarounds
✔ Stylized portrait painting
✔ Illustrated narrative scenes
✔ Digital environment concepts

Animation – Level 2: Character Movement & Expressive Acting

Students will:

• Animate walking, running, and jumping cycles with correct weight and timing
• Create expressive animations like lip-syncs, facial acting, and emotional beats
• Learn how to animate secondary motion (hair, clothing, tails, accessories)
• Use timing charts, spacing techniques, and hold frames for performance-based animation
• Produce short animated sequences that demonstrate character personality and storytelling

Projects may include:
✔ Lip-sync animation
✔ Animated reaction shot
✔ Character action loop
✔ Short acting performance

Why It Matters

Level 2 trains students in the core competencies of studio-quality digital art and animation, mirroring the expectations of early college-level visual development and animation programs.
Students build skills critical for:

• competitive arts high school and post-secondary portfolios
• future careers in animation, illustration, game art, and digital design
• advanced digital workflows used in professional creative industries

By learning how to use lighting, motion, expression, and narrative intention, students elevate their work from “well executed” to emotionally engaging and industry-relevant.

Instructor Bio

Led by Marissa Pinti, a fourth-year Animation & Visual Development student at Seneca Polytechnic. Marissa specializes in character-focused digital art and storytelling-driven animation. Her expertise helps students push their creative boundaries while reinforcing professional standards, supporting each student in building a polished and meaningful body of work.

End Experience

By the end of the 10-week course, students will complete:

• A fully rendered illustrated scene or character splash art
• A polished character-focused animation (lip-sync, acting, or action loop)
• A set of supporting studies (gesture sheets, lighting tests, motion thumbnails)

These pieces significantly strengthen a student’s portfolio, technical range, and creative confidence.

Progression

Successful completion prepares students for:
Digital Art & Animation Level 3 – Visual Development & Short-Form Animation

Class Format & Schedule

🗓 10-week course
📅 Saturdays 12:30 - 2pm
Jan 17, 24, 31, Feb 7, 14, 21, 28, Mar 7, 14, 28

📍 Arts on Fire Studio, Ajax