Details about the Train Your Brain Challenge Prizes:

If the 1st Place Prize winner for any category other than Animation is under the age of 18 at the time the prizes are awarded, h/she shall receive the 2nd Place Prize package and the highest ranked 2nd place winner over the age of 18 will be advanced to the 1st Place Prize Package. This limitation is in place because we cannot assume responsibility for minors to attend a 3-4 week program.

Illustration Prizes:

1st place winner for Illustration will receive a prize package consisting of:

  • a full scholarship to The Art Department Illustration Academy 4-Week Workshop in Kansas City, MO, USA which takes place between June 3, 2013 and June 28, 2013, consisting of tuition, housing, and round-trip coach-class transportation to Kansas City, MO, USA, and
  • two (2) classes through The Art Department, chosen from foundations and elective course offerings

The Illustration Academy:

The Art Department’s Illustration Academy is a four-week immersive educational experience, providing hands-on workshops taught by world-class faculty. The mission of the Academy is to shorten the gap that exists between the student and the working professional. The Illustration Academy will be held from June 3, 2013 to June 28, 2013 in Kansas City, MO, USA. Tuition, transportation, accommodations, and art supplies will be provided. See the Official Rules for details.

Drawing and Painting, Entertainment 2D, and Entertainment 3D Prizes:

1st place winner for 2D, 3D, and Drawing & Painting will receive a prize package consisting of:

  • a full scholarship to The Art Department 3-Week Workshop in Kansas City, MO, USA, which takes place either between January 7, 2013 to January 25, 2013 or July 8, 2013 to July 26, 2013, consisting of tuition, housing, art supplies, and round-trip coach-class transportation to Kansas City, MO, USA and
  • three (3) classes through The Art Department, chosen from foundations and elective course offerings

TAD 3-Week Workshops:

In addition to the robust virtual program, TAD hosts two three-week long hands-on student workshops before both the Spring and Winter semesters. Student workshops provide an opportunity for all TAD students, TAD instructors, and visiting industry superstars to interact face-to-face and prepare for the upcoming semester together.

The 2013 Winter Workshop will be held at The Art Department Studio in Kansas City, MO starting January 7, 2013 to January 25, 2013. The 2013 Summer Workshop will take place July 8, 2013 through July 26, 2013, also in Kansas City, MO. Tuition, transportation, accommodations, and art supplies will be provided. See the Official Rules for details.

Animation Prizes:

1st place winner for Animation will receive a prize package consisting of:

  • A trip for two to and tour of Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California, including:
    1. round-trip, coach–class air fare for two persons to San Francisco, California
    2. a corresponding 2 night stay in a hotel or other living facility
    3. miscellaneous travel expenses including ground transportation and luggage fees
    4. a private tour of Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California, and
    5. three (3) classes through The Art Department, chosen from foundations and elective course offerings

Tour of Pixar Studios:

This tour consists of lunch at Pixar with Andrew Gordon and another TAD faculty member, followed by a tour of the Pixar facilities with Andrew Gordon and the TAD faculty member. It is suggested that winner brings their portfolio to showcase. After the tour ends, the winner will receive dinner with a TAD faculty member after tour.

Other travel information:

If the prize includes travel, the winner will receive round trip economy fare air travel between the nearest major city to the winner’s residence and Kansas City, MO. USA or San Francisco, CA. USA as the case may be. The Art Department will determine flight and accommodation itinerary in its sole discretion; if winner of the Animation 1st Place Prize is a minor, s/he must be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian and winner’s parent/legal guardian must approve all travel arrangements in writing and secure all necessary documentation for travel by the minor; winner (and parent/legal guardian if applicable) must execute liability releases prior to the issuance of travel documents; Sponsors are not responsible for flight or other transportation/accommodation difficulties including cancellation/delay; no refund or compensation will be made in the event or a cancellation or delay in flight; winner (and guest if applicable) are responsible for any visa or passport or other travel documentation requirements; Entrant acknowledges that the trip package is for the purpose stated and accordingly, if winning a trip package, will make himself or herself available on the dates required and will not be able to substitute the dates for travel and accommodations presented to the entrant by Sponsors; winner and guest if applicable must travel together on dates designated by The Art Department subject to availability and other restrictions or trip package will be forfeited; travel is subject to the rules and restrictions set forth in these Official Rules and those set forth by the relevant airline carrier and accommodations; any expense and incidental travel costs not specifically included in the package description are the responsibility solely of the winner, including but not limited to meals and incidentals, ground transportation and luggage fees in excess of miscellaneous travel expense amount, passenger tariffs or duties, surcharges, airport fees, service or facility charges, personal charges at lodging, security fees, taxes , and other expenses; Sponsors will not replace any lost, mutilated, or stolen tickets, travel vouchers, or certificates.

Accommodations will be described to the winning Entrants in advance of travel and Entrant will be permitted to make alternate choices for accommodations at the Entrant’s sole cost, expense and responsibility.

All disciplines:

2nd and 3rd place winners will receive a prize package consisting of a class or classes through The Art Department.

Classes:

Each class given to a second or third place prize winner (and the on-line classes given to first place winners) is made available by The Art Department and consists of a minimum of three (3) hours of class time per week, for sixteen (16) weeks. Classes are delivered LIVE ONLINE, and recorded for students who cannot meet the scheduled times. You must have an Internet connection, a personal computer and live in a country or region that does not block content originating from the United States. Apart from the second and third place winners of Entertainment 3D and Animation, where a specific class is listed as the prize, winners may choose from The Art Department’s selection of Foundation or Elective courses (subject to availability), which are detailed below. More information can be found on TAD’s website here: http://theartdepartment.org/course-listings

Foundations courses include:

  • Figure I: Observational Figure Drawing
  • 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive a prize package consisting of a class or classes through The Art Department.

  • Figure I: Observational Figure Drawing
  • This unique and in-depth class features nude and costumed models utilizing high quality photography with exceptional lighting. An innovative approach is used, combining two methods, which together are designed to give the students a full understanding of how to approach drawing the human figure from life and imagination. Students will be able to see demonstrations, presentations and get feedback on their work both Live and On Demand, allowing for total schedule flexibility.

  • Figure I: Anatomy Lab
  • We begin with learning the structural basics of the human figure, studying the bones of the skeleton, and learning proportions. Next students focus on learning the origins and insertions, as well as the names of all major muscles and muscle groups in order to better understand what they see as they draw, and improve their ability to create from imagination. This course is taken in conjunction with Figure I.

  • Figure II: Constructive Figure Drawing
  • This unique and in-depth class features nude and costumed models utilizing high quality photography with exceptional lighting. An innovative approach is used, combining two methods which together are designed to give the students a full understanding of how to approach drawing the human figure from life and imagination. Students will be able to see demonstrations, presentations and get feedback on their work both Live and On Demand, allowing for total schedule flexibility.

  • Figure Drawing III
  • This unique and in-depth class features nude and costumed models utilizing high quality photography with exceptional lighting. Figure Drawing III will take the student back to observational drawing and the study of gesture toward a better understanding of proportions, in seeing the larger issues of picture making before the smaller ones and in capturing the elusive spirit of the pose. Students will learn to create drawings that live on the page and in the mind of the viewer. Personal point of view as well as confidence in ones choices will be stressed. Students will be able to see demonstrations, presentations and get feedback on their work both Live and On Demand, allowing for total schedule flexibility.

  • Fundamentals of Light and Form
  • Light and form are two of the key components for communication in Art. Understanding these principles will allow you to control lighting from imagination, improve how you use photographic reference, and allow you to better communicate ideas, mood, and narrative. This class first gives you an overview of the basic concepts of seeing and drawing and then dives deeply into the principles that allow us to create the illusion of three dimensions on a flat surface – from life and from imagination.

  • Sketchbook I
  • As the birthplace of artistic ideas, the sketchbook is where the creative person develops their own unique point of view. In this highly informative class, students begin to fine-tune their ability to communicate through their art. The sketchbook class illustrates the importance of personal idea exploration, and provides a safe place to make mistakes and explore content, and, naturally, to practice their skills. This class is geared toward students who wish to have a wide variety of abilities to design, compose, and create from life, reference, and imagination.

  • Digital Photography for Artists
  • There are times when an artist has limited information or is without the luxury of time to work from life and imagination, working to complete timely and professional quality works can prove next to impossible. This key class covers the essential fundamentals for shooting photographic reference with a strong focus on proper lighting of subject matter for mood and information gathering. Students will be given experienced recommendations regarding the best methods for creating their own reference library and materials utilizing digital photography. A variety of lighting fundamentals will be covered, as well as what is needed to create a professional body of work that includes images from real life.

  • Composition + Color Theory I
  • This in-depth class features lectures, presentations, demonstrations, and personal feedback from the instructor on the important subjects of composition and color theory. Students will gain an understanding of the history and development of composition and color use over time, and across cultures, and will utilize practical abstraction as a foundation of visual communication.

  • Composition + Color Theory II
  • During this class, students will gain an understanding of advanced color and composition theory for image making. Students focus on more advanced compositional, lighting theory, value and color metaphor.

  • Linear Perspective
  • Linear perspective enables artists to create lifelike spaces by learning how the visual world works in volumetric space. Forced, one-, two-, and three-point perspective are covered in great detail. These perspectives enable students to build forms and environments in precise space. Linear perspective is a core foundation for image creation and once understood, students quickly learn to identify what is wrong with the spaces and forms they are creating. This class is important for figure work from imagination, building environments, and placing objects in images in ways that compositionally and structurally “hold” the images together.

  • Media I
  • Media I covers a multitude of media type, including graphite, charcoal, oil, watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil, chalk, pastel, conté, Photoshop, Painter 11, Sketch-up, and pen & ink. TAD encourages versatility by studying many forms of media, and the development of abilities applicable to many purposes. Each media discussed is demonstrated as much focus is spent on technique and process. Wet, dry, and digital media processes are explored, shared, and developed during this valuable class.

  • Visual Narrative

  • This unique and in-depth class features informative presentations and live demonstrations by instructors Marshall Vandruff and George Pratt. This class will enable students to gain a better understanding of storytelling through images and sequential art. Students will be able to view the demonstrations, presentations and get feedback on their work both Live and On Demand, allowing for total schedule flexibility.

  • Digital + Traditional Painting I
  • This unique and in-depth class features informative presentations and live demonstrations. Through this class, students will gain a better understanding of a variety of digital media with key focus on Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop. Additional tools like Alchemy, and Z-Brush will also be touched on. The core focus of this class is to make you a better digital painter with a full package of information geared to support students from beginner to advanced abilities. If you want to be a better digital painter, this is a class that will help get you there. Students will be able to view the demonstrations, presentations and get feedback on their work both Live and On Demand, allowing for total schedule flexibility.

Electives courses include:

  • Principles of Animation I
  • This unique and in-depth class covers the full range of principles used in animation throughout history and in today’s 2D and 3D animation industry. This enlightening course provides the foundations required for understanding animation principles, and helps prepare students for understanding motion, physics, weight, stretch and squash, follow through, anticipation, staging, arcs, timing, secondary action, exaggeration, appeal and more. Students will be able to see demonstrations, presentations and get feedback on their work both Live and On Demand, allowing for total schedule flexibility.

  • Landscape Painting
  • Landscape painting encompasses plein air painting, on-site sketching, and studio painting with the use of photography. Allows the student to learn color and composition, abstraction, value and more by observing nature. With an emphasis on oil painting, this is also an opportunity to explore other media as well. Copious image presentations and demonstrations provide students with an aesthetic understanding of all aspects of picture making, extending throughout their learning experience at TAD.

  • Still Life Painting
  • Still Life painting incorporates the basics of composition, drawing, textures and use of various media. By painting from life, photo-reference and imagination students will learn to set up, compose with shape, and establish mood with lighting, thus controlling the entire image making process. Numerous image presentations and demonstrations provide students with an aesthetic understanding of all aspects of picture making, extending throughout their learning experience at TAD.

  • The History of Illustration
  • This class will cover the history of American illustration including showing process work, in depth stories, rare and hard to find artwork, and will show students the full spectrum of style and genre in illustration, giving them a deeper range of style choice, taste, and experience in art that will help them create their own unique point of view and personal visual language. Through understanding illustration history, concept artists, illustrators, and fine artists are able to apply that knowledge to the betterment of their careers.

  • Cast Drawing
  • Cast Drawing introduces the student to the most foundational concepts of making successful representational art through sound draftsmanship. This method of learning to draw has been used effectively throughout history in the Italian, French, and Russian tradition. Many of the famous artists such as J. C. Leyendecker, N.C. Wyeth, and John Singer Sargent, also learned in this fashion.

  • 3D I
  • This important and in-depth class features the basics of 3D modeling and texturing with Autodesk Maya, Z-brush, the Wacom tablet and Adobe Photoshop, the primary tools used in the 3D entertainment and art industries. Students focus on learning foundation hard surface and organic 3D object, surface shader creation and the processes used to produce 3D content for personal and professional artwork.

  • Head Painting
  • Head Painting covers the fine art of portraiture in both traditional and digital media. Students work with photography and life to create the skills needed to develop likenesses without reference material. Anatomy, structure, abstraction, value, color and more are used to capture the essence of the sitter or subject. Students will learn to process information in ways which enable them to create from life and imagination. This class will include cultural exploration of races as well as age groups.