SmArt School
Get smart with this more trad-minded online art school
SmArt School, “A Smarter Art School”, has an illustration-focused curriculum with a seriously impressive roster of teachers including Donato Giancola, Todd Lockwood, Greg Manchess and Brad Kunkle, alongside a varied selection of special guests such Lauren Panepinto and Jon Schindehette.
It was founded by Rebecca Guay, known for her work on Magic: The Gathering and other high-profile clients. She says that, “SmArt School brings some of the most recognised, celebrated artists and illustrators working today to the small-scale teaching format. In these small classes, students truly mentor interactively with these great artists in very personal, productive ways to the great benefit of their work and their possible successful future in the art world or illustration industry.”
Unlike the more traditional online school structure that typically revolves around pre-recorded tutorial videos with space for critique, SmArt School’s classes are taught live using GoToMeeting. Classes are taught over 13 sessions across three months, priced at $2,500/£1,767 for each course, and while the majority of them focus on illustration techniques in a more traditional teaching environment, there are also bootcamp classes for new students who haven’t had comprehensive figure-drawing lessons or any other foundational experiences.