Illustration for Learning: Workshop Day

Yesterday we delivered the workshops to a group of art teachers from in and around Leeds at Cockburn School, and it was a huge success!

We split into two groups and each had 45 minutes for the session, then swapped over. 

Session 1: Me and Sophie

First half: Pick three words (adjective, verb, noun) and create a character based on the above stimuli. 

Second half: Swap picture with partner and create a short story about the character you've been given.

Session 2: Alice and Tyler

First Half:

Split the paper into four. A verb and a noun is read out, participants have 30 seconds to depict this. Repeat until students have four drawings.

Second Half:

Make a six-frame storyboard with a beginning, middle and end based on one of the images.

The teachers responded really positively to the workshops with a great level of enthusiasm and curiosity, giving a large indication that it would be suited for younger children too. 

We then had a Q&A session where we each talked about the benefits of illustration in the classroom and beyond and the importance of creativity as an aid for child development. We spoke a little bit about our individual practices and talked them through our project sketchbooks. Some of the teachers actually asked us to come and run a few workshops at their schools! So hopefully that will be something to work towards.

Today has reinforced the importance of creative learning, and planted a seed into something I want to explore further in my illustrative career.

Here is some of the feedback from the teachers: