TODAY (Jan. 15) is the Priority Application Deadline for Interlochen Arts Camp and Arts Academy. Programs fill quickly—submit your app now!
Character Design and Comic Art Certificate Program
Develop the technical and creative abilities to bring original characters to life through your original drawings. From building a strong foundation in drawing fundamentals and designing characters to crafting emotional expression, you’ll gain the skills to create compelling characters throughout a story arc.
Taught by a world-class faculty of artists, illustrators, and animators, the Character Design and Comic Art certificate program consists of three four-week courses designed for adults and teens. The program can be completed at a pace that works for you and offers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into your craft while showcasing your achievements with a credential from Interlochen—an impressive addition to your résumé, college application, or LinkedIn profile.
For students under 18, the Character Design and Comic Art certificate program is also an engaging way to earn high school credit. It’s ideal for students looking to challenge themselves beyond their school curriculum or to supplement their homeschool studies.
The following three courses make up the certificate program, and may be taken in any order:
Drawing Basics
✔ Set up a drawing space with suitable lighting, positioning, and drawing materials
✔ Create a wide variety of marks and effects using pencils and erasers
✔ Apply the principles of one, two, and three-point perspective drawing
✔ Use rulers and guidelines to produce accurate and convincing perspective drawings
✔ Create drawings that tell stories and make meaningful artistic choices
Designing Animated Characters
✔ Design characters that resonate with audiences by understanding their role in storytelling
✔ Develop practical research and ideation skills to inform and inspire your designs
✔ Apply fundamental design principles such as shape, color, and form to create visually appealing characters that communicate personality and emotion effectively
✔ Gain hands-on experience in character expression and presentation techniques
Drawing Comics
✔Recognize that comics are a form that allow you to tell any story using words and images
✔ Render facial expressions, body poses, and visual abstractions to convey a wide range of emotions
✔ Use various panel transitions and the concept of closure to control the pace and feeling of a story
✔ Draft and refine your own comic stories, incorporating scripting, thumbnailing, and understanding story arcs
Learn and save: Students who enroll in the certificate program will receive a discounted rate by registering for all three online visual art classes as a package.
Certificate programs comprise three four-week courses, providing deeper training in an artistic discipline or area of study. Students who enroll in a certificate program will receive a discounted rate by registering for all three courses as a package.
Each Interlochen Online course is designed to be inspiring and flexible with weekly learning units that combine video segments and guided instruction that you can complete on your own schedule. Combined with that learning is an optional weekly hour-long video class meeting, where you can learn from you instructor and interact with fellow students in real-time. You will also interact regularly with your instructor and peers through messaging inside the learning environment, including receiving personalized feedback on your work from your instructor.
Upon completion of the program, you will receive a physical certificate and a shareable digital certificate. Certificates for students under 18 are accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS); high school-age students will also receive an official transcript to share with their current school for consideration for high school credit.
Character Design and Comic Art Certificate Program
Tuition
$897 $799
Ages
Teens: Grades 6-12
Adult Learners: 18+
Questions? Speak with an Advisor.
Email: online@interlochen.org
Phone: 231.276.5990
You can also schedule an appointment.
The best of Interlochen, now online.
Learn on a schedule that works for you
Expert instruction and personalized feedback
Connection with peers from around the world
Coursework that supports your creative expression
