CARTOONING & ILLUSTRATION
ONLINE CLASSES
The short-short version is this:
I had to teach myself how to draw Cartoons, and along the way I vowed that, if I were ever in a position where I can make it easier for someone else, I would.
And I was. And I would like to believe I do.
The longer version is… well, longer. It reads as follows:
As a kid and a teenager I had a passion for Drawing, a fondness for Comics and a rather overactive Imagination, resulting in endless hours of blissful drawing in my room. Back then, taking Art as a Subject at School was not even a remote possibility, and I turned to the wonderful worlds of Archie and the Gang, Asterix the Gaul, Richie Rich and Andy Capp, and taught myself how to draw through Observation, Trial and Error and Repetition.
Pretty much the same way they do it these days… but without the thousands of How-To Books, without the wonder of the Internet, and definitely without the vast selection of brilliant YouTube Tutorials a mere click away.
In 1997 I obtained a N.Diploma in Graphic Design at the Central University of Technology and went on to spend about six years in the Advertising Industry as a Commercial Artist. I was fortunate enough to have always had employers who allowed and -in some cases- even encouraged me to do Cartooning and Illustration on the side.
When that ship had sailed, I went on to Lecture at various Private Design Institutes in the Free State, as well as Lecturing part-time at the Central University of Technology itself. Subjects included Design Illustration, Graphic Communications, Applied Concepts & Visual Skills, Design Software and, my personal favourite, The History & Theory of Graphic Design.
It was here that the idea for ToonSchool originated which resulted in a couple of Cartooning101-Sessions at the DCM Design Institute where I was working and teaching at the time.
ToonSchool’s first “Official” Cartoon Session took place on 15 March 2014 with one single, solitary student in a Coffee Shop in Stellenbosch.
By 2020 monthly ToonSchool Sessions took place at the Bellville Art Centre in Bellville, The Crafters Inn in Somerset West, and the Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch, and were attended by between 40 to 50 ToonSchoolers per month.
ToonSchool also hosted customised Cartoon Workshops for various Institutions, like the Stellenbosch Youth Outreach Programme, Learn-to-Earn, the Stellenbosch Arts Association, and -the highlight of my year- for the Iziko Museum as part of their annual Heritage Day Celebrations.
And then in 2020, the Year the World Changed, the entire ToonSchool Operation was hastely herded Online, where a fair few of the Real-Life ToonSchoolers soon joined me.
With ToonSchool’s reach suddenly increased, Sessions were soon attended by ToonSchoolers from all over the Western Cape, from Gauteng, Durban and Mpumalanga, and with a few even attending from as far as Windhoek and Germany. One of Online’s very many perks and advantages.
With 2024 marking 10 Years of Self-employment, I am both Grateful for and Fascinated by ToonSchool’s current Trajectory and intrigued by the The CrissCross Studio's Path and Journey ahead.
May the Creative Force be with you!
V.