Thank you for signing up for the session with animator Len Smith – and welcome!

Your official welcome email with your Guest Group Critiques log-in details is on its way to you.

Sparky character model sheet by Len Smith

Click here to upload your artwork to our December Google Drive shared folder!

Click here to join us for the live group session with Len at 6 p.m. CST Tuesday, December 13!

Click here for a short video tutorial about how to upload your work to the Guest Group Critique folder for the session.

Come join us here Tuesday, December 13 at 6 p.m. (U.S. Central Time) for our Guest Group Critique interactive live session with one of our own, Len Smith who has worked for some of the world's best known animation houses.

Len served as lead artist for the 'Toon Town' sequence that was was in the groundbreaking 1988 Disney animated movie in the Who Framed Roger Rabbit. (Disneyland’s Toontown today uses many of his original concepts.)

Smith's work was prominent in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,(winner of 4 Emmy Awards.)

For Disney TV he developed characters for The Muppet Babies and TailSpin.

He's also illustrated many licensed character children's books, such as the Disney book version of its Pixar film, Ratatouille. Art by Len Smith

His assignment for us for December 13th's session is simple:

Draw three views, 'front-to-back' of a character. Your story character) person, child, animal – vegetable or mineral, too if it's your character. Your character seen from the front, side and back. (Or if you want to get fancy, 3/4 view front, 3/4 view side and 3/4 back, like Len's in the top image above.

It can be a single face or a complete figure. Rough sketch or final art, whatever you can muster up in time available and upload into December's folder for our live session on Tuesday.

We'll also try to look at a fairy tale 2 page spread or two that we haven't talked about yet from our October Robert Quackenbush session. Remember, too we'll look at any remaining fairy tale scenes in a special year-end 'wrap up' session on Tuesday, December 20. (Stay tuned for more details on that.)

You can see some more front-to-back character views by Len below, to give you a better idea of what model sheets are like. They don't have to be cartoons, and you don't even need to show ruled grid lines, unless you want to.

It's going to be a fun, exhilarating night, sure to instill some great new knowledge, if not a dose of Holiday Season spirit.

Again, your secret links for December's Group Critique:

And of course you'll also receive the replay.

Have fun with your multi-viewed character-scribbling!

See you Tuesday!

More character model sheets from Len...

Art by Len Smith

Sketches by Len Smith

Monthly group critiques are 'perfect practice'

They tell you...

What isn't working
When to push harder
When to just stop

And help you to...

Get a fresh perspective
Our guest critiquers – illustrators, author-illustrators, children’s literary agents, art directors, maybe an editor or two – examine your final in a spirit of teaching and mentoring.
Think more like a pro
Watch up close and personal how full-time creatives evaluate and troubleshoot their own and others’ pieces.
Prepare for that thing
That upcoming kidlit (or illustrators’) conference, important promotional mailing, post or sit-down with a client.

Sharpen your discernment powers
Remind you of those bedrock principles of draftsmanship, design and communication. (Funny how they keep bringing you back to those.)
Meet your tribe
Your colleagues and the expert practioners. Who share their What I Wish I Knew Then stories and become your contacts in ‘the biz.’ (It’s called networking.)
Get better at getting better
Practice with critiques helps you understand the hierarchy of feedback and how to navigate it wisely – knowing what’s valid for you now, vs. what to set aside for later.