Art News, Techniques, & Education

Every week, catch up on art topics including skill and technique, art supply roundups, art history, and the journey towards mastering your craft.

Latest Posts

Rustic rural landscape featuring a tree-lined dirt road stretching into rolling green fields and a distant farm under a warm, golden sky. Perfect for art, nature, and countryside photography themes.

The Visual Scout: Exploring Foundations

This Fall, our course list expanded and improved to provide even more options. Just a beginner and not sure where you're headed? We've got you covered! Let’s take a look at the best ways to jumpstart your creative endeavors.

Soft-focus portrait of a woman with dark hair and closed eyes, capturing an elegant and artistic aesthetic; ideal for art lovers and enthusiasts of contemporary portrait paintings.

The Visual Scout: Inside Look at Visual Arts Passage

With fall courses set to start in a little more than a week, we thought it would be a great time to step inside our illustration program and explore what it’s like to take a class with us. A sneak peek at what’s to come this fall!

A fantastical scene from a video game or animated story with characters overlooking a vast, desert landscape filled with armies and epic battles, showcasing detailed character design and vibrant scenery.

The Visual Scout: A Character Worth Creating

Wesley Burt will join Visual Arts Passage as one of our Fall Guest Speakers! He will give a lecture to both Illustration and Entertainment & Gaming. To get ready for our fall 2018 session, (which starts September 29!!!) let’s break down what defines a great character design.

A fiery building engulfed in flames with dark smoke billowing into the night sky, depicting a dramatic scene of destruction and fire art.

The Visual Scout: Creativity needs Productivity

We've got some tips to help keep you motivated. Let's look at our favorite ways to stay productive during a project.

A lone woman walking her dog on a deserted road under a dramatic, cloudy sky with power lines and a traffic light showing a question mark, evoking mood and introspection.

The Visual Scout: A Perfect Project

This week on The Visual Scout: Let’s chat about the art of the book cover. It’s a project and a process that embodies the illustration platform. Conveying a concept, tone, or character trait of a publication with one image seems like the perfect way to stretch your skills! We have gathered some tips on how to make the most of a book cover.

Elegant surreal portrait of a figure with a serene human face mask, dressed in dark robes with celestial patterns, holding a sword, memorializing ancient art and contemporary themes in visual arts.

The Visual Scout: A New Blog

Edward Kinsella III will lead our last free online discussion on August 26, 2018, at 10 AM PST. Before we join him for an in-depth look into what it takes to define your style as an illustrator and artist, let's look let's look at some of illustration's most iconic style movements.

Vivid abstract art piece showcasing bright fiery colors and dynamic textures at Visual Arts Passage, emphasizing contemporary and modern art styles.

Fall Programs Sold Out

Visual Arts Passage launched their fall installment over the past weekend. Both the Illustration and Entertainment & Game Arts programs are completely sold out. This fall marks the first installment hosted by Visual Arts Passage.

George Pratt Watercolor Demo at The Illustration Academy

George Pratt is instructing 5 weeks at The Illustration Academy and we couldn't be more thrilled to be tagging along for their summer session. This demo was completed by George during week 2 of the Illustration Academy. As you will notice, George is phenomenally talented artist and equally gifted teacher. This video was originally taken as a Facebook Live event.

Gary Kelley Discusses Google Project at The Illustration Academy

We are joining students and instructors at the 2017 Illustration Academy workshop. The Academy is an immersive 5-week illustration workshop taught by many of today's most acclaimed artists in the creative industry. The below lecture features Gary Kelley as he discusses his mural project, which was commissioned by Google for their data center. This is the second mural Kelley has developed for Google. It is one of the largest reproductions of monotype ever.