Illustration Mentorship
Portfolio & Career Development
Your art and career guided by groundbreaking artists: George Pratt, Sterling Hundley, Dale Stephanos, and John English
Eisner Award, Best Painter/Multimedia Artist — Wolverine: Netsuke
Course Dates
Live Classes
Delivery
Length
How This Course is Different
Real Mentorship.
You receive direct, personal critique from four of the most accomplished working illustrators in the field. They look at your specific work, speak to your specific goals, and push you where your career needs to go.
01.
Personally Critiqued
Every student receives individual feedback from the instructing artist. Not a rubric, not a TA. Your work, their eyes, every session.
02.
Industry-Defining Names
These aren’t educators who used to work. They’re active professionals whose clients include NASA, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, and TIME… right now.
03.
Career Strategy Built In
Critique alone won’t launch a career. This course covers portfolio positioning, client targeting, branding, and outreach alongside the craft.
Your Mentors
Four Working Pros Change Your Trajectory as an Artist
Each instructor brings their own career, their own aesthetic, and decades of hard-won industry knowledge. You work and career, guided by their full attention.
George Pratt
Painter · Graphic Novelist · Eisner Award Winner
George pushes students to think about atmosphere, narrative, and genuine point of view. His career spans gallery painting, graphic novels, and editorial, and he brings all of it to your work.
Sterling Hundley
Illustrator · Painter · Concept Artist
Sterling’s guidance is conceptually rigorous. He doesn’t just evaluate what you made and helps you understand the thinking that should drive your art and how to build a lasting visual identity.
Dale Stephanos
Editorial Illustrator · 2025 Artist of the Year (Massachusetts Center for the Arts)
Dale brings a working editorial illustrator’s perspective to every critique. What clients actually respond to, what makes a portfolio competitive, and how to build a practice that sustains a real career.
John English
Illustrator · Painter · Concept Artist
John built this program around the belief that serious artists deserve serious mentorship. His critiques reflect both his commercial career and years of understanding what actually moves students forward.
Course Outline
Portfolio Development is heavily focused on reviewing student work and career strategies.
Week 1: Portfolio Brief & Evaluation
Homeroom:
Saturday Zoom Meeting (3 hours)
Study Hall:
Wednesday Zoom Meeting (1-2 hours)
Topics: Study Hall is an optional weekly resource. Group critique, assistance on homework and general support by VAP mentors from each program.
Discord:
Post progress, ask questions, connect and network with fellow classmates, while gaining insights from VAP mentors throughout the week.
Week 2: Identifying Dream Clients
Homeroom:
Saturday Zoom Meeting (3 hours)
Study Hall:
Wednesday Zoom Meeting (1-2 hours)
Topics: Study Hall is an optional weekly resource. Group critique, assistance on homework and general support by VAP mentors from each program.
Discord:
Post progress, ask questions, connect and network with fellow classmates, while gaining insights from VAP mentors throughout the week.
Week 3: Guest Artists
Guest Speakers:
Saturday & Sunday Zoom Meeting
Students meet both Saturday and Sunday for two separate Guest Artist events. Guest artists will present work, share process, and technique via demonstration and on occasion will provide group critiques to select students.
Study Hall:
Wednesday Zoom Meeting (1-2 hours)
Topics: Study Hall is an optional weekly resource. Group critique, assistance on homework and general support by VAP mentors from each program.
Discord:
Post progress, ask questions, connect and network with fellow classmates, while gaining insights from VAP mentors throughout the week.
Outcomes
What You’ll Leave With
Your Portfolio
Your Career
See It In Action
What a Real Critique Looks Like
Student Outcomes
What Happens After This Course
Because of the support and guidance from the mentors, I had artwork accepted into the 64th Society of Illustrators Annual and started receiving paying commissions from real clients.
Erin Ruffino
Society of Illustrators Annual · Paying commissions
The quality of teaching here exceeds anything I experienced in my MFA program. I’ve never felt more motivated, energized, and in love with the business of illustration.
Sydney Kysar
Portfolio & Career Development Student
I owe all my advancement and improvements in my work to this course.
Ocean Salazar
Portfolio & Career Development Student
Learn from Top-tier Guest Artists
World-renowned artists and directors visit this class every semester.
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visualarts2026-01-19 18:34:312026-01-19 18:34:34Katherine Lam | Illustrator & Painter
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visualarts2025-12-28 18:58:162025-12-29 14:46:49Carlotta Notaro | Illustrator + Animator
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visualarts2025-12-04 21:33:382025-12-08 20:28:37Lisk Feng | Illustrator + Children’s Book Author
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visualarts2025-12-04 21:20:492025-12-08 20:36:17Matt Rota | Editorial + Publishing Illustrator
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visualarts2024-07-22 20:51:282025-12-08 20:36:12Tony Rodriguez | Illustrator + FilmmakerStudent Testimonials
At Visual Arts Passage, this course maximizes your efforts by not only guiding the development of your artistic voice but also clarifying your desired direction in the industry. Because of tremendous support and guidance from the mentors, I had an artwork accepted into the 64th Society Of Illustrators annual and started receiving paying job opportunities from real-world clients.
The class helped me start to really focus on what it is want to do as an artist and how I want to do it. Dale’s insight on the craft and the business make for a unique experience.
Dale’s class pushed my technique and process. Through the class I produced my first digital fantasy painting that I would include in my professional portfolio. The rigorous yet positive atmosphere helped give me the confidence I needed to take ownership of my illustration goals.
Taking the portfolio development class with Visual Arts Passage was exactly what I was looking for to support my growing art career. I met so many talented individuals during the class that I continue to share my art with. Dale Stephanos and John English gave me the clarity I needed in moving forward in illustration.
The program’s instructors are not only in the top 5% of American illustrators working today but are the most generous, thoughtful, caring and helpful instructors I have ever had. Each instructor takes his/her time with each student’s work, offering detailed, specific, clear and entirely useful commentary, all of which is crafted toward each students’ goals. Comments are always honest and direct, while ensuring students are made to feel valued, relevant and understood. They truly care about the progress of each of us. Additionally, everyone is treated with equal consideration. The quality of the teaching here exceeds anything I experienced in my MFA program. This program has made me feel motivated, energized and in love with the business of illustration.
Dales Stephanos is a great instructor and I feel like I was given very valuable insights on what makes an effective portfolio. Plus, the critiques and direction I was given helped me out in the process of making a portfolio that I could be happy with.
I owe all my advancement and improvements in my work to John and to Dale. The way that they teach Portfolio Development is very holistic and tailored to everyone’s specific needs. I have never once felt shoehorned or forced into a box by my instructors and have only felt encouraged to approach my ideas as authentically as possible. The guidance given to me has allowed me to take more risks using my artistic voice and try more complex compositions, ideas, and themes fully knowing that I would be gently corrected if need be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this course right for me?
Portfolio Development is the third course in the Illustration Program and it's the perfect course for advanced students who have begun to build out a portfolio. The course is a 10-week long workshop to continue building and polishing your portfolio to prepare it for the industry.
We recommend this course for students who have already attended Ideation & Visual Storytelling or for artists who are already working at an advanced level.
Can I skip Process: Skill & Craft and Ideation & Visual Storytelling to attend this course?
We recommend against jumping straight to Portfolio Development, but for some advanced artists, this is feasible. We recommend booking a portfolio review here, but there is no technical requirement to attend a more advanced course.
What is the time commitment?
The Mentorship program is a "get out of it, what you put in" experience. That being said, our courses are structured to accommodate individuals with a busy schedule. We recommend setting aside a minimum of 3 hours for your live course and 2 hours to complete assignments and course work. We highly encourage students to commit more time if their schedule allows.
Do I have to attend the livestream or can I attend by only watching the recorded content?
We encourage students to attend the livestream whenever their schedule permits, however, this is not required nor is it essential to fully benefit from the personalized coaching and mentoring offered by this course. Every class we host is recorded and available on-demand after the broadcast. You will still receive personalized feedback on work submitted before the livestream.
Will I receive actual feedback from the instructing artist?
Yes! This course is designed truly as a mentorship course. Your mentor will review work you submit for the course and provide feedback during or after class to help you progress, improve and develop your skills and portfolio.
Can I download the recordings of class?
Yes, all classes are available for download during your enrollment as a mentorship program student.
Can I take this course at the same time as other Illustration Program courses?
We recommend students enroll in only one mentorship course per semester. We highly recommend taking mini-courses, such as Color Theory or Figure Drawing in addition to Mentorship courses.