If you are interested in setting up a class or a workshop, reach out via email: info@mirkah.com
One of the most rewarding parts of my job are the connections I make during visits and workshops.
Since the pandemic, I’ve moved my art/book related classes online, you can find them on Skillshare, Etchr and Gumroad (links in the main menu above). While I mostly teach online now, I’m open to in-person classes again.
-
Character Design For Picture Books
Are you feeling stuck with designing characters for picture books?
This class is designed to help you take your character designs from bland and stiff to charming and energetic.
In this class you will:
Learn how to use the personality of your character to guide it’s design
How to use shapes to convey personality and character
How to use style to unify a set of characters
Learn different exercises to explore character design
How to make a character appealing for picture book audiences
How to draw expressions and poses -
Drawing Characters Consistently - Character Design Class Part 2
Are you feeling stuck with designing characters for picture books? Have you gotten feedback that your characters are stiff or not drawn consistently?
This class is designed to help you take your character designs from bland and stiff to charming and energetic.
In this class you will:
Learn how to draw a character consistently
What proportional markers are
The 4 techniques Mirka uses to draw characters consistently
The 1 pose that she found is an exception to the rule -
Procreate for Picture Books
In this class, you’ll learn how to illustrate in Procreate on the iPad.
After the class you’ll know the basics for Procreate and how to start creating your own illustrations in it using textures and layers to add interest to your piece.
What you’ll get out of this class:
A free brush set to use
A custom color palette
A reference sketch (both .jpg and .png included)
You'll complete a full page picture book illustration
-
Character Design for Picture Books, Part 3: Animals
This class is perfect for beginner and intermediate illustrators wanting to illustrate picture books.
In this class you’ll learn how to:
-Draw cute animal characters from photo references
-Create anthropomorphic animal characters that walk on two feet
-Add personality to your animal characters
- Show emotions on an animal character
With over 2 hrs of video lessons, and nine character exercises this class packs a punch.
-
Goalsetting & Time Management
Feeling anxious about the future, exhausted or stuck?
In this class we’ll dig deep and determine your long term goals, break them down into smaller steps, and then create a visual calendar that eliminates distractions and enables you to reach your goals. The principles can be used to improve work, family and any other area of your life.
In this class you learn how to:
-Determine & prioritize your goals
-Manage distractions
-Get back on track when life happens
-Manage and overcome rejections and setbacks
-Create a visual calendar to help reduce anxiety, and to keep you accountable -
Crafting Engaging Picture Book Dummies
In this class, you’ll create a picture book dummy.
After the class you’ll know how to format a book dummy, and understand best practices on how to present a professional looking dummy as part of your portfolio to catch the eye of editors and agents.
The topics we cover in Crafting Engaging Picture Book Dummies are:
- How to break a story into pages (Don’t worry, I have a story for you to practice with)
- Book structure (Free templates included)
- Thumbnailing
- Creative layouts and page turns
- How to export your art in PDF form -
Reading For Research
Do you want to illustrate books for kids? But not sure how to improve your skills and move closer to your goals?
In this fun class suitable from beginner to intermediate skill levels, you will learn how and why it’s important to read a lot of books and how to use published books to increase your skills in illustration. A book already published is like an instruction manual for success.
During the class we will break down various ways to use books for reference, research, and learning, to develop your own skills in illustration so that you can improve and refine your portfolio.
-
Draw Realistic Animals with Simple Shapes: Birds
In this basic drawing class, we break down the basics of drawing to its fundamentals. By the end of the class, you‘ll have the basic skills and more confidence in sketching and drawing realistic animals. We will be concentrating on drawing birds in this class.
You’ll learn how to:
Understand shape language of birds
Use a grid as a secondary guide
How to observe shape relationships
Draw birds from reference
-
Simplifying Watercolor Painting: Techniques for Negative Painting and Creating Depth
Explore watercolor behavior using the negative painting technique, and learn how to create a sense of depth in your paintings with three simple design principles.
What you’ll learn:
Basic tools for successful watercolor painting.
Warm up and get comfortable with simple exercises
3 Design rules to create depth with negative painting
Painting a beautiful greenhouse with a variety of plants.
Adding simple details to create interest in paintings -
Simplifying Watercolor Painting: Wet-on-wet Rainbow Painting Technique
Explore watercolor behavior when painting wet on wet, and get used to the way paint disperses from your brush onto the wet surface of the paper.
What you’ll learn:
Basic tools for successful watercolor painting
Warm up with simple exercises
How paints behave
Getting comfortable with our tools
Painting beautiful rainbow plants
Adding details to wet on wet paintingsBonus Video! Learn how the rainbow technique can be used in more complicated paintings to create depth and interest
Some webinar topics I’ve taught over Zoom are:
Creating Engaging Picture Book Characters, for MD/DE/WV SCBWI.
How to Research and Organize Querying for Literary Agents, for SCBWI Hawaii
Basic Printmaking – Relief Printing, for SCBWI Hawaii & Alaska Illustrator Intensive
Wood Engraving Surfaces – Pros and Cons, for the Wood Engravers Network
Several live watercolor painting classes for Etchr Lab.
