Folio Academy

Dallyn Zundel

2011-11-22T11:58:00.000-08:00

Folio Academy is now home to Dallyn Zundel. He has been working with us to produce the instructional video "Into Plein Air." Using the Plein Air technique, Dallyn will paint the wasatch mountains. All along the way Dallyn Zundel will demonstrate his expertise, and guide you to becoming a great "Plein Air" artist yourself.

Dallyn Zundel has worked in the field of art for a long time, Devoting his skill and expertise in many different ways. As he puts it, "If it has anything to do with visual arts," i've probably done it. He has worked on magazine illustration, children's books, covers, advertising, sportswear, T-shirts, posters, brochures, flyers, text books, gallery and fine art, commissions... he has also worked as an art director, but what he is truly best as is drawing and painting. He is an amazing painter, and has been using the "Plein Air," technique now for 11 years.

In our video "Into Plein Air," by Dallyn Zundel, you will be taken through, step by step, as Dallyn makes a scene come to life using the "Plein Air" technique. He paints on location in Utah's Wasatch Mountains to create a breathtaking landscape painting. Painting using the "Plein Air" technique was very popular during the impressionism movement of the 19th Century, and is now becoming popular again amongst serious artists. Dallyn will teach about selecting a location, using a limited pallet, and working from general to specific. He will pain "Direct," and help you to learn this unique and beautiful style of painting.

Ellen Fountain

2011-11-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

Folio Academy is proud to introduce Ellen Fountain, our latest contributing artist! Her new five-part video series “Watercolor Painting for Beginners” is now available for streaming on folioacademy.com

Ellen Fountain says that her becoming an artist was largely influenced by growing up in a rural area. Born and Raised in Northern Idaho, Ellen had to be creative about finding entertainment, as they had no T.V. or telephone until she was fourteen. Ellen drew inspiration from the natural world around her, the scenery, the creek next to their house, the animals they saw, and her mother’s interest in art and sewing. Even at a young age Ellen loved books. She lived in her imagination, and expressed herself through drawing, painting, and making doll clothes. Her first major art award was a year's supply of 365 Golden Books, won for illustrating and constructing a pop-up scene from *Jack and the Beanstalk*. Ellen Fountain earned a Masters Degree in Art Education from the University of Arizona in Tucson, and now lives there with her husband.

The new five-part video series “Watercolor Painting for Beginners,” is an in-depth look into the technique and process of Watercolor. The course is designed for someone who has never painted in Watercolor, or hasn’t used Watercolor for a long time, and would like to get back into it. Taught by award winning Watercolor artist Ellen Fountain, this course will show you the in’s and out’s of working with this very popular medium. Ellen fountain will take you step by step through the entire process, starting with a discussion and demonstration of all the materials needed, and ending with a detailed lesson on simply composing an interesting picture. Ellen Fountain will take teach you techniques such as the “wet into wet” technique, she will teach you how to make graduated washes and texture washes, and show you how to make a “pigment saturation test.” Learn how to keep the white of your paper using “scraping”, “resisting,” “liquid frisket” and more. She will teach you about color properties, and demonstrate techniques such as “paint lifting,” “spattering,” and drawing with the back of the brush. Best of all, Ellen Fountain will teach you how to think and bring out your own style, and not simply reproduce her work.

Justin Cook

2011-10-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

Folio Academy is home to another distinguished artist! Justin Cook is on the team! His new video “Digital Inking and Coloring in Adobe Illustrator,” is available for streaming. This is a great addition to our library - it will teach you how to ink and color your vector images to a very high standard.

When Justin Cook was a toddler he loved to draw... and that passion stayed with him for the rest of his life. He loved classic cartoons like Peanuts, and the Flinstones, and loved to draw in cartoon. When he got older, he turned his passion into a career, he started his own freelance company “Seen Creative” Illustrating and Animating in 2004. Justin and his wife live in the U.K. by the seaside where they enjoy walking on the beach and relaxing at the local beach side diner. Justin has completed many projects including humorous greeting card design for the U.K. retailer “Clintons,” toy design for “Kid Robot” and character design for children's BBC TV show “Mighty Mites”. Justin hopes to create an original 2D animated cartoon serial and to produce a series of children's books. Other interests include the guitar, playing Snooker and watercolour painting.

In Justin Cooks new course “Digital Inking and Coloring in Adobe Illustrator," Justin demonstrates how to ink your images in Adobe Illustrator using the pen tool. It will teach you how to create crisp, clean lines that look as though they were hand drawn! Particularly useful for those who are using a mouse, Justin will teach how to use Adobe Illustrator to get flowing thick or thin lines that look as though they were created using a pressure sensitive tablet. Want to learn Adobe Illustrator? Want to learn the techniques and styles of digital illustration? Learn from a working expert currently in the field! - only at Folio Academy.

Paul Mann

2011-09-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

Folio Academy is now host to another ground-breaking artist! Paul Mann has arrived! Paul Mann is a veteran painter in acrylic and oil paints specializing in themes focused on the Old West. He brings the cowboy spirit to life in dramatic western landscapes, and historically accurate costumes, scenes, and figures. In our new video course “From Thumbnail to Finish,” Paull Mann will teach as he completes his work from beginning to end, bringing his expertise from years of experience, to anyone with a desire to learn.

Paul Mann grew up loving the Old West. Even as a child he remembers being interested, and this led to drawing and recreating it on paper. Now, as an adult, he continues his love of this time period by devoting himself to bringing the authentic Wild West to his canvases. In addition to doing extensive research into cowboy and indian life and lifestyles, Paul collects costumes and handmade clothing, adornments and implements. Finding models in real life, Paul brings his knowledge and passion to the public in his masterfully crafted paintings. Paul says, "I love the art of building a picture, the design, color and value. I love the use of drama and strong lighting with a great story. I continue to relish the research and making and collecting clothing from the 1800's." Paul looks up to artists such as Tom Lovell, Frank McCarthy, Howard Terpning and Robert McGinnis; artists from what he calls “the golden age of Illustration - around the 50's and 60's.”

In our new coarse “From Thumbnail to Finish,” Paul Mann brings us his process of painting a western scene from beginning to end. From his early sketches and concepting process he starts with an idea and brings it to life in acrylic and oils. He demonstrates his technique by working on several panels, and is thus able to show a painting process which normally takes many hours, in an hour and forty minutes. Paul demonstrates the key stages of layering his painting. Paul is a veteran artist and his final piece reflects how he generously shares his years of experience. Ages 16 up. Approx run time: 100 min

Dani Jones

2011-09-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Dani Jones has arrived at Folio Academy! A new video course "Five Quick Photoshop Tips for Illustrators," by Dani Jones is now available for streaming on folioacademy.com! Designed to be especially useful for working illustrators and digital painters, this video will teach you the process of illustrating with Photoshop - from a Photoshop expert!

Dani Jones is a Children's Illustrator, artist, writer, and comic creator living in New Hampshire, she went to school and received her BFA at Brigham Young University Idaho. Along with creating her own comics and stories, Dani has done illustrations for many clients, such as Scholastic, Highlights Magazine, McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Price Stern Sloan. With a constantly updated blog, Dani loves sharing her processes, and learning from other artists. Additional tutorial videos and tips can be found on her blog, and her ongoing web comic "My Sister the Freak" can be found at mysisterthefreak.com .

This new video from Folio Academy will teach you the strategies you need to be a proficient illustrator using Photoshop. Photoshop Illustrator Dani Jones will teach you the tips and tricks she uses in her own Illustration career. She will take you through the process of creating her own work, while showing you five basic techniques that will help you get the most out of digital illustration. The course will teach you things like: how to use layer masks to make spot illustrations, how to use smart objects to compose art and layouts, several ways to prepare a scanned sketch, and some quick ways to experiment with color and texture. Learn how to paint and illustrate digitally in Photoshop with Dani Jones, in "Five Quick Photoshop Tips for Illustrators."
Approximate Run Time: 78 min. Ages 16 and up

Simon Winegar

2011-09-10T18:40:00.001-07:00

Another celebrated artist has arrived! Folio Academy is now home to Simon Winegar. Simon Winegar creates moods that are often romantic and thought provoking in his dazzling landscapes. His new video course “Laying Groundwork for Great Landscapes,” is a great addition to the Folio Academy collection.

Simon Winegar has been creating works of art since he was a kid growing up in the Suburbs of Salt Lake City. He was born in 1979, and began drawing and painting with crayola crayons and watercolor paints at a young age. He has come a long way since then. Since entering the market in 2000, Simon has had his work shown in some of the most prestigeous galleries in the United States and has been seen in many one-man-shows. He has been featured in many magazines, books, and art venues that have shown his work in a light of proffesionalism and quality. Simon Winegar also has his paintings on display in the International Museum of Contemporary Masters of Fine Art, the Museum of Church History, and the Springville Art Museum.

Whether your a beginner, or more advanced, you’ll benefit from Simon’s expertise as he takes you step, by step through painting a landscape. Using water soluable oil paints, Simon will teach you how to keep your drawing while laying in values and rich colors. Simon will teach you how to have good composition and design in your landscapes. If your interested in learning to paint landscapes - learn from a landscape master - Simon Winegar!
Ages 16 and up. Approximate run time: 90 min.

J. Kirk Richards

2011-09-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

We got him! Another celebrated artist has come to Folio Academy: J. Kirk Richards! Richards is acclaimed for his spirited portrayals of the human form, both in oil paintings, and stunning sculptures.

J. Kirk Richards lives in Provo Utah with his wife - who is an artist as well. They also live some of the year in pastoral Redmond Utah, where they spend their days in their country art studio. While Richards is fond of a variety of art styles, his work is prized most by those who are interested in spiritually-themed artwork. He has won awards in juried shows throughout the country, and his work is illustrated in many magazines, books, and film productions. His work is even present in two PBS documentaries. J. Kirk Richards fuses the old and the new with his works of art; symbolism and metaphor, and an emphasis on lyric composition bring the human figure to light.

The new video “Portrait Painting with J. Kirk Richards,” Is available for streaming on Folio Academy. In this hour and forty minute video, Richards will teach you all you need to know if your interested in painting portraits. From mixing oil colors and attaining accuracy, to filling rectangles with great design and composition, Richards will take you step by step through painting a beautiful portrait, even teaching glazing and finishing along the way!

The skill level for this film is best for ages twelve and up.

Robert Barrett

2011-08-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

We’re proud to announce Robert Barrett has arrived at Folio Academy! Robert is widely recognized as an accomplished painter, muralist, and illustrator, and his new video will be a great addition to our collection.

Working as a professor of visual art at Brigham Young University, Robert also had his work exhibited in numerous art shows. His worked has been shown in New York by prestigious groups such as the Society of Illustrators, the Directors Guild of America, and the National Arts Club. He has worked with many clients over the years, doing both illustration jobs, and books. Here are some he has worked with: Fawcett Books, McGraw Hill, Random House, Viking USA – with their imprints Puffin, Penguin, and Dial Books, Ideals Publishing, Thomas Nelson, Dell Publications, Double Day, Bantam, Clarion Books, Harper Collins, Concordia, and Deseret Book, as well as Outdoor Life, American History, Boy’s Life, American Legion, and McCall’s Magazines. Robert received a MA and MFA in painting attending the University of Iowa, and a BFA in painting from the University of Utah. He received the Karl G. Maeser Award for Teaching Excellence while at BYU, and more recently was chosen in 2010 as the "Distinguished Educator in the Arts" by the Society of Illustrator’s in New York City.

Roberts new course “Lift out Technique in Mixed Media.” Is now available at Folio academy. This course will teach the fundamentals of lift-out technique by following Robert Barrett as he completes a painting from start to finish. Beginning with instruction on the initial drawing stages, Robert will take you through opaque water color, oil washes, and finished details. Throughout the instructional video, Robert discusses the fundamentals – such as how to get a correct drawing, the importance of good shapes, and how to design compelling color.

Approximate run time 2.5 hrs - ages 16 and up

Greg Newbold

2011-08-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

We're proud to introduce Greg Newbold to Folio Academy. Greg began his career as an illustrator back in 1992. His developed his style using mostly acrylics and in that time has worked for some really impressive clients: Simon & Schuster, Random House, Heinz Foods, Harper Collins, Smuckers, Pilgrim’s Pride, Kleenex, Boy’s Life Magazine and Sony Pictures. He has also illustrated several children’s books, including The Barnyard Night Before Christmas (Random House 2007), The Touch of the Master’s Hand (Stellar Books 2007) and companion books Winter Lullaby and Spring Song (Gulliver Books/Harcourt 1998; 2001).

Greg has received many illustration honors from The Society of Illustrators (NY), Communication Arts, The American Institute of Graphic Arts, Graphis, The Los Angeles Society of Illustrators, Spectrum and others. In addition Greg also works on commission with his gallery work which is found in many private collections.

Greg lives with his family in Salt Lake City Utah and enjoys gardening, camping, and fishing in Utah's back country.

In Greg's Video series he shows many of his secrets in acrylic painting and shows you why you shouldn't hate acrylics "the demons". Many artists dislike acrylics because they behave so differently from oils. Through a step by step process Greg demonstrates the unique qualities that acrylics offer.

To watch a sample video of Greg's course click here.

Our Site Launches!

2011-07-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

We are so happy to be able to finally launch this website! As artists we are happy to be able to create a site where anyone young or old - beginner or advanced can learn from some of the worlds best visual artists!

Above is a video that was created by Illustrator Will Terry on the ipad "Brushes" program. It demonstrates what is possible on the ipad as well as the vision of one artist. you can check out Will's iPad video tutorials at folioacademy.com. Because we all have different experiences and preferences, each artist that picks up an ipad can come up with something unique to them.