Art & Design
RU COVID Safety and Vaccination Policies in effect: Please refer to the “Registration Procedures & Deadlines” tab for your specific program.
Create your own summer art experience! Week-long, half day intensives give high school students the option to mix-and-match programs that suit their interest and schedule. For middle schoolers, join us for week-long intensives in character design and fine art. Weekly classes are also available for students ages 5-18.
Summer Art & Design classes and intensives at Rutgers Community Arts take place in the art studios and computer labs of Mason Gross School of the Arts. Join the vibrant artistic community at Rutgers University-New Brunswick!
Financial aid opportunities are available! If you would like more information on financial aid, please contact our office, or read more HERE.
High School Art & Design Intensives
Customize your art & design experience this July! Students may register for any of eight week-long, half-day intensives. This program is commuter only. Students enrolled in both morning and afternoon sessions are required bring their own lunch.
Open to students ages 14-18.
Graphic Design – Web
Sharpen design skills this summer and learn the fundamentals of web design. This course introduces HTML and CSS, the basic tools for creating websites. Emphasis is on building awareness of sequence and hierarchy, the Web, and on making software that serves the designer’s vision. A series of short exercises lead up to creating a collaborative online publication.
- July 5-8, 2022
- 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- $280
- Register Here!
Graphic Design – Print
A focus on the core principles of print design and an introduction to Adobe Photoshop and InDesign to produce work suitable for a college admissions portfolio. This class will involve hands-on exercises to acquire strong foundational skills and will consist of tutorials, demonstrations and both in-class and homework exercises. The final outcome of students’ work will consist of a printed publication. Beginner-through-advanced levels of technical proficiency are welcome.
- July 5-8, 2022
- 1:30-5 p.m.
- $280
- Register Here!
Drawing
Hands-on studio art course for dedicated high school students with some experience in the visual arts. This course is designed for students who wish to develop their awareness and abilities in drawing, as well as for those considering applying to art school in the future. Focus is on observational and realistic drawing. Students will learn various drawing and shading techniques, with some opportunities to explore personal imagination and artistic experimentation. Participants will receive feedback on their artwork from a professional working artist. Contemporary art and art history will be discussed. Materials are provided.
- July 11-15, 2022
- 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- $350
- Register Here!
2D Animation
This program is designed for students at any level of video-making experience who are interested in creating digital moving images. Students will learn narrative development, character design, story-boarding, stop-motion, and editing. Prior drawing experience is required.
- July 11-15, 2022 Class is Full! Waitlist available.
- July 18-22, 2022 JUST ADDED!
- 1:30-5 p.m.
- $350
- Register Here!
Painting
Hands-on studio art course for dedicated high school students with some experience in the visual arts. This course is designed for students who wish to develop their awareness and abilities in painting, as well as for those considering applying to art school in the future. Focus is on observational painting, with some opportunities to explore personal imagination and artistic experimentation. Students learn various techniques in color mixing and composition. Participants will receive feedback on their artwork from a professional working artist. Contemporary art and art history will be discussed. Materials are provided.
- July 18-22, 2022
- 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- $350
- Register Here!
3D Animation
This course will introduce students to the history, principles, terms, and practices of analog and digital 3D animation in visual art and film. Students will complete a series of motion studies, learn how to develop concepts/characters, and storyboard their own time-based works. They will gain familiarity with 3D animation software and experiment with several modeling materials. Classes will include a mix of screenings, discussions, material and software demonstrations, in-class projects, and individual and group exercises. No previous experience is required.
- July 18-22, 2022
- 1:30-5 p.m.
- $350
- Register Here!
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Sophie Auger – Graphic Design Print & Web
Sophie Auger (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist, designer and lecturer at Parsons School of Design and Rutgers University. Her situation-specific practice has taken numerous forms: writing, performing for the radio, hacking, publishing, building sculptural cameras, experimenting on the Ethereum Blockchain. Her work has been recently shown at Helsinki Contemporary Art Center and soon at Wesbeth Gallery in NY and Elektra Gallery in Montreal (2022).
Katerina Pansera – Drawing & Painting
Katerina Pansera (BFA Concordia University 2013; MFA Rutgers Mason Gross 2022) is a painter from Montreal, Canada currently residing in the USA. She is a Part-Time Lecturer at Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts, teaching undergraduate Painting courses. In her art practice, she uses the interior as a motif to explore persona and inner life.
David Torres – 2D Animation
Born in West Palm Beach, FL, David Torres is interested in the history of stories where the unseen forces of morality are at work. The PTSD factor embedded in culture has drawn David’s work to the idea of the “hero” as an empathic ideal for people to aspire to. David Torres is also interested in the illusion and delusional discussions that surround the complexities of the racial, sexual, religious, aging; old and young identities in culture. As a way of investigating these identities David Torres created “Riakman”, an alter ego, designed under the influences of 1990’s anime, video games, and his father’s middle school drawings. By channeling “Riakman”, David find pathways through high art and popular culture. Through Riakman, David tells stories within his fictional planet “Runetech” about a way of being in the world. Exploring a narrative with an embedded nostalgia for the future is the illusion David Torres uses to contend with the disillusions that exist within culture.
Stephanie Zimmerman – 3D Animation
Steph Zimmerman is a multimedia artist blending audio, sculpture, video, text, and craft in her installation-based art. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, attending residencies at Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Vermont Studio Center, Arteles Creative Center, and Paul Artspace. She is the recipient of a Creative Stimulus Award from Critical Mass for the Visual Arts and an Artist Support Grant from St. Louis’ Regional Arts Commission. Before living in New Jersey, Zimmerman worked for years as a digital media manager, overseeing the development of interactive online features and short video documentaries at St. Louis Public Radio and St. Louis Magazine. Zimmerman received her MFA in art and design from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and currently teaches in the school’s media department. She also holds a BFA in digital media and photography from the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
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- Registration Deadline: 1 week prior to the start of each program.
- Tuition must be paid in full 1 week prior to the start of the program.
- Please read our Policies & Procedures Document for additional information on payment, cancellation, participant conduct, and media waivers. Your completion of registration indicates your acknowledgment and agreement to abide by these policies.
- Covid Precautions:
- Students enrolled in the High School Art & Design Intensives must adhere to all RCA and Rutgers University COVID-19 safety protocols, which are subject to change at any time during the semester. Failure to adhere to safety protocols may result in cancellation of registration, at the discretion of the RCA Director.
- All students, parents, guests, and staff must wear a face mask over their nose and mouth while on campus and in the classroom.
- All students, parents, guests, and staff must maintain at least 6 feet of social distancing.
- Parents and guests are asked to avoid common areas and hallways of the Rutgers facilities while students are in classes & lessons. Parents and guests will not be permitted in classrooms.
- Students who are exhibiting signs of sickness or fever are asked to not attend.
- At this time, guests to the RCA office are seen by appointment only. To make an appointment you must contact our office at least 24 hours in advance to be added to the university visitor log.
- For additional information, please refer to these documents provided by Rutgers University:
Middle School Art & Design Intensives
Join us for two week-long, half-day intensives this July and August! This program is commuter only.
Open to students ages 9-13.
Introduction to Character Design
Enter a journey of character creating, world-making, and storytelling! Through learning the art of character design, story-boarding, and illustration, students will obtain a basic grasp of comics, animation, and movie making. Students who are passionate about creating their own stories of fiction and enjoy working with others to realize their dreams are encouraged to enroll. By the end of the course, students will have the option to animate their own characters. Basic drawing and observational skills will be covered to give students the necessary tools for expressing their vision. No prior drawing experience is required and all are welcome to be part of the community!
- July 11-15, 2022
- 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
- $350
Class is Full! Click the registration link below to be added to our wait list.
Junior Drawing & Painting
Students develop their drawing and painting skills through observation, memory, imagination, and experimentation. Academic and experimental approaches will be offered. Experimental approaches may include: visualizing sounds, exploring the sense of time and change, different qualities of light and shadow, and color through abstraction. Students develop individual projects that will incorporate all basic drawing and painting course material. Art history will also be discussed as it relates to each project. All Rutgers Community Arts visual art classes encourage personal exploration through materials and process. Previous experience with drawing and painting is recommended.
- August 1-5, 2022
- 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
- $350
- Register Here!
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David Torres – Introduction to Character Design
Born in West Palm Beach, FL, David Torres is interested in the history of stories where the unseen forces of morality are at work. The PTSD factor embedded in culture has drawn David’s work to the idea of the “hero” as an empathic ideal for people to aspire to. David Torres is also interested in the illusion and delusional discussions that surround the complexities of the racial, sexual, religious, aging; old and young identities in culture. As a way of investigating these identities David Torres created “Riakman”, an alter ego, designed under the influences of 1990’s anime, video games, and his father’s middle school drawings. By channeling “Riakman”, David find pathways through high art and popular culture. Through Riakman, David tells stories within his fictional planet “Runetech” about a way of being in the world. Exploring a narrative with an embedded nostalgia for the future is the illusion David Torres uses to contend with the disillusions that exist within culture.
Olympia Martin – Junior Drawing & Painting
Olympia Martin is a painter and illustrator born and raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She was given drawing instruction from an early age by her father who is also an artist, Andrew Martin. She works in a variety of mediums including oil painting, digital illustration, and pen and ink drawing. Olympia’s work draws from mythology and science fiction, seeking new ways to depict fictional worlds and characters. The figures she depicts are often in a state of internal conflict, fighting to find of sense of self-acceptance despite being torn between a mortal and a fantastical world.
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- Registration Deadline: 1 week prior to the start of each program.
- Tuition must be paid in full 1 week prior to the start of the program.
- Please read our Policies & Procedures Document for additional information on payment, cancellation, participant conduct, and media waivers. Your completion of registration indicates your acknowledgment and agreement to abide by these policies.
- Covid Precautions:
- Students enrolled in the Middle School Art & Design Intensives must adhere to all RCA and Rutgers University COVID-19 safety protocols, which are subject to change at any time during the semester. Failure to adhere to safety protocols may result in cancellation of registration, at the discretion of the RCA Director.
- All students, parents, guests, and staff must wear a face mask over their nose and mouth while on campus and in the classroom.
- All students, parents, guests, and staff must maintain at least 6 feet of social distancing.
- Parents and guests are asked to avoid common areas and hallways of the Rutgers facilities while students are in classes & lessons. Parents and guests will not be permitted in classrooms.
- Students who are exhibiting signs of sickness or fever are asked to not attend.
- At this time, guests to the RCA office are seen by appointment only. To make an appointment you must contact our office at least 24 hours in advance to be added to the university visitor log.
- For additional information, please refer to these documents provided by Rutgers University:
Weekly Art & Design Classes
Available for elementary, middle, and high school students, summer weekly art & design classes mirror the classes offered during the academic year. This six-week summer session begins July 6.
Basic Drawing & Painting
Send your child on an around-the-world artistic adventure! The focus of this course is to introduce the young aspiring artist to drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture through material exploration. By learning the basics of art-making, students will develop problem-solving skills found only during the creative endeavor of the visual arts. Students will find their voice through color, marks, shapes, forms, and materials during telling stories through their artwork. They will also learn about different ways of making by exploring different cultures and their traditions. By the end of the course, students will go home with a body of work to showcase, a community of young fellow artists, and a new plethora of visual problem-solving abilities that can only be explored through the creative act of making.
- Open to students ages 5-7
- Mondays, July 11-August 15
- 5:30-6:15 p.m.
- $150
- Register Here!
Intermediate Drawing & Painting
Students develop their drawing and painting skills through observation, memory, imagination, and experimentation. Academic and experimental approaches will be offered. Experimental approaches may include: visualizing sounds, exploring the sense of time and change, different qualities of light and shadow, and color through abstraction. Students develop individual projects that will incorporate all basic drawing and painting course material. Art history will also be discussed as it relates to each project. This course is designed differently for each semester but revisits themes from previous classes. All Rutgers Community Arts visual art classes encourage personal exploration through materials and process.
- Open to students ages 8-11
- Mondays, July 11-August 15
- 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- $225
- Register Here!
Drawing & Painting Portfolio Development
This class is designed for students who wish to develop their awareness and abilities in drawing and painting, as well as for those considering applying to art school in the future. Students will be given project assignments daily and will also have the opportunity to develop independent projects over the course of the intensive. Participants will receive feedback on their artwork and portfolios. Contemporary art and art history will be discussed. Instructions for taking appropriate photos of artwork for a portfolio will be covered.
- Open to students ages 12-18
- Mondays, July 11-August 15
- 6-8 p.m.
- $350
- Register Here!
Introduction to Graphic Design
In this 6 week course, explore the core principles of Graphic Design through working in Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator. Learn how to develop an effective creative process when working with typography, color, composition and more, to create logos, website designs, and compelling imagery.
- Open to students ages 14-18
- Wednesdays, July 6-August 11
- 5:30-7 p.m.
- $300
- Register Here!
VIRTUAL Introduction to Film & Animation
We all gravitate to the art of telling stories. From learning information about the world through our ancestors, sharing or thoughts and feelings to one another, or simply entertainment, storytelling plays an important role in our culture. In this course students will examine the elements of storytelling by learning the fundamentals of how to create memorable characters, settings, and narratives. Students who are in the beginning stages of crafting their own worlds and need guidance on how to create them are encouraged to take this course. They will be taught how to draw, conceptualize, and realize their beloved narratives. There will be assignments that give breathing room for students to experiment with different ways to create art out of their personal worlds. Concepts such as storyboarding, and character designing are amongst the many aspects that will be taught in this course. By the end of this experience students will have an understanding of if they wish to pursue illustration, animation, comics or other means of bringing their art to life.
Students are encouraged to have taken our Intermediate Drawing & Painting course, or have visual arts experience prior to joining this class.
- Open to students ages 8-13
- Thursdays, July 7-August 11
- Held online via Zoom
- 6-7 p.m.
- $225
- Register Here!
VIRTUAL Independent Study: Animation
The Animation Independent Study is designed for students, at any level of video-making experience, who are interested in creating digital moving images. Students will learn narrative development, character design, story-boarding, stop-motion, and editing using free software such as Krita, Blender, and Pencil 2D. In addition, our Animation Independent Study now includes workshops that teach students how to have an online presence for applying to colleges and for archiving their body of work for professional purposes. This includes how to create websites and a workflow to utilizes the online platform to ones’ advantage. Independent sessions meet in small groups where students are able to receive extra assistance when developing individual projects.
- Open to students ages 14-18
- Wednesdays, July 6-August 10
- Held online via Zoom
- 6-7:30 p.m.
- $300
- Register Here!
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Lilly Dlugosz – Basic and Intermediate Drawing & Painting
Born in Brick, NJ, Elizabeth Dlugosz grew up in an artistic household on the Jersey Shore. She was introduced to art making at a young age while working for her family’s small henna tattoo body art and face-painting business. Her appreciation for engaging in artistic experiences with the public led Elizabeth to begin teaching paint parties in 2018. Elizabeth has refined skills in painting, drawing, logo design, illustration, animation, large-scale murals, and tattoo design.
Elizabeth works with contemporary realism and paints impressions of moments that represent an outward appearance of a time and place as well as its inward significance. Elizabeth is interested in the mundane, relatable, daily activities of life and the passing of time. She explores the concept of what we do when there is nothing else to do and how the psychological effects of Covid-19 and living through a pandemic are present. Her informal portraits of figures trapped inside their personal interiors show them existing and occupying space through moments of forced leisure. They are glimpses into what her family’s everyday life had been like through moments that symbolize the passing of time as they face an internal conflict- are they immobilized from stress or enjoying their time lounging in captivity? The moments she chooses to depict are often displacement activities within familiar domestic spaces where she witnessed her family spending the most time in quarantine.
Harrison Hague – Introduction to Graphic Design
Harrison is a designer, developer & musician who grew up on a farm in central NJ. Currently, he works for a marketing firm where he specializes in building websites, as well as creating soundtracks such as for fellow Mason Gross alumni, David Torres’ Sunkeepers series.
Outside of design, Harrison enjoys learning and exploring as much as possible: surfing, building computers, creating board games, photography & volunteering in the local fire department are all things he can be found doing after work.
Olympia Martin – Drawing & Painting Portfolio Development
Olympia Martin is a painter and illustrator born and raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She was given drawing instruction from an early age by her father who is also an artist, Andrew Martin. She works in a variety of mediums including oil painting, digital illustration, and pen and ink drawing. Olympia’s work draws from mythology and science fiction, seeking new ways to depict fictional worlds and characters. The figures she depicts are often in a state of internal conflict, fighting to find of sense of self-acceptance despite being torn between a mortal and a fantastical world.
David Torres – Introduction to Film & Animation, Independent Study: Animation
Born in West Palm Beach, FL, David Torres is interested in the history of stories where the unseen forces of morality are at work. The PTSD factor embedded in culture has drawn David’s work to the idea of the “hero” as an empathic ideal for people to aspire to. David Torres is also interested in the illusion and delusional discussions that surround the complexities of the racial, sexual, religious, aging; old and young identities in culture. As a way of investigating these identities David Torres created “Riakman”, an alter ego, designed under the influences of 1990’s anime, video games, and his father’s middle school drawings. By channeling “Riakman”, David find pathways through high art and popular culture. Through Riakman, David tells stories within his fictional planet “Runetech” about a way of being in the world. Exploring a narrative with an embedded nostalgia for the future is the illusion David Torres uses to contend with the disillusions that exist within culture.
-
- Registration Deadline: 1 week prior to the start of each program.
- Tuition must be paid in full 1 week prior to the start of the program.
- Please read our Policies & Procedures Document for additional information on payment, cancellation, participant conduct, and media waivers. Your completion of registration indicates your acknowledgment and agreement to abide by these policies.
- Covid Precautions:
- Students enrolled in summer weekly Art & Design classes must adhere to all RCA and Rutgers University COVID-19 safety protocols, which are subject to change at any time during the semester. Failure to adhere to safety protocols may result in cancellation of registration, at the discretion of the RCA Director.
- All students, parents, guests, and staff must wear a face mask over their nose and mouth while on campus and in the classroom.
- All students, parents, guests, and staff must maintain at least 6 feet of social distancing.
- Parents and guests are asked to avoid common areas and hallways of the Rutgers facilities while students are in classes & lessons. Parents and guests will not be permitted in classrooms.
- Students who are exhibiting signs of sickness or fever are asked to not attend.
- At this time, guests to the RCA office are seen by appointment only. To make an appointment you must contact our office at least 24 hours in advance to be added to the university visitor log.
- For additional information, please refer to these documents provided by Rutgers University: