I’ve been an illustrator for over 6 years, and up until fairly recently this meant containing myself into fairly limited parameters, but following the development and expansion of my practice, especially in more recent months at Scunthorpe Studio School, where I created as not just an illustrator, but also an animator, muralist, and workshop facilitator; I’m now feeling more flexible and varied in terms of my creative capabilities, and depending on the situation, I’ll often introduce myself under the broader umbrella term of an artist instead!

After hosting my first workshop, I’m obviously by no means an expert, but I do feel far more equip to run more in the future. - Some of my key takeaways from the learning and research in the lead up to my first workshop are:

Include a schedule along with objectives and outcomes, participants love to know what they are doing and when. Be sure to have at least a 5 minute break so guests can regulate.
A workshop is likely to be more impactful if they are leaving with something tangible.
Add a short survey or questionnaire at the end to get feedback, this will be greatly beneficial to improving your services.

Providing this information can be done either through a print-out or digitally using a slideshow of some sort. Because of the nature of my workflow being largely digital, I opted for slides. I kept the writing fairly minimal, as no one likes reading off a screen, and also included animation examples to aid engagement, but the majority of the workshop was far more hands-on, and the slides just acted as an introduction and guide.

The turnout for the workshop was unfortunately less than I’d expected and planned for, however, I can confidently say I made it work as I received really positive feedback from all the participants, including 100% saying they would recommend this workshop to a friend, 10 out of 10 on the enjoyment scale, and quotes such as “Such a great time where you learn a lot and have fun. The tutor is so helpful and friendly too.”

Below shows the mixed media outcomes from both groups!