I’m so moved by these kind reviews from two students in the summer session of my Children’s Book Illustration course for RISD online:
Student #1
• Adam was an excellent instructor and I really appreciate all his helpful feedback. I would love to take another class with him. Thank you!
• Despite the online format and prerecorded lessons, Adam made the class feel very personal and was helpful and responsive throughout the class.
• Based on the class discussion board, Adam’s low key , encouraging and knowledgable approach definitely made students of all skill levels feel comfortable. I was amazed at the length and detailed critique for each assignment. I felt like listening to his reviews gave me so many ideas and new ways to think about illustration. For me, there were many a-ha moments of things he had observed in my work that I had completely not seen or thought through completely. Adam was great at leading you through your own creative process without dictating your direction.
• I really appreciated taking a class taught by such a knowledgeable individual who was very involved and passionate about the field. He was also very kind and supportive of the students and provide a wonderful critical feedback in a productive and positive manner.
Student #2
• First of all, the stories picked were perfect prompts to work on specific theories for my portfolio. For example, juxtaposition of size shown in an illustration is a perfect addition to any illustrator’s portfolio. Second, the stories took me out of my comfort zone and had me drawing stories I would’ve never picked myself. I enjoyed each story. And now I have some concepts to work on after the course too. Finally, the instructor provided lots of visual examples to inspire your illustration work.
• Adam gave thoughtful feedback and helpful guidance when I was lost in my work. Learning more about how to THINK about children’s illustration was helpful from this course. The pace of completing assignments definitely supported my learning in a way I couldn’t have gotten on my own.
• The modules were interesting and instructive without being overwhelming. Instruction was succint in the presentation and it was very clear where we were to direct our focus each week. The texts were well chosen with increasing complexity. Particular to me, Adam supported some of my” outside the box” interpretations and encouraged exploration which made it very individualized.
• I was astonished with the depth and care Adam took with his critiques. They were so very thorough and thoughtful. With 16 students in the class that could not have been easy. It was truly appreciated.
• I have taken quite a few art courses both in person and on line. This was my first class through RISD. I took a deep breath when I signed as I was afraid i would be intimidated or in over my head. I was not intimidate and it was a wonderful experience . I learned so much from Adam and hope to take more courses both with Adam and through RISD.
• He treated me as an artist with merit and was encouraging, providing feedback and criticism in a way that allowed me to grow quite a bit during the class. Met students at the point in their artistic journey they were at and did not expect or grade students based on a rigid basis.
• His comments were so helpful because they were both encouraging and specific with how to make it better and the edits always did and they taught me about the structure of illustration (moving left to right, perspective, focus). I liked that he showed himself on the video too. He was generous with his time for each week. I liked having the same story as the other students to work together. I liked his examples he showed us in the intro to each class to inspire, teach and demonstrate. It was meaningful that some of them were his own work.