About the Workshop:
“If someone responds in a new way, that person should be valued. There shouldn’t be a single right answer. This new answer should be appreciated, even if it’s not entirely accurate, because novelty shows intelligence. To create something new, we must be ready to let go of society’s entire influence on us. Only then can we become creative again—free, fresh, and imaginative like a child.”
In this workshop, the creative processes we focus on are treated as tools for expression that deepen personal introspection and research. The workshop invites you to reflect on “form” and “meaning,” and it centers on personal, intuitive drawing. It is interested not only in illustration, but in knowing art. The program’s main aim is to create a starting point for how participants can bring more innovative, bold, and creative proposals to classical works—and re-produce the work.
The classes are designed for illustrator-artists, teachers, psychologists, art therapists, and anyone who is curious about illustration, especially those who want to understand the essential qualities of artistic techniques and deepen the conceptual structure where spontaneity and instinct emerge.
Required materials:
- Graphite pencil
- 2B-4B pencil
- Acetate paper
- Roller
- Kitchen sponge and cotton swab
- Black ink (Chinese ink)
- Oil pastels (professional)
- Oil paint (primary colors)
- Markers
- Watercolor
- Poppy seed oil or linseed oil
- Brushes
- Papers in various sizes and thicknesses (preferably textured)
- Cutting tools (utility knife and scissors)
- Important note: For the design phase, you will need to download Photoshop (or a similar program).
Program:
| Week 1 | Hello! Introduction to the workshop What is contemporary illustration? Where illustration stands in the world What are today’s roles and goals of the illustrator? Your favorites from world literature or Turkish classics Technique demonstration: Stencil printing Drawing exercise 1: Express yourself only with shape |
| Week 2 | The starting point of a project: Artists’ notebooks The use of control and improvisation in drawing Personal project production processes: The Quest and Burun Technique demonstration: Monotype printing Drawing exercise 2: Experimental and delicate drawing studies: Use your own references |
| Week 3 | Personal and intuitive drawing: Creating meaning in illustration Text-illustration relationship Introducing illustrators focusing on meaning from around the world Technique demonstration: Collage Drawing exercise 3: Use exaggeration in drawing |
| Week 4 | Representations Representing units in illustration Creating character and environment Technique demonstration: Graphite Drawing exercise 4: Find your own technique |
| Week 5 | Design and composition Expanding meaning through design Design differences between an illustration book and a picture book Drawing exercise 5: Bring shapes together using digital methods |
| Week 6 | Final projects and presentations Creating a storyboard Ability to guess techniques applied to books Art direction: Your style and strengths Analyses of final illustrations: Begin a new project |
- Workshop dates: April 16 – May 21, 2024
- The workshop will be held online.
- Connection will be via Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/?pli=1). The link will be sent to participants one day in advance.
- The workshop is for everyone.
- Workshop duration: 12 hours.
- Time to dedicate to the work: At least half an hour every day.
- Workshop language: Turkish.
- Capacity: Minimum 5, maximum 20 participants.
- Participants who successfully complete the workshop will receive a signed certificate.
Program days and times:
| April 16, 2024 – Tuesday | 19.00-21.00 |
| April 24, 2024 – Wednesday | 19.00-21.00 |
| April 30, 2024 – Tuesday | 19.00-21.00 |
| May 07, 2024 – Tuesday | 19.00-21.00 |
| May 14, 2024 – Tuesday | 19.00-21.00 |
| May 21, 2024 – Tuesday | 19.00-21.00 |
Bachelor of Arts, Media and Communication Systems, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey
Master of Arts, Marketing, Kingston Business School, England
Workshops, Contemporary Illustration, Sarmede School of Illustration, Italy
She was born in Istanbul in 1988 and grew up immersed in art. After university, she received long-term workshop training in contemporary illustration in Italy and Spain. During this process, she was thrilled to work as the creator of picture books. She founded her own studio in Istanbul and focused more on personal projects. In addition to illustrating children’s and adult books, she worked on exhibitions, editorial design, logo design, and toy design. In 2019, she received a special honorable mention at the Edelvives International Illustration Awards for her “unique and strong aesthetic approach.” During this period, she began organizing contemporary illustration workshops with various artists. In 2020, she founded “Shhhbooks,” a publisher focused on illustration and an education platform for illustrators. In 2024, her illustrations were featured as a finalist at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. She continues her work in Istanbul.
