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Francis V.'s Photo

Illustration Professor| Painting Drawing, Composition, Portfolio Prep
Francis V.

104 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Hourly Rate: $140

About Francis


Bio

Hello! My name is Francis. I am an illustrator and full time Associate Professor of Illustration at The College for Creative Studies. I received my B.F.A. from Ringling College of Art and my M.A. from Savannah College of Art (4.0 GPA). I've been working as an illustrator for 17 years in the comic book, video game, publishing, and gallery industries. I have spoken at numerous industry conferences and art colleges, and regularly provide guest instruction at national workshops. My book "Jazz...

Hello! My name is Francis. I am an illustrator and full time Associate Professor of Illustration at The College for Creative Studies. I received my B.F.A. from Ringling College of Art and my M.A. from Savannah College of Art (4.0 GPA). I've been working as an illustrator for 17 years in the comic book, video game, publishing, and gallery industries. I have spoken at numerous industry conferences and art colleges, and regularly provide guest instruction at national workshops. My book "Jazz Day" was the recipient of the "Boston Globe Horn Book award for Best Picture Book" and received the most awards of any children's book published that year. My following book, Anansi Boys, written by Neil Gaiman won Spectrum Gold, the D&AD Pencil, and other awards. I just recently received a prestigious 2023 Kresge Visual Arts Fellowship. Whether it is creating a comic cover for Image Comics or working as a production designer for an ESports campaign, I bring my wealth of industry experience and teaching background into my tutor offerings.

My lessons are based on your experience. For an artist looking for fundamental instruction, I offer sessions on the topics of drawing, composition, and media exploration (identifying which media works best for you and how to master it). For the artist that is developing their portfolio for college, I offer portfolio prep. For the more experienced artist I offer sessions that work to develop your style. Lastly, I offer sessions focused on navigating your chosen art industry which covers branding, promotion, and business practices.

I design my sessions around three goals: historical precedent, study and copy, application. We will explore how something has been done before in the past, work through lectures and demonstrations on how to develop whatever skill is being sought after followed by copying the masters, and then application with our own voice.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns. I look forward to working with you!


Education

Ringling College of Art + Design
Illustration
Savannah College of Art + Design
Masters
The Illustration Academy
Other
  • Licensed teacher

Policies


Schedule

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Approved Subjects

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop

Instructor for: Intro to Digital Illustration at the College for Creative Studies. In this class I taught the basic Photoshop functions and best practices for artists.
Drawing

Drawing

I have taught the following drawing classes at the college level: -Figure Drawing I -Figure Drawing II -Advanced Costumed Figure Drawing -Structural Figure Drawing -Anatomical Drawing for Illustrators As you can tell, I emphasize the figure as a tool to instruct drawing. The skills attained via figurative observation translate to any subject.
Painting

Painting

I have taught the following painting classes at the College Level: -Figure Painting II -Mixed Media Painting and Experimentation -Painting and Image Making for Illustration II I break down the painting process into two steps: (1) Identify which painting media works best with the individual's artistic personality and tendencies. (2) Explore the basics of the media: color mixing, application, edges, etc.
Francis V.'s Photo

Questions? Contact Francis before you book.

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Ratings and Reviews


Rating

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Reviews

Knowledgeable and kind tutor

Francis is very kind and knowledgeable, he has helped to teach me at a very comfortable pace, and really makes the concepts that you think are complicated into digestible, approachable ideas!

Denzel, 12 lessons with Francis
Tutor responded:

Thank you Denzel! Your progress has been exceptional. Looking forward to future lessons.

Awesome tutor, who acknowledges my prior experience

Taught me the fundamentals of art, how they are affected by the perspective, and has been mindful of my pace. My career goal is to be a physics researcher, and he has shown me much about dimensions and how shapes are seen

Wynnstan, 17 lessons with Francis
Tutor responded:

I'm glad that you are finding the lessons helpful Wynnstan. Your growth has been exponential!

Two words: Artist - Mentor

Genuinely passionate *and* knowledgeable about art, plus experienced teacher with an actual curriculum. If you're looking to learn all things art, look no further. If you feel the fee is expensive, suck it up, it's a worthy investment.

Manos, 18 lessons with Francis
Tutor responded:

Thanks Manos! It's been a pleasure working with you so far and I look forward to working with you on your new portfolio.

Extensive knowledge of drawing

I sought out Francis for help with my drawing. The scheduling process was smooth and when we met he had extensive materials and experience to help me solve my proportion issues and not work so stiff. I wasn't expecting it, but he offered numerous artists to look at based on my interests that I am now studying. These extra notes will keep me motivated for a while. If I have anymore questions, I am happy to know he is a resource. Recommended.

Renae, 1 lesson with Francis
Tutor responded:

Thank you Renae! I'm pleased the techniques and artists we reviewed are useful. Best wishes with you drawing!

Very helpful & knowledgable

I needed some help with the process of digitizing and preparing artwork for making prints and Francis was so very helpful. He went over the requirements for scanning artwork, talked with me about file sizes and different printing options, and walked me through the simplest way of editing and preparing my artwork in Photoshop. I have spent hours watching videos of this process on YouTube and have consulted with other artists, but Francis helped me figure everything out in just one hour, saving me sooo much time! The entire lesson was seamless and it is very obvious that he knows his craft well, and is an excellent and patient educator. I highly recommend working with Francis, as I will certainly be contacting him again when I need more help!

Morgan, 1 lesson with Francis
Tutor responded:

Thanks Morgan! I'm glad the session was helpful. I'm excited to see where your print endeavors take you.

Hourly Rate: $140
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