Creative Design Theory with Ty Goodwin

8-week, beginner-to-intermediate-level design class

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Ty Goodwin

Ty A. Goodwin is a character designer, illustrator, and visdev artist. His early career as a zoo caricature artist snowballed his bold design sense for people and creatures alike. He has since done design work for Cartoon Network, Baobab, and a variety of other animation projects. Ty enjoys sketching with friends, and exploring other means of creative collaboration – from comics, to music, to game design. 

In this course you will learn Ty’s approach to sketching and iterating fresh and appealing designs. 2D Design Theory will equip you with the tools to stay inspired and investigate new solutions. Over two months you’ll bring your ideas to life with strong shape language, clear compositions, mesmerizing patterns.

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Class Schedule

Length of Course: 8 weeks

Days: Thursdays starting May 22, 2025; last class on July 10, 2025

Time: 6pm – 9:30pm Pacific Time

Tuition: US$700

Class Size: 12 students

Format:

• Class meets once a week on Zoom; Zoom class is recorded
• Homework to be uploaded to Google Drive folder
• Students have access to class recordings and other class materials for 12 months after class ends
• Bonus Discord activities: 1) Mid-week Office Hours to receive feedback on homework WIPs – schedule TBD, participation optional but highly recommended, not recorded; 2) Work Sessions to hang out and work on homework together with classmates

Class Summary

This 8-week course encourages critical thinking around 2D design principles. Ty will demonstrate both the subjective and objective aspects of “appeal” through stylization. These concepts will be explored through the Vis Dev process of iteration. Students will build new drawing habits to reinforce a reliable and healthy design process!

• Week 1. Turning on the Creative Engine – Starting to Sketch (and Fail) A Lot
• Week 2. Process Part 1: Input – Observing Visual Language
• Week 3. Process Part 2: Process – Finding the Appeal
• Week 4. Process Part 3: Output – Designing with Clients in Mind
• Week 5. Repeating the Loop – Perfecting Your Own Process
• Week 6. Understanding Scale – Creating and Managing Scope
• Week 7. Become the Client – Maintaining Creative Momentum and Agency
• Week 8. Endless Exploration – Mastering the Unknown

Note: Students will sketch traditionally in this class. Ty’s demos will be done traditional with pencil or pen, but critiques and certain lecture examples will be done digitally. Students must prepare two sketchbooks and pens/pencils.

Expected Results

By the end of the course, students will have ONE fully-completed sketchbook of design theory sketches and ONE nearly-completed sketchbook of meticulous concept explorations. They can expect to leave the class with a deeper understanding of draftsmanship and a more versatile design process capable of multiple styles.

Prospective Students

This course is beneficial for artists who feel trapped by style and process. It is especially helpful for those who are losing their creative spark or feeling their skills plateau. This class teaches how to design playfully and utilize imagination to solve demanding design prompts.

Prerequisites

This is a beginner-to-intermediate-level design class. In order to have a productive learning experience for all, prospective students need to fulfill the following requirements:

• Must have some experience sketching with pencil/pen
• Must have solid understanding of perspective, anatomy, and volume
• Must be comfortable making mistakes and committed to finishing homework
• Must have or purchase two sketchbooks (minimum size: 5 in. x 7 in., 80 – 100 pages) and pencils/pens; Products Ty uses will be shared upon registration
• Must have a scanner or smartphone to document sketches
• Must be dedicated and do homework as required; Expect to dedicate around 10–15 hours per week to homework
• Must have a computer with microphone (camera optional)
• Must be able to access Google Drive to upload homework
• Should be comfortable using Discord to view/upload files and participate in text and/or voice discussions
• Please know that this is a critique-heavy course. It’s very important to finish all of your homework on time in order to receive in-class critiques