Academy Archives - Page 8 of 12

6 Benefits of Creative Writing Classes and Creative Writing Camps!

Centauri Arts offers creative virtual and in-person creative writing classes for teenagers, and creative writing camps for children and teens – plus, occasional creative writing workshops for adults. But what are the benefits of creative writing classes? Creative Writing Classes Help Improve Writing Skills Our parents tell us that when their children and teens take creative writing classes with us, their academic grades improve. The more you write, the better at it you become – creative writing classes are a terrific way to improve writing skills! Creative Writing Classes and Camps Create Enthusiastic Readers Young people who write more, read more, too! Whether young writers are interested in writing poetry, writing short fiction, writing novels, writing plays or exploring genre fiction such as fantasy, science [...]

July 5th, 2022|Academy, Writing Classes for Teens|

Creative Writing Camps Summer 2022

Check out the following terrific opportunities – in our Toronto studio and virtual – for young people who love to write. But don’t delay – time is running out! Vikki VanSickle. photo by Connie Tsang Creative Writing Courses with Vikki VanSickle Celebrated novelist Vikki VanSickle is running lively and inspiring creartive writing camps with us this summer! Plot, character and description – learn these creative writing skills and more as you explore fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, poetry, screenwriting, playwriting, journaling – the sky’s the limit! Get tips on where to submit your work: creative writing competitions, literary agents, publishers and more. Virtual Podcasting Camp Get your ideas and stories out there through the medium of podcasts! Bonnie Warburton will teach you how [...]

June 14th, 2022|Academy|

Summer Intensives for Teens: Creative Writing Camps, Fine Art Camps, Acting Camps and More!

Summer is a special time at Centauri Arts – young writers, artists, actors and filmmakers from all over the city come together to build community around a shared interest, as they take part in Acting Camps, Creative Writing Camps, Fine Art Camps, Film Camps and more. If you have a child aged 11-18 who loves creative writing, painting, drawing, cartoon creation, acting, podcasting or film, there is something for them at our Toronto studio – or virtually – this summer Our Creative Writing Camps in Bloor West Village, Toronto – and Virtually Our creative writing campers explore poetry, short stories, plays, podcasts… whether they are experienced writers, or complete beginners! In the summer, there’s time to sink into plot, to play with character, learn new [...]

May 25th, 2022|Academy|

Summer Day Camp for TEENAGERS!

Our day camps are pretty unique. Firstly, we offer film camps, fine art camps, acting camps, animation camps… everything to do with the arts! Secondly, we offer the choice of day camps in Bloor West Village (close to Jane Subway, near Swansea and Etobicoke) or virtual arts camps. Finally our summer day camps are geared specifically for older children and teenagers – ages 11-18 to be precise. Day Camps for Teens? Our summer arts camps are designed with the older crowd in mind. We know parents don’t need day care, and teens prefer to get up later in the summer, so our arts camps in Bloor West Village run for 4 hours each day, with a choice of afternoon or evening blocks. Teens work with [...]

March 31st, 2022|Academy|

Young Writers: 5 Places to Submit Your Work!

If you are a young writer working on a manuscript, then you are probably wondering which markets exist for your work. There are many literary magazines and publishing houses that accept work from young writers – and there are creative writing competitions for young writers, too! Here are some opportunities for young writers, to start you on your way. Remember a strong cover letter is always important when you are submitting your manuscript for consideration: Young Voices Magazine The Toronto Public Library publishes an annual magazine - Young Voices - which publishes the work of young writers and artists. You can check it out here: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/teens/young-voices.jsp The Walrus Magazine & Amazon Awards for Youth The magazine’s Youth Short Story Category invites authors between the ages [...]

March 31st, 2022|Academy, Writing Classes for Teens|

Creative Writing Classes at Centauri Arts: a Place for Young Writers to Grow

If you love creative writing – poetry, short fiction, writing novels, screenplays and more – then Centauri is the place for you. For 27 years, we’ve brought together young writers, and talented creative writing teachers to inspire them… and we continue to do so with creative writing classes AND creative writing summer camps, all starting in the next few weeks. Creative Writing Classes this Spring (starting April 2022). Julie Hartley is our instructor for the next Saturday creative writing class, which begins in our Bloor West studio on Saturday 23rd April. If you live in Bloor West Village, Swansea or anywhere else in Etobicoke and Mississauga, join us for a creative writing class that focusses on fantasy and science fiction. VIRTUAL Creative Writing Classes and [...]

March 30th, 2022|Academy, Writing Classes for Teens|

Top 10 Tips: How to Take Terrific Photographs

While understanding aperture, shutter speed, ASA and the manual workings of your camera can help, anyone can take a great photo if you cultivate a great eye, and learn a little about aesthetics! Here are 10 tips to help you take amazing photographs. 1) Focal Point Your first step is deciding what to photograph! This is a photo’s focal point or main point of interest. Ask yourself, “will my viewers find this interesting?”. If the answer is no, but you still want to take a photo of the subject, the next few tips will help change your response to a yes. 2) The Rule of Thirds When taking any photograph, try to imagine two horizontal and two vertical invisible lines dividing the image into [...]

March 7th, 2022|Academy, photography|

Top 5 Free and Open-Source Animation Software Tools

Animation, and animation classes, are hugely popular with teenagers these days: bringing digital artwork to life on the screen can be riveting! Deciding which animation software to use, however, can be tough - especially if you are on a budget. To help you, we’ve assembled a list of some of the best free and open-source animation software tools available to digital artists today. OpenToonz - 2D Animation Software Not only is OpenToonz one of the best 2D animation software available, it has also been used by famous animation studios like Studio Ghibli and Rough Draft Studios. OnlyToonz is user friendly and great for animation students just starting out, but you may need to read through their manual to truly master its features. https://opentoonz.github.io/e/ Synfig [...]

February 2nd, 2022|Academy, Digital Art, Digital Art Resources|

New Creative Writing Class for Teenagers in Our Bloor West Village Location!

Short fiction… poetry… novels… if your teenager loves writing in any of these forms, they would likely LOVE our new Creative Writing class, which begins in our Bloor West Village studio on Wednesday 23 February. The instructor for this program is centre director Julie Hartley; read all about her publications and experience at www.juliehartley.ca Creative Writing: From Prompts to Finished Product Most of our creative writing classes in Toronto and virtually focus on technique and inspiration; they combine imaginative creative writing prompts with a chance to learn about character development, plot structure, genre fiction and more. This class is a little different – it’s aimed at high school students who have experience as writers, and the goal is to help young writers to finish a [...]

January 25th, 2022|Academy, Writing Classes for Teens|

The Best FREE Digital Art Software on the Market!

Starting out in Digital Art can be a struggle for teenagers, especially if they are on a budget. Programs like Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint, Clip Studio Paint, Affinity Photo or even Procreate are powerful: but they cost money. Thankfully, we all have access to free/open-source Digital Art Software - but with so many free/open-source programs to choose from, it can be difficult to choose between them. To help you, we have put together a list of the Best Free Digital Art Software on the market. KRITA - Digital Painting Program If you are a fan of Photoshop, you’ll like KRITA. With similar layouts, tools and interface, KRITA is an amazing professional digital painting program made and designed by artists. It works on all systems and [...]

January 25th, 2022|Academy, Digital Art, Digital Art Resources, Resources|