Artist's Basics

For students who are serious about becoming an artist. Writers, directors, actors, dancers, singers, painters, sculpters, you name it. What are the traits every great artist's possess, and how can you develop them? Find out TODAY!

You have the burning desire, the dream to become a great artist! You believe you have it in you to be the next great writer or poet, composer or musician, dancer or actor, painter or animator. You know about the history of your chosen art form, and about the great artists who blazed a trail through history. You've studied the great ideas, the great works! You're ready to start making your mark.

What does it take to be a great artist? This special and completely unique course, authored by an Emmy and Dramalogue award-winning writer/composer/director, carefully selects ten qualities a great artist must have, no matter which area of the arts the artist is working in. Each of these ten qualities is carefully defined and looked at in detail. The student is then given many exercises that will develop each quality, and help the student find in himself or herself their own greatness!

This is a major course, taking some 50-100 hours to do thoroughly. But an artist could not invest his time with more wisdom. Locate the ten key qualities the artist must have in you! Develop those qualities! Discover how great an artist you can be!

Animation I - 'Gummy Cat' Project

For students interested in animation, ages 9-adult. In Connect The Thoughts ' Animation I course, the student first learns to read a very simple, brief screenplay (a fun, original screenplay authored by an Emmy-Award winning writer specifically for this course!), mastering some of the basic terms used in this art form. The student then works through a series of exercises, to create a "storyboard" for a simple, fun and original script.

Storyboards are a series of drawings which act as a visual "outline" for a film, cartoon, commercial, TV show...even a live stage show. To storyboard, the artist must create characters visually, create the locations the characters are in, and artfully, convincingly express through successive drawings the story to be told. This approach forces a new animator to do several things.

1. Master the essentials of animation design, including character design and execution, and the ability to read and understand a script;
2. Improve their drawing and essential skills.
3. Develop many drawings through a highly structured but creative process, which may eventually be used as a part of a portfolio.

Our Animation courses progressively assist the student to accomplish these goals, with projects that continue to grow more challenging. The funny, original script that serves as a part of Animation II , "The Tortoise & The Hare &...", offers several new characters, and more difficult design elements, than our Animation I course, demanding of the student a higher level of design and execution. This trend increases in Animation III . Our Animation IV course specializes in animation techniques and practice, profoundly deepening the student's skll level and understanding of this unique art. Our final course, Animation V, offers the student a full script to break down and develop, with carefully constructed exercises (many!) to help the student truly master the challenges of animation!

Focused on the art of story boarding and built around a clever, original script authored by an Emmy award-winning writer, the student incresingly develops through carefully structured exercises the skills needed to work in this fun and creative field. The perfect starter step for the student who already draws well, and who wishes to experiment and discover his or her talent in Animation, without critique or criticism!

Animation II - 'The Tortoise and the Hair and...' Project

For students interested in animation, ages 9-adult. A continuation and deepening of the process started in our Animation I course. In Connect The Thoughts ' Animation I course, the student first learned to read a simple, brief screenplay (a fun, original screenplay authored by an Emmy-Award winning writer specifically for this course!), mastering some of the basic terms used in this art form. The student then worked through a series of exercises, to create a "storyboard" for a very simple, fun and original script.

Storyboards are a series of drawings which act as a visual "outline" for a film, cartoon, commercial, TV show...even a live stage show. To storyboard, the artist must create characters visually, create the locations the characters are in, and artfully, convincingly express through successive drawings the story to be told. This approach forces a new animator to do several things.

1. Master the essentials of animation design, including character design and execution, and the ability to read and understand a script
2. Improve their drawing and essential skills
3. Develop many drawings through a highly structured but creative process, which may eventually be used as a part of a portfolio.

Our Animation courses progressively assist the student to accomplish these goals, with projects that continue to grow more challenging. The funny, original script that serves as a part of Animation II , "The Tortoise & The Hare &..." , offers several new characters, and more difficult design elements, than our Animation I course, demanding of the student a higher level of design and execution. This trend increases in Animation III . Our Animation IV course specializes in animation techniques and practice, profoundly deepening the student's skll level and understanding of this unique art. Our final course, Animation V , offers the student a full script to break down and develop, with carefully constructed exercises (many!) to help the student truly master the challenges of animation!

Focused on the art of story boarding and built around a clever, original script authored by an Emmy award-winning writer, the student incresingly develops through carefully structured exercises the skills needed to work in this fun and creative field. A step towards mastery, between our Animation I and Animation III courses.

Music Theory I

For students, ages 9-adult. What is music? What is it made of? How do you "read" music, and play a piano or keyboard. One of our most successful courses, written by an experienced instructor in music theory, and the composer of over 1,200 songs!

Your student is the next Mozart, the next Bach, the next Elton John? This is the perfect starter course for a student who really wants to master music. Starting with the most basic information - what is sound, what is music - and working its way rapidly into how to read music, and how to play a keyboard, the mysteries of music are revealed in fun, creative, exciting ways! All of the basics are clearly defined, so the student may truly understand music. Learb from an award-winning composer!

About 60-80 hours of study, complete with test and answer guide.

The purchase of additional materials must be done by the home schooler.

Music Theory II

Connect The Thoughts 's Music Theory II picks up where Music I left off. Dive into music! Scales, more chords, modes! The essentials of music are taught in detail, as the student significantly improves their piano/keyboard technique. This course is constructed to prepare the student to play well enough and understand music sufficiently to start them composing.

The purchase of additional materials such as The Ultimate Broadway Fakebook must be done by the home schooler.

Music Theory III - MUSIC HISTORY 'BACH TO ROCK'

The history of music, from the moment man found he could control the nature of sound, through the invention of instruments and choirs, through Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, The Beatles, and everyone in-between.

The student surveys many composer's lives and their music, and breaks down what he's listening to with increasing technical expertise. A must before one starts to compose for themselves.

The purchase of additional materials must be done by the home schooler.

Music Theory IV - COMPOSITION

A course for the musically advanced student who understands music theory and history, and is ready to work seriously as a composer. Through a lengthy series of detailed exercises, the student develops the skills needed to compose effective and interesting music.

A remarkable, utterly creative approach to beginning composition! Unlike any course you've ever seen in music. Exercise after exercise taps into the students unknown depths of creativity, demanding he or she use all their understanding of music (acquired through earlier studies such as Connect The Thoughts s Music Theory I-III) to master the ideas of composition. Enormous fun, tremedously challenging, the student's understanding and use of music will grow by leaps and bounds!

The home schooler must purchase some related materials, such as the Ultimate Broadway Fakebook.

Acting I - STARTING ACTING

For students ages 9-10, the basics of acting. What is the stage? What is a script? What is an actor? Start with the essentials and work your way up to more complex ideas.

A simple and exciting way to start a beginning, youthful actor, written by the veteran award-winning director of over 200 productions!

If you thought starting to learn about acting was impossible in a home school situation, think again! This course rapidly gets students on their feet and performing. The fun begins right away! Start your student acting today!

Acting II - CONTINUING ACTING

Continue your Lower School acting studies with this great course! Prepare unique scenes and speeches for performance and learn many of the techniques great actors use,

with a course especially designed for home school by a teacher with over 10,000 hours experience teaching professional actors! This fun, creative course will help any young student sharpen newly developed acting skills.

A very good workout for students who have some acting experience, as well.