On the eve of the summer solstice, Immersed is thrilled about this post—all about virtual summer camp, it’s another big first for The New Century School! With Weeks 1 through 4 run by TNCS art teacher Jia Liu, who is also a professional kids’ book illustrator, TNCS virtual art camps are divided into classes for K through 3rd-graders and 4th- through 8th-graders. Art camp runs throughout the summer, and if you haven’t signed your kids up yet, you’re going to want to after you see what campers created in just the first week—and how much fun they had doing it!

(After Week 4, TNCS virtual summer art camps are run by another TNCS Summer Camp favorite, Hilary Christian.)

Master Illustrators Virtual Summer Art Camp

Each day, campers logged into Google classroom, where they were given the theme of the day, a list of supplies to gather, and a Zoom link to join Liu Laoshi and their fellow campers in real time.

As you’ll see, Liu Laoshi makes art not only fun but also relevant in her step-by-step online demos. Campers create art that has meaning for them.

Session 1: Pattern Making

For their first day, campers were asked to bring copy paper, markers, and scissors. They created patterns, which Liu Laoshi turned into virtual pillows!

Session 2: Packaging Illustration

For Day 2, campers were asked to design and illustrate the packaging for a product of their choice, such as a favorite snack. This project combines creativity with a real-world application of art, using drawing paper, markers and scissors.

Session 3: Story Illustration, Day 1

Campers were asked to illustrate part of one of their favorite stories or even a story they wrote themselves (such as shown below), using drawing paper, markers and scissors.

Session 4: Story Illustration, Day 2

The next day, campers put the finishing touches on their illustrations with drawing paper, pencils, markers, and water color and/or tempera paints and painting supplies. “Don’t forget to bring your creative ideas, too!” instructed Liu Laoshi. This image shows an illustration from Hatchet, which was a novel assigned to 5th-graders during the school year.

Session 1: Moving Image

For the last day of Master Illustrators camp, campers learned basic knowledge about animation and GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) and animated their own flip books. They could use drawing paper, pencils, markers, and water color and/or tempera paints and painting supplies.

“The past week has been great!” said Liu Laoshi. “Students and I had a lot of fun, and we didn’t want to end the class every day. They were excited for a new project each day, and they had some great work done! I am looking forward to the coming weeks.”

. . . And there you have it, folks! Don’t miss out on all the fun—go register for TNCS Virtual Camp!