Lisa has been an illustrator for 17 years and a licensed educator for over 11 years. She graduated with her B.A. in fine arts and English literature, as well as her B.Ed. in intermediate and senior arts and English from Nipissing University. She has taught all grades from K-12 as well as adult education. Lisa taught illustration and character design through the Grumbacher art company for 4 years before becoming a professor at Algonquin College for both the Academic Access Centre and Drawing Foundations.

Today when she isn’t teaching, Lisa works as a freelance illustrator specializing in book covers, character portraits, and branding.

Having completed Sheridan College’s Illustration Program and Algonquin College’s Animation Program, Randy’s career has been anchored in technical illustration and animation design. Having worked in Canada and abroad, Randy brings years of experience to the classroom.

Randy’s forte is layout and design; however, his industry experience lends well into crossing over into teaching Character Design and Portfolio Preparation. With the ability to teach students the foundations of solid technical drawing skills, along with infusing strong story telling elements into their designs, students are often surprised at what they are capable of, starting with just a ruler and a pencil.

He has worked with many different clients Over the years, Disney Warner Bros, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Netflix, and more recently Apple. Some projects Alan has worked on that you might have heard of: Ninja Turtles rise of TMNT, Mickey Mouse shorts, Wander over yonder, Lion guard, Wild Kratts, Kid cosmic, Powderpuff Girls… And many more. Aside from character design in animation, Alan has been also working as an illustrator from time to time drawing kids’ books and illustrating book covers.

Alan started teaching at Algonquin College 1 year after he had graduated the Algonquin animation program. He has taught life drawing and character design for most of his career. He loves to work with artists and share his experience.

With a passion for 3D design, human and animal anatomy, and nature, Arnold brings a practical and hands-on approach to his classes. He has over 10 years of experience as a freelance sculptor and painter, having contributed 3D design services to several Kickstarter projects, hobby companies and private clients in the tabletop gaming industry.

Outside of his freelance work, Arnold founded “Epic Basing,” a 3D printable product that brings environmental elements to miniature basing. His expertise also extends to designing specifically for 3D printing, ensuring functionality and ease of use in his creations.

Mike is a concept artist in the entertainment industry. Mike completed the Game development and Concept Art Foundations programs at Algonquin College. Mike began his career as a production artist in animation working for Pip Animation and Amberwood studios. It was his education that ignited his passion for concept art and has worked as a concept artist for major studios across the globe including Ubisoft, Square-enix, BioWare, Tri-bros, Disney and more. While his passions started in gaming and concept art, Mike was driven to give back and grow the creative community that inspired him and began teaching in several programs at Algonquin college in 2014. From concept art foundations, game development and more, he is excited to share his knowledge and experience with you in his digital painting course.

Kristen is also a layout artist working in Ottawa at studios such as PIP Animation Studios and Victory Arts Inc. She has worked on projects such as Cyberchase and many other NDA projects. In her free time Kristen can be found honing her life drawing skills and creating her own personal artworks.

Kristen is an alumnus of both the Drawing Foundations (Pre-Animation and Illustration) and the Animation program here at Algonquin College.

After a first career in environmental sciences, Vic joined the animation industry in 2016 by attending Algonquin college’s animation program. They left the program early with a job at Wild Kratts studio as a layout artist, soon after in April of 2019 joining the team at Mercury Filmworks as a junior location designer. While at Mercury Vic worked on many projects, including Hilda, The Ghost and Molly McGee and Centaurworld.

When not working, Vic can be found selling art at local conventions (most notably Ottawa Comic Con) and practicing aerial sports. Even though they worked first in sciences, Vic has never stopped drawing, and hosts very active social media platforms. Teaching at Algonquin is now the next exciting step in Vic’s journey to never stop learning!

Janine studied academic drawing with the Academy of Realist Art in Ottawa. She has taught in the Drawing Foundation and Animation programs at Algonquin College since 2020. Janine has also worked in long term care programs, where she brought her enthusiasm for art to a diverse clientele. She draws on her years of experience as a life drawing model to inform her teaching.

Outside of work, James likes to paint, mostly messing around with watercolours, acrylics and gouache and has recently gotten back into miniatures and painting 3D sculptures like a big nerd. Non-artsy things in his life include love for martial arts, D&D, and a corgi/dachshund mix named Kaylee. Distractions include Overwatch 2, musicals, and tattoos.