Marcos Chin is an award-winning illustrator whose clients include Time, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, GQ, Sports Illustrated, and The New York Times, as well as Starbucks, Apple, Google, Kiehl’s, and Honda, to name a few! Join us at MECA for a presentation where Chin will discuss his process, “some origin-story-type bits,” and highlight a few of his favorite projects.

Celebrated illustrator Eamon White is not only an artist but a high school art teacher, athlete and football coach. One of his unique talents is illustrating sports shoes with imagery meaningful to the wearer. His many clients include the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics and others. Workshop participants will follow Eamon’s technique on shoes of their own in this shoe-illustration workshop!

Please bring your own sneakers to be painted in this workshop.

This event is free. Registration is required. Sign up : nancy@illustrationinstitute.org

A workshop of dragon drawing with artist William Roth: dragon aficionado, assistant curator at illustration institute, and author/illustrator of two graphic novels. Young artists will find their inner dragon through an expressive drawing exercise and discussion of dragon character story ideas - showing there is no one way to draw a dragon. Materials will be supplied, and roaring while drawing will be encouraged!

This event is free. Registration is required. Sign up : nancy@illustrationinstitute.org

Expressive Drawing, Fear Not The White Page!! Acclaimed multimedia illustrator Alex Rheault approaches artmaking in a fun, collaborative way. Alex invites us to “hoist and let out our sails, tie a few knots, throw caution, to the wind! Navigate coastal currents, cast nets and track the loot we discover. Sing a shanty, map tall tales, fish for your true colors!! Mixed media, doodles, collage, words and images are the treasure we will mine, load, and release. Rapid fire prompts, toys, and objects will festoon our ship!”

This lively, mixed-media workshop is accessible to all ages and abilities.

This event is free. Registration is required. Sign up : nancy@illustrationinstitute.org

Bridey Lee is a published editorial illustrator living in Portland, Maine whose first authored book The Future People will be published by Abrams Books in fall of 2027 with sequel to follow in fall 2028. Bridey will lead participants in a scientific illustration workshop: attendees will join her on a walk through the beautiful woods of Peaks island, while Bridey guides them in the techniques she uses to render the natural specimens they discover!

This event is free. Registration is required. Sign up : nancy@illustrationinstitute.org

Join Michael Connor, esteemed illustrator, comic book artist, zine creator and adjunct professor at Maine College of Art & Design for a hands-on Brush & Ink drawing workshop! Illustration Institute brings Michael Connor to the Mazza Studio for a special demo and instruction in this traditional but still absolutely modern medium. 

Workshop limited to 30 students - youth and adults welcome!

This event is free. Registration is required. Sign up : nancy@illustrationinstitute.org

Pat Corrigan is an illustrator, painter and sign writer who lives and works in Portland, well known for his magnificent murals, but equally talented at creating delightful, tiny illustrations no bigger than a cup coaster - and often smaller. Attendees join Pat in creating “tiny illustrations” of their very own to take home with them.

This event is free. Registration is required. Sign up : nancy@illustrationinstitute.org

Isabella Rotman is an Eisner and Ignatz Award nominated cartoonist and illustrator living and drawing in Maine. She is also a teacher at MECA&D and founder of CAMP, Portland’s own indie comics festival. She has self-published more than a dozen zines, and will share her method with attendees of this workshop! Participants will be led through the process of creating their own zines, then printing them on a photocopier to give - or sell! - to friends and family.

This event is free. Registration is required. Sign up : nancy@illustrationinstitute.org  

There are many ways to draw a dinosaur! All ages of kids are encouraged to come ready to pretend to be a roaring T. rex or stomping sauropod, and then scribble-draw the dinos with tips from local illustrator Scott Nash. Scott will lead even the most reluctant drawer with tricks to overcome any inhibitions about drawing.

This event is free. Registration is required. Sign up : nancy@illustrationinstitute.org

Lucky is back on Peaks Island! A delightful author/illustrator/mixed media artist, Lucky will lead a workshop building mixed media puppets - fun in itself but a bonus for those who create stories as well. Illustrators often draw from the 3-D characters they create - now you will have one to inspire your next story!

This event is free and open to ages 6 and up, adults too! Registration is required. Sign up: nancy@ilustrationinstitute.org

Details to come!

Join acclaimed co-founder of Flat Vernacular, Payton Turner, as she shares her creative and multi-faceted career path that includes installations, illustrations, and the creation of a sustainable, eco-friendly USA based home decor and textile brand. Shown is the custom “Sticker” wallpaper.

This event is free and open to all, no registration required.