Category Archives: Will Terry

Illustration Shortcut: Acrylic on Inkjet

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“I cut my painting time in half by starting in Photoshop”

Will Terry of Folioacademy used a shortcut to create this illustration for a greeting card for PK Press. He Painted, or blocked in the base in Photoshop, printed it on watercolor paper, then finished it with his famous acrylic, dry-brush technique. He is always looking for ways to maximize his efforts. Deadlines are ever present for the professional illustrator, and when you can figure out a way to speed things up, you’re onto something.

What used to take forever can be done in less than half the time.

It took so much longer with the old dry brush technique, laying in the background and basic shapes, can be done in less than half the time using the right tools. Embrace technology, it’s not going away.

pic of finished piece: Blwfish

“I was able to cut my painting time in half by blocking in the foundation in Photoshop.” ~Will Terry

Photoshoped in some spray paint and printed on Watercolor paper.

He used to start his paintings on paper, transfer it to paper, and paint the whole thing with his paint and brushes.
Awhile ago he took a leap of faith and tried something new. This became the phase where he would start in Photoshop and finish with acrylics. “I scan my sketch and paint flat color on it in Photoshop, Then print it on watercolor paper, add texture gel and paint acrylics on top.” He now paints most everything digitally from start to finish but this was a crucial step in that direction, you may want to try it.

The Teacher In Me

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App makers

The teacher in me is excited to teach the student in you.

The teacher in me wants you to find out what you can do.

The teacher in me knows what it’s like to have dreams come true and wants yours to come true too.

 

The teacher in me is afraid you won’t do what you need to do – but the teacher in me is still rooting for you.

The teacher in me lives through your triumphs.

The teacher in me knows you will fail again and again but prays you won’t quit.

 

The teacher in me can’t wait to see the teacher in you.

The teacher in me wants to be taught by the teacher in you.

 

Classes begin for me again today at UVU and I love it!

When I’m not teaching at FolioAcademy you can find me at UVU. I get so much out of teaching. Last semester in my children’s book class I gave my students the option to work on story apps. A hand full went in that direction and it was really fun to see what they came up with. We didn’t have time to work on their stories since it is an illustration class so they lack some of the polish that taking a children’s writing class would provide – but they learned by doing and are that much further along.

 

Here are a few of the apps they created last semester…

but one is missing 🙁 Alicia VanNoy Call had her (TOTALLY AMAZING) app rejected by Apple twice because it didn’t have enough animation/interactivity. They wanted her to publish it as an iBook but she doesn’t want to do that for various reasons – so it’s in limbo at the moment.

I will really miss this group of kids – we really had a lot of fun!

Kitty Wants by Ginny Tilby (pink sweater)

 

 

Ricky the Fortune Cookie by Jared Salmond (second goof from the right)

 

 

Jumping Jackie by Kari & Von Brimhall

Jumping Jackie is from my long time college friends Kari & Von Brimhall – They did an amazing job animating their app using Talespring.com …if you want to see what’s possible at Talespring you should check out their app! I love their enthusiasim for creating ebooks and story apps. Kari is a homeschooler who’s kids are flying the coop and doing very well at college and now she and Von are living out their dreams creating for the pure love of it. They are one step ahead of me in that they already created a website to showcase their titles called instant sunshine.

A Will Terry Acrylic Painting Went for $300 at a Little Auction

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FolioAcademy is always proud our own Will Terry who is one of our accomplished artists.

He is always painting his guts out. Sometimes for fun, sometimes for mun, and sometimes for a worthy cause.  This is a little painting that he did awhile back for a fund raiser for Reagan Academy School in Springville Utah. Stephen Pratt, the school art teacher suggested He call it “Neighbor’s Cat”, and that’s how he came up with such a clever name for this whimsical piece. It auctioned for $300. It was a lot of fun to meet some of the other artists and catch up with friends in the local art community.

Stylized painting of a toothy dog with a small cat in it's jaws

Just think, this piece is probably hanging handsomely in someones house. Hopefully not the nursery. Why don’t more people have some original art work in their homes? That could be a whole blog topic some day?

 

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Closing 2012, teaching the world how to be an artist since 7/20/11

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Time flies when you are teaching the world, how to be an artist.

FolioAcademy went live on July 20, 2011 and even sold a few of our courses on that opening day. Since then we have added all kinds of content, made tons of new friends, some were heavier than others, started this blog, and completely redesigned our web page. Below is a pic of the old us. 

the old look of folioacademy

Art Lessons Online: Folio’s Humble Beginnings:

Folio Academy, first known as Fun Art Now, (oh how we brainstormed on that name) was started in 2010 by artists Will Terry and Wayne Andreason in Cedar Hills, Utah. The headquarters was soon moved to Provo, Utah where it remains. We soon changed the name to folio academy, short for portfolio academy, as we figured fun art sounded like a site for children. All that brainstorming for nothing.

Circa November 2010, accomplished illustrator/artist/college instructor, Will Terry was looking for a way to assist his students at Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University with a means to take home a few art demonstrations. He created a few art demos with a cheap hard to use, editing program, a $100 little digital camcorder and a microphone that he borrowed from his children’s Rock Band video game. He posted them on YouTube for his students. As it turned out, there were and are a lot of people out there that want to learn art. Not just college students but a lot of would be students that don’t have the means to attend school, and more.

There was actually quite a demand for this type of art learning platform and a lot of people, I included asked Will to make more of these tutorials and teach the masses. In the spring of 2011 Will asked me, Wayne, to join him and we set out to teach the world to sing do art, well mostly how to draw and how to paint. We teamed up with Ryan Haldeman, of Amber Media Pro, famous for their wonderfully hilarious shorts called Kid History, we found some investors, hooked up with a talented programmer who is also world traveler but happened to be renting from Will while we were getting this all started. He now lives on an island in a lake somewhere in Malaysia, where he commutes via the WWW as our web master. Ain’t the internet great. And we got started teaching how to be an artist.

It didn’t take long till we realized that we didn’t know it all. OK, it was pointed out to us right away. So we realized that in order to “teach the world how to be an artist”, we should get some real artists to help us with our quest. So naturally we approached some of the best artists in the world and then wondered why they weren’t all that interested in climbing on our little cause. We are proud to say that we have been turned down by some worlds best artists who were too busy, some pretty big names. We also learned that some wonderfully talented artists aren’t always wonderfully talented teachers. It is nerve racking to stand in front of a camera, do your art work while talking to an audience that isn’t there and act natural.

the old logo

As we got rolling however, were able to talk a bunch of wonderfully talented artists and teachers into joining our quest and we are still thankful to them. It is a little sad that the great artists out there are also the busy artists out there too or we would have more. We have also had artists approach us to get on board and sadly we have to turn a lot of them away as their art work lacks the professional quality that we need to maintain here at folioacademy.

Since going live in July, 2011, we have assisted clients in more than 30 countries around the world. We know we still have a lot to do and we plan on making FolioAcademy the best place online to learn art. So stay with us. We plan on being here to assist you while you are a beginner, an intermediate and a pro. In fact, at that point, you may very well be assisting us with our ever growing library of wonderful art courses for everyone.

lots of love, happy holidays, Wayne

PS here is a little testimonial from one of our peeps, Agy, probably our number one fan.

“THANK YOU Will Terry and Wayne Andreason! I’ve been yakking about the Folio Academy courses . . . I love the fact that they’re reasonable in price. I love there’s a LOT of great information. And I have to say I love the heart of it. I’ve had wonderful friends try to explain the Photoshop process . . . Wonderfully giving, patient, artists, but I really [diddn’t get it] and they were all so wonderful at it, I didn’t want to ask too many questions when I didn’t “get it” and appear stupid. So I didn’t “get it”. Then I found Will’s course, and he not only explained it the way I needed it to be shown, but he also did it from a similar point of view (a painter who wanted to expand the boundaries) Often he would explain a process in a similar way as painting with acrylics (one of my favorite mediums) so I really KENNED it. Now he’s REDONE the original course, because he could improve it. I just LOVE that. As someone who worked compulsively, I get and admire this. Folio has a special offer for December. Will will (hehehe, that’s just funny there!) be blogging about it, when he does, I’ll share the link on my page. I just wanted to crow a bit, and let them and the world (okay not really the WORLD, but anyone paying attention)I appreciate the effort and THANK YOU, again!”

Hanging with J. Kirk Richards

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What a coincidence. Will Terry and I were at the Repartee Gallery in Orem yesterday, Dec, 7, 1941 2012, and who do you think just happened to be in there signing prints, and books and meeting some of his lucky fans?

That’s right, J. Kirk Richards, the wonderful Fine Artist and Illustrator, Known primarily for his contribution at Folio Academy I’m sure. Just look at some of his stuff.

Sometimes you gotta make a coincidence happen. You see, last week while I was in that same Gallery, hanging with Scott Gustafson, they told me Kirk would be there on Dec. 7. I was expected to go to a company Christmas party with my wife, but luckily her boss took ill and was admitted to the Hospital, so I could go with Will and enjoy some refreshments and bother Kirk. (PS, Just joking when I say “luckily”, My wife’s boss is home now and doing well and I would much rather he never took Ill, he is a great person and deserves health and happiness.) Kirk Richards is a friend of mine and we are so glad to have him as one of our contributing artists at folioacademy. Several people have taken and loved his Portrait Painting courseand love it.

J. Kirk Richards is a favorite among admirers of contemporary spiritual artwork. Richards attributes much of his love for the arts to an early emphasis on musical training in his parents’ home. Turning then from music to visual arts, Kirk studied with painters Clayton Williams, Bruce Hixson Smith, Patrick Devonas, Hagen Haltern, Gary and Jennifer Barton, James Christensen, Wulf Barsch, Joe Ostraff, and others. ~jkirkrichards.com

Kirk is a busy man, but we are glad he wants to add a few courses to the folioacademy library. He has a lot to share and he is a wonderful instructor. If you don’t already love his stuff, take a look and see if you don’t add the young and talented J. Kirk Richards to your growing list of favorite artists. PS he speaks Italian as a second language, how cool is that?

The Secret To Your Success as an Artist

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How’s that for a title? Like I have the answers for Your Success as an Artist, right?

crappy piece make over in Photoshop

I often run into budding artists either in person or online that ask me what I think they can do find success as an artist. Aside from portfolio advice, going to school or getting tutored, blogging, sending out promos, making awesome art & products, etc (all of which are super important) here’s what I think the most important thing is:
Drum roll….

Be committed to your success as an artist for life.

Some plan on writing and/or illustrating a book but if it doesn’t get published they’ll move on and find something else to do. Some plan to apply for studio jobs but fall back on something else if it doesn’t pan out. Just the other day someone told me they were going to try making a story app to see if it will sell. I think this is the wrong attitude. What if it doesn’t sell? Does that mean you didn’t learn something valuable for your next one?…and the one after that?

One thing I’ve come to realize is that the truly successful artists have been and continue to be – committed for life. It’s all they want to do. It’s all they live for. It’s what they do. It’s who they are. If they have a set back they accept it as part of the journey. I dare you to show me a successful artist that doesn’t have his/her fair share of bumps and bruises. I can’t count the number of time I’ve had to lick my wounds – but they scab up over time and those scars become great stories later on.

Stan Lee – creator of Spider Man said, “Mine is the longest overnight success story of all time!”…he was committed even when his comics were being canceled by his publisher – he stuck it out…what if he had quit? Think of all the super hero movies he’s responsible for…

crappy piece made better

The piece above was a pretty crappy demo in class but I love working on art so much I came home and played with it in Photoshop for two hours. I love art and I’ll be making it for the rest of my life.

NEW TUTORIAL! Learn how to use Photoshop

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I just finished a new video tutorial so you can Learn how to use Photoshop – a basic video series on how to get started in Photoshop.

We have been receiving requests over the past year to offer a video that would help the person who has never used Photoshop get started.

This tutorial is a focused on helping the student learn how to use Photoshop for painting in my Digital Painting in Photoshop tutorials Parts 1 & 2.

Instead of being a general beginner course I leave out all the photo editing specific tools and methods. You will learn how to use photoshop basic tools, settings, windows, and the controls that I use to make a painting in Photoshop.  I do share my Wacom tablet settings and opinions as well.  If you’re familiar with Photoshop you won’t need this video but will probably be fine jumping into parts 1 & 2 of Digital Painting in Photoshop.If you know anyone who has wanted to move from traditional mediums like acrylic, watercolor, colored pencil, etc – this video might be just the thing to get them started.

how to use Photoshop for beginners

Check out a sample here.

If any of you have already purchased my Digital Painting in Photoshop parts 1 or 2 and would like this beginner course please just leave a comment below – make sure you leave your email address associated with your http://folioacademy.com/ account so I can look you up – and I’ll GIFT you this new tutorial for free! So you may want to purchase one or both of these Photoshop part 1 & Part 2 first, then get this FREE!One more thing – I do not paint in this new video but I do explain how to get around in photoshop in the most basic ways – and how to use many of the tools. Check it out at Folio Academy.

New How to Photoshop Tutorial

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Whoooeee – I just finished my new How to Photoshop lesson!

This was a fun one and now I’m in the editing process for the video tutorial. As I mentioned before I’ll be giving this one away for FREE to anyone who has purchased my “Digital Painting in Photoshop” Videos from either my site or Folio Academy. It’s my way of saying thanks for all the support we’ve been getting and continue to get. I hope to be finished with the editing process in a week or so – I have a crazy hectic schedule at the moment.

Painting of a cat on a turtle done in Photoshop by Will Terry.
I’m tired – having fun but tired – I’m wearing lots of hats right now. Just trying to get the colors right – this piece is a challenge because there isn’t a lot of warm light which means almost everything needs to be on the cool side.


It’s slow going but I’ll get there. Just starting to add lighter values and colors and trying to figure out my color scheme as I go. One of the advantages of working digitally – testing colors on “throw-a-way” layers.


I’ve now added a “multiply” layer and started to work color into the background using the airbrush with the “texture” turned on in the brush pallet. The texture is a scanned texture I made with acrylic heavy gel medium and black and white acrylic paint.


I added the value on the ipad using the airbrush tool. I want to try to figure out where all the dark and light areas are going to be before I start adding color. This is crucial because once you get deep into the color process it’s hard to fix value problems.


Since I’ve switched over to Photoshop 5 I thought it might be nice to offer another tutorial. I’m going to give it away for FREE to those who have already purchased my “Digital Painting in Photoshop” video series – I’ll just update everyone’s account at Folio Academy with this new video series. So what I’m going to do is work on it a little each day and post my results here on my blog as I have a big project for National Geographic Kids Mag going on right now too.

This is a little sketch I did on my ipad with my finger – I’ve gone paperless by the way – I never intended to go green but when technology makes it easier to use than paper…

I’m calling this painting “Class System”. I find it ironic that often it’s the working class/poor who are much happier in life than the rich who control everything but still turn to drugs, alcohol, and suicide. Oh no – I actually have something to say? This is weird.

Anyway, I’ll try to post my results each day for a week or so.