From Sketch to Storyboard: Illustrating for Young Readers

Course Description

This five-day course invites students to explore illustration as a storytelling tool. Through hands-on work with a variety of artistic media, they will experiment with mood, movement, character, setting, texture, and depth while daily mini literacy lessons build skills in pacing, world-building, and revision. Students will create an original narrative and translate it into a storyboard or picture-book spread, learning how text and image work together to communicate emotion and meaning. The week culminates in a gallery walk where students share their finished work, practice giving and receiving feedback, and reflect on their creative process and growth as storytellers.

Biography

Sonja Moller Hatfield is an emerging educator and artist with a passion for visual storytelling. As a Bachelor of Education student at the University of Ottawa, she focuses on arts-based teaching strategies, children’s literature, and developing inclusive creative environments. Sonja’s artistic practice includes acrylic and watercolour painting, character design, and multimedia experimentation, all of which inform her approach to teaching visual storytelling. She brings several years of experience working with children and youth, including teaching with Sistema Kingston - a not-for-profit music education organization - private violin instruction, group and individual music therapy programming, and various summer camps. Sonja is committed to empowering learners to express themselves, and her teaching is grounded in curiosity, imagination, and creating collaborative spaces for youth to learn through art.