Schedule your one-on-one portfolio mentoring session with APW Directors Gerard Sternik and Vince Peets, former Sheridan Animation Instructors. Get practical feedback and guidance from the founders of APW and improve your animation portfolio. For help with Figure Drawing and Personal Art, book a session with Gerard. Book with Vince to focus on topics such as Perspective, Character Design or Storyboards.
Schedule your one-on-one portfolio mentoring session with APW Director Bernadette Peets, former Sheridan Art Fundamentals Instructor and visual artist. Get practical feedback and guidance from an experienced painter and improve your colour work for your design, fine art, illustration or animation portfolio. Bernadette will give you practical lessons on how to use and manipulate colour in your work regardless of media. These sessions include, critiques, practical lessons and suggested homework.
Josh (the APW Tutor/Mentor) is an animation educator and mentor. A graduate of the Seneca Animation Program (2016), he is an accomplished character designer and children’s book illustrator.
As an Alumnus of the Animation Portfolio Workshop Program and APW Teacher-Training Program Josh has more than ten years of experience as an APW instructor and mentor. Currently an Associate Director of APW, Josh is also the Mentor/Director of the APW African-Canadian Youth Scholarship.
Josh is responsible for the training of all APW instructors and all APW tutors in the Animation Portfolio Workshop Program.
When Josh isn’t drawing or mentoring students privately he enjoys teaching drawing at the UofT School of Continuing Studies. His area of expertise is in animation portfolio preparation for prospective animation/illustration school students.
Just got into animation school? Congratulations! Now What? You can get ahead of the game with one-on-one APW Pre-College Tutoring.
Who better to get you started on your animation school journey than qualified former Sheridan first year faculty?
With guidance from an APW Director, dive into a selection of typical first year animation assignments and get ahead of the game before you start your school year. Aim high!
EXCELLENT Based on 38 reviews Posted on Google Walter Penado-Vasquez (Galvanic Dreams)April 10, 2025Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Highly Recommend Animation Portfolio Workshop (APW)! After two years of independently trying to improve my portfolio for college applications, I decided to seek guidance, and I wholeheartedly recommend the Animation Portfolio Workshop program! I was willing to travel from Hamilton to attend the 2024 in-person session in Toronto, and I did not regret it for a second. Thanks to Josh, my amazing teacher, and the phenomenal support of the entire team, I significantly improved as an artist. This program made drawing easier and more approachable. I now feel confident in breaking down complex tasks, re-evaluating my work, and being more receptive to external and internal critiques. I've gained invaluable skills in reconstructing things concerning dimensional space and creative thinking. The hands-on guidance from Josh was exceptional. He eagerly reviewed our portfolio progress for college requirements and personal projects. I highly advise showing him everything, even drawings you're unsure about—they truly help steer you in the right direction and cater to your learning. Josh and the teaching assistants were incredible; their approach helped me and empowered us to learn from our mistakes so we can confidently guide ourselves after the program. This program is truly dedicated to teaching fundamental animation skills, not only to help you get into colleges but also to equip you to continue and thrive in your animation studies. For potential future students, I'd recommend checking out OfficeCentral (it offered the best deal and was cheaper than art stores when I looked) to buy loose newsprint pads in bulk, as you will be drawing a lot both in, out of class and after the program is over :^ ) . The impact of APW is undeniable. During the program, and after my portfolio was completed, Josh reviewed my work from those previous two attempts. The difference in skill was vast, and I happily gained acceptance into 2 out of 3 college applications! I recommend APW programs without hesitation. Everyone is kind, knowledgeable, and provides the positive energy you need to keep progressing. Trust the process—they truly know what they're doing! I now find myself wanting to draw every day and am driven to continuously improve.Posted on Google BenMarch 30, 2025Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I would highly recommend APW to anyone looking to elevate their artistic skills and improve their portfolio. I took the Summer 2024 and Fall 2024 sessions with Josh as my instructor. He is an excellent teacher and a highly skilled artist who helped me realise my artistic goals to their fullest. With his guidance and support, I was able to push my drawing beyond what I thought I was capable of, and create a portfolio that got me accepted to Seneca. The classroom environment is incredibly supportive, and being among like-minded artists with similar goals made my time in APW very enjoyable.Posted on Google Boj MckMarch 30, 2025Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. When our son, Ben, expressed an interest in applying to Animation Schools, we did some research and found APW. We were able to talk in depth with Bernadette and explore the program, process, and support available. Ben was able to access individual support from Josh along the way. As parents, we have been able to watch our son develop his talents and work towards his goal of acceptance at Seneca, where he will be attending this Sept 2025. We couldn't recommend APW more highly!Posted on Google JamieMarch 16, 2025Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I was in the 2024-2025 in-person fall classes, and APW was an incredibly fulfilling experience! Josh pushed my portfolio and especially my figure drawings to a new level that got me into Sheridan Animation with an 89% (as a first time applicant!). Eden and Risa were great TA's as well. Also, the in-person classes provided a great stepping stone to getting back into a classroom environment, especially since most of my high school years were spent online. The in-person environment was great too because I couldn't have done it without all the knowledge and support from my classmates. Thank you! Best wishes to the teachers, TA's, and life drawing models at APW :)Posted on Google annetta moralesMarch 14, 2025Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I recommend APW to anyone who is trying to perfect their portfolio. I took the 2025 Fall weekend classes with Josh as my teacher. He was able to push me to the next level of my abilities and helped me get into Sheridan. He was very talented and supportive, and I believe APW as a whole is an incredibly enjoyable experience with a very friendly and encouraging environment.Posted on Google Gabriel TraisterFebruary 19, 2025Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I highly recommend APW for anyone looking to work on their illustration and animation skillset. The teachings are very informative and will definitely provide you with valuable knowledge and insights to improve through amazing instructors' feedback, drills, and techniques!Posted on Google Maggie CosstickFebruary 19, 2025Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to get into animation school, I did some research and APW popped up as a good option for getting my portfolio ready. I signed up for the signature class online class, and got ready for it. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The teachers are so nice, everyone helped me out so much. I got to watch myself improve over the course of this class, my skills have grown exponentially and I feel confident with my abilities as an artist finally. I would recommend this program to anyone who’s willing to work for it, it was hard, I didn’t have much free time the last couple months, but it was so worth it to submit my portfolio and finally be happy with my art. Thank you so much Niko, Gerard and Vince, I took everything you taught to heart and I will continue to down the road. I can’t believe it’s over.Posted on Google Júlia Horta PimentaFebruary 15, 2025Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I took the old Drawing Basics course and the APW portifolio prep course, and it was extremely helpful! The teachers are insanely talented and knowledgable (I had class with Jess, she was super kind, skilled, and classes were always fun and challenging!). The lessons started from the basics of the basics and expanded into the more technical skills of drawing, some lessons seemed to not make sense at first but after some time and practice you get to understand how critically important those new skills are. I am very encouraged and look forward to applying for art colleges and I'm heavily considering their tutoring in the future! It can sound intimidating, but if you put your hard work into it, you'll come out of this course with the knowledge and right tools to create a great portfolio! :DPosted on Google Veronika KaraptanFebruary 14, 2025Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I took this course to prepare for my Sheridan admission portfolio. I highly recommend it for those who are going to apply next year!