Description
Draw the Animal.
Capture the Personality.
Join Academy Award-nominated director, veteran Disney animator, and acclaimed wildlife artist Aaron Blaise for a brand-new two-day virtual workshop devoted to drawing the cats and dogs that share our lives.
Learn to Draw More Than Anatomy.
Learn how to capture the expression, energy, attitude, and individual character that make an animal instantly recognizable.
Most people who love animals do not simply want to create an anatomically correct drawing of a cat or dog. They want to capture who that animal is.
It might be the curious stare of a cat watching from across the room. The joyful enthusiasm of a golden retriever. The quiet confidence of a German shepherd. The alert posture of a terrier waiting for something to happen.
These small details communicate personality, and they are often what transform a technically competent drawing into an image that feels alive.
Anatomy Is the Starting Point. Personality Is What Brings the Drawing to Life.
Aaron will teach the anatomy, structure, form, and proportions you need to build believable animals. He will then show you how to use expression, gesture, shape, posture, and exaggeration to communicate personality and character.
About the Workshop
Over two live, information-packed days, Aaron will draw ten popular domestic animal breeds while explaining how he studies their forms and identifies the visual traits that make each one distinct.
Saturday will be devoted to five of the most popular domestic cat breeds. Aaron will explore the shared anatomy of cats while demonstrating how differences in proportion, head shape, coat, posture, and expression affect the way each breed feels.
Sunday will focus on five popular domestic dog breeds. You will see how dramatically canine structure and proportion can vary, from compact and energetic breeds to large, athletic, and powerful dogs.
Rather than simply presenting finished drawings, Aaron will work live and explain his choices as they happen. You will see how he studies reference, simplifies anatomy, searches for clear shapes, corrects proportions, develops expressions, and pushes a drawing until it captures the spirit of the animal.
Drawing Domestic Cats
Study five popular cat breeds while exploring feline anatomy, flexibility, balance, facial structure, expression, gesture, and the subtle attitudes that make cats so distinctive.
Drawing Domestic Dogs
Draw five popular dog breeds while studying canine anatomy, breed-specific proportions, movement, expression, attitude, and the physical traits that communicate personality.
What You Will Learn
- The structural foundations of cats and dogs, including anatomy, form, weight, balance, and proportion
- How to identify breed-specific traits without losing the underlying structure of the animal
- How to simplify complex anatomy into clear, manageable shapes
- How to draw convincing heads and faces from different angles
- How eyes, ears, mouths, and head angles communicate emotion
- How posture, gesture, and movement reveal personality
- How to balance accuracy with artistic interpretation
- How to push a drawing beyond a generic representation and make the animal feel specific
- How Aaron studies reference and makes decisions while drawing live
- How to apply these lessons to your own pets, animal characters, illustrations, paintings, and personal projects
A Good Animal Drawing Shows You What It Looks Like. A Great One Shows You Who It Is.
Aaron will show you how subtle changes in expression, pose, silhouette, rhythm, and exaggeration can turn a technically accurate study into a drawing filled with life, emotion, and individual character.
Follow Along in the Medium You Love
Aaron will demonstrate digitally, but this workshop is not medium or software specific.
The principles apply whether you work with:
- Graphite or colored pencil
- Charcoal
- Ink
- Watercolor or gouache
- Oils or acrylics
- Digital drawing and painting
- Another traditional or digital medium
Use the Materials You Already Have.
You do not need to use the same digital tools as Aaron to benefit from the workshop. Watch the demonstrations, ask questions, take notes, and draw along using the medium that best fits your own creative process.
This Is Not a Pre-Recorded Course
This is an opportunity to watch Aaron analyze, draw, make decisions, solve problems, and refine his work in real time.
You will see the first marks, the adjustments, the corrected proportions, the unexpected discoveries, and the choices that gradually bring each animal to life.
You will also be able to submit questions during the live event and learn from the questions asked by other participating artists.
Live Workshop Schedule
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Domestic Cats
Sunday, September 13, 2026
Domestic Dogs
Each day begins at 11:00 AM Eastern Time and runs until approximately 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
+ VIEW THE START TIME IN YOUR LOCAL TIME ZONE
A scheduled 30-minute break begins at approximately 2:00 PM each day.
Who This Workshop Is For
- Artists who love cats, dogs, and animal drawing
- Pet portrait artists who want to capture more personality and emotion
- Traditional artists who want a stronger understanding of animal anatomy and structure
- Digital artists who want to create more believable and expressive animals
- Animators and character designers developing animal-based characters
- Illustrators creating animals for books, editorial work, or personal projects
- Beginners who want to better understand how animal forms are constructed
- Experienced artists who want to strengthen their observation and interpretation skills
You do not need to be a professional artist, and you do not need to work in a particular medium. The workshop is designed for anyone who wants to understand cats and dogs more deeply and bring more life into their animal artwork.
By the end of the workshop, you will understand more than how to construct a cat or dog.
You will have a clearer process for recognizing and capturing the personality, emotion, attitude, and character that make each animal unique.
About Aaron Blaise
Aaron Blaise is an Academy Award-nominated director, animator, illustrator, painter, and wildlife artist.
During 21 years at Walt Disney Feature Animation, Aaron contributed to films including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Mulan. He later co-directed Brother Bear, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.
Animals and the natural world have remained central to Aaron’s work throughout his career. His approach combines careful observation, a deep understanding of anatomy and movement, and the storytelling instincts needed to create animals that feel believable, expressive, and alive.
Member Savings
Annual and Lifetime Members save 50%.
Streaming Members save 25%.
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This Workshop Will Not Be Sold After It Ends
Attendance is capped to keep the live experience interactive.
Registered participants will be able to re-watch the workshop as many times as they like. However, you must purchase the event before the live workshop concludes.
The recording will only be available to registered participants and will not be reopened for general sale after the event.
After purchase, we will email registered participants a private access link approximately three days before the workshop begins.
Draw Cats and Dogs That Feel Alive.
Spend two live days learning how Aaron Blaise combines anatomy, observation, expression, and storytelling to capture the personality of the animals we know and love.
Attendance is limited. Pre-registration is required.
This is a live, online educational event. Art materials, software, computers, tablets, and other equipment are not included with registration. Registered participants may follow along using the traditional or digital medium of their choice.
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