*Kenton inspires the artistic side of Expanse students.*

When Expanse decided to shake up Wednesdays, we turned to partner MentorWings Art, known for its apprenticeship approach and success launching students’ careers as animators and illustrators. So every Wednesday from 2:30-4:00 pm (Central Time), they are treated to a session led by MentorWing’s own Kenton Casey.

“My hope is to help the students to be able to most fully achieve their own individual artistic goals," he states. That individualized approach was inspired by the teaching practices at MentorWings, where Kenton has been studying and developing his skills for the past six years.

With Kenton's guidance, Expanse students learn the true fundamentals of drawing, visual storytelling and other such skills that are often neglected in traditional art classes. (Surface-level skills such as shading or color, Kenton believes, provide the student with very little artistic independence.)

Explains Kenton, "My favorite thing about teaching art is getting to help students more fully realize their artistic goals. I remember very clearly being a young artist with a vision for what I wanted my art to be and what I wanted to do with it. I had grown up reading works such as Calvin and Hobbes and later on took an interest in manga and graphic novels, determined to tell stories of my own. I quickly discovered that properly transferring the ideas I had in my head onto the page was a difficult, often frustrating, task. It was hard to even figure out where to start. However, once I gained some instruction, everything came into focus, and I not only found myself faced with a clear path forwards, but with quickly developing skills, confidence, and the ability to see my visions mapped out onto paper as desired. It is getting to see students, time and time again, undergo this same growth that drives me to teach.”

Meet Kenton Casey, Art Guide