Studio Skills
Learn technical skills directly from working animation artists. We offer a year-round series of workshops, courses and free demos for all different types of animation, whether you’re just starting out, or building on your existing experience.
upcoming workshops
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Character Design Carousel Demo
Technical Demo: Character Design Carousel
Date: Saturday September 5th
TIME: 1 pm – 4:30 pm
Location: 1411 Dufferin Street, Unit BDiscover the character design process and creative journey behind four outstanding animation filmmakers.
About the Demo
Discover the character design process and creative journey behind four outstanding animation filmmakers in this artist demo event on (September 5th). Move freely between live demonstrations, ask questions, and gain insight into the artistic decisions that shape each filmmaker’s unique style and approach to character design.
After the demos, we’ll draw inspiration from the featured artists during a collaborative character design drawing session. Bring your sketchbook and get ready to create, experiment, and share ideas!
Free for members!
$30 for Non-members, or sign up for membership starting at $25/year. Space is limited, so please register by visiting our registration guide or contact us and we will register you.
- Introductions
- 2 simultaneous character design demos
- 2 simultaneous character design demos
- Group drawing session
- Wrap Up
Featured Artists:
Aaron Long @_aaron_long
Andrea Gerstmann @AndreaGerstmann
Reem Ali-Adeeb @reemaliadeeb
Stephanie Ramón @sadietheegoatTAIS is committed to making our events accessible to everyone. Our space is wheelchair accessible via ramp, and accessible restrooms, seating and desks are available.To be respectful of those with allergies and environmental sensitivities, we ask you refrain from wearing strong fragrances. If you require an accommodation or service to fully participate, please contact our Studio Coordinator, Charlotte Lavoie-Auspert, at tais.studio@gmail.com, (416) 533-7889 at least 7 days prior to the event.
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Audio Recording Demo
Technical Demo: Audio Recording Demo
Date: Sunday August 16th
TIME: 11 am – 1 pm
Location: 1411 Dufferin Street, Unit BThis workshop will help you learn how to use Hanging Acoustic Vocal Booth, microphone and Adobe Audition to record sounds for animation.
About the Demo
Looking to elevate your next production by recording your own sound? Join us for our Audio Recording Demo, where we will teach you how to use TAIS Audio equipment to record sound and Foley for animation.
Free for members!
$50 for Non-members, or sign up for membership starting at $25/year. Space is limited, so please register by visiting our registration guide or contact us and we will register you.
- Introductions
- Setting Up Vocal booth
- Setting Up Microphone
- Adobe Audition Basics
- Experimentation
- Tips & Wrap up
About the Instructor
Charlotte Lavoie-Auspert – TAIS Studio Coordinator
Charlotte is an artist based in Montreal, now living in Toronto. Her mixed-media works are fuelled by her passion to question, understand and represent the human experience. She specializes in stop-motion animation, mashing together paper, puppets and printmaking to explore the bounds of materiality. She has had her work showcased at Toronto’s International Festival of Authors (TIFA), the 32nd Annual Intercollegiate Visual Arts Show (RIASQ), Toronto’s Alliance Française, Toronto’s Animated image society (TAIS), Carlton Cinema, Animation Festival of Berlin (FAB) and the Canlandiranlar International Film Festival in Istanbul. She has received awards for her various works namely the Madi Pillar Award (2023), Jury’s First place award (GradEx 2025) and the Bluma Appel Award (2025).
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Dragonframe 101 Demo
Technical Demo: Dragonframe basics
Date: Sunday July 26th
TIME: 11 am – 1 pm
Location: 1411 Dufferin Street, Unit BThis workshop will help you learn how to set up your camera for Dragonframe, the basics on how to use Dragonframe and tips & tricks.
About the Demo
Looking to use Dragonframe for your next production? Want to experiment with Stop Motion and need a place to start? Join us for our Dragonframe 101 demo, where we will teach you the Dragonframe basics, tips and tricks.
Free for members!
$50 for Non-members, or sign up for membership starting at $25/year. Please register by visiting our registration guide or contact us and we will register you.
- Introductions
- Setting Up Equipment
- Starting a new Project
- Animation basics: Capturing an animation sequence
- Toolkit: Tips and tricks to facilitate animation.
- Experimentation
- Tips & Tricks
- Wrap up
About the Instructor
Charlotte Lavoie-Auspert – TAIS Studio Coordinator
Charlotte is an artist based in Montreal, now living in Toronto. Her mixed-media works are fuelled by her passion to question, understand and represent the human experience. She specializes in stop-motion animation, mashing together paper, puppets and printmaking to explore the bounds of materiality. She has had her work showcased at Toronto’s International Festival of Authors (TIFA), the 32nd Annual Intercollegiate Visual Arts Show (RIASQ), Toronto’s Alliance Française, Toronto’s Animated image society (TAIS), Carlton Cinema, Animation Festival of Berlin (FAB) and the Canlandiranlar International Film Festival in Istanbul. She has received awards for her various works namely the Madi Pillar Award (2023), Jury’s First place award (GradEx 2025) and the Bluma Appel Award (2025).
TAIS Members can register for workshops online.
They also get free workshops.
Community Access Subsidy Program
We offer up to 2 subsidized registrations per workshop or course. Applicants whose request meets the requirements will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Any TAIS member who is an independent artist, arts worker, student, or is an underemployed or unemployed person that would otherwise not be able to afford to register for a course at the full or member rates is eligible for this program.
Email info@tais.ca for more information or to apply to this program.
Policies & Protocols
- Class sizes are small to ensure that all participants have opportunities to ask questions and get personal feedback.
- There is a maximum enrolment for our workshops & courses of 12 registrants.
- No refunds are available for modifications to class instructors or curriculum.
- No refunds are available in the event of cancellation by the registrant, including failure to attend.
- TAIS reserves the right to alter the class content, instructors, dates and hours for the class, as needed, as the curriculum is developed. Full refunds are available if changes to the dates or hours of the class are prohibitive for the registrant. Registrants will be notified as soon as possible of any changes to the class and/or schedule.