LIVE ONLINE | Character Driven Illustrations

Step into a world where stories sing, characters hum, and imagination takes centre stage.
Join acclaimed author and illustrator Briony Stewart for a layered, hands-on online workshop inspired by this year’s CBCA Book Week theme, Symphony of Stories. In this session, Briony will guide participants through her unique process for creating expressive, character-driven illustrations.
Working with gouache, watercolour and coloured pencil, participants will explore how to build characters filled with personality, movement and narrative. Briony will share how she develops ideas, experiments with mark making, and layers materials to create depth, texture and warmth.
Perfect for teachers, artists and anyone wanting to bring more storytelling into their creative practice or classroom.

Key Course Takeaways:

• Learn Briony’s process for developing characters from initial idea to resolved illustration
• Combine gouache, watercolour and coloured pencil to create rich, textured surfaces
• Use pose, gesture, proportion and expression to communicate emotion and narrative
• Gain adaptable strategies to use immediately in the classroom across year levels
• Build confidence in playful, intuitive mark making and experimentation
• Explore how visual elements can respond to rhythm, mood and movement within a story

About Briony Stewart:

Briony Stewart writes and illustrates books for children. She lives in a tree house made from driftwood and whalebones, which only occasionally gets good internet reception. On calm days, Briony keeps busy, drinking tea and making books. On windy days, the days when she’s dashing around wildly trying to catch the cups and saucers sliding across the table tops, she’s mostly just grumpy and hair-tangled and wishing that she didn’t live in a tree-house. When she grows up she hopes to become someone who studies insects, a professional gift-wrapper, or someone who steals single socks off washing lines. Until then she’s quite happy just making books.

Live Online Interactive Sessions

Real-Time Connection, Real-Time Learning

• Join scheduled online sessions with expert presenters.
• Benefit from live demonstrations, interactive Q&A, and peer discussion.
• Receive curriculum notes, teacher resources, and materials boxes for a complete classroom-ready experience—all from the comfort of your home or school.

A materials kit is automatically included for this workshop and will be delivered to you*

*standard freight charges apply