Mentorships

I offer a limited number of 1:1 mini mentorships! How it works:

• Four 1-hour sessions for a total of $400 USD.
• We'll develop one new portfolio piece together.*
• Sessions are scheduled at your pace, depending on how much time you need for the next stage.
• My availability for calls is limited to weekdays from 10am-12pm PT.

In my experience, I've found 1:1 mentorships to be an incredibly efficient way to gain conceptual insights and train one's eye/taste. I'd love to help you debug your work and figure out how to keep improving. (Professional peers are welcome - let's level up together!)

*Note: If you're fully booked with client work, I can alternatively provide paintover crits on your client pieces as you work through them, as long as they're not under NDA.

How to apply

Email me at hello@jessichenliu.com with:

• Your portfolio
• Your goal folder
• What skills you'd like to improve
• Your career goals

I primarily work with intermediate/advanced artists who already have strong drawing fundamentals, but want to raise the quality of their work to a higher professional level.

While I won't be able to accept all applicants, I'll try to at least offer a portfolio review or some written feedback to everyone who applies. If you're unsure whether you're a fit for this mentorship, please email me and I'll be happy to advise.

Testimonials

Koby Hughes

This was an invaluable experience! Jessica is an incredible teacher who works to push you closer to your goals. After every critique I left feeling energized and excited to make changes. Jessica provided tips on selecting brushes and blending which permanently changed the way I approach art and has made a positive difference in all the work I've made since. Seriously helpful and also incredibly fun, I would happily take this course a hundred more times and I'd probably still learn something new each time!

Sacha van Andel

I loved doing my 1:1 mentorship with Jessica. I got incredibly useful insights into the book illustrating business. We brainstormed a new portfolio piece for me to make that was within my comfort zone but allowed me to really push my skills with Jessica's guidance. She was encouraging, kind and knowledgeable. She helped me make my piece the best it could be, while always leaving room for my own artistic preferences.

Session plan

This is roughly how the sessions break down, though I expect some variance. I'll give live paintover crits in each session.

Session 1: Portfolio review

• We'll analyze your portfolio against your goal folder and discuss the gaps, prioritizing what to focus on.
• We'll decide on a new piece to work on for the mentorship.

Session 2: Initial sketches

• Gather references on anything and everything related to subject matter, character likeness, costume, pose, color palette, art style, etc.
• Sketches can be b&w (preferably 3 value) or color

Session 3: Refined color sketch

• Gather more reference, including color palette reference
• Rough color explorations
• Refined color sketch with at least faces painted in. (The more drawing you solve at this stage, the more useful our crit will be.)

Session 4: Final piece

• Even more reference, including shooting your own reference for lighting, hands, fabric, etc
• Render to your highest level of polish

I'll be reachable on discord in between sessions if you have any questions or want quick eyes on something.

Other mentorships / classes

In case I'm not the best fit for you at this time, here are some other classes and mentorships I can recommend:

Smarter Art School

I've taken two semesters of smartschool classes, and I recommend them both for the teachers and the alumni community. (I took classes from Winona and Greg + Scott's team teach, and audited Cynthia and Dan.)

Paul Scott Canavan

I've heard nonstop great things about his mentorship, and I'd love to take it myself someday! Seems like great vibes and great community too.

Warrior Art Camp

I haven't taken any of these classes myself, but my friends have had positive experiences. This is a great choice if you're still working on your fundamentals, as you'll get a lot of reps in with their structured assignments.

Swatches Academy

I've seen people level up quickly with these courses, and I really like watching Clint and Diana's portfolio reviews on YouTube. They also have classes on fundamentals!

1:1 Mentorships

I've gotten super lucky by cold-emailing my favorite artists and asking them to mentor me. (Shoutout Gal Or and Micah Epstein, thank you guysss <3). I think this is a good approach if you're more self-directed and don't necessarily need a curriculum. Go on, shoot your shot!